squakhawk

The Crothstad Woodlands Nestled between the cold, frozen tundra of Ailmere and the southern valleys of Aevos, The Crothstad Woodlands lay as a quite respite from shore to centre as the trees sprawled from the western shores to the great rivers of the continent. Christened at each dawn and dusk with the howls of wolfpacks aplenty within the region, The Woodlands would be a serene- and dangerous- place that many hardy peoples would call home. The Woodlands The Woodlands themselves were thick and sprawling, with spruce, evergreen, and pine trees dotting the land all throughout. Rocks and boulders from the nearby snowcapped peaks tumbled down and made their way all across the tiered woodland, which rose from cliff to the dip of a valley as quickly as it did beautifully. The rivers bore rocky beds home to salmon and trout which would leave the cold north in the summers to spawn in the rivers and ponds to the land's south- the porous cliffs with each waterfall allowing fish ways upward and unseen, safe from predator and fisher alike. The rocky riverbeds gave life and fertility to the lands surrounding, whilst the majority of The Woodland had a tough and rocky soil unripe for crop and plantation. Despite this, grass and vegetation seemed to grow handily with a multitude of berries, rhubarb, onions, and beets naturally growing and giving both life and sustenance to the nearby region. The air was crisp and invigorating, carrying the scent of the same pines and cold frost which blanketed the region throughout the year. While the snows were light, the area was glossed with ice with each long and heavy winter. Sunlight flowed from above through the needles of pines and firs to the ground below, covered in a heavy duff of needles and pinecones left over from seasons prior. Mushrooms grew upon fallen logs which stayed through the thick and thin of seasons, the land providing abundant life to all pieces of the cycle. Aside from the rushing waters and occasional rumble of wildlife, the land was quiet and remarkably peaceful. Serene and tranquil, the expanse of wilderness stretched far as untamed woodland and wildlife made this piece of Eos their home. Thick layers of moss clung to the trunks of trees and boulders both grand and humble, as daylight shone over the river-valley for so long. Dark shadows cast over the crags and into the caves which provided shelter for much of the riverland wildlife, giving a sense of majesty and grace to the land untouched by man. The woodland was home to many a species of animal from all around Eos. Whilst Athin, Frostvine, Bitter Reed, Blissfoil, and Nightglow grew in bushels and cliffsides, many creatures populated the woodland in healthy numbers. Great elk, Grizzly bears, Vowl, Bokolo, Tundrastriders, Hares, Foxes, Lynx, Snow Leopards, Squirrels, Imps, and Direwolves populated the biome most notably amongst countless other creatures found within the cold forest. Curiously, the land was ripe for creatures to grow and populate rapidly- leading to the phenomenon known as The Endless Hunt. The Legend of Crothstad Legend tells of a Hunter, perhaps as old as The Four Brothers himself, named Crothstad. His true name, race, even sex by some accounts- has been completely lost to time. Whoever this hunter was, he did not matter before he arrived to the forests of Aevos. Among the few who would ever survive upon the continent longer than days, Crothstad just like them would go missing with time; his true fate left unknown. Arriving with a hunting party in the tens, Crothstad had gathered the greatest hunters of his clan far beyond the misty seas, arriving to the continent in search of greatness and glory. By one account of the expedition, legend told tale of a creature which lived within The Woodland of Aevos. A serpentine creature tall and long, which an amalgam of mottled brown fur and scales. Two heads, breathing an acidic flame from it's mouth of a thousand teeth. It flew, but not far, and it's scorpion-tail could crush a man better than injecting it with deadly venom. The Great Chimera it was named, a creature which would seal Crothstad into history forever. Rumour has it that Crothstad had the head of an elk, with antlers long and bone white- aged well as the hunter covered himself in furs and runes whos meanings were lost to time. Armed with a heavy sword Trailblazer and his greatbow Lif, Crothstad set foot upon the shores of Aevos with his expedition in close follow. The land was harsh, and unknown to them, The Endless Hunt had made their lives even more difficult from a phenomenon they did not understand. They ate well, but the creatures of The Woodland were larger than any they'd ever met- fighting fiercer and smarter, and without making a dent in their numbers. They seemed completely unafraid of the adventurers, yet, when they saw the bone-white skull of The Great Hunter, they did cower. Unlike his comrades, Crothstad thrived within the land. Each hunt exhilarating, and while he showed no unnecessary boasting in his kills, he did humble himself with each creature utilized and respected to it's fullest extent. Charms of bones and shrines to gods forgotten made with what he and his compatriots could not utilize. Crothstad each day swore that he was closer and closer to finding The Great Chimera, which had still yet to be seen- it's brown scales and tattered wings hidden somewhere within the thick woodland. It was over the course of a year that his party dwindled to but a couple of men retaining, those closest and most understanding of Crothstad and his ways. Mimicking him did well, yet they always lived within the shadow of his past footsteps. Where he dodged some great beast's strike or avoided the gnashing teeth of a wolfpack, the remaining party were too slow and beaten. They had sons, daughters, husbands, and wives to return to back within their kingdom which was surely awaiting their return. The remaining two beckoned their leader to return- and austerely, did he refuse. Driven with a bloodlust to find this great creature which had evaded him, the remaining party had lost their last of hopes. Packing what they had and trophies of their hunt, the two left their obsessed leader; keeping the legend alive, and tales of The Crothstad Expedition spread. Yet the tale does not quite find it's end there. By account of the remaining two hunters who's names had been forgotten, the shadow of great broken wings was seen from the mouth of the channel they had sought to escape by. The Great Chimera, they had thought- indeed, with it's elongated tale and great mane, a head of bone-white and body of dark scales and fur, perhaps Crothstad would finally meet his match. It is unknown what fate lay of Crothstad or The Great Chimera, as the adventurers returned home to tales of guts and glory with their wonderous trophies of battle. The Legend of Crothstad