Name: Samaelh
Location: Mistmoore Crag Estate, South Qeynos
Server: Antonia Bayle
Decorator(s): Neversea and Lalayla Crimsonblade
I've
wanted to do this project for a long while now, but hadn't had an idea,
a house or time to do so. I finally had the time, came up with an idea
and found a suitable house to build it in!
The Rites Of Passage
are based on a ritual that takes place in Neversea's family. It's part
of his hidden background that most people don't know about or could even
imagine.
Note: This is not part of EQ2 lore. What is written
here is background and 'family' lore. If you don't like lore that isn't
in check with EQ2 lore, then skip the reading and look at the pics
There
is a book with each area, but I am going to be only posting a portion
of it, so you'll have to stop in later to read it. For roleplayers out
there, I ask that this be an OOC viewing as it would not be open IC.
Thank you!
(Long post incoming!)
History of the Ma'Kar Brotherhood
Once upon a time before our world is as we know it, during
the beginning of society and sometime after the creation of the elves, there
were three elven brothers. The brothers
had long since been orphans. Their
father died of sorrow when the youngest was but two years of age and the eldest
was fifteen. Their mother had passed
when her youngest son was born.
The family was poor.
They had nothing to give their children when they left this world. So, the brothers had to fend for themselves,
seeking food and shelter where ever they could find it.
As the youngest grew, he became a quick and swift hunter,
able to bring food home for his elder brothers as they had done when he was
young. The middle brother was only 5
years younger than the oldest and 8 years older than the youngest. He was the brother with swift feet, able to
outrun both his brothers and even the wolves.
The older and most wise brother was calm, wise and able to judge what
was best for himself and his brothers.
When the youngest brother was 10 years old, the brothers
banded together and set off to sail around the world. They spent 5 years at sea, gaining knowledge
of the world and knowledge of themselves.
During their time away from their home, the brothers
exploded many places. Several times each
brother would fall into some danger, but his brothers would always be there to
pull him out of trouble.
Sometime before their journey ended, the brothers came upon
an ancient temple long forgotten. The
eldest told his brothers that it would be unwise to go into the temple, but
that it would be more unwise to leave the treasures inside the temple.
And so, the brothers entered the temple. It cannot be said exactly what happened in
that temple, but as history records it, the brothers were each tested with 3
tests. These tests tested their
knowledge, their minds and their hearts.
The youngest brother faced the worst test of all, but it only made him
stronger.
When the brothers stepped out of the last test, the Gods
themselves visited the brothers. There
was a great danger to the world that the Gods could not stop, because only
mortal hands would be able to rid the world of the danger. The Gods presented the danger and asked the
brothers for help. The brothers were
faced with a dilemma when they found they would be forced to help one that had
hurt them long ago.
Despite that fact, the brothers decided that they would help
the Gods. They were truly humbled and
honored that the Gods had chosen them, three brothers who had nothing but each
other.
The Gods gave the brothers nothing, except where they could
find the dwelling evil that threatened the world.
The brothers met the evil down in the depths of the darkest
part of the world. The battle was long
and harsh on the brothers. They would
truly never be quite the same people they had been before, but brotherhood kept
them from falling.
During the battle, the eldest and most wise brother came
face to face with the evil by himself.
He placed himself between the evil and his brothers. He pulled on his own soul, bringing forth
power that had lain deep within. A
brilliant light surround the brother and from him the power of healing washed
over his brothers, a golden magical shield fell over the three of them. The eldest brother’s eyes turned blank,
completely white.
The middle brother felt the healing and he began to sing in
a deep baritone voice, bringing song into the hearts of his brothers, granting
them strength to finish the battle.
The youngest brother had faced the worst of the battle, but
still he survived. Blood dripped down
his face and his strength was waning, but he forced himself to pick up his twin
blades and to rise off his knees. He
took small determined steps until he was between his brothers and the great
evil.
Cruel laughter, vicious taunts rang out from the evil’s
great maw, but the youngest brother only snarled and struck an equal vicious
strike onto the evil. As the elder
brothers had found strength and power lying hidden inside them, so too did the
youngest brother.
