The King Of The Moon

Please don't call them Gravelords

Ker’nor was so quiet. Even in its heyday, he remembered how most of his people seemed elsewhere; encamped like “wild savages” with the Warhawkes, chasing coin in Johannesberg, or off assimilating to the ways of men and druids and all things between. Even in those isles of Axios where the ruins of Magara’lin stood - the very birthplace of the dark elves - the significance of such remained abstract to many drow, and threatening to those which sought to control them. He remembered the Velulaei of his ancestors, and under Her he came to know the intangible worth of being truly maehr; a thing of countless shapes and creeds, which found unity in the Moon Mother. When Ker’nor fell, and his Shadeleaf forebears were wiped from the world whilst the Des’Nox tribe was scattered to the wind, the Pale Lady remained above and in the diaspora he found purpose. The monk came to share the tongue of Vel’luah with those wayward drow, and to the young he sang the songs of his mother’s mothers as he wandered from one doomed continent to another, chasing his fellow dreamers between even more fragile maehr states. They were all so different; Ker’nor, the Warhawkes, Rennalia, Vira’ker, Nor’asath, Nor-velyth… To Sathoro, it seemed each was hellbent on erasing their history to start maehrdom anew. Yet still, he remembered that old of the ancestors; Lynel. "Ben heubo ben mege yleo tahelel ((As long as deep within the heart Osyenel aeth Maehrzhel yx zeemaru lu mohyu, The soul of the Maehr is tranquil with grace, Ben heubo ben my yyrel-xebatule As long as to the changing sea Amel gobel Yyrul Kothel myxzu yx a’metto The eye towards Kothel always is turned Mebe uhv’lye xythal, zeb yx syex a’ko Then our ambition, it is not dead Teymo myhelel lo tom a’robela: The ancient passion will be fulfilled: Tom xaelunyt norel, norel aeth uhv’lye helunzh To rebuild the land, the land of our mothers Zydarel aeth Magara’lin, vat Velulaey ukh xutea. The city of Magara’lin, where Velulaei set sail. Tom xaelunyt norel, norel aeth uhv’lye helunzh To rebuild the land, the land of our mothers Zydarel aeth Magara’lin, vat Velulaey ukh xutea…" The city of Magara’lin, where Velulaei set sail…)) But Ulln Thyone was different. Lavaelyn Maiheiuh was different, too. In these fellow maehr, each burdened by a past they refused to forsake, he would find his Primarch and he by the virtue of Velulaei’s relic, so too would he enter communion with the rightful High Priestess. Again, he shared the ways of his diaspora with the many who they had gathered, and across the sea - away from the bloodshed of Azuras - they would found a temple built in reverence of Helun-Velulaeya and all that had come before them. For a decade or so - mere moments in the life of an elf - he came to know peace and purpose amongst his people. Maehrel-Vaxu, built upon a mountain alone in the sea and the amalgam of his people's faiths all different yet true, would outlive him. Then he heard the screams from the temple, and saw the blood which stained the shrines he had built to their gods. Even across the sea, his people would not be safe. The need for Pax Orenia was hidden deep in the ancestral memory of Man. Though few remembered the name for it, the wound remained in the sons of Horen; the hole in Man’s heart which would never be filled. Deep down Sathoro knew, as he meditated beneath the Moon and parlayed with the Spirits, that he would soon be among the dead of that temple. In a way, he found comfort in that; he had lived a life of faith, and perhaps would continue to serve his people amongst the Ancestors. All too plainly the monk was reminded so, when the Imperials spoke their demands. He was prepared for such, resolute in his faith that the diaspora - conquered or free - would keep the faith, and this too would pass. That was, until that word left the Primarch’s mouth. “Yo’ros.” There was no word for ‘please’ in Vel’luah, and this was no accident. ‘Yo’ros’ was loaned from the Mori’quessir by the dark elves of Asulon who had been enslaved by Menocress. ‘Yo’ros’ they had carried with them to the burnings and crucifixions of the White Rose. ‘Yo’ros’, they had said when they meant ‘spare me, and I shall be your slave. Less than maehr, less than mortal.’ Khel Oussana had risked his life to keep the word ‘Yo’ros’ from his mouth. It was not a polite thing to utter like the Common ‘please’; it was an admission of defeat, a vulgar, pitiful thing which forsook the self and the Ancestors. This was the cost Sathoro had witnessed Ulln Thyone pay, to spare his own people… And in that moment, Sathoro Des’Nox lost the Primarch he had chosen to rule him… And as in the wake of Ker’nor, he kept faith in Mother Moon alone. “Muurb velul uhv’ta’ele, zy yto lo kokur lu uhv’maemuv.” He spat, offering the Primarch his own head as a gift for the humans he had begged. “Uhv’verb yx xygek, a’zulkaa lu uhv’osyen.” the monk hissed, forsaking his own flesh in comparison with the soul his sovereign had just forfeit. An armoured finger was cast his way, and the monk was commanded to kneel in turn. He looked to Sorrgarr of the Oussana tribe and in him saw some sliver of the legendary Khel, betraying his understanding that Sathoro would do no such thing. “Yto tom allym. Ukh my Stargushel oyreoz.” The Oussana promised in turn, offering Sathoro his apologies and a place amongst the Ancestors. Again, the monk was told to kneel. Though he heard only the song of his goddess, calling him to a purpose far grander than any Empire of Men could muster, with the sovereignty of the First Primarch herself. Sathoro’s eyes fell shut, and he answered the Moon Mother with a final prayer. The very same he had learned on Axios, five centuries before. He hoped that his people's song would be remembered, even if he wouldn't. Perhaps that was the purpose of Sathoro's five centuries.

