I am working on gathering historical information on the Wolves Den. The visions are interesting. Is there any historical information, legends, rumors among any of the races, that Lycanthropy exists or did exist at one time.
Thanks for your help.
Peace
ABBOTTB
SARDINUS
Re: Question
12/13/2008 08:16 PM CST
There was an official storyline involving shapeshifters, but that wasn't strictly what you had in mind. They were named the Hik'lasu.
"I hate to say it, but Evarin's right."
= - GM Oscuro - =
Cleric/Empath Team
"I hate to say it, but Evarin's right."
= - GM Oscuro - =
Cleric/Empath Team
ABBOTTB
Re: Question
12/13/2008 10:07 PM CST
The time period would take place during the Second Age, The Elven Empire (50,000-20,000 years ago)
From the Library in Illistrim:
The lot of the Humans was a treacherous one in this age. The Elves ruled the land, and they would permit no others to settle its more fertile areas. The Vaalor, in particular, have always gone out of their way to make life difficult for Humans. Most Humans lived a nomadic life, barely sustaining themselves in the barren lands they were permitted. Others served as slaves, beggars or thieves within the shadows of the great elven cities.
Not all Humans accepted their lot as thralls. Some rebelled. Many so-called rebels were little more than outlaws, more brigands than freedom fighters. Some few, however, actually achieved minor victories. The Black Wolves were one such group. Led by the wizard Aramur Forean, once a student of the Illistim himself, they actually drove the Elves out of the area around what is now called Wehnimer's Landing. After one of their raids killed a young Vaalor prince, however, the Elves hunted the Black Wolves down. The Humans vanished into a series of caverns near the sea, and they were never heard from again.
This of course has an elvish flair to it. There is no doubt that the Black Wolves raided a Caravan. Upon finishing the attack they discovered the young Prince. Aramur Forean realized this was bad and brought the child to the infirmary. You can see the skeletal remains there. The Black Wolves believe that the Nalfein is responsible for feeding miss information to the group so the child would get murder. Thus they would be next in line for the throne.
A voice hisses from the shadows, "Curse him! Curse Zishra's line! They knew it all along." The voice sighs, then whispers, "Pawns!
What is disturbing is the following visions:
An apparition forms before you. A human, wild-eyed, gaunt and naked sits sprawled upon the floor, clutching at a hunk of meat. It appears to be an arm. He looks up at you, cracked lips open in a maniacal howl, and slowly fades away.
A feverish voice whispers in your ear... "Leave us! We are doomed! We fed of it, we fed! Leave us to our dark, our doom!"
There are two explanations I can think of for this.
1) The child or maybe one of the combatants had the disease Lycanthropy. The Black Wolves barred themselves in with the barricade at the entrance to prevent the curse from leaving and commited self sacrifice.
2) There are pools of brackish water near the entrance. The Vaalorian army was closing in and the Black Wolves were tired and starving. In desparate times folks take desparate measures to survive. They may have ended up drinking the brackish water which has a higher content of salt then fresh water but less than sea water. Besides dehydration and eventual death, it may have had played on them mentally. Especially if they were forced to eat humanoid flesh to live. Cannibalism is considered a taboo in most cultures. Delusional, they may have thought themselves cursed and went to the chapel and commited mass suicide hoping for forgiveness. Plagued with guilt in what they have done, they haunt the halls of the Wolves Den.
I know there are no werewolves that we know of in the lands. That doesn't mean that they may not have existed or still exist in secret. Personally I believe in the second explanation. But I am open to other ideas.
Peace
From the Library in Illistrim:
The lot of the Humans was a treacherous one in this age. The Elves ruled the land, and they would permit no others to settle its more fertile areas. The Vaalor, in particular, have always gone out of their way to make life difficult for Humans. Most Humans lived a nomadic life, barely sustaining themselves in the barren lands they were permitted. Others served as slaves, beggars or thieves within the shadows of the great elven cities.
Not all Humans accepted their lot as thralls. Some rebelled. Many so-called rebels were little more than outlaws, more brigands than freedom fighters. Some few, however, actually achieved minor victories. The Black Wolves were one such group. Led by the wizard Aramur Forean, once a student of the Illistim himself, they actually drove the Elves out of the area around what is now called Wehnimer's Landing. After one of their raids killed a young Vaalor prince, however, the Elves hunted the Black Wolves down. The Humans vanished into a series of caverns near the sea, and they were never heard from again.