It has been said that the youngest brother possessed not one
power, but all powers. He was said to be
the strongest of the brothers. And that
much is true for the youngest brother gained the power of rage. He pulled strength unlike any other from his
soul.
He pulled energy when there was thought to be none. His eyes turned a brilliant swirling blue and
he drew on the power of the ocean he felt so close to. And he drew power from the very sun, ripping
light from the world and sundering the world into ever burning darkness.
When he struck the evil, it was as if the Gods themselves
had done the work, though they had not.
He ripped the evil into many pieces.
His anger drew him onward until the evil was nothing more than bloody
scraps.
As the battle ended, the brothers saw behind the corpse of
the evil, a young innocent white-blonde haired girl, lying with blood staining
her bright white dress. They went to
her, kneeling at her side and the eldest searched for her heartbeat only to
find none.
They were saddened by her death, but the youngest brother
still held his rage and he pressed his brothers. She did not have to die. It was their fault for not getting there in
time, so they should use their new powers to bring her back.
The elder brothers agreed and the three placed their hands
on the girl. They offered not only their
powers, but their lives, their souls for this young girl to be brought back
into the world.
The Gods were shocked that mortals would offer up God-like
power and their lives for a single girl. They granted the request, taking the souls of
the brothers and giving the girl her life back.
Not a single brother had offered his single life, but the brothers
together in brotherhood, offered theirs together. But the Gods had also seen this and they saw
this as something the world should learn, so the Gods returned the brothers
back to the world.
Upon seeing the young woman once more, the eldest brother
fell deeply in love with her. Together
they sailed with the girl back to their homeland. They were surprised to find that the girl was
a princess. Her father approved of a
marriage between his daughter and the eldest brother.
And for their courage to bring his daughter
back, the king granted the brothers a home, a palace worthy of their courage,
honor, valor and love. So, the brothers
began a new life full of everything they had once desired—a home and a family.
Trials of the Ma'kar Brotherhood
These
are the trials, the rites of passage that our ancestors have walked
before us. To begin the next step in life, we must pass through these
trials though they may take us through the path of dead and we may never
return.
These rites will guide us for the rest of our lives and
we must pay tribute to our ancestors as we pass through these trials.
It is time that we begin to carve our own path through life and become
what it is we are to make of ourselves.
Brother of my brother,
Sword of my sword,
Heart of my heart,
Yours in light and dark.
To
pass the trials, one must take with them the lesson of truth. When you
pass through these trials, you must learn the lessons they have to
teach you. Each trial will guide you through a part of your life and
each trial has something to teach you.
Balance is everything.
Balance will guide you and Balance will protect you. Drinal will watch
over you, but do not sway from balance. Drinal is balance. And Prexus
will guide your heart as he guided mine.
Entrance of the trials, held in a hidden area of the family estates.
Ceiling
The fountain in the center is believed by the family to have once been blessed by Karana.
The portals
Step on the portal to enter the trials. It's best to do them in order-->1st, 2nd, 3rd
Rite of Compassion: The Past
The
first Rite is the Rite of Compassion. Learn what it will show you,
listen to it and allow the sight to guide you. When the trial is over
with, you will pass back through the portal and have only a few minutes
to pass through the second.
Once in the trial, no one can help
you. Time there is not like here. While only a few minutes will pass
here, years can pass within the trials.
Drink from the blessed fountain of Karana and enter when you are ready.
There
is a stillness that lingers in the air just before death. It is
everything and it resides in everything. There is no way to avoid
death, but there is rebirth. Rebirth will carry us forward and grant us
a life we never thought to ever have. Death is only a beginning and
rebirth is only another step in our story.
The First Brothers were once powerless, mortal. They were as they are now. But they began our family and they were The
First.
During the time the brothers spent traveling the world they
came upon a great dark forest. And as
they stood there, the youngest desired to run and so he did. It was a joyous occasion for the brothers all
liked to run and so the elders joined they younger brother. They ran and ran until finally the brother
collapsed in a clearing.
They were joyed to be around one another, to have no
worries, to be free. But as they sat
there stillness settled over the forest and the brothers were surrounded. The brothers picked up their weapons and
stood in a circle, their backs to one another, always protecting each
other. But it was not enough.
