[Maplore] The Silent Valley

[squakhawk 7955]

The Silent Valley

 

 

Spreading from the eastern shores of Aevos that kissed The Bitter Sea and dancing westward to the balmy currents of The River Petra, The Silent Valley was a wandering land of trees, rocks, and ruin. No wind blew through the trees as the air stood still, a grim reminder of such tremendous loss even so distantly far ago.

 

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The Valley

 

The Silent Valley sprawled in an environment which transformed greatly, and yet the dour feeling of loss felt all the same. Starting from the east, red poppy fields grew in clusters of hundreds and thousands; the red petals of the hardy flower shining daintily amongst ruins and rolling hills. Gentle seas from The Bitter Sea rolled in to tuck in against the coast, calm and soothing without fight or fuss. Furthering west, the great lake of Loch Stjor stood hardily with freshwater from the plentiful mountains which came from all sides as it's current pushed against the harsh tide of the sea which brought with it waste and fodder, such as Sweetrock, driftwood, and migrant birds from continents unknown.

 

A great forest of towering birches and dotted lakes stood betwixt the great Mountains of Beleth to the south and those which formed the great range of The East. Meeting the desert oasis westward, The Valley crawled north and settled upon foothills which met the resting place of an ancient oak; it's age beyond years countable as it's growth stood as a testament of time. At least, so it had seemed.

 

The air was eerie and still within the valley, quiet breezes brushed by and the weather remained temperate for most of the year. The sea ebbed harsher waves of weather and the rivers brought life to the land, whilst the mountains protected it from great storms, winds, and invasions; would they ever come. A cradle of civilization, The Silent Valley held to it a grim undertone that was palpable by even the most sanguine and the most austere. Roaming upon the broken civilization, one would begin to wonder what had become of those who had lived before.

 

The Valley was held tightly by creatures of the forest, such as Tinker Weavers, Tahala Stag, Musavis which visited from the south, and countless species of natural indistinct wildlife such as deer, foxes, bears, wolves, snakes and varied lizards. Blissfoil, Nightsap, Sweetrock and Nightglow grew handily within the region as it's most potent herbs and reagents that permeated throughout Aevos. Boiling however beneath the waves, was a foe set out for purpose; perhaps revenge, or conquest? Shuul lurked as they stalked the coastline, scouting for something which was yet to come..

 

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Remnants of A Civilization Gone

 

Strolling throughout The Silent Valley, it was hard to miss the landmarks and splendor which rolled throughout the land. Ancient ruins made of pure marble and silver, now broken and tarnished, from a civilization ancient and old. The buildings sprawling from Sea to River, yet broken to pieces and left to nothing but rare bricks and pillars. It was impossible to piece, truly, how these ancient buildings could have been connected across such great distances, at least without more being present. Yet, it seemed as if an entire city were eradicated outside of a spare few hardy ruins.

 

The eastern seashore bore a great statue of a terrible aberration, a man with the head of an angler fish bearing a cruel spear which seemed in disrepair. Zha'ero, it read, standing tall as the sea ate away at the statues base. And yet miles away, moved not once pace from it's slimy gaze as grime overtook and grew upon the statue, was another that met it. The Last Defender the statue had read upon it's broken nameplate, the great watcher of southern Loch Stjor. It's trident held high, though crumbling, as time began to eat away at all things.

Despite this, time could not eat at the memory; nor hatred; these two statues had shared amongst one another. Locked in an eternal gaze from whence they were built, until they would be destroyed- or even destroy eachother.

 

Behind The Last Defender between the trees and ponds of the misty birch forest, was a stone vault sat taut with the lakebed. Almost overgrown, a great sense of wealth and power drew from it's maw; the call of insurmountable treasure and desire that beckoned through those titanic, unbreachable doors. It had the stench of deific magicks which stained it like yellowed teeth; a taint which left it alone, and left it desired.

 

Further west, a great tree which leaves did not weep in autumn, nor did it's resident pond freeze in the summer nor dry in the winter. It flowered in spring, and it's pondwaters glew with the nightly glow of the moon. Supping from this ancient pond gives one clarity of mind; peace in their person and dreams, and a great silence of the mind to reflect and ruminate on memories long past. To recall, to learn, and to overcome. The Memory Tree spoke in tongues so old even druids could not make sense of it; though not without effort. Perhaps with time, sense could be made, and communication established; but whatever tales the tree told, were unheard of for now.

 

 

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The Revival

 

Shortly after their arrival upon Aevos, descendants were soon visited by the last remaining force of Naga known to live, to both themselves and descendants. These Naga established a fort in The Silent Valley called Fort Hope, hesitant to interaction with the nearby descendants. Establishing themselves, they began to explore nearby descendant culture and language in attempt to better communicate them for the Shuul of The Crimson Company that would soon come after them, determined to exterminate their race. They had come seeking artefacts of old, such as The Ocean Heart, rumoured to give life to Eastern Aevos and give it the land's lush nature. As well, The Hall of Mirrors, a holy site to worship their foreign serpentine goddess Kyria. Lastly, The Vault; a fabled door which only a Naga could open, would restore their race and revive their people, bringing them to the golden age and advanced civilization they once were upon Eastern Aevos. The most vehement advocates for this discovery was The Naga Priesthood, and Arion himself. The Depthguard and Greenspeakers seemed to hold reservations about such a grand prophecy. 