lived on, spread as a tale by sailors, hunters, young and old alike of a man both driven, obsessed, even crazed. Each tale differed by culture and it's teller, but one thing remained the same; The Great Chimera lived, as did The Great Hunter who sought to bring it to it's end. The Endless Hunt The Endless Hunt is a phenomenon within The Crothstad Woodlands of unknown origin, in which the Fauna of the land behaved and appeared differently than any other of their species. To begin, creatures of The Crothstad Woodland would reproduce rapidly- growing and maturing within just a couple of months to years, rather than up to a decade. The offspring and each creature within The Woodland was mighty and robust, growing healthily without defect or disadvantage in their growth. Each animal grew up to twice as large compared to their regular counterpart, with Elk ranging from the size of a Human to the size of an Olog. These animals bore a unique feature that they were completely unafraid of descendants- never having been exposed to them before in any notable capacity, descendants would simply be another creature in their woodland. Elk approached men both in curiosity and defense of their territory, bears unafraid of the sounds of hooves and descendant voice. More akin to prey, descendants within The Woodland would simply be another creature within it's complex ecosystem- their stone walls and thick doors the only separation from themselves and the beasts which lay beyond. Descendants themselves were spared from this effect, even new species brought unto the land did not quite benefit from the same unique phenomenon. Almost as if unique to the species of the land, The Endless Hunt only affected fauna native to The Crothstad Woodlands, leaving descendant and their invading creatures untouched. Every year within the woodlands, creatures both young and old would emerge from their dens and nests to various spots around the forest in which flora refused to grow; bowing their heads remaining quiet as the moon reached it's apex. An hour after silence and stillness within the forest after the new year had come to pass, all creatures would return to whence they came; peaceful, and without a sound. OOC Information The Crothstad Woodlands will allow players and ET alike to run creature events for DIY creatures, but as well larger hunt events with more challenging enemies to consider how prepared descendants are in most fights. Akin to a monter-hunter type game, creatures within this biome should be significantly more difficult to take down and should often involve multiple phases of hunt- like tracking, identifying, hunting, and butchering rather than just the prior two. Creatures involved in these hunt events still follow DIY guidelines, and should not be used as pets, guardians, or to attack settlements/players who do not wish to be involved in the event. Player creatures, players, npcs, and so on are unaffected by The Endless Hunt. The Legend of Crothstad, The Endless Hunt, and so on are known ICly and are not knowledge-locked by any means. Your character can obviously embellish, lie, or add onto the legend however they may please to add flavor and thematic that your character may interpret from the story. Crothstad and The Great Chimera are off limits to roleplay or roleplay knowledge of until further notice, but will be developed later onward. For ET: Refer to the Maplore Backface document for further details on doing events in this region.

Mapdevs (all from LT/ET) did the lore for the map, we won't be writing more maplore for regions once launch has happened because we don't want to retcon stuff in mid-map and would rather stick with the story and narrative we're designing from the beginning. All of Almaris we have been kind of playing catch-up from having no lore / builds to start and currently we have both which im quite happy with, I don't want to start just adding more arbitrarily rather than working with the really wide array we currently have. Most lore writing for deities is limited to just a few people as well, mostly me/joel/werewolf/zarsies, lore team rarely does writing as a team because its somewhat ineffective. As well, for eventlines and stuff, typically they're left somewhat ambiguous for ET to draft at a later date because we don't want lore guys writing events for ET- usually ET just end up not running them because they're not interested in running stuff that isn't their own. However, with our current direction of maplore, most lores are pretty open to interpret and allow ET to run their own events through a backface.

Resource Submissions Resource submissions are lore pieces made that cover natural resources such as ores/minerals/large scale flora and their uses. If something here or in the other criteria pages confuses you, please contact us in the story discord. Resources Resources cover things like ores/minerals/large scale flora. A plant index submission covers a plant, its general uses, and alchemical uses. Resource submissions that cover plants should have things beyond that, such as ironwood and how it can be tempered into a variety of items outside of alchemy. There is usually a unique technique used to refine the large scale flora as well that is not typically seen amongst other plants. A problem that the server faced was getting filled to the brim with aesthetic pieces that don’t serve a purpose and are ultimately only used by a small handful of players. This should be avoided in future lore proposals. If your new metal is a reskin of steel with no noticeable difference, and the forging technique is very closed off, that’s a big red flag. Which leads to the next thing to keep in mind, exclusivity. World lore should be used and people should have access to it. It’s fine if the smithing technique for a new metal is not known by everyone, but people should have the opportunity to experiment with things to figure it out on their own. Group-locked pieces are not allowed to prevent issues like this. Another thing of note when designing a resource is where it’s located. How does it fit in with the world/does it add to the world? Does it interact with creatures/plants around it? Or it just a deposit people can find in different biomes? Take this into account when designing your material, as fleshing this out will help players when roleplaying the aspect of seeking these resources out/when they interact with it. Format This format is meant to be used for Resource Submissions. If you believe your lore needs a hybrid formatting, please contact Story management before you start writing it to confirm that you can use it. Thread Title The thread title when posting to the forums should be: [World Lore] - [Material Name]. For example, World Lore – Jade Ingots. Material Name and Description (Raw form) The name of your new resource and the description of the material should be