The monsters descended upon the brothers and they took them.
It was a mad scientist that had sent his monsters after the
brothers. Some say that the scientist
was a necromancer. Some say he was a
vampire. Others say that he was a
God. No one knows the truth of what this
man was, but we know the truth of what he did to the First Brothers.
The brothers were separated and chained into different
rooms. They were tortured like any other
imaginable torture. Each brother was
infected with something so dark that it is hard to even know what it was. That darkness seeped into the brothers and
forever altered the family.
It brought about a great disease that could not be healed
and would seek to destroy every male heir before their two-hundredth birthday. But the infection was not all
bad. The infection brought out the very
soul of the brothers. It affected each a
different way, but it also affected the brothers and their future children.
The infection brought out the animal in each brother and
each took the form of the wolf. It was
not the infection that changed them, but rather the wolf inside them came
out. The wolf is inside us all and we
just need to find a way to let our wolf out to guide us.
Though each brother took the form of a wolf during their
torture, they were tortured continuously.
The eldest brother was thrown into a pit of fire. The middle brother was tortured with the
cold. And the youngest brother received
the worst torture. His blood was taken
from him and replaced with the blood of a monster, a demon. Then his blood was put back to mix with the
demons and bind the demon to the brother, to make them one. The youngest came so close to death and yet
somehow he emerged with anger and rage.
While the youngest brother’s screams of pain and rage flowed
through the complex, the middle brother shed tears as he heard his brothers’
cries. He closed his eyes and offered
himself to the Gods for his brothers to be rescued. His compassion filled the air and blinded the
madman. It surrounded the brothers and
took them from that place.
When they awoke, the brothers were hurt and injured, but
they were safe in the clearing they had been captured from. For his sacrifice, the youngest brother lay
on the edge of death. His brothers did
not mourn him, but instead they asked that he stay.
Through the passage of three nights, the middle brother lay
in death. The brothers did not bury him
as it was custom to have nine days of mourning before the body can be buried. Upon the third day, the middle brother
awoke. He was sick and would always be
as the infection affected him more than his brothers, but he was alive.
Compassion, sacrifice, can be the greatest treasure, the
greatest power ever known. In honor,
compassion serves us well. We uphold
compassion for our brothers and compassion for our enemies.
This is the First Rite. Live as the brothers did. Learn as the brothers did. And uphold Compassion.
To know the true meaning of this one, you would have to read through the story.
This one consists of various torture rooms
Torture with fire
Torture with dripping water... and stuff.
Shock and saws...
Energizer powered.
More torture chambers..
Time to go back through the portal
Rite of Annihilation: The Present
Now
that you have begun your journey, you must finish it. There is little
time before you must enter the second trial. You have experienced the
pure, the compassion and the good.
The Rite of Annihilation will
test all that is within your heart. You've experienced the pure, now
you will feel the impure. Remember not all you see will come true
Drink
this blood of a pack leader. It will make you strong, but even
strength has its flaws. When you are ready, enter the second trial.
While
there is light, there is dark as well. Some lean toward the light and
others more readily accept the darkness. It’s seductive and draws you
in with its lust for power. To sink into darkness is to lose all that
is light. The darkness will take over and claim all that exists. It
overpowers and engulfs, drowns the light. To save the light, darkness
must be overcome.
Darkness flows through the blood of all. There
is no one born without darkness in them. Some fall toward it, others
do not. We are all capable of falling. The flaw is not in darkness,
but within us. Darkness can only be vanquished by the light that too
flows through the blood of all mankind. Do not fear the darkness. To
fear the darkness is to submit to the darkness and will only open the
door to darkness.
There once was a brother who became a victim to darkness to
battle darkness.
Blood dribbled down the brother’s cheek as he tried to pull
his broken body from the stone cold floor.
A priest ran a hand across the brother’s dirt-covered skin. The brother shuddered, his stomach tightening
into knots. He hated the vile
priest. He kept his head down. To look up would only mean more torture.
The priest’s pudgy fingers ran across the brother’s cheek
again. His alluring voice attempted to
coax the brother to confess his sins.