This of course has an elvish flair to it. There is no doubt that the Black Wolves raided a Caravan. Upon finishing the attack they discovered the young Prince. Aramur Forean realized this was bad and brought the child to the infirmary. You can see the skeletal remains there. The Black Wolves believe that the Nalfein is responsible for feeding miss information to the group so the child would get murder. Thus they would be next in line for the throne.
A voice hisses from the shadows, "Curse him! Curse Zishra's line! They knew it all along." The voice sighs, then whispers, "Pawns!
What is disturbing is the following visions:
An apparition forms before you. A human, wild-eyed, gaunt and naked sits sprawled upon the floor, clutching at a hunk of meat. It appears to be an arm. He looks up at you, cracked lips open in a maniacal howl, and slowly fades away.
A feverish voice whispers in your ear... "Leave us! We are doomed! We fed of it, we fed! Leave us to our dark, our doom!"
There are two explanations I can think of for this.
1) The child or maybe one of the combatants had the disease Lycanthropy. The Black Wolves barred themselves in with the barricade at the entrance to prevent the curse from leaving and commited self sacrifice.
2) There are pools of brackish water near the entrance. The Vaalorian army was closing in and the Black Wolves were tired and starving. In desparate times folks take desparate measures to survive. They may have ended up drinking the brackish water which has a higher content of salt then fresh water but less than sea water. Besides dehydration and eventual death, it may have had played on them mentally. Especially if they were forced to eat humanoid flesh to live. Cannibalism is considered a taboo in most cultures. Delusional, they may have thought themselves cursed and went to the chapel and commited mass suicide hoping for forgiveness. Plagued with guilt in what they have done, they haunt the halls of the Wolves Den.
I know there are no werewolves that we know of in the lands. That doesn't mean that they may not have existed or still exist in secret. Personally I believe in the second explanation. But I am open to other ideas.
Peace
DVDMORSE
Re: Question
12/13/2008 11:38 PM CST
This was posted by someone a few years ago. I have no idea what the original source was, but it is a great story.
The Wolves' Den
..by Lord Ceranis
The following is an excerpt from a Chronicle I [Ceranis] am at work on. It details the known history of the most noteworthy human resistance group in the Second Age, the Black Wolves. I give thanks to the Lords Mouse Sneakyfeets, Merlock Hamburgian, and Silvean Rashere for their aid in compiling this information.
...and it is said that the Vaalor treated humans as waste during the Second Age, even more so than all other Elves. During the rule of one Vaalor Patriarch by name Korthyr IV, it came to pass that a human resistance group appeared, one to outmatch all its predecessors. It is said that the leader of this group was a human by the name of Aramur Forean. It is also said that he was assisted by a human by the name of Fenog.
The resistance named themselves the Black Wolves, and archeological excursions show that they took up hiding in the sea caverns off Darkstone Bay. Their device was an open-mouthed sable wolf upon a field of red. Their refuge they called the Wolves Den, and they protected it with standard fortifications of the time: military innovations such as sliding barricades, narrow halls with arrow slits, and a well-constructed subterranean version of a barbican. It is interesting to note here that the barricades and other defenses were never used, and they kept more in than they did out.
Aramur Forean, the human wizard, was taught by the scholars of Ta'Illistim. It is not known how he received such instruction in a time of such racial discord, but his journals show this to be true. He started interested only in knowledge, but after witnessing a beating of a human in his travels with his teachers, his interests leant towards politics. Aramur led the Wolves on sortie after sortie, and the end result was a withdrawal of the Vaalor forces from the northern Vornavian coast, the very same that now supports the outpost of Wehnimer's Landing.
Not content with their success, the Wolves set their sights higher. Aramur's journals show a gradual heightening of expectations, leading up to their swan song. It is said in some records that agents of House Nalfein contacted the Black Wolves, wishing to sow strife in other houses. There is another theory to the source of this contact which scholars debate. It is said by some that the elf second in succession to the throne contacted the Wolves and gave them the false information. This heir presumptive or the agent of House Nalfein allegedly gave the time and place of the carriage of the Vaalorian Patriarch to the Wolves. The Wolves planned an ambush upon the carriage, only to discover too late that the personage inside the carriage was the son of the Patriarch, the first in succession to the throne of Ta'Vaalor. Aramur entered the carriage to find the child wounded by a black arrow, and it was then that the assassination attempt dissolved around them. The Wolves, demoralized, were chased back to their hideout by the Patriarch himself. The Wolves returned to their well-hidden refuge, but the caves were completely surrounded by the armies of the Vaalor, who, at the time, were second to none.