given. You should include where the resource is found in its raw state and if it interacts with the environment (e.g. thanhium deposits will sap the heat from the area around it, which directly impacts the area). List what your material can and can't do in its natural environment. For example, if your material naturally glows, that should be placed here. Or if it has a toxic cloud around it, describe how that cloud functions and the effects it has on people/living creatures. Applications (Raw Form) You should use this section to describe the ways that the material can be used/applied in its raw form by people and also state the applications it is bad at. For example, if the lore is about a shroom that gives off special spores, describe how the spores are capable of being used (e.g. describing how the spores can be combined with water to produce a sleeping agent or if burned they produce a tear gas-esque effect). Red Lines (Raw Form) Put any restrictions that someone would be unable to use your material for when it is in the raw form. For example, if your raw mineral can give off a glow, you might put that the glow can not be blinding as a red line. Harvesting Method You should detail the harvesting method here. Be sure to include what occurs if the harvesting method is not done correctly. For example, if you want your special plant material to have a natural defense when the improper method is used, you need to describe it in full. Say the plant releases spores that can harm the person. If you were writing about this, you need to include how big the spore burst is (like how many feet does it cover when it spreads initially), what effects it has on a person, types of treatment, et cetera. You also need to include the item description for the MC representation of the item here. This will be what is put on an item before being signed by the ST when your material is harvested in-game. Harvesting Red Lines If the harvesting has any restrictions/red lines, put them here. For example, if it is not possible to find nodes bigger than 16 oz, you could put in a red line stating no one can harvest more than 16 oz worth of the material in one go. Material Name and Description (Refined Form) (OPTIONAL) If your material can be refined or turned into a new state via some process (e.g. turning an ore into an ingot), describe it here. You need to include any noticeable features that the refined material has on its own. Skip this if your material can not be refined. Applications (Refined Form) (OPTIONAL) You should use this section to describe the ways the refined form can be used/applied by people. For example, if you are writing a new type of metal, describe the way it can be used and its limitations. If your metal is incapable of being blunt, describe how it acts when someone tries to turn it into a sword. Or if it’s made to be sharper than normal, describe how that effects things. Skip this if your material can not be refined. Red Lines (Refined Form) (OPTIONAL) Put any restrictions that someone would be unable to use your material for when it is in the refined form. For example, if your metal can absorb a magical attack, you might put that it can not absorb more than one attack before breaking. Skip this if your material can not be refined. Refining Technique (OPTIONAL) For the above refined form, describe the technique/method used to turn the raw material into the refined form. For example, to refine an ore into an ingot you would first begin to the process of melting the ore to extract the metal and then do things to remove the impurities/ore. Skip this if your material can not be refined. Refining Red Lines (OPTIONAL) If the refining has any restrictions/red lines, put them here. For example, if the refining process can result in the material being ruined, you could put that once it’s ruined it can not be used again/needs to be trashed. Skip this if your material can not be refined. Repeat (OPTIONAL) Repeat the above refined sections if your material has different variations in which it can be refined. Do this as many times as necessary. Skip this if your material can not be refined. Purpose (OOC) This section is where you describe what purpose your lore is serving/what it is bringing to the table that other lore pieces aren’t. This does not need to be long, we just want to know your intent with adding this piece. Citation Spoiler You should have a spoiler at the bottom that includes links to any lore pieces that you referenced or based your lore submission off of. This is only needed if you’re using pre-existing lore for your piece.

"TEN THOUSAND HAPPY CUST-" my character said clicking his heels "COUNT ME IN!!!"

Hello Everypony. It’s almost time for our new map Squakeros to drop. We figured now is as good a time as ever to update you on what the story team has been working on and some of our plans. It hasn’t been all mori and spider invasions – there’s been a lot going on behind the scenes, too. Plugins and Development The next map has many things to look forward to. Perhaps most excitingly so is our collaboration with the tech team to try and flesh out PvE dungeons. Through the magic of Curio, story team members are able to create fully-fleshed out dungeons with mechanical puzzles and interaction. If you’ve ever had trouble setting up a time to interact with someone’s event site, then Curio, the new plugin, may be your saving grace. It will allow players to explore parts of the map without needing an event team member present for interaction. It’s worth noting that this style of things will not be the standard for events going forward. Rather, it’ll be another tool in our arsenal to try and make the next map as dynamic and engaging as it can be. Curio is still in development. There is currently no estimate for a release date. The goal of these dungeons is something passive to do with a more lax take on lore/events to have fun with your friends with. We’ve been experimenting with these for months and are finding a way to balance rewards alongside promoting unique experiences so each dungeon run has a little bit of variation from the last. While these will not be available upon release, we are looking forward to them as soon as possible. Lore and The World Furthermore, we’d like to make a shift towards more story-rich eventlines. A big improvement on this goal is by having front-facing public Maplore, along with maplore that affects things like feats, world lore, and is something to be used by players and ST alike rather than just waiting on ST interactions. These story-focused eventlines should be in abundance going forward, rather than every so often . There should be things to interact with and stories to unfold even without an event team member required to interact with, or even request an event from. We’re doing a major expansion to our compendium of botany herbs, ores, and