Among long reeds and sulphuric fog stands an elf. He wears simple garbs of red and white, which flow and move with every gust of air. Mushrooms, moss, and mold of all sorts covers the ground at his feet, and he kneels to slowly run his lithe fingers over the flora; seeking the presence of the spirits within. With a dull stare originating from pure white eyes, the elf’s gaze shifts to one of the many hanging vines as he rises. He grasps it in one hand, tugging upon it idly as his gaze casts backwards. Behind him is a group of others; mostly humans, but a few orcs intermingled with them; curious of the elf’s abilities. In a voice that is both heavily accented, yet so soft that if it weren’t carried by the gust of stagnant air they could not hear it, he speaks “Dah spihrut is cloze…”
Moving with a distinct grace, the elf uses the vine in his hand to steady himself as he moves to a different spot of ground in the swampland, eyes flicking this way and that to seek the spirit that he has heard rumor of. His gaze settles upon a point in the south, where only the keenest of eyes could detect the twisting of nearby flora towards a central point. “It eez… Huhr…” he mumbles, advancing forwards with the group following behind.
Once the elf and his companions had drawn close enough, he would stop and place a hand to a tree at his right, long nails digging into the bark. “Bregthar, mi callz upon latz. Keep diz spihrut within uhr reech, suh daht wi may return eht to dah Starguzh.” his voice echos gently as a creature begins to rise from the mud at it’s feet. A miniature shur’dru of earth and stone stands before the elf after a few short moments, eyes of pure obsidian observing him with a wise stare. The elf gives a grunt towards the spirit in thanks.
Speaking again as he kneels to set a hand to the murky water at his feet, the elf’s voice echoes once more “Aqathro… Latz rize tu help latz kin. Keep dah spihrut in uhr reech, und keep eht sayfe…” The elf watches as the water ripples and writhes, rising to his feet.
As before, a form begins to rise, though this time from the water. A fish of iridescent blue forms, seeming to swim upwards through the air and gaze at the elf who, once again, gives a grunt of thanks. “Rulg.” he utters, to which the spirits respond by simply sinking back into the ground and water.
“...Did they just leave?” asks the nervous voice of a human in the elf’s company, to which the elf responds simply, “Dey hav hurd uz.” and moves forth. Under the elf’s feet, mud would rise; creating a pathway towards the unseen entity within the swamp. He approaches, and draws a vial of a dark black liquid from a pouch upon his hip. As the group approached, the entity lingering in the swamp would come into view. Mud would rise in a sphere around the now visible form of the air spirit, which twists around to face the approaching people with a sound similar to that of a sigh. The mud closes in around it, the spirits working together to trap their demi-kin so that the shaman may work.
The elf stops in front of a small opening in the sphere before him, gazing idly towards the entity, “Dis nub dah plaze fur latz. Tuu clozed, tuu stihll.” he utters. His company of humans and orcs gather near the opening, knowing that their job is to halt the spirit if something goes awry, which he knows from experience... Something will.
With a hand extended, the elf holds the vial of liquid, voice echoing louder and with more authority now, “Latz wihll gu tu dah Starguzh, whur latz belung.” At this, the spirit emits a buzzing shriek of anger, sounding much as wind through reeds. This is the shriek which has earned the creature it’s name, and brought it to the odd elven shaman’s attention.
The being charges the elf, it’s shriek sounding again. The elf would respond with distinct calm, crushing the vial within his hand and throwing the incredibly light fluid towards the oncoming creature. This mixture becomes trapped in the current of air that is the being’s form, staining it with a black haze to make it visible, “Gehd eet.” speaks the elf to those behind him as the spirit rockets itself off into the swamplands; shrieking all the way.
“Noizeh.” he mutters as the people charge after it, “Nu wundahr dat dey cahll eet dah Bansheh uhf dis zwamp.”
-END-
So I was recently asked to create an event concept and get community feedback on it. After a fair bit of debate as to whether I wished to post this or not, I’ve decided to do so.
Regarding the Controversy of an Elven Shaman
Now then, about this event series. The basic idea is that ET actors and builders will all work together at their leisure to create areas in the world that do more than simply provide an aesthetic. In this example, the concept is that an event team actor has been roleplaying as an air spirit in this swamp, shrieking like a banshee and terrorizing a nearby settlement.
To explain where the elf comes in; you can think of him as an exorcist. He has been tasked by the orcish shaman who taught him (An event character of HeeroZero) to seek out spirits in the mortal realm who are causing mischief, and return them to the ancestors. He keeps a close watch for rumors of haunted areas or unusual entities, and will hunt down those which he believes to be spirits gone awry. He would gather willing participants; likely from whatever settlement is being bothered, and venture with them to find the source of this rumor.
The events could range from PVE, to something akin to hide-and-seek. It all depends on the spirit that has been tracked down, and how it will interact with those who’ve found it. The goal of the event series as a whole is to bring events to more isolated groups, to enrich the atmosphere of the realm of LotC, and to bring one of my favorite styles of events into LotC; monster hunting, of sorts.