 

It first began with Trade-Prince Mika Anarion of Lurin and his guard rescuing the Naga Arion, unwilling regent-leader of their tribe, from a host of Shuul which had attacked them upon the eastern shores. Establishing initial relations, Lurin helped construct Fort Hope with materials supplemented from the port city itself. Following shortly after, Petra had met with the leader of the Naga Greenspeakers, Nero, and reawoke altogether The Memory Tree. Shaking off dregs of magic which had stood upon the tree for centuries, The Tree surged with life and flooded Aevos briefly, and even still to this day, with druidic energies abound the continent.

 

As Petra further explored the past memories through The Memory Tree, a purple star awoke in the sky in The Silent Valley. Beneath it, a cavern opened within the cliffside south that held the rumoured Naga artefacts such as The Ocean Heart, The Hall of Mirrors, and The Vault- exploration of so still continuing.

 

It was later in the conflict that The Crimson Company had began to raid the eastern shores, and establish hesitant relations between The Captain Egelrex Jones and King Adrian I of Balian. These relations are tenuous to this day, as The Crimson Company hires mercenaries from the area, and even rumoured Vortice, to hunt down stray Naga. Seeking more help as The Naga had difficulty pushing into the tunnels which held The Ocean Heart, The Hall of Mirrors, and the fabled Vault supposedly, they'd reached outward. The leader of The Depthguard, the royal house-guard of the Naga, Seraphon, established relations with King Edmund II of Aaun, making a pact of mutual defense against The Shuul that would inevitably push deeper into Eastern Aevos. 

 

The supposed "Revival" of the Naga was still yet to develop, and more of the story yet to be uncovered...

 

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The Hall of Mirrors

After repeated expeditions by the brave citizens of Petra under the leadership of Paul Alexander and the guidance of druids Norra and Av, guarded by the Knights and Riverguard, the parties had uncovered through visions of The Memory Tree a mystical cavern. Dubbed "The Hall of Mirrors" by the local Naga after their return, this cavern sat beneath a radiant purple star in the south of The Silent Valley, deep within a damp cavern which had been left untouched for centuries. 

 

The cavern itself seemed heavily magical; influenced by some force ancient and familiar that seemed to warp the cave heavily. Within, the cavern seemed fulfilled with crystals and rocks with mirrored surfaces. A still, empty pond sat in the antechamber of the cavern that too mirrored the surface of the cave above perfectly.

The cave itself was dead silent.

 

Within the cave, the cool waters would yield an eerie reflection of one's self, which moved and gently reacted upon its own. This reflection seemed to be a hard truth to one's persona, showing their true self. The longer one stared into the pools, the more their character traits would visibly break down and be seen. Their flaws, their strengths, their attributes and at the last, even their most buried emotions on what they truly thought about themselves. There was no lying, nor hiding; the longer one stared into the mirrored surfaces, the quicker their true self was unveiled. 

 

But it was not just to one's self.

 

The truth of who one truly was seemed to be fully exposed; even others able to see what the water showed. The water too reflecting what those had truly thought about another person, incapable of concealing their true emotions. It was maddeningly blunt how even the most old, complex souls could see their true selves come to pass in the waters and stones of The Hall of Mirrors.

 

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OOC Information

 

The Silent Valley, shamelessly, is an eventline I had planned for Almaris which is now seeing greater purpose since the prior edition did not take off past a probing teaser phase. These events will be extensive and expansive, for one-off's and multiple playerbases working together to solve a mystery of what once lived within The Silent Valley, and what happened to it; most importantly, why. 

 

Currently, the statues and the vault door are uninteractable for the time being, but will be opened shortly after map launch with interaction signs/region messages. The Memory Tree's waters are able to be drank for insight into one's own past, but do not grant the character any benefit but the narrative motif of deep reflection and inner conflict/resolution of old mental scars left repressed or at stress. 

 

The Hall of Mirrors is a self interaction site which does not utilize ST Interaction, and is up to players to utilize with themselves or one anothers. The only limitation to this is that the hall of mirrors reflective properties are not "Mind Readers" or a "Truth Serum" of any kind, and the revealing of thoughts, emotions, and opinions, is strictly about other characters and their traits rather than everything they are/can think of currently. As well, The Hall of Mirrors was excruciatingly difficult to damage, or take any pieces from; were one successful, they would be mundane, minorly reflective crystal, stone, or regular clean pondwater. 

 

All records and detail will be posted on this forum post as it's update.

 

ET are free to utilize Shuul scouts who serve as a significant playing piece of this eventline who would be initially skeptical and hostile to descendants, although uncommunicable since they're fish people. ET are encouraged to inquire for more information and information upon the backface to be able to develop their own plotlines and threads of the story to make a greater and more rich narrative.