creatures in an attempt to make exploration more meaningful and rewarding, while building upon the uniqueness of our world and setting. We want venturing around the map to be more engaging and unique from previous maps. You should be encouraged to explore more than a single run around the map to waypoint all the botany herbs, and that’s what we’re looking to achieve with these updates. Down the line as well with curios, we are hoping to have more engaging herb gathering with emoting, effects, and so on. Going into this map, we already have lore in place for various locations on the server. Ruins will be there for a reason and will add to the world around them, rather than just something to add variation to the terrain as a closed off event site. We did our best, but ultimately didn't get to execute what we'd wanted with Almaris. However, with a not-shitshow of a mapdev and transition, with proper communication and team coordination/involvement, we plan to have Frontfacing maplore that is developed and added onto organically as the map goes onward. Alongside this, Builds finished on release that are immediately visible. No closed off tiles, and encouraged player-to-player interaction, as well as player and lore interactions. This includes a massive overhaul and expansion of our Bestiary, with a few more additions/removals to Materials and Botany. We have maplore playing part in more of a map-long storyline that will involve an antag relating to the overall map and how that plays with each unique region rather than one that simply pops up out of nowhere like Inferi or Mori. As well, map lore should play more of a front with day-to-day interactions with effects and events roleplayable at any time, along with feat/magic interactions, and MArt opportunities. We also plan on introducing a system that treats characters more akin to MArts with a unique effects/items that are easier to track and give more to character flair and uniqueness that is easily trackable and visible on the frontface that ET can write up and give to players, with manager approval. Still working out the kinks in this idea, but it should be out soon! A Quick Note on Antag I plan on writing up a post in the next week regarding a full reflection and introspective on Antag. This may just be available to ST, but I may expand it for player rationale too. I haven't quite decided yet. It will be based off of personal experience playing a part in 2 Antags, and managing/running 2 more. But I want to write some stuff down based off of what players have said to me, what we have received in the poll, and what I noticed from my own perspective of Antag being able to see all the moving (or unmoving) parts working with one another. Just a written piece to get an idea while it's still fresh in our heads to see later on. If I like explode and a new admin is left to pick up the pieces, it's something to read and look back upon. I feel like that was an issue with this Antag, where Joel, Kai, Rift and I accomplished something by kind of completely winging it and it ended up great. I won't get too much into it- but maybe expect that soon. At least for the ET. Sect Updates Our builders are also looking to future proof the map. It’s too common to see disdain for terrain after having played on the map for a few months. This is something we’d like to try and combat. A map should be fun for the duration of its stay on LOTC, not just the first few months. There have been some bumps in the road, though these have not been for nothing. This map we genuinely spent so much time playing catch-up with a lack of lore and builds at the start of the map, and super disconnected fragments of what we did have before. The event sect of our team has been hard at work with the end of map eventlines. Since April 1st, there have been ~180 events nearing 4000 individual player interactions. This is done by our team of roughly twenty-five actors. We’re going to look to keep this momentum up into the new map, as well! A huge thank you goes out to all of our event actors. We will be performing an audit based on Antag sometime this week while we do some shuffling with the team internally alongside taking some team-feedback. As for the lore sect of our team, a huge shoutout goes to both christmanism, TheAmazingSewer and Delmodan. All of them have been carrying on the sreq and forum app side of things. With that being said, our lore team has been dwindling in size over the past few months. As such, we’d like to put out an open call that we are looking for more lore team members. We are mostly looking for people who are passionate about lore on the server and interested in voting on submitted pieces. Doing taskwork (like sreqs) is nevertheless also a bonus to player convenience and experience. I’ll include a link to the application forum at the end of this post! Lore Shelving - Siliti and Vargr As much as we’d like this update to be only good news, there’s an unfortunate notice we need to put out. Both Varg and Siliti lore have been shelved, moving into the new map. These are not without their reasons and have been a point of contention among the team for the last little while. As for the Varg, there was some deeply disturbing imagery included in the lore piece – namely alluding to some topics that we do not stand for on LOTC. We firmly believe that these elements do not need to be present for a good story to develop. Along with the unnecessary fluff was the incredible vagueness of the lores mechanics. There were consistently different rulings on what the lore was capable of, so much so that both the lore team and the Varg community itself was confused. Overall, it was lore from an old era that slipped through the cracks and no longer lives up to our standards. As with any other lore piece, we welcome a rewrite which tackles the issues mentioned. Siliti had its fair share of issues, too. The lore had issues making Siliti objectively incredibly powerful entities. The abilities and mechanics had been manipulated to favor some individuals over others. There were a few unlogged changes to the lore piece by ST members, as well as consistent handling of suspected issues related to Siliti by current and former LT themselves; There was obvious bias involved that recurrently appeared even after removing prior members for bias, which existed not nearly in this capacity for other lorepieces. Not only this, Siliti has had an unfathomable amount of community drama with over a half-dozen reports sent by members or groups of the community on other members and groups in the last couple weeks. After evaluating these issues and understanding past ones, that despite our direct interventions with the lore entirely by player request (Adding PKs, adding more flavor/theme, editing Coffins), the lore has unsuccessfully recovered. It is unacceptable the amount of bad-faith roleplay