Go get 'em Hawk-Toa

No it doesn't and it never has. Blood magic doesn't "come from" anything, it simply is in the same way the Material Alphabet is. It is a fact of creation and at its core a mortal magic. As is Kani, as is Alchemy. It is not a pseudo-deific magic because Malghourn happens to be good at it; Malghourn is a blood mage. Malghourn is also evil. Malghourn didn't invent blood magic nor does he have the loyalty of blood mages at large. Malghourn being an evil blood mage does not make blood magic evil any more than Hitler being a painter would make painters evil. This is a logical fallacy. Other misconceptions I keep seeing on this topic are that blood magic demands sacrificing others, which is also untrue. I've also seen people argue that it's more efficient to sacrifice others but for the majority of the player magic's history now the opposite has been the case. Does all of that somehow make blood magic good? No. But calling it inherently evil is lazy thinking and is often misinformed. Even if we want to sneer at the not-so-great legacies of past and present staff and their "morally grey" advocacy, that's fine but it doesn't change the objective nature of what we're talking about in terms of established canon. Even if we want our server to look like D&D with clear cut heroes and villains and even if we want to roll our eyes at the embarrassingly common anti-hero characters who use these magics, that doesn't and shouldn't have any bearing on the topic at hand. Now that that's out of the way, I'll reiterate what I said on the status update about this: Most LotC morality stems from divinity. Divinity has reason to dislike blood magic as a chaotic (and potentially threatening) emulation of their power, which has time and again fallen into the wrong hands. From a real-world human perspective, is nuclear physics inherently evil? No. But nuclear reactors currently provide energy for millions whilst nuclear bombs are capable of killing billions. Vampires require the suffering of others to sustain their existence. They are, from the inter-subjective descendant POV, inherently evil. Blood magic threatens the divine order and emulates divine power. Though from the descendant POV it is not "evil". But it is reckless, and recklessness is selfish. It can be evil. It is not inherently evil. Does that make it good? No. But that's because the question of objective morality isn't really answerable. We have inter-subjective reasons as player characters to see things which necessitate harm as evil. We don't have these reasons for blood magic. Cringe as people will at the term 'nuance', it is a nuanced issue which can and should be addressed differently by different characters and cultures.

"A shara with the heart of a maehr." Lamented Sathoro of the Des'Nox tribe. The drow climbed to the highest peak of maehrel-vaxu, releasing a bokolo feather to the wind in honour of Jook Yoo'lar of the Ad'rya tribe. He would be remembered.

