RE: The Grand OC Season II: Week 1: CROWN
06-05-2015, 04:54 AM
(This post was last modified: 06-05-2015, 05:02 AM by Mirdini.)
Username: Majesdini
Name: Tulivor
Character Gender: Rock
Color: Also Rock
“Alright, take your seats, take your seats. I do realize last night was Midsummer’s Eve, but you’ll have to pay attention – today’s lecture will certainly be on the exam.”
As if on cue the class groans, whether in anticipation of their midterm examination for An Introduction to Arcane Phenomena in the Natural World or simply because they’d had one pint too many. Professor Vitkahn goes on regardless.
“Now, to the topic at hand. Among the so-called ‘sentient phenomena’ so far we’ve covered basic sprites, ‘spirits’ and elementals. Today it is the latter category in particular that interests us—Jost! Yes, you, Jost van Eliodor. Kindly lift your head from the desk and tell us what different etiologies have been derived over the centuries concerning elementals.”
Jost opens his mouth to answer, but his chosen reply of ‘a choice amount of vomit’ does little to satisfy the Professor’s exacting standards. She calls out to the corridor before continuing with the lecture.
“Cleanup in bench 3! …As Jost seems to be indisposed, the basic etiologies fall into the usual categories. Theological—the ‘Gods’ created them—Natural—the planet’s arcane energies reacting to its more mundane powers form them—and Anthropological—it is man’s meddling with those energies that inadvertently brings them into being. While the latter two theories are still hotly debated—a good term paper subject, I’ll note for those of you who somehow don’t have one yet—we do not need to settle on one to discuss this session’s topic, which is—yes, Erlich?”
(Species:) “Pinnacles, sir?”
“Very good. Pinnacles, for anyone who hasn’t encountered the myths about them, are rather unique as elementals go. Rather than lashing out at anyone seen to invade their territory, they have been known to tolerate and even encourage tribute from lesser races. These tributes vary from territory to territory, as Pinnacles can occur wherever a peak does – whether that is atop a mountain, a particularly ancient tree or even at the sources of large rivers. Now, can anyone tell me why Pinnacles are appeased rather than dealt with as we do most elementals?”
“Well, apart from the fact that they are much harder to placate due to the circumstances surrounding their creation, pinnacles generally have some amount of control over the landscape that birthed them—depending on their power—and as such can be directed to for instance limit floods, encourage the growth of nearby fields or prevent volcanic eruptions.”
“I see at least one of you’s been doing the readings. Correct on all points, Sitka. ((Biography:)) The most striking historical case of such appeasement concerns the Pinnacle perhaps most specifically cited in literature - Tulivor. Yes, the one that famously vanished a few days before Mount Istahn’s catastrophic eruption over a century ago. This followed two centuries of tribute by nearby settlements following the first ascent of Mount Istahn and the discovery of Tulivor by the famed explorer Hervik Banstrahl. These tributes seem to have ensured the fertile soils around the mountain remained so while preventing extraneous volcanic activity – with no real eruptions recorded through all those years. However, such a reliance on a pinnacle can have unfortunate consequences – as we saw following Tulivor’s disappearance. Anyone want to tell us why?”
“Well, by all accounts Tulivor did too good a job at reducing Mount Istahn’s natural volcanic activity, and when he mysteriously vanished all the pressure that had been building up was released in one massive explosion.”
((Weapons/Abilities:)) “Precisely, Keira. Tulivor was a massive and extremely powerful pinnacle—Mount Istahn being one of the largest in the Viriko mountains—by all accounts standing eleven feet tall, three feet broad and—while this is extrapolating from other volcanic Pinnacles we have examined—featuring a molten core to mirror his home. Considering Mt. Istahn’s relentless activity since his disappearance, his powers of manipulation over stone and magma were unparalleled by any other sentient force we’ve seen. All this in addition to the brute strength being a ten-ton walking boulder confers.”
((Description:)) “As we’ve seen throughout the course, while these abilities are impressive, it is Tulivor and other pinnacle’s intelligence that make them so intriguing. From the few tributary written records we have, Tulivor in particular was quite grave and methodical. So far, so rock elemental. However where it differed was in the kind of tribute it demanded. Rather than the stone or metal-based tributes requested by other mountainous pinnacles, Tulivor wanted stories. What exactly spurred an elemental to curiosity about the world beyond its home, and whether this had anything to do with its disappearance, is, yes, another great subject for further research in one of your term papers. As Professor Vastren’s recent paper following his journey to the Yanti Rainforest illustrates, an arboreal pinnacle has recently expressed similar sentiments…”
Name: Tulivor
Character Gender: Rock
Color: Also Rock
“Alright, take your seats, take your seats. I do realize last night was Midsummer’s Eve, but you’ll have to pay attention – today’s lecture will certainly be on the exam.”