and community toxicity that exists within the CA that causes so many people to quit the server temporarily or even entirely. Personally, I believe it is our fault and we dropped the ball on this lore piece and are going to work on not letting this happen going forward. While we take a very liberal stance on changing lore and following player request as much as possible, we believe that only negatively impacted this lore and managerial involvement earlier on could have prevented this. The argument has brought up that certain community members alone caused this shelving and their removal could satisfy a fix, but after looking over the list of who in these reports warranted removal, as well as the general noncompliance with feeding mechanics, tells, or weaknesses, 2/3rds of the community would be PKd or ca-revoked based off of the aforementioned alone in the last 12 weeks. Overall, the lore enabled bad actors to flourish and have a strong grip on some of the community which did not have the best interest of roleplay in mind. It leads to people leaving the server and regretting time spent, and floundering player interactions which often lead to frustration and suspicion. Lore should never do this. With all that being said, we, as a team, think it best to shelf Siliti and have the lore start anew. Similarly as mentioned with Vargs, we welcome a rewrite if it tackles the issues we’ve outlined above. However, by the 31st, Siliti will be officially and completely shelved and all characters will have the option of PKing, permanent shelving, becoming ET characters, or reverting to a base descendant form- even turning to a Corcitura if priorly a Siliti. WANT TO HELP US SHELF MORE LORE? WANT TO GIVE MAGIC AND EVENTS ONLY TO YOUR FRIENDS? WANT TO CARRY EVERY OTHER STAFF TEAM SO HARD YOU'LL HAVE SPINAL PROBLEMS FOR LIFE? HAVE AN ANXIETY DISORDER? APPLY HERE!: https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forms/54-story-staff-application/

Hi there, there seems to be some confusion and misinformation about the temp map. The temp map itself was painted and designed by Riverbird, a member of the story team. Each branch of the temp-map was designed (1-6, respectively, by; myself, myself, myself, fimlin/myself, mewliet, mewliet), with assets taken from Athera for the library, Almaris for the anvil/dwarf hold, and an unused dragon asset from Athera- all of which were built by and for staff. The keep is a free PMC asset which was swapped to a different palette, and re-shaped/cut and fit to new terrain. The blue-town and red-slums were from a build we paid for by the youtuber/builder TrixyBlox. We re-fit the two new assets to new terrain and that was it after paying for his patreon. When asked yesterday in #OOC, I'd stated (i hoped clearly) that this map was a combination of on-server builders and off-server builders. Mostly though this seems to have been discussed and finished in the thread, but I will provide more with saying that we haven't written or made Mapdev credits for next map yet- I think it's probably the last thing on the agenda. However, I think it's a good idea after reading what some folks said to put him on there, so we will put him on there for Temp-Map Assets. The reasoning behind using these assets is that I didn't want to spend builders who were already exhausted from the last two months of work on nations, lairs, Antag, and new-map on transition. Initially transition map was supposed to be 4 days long, but due to a plugin delay that was unexpected and core to our server (Resource nodes), we needed more time to update it and patch the bugs. Transition map was initially being handled by solely Riverbird, who eventually had more work pick up in the navy which left me to make sure his work was finished. I could always say "We could have done it sooner", but I have to be realistic with the fact that we did start sooner- it just wasn't soon enough. In any case, I had them repurpose the last of the assets which was occurring during our final event for Antag because we'd noticed some terrain errors which needed corrected rapidly. The temp map itself many people knew would not last folks eleven days, and its really hard to imagine sitting underground for that long with nothing to do. Last night Basket and The60th came to me with the idea of having a little SMP island connected to the underground so players could go to wherever they'd wished and whatever gameplay they'd want to experience. I talked it out with Llir and he approved of the idea, and asked if I had Monday open so we could upload it. This is the current plan, with lore reasoning setup that the city we are in is beneath an island somewhere between Almaris and Aevos, and after a short event discovering the tunnel upwards, descendants get to have a short pitstop on the island. Again, slated for release on Monday. I'm sorry for the confusion this must have caused, but please ask someone before making really harmful assumptions that are completely misleading like this. I had a lot of folks come to my dms this morning asking me why I stole a temp map and claimed I made it, and directed me to your post where they had gotten that idea which I initially thought was a bantering joke. This map was built by ST Builders outside of those two assets, of which we paid for use of. I'll keep the thread locked but if you have further feedback or thoughts please let me know, I'm always available and looking for opinions from you guys.

1. if u could change 1 thing ab server with ur magic wand what would u do and what would your stupid magic spell phrase be as you do it 2. are we gonna make it out of the hood bro 3. cats or dogs

its specific to the lore used not the item itself since there are only so many in the game. if you had 4 slime balls of different things (food items, event items, lore items, etc.) they'd be fine. but if you brought over 4 of the exact same item (4 slime balls which are all jello cups or something) only 2 would go through. its just to prevent mass amounts of copies of the same item(s) going through vaults.

The limit is the same as last map where it is specific to each unique item. If you brought 4 volatite, 3 lunarite, and 1 carbarum, only 2 volatite and 1 lunarite would be lost. There was a miscommunication between Val, Llir, and I as well where the limit applies to node ores the same as everything else.

Lore has been shelved and moved to the appropriate subforum. If you have questions about why this specific lore has been shelved, please contact an ST Manager or the ST Administrator.

This Lore has been accepted. Moved to Implemented Lore, it will be sorted to it's appropriate category soon. Please note that if this is playable lore, such as a magic or CA, you will need to write a guide for this piece. You will be contacted regarding the guide (or implementation if it isn’t needed) shortly.

