Post by imp on Jun 16, 2013 2:51:45 GMT -8
An exceprt from 'A Biography of High Lord Osoyariel of House Ilkyardim'
-By Nidge Todenpoole, imperial scribe of the first rank
year 128 of the reign of His Glory, Emperor Adonus, true son of Kavaln (256 IR)
-By Nidge Todenpoole, imperial scribe of the first rank
year 128 of the reign of His Glory, Emperor Adonus, true son of Kavaln (256 IR)
One of the first Elves, Lord Oso was very wise and powerful. He contained within his venerable mind fleeting wisps of memory, which corroborated some of what the nature spirit said. Oso searched for a method of piercing the veil in order to escape her clutches. Long before the Magi of the other Houses had moved beyond destructive pyrotechnics, Oso had discovered a means of escape. He placed his feet on the Spiral Path, a ritual of subtle complexity that allowed him to step out through the veil and into the raw flow of magical energy in the ethereal plane. This transmutation, essentially an ethereal jaunt, led Oso to delve deeper and deeper into the ethereal plane. He found that the spirit’s mind did indeed encapsulate all of what he knew as reality, but he also found avenues that, he believed, led to other realms untouched by the spirit’s dream. During his brief stint as ethereal explorer, Oso brought unwanted attention to himself in the form of a race of planar wanderers called Rakshasa.
The Rakshasa encountered Oso while in a weary state. They had been traveling for many lifetimes through the ethereal plane. They had been fleeing from demeaning servitude in Infernal Baator, a plane of devils ruled by Gnathach, Crown Prince of the Pit Fiends, a lesser servant of the Eight. Oso puzzled the Rakshasa for he seemed to be a divine entity yet he obviously possessed a temporal consciousness characteristic of the few mortal creatures they knew to be present in the middle planes. The Rakshasa had not know of the realm until Oso’s retreat revealed its hidden location nestled in the mists of the Soeli falls. They followed him closely and entered the spirit’s dream greedily, exhilarated to have found an open realm so far from the Eight and The Old Gods.
Once within the dream the Rakshasa leader, Raj Xjiet swiftly befriended Oso, dazzling the Elven Lord with his knowledge of the cosmos. Oso bemoaned his people’s dependence on the Spirit. Raj Xjiet suggested To Oso a nefarious exchange. The combination of Oso’s raw ability to channel the Soeli flow and Raj Xjiet’s infernal knowledge of carnal arts would cast a new form to bear the Elven consciousness, free of the shards of Araeshi, and Eimshenbaed’s influence. In return the Raj requested Oso’s aid in transporting more of the Rakshasa race to this new home on the prime. Oso agreed to create a colony of Rakshasa within Ilkyardim citadel itself. Great and dark magic was performed in hopes that a new glorious form would emerge for the Ilkyardim to inhabit. However the Raj’s abilities were not all that he had claimed. The resulting beings were not only physically unfit for occupation by the Elven sentience, but the little creatures already had minds of their own. Minds half crazed by an inherent inability to experience the spirit’s dream as it appeared to everyone else. Their resulting listless boredom and rejection mundane reality was evident in their compulsive drive to tinker with and construct dynamic objects both real and illusory. Illusions sprang forth from their twisted minds, and took root in the dream’s firmament, affecting all beings too weak to dismiss them as false dreams. These false dreams remain home sweet home for most of the insane little beings commonly known as Gnomes.
Oso was very disappointed but he was quick to put the Gnomes to task constructing catacombs beneath Ilkyardim keep, digging deep into the corpse of the fallen colossus on which Li Salagh had been built. While the gnomes labored beneath them, Raj Xjiet, assured Oso that a second attempt would surely result in success. Oso agreed in word with the Raj’s plan to create a second formd but he had in mind a desire to be rid of the Rakshasa. He intended to seal the Rakshasa within the catacombs with powerful wards. When the time came and Oso attempted to move the Rakshasa they resisted. The Rakshasa had been waiting for such an opportunity. The ensuing melee grew quickly out of hand. The Rakshasa effectively destroyed House Ilkyardim, reducing all of the elves back to fairie form. Even Lord Oso himself was shattered. Many Gnomes, however, escaped the slaughter. The wise Oso had placed a few of the Gnomes under a geas. Their quest: to deliver his fragmented form, which amounted to several dozen fairies, to House Lairrui. This is how House Ilkyardim survived, and why they are referred to as “Children of Gnomes” when in fact the reverse is true.
The Rakshasa encountered Oso while in a weary state. They had been traveling for many lifetimes through the ethereal plane. They had been fleeing from demeaning servitude in Infernal Baator, a plane of devils ruled by Gnathach, Crown Prince of the Pit Fiends, a lesser servant of the Eight. Oso puzzled the Rakshasa for he seemed to be a divine entity yet he obviously possessed a temporal consciousness characteristic of the few mortal creatures they knew to be present in the middle planes. The Rakshasa had not know of the realm until Oso’s retreat revealed its hidden location nestled in the mists of the Soeli falls. They followed him closely and entered the spirit’s dream greedily, exhilarated to have found an open realm so far from the Eight and The Old Gods.
Once within the dream the Rakshasa leader, Raj Xjiet swiftly befriended Oso, dazzling the Elven Lord with his knowledge of the cosmos. Oso bemoaned his people’s dependence on the Spirit. Raj Xjiet suggested To Oso a nefarious exchange. The combination of Oso’s raw ability to channel the Soeli flow and Raj Xjiet’s infernal knowledge of carnal arts would cast a new form to bear the Elven consciousness, free of the shards of Araeshi, and Eimshenbaed’s influence. In return the Raj requested Oso’s aid in transporting more of the Rakshasa race to this new home on the prime. Oso agreed to create a colony of Rakshasa within Ilkyardim citadel itself. Great and dark magic was performed in hopes that a new glorious form would emerge for the Ilkyardim to inhabit. However the Raj’s abilities were not all that he had claimed. The resulting beings were not only physically unfit for occupation by the Elven sentience, but the little creatures already had minds of their own. Minds half crazed by an inherent inability to experience the spirit’s dream as it appeared to everyone else. Their resulting listless boredom and rejection mundane reality was evident in their compulsive drive to tinker with and construct dynamic objects both real and illusory. Illusions sprang forth from their twisted minds, and took root in the dream’s firmament, affecting all beings too weak to dismiss them as false dreams. These false dreams remain home sweet home for most of the insane little beings commonly known as Gnomes.
Oso was very disappointed but he was quick to put the Gnomes to task constructing catacombs beneath Ilkyardim keep, digging deep into the corpse of the fallen colossus on which Li Salagh had been built. While the gnomes labored beneath them, Raj Xjiet, assured Oso that a second attempt would surely result in success. Oso agreed in word with the Raj’s plan to create a second formd but he had in mind a desire to be rid of the Rakshasa. He intended to seal the Rakshasa within the catacombs with powerful wards. When the time came and Oso attempted to move the Rakshasa they resisted. The Rakshasa had been waiting for such an opportunity. The ensuing melee grew quickly out of hand. The Rakshasa effectively destroyed House Ilkyardim, reducing all of the elves back to fairie form. Even Lord Oso himself was shattered. Many Gnomes, however, escaped the slaughter. The wise Oso had placed a few of the Gnomes under a geas. Their quest: to deliver his fragmented form, which amounted to several dozen fairies, to House Lairrui. This is how House Ilkyardim survived, and why they are referred to as “Children of Gnomes” when in fact the reverse is true.
