Quest for Celnadon progress report

Chapters 1-21 are in good order. Chapter 22 should be finished tonight. By finished, I mean the first draft is done and it's readable. I still need to proofread the book as a whole. Chapter 23 and 24, 26, and 33 are also in good order, or at least well on their way to done.

I still need to start Chapter 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34 and the Epilogue. While that seems like a whole lot, I'm not sure how many of those chapters will actually be written. I don't know how much space I'll need to tell the rest of the story.

Jaedin and Jira still need to search and search and search, if they're ever to find a cure for Celantrophy.

On Memory Loss

Mother Terees's connection to me usually floods me with memories, but sometimes there are terrifying blank spaces. To know I should know and not know hurts. I feel incomplete. Once upon a time, I was mortal, with a normal person's capacity to remember, but since joining the Shadow Guard, I either know far more than I'm supposed to or far less than is comfortable.
Terees asked me the other day what I thought she valued most, for she could not even remember what she was supposed to seek in her One Book Quest. It took me four days of hard thinking, but I believe I've conquered this self riddle: Memory. It cannot be the whole of the answer, but it certainly must be part of it.

The Shadow Guard Grows by Twos

I always find it amazing how I can forget who's in the Shadow Guard. Memory loss, accursed affliction. Today, I finally remembered Shanyaks and Naysia Ebberon, both of whom have been Shadow Guards for quite a few days now... or is it seasons. So, counting myself, Kataryna, Ember, Shanyaks, and Naysia, the Shadow Guard has officially reached a quarter strength.

Have you ever had one of those days where you feel you should remember something but just don't? That's my life.

As Disciples of Terees, they will both be responsible for illustrating specific Mernac tales. Shanyaks will concentrate on the Battle for Traddlebow stories, and Naysia will work closely with Terees and Father Elsen to prepare illustrations for a d20 book.

Mother's been busy

She's either tired, bored, or frustrated. In any case, Mother Terees has been recording her thoughts like nobody's business.
We have the Age of Terees editing process, Mernac Place Story - What is it? How do I write it?,
Mernac Lore Story: What is it? How do I write it?, and Mernac Character Story: What is it? How do I write it?

Ryna's SG story

Birth of a Disciple, Death of an Assassin

And then there were two Shadow Guards...
Here's how Ryna's fate became intertwined with my own.

Quont Question of the Week – 5; IC ans

Quont Question – 5 Arleas's Answer

The sound I love best is my Mother's voice. I can already see the snickers. She did say that this Shadow Guards life would be difficult, but at the time, I, being recently dead, was sort of out of sorts. Besides that, an invincible feeling filled me, due to the fact that Terees had just promised me immortality. I say this not to say that I regret my choice, but to explain why her voice comforts me so. A short time later, she also gifted me with Divine Shared Knowledge, that is the ability to know her thoughts. Thoughts are one thing and I mostly enjoy sharing the endless wealth of knowledge, but there's something even more personal about hearing her softly intense voice.

Ember's voice also comforts me, for when she raises it, I know a battle will soon turn tide. Ryna vaguely reminds me of my own sister, Kelsa. Ryna possesses the skills of one trained to speak in any arena, including courts and taverns. Her voice, therefore, is a tool and weapon almost as sharp as it is subtle and deadly. Thank the Mothers she and Ember are on our side!

Shadow Guard - Disciples of Mother Terees

Finally, at last we find out who the Shadow Guard really is.

Born in Terees mind long before their existence became necessary, the Shadow Guard started as a vision. In this terrifying, exhilarating dream, Terees saw herself in a dark field with twenty figures arrayed around her, locked in combat with unseen foes. Just like her vision of the endless war that would consume all of Mernac without One Tongue, chaos ruled. Waves of fire, frost, streaming light, and solid dark joined the hail of arrows raining down on all sides. Silver swords swathed in blue-black smoke clanged against an oppressive darkness creeping ever closer as the seconds marched on.