FATHER OF MACHINES Birth of Innovation The advent of innovation started with the emergence of Garumdir; drifting in the endless and vast cosmos - lacking form or purpose. His realm, an empty canvas without the fruition of ideas nor the spark of change that would bequeath new creations. For a long while, the lonesome Daemon dwelled on his purpose - and once his purpose was carved into his soul, the cogs of his work began. In his dotage, the Daemon did not leave his realm. His limbs became worn, and his palms expressed his hard work and diligence to his craft; Garumdir mindfully laboured for years, too obsessed with innovating and improving his work. Slowly, his realm expanded with his trade; walls and furniture, abnormal spires or odd tools without functionality. The craftsman felt a lust - a selfish desire to create, to destroy, and to better his work in pursuit of perfection. The forge god never tired of his endless role of innovation, yet became exhausted for ideas - but knew there was limitless potential to his work. Garumdir had minimal interaction with his divine brethren, yet noticed their infatuation with the mortal world; ignorant to what it was, but happy to relish in what he came across. Like a father to a son, he proudly gazed at the epoch-making tools, workshops and ideas that mortals came to form. With newfound concepts, the Daemon upheld mortal conventions and tools, and improved them by a hundred-fold. If man could make a pickaxe, Garumdir could make a drill for a refinery of ores to be chipped and gathered. If man could make a sword, Garumdir would somehow make it sharper than it could be. Slowly, the other Aengudaemon came to respect the obsessive craftsman, and he became a point of contact for help - to use his crafts for their own selfish gain. Garumdir was uncaring, as long as he could progress his work, and find new ways to bring innovation to life. Dragur, the Daemon of Knowledge, came across the lonesome craftsman, who saw potential in his brother's craft. Whilst Dragur was interested in the facet of innovation, Garumdir was impressed by the existence of dragons yet saw it as too flagrant and open; he wanted to refine Dragur’s creative outlet into something less violent and risk-worthy. Garumdir began his largest project - the Spark. Each day, he worked on his newfound passion with meticulous planning and knowledge gathered from observations of Dragur’s work, or conversations with his divine comrade. He began to refine the Spark until it became whole, and centred it within his realm. From his work, came the existence of cogs, wheels, machines, and automaton. All who gazed at his creation knew him by many titles - the Craftsman, the Machine-God, and the Innovator. With the rise of the Archdaemon, Garumdir did not have an active or present role; he felt it was no obligation of his own to intervene, and only proved his usefulness by procuring weapons and tools to allow his brothers and sisters a fighting chance - not out of a selfless desire, but to see the existence of descendants prosper, and to provide him with ambition and ideas to work. To stem his observations on descendants, Garumdir manipulated his divine creation to bring rise to his patrons; the Reevers habitually manifested and overtook his realm as their home, and worked to stalk descendant creations, and to craft like their father does. However, the Daemon feared that his godly brothers and sisters would cull him for his ungodly work, and so did not utilise the Spark outside of his world. Even now, the Machine-God tinkers with cogs; plumes of smoke, churning of wheels, clinking of levers and the hammering of metals burn within his realm. SIEGE OF VAL’GARIS War Against Ixris Idle hands are the devil’s workshop. As Garumdir continued to observe innovation and spend time making extravagant machines far beyond mortal comprehension, demons watched like wolves from afar at a target weak, and alone. Ixris, knowing The Father of Craft’s isolation and emboldened with his overflowing Inferi forces, plotted to plunder Garumdir’s realm. The Daemon’s realm was rife with knowledge, machines, artefacts, masterworks- most importantly, The Spark. It came at an hour quiet after The Second War, unusual as the war in heaven continued to violently rage on between the pantheon as they wrested control over the power vacuum left behind. One, two, a thousand, a hundred thousand, demons began to swarm and infest Val’Garis as Ixris opened the gateway with overwhelming force. The Craftsman was unprepared, but as his mind began to think, his metallic hands began to work. The Craftsman set his Reevers to the defenses whilst he crafted more, shaving off details and intricate technique as he produced each automata with increasing speed and efficiency. In days as Inferi began to raze and pillage his realm, The Craftsman had amassed an army of thousands- seeming almost cobbled together with each unit slightly different from the last, Ixris had made a sore mistake. He mistook these creations for disorganized, and Garumdir himself for desperate. As the outermost parts of his realm were surely destroyed, being scrapped and pillaged for whatever wealth they had, Garumdir and his ever-increasing army attacked in kind. Each automaton matched ten demons, even in the earliest models of his creation- with observation of the battle came experience, and the next model would match a hundred. His technological marvels went from individually crafted masterpieces, taken the shape of his greatest craftsmen, to rapidly produced and hyper-efficient killing machines which continued to evolve and change as Ixris changed his tactics. The war has not gone on without a toll taken on Garumdir, however. In his construction of greater defenses, such as walls, machines, and soldiers, he has grown stagnant. Innovation still rapid and wild, his purpose has become a shadow of what it formerly was. No longer could he create magnificent crafts, taking time and observing what Descendants or his Reevers may be crafting to improve upon, but was left to continue warping and recreating the same designs en-masse to combat the threat which continues to overwhelm his realm. While the losses are incalculable and the damage catastrophic, Val’Garis holds and The Craftsman continues to work in the blazing heat of his foundries, a symphony of stamped metal and pressurized steam the music of the stagnant war. VAL’GARIS The Clockwork Realm Val’garis is a realm far beyond mortal comprehension, but a terrible temptress of mortal curiosity. Separated into two, incomprehensibly sized cogs forever turning slowly, Val’Garis is home to countless denizens of both mortal and immortal make. Populated by Reevers, the greatest of mortal craftsmen, and soulless automatons, Val’garis seemed teeming with life while being made completely artificial. Tubes and pipes ran for miles as a realm of pistons and clockwork went on infinitely. The ticking and whirring of machines stirred the hearts of those chosen