Bile rose in the back of the brother’s throat, threatening to choke
him. He clenched his hands into fists,
fingers digging into his palm. He closed
his eyes and set his mind adrift, out to the vast expanse of the sea, seeking
to calm himself.
The priest coaxed him again.
The brother shook his head, refusing to submit to the pig-faced man. He waited patiently, knowing what would come
next with his refusal. Again he willed
his mind, his thoughts to drift upon a silent sea of darkness. The priest stroked his cheek again, rupturing
the sea of his empty thoughts with a vile plague.
He steadied his breathing, ready to embrace the pain as the
priest raised his other hand, a leather whip posed viciously prepared to
strike. He could hear the soft swish of the whip as it came down in an arch
against his back. He did not move as the leather bit into his flesh, raking
across the filthy, tanned and scarred mound of soft tissue.
Again and again the whip met the brother’s skin. He withered and shudder until finally he lay
half conscious, sobbing against the cold stone.
Deep gashes traced across the vast throng of tattered flesh, long
crimson stains blending with his equally foul, long, tangled scarlet hair. The brother did not fight as guards came to
carry him away. Dazed, he imagined only
one thing as he was carry to his cell: the fat priest lying on the floor,
choked with his own whip, his swollen tongue lolling out of his wide mouth,
unable to utter his final words.
The brother was forced back into his cramped cell. His hands moved along the soiled floor until
he found the wall, pulling himself to a sitting position. The smell of the cell rose up to haunt
him. It was the horrible stench of
rotten death soaked in urine. He could
still smell the odor of the stale moldy bread the prisoners were given to
eat. The constant aroma of both fresh,
wet blood and the rusty perfume of dried blood mingled in the thick dusty air
around him.
When he could hear the clunking of the guard’s boots fade on
the grime covered stone floor, he began to wiggle a stone in the wall out of
place. The sounds of the other prisoners
sobbing or muttering mad gibberish haunted the prison. Familiar grubby fingers struck through,
groping at the hole where the stone had been.
The brother reached through and the hand on the other side
grasped his wrist. Though they were not
brothers by blood, they were still brothers.
The pair talked in hushed whispers, speaking of long ago memories and
making promises of rum—promises of the taste of that savory ocean of golden
liquid.
It was then that the guards came for the other man. They pulled him from the cell easily and
carried him away, leaving the brother alone in the darkness.
Later, he awoke to the sound of a body being dragged against
the cold floor. It was a familiar sound
often heard in the prison. The others
stopped their moans; theirs cries of pain to watch who it was that had been given
the release into death.
As the body came by the brother’s cell, his eyes met the
colorless, lifeless eyes of the man who had been him some form of hope, the man
who had been in the cell next to him.
Both fear and anger wrecked his body and he snarled. Nearby, the priest stood, fussing over his
pure white, holy robes stained with crimson blood. Revenge captured the brother, sending him
spiraling down into the seductive darkness.
He ripped at the bars of his cell, trying to break
them. He felt an enormous amount of
strength come from within and the bars parted on their own accord. He leapt at the priest, griping the white
robes in his hands. The guards had left
the priest alone; assuming none of the prisoners would have any strength to
attempt to escape.
But the brother did not have escape in mind. He wanted revenge. His body contorted. His hair grew longer, fingers shaped into
talons and fangs grew. He snarled and
ripped into the portly man’s throat. He
ripped the gluttonous man’s head clear off the man’s bulbous body.
It had been
easier than the brother had thought, but he didn’t stop there. He stalked after the guards, seeking every
one of them out and slaughtering them.
Before he left the prison he took the lives of everyone instead it, priest,
guard, prisoner. The darkness
overpowered him and sank him into a life of death.
Rite of Harmony: The Future
All
that is dark possess light of equal value. Within darkness is light
and within light is darkness. You've passed the second Rite. Take the
lessons to heart. No matter the path that you make in life, never run
from what you are. What we are does not determine what we do. It is
our choices that carve our path.
Drink the blood of our brothers and know they are always with you. The last trial awaits
Always
carry these lessons in your heart as you begin your journey through
life. Learn them, remember them and uphold them. May the ancestors
protect and guide you.
There is
no true beginning, but only the light that shines through the darkness.