As the circle closed around her, one figure looked back, and Terees knew her to be Ryna, though she’d never met her before and likely the woman hadn’t been born yet. Lady Kataryna Vaeryn. Ryna. Black Rose. Unmarked Assassin. Survivor of Cascadence. Shadow Dancer. Given Complete Attraction. The musical names, titles, and information danced brightly through Terees’s mind just as she noticed the woman likely shared the blood of Siberlee’s Race of Man and Sola’s Race of Elves. As Terees watched, the woman’s long reddish brown hair whipped through the air as she spun and slashed an orc’s throat open. Black blood covered the sword for a split second, until a puff of blue-black smoke curled up from the hilt and cleared it away. The woman, seeing Terees watching, straightened out of her fighting pose, saluted with the silver sword, closed her eyes, and vanished.

We belong not to light. The soft, melodic words coursed through the air, rising and falling in cadence, sounding like twenty voices united in one song.

The next moment, a different woman spun into the place Ryna had been. This one, solely of the Race of Man, seemed younger, little more than a child by most standards. Her dark hair streamed wildly in some unseen wind. Piercing blue eyes glared intently over Terees left shoulder. With a shout stolen by the wind, the young woman hurled her sword towards Terees. Arleas Kaedani. Mother to Quinshards. The name and title sailed through Terees as she ducked right to avoid the sword. Given Divine Shared Knowledge. That piece of information stunned Terees, she almost didn’t finish her duck in time. A dull thud sounded followed quickly by a horrific screech and soon a Sectis head rolled into view. Turning away, Terees looked back to where the young woman had been, but she was gone and another crouched in her place.

We belong not to darkness. The same chorus lifted this new declaration.

In her crouched position, with her weight on her toes and her elbows resting on knees, the woman appeared very much at ease, but her green skin glistened with sweat. The smoke and steam curled up around her ankles, but she paid it no mind. Her head tilted slightly right, and she wore a smile that accented her small, sharp-looking tusks and said much about her. It chided and challenged an unseen foe somewhere to Terees’s left. Ember tor’Ravenwing. Amazon. Half-orc, half Wood-Elf. Weapon’s Master. Kalir'ras Expert. The utter stillness about her touched something inside Terees even as a mental image of an Amazon hooked staff appeared to her. The woman’s strong features and the aura about her gave resemblance to an emerald sword brandished in a reluctant warrior’s hand.

Terees nearly lost her breath when she realized she would wield the emerald sword, smashing hidden enemies with her. Again, triumph, heartache, and a touch of terror filled Terees.

We call the shadows home. The declaration peaked on “shadows” and faded on “home” like a shadow surrendering to sun.

On and on the vision stretched, full of noise and familiar yet unfamiliar faces. Who are you? Terees cried to the vision figures. Just as she thought the question, her unDragon, Pyroglyph, appeared and everything else faded.

“Friends, Maker and Mother. Shadows. Guards. Guardians, Protectors, and Servants,” answered Pyroglyph with a toothy grin. She hissed soft laughter. “But you know this.”

“Do I?” Terees asked, battling despair. “My memory fails me more every day.” A Shadow Guard. Terees nodded, both sickened and excited. Her heart lurched. Protection from what? She knew that answer too but couldn’t give it voice, couldn’t even consider it. Her mind rallied and brought forth the vision of strife beyond measure. Should I tell them? That question haunted her for several days.

Eventually, Terees shared her vision with her brothers and sisters, just before an evening meal. Each reacted precisely as expected. Dulan burst into tears. Canola wailed mournfully. Sola flushed with distress. Siberlee paled. Kala fainted and Bu caught her. Trajen glared at Bu. Roadius laughed then Tellen and Tul each smacked him for being flippant. Quont leered at Terees with a crafty, conniving look. Witriss frowned. Barak grew quiet; his handsome face became unreadable. Werk paled to a pasty white, like a mortal approaching death. Linthur muttered something about Werk and stupid potions. Abuba laughed, then cried, then laughed and cried. Gorb looked indifferent. Elsen started a small fire then put it out with conjured dirt. Picu complained that they were all ignoring the lovely feast. Fear seized Terees’s heart as she saw the tensions rise and fall around and within her siblings. She slipped away to her study to think.

The same evening she shared her dream, Clina 2, 24, Terees timewalked for the first time. She walked to the year 666 and watched a different vision, no less violent than the first, except that in this one she saw a litany of years and names. The list read like a scroll of casualties from some unnamed war. She recognized the twenty names. Protectors. Servants. Disciples. Shadow Guards. Thus, was the Shadow Guard born. Before returning to her study on Clina 2, 24, Terees visited twenty times and twenty people from various Races of the Light and Dark.