: )

I think this type of response misses the point a bit. The problem Unbaed's post seems to be addressing isn't as simple as "being annoying or using Shakespeare vocab is bad". The problem is that most of the time we have people roleplaying in ways a 5 year old would not or could not logically behave. In a way, it's powergaming which we as a community have just collectively shrugged at and allowed the nuisance to continue, because with rules as written no mod can realistically enforce "good" vs "bad" child RP on players. The burden of bare minimum RP quality can't be left to staff at all times. Setting the lower age limit to 10 doesn't stop people being from doing bad roleplay, sure, though it does rid them of the ability to do the most egregious failrp in the first place. The development difference between a 10 year old and a 5 year old is massive, and whilst 10 year old CRP fleepers aren't ideal either, they're at the very least far more narratively justifiable than 5 year olds acting in ways that should be impossible.

Big. Adolescence is the only time you can begin with roleplay worth doing; apprenticeships, cultural integration, even military service. Goo-goo ga-ga RP is lame and that's why nobody does it, so the practical (and common) alternative of people doing boy genius RP is incredibly stale and usually contributes nothing but immersion breaks or meme RP. ((Except for that one time I got grandfathered into my own alchemy rewrite as a 9 year old and did canonical Young Sheldon RP. That was ok and good actually because I say so and RiftBlade thought it was funny at the time!!)) Likewise, there just seems to be needless OOC entitlement and drama that comes with child roleplay. I've lost count of the amount of times a literal child character has gone on a crime spree or sought to be as annoying as possible in hostile territory, only for the person roleplaying them to crash out and moral posture at consequences from those who haven't bent over backwards to accomodate their (usually satirical) narrative. It just forces people into uncomfortable places and is immensely disruptive to existing roleplay. Whilst we're at it let's also ban characters under 16 from stomping around in platemail and diving into CRP stacked with ST mats and potions, please and thank you.

The boomers are so back

Sathoro, son of Vierna Kameki and Arzota Shadeleaf, of the Des'Nox clan signs the settlement's charter. The Maehr smiled, sharing the song of his wayward people and their promised land to the caravan: "Ben heubo ben mege yleo tahelel ((As long as deep within the heart Osyenel aeth Maehrzhel yx zeemaru lu mohyu, The soul of the Maehr is tranquil with grace, Ben heubo ben my yyrel-xebatule As long as to the changing sea Amel gobel Yyrul Kothel myxzu yx a’metto The eye towards Kothel always is turned Mebe uhv’lye xythal, zeb yx syex a’ko Then our ambition, it is not dead Teymo myhelel lo tom a’robela: The ancient passion will be fulfilled: Tom xaelunyt norel, norel aeth uhv’lye helunzh To rebuild the land, the land of our mothers Zydarel aeth Magara’lin, vat Velulaey ukh xutea. The city of Magara’lin, where Velulaei set sail. Tom xaelunyt norel, norel aeth uhv’lye helunzh To rebuild the land, the land of our mothers Zydarel aeth Magara’lin, vat Velulaey ukh xutea…" The city of Magara’lin, where Velulaei set sail…)) ((IGN: TheKingOfTheMoon))

"Ynxhk yx morylnyrzhel." Comments a maehr minstrel, making the sign of the Crescent upon his brow. He would sing the songs of the diaspora, and its protectors.

Whip your serfs, evict the villeins, OPPRESS THE PEASANTS MORE! FEUDALISM DEMANDS INEQUALITY FOR GOD HAS PLACED YOUR BETTERS ABOVE YOU AND YOUR LETTERS BENEATH YOU!!!! DEATH TO THE SANOISTS AND DOWN WITH ALL UN-TYRANNICAL NOBILITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

It's so easy to just not break the rules in the first place though. Getting banned from a minecraft server and obsessing over it for months on end long after the fact you've lost the ability to interact with it is nothing short of unhealthy. Move on. There's a whole world beyond LotC and this weird perspective - from players who somehow manage to get banned over and over again - that access to our minecraft community is a human right they're entitled to infinitely appeal for is just... Sad? At that point you're not being oppressed, you're just being a chud.

[!] A draugur wearing an octopus over his head and captaining a crew of the damned calls forth a sickass whirlpool where the two maritime forces clash and begins fencing with a pirate caught in the crossfire.