As if on cue the class groans, whether in anticipation of their midterm examination for An Introduction to Arcane Phenomena in the Natural World or simply because they’d had one pint too many. Professor Vitkahn goes on regardless.
“Now, to the topic at hand. Among the so-called ‘sentient phenomena’ so far we’ve covered basic sprites, ‘spirits’ and elementals. Today it is the latter category in particular that interests us—Jost! Yes, you, Jost van Eliodor. Kindly lift your head from the desk and tell us what different etiologies have been derived over the centuries concerning elementals.”
Jost opens his mouth to answer, but his chosen reply of ‘a choice amount of vomit’ does little to satisfy the Professor’s exacting standards. She calls out to the corridor before continuing with the lecture.
“Cleanup in bench 3! …As Jost seems to be indisposed, the basic etiologies fall into the usual categories. Theological—the ‘Gods’ created them—Natural—the planet’s arcane energies reacting to its more mundane powers form them—and Anthropological—it is man’s meddling with those energies that inadvertently brings them into being. While the latter two theories are still hotly debated—a good term paper subject, I’ll note for those of you who somehow don’t have one yet—we do not need to settle on one to discuss this session’s topic, which is—yes, Erlich?”
(Species:) “Pinnacles, sir?”
“Very good. Pinnacles, for anyone who hasn’t encountered the myths about them, are rather unique as elementals go. Rather than lashing out at anyone seen to invade their territory, they have been known to tolerate and even encourage tribute from lesser races. These tributes vary from territory to territory, as Pinnacles can occur wherever a peak does – whether that is atop a mountain, a particularly ancient tree or even at the sources of large rivers. Now, can anyone tell me why Pinnacles are appeased rather than dealt with as we do most elementals?”
“Well, apart from the fact that they are much harder to placate due to the circumstances surrounding their creation, pinnacles generally have some amount of control over the landscape that birthed them—depending on their power—and as such can be directed to for instance limit floods, encourage the growth of nearby fields or prevent volcanic eruptions.”
“I see at least one of you’s been doing the readings. Correct on all points, Sitka. ((Biography:)) The most striking historical case of such appeasement concerns the Pinnacle perhaps most specifically cited in literature - Tulivor. Yes, the one that famously vanished a few days before Mount Istahn’s catastrophic eruption over a century ago. This followed two centuries of tribute by nearby settlements following the first ascent of Mount Istahn and the discovery of Tulivor by the famed explorer Hervik Banstrahl. These tributes seem to have ensured the fertile soils around the mountain remained so while preventing extraneous volcanic activity – with no real eruptions recorded through all those years. However, such a reliance on a pinnacle can have unfortunate consequences – as we saw following Tulivor’s disappearance. Anyone want to tell us why?”
“Well, by all accounts Tulivor did too good a job at reducing Mount Istahn’s natural volcanic activity, and when he mysteriously vanished all the pressure that had been building up was released in one massive explosion.”
((Weapons/Abilities:)) “Precisely, Keira. Tulivor was a massive and extremely powerful pinnacle—Mount Istahn being one of the largest in the Viriko mountains—by all accounts standing eleven feet tall, three feet broad and—while this is extrapolating from other volcanic Pinnacles we have examined—featuring a molten core to mirror his home. Considering Mt. Istahn’s relentless activity since his disappearance, his powers of manipulation over stone and magma were unparalleled by any other sentient force we’ve seen. All this in addition to the brute strength being a ten-ton walking boulder confers.”
((Description:)) “As we’ve seen throughout the course, while these abilities are impressive, it is Tulivor and other pinnacle’s intelligence that make them so intriguing. From the few tributary written records we have, Tulivor in particular was quite grave and methodical. So far, so rock elemental. However where it differed was in the kind of tribute it demanded. Rather than the stone or metal-based tributes requested by other mountainous pinnacles, Tulivor wanted stories. What exactly spurred an elemental to curiosity about the world beyond its home, and whether this had anything to do with its disappearance, is, yes, another great subject for further research in one of your term papers. As Professor Vastren’s recent paper following his journey to the Yanti Rainforest illustrates, an arboreal pinnacle has recently expressed similar sentiments…”