When she returned from her long night timewalking, Terees locked her study and forwent all nourishment and fellowship for seven days. During this time, she wrestled with the meanings to her two most disturbing visions. Understanding some of what her servants would struggle against and suffer during the war to come, pained Terees, but knowing the lives they would touch and save brought her a measure of peace. After this period of time, Terees finally understood a rather simplistic answer to her many questions about light and dark, good and evil. She’d always considered herself strictly light and good, but the future would require something different, something adaptable, something like Pyroglyph yet different.

To that end, Terees sought blessings from her siblings, knowing that one day a terrible split would come. The book Twenty Guards, Twenty Gifts recounts each of the Shadow Guards and what gifts the gods donated. Unlike the other Disciples who only get one godly power, the Shadow Guard, through their bonds, have access to all twenty Gifts, albeit in a diminished capacity. For example, Arleas Kaedani received Terees’s own gift of Divine Shared Knowledge. She, therefore, has the most direct link to the Mother’s thoughts and endless knowledge. Ryna received Quont’s gift of Complete Attraction, so she can overthrow anyone’s will with naught but a seductive smile. Ember chose Tellen’s gift of Martial Weapons Proficiency to compliment her already considerable skills in handling a Kalir'ras, an Amazon hooked staff.

The Twenty Gifts Given to the Shadow Guards:
Siberlee: Enlightening Empathy – ability to feel an opponent’s weaknesses,
Witriss: Virtue – ability to imbue allies with temporary strength and will
Sola: Foresight – ability to see thoughts
Dulan: Minor Heal Other – ability to heal others
Canola: Irresistible Dance – victim must dance
Kala: Breathe Underwater
Terees: Divine Shared Knowledge - specific campaign ques; they know what I know
Barak: Pure Soul – Cleanses all ill affects of magical attacks
Quont: Complete Attraction, make any mortal submit to your will
Roadius: Manipulate time – timewalking, stop time
Gorb: Trouble Greed – ability to draw enemies to oneself away from allies and innocents
Elsen: Ethereal shadow – Ethereal forms can walk through walls, fires, pools of acid,
etc without harm.
Picu: Ignore Pain
Tellen: Martial Weapons Proficiency – can handle nearly any weapon with professional ability
Bu: Vampiric Touch - heal self at opponent’s expense
Trajen: Divine Jealous Protection – make an opponent jealous so he will protect you because he wants to kill you
Abuba: Random Action - sleep, retreat, attack allies
Tul: Righteous Rage - ability to harness rage for a short time
Linthur: Taunt - provoke opponent to point of acting stupid
Werk: Disease Resistance – can resist magical and conventional diseases

****

Granted the ability to timewalk, the Shadow Guards traverse the kingdoms of Mernac, treading a line between the light and dark. Technically servants of the light, the Shadow Guard will do any task necessary to preserve the greater good: harmony. Each handpicked Disciple to Mother Terees knows the true meaning of right and wrong. They may die a thousand times and more, but their strength of will and conviction shall never wane.

When Shadow Guards suffer mortal wounds, they die like any other, but instead of passing to an afterlife, their spirits travel to the Shadowlands and retrieve their bodies from the Soul Keeper. From there, they travel back to Mernac proper and land in the Shadow Catcher, a chamber in the Ooloo’s Cave of Lost Shadows.

The Shadow Guards main strength and weakness is one and the same entity. Their bonds connect them in such a way that strong emotions and sensations, good or ill, pass from one to another. Only Terees may withdraw from the tight Shadow Guard bonds. She rarely does so however, for her presence lends the soothing peace necessary to function amidst such emotional and physical unrest. She has fought for many seasons to keep such knowledge from the Fathers and their servants, but only time will tell if she will have continual success in this regard.

As the war between the Mothers and Fathers stretches on, the call for more Shadow Guards rises. So far, Terees has fully activated three Guards, but the time to unleash the full might of the Shadow Guard draws ever nearer as the Fathers’ darkness deepens.

Mother Terees is back

Who is she? You can find out here, or read on. For the pretty pictures, you will have to go to the official site, but words are words and here they are.