Death rules while life lingers. Death is the purpose of life and life
is the purpose of death. All that is known is enraptured by the cycle
of life and death. Those who turn toward the light know only the light.
And those who linger toward the darkness know only the dark. In this
lays our own choice. Which path do you take? Which path leads to what
you will ultimately become? Will you be death or will you become life?
Years
have passed by and many feet have walked this path. Each path has
split into the right path for the one who walks it. What is seen is not
all there is to the true path. Not all will become true, but much you
may force to come true. Destiny, fate, it is not these, nor prophecy
that determines how the path ends, but the choices made in life will
carve the path meant to travel down.
Once there was a brother
that walked neither path, but the path that walks between paths. It was
neither good, nor evil. It was not light nor darkness, but the gray
that settles between paths. A piece of each path wove into the gray,
but neither dominated the path. Each was equal. Each was balanced.
And none guided the path lain before.
The Greater Evil
As the brother awoke, he pulled himself to his feet. How he had arrived in this world, he did not
know. His eyes washed over this new
world. There was no color in this
world. There were only gray, black and
white shades. Even his clothing had lost
its color, becoming black instead of its dark red. His dark red hair kept its color and his deep
blue eyes shone brightly.
He stood in front of a black iron gate. Beyond it, he could see his family’s
estate. It was a huge, tall building with
ancient stone crumbling from the sides.
Repairs were needed, but the estate still held onto its beauty. It was like a beautiful woman who looked even
more beautiful in her old age.
Above, a sky of black surrounded a bright white moon. An icy breeze swept through as he looked on
the bright orb in the sea of darkness.
He shivered, turning his gaze back to the estate beyond the gate. Slowly, he reached a hand out and pushed the
gate open. It opened with easy, but as
it did, a howl ripped through the estate.
It was then that he noticed the bright red wolf that stood
just beyond the gate. It seemed familiar
as if he had seen it before, but he could not remember where he had seen
it. The wolf moved forward and the
brother moved toward the wolf. They stopped
a foot from one another.
The wolf growled, threatening the man who had stepped onto
his territory. The brother shivered
again, turning his eyes up to the moon and then looking back to the wolf. He bowed in apology, but when he tried to
speak, only a growl issued from his throat.
Seeing the growl as a threat, the wolf leapt for the
brother’s throat. And then it happened.
The brother screamed as a change quickly took over his
body. Dark feathered wings sprouted from
his back. His fingers formed talons and
fangs grew. It was a painful
transformation and even more so happening so quickly. His reflexes were quick and he snatched the
wolf from the air by the throat. He
snarled and ripped the wolf’s throat out.
The brother’s mind knew only one thought: Kill.
He searched the estates until he found a girl sitting by the
river. She wore a white gown and her
hair consisted of golden curls tumbling down her back. She turned toward him, her eyes a brilliant
blue and her smile kind and caring. She
waved as if she knew him and stood with a basket of white roses in her hand.
If the brother had been in his natural form, he would have
recognized this woman as his brother’s wife, a woman he himself had loved for
many years. But he did not recognize
her, because he had sank into darkness.
He ran to her and she smiled, thinking he came to scoop her up like he
had on occasion, but her did not.
His fangs sank into her neck. His talons ripped through her dress and
through her skin. She screamed until he
had fully ripped her throat from her body.
Blood stained her white gown and the white roses scattered, speckled in
her blood. He did not stop. He drank from her neck until she was as white
as the gown she wore, the roses she had carried.
She lay still on the ground as the brother slowly
transformed back to his natural state.
He took long gasping breaths, his eyes closed. When he opened them he let out a horrified
cry. He shook the woman, begging her to
wake, but she did not. He shook her and
shook her until finally he gave up, tears streaming down his blood stained
cheeks.
As he lifted his blood stained hands, the memory of it all
came back to him. He saw himself ripping
the woman he loved apart. His screamed
never halted.
The Greater Good
There once was another brother. When he awoke, he woke to a world void of
darkness. A field of green stretched for
miles covered in bright flowers.
Butterflies flittered through the field, settling on flowers as they
collected the nectar of life. He smiled
as he looked up at the bright sun, hidden behind a tall willow tree, