Post by Dmitri on Feb 7, 2011 11:12:40 GMT -5
When you take Nall to Gwyn at the appointed meeting place, he is clearly excited and a little agitated. As soon as you arrive, he begins speaking, only to stammer as he realizes that you have Nall with you. When he regains his senses, he shakes his head a little in wonder, and explains that there is some important information that he has for you. It takes him a few minutes, but he calms down and starts speaking, still rapidly, looking around at everyone as he talks.
"The staves," he says. "May I see the staves, quickly again?"
Assuming you hand them over for him to examine, he looks them up and down again, this time muttering under his breath. You catch mild curses and mention of his own blindness.
"I can not believe that I missed this before," he says. "These four staffs are part of our order. I should have seen it immediately, but I was worried about today's rescue - forgive my lack of wisdom. The first clue should have been the mound, and the four burials... anyway, I know little of the full story, Tegid could tell you more for certain, his history is far better than mine after all, but if I recall the tale aright, that should be Bach Mal Gwyd, the Mound of Good Death, and those four of the past Penderwydd of Llogres. Each of the lands of Albion have slightly different druidic traditions - in Celyddon, for example, druids do not take the form of animals, as Balla does - I believe that they are not able to, it is not in their training. Instead, their druids are among the greatest masters of song in the realm. In Prydain, Tegid and those of our orders are trained as lorekeepers, historians, judges, priests, wielders of magic, but have very limited training in any form of combat. Come to think of it, no order for many many years has shapeshifted like Balla does very often - and when they do it is usually to a bird or fish, I know of no one who would even know how to become a bear or wolf!"
He shakes his head for a moment, and says sheepishly, "I am sorry, forgive my ramblings. my point is that the druids of Llogres also have different ways. They have far looser vows typically, and practice more martial skills than do we. They also bury their dead druids with their belongings, consecrating them to the Dagda's service in life and in death. Their burial sites are not extravagant, and I believe this to be one of them!" He is getting more excited again.
"More importantly," Gwyn says, "I know which mound you have come to by the markings on these staffs. I would never have imagined it to be in such a simple place, I would have thought that it would have rested closer to the Holy Isle, but this is clearly the resting place of those four Penderwydd that fell in defending Llogres from different enemies at different times. See here?" Gwyn points to the markings on Paden's staff. "This staff was used to support the armies of Gahreis the Good, who defended Llogres against the fey in the last great war. The rest have similar tales - and similar abilities. This one, the Staff of Eyes or the Staff or Unmaking, is the eldest of all. It was what made me realize that these staves are what they are. It is nearly legendary, in fact."
Try as he might, Gwyn can't seem to help adopting a Tegid-like pose as he relates to you that once, Albion was not divided into three sections as it is now, it was once all one land, in the days before kings and kingdoms. During that time, a man rose up and began oppressing the people, and it was to combat this that the Three Kingdoms were established. The Usurper, as he was called, was eventually defeated, but the cost was heavy. The Usurper was a magic user of some power, which is in part why arcane magic as studied by wizards is so rare in Albion - it was believed that his study may have corrupted him in part. Whatever the reason, he was defeated when the Penderwydd, whose name is lost to time, fought him in a duel while the armies raged around them. The Usurper's magic was too powerful, but he had underestimated the power of the druids, and of a simple blade. In the time-between-times, standing in a sacred ring atop a sacred mound, the brave druid cast his staff to the air, calling out in the Druidic secret tongue, and cast his blade at his foe. Blue flame, falling like a pillar from the sky, answered, swallowing them both up, as the blade struck the surprised villain squarely in the chest. When the battle ended, as it quickly did with the Usurper gone, the warriors came to the site of the duel and found the body of the Penderwydd lying on the ground, dead. His staff was standing upright, rooted in ground at his left and his short sword rooted in the ground to his right. Of the Usurper, the flames left not a trace, save his empty clothes on the ground where he had stood.
Panting, as he seemingly related the entire story in a single breath, Gwyn explains that the staff is said to allow people to see things as they truly are - and to unmake all that is not of the Dagda.
OOC metagame mechanics moment: the Staff of Eyes is exactly as described with just one change - the Disjunction effect is SINGLE USE and must be fueled by something. It can fuel itself from the staff itself, requiring 25 charges to activate. If these charges are not available, the power can still be activated... at terrible cost to the user. How terrible? That depends on the user's alignment with the Dagda's will, staff's remaining charges that it can burn, how it is being activated, etc.
In addition, because Gwyn can share with you the stories of these staves and their uses, they are considered identified as of that point.
More to come from Gwyn when I get a second to type it up!
"The staves," he says. "May I see the staves, quickly again?"
Assuming you hand them over for him to examine, he looks them up and down again, this time muttering under his breath. You catch mild curses and mention of his own blindness.
"I can not believe that I missed this before," he says. "These four staffs are part of our order. I should have seen it immediately, but I was worried about today's rescue - forgive my lack of wisdom. The first clue should have been the mound, and the four burials... anyway, I know little of the full story, Tegid could tell you more for certain, his history is far better than mine after all, but if I recall the tale aright, that should be Bach Mal Gwyd, the Mound of Good Death, and those four of the past Penderwydd of Llogres. Each of the lands of Albion have slightly different druidic traditions - in Celyddon, for example, druids do not take the form of animals, as Balla does - I believe that they are not able to, it is not in their training. Instead, their druids are among the greatest masters of song in the realm. In Prydain, Tegid and those of our orders are trained as lorekeepers, historians, judges, priests, wielders of magic, but have very limited training in any form of combat. Come to think of it, no order for many many years has shapeshifted like Balla does very often - and when they do it is usually to a bird or fish, I know of no one who would even know how to become a bear or wolf!"
He shakes his head for a moment, and says sheepishly, "I am sorry, forgive my ramblings. my point is that the druids of Llogres also have different ways. They have far looser vows typically, and practice more martial skills than do we. They also bury their dead druids with their belongings, consecrating them to the Dagda's service in life and in death. Their burial sites are not extravagant, and I believe this to be one of them!" He is getting more excited again.
"More importantly," Gwyn says, "I know which mound you have come to by the markings on these staffs. I would never have imagined it to be in such a simple place, I would have thought that it would have rested closer to the Holy Isle, but this is clearly the resting place of those four Penderwydd that fell in defending Llogres from different enemies at different times. See here?" Gwyn points to the markings on Paden's staff. "This staff was used to support the armies of Gahreis the Good, who defended Llogres against the fey in the last great war. The rest have similar tales - and similar abilities. This one, the Staff of Eyes or the Staff or Unmaking, is the eldest of all. It was what made me realize that these staves are what they are. It is nearly legendary, in fact."
Try as he might, Gwyn can't seem to help adopting a Tegid-like pose as he relates to you that once, Albion was not divided into three sections as it is now, it was once all one land, in the days before kings and kingdoms. During that time, a man rose up and began oppressing the people, and it was to combat this that the Three Kingdoms were established. The Usurper, as he was called, was eventually defeated, but the cost was heavy. The Usurper was a magic user of some power, which is in part why arcane magic as studied by wizards is so rare in Albion - it was believed that his study may have corrupted him in part. Whatever the reason, he was defeated when the Penderwydd, whose name is lost to time, fought him in a duel while the armies raged around them. The Usurper's magic was too powerful, but he had underestimated the power of the druids, and of a simple blade. In the time-between-times, standing in a sacred ring atop a sacred mound, the brave druid cast his staff to the air, calling out in the Druidic secret tongue, and cast his blade at his foe. Blue flame, falling like a pillar from the sky, answered, swallowing them both up, as the blade struck the surprised villain squarely in the chest. When the battle ended, as it quickly did with the Usurper gone, the warriors came to the site of the duel and found the body of the Penderwydd lying on the ground, dead. His staff was standing upright, rooted in ground at his left and his short sword rooted in the ground to his right. Of the Usurper, the flames left not a trace, save his empty clothes on the ground where he had stood.
Panting, as he seemingly related the entire story in a single breath, Gwyn explains that the staff is said to allow people to see things as they truly are - and to unmake all that is not of the Dagda.
OOC metagame mechanics moment: the Staff of Eyes is exactly as described with just one change - the Disjunction effect is SINGLE USE and must be fueled by something. It can fuel itself from the staff itself, requiring 25 charges to activate. If these charges are not available, the power can still be activated... at terrible cost to the user. How terrible? That depends on the user's alignment with the Dagda's will, staff's remaining charges that it can burn, how it is being activated, etc.
In addition, because Gwyn can share with you the stories of these staves and their uses, they are considered identified as of that point.
More to come from Gwyn when I get a second to type it up!