Terees

Terees, Mother of Wisdom and Harmony, knows all things that have been and might be in Mernac. Her visions alternately delight and terrify her, and they have led to many beneficial inventions, including Míränor, the One Tongue. Books, scrolls, and other entities dealing with the written word also have their root in Mother Terees’s love of knowledge and maintaining peace. For this reason, many libraries, including the Library of Hobala, have shrines dedicated to Terees. Though Matriarch of the Murmil, Terees spends much time with dragons, for she has a soft spot for these magnificent creatures and empathizes with their soul quest.

Though physically barred from walking Mernac much of the time, as are all the Mothers, Terees projects her spirit into some deep caves to talk with dragons or commune with her Shadow Guards. No one knows why Terees pours much time and effort into speaking with dragons. The closest reason perhaps lies in the simplest reason. Of all beings and creatures on Mernac, the dragons come closest to Terees’s personal desires. She helps dragons search through dark and light to help them find the secrets of souls. This path holds the key to becoming a race and immortality itself and may be walked solely within the mind, the dwelling place of Wisdom.

Dragons have one thousand seasons to find the meaning of Truth. Those who ardently seek but do not find the Way must interview successfully with the Mothers to petition for another thousand seasons. Those who find the Way to immortality usually choose to leave their physical forms in favor of passing into the Land of Shadows. Do not confuse the Land of Shadows with the Shadowlands. The former functions as a passing on place, whereas the latter functions as a resting spot for those fated to return to Mernac proper.

Dragon scholars have lively debates about why few dragons inhabit Mernac. Some believe that whole legions of dragons walked the Soul Path and departed to the Land of Shadows instead of returning to share their knowledge. The explanation holds some truth and some myth.

Sages disagree about whether or not Darkwind, a Guide to the Library of Hobala, found the Way. Either way, the little dragon stays at his post despite the passage of centuries. Besides Darkwind, Terees and perhaps Kalos know the whole truth of that matter. Some say Darkwind’s songs hold the key to the Way, but few find him and fewer still understand. Some, even bolder, say Kaleb the White Wizard and other High Elves routinely aid Darkwind’s Truth Songs by holding up Eresh crystals taken from Ooloo’s Crystal Caves. The crystals do indeed magnify the songs, but do the songs hold the Truth? Is the Truth really Truth if no one understands?

The Scribes and Sages who know such things say Terees knowledge of all things allows her to transfer messages from those who have passed into the Land of Shadows to certain favored of the Races of Light. While true to an extent, the Scribes and Sages wrongfully assume this ability is limited to the Races of Light and only obtainable through prayer to Terees during the Fall Solstice ceremony of Tsarnach.

Common myth says the ceremony of Tsarnach proves dangerous for dragons because they do not possess souls. One overzealous scribe, who shall not be named, wrote: “During Tsarnach, the petitioner’s soul must be bound to Terees while the door to the Land of Shadows lies open or risk being sucked into that Great Beyond. I believe that is why dragons never return from the ceremony.”

Terees certainly knows about creating bonds, but Tsarnach is not one of those times. She finds some amusement in the many myths surrounding her. She also finds safety or convenience in some of the myths and so lets them stand. For example, some people believe Terees only walks Mernac proper during Chandralee like the rest of the Mothers. While true in the literal sense, ever since 666, Terees prefers a wider definition of the word “walk”. At their strongest, her spirit projections may be felt and touched by mortals and immortals. As the process of withdrawing from Mernac can be difficult, taking much time and effort, she likes the protection of the myth that says she walks among the mortals only on Chandralee.

In truth, Terees spends a lot of time studying Siberlee’s child, the Race of Man. Not only is that a major part of her personal One Book quest, but also, she seeks to understand the beings for whom she crippled her mind. When asked to surrender a part of herself to create Siberlee’s child, the Race of Man, she thought long and hard before coming to a decision. In the end, she gave the child Knowledge and Memory – that is the capacity to learn and the ability to retain that knowledge. Unlike some of the gods who gave up physical parts of their beings, Terees still had the ability to learn, but without Memory, the Knowledge does not stay with her long. This is why she values books and her Shadow Guards, specifically Ember, Ryna, and Arleas, so highly. She understands the usefulness of things like the Thought Recorder Spell, but she also enjoys the feel of quill upon scroll.

On a more personal note, Terees appreciates music almost as much as her sister, Canola, for it is usually the result of raw, pure desire tempered with contemplation and deep reflection. Her taste in music tends to run slower and more melodic than Canola’s. She prefers stringed instruments such as lyres and harps. Nebvidron Harps especially sooth her in troubled times.