The food inside the Den gradually decreased until it finally whittled away into nothing. It is prudent at this point to discuss the structure of the life of the Black Wolves. Because they were a committed force, it was not only the men that lived together, but the women and children as well. They were a religious people, having an altar to the Arkati Kai and Lorminstra.
The Vaalor Heir was brought to the infirmirary, but nothing could be done. To this day, his skeleton lies atop one of the beds in the long-abandoned room. It has been proven through divination and deduction that the Black Wolves resorted to cannibalism. There are teethmarks on a few of the human skeletons, yet no bestial skeleton was ever uncovered. However, most of the Wolves, such as Aramur himself, chose suicide over such a path. The remains of one mass suicide attempt can still be seen in the Den.
It is said that some of the Wolves may have escaped. In Wehnimer's Landing today there are men and women who claim to be the descendants of the Wolves. Certainly it is true that there were said to be far more Wolves than there are skeletons currently.
As is the case with any powerful emotion, sin, or curse at the time of death, the Wolves were bound to the Unlife and to the Den, and with them their thoughts and voices. To walk the Wolves Den now is to hear long-dead voices cry out and to see in the mind's eye the horror that was their final days
-David
"At a moment like this, I can't help but wonder, 'What would Jimmy Buffet do?'"
The Wolves' Den
..by Lord Ceranis
The following is an excerpt from a Chronicle I [Ceranis] am at work on. It details the known history of the most noteworthy human resistance group in the Second Age, the Black Wolves. I give thanks to the Lords Mouse Sneakyfeets, Merlock Hamburgian, and Silvean Rashere for their aid in compiling this information.
...and it is said that the Vaalor treated humans as waste during the Second Age, even more so than all other Elves. During the rule of one Vaalor Patriarch by name Korthyr IV, it came to pass that a human resistance group appeared, one to outmatch all its predecessors. It is said that the leader of this group was a human by the name of Aramur Forean. It is also said that he was assisted by a human by the name of Fenog.
The resistance named themselves the Black Wolves, and archeological excursions show that they took up hiding in the sea caverns off Darkstone Bay. Their device was an open-mouthed sable wolf upon a field of red. Their refuge they called the Wolves Den, and they protected it with standard fortifications of the time: military innovations such as sliding barricades, narrow halls with arrow slits, and a well-constructed subterranean version of a barbican. It is interesting to note here that the barricades and other defenses were never used, and they kept more in than they did out.
Aramur Forean, the human wizard, was taught by the scholars of Ta'Illistim. It is not known how he received such instruction in a time of such racial discord, but his journals show this to be true. He started interested only in knowledge, but after witnessing a beating of a human in his travels with his teachers, his interests leant towards politics. Aramur led the Wolves on sortie after sortie, and the end result was a withdrawal of the Vaalor forces from the northern Vornavian coast, the very same that now supports the outpost of Wehnimer's Landing.
Not content with their success, the Wolves set their sights higher. Aramur's journals show a gradual heightening of expectations, leading up to their swan song. It is said in some records that agents of House Nalfein contacted the Black Wolves, wishing to sow strife in other houses. There is another theory to the source of this contact which scholars debate. It is said by some that the elf second in succession to the throne contacted the Wolves and gave them the false information. This heir presumptive or the agent of House Nalfein allegedly gave the time and place of the carriage of the Vaalorian Patriarch to the Wolves. The Wolves planned an ambush upon the carriage, only to discover too late that the personage inside the carriage was the son of the Patriarch, the first in succession to the throne of Ta'Vaalor. Aramur entered the carriage to find the child wounded by a black arrow, and it was then that the assassination attempt dissolved around them. The Wolves, demoralized, were chased back to their hideout by the Patriarch himself. The Wolves returned to their well-hidden refuge, but the caves were completely surrounded by the armies of the Vaalor, who, at the time, were second to none.