to see his realm. Mortal craftsmen and alchemists renowned for innovation and learning would find his realm a treasure trove of ideas and inspiration. The cogs were a marvel, with distinct cycles of day and night upon each that followed a strict clock cycle with the eternal turn they were stuck within. The Avant Sphere The greatest bastion of workmanship and craft come together, The Avant Sphere would be the home to a majority of Val’Garis’ populace. The cog sized as a continent was thriving with creation, composed entirely of a massive city split apart into districts. Districts had their specialties and unique flair, as travel was efficient and work done around the clock. Foundries never stopped smoking, the streets never emptied, the lights never turned off. The most famed district of Mordron, now fallen into disrepair, was formerly the congregation of the greatest minds known to Aengudaemons and Descendants alike. A think-tank of a select few who made incredible work and machines, now fallen by the wayside as The Forge-God fought for his survival in the sieging war. Progress among descendants and even in Val’garis seemed to halt as every spark was put toward their ensured survival, rather than progress for all kind. Within the centre of the district lay a massive and beautiful spire known as The Progress Engine. Extreme few know what lay within the spire or it’s thousands of floors and rooms, none but Garumdir himself could even fully comprehend it. Visitors to The Progress Engine seldom return out, and those that do, describe it as a plane unlike any they could even imagine. Their crafts and thoughts conceived with utmost clarity, invention and inspiration coming as if it were easy as breathing. Critical thinking was subconscious thought and hands worked without the energy to even tell them to. The Avant Sphere even under siege was a beautiful and illustrious place, where it’s industry and defenses had been greatly bulked with The Siege. Large walls now surrounded much of The Avant Sphere, manned by guards with complex systems to rapid defense and response. The demons seemed to take more than The Father of Machines seemed to give back in repair and improvement, and the outermost districts would be completely swallowed in brimstone and hellfire. The Dissonant Sphere Referred to as The Graveyard of Crafts, the Dissonant Sphere is a scrapyard the size of a continent, littered with broken parts and creations. Even still filled with impressive creations and crafts mortals could only dream of, The Dissonant Sphere has turned into a savage continent of junk and scrap under constant Inferi threat. Cut off for most parts of their day cycle from The Avant Sphere, The Dissonant Sphere is a land where resourcefulness and utility take precedent over all. Machines that run on less fuel, Reevers specialized in self-repair and improvement utilizing the infinite scrap of abandoned and failed creations, and mortal craftsmen using these unfinished projects to create something new, and unintended. One craftsman can never think exactly like another, and thus, many scrapped works from previous inventors are reimagined, and remade, into something incredibly far from what was originally intended. The endless gray waste of various metals and clockwork heaped together is inhabited only by broken machines and wandering constructs, alongside Garumdir’s most self-sufficient Reevers and resourceful craftsmen. Within the heart of the continental cog the scrap-heap sits atop of lies an artefact which makes the destitute land worthwhile. A backup of all knowledge within the world, gathered and made in Val’Garis and the mortal realm. Immoveable from it’s set place, Garumdir keeps this artefact not only as a resource, but an option- Should he ever fail, his machine heart meeting its last beat by malfunction or destruction, his mantle may be taken up once more. Progress, at any cost. PRESENT DAY Era of Abandonment Even now, Garumdir diligently works in improving his crafts. In an eternal war against the Red Prince who attempts to claim his work and his domain, the Daemon has become self-obsessed with the creation of great weaponry that would bring rise to mass destruction. It seems, the Machine-God has strayed from his youthful obsession of innovation, and has deviated into a path of war and bloodshed against his foe. With rising temper, the Craftsman has lost his progression. He grows strained by the second, as his obsession with the war against the inferi has faltered in his creativity; the Daemon being unable to find something new to create, nor having the time to do so. Stagnant in his work, it is no longer planned or thought-out. They do not reach their full potential, as automated factories and his patron Reevers work endlessly on the same constructions, blue-printed and reduced to machine-work. The extravagant work of ambition is now replaced by a lack of potential; Garumdir is able to make great constructions, yet does not have the time or thought of mind to do so – for he continues to fight in an eternal war against Ixris. Garumdir weeps for his creation. Written by: Werew0lf - Writer SquakHawk - Writer

THE BALANCE OF ESHTAEL Dawn of Time At the dawn of sunlight, the elder-aengul of balance remained attentive to her duty of maintaining universal balance; to remove the indifferences that brought change to creation. Her aengulic brothers and sisters who sought this change came to abhor the deity; the Aengul Eshtael became a barrier to their growth. As opposed to her divine brethren, the seraph-god idled across the realms, gracing it with starlight and silk, yet scarcely interacted with the descendant races. The universe was threatened by those who wished to throw balance off its natural course. The Aengul, Eshtael, was there to stop it: present to seal those away until the end-days. In the vast universe, Eshtael sent her valiant chains of white-light to bind and trap those who endangered balance, uncaring of whether they were mortals, or gods. All faced the temperament of the seraph-god, who fettered them to unspoken realms that were long-lost; sealed into the canals of the unknown cosmos. Apohet, the Daemon of Faith and Ambition, was one such god who found himself chained into the realm of his own creation, unable to return from the boundaries of the spirit world – a deity who threatened to tip the scales of balance. During the war between mortals and gods, Eshtael did little to help mortal-kind, too busy concerning herself in the jailing of other outspoken horrors and challenges. However, Eshtael witnessed the damage brought unto the covenant of descendants; their towns shattered, and bodies littered the continent like a burial-ground. The seraph-god and her divine siblings confronted the Daemon of Knowledge; Dragur tempered with souls, and though pious in his intentions, absurdly tipped the scales of balance after creating the perfect vessel for the Archdaemon. Eshtael displayed her might in full warning to