Many a heart has cried out how the Mother of Wisdom and Harmony did not see the fracture among the gods and why, if she did see, she did nothing about it. She did indeed see the fracture that would become a break, the break that would become a chasm, and the chasm that would become war. One thing must be explained. The knowledge of something does not guarantee successful avoidance of that something, only a limited time to prepare. Besides, who says she did nothing?

If anything, Terees understands the devastating power of misused knowledge. For this reason, she guards her words, will, and secrets tenaciously, especially when dealing with Father Roadius or his Disciples. Even before the Fathers’ fall from Miroden, Roadius taught Terees the danger of blind trust when he unleashed his Agnatari upon the gods. The one thing Terees hid not, her deepest desire to unite her brothers and sisters in harmony that surpasses the birth of Siberlee’s child, consumes much of her planning efforts.

The One Book of Mernac, one of the few books in history recorded without Terees’s full knowledge, withholds some secrets even from her. The top half of the page dedicated to her, entitled “The Gift to Terees”, held a lengthy list of tough mental tasks, including gaining a true understanding of Siberlee’s child. She read and reread much of that fine, small print. One passage in particular baffled and irritated her said: “To understand your brothers and sisters and unite them again, find that which makes Good’s child feel, think, do, and be. To understand the child, you must know the mother. To know the mother, you must understand the child. Beyond understanding, you must cause one of all to see the Way.” The circular logic and overly simplistic interpretation gave Terees a fine headache that lasted several days until she finally decided to do rather than think. She set about her studies on the Race of Man.

To aid Terees on her quest to truly understand Man and get one of each Race to find the Way, she created the Shadow Guard, a cast of Disciples she saw in a vision long before she needed them.

The Trauncha, that is cost, consequence, and defining rules, for Terees in creating the Shadow Guard are ridiculously simple and simultaneously painful. The first stipulation, that the being must have died selflessly, proves little problem. The second rule too, that the being must willfully choose to join the Guard, costs nothing of Terees herself except a lengthy explanation of the danger they will walk into. The third step and defining characteristic, that the being must be emotionally bonded to Terees, costs a lot.

The phrase “emotionally bonded” hardly seems adequate to describing the bond that must be forged to create an immortal Disciple. It is more akin to splitting off a piece of her soul to grant the Disciple power. This Shadow Guard bond, both boon and bane to the Guards and Terees, transfers strong emotions and physical states of being. In terms of power, each Disciple she makes weakens Terees, physically and emotionally. She can withdraw only very briefly from the Shadow Guard bonds, for without her soothing will, they would simply cease to be. Try to understand that the constant shift of emotions would drive each Guard crazy without a steadying point.

Knowing the Shadow Guards would be inherently weaker on their own, compared to the other Disciples, Terees sought Twenty Gifts, one from each of her siblings and her own, centuries before the Fathers’ fall. Gaining the blessings was no easy feat, and the methods she employed would make even Roadius flush with pleasure. She incurred quite a few debts that way, but so far, the price has been worth it. Though Twenty Guards, Twenty Gifts be told elsewhere, it should be mentioned that the Shadow Guard shares them to this day. This is why the Guard possesses high resistance to elements, helps each other heal minor wounds, and can turn into ethereal shadows for brief periods of time.

Of all the Mothers and Fathers, Terees traverses the distance between “good” and “evil” most freely, for she understands that they either fail or triumph together. For this reason, she occasionally aids a Father on his One Book quest. Ever the peacekeeper, she and her Shadow Guard often act as emissaries among the gods, especially during the times the Fathers are apt to speak with swords rather than words.

No matter your Race or creed, if you truly seek Mother Terees, find her you will.

Hidden Talents

You know for someone who shares thoughts with a goddess I can still be virtually the last to know things. Oh well, such is the way of my life. Pyroglyph's got a wonderful voice. (Just goes to show you how much there is to learn about someone you know only via the internet.)

Sadly, I haven't done much writing of late. Terees has had me doing research. Not that I mind, but it sure does cut into the Quest for Celnadon.

More Shadow Siblings!

With Mother Terees back from her long vacation, the call's gone out for more Shadow Guards.
I hear she's going to make an announcement soon. Wonder what's taking her so long. Two eager spirits have already answered the call. What about you? Want to join the Shadow Guard?