The food inside the Den gradually decreased until it finally whittled away into nothing. It is prudent at this point to discuss the structure of the life of the Black Wolves. Because they were a committed force, it was not only the men that lived together, but the women and children as well. They were a religious people, having an altar to the Arkati Kai and Lorminstra.
The Vaalor Heir was brought to the infirmirary, but nothing could be done. To this day, his skeleton lies atop one of the beds in the long-abandoned room. It has been proven through divination and deduction that the Black Wolves resorted to cannibalism. There are teethmarks on a few of the human skeletons, yet no bestial skeleton was ever uncovered. However, most of the Wolves, such as Aramur himself, chose suicide over such a path. The remains of one mass suicide attempt can still be seen in the Den.
It is said that some of the Wolves may have escaped. In Wehnimer's Landing today there are men and women who claim to be the descendants of the Wolves. Certainly it is true that there were said to be far more Wolves than there are skeletons currently.
As is the case with any powerful emotion, sin, or curse at the time of death, the Wolves were bound to the Unlife and to the Den, and with them their thoughts and voices. To walk the Wolves Den now is to hear long-dead voices cry out and to see in the mind's eye the horror that was their final days
-David
"At a moment like this, I can't help but wonder, 'What would Jimmy Buffet do?'"
ABBOTTB
Re: Question
12/14/2008 01:50 AM CST
The Vaalor Heir was brought to the infirmirary, but nothing could be done. To this day, his skeleton lies atop one of the beds in the long-abandoned room. It has been proven through divination and deduction that the Black Wolves resorted to cannibalism. There are teethmarks on a few of the human skeletons, yet no bestial skeleton was ever uncovered. However, most of the Wolves, such as Aramur himself, chose suicide over such a path. The remains of one mass suicide attempt can still be seen in the Den.
We have read that and agreed with most of what is listed there. There are skeletons in the prison with teeth marks. The actual fate of Aramur is still in question. Some say he died and some said he escaped through a portal to his wolf familiar.
What really started all of this discussion in the BlackWolves? The corpse in the Cold Storage.
[Wolves' Den, Cold Storage]
A long, sloping ramp leads down from the kitchens above. It's icy cold here, and the walls are covered with frost. Great hooks hang from poles that span the walls of this cavern. Nothing hangs from the hooks. A shriveled, frozen corpse sits on a metal chair near the base of the ramp
>look corpse
She was a human warrior, tall, pale and raven-haired. Her cheeks are sunken, her arms are thin and brittle, and her eyes are blocks of dark ice. She still clutches a short sword in her frozen grip. A cracked cloak of black leather covers the chainmail she wears.
We have no idea what her name was but apparently she has a story to tell.
Also if one sits in the Wolves Den long enough you do see this vision:
An apparition forms before you. A human, wild-eyed, gaunt and naked sits sprawled upon the floor, clutching at a hunk of meat. It appears to be an arm. He looks up at you, cracked lips open in a maniacal howl, and slowly fades away.
This vision is scary! It shows that some of the inhabitants are almost beast like.
Peace
We have read that and agreed with most of what is listed there. There are skeletons in the prison with teeth marks. The actual fate of Aramur is still in question. Some say he died and some said he escaped through a portal to his wolf familiar.
What really started all of this discussion in the BlackWolves? The corpse in the Cold Storage.
[Wolves' Den, Cold Storage]
A long, sloping ramp leads down from the kitchens above. It's icy cold here, and the walls are covered with frost. Great hooks hang from poles that span the walls of this cavern. Nothing hangs from the hooks. A shriveled, frozen corpse sits on a metal chair near the base of the ramp
>look corpse
She was a human warrior, tall, pale and raven-haired. Her cheeks are sunken, her arms are thin and brittle, and her eyes are blocks of dark ice. She still clutches a short sword in her frozen grip. A cracked cloak of black leather covers the chainmail she wears.
We have no idea what her name was but apparently she has a story to tell.
Also if one sits in the Wolves Den long enough you do see this vision:
An apparition forms before you. A human, wild-eyed, gaunt and naked sits sprawled upon the floor, clutching at a hunk of meat. It appears to be an arm. He looks up at you, cracked lips open in a maniacal howl, and slowly fades away.
This vision is scary! It shows that some of the inhabitants are almost beast like.
Peace