all gods that observed, entrapping Dragur in her vibrant chains. The radiant Daemon could only struggle within the seraph-gods grasp. With a final vaunt, Dragur was shattered into a thousand pieces, and the fragments of his wisdom were cast away – sealed for an eternity. Frightened by the power of the balance-god, the forces of Iblees attempted to make quick work of the continent, their sickly energies pouring into the earth in order to ruin the world. And when Iblees was confronted by his godly brothers and sisters, Eshtael was the first to send her white, scorching chains. The spoken curse of the Archdaemon graced the world, only to have him banished by the Aengudaemons in their last seconds. His draconic vessel was sundered, turning into shards of great light, scattering into the air and banishing Iblees from the mortal world. The rising of smoke and the darkened scales of the Archdrakaar, Azdromoth, could be seen ruining the balance of the land throughout the war– marring it with ruin. The elder-aengul descended with great, beating wings of starlight, and used her ethereal shackles to throw the Archdrakaar into the ground, reeling him away and trapping him within the mountains of Khaz’Bokkdwedohin. Thus, ending Dragur and his most favoured son. All those who witnessed this principal act would come to fear Eshtael for many centuries, knowing that her power could even strike down her brethren. She was presented with either an image of fear, scorn and some - hatred. Even after the war, Eshtael was rampant and ensured the corrupted drakaar under the influence of Iblees, and normal dragaar created by Dragur were locked away, sealed in the world or simply struck down. Her constant raging purpose of sealing those antithesis to her will was felt across the cosmos; the imperfect and chaotic who threw balance off their course fleeing from her might. For many centuries, she chained and sealed horrific creatures and beings, relics and trinkets, within the confines of Aos and Eos - forever locked away, until broken or unsealed. THE INFERI INVASION Dawn of Time The Aengul of Balance did not partake in the extremities of her divine brothers and sisters, though seemed to acknowledge the challenges faced by mortal-men. It was during her journeys that the elder-aengul was bestowed a prophecy about the end times; Gazardiel set in motion his plans on restarting the universe anew. However, this was the natural duty of Gazardiel, and she did not see it fit to warn her divine siblings – following the course of balance. As inferi ravaged and destroyed the continent of Arcas, the beginning of the end had started; the universe was in disarray, slowly tearing and breaking from the powers of the Aengul of New Beginnings. The gods descended at the final bout of the inferi-war which swept over the scorching dunes of Korvassa, where Gazardiel appeared in hopes of collapsing the mortal-realm and ending what had yet to be restarted by him. Eshtael and Aerial were the last to descend, but they only watched, and did not interfere or support their divine brethren. Flying through the air, a bulbous light of red flickered in front of Eshtael. An inferi general moved onwards, and swung a glistening hammer, the very form of Perpetiael–the Aengul of Success. It struck the arm of Eshtael with a powerful blow, and caused her appendage to tear away from her body. Screaming in shrill pain, the seraph-god was stunned, and starlight undulated from her missing-arm. It was at this moment that she realised, in the hands of others, she too could be powerless; fear sprouted in her mind. Fearful of the scornful eyes of her brothers and sisters, she fled to her realm; the Bastille was locked and barred others from entry. THE BASTILLE Realm of Eshtael A ceaseless tower ripping through white clouds, with radiant spires of gold surrounding the corners of the monument. The silent euphony of the seraph-god sings out from the peak of the temple; a resting place for the Aengul of Balance. The realm is an endless terrain of white sand, with a singular structure sitting in the apex of the world. Aengulic energies pour out from arches in the monument; it is without rust or moss, and seems to be in perfect condition at all times, as if timeless in creation. With solitary confinement, the seraph-god has no known inhabitants that reside in the tower – it is completely empty outside of her own company. At the peak of her realm, Eshtael prepares to take flight in order to combat foes of the cosmos, and then returns after fulfilling her righteous duty of preservation. She pours her light into the tower, a beacon to ward away all those who know her name. PRESENT DAY Era of Cowardice Eshtael hides in her realm of the Bastille, anxious of her divine brothers and sisters, who knew she withheld the information of Gazardiels plan. The god, who was feared and abhorred by her brothers, was now only hated – no longer feared. On her lonesome, she has brooded on mortal-men, and has decided to make contact with descendants to continue her virtuous role. She remains twisted by this fear and sends her agents to threats of imbalances, to seal away the unnatural that attempt to dissuade the order of the cosmos. The free-spirited Vaelen has led a charge of anarchy into the universe, endowing change wherever he went. The elder-aengul of balance had trailed the daemon of freedom; realm after realm, she sought to end the triumphant menace of the trickster-god. Wherever Eshtael sealed, Vaelen entered to break them free. And whatever Eshtael brought into balance, the daemon appeared to bring into imbalance. This endless conflict has led both into a sour relationship, one that has culminated in the outrage of the seraph-god. The Aengul of Balance works diligently. THE PURPOSE Explanation Eshtael is considered one of the ‘big four’ of the Aenguls, and has been a lore-figure that has required clarification for a long time – her realm, her duties and her interaction with mortal-men. Due to events that have led up to her present day personality, she has become more open to the ideas of working with mortals, and using mortal-agents to deal with her task. The reason for this is simple: to allow for more narrative (scarce) interactions, and to open up the opportunities for others to write more lore focused around Eshtael, which has yet to happen. Furthermore, clarification on the thematics and ideals of Eshtael allows for interlinking lore to build up – she is a god that has locked up other gods, and so relations can be clarified, i.e. hating the aengul, or fearing them. Furthermore, this lore also expresses her alien ideology of balance: her goal is good, but it may not be seen as good in the eyes of others. She will not act if it does not threaten balance, and her non-intervention could lead to the deaths of many. Her opinion of mortals is little to that of other aengudaemon, as she sees them as a powerful asset (as of recent) to ensure her goals are met. Written by: Werew0lf - Writer