Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Membership and Comments

04/25/2006

I will be turning on the requirement for membership in order to post comments here soon, which I believe got turned off during my last software upgrade.

If you wish to comment, or continue commenting, and are one of the folks who hit the bug in the membership process (it seems that about one of every ten people cannot get through the activation process, and nobody has determined the settings on the site software or the user’s PC responsible for this yet), email me at with the Username, Screen Name, and Password you would like (any temporary password can do, and you can change it once you’re activated).

I apologize to Evarin and Debia for assuming they’d canceled their accounts, when in fact I was mistaken in the settings I had active.

Restatement Of Purpose

04/25/2006

I felt this recent comment of mine warranted its own post:

Fairly recent discussion in the official Dark Elf forum had Faendryl discussing the ceremonial naming practices of the Patriarchs, and the ensuing (or was it just prior? either way) discussion about Dhe’nar was about getting alterations with halfling skin in them.

That’s just… well, embarassing.

There should be enough cultural depth to the Dhe’nar that discussions can be had about their history, the viability of the multiple paths to Ascendance (the prime goal of their society is to obtain the power of the Arkati, not eat halflings, right?), the conflict between certain sects/orders (warriors of the Inscrutable Order of the Spear discussing their doctrine vs that of the Demon Hand Sect vs the teachings of the Khisari, etc), and any number of other topics.

That’s the kind of cultural depth that will not only make the Dhe’nar interesting to outsiders, but that will further engage the roleplay of current Dhe’nar players.

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Dhe’nar Character Portrait: Rispah Meron

04/08/2006

Finally completed this. Considering it’s the first thing I’ve really drawn in a couple years, I’m pretty pleased with it. Maybe I’ll stay in practice this time.

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

The Dhe’nar View of the “Gods”: Marlu (Ur-Daemon)

04/05/2006

Having preserved a great deal of the knowledge given them ages ago by the Arkati, the Dhe’nar are well aware of the truth behind the Ur-Daemon, and know that they aren’t truly “Demons” as Sorcerers and students of the Valences might know them. The Ur-Daemon were, in fact, the Gods of another Plane of Existence, one incredibly alien to ours, and instantly hostile once the planar walls were breached and they became aware of us.

Marlu is the last of these alien gods left upon Elanthia, the others slain or driven back to their own realm by the sacrifice of the Drakes, and many of the original Arkati.

Marlu does not necessarily “delight” in death and destruction, it is simply that his entire nature is hostile to our world and how it operates. Some Dhe’nar posit that simply existing in our realm causes Marlu immense, constant pain, thus explaining his consuming rage and desire to destroy. Exposure to certain valences may soothe his pain, thus explaining his interest in the summoning of demons.

The Dhe’nar View of the “Gods”: Luukos (Arkati)

04/05/2006

Luukos is considered by the Dhe’nar to be the Lord of Fear, though not in the manner the younger cultures might think

Luukos, of all the Arkati, is the one most fearful of death. He is the first to admit that even the Arkati can die, and Gosaena’s silence regarding what waits beyond the Gates does nothing to comfort him, thus he has devoted himself to the preservation of life by any and all means necessary. If this means he must be cruel and heartless at times, so be it. Luukos considers death to be the greatest of evils, and lesser evils committed in the interest of denying it are acceptable.

Luukos devours souls in order to preserve them and keep them from passing through the Gates into Gosaena’s clutches, though he can only contain so many. Thus, Luukos turns these souls into the Undead, until such time as he can find a method of defeating death altogether. He recognizes that this is not a “perfect” solution, many undead being somewhat mindless, inimical to life, and some “living” in constant pain, but once again, he sees this as preferable to extinction, and intends, someday, to deliver them unto eternal life. He has simply not succeeded thus far.

Luukos’ form of choice is that of a large green serpent, as it is the closest he can get to replicating the form of his creators, the great Drakes. It is said that it is the mass slaughter of the Drakes by the Ur-Daemon that initially inspired Luukos to begin his crusade against death. Whether this is because he was intensely loyal to the Drakes, or simply because he was shaken by the realization that even his creators could be slain so readily, remains unknown.

The Dhe’nar View of the “Gods”: Lorminstra (Arkati)

04/05/2006

Lorminstra is little more than the go-between for Gosaena and the Mortal Realm. She serves Gosaena as a Gatekeeper, and as the occasional voice when Gosaena must communicate, as Gosaena refuses to speak.

Beyond that, the Dhe’nar do not put much stock in her. When a Dhe’nar finds it necessary to entreat Lorminstra, he or she does so with the mindset that it is Gosaena being approached, and Lorminstra is merely the messenger.

The Dhe’nar View of the “Gods”: Lumnis (Arkati)

04/05/2006

Lumnis is focused on the pursuit of knowledge and its revelation to the mortal races. She is very similar to Fash’lo’nae and Zelia (the other “scholars” of the Arkati) in her desires and beliefs, though more restrained in her pursuit than the other two, and a bit more concerned with knowledge’s effect on mortals when revealed. Thus Lumnis, when assisting mortals, does not simply hand them information, but rather gives them the tools with which to discover knowledge themselves.

Koar is known to heed her counsel, especially when she and Fash’lo’nae collaborate on the study of a particular issue.

She is considered by the Dhe’nar to be the patron of Ascendance, regardless of the Path they take to it. Though they do not believe she grants Ascendance – it being a long, hard path that a Dhe’nar must work towards - they do understand that a great deal of knowledge and wisdom is required to find it, and thus assistance from Lumnis is welcome. They believe it was advice from Lumnis that led to Noishoirah achieving Ascendance, thus becoming the first Elf to do so.

Certain of Lumnis’ worshippers amongst the younger cultures claim Lumnis disapproves of knowledge for “personal gain” or “power”. As the Dhe’nar believe that all knowledge is power, and the gaining of knowledge inherently results in “personal gain”, they also believe this particular attribution to Lumnis is nonsense.

The Dhe’nar View of the “Gods”: Leya (Lesser Spirit)

04/05/2006

Though born into the mortal realm, Leya is not truly an Ascendant, as one of her parents was Arkati, and thus she was of the realm of Spirit from birth.

Her father’s talent for battle strong within her, Leya spent most of her life in martial conflict, until such time as she tired of mortal concerns, and retired to Spirithood. The Dhe’nar see Leya as a fine example for those of a martial bent, but there are few lessons to be learned from her. Most of the Dhe’nar’s curiosity is focused on determing who Leya’s mother was, and what she did to earn such attention from an Arkati, as such pairings are rare. They also wish to know why the Arkati showed such apparent interest in the mother, but not enough to grant her spirithood as well, or if he did, why she has had no impact on the spiritual realm since her Ascendance.

One of the key reasons Dhe’nar scholars may leave Sharath is to hunt down cluesto this puzzle.

The Dhe’nar View of the “Gods”: Laethe (Lesser Spirit)

04/05/2006

The Dhe’nar view Laethe as a servant of the Breeder, Oleani, and a corruptor of minds. His sphere of influence is the confusion of physical urges with emotional and spiritual ones. He encourages attachment to people, longing for those no longer near, which is naught but weakness, a distraction from the Way.

The Dhe’nar study Laethe only that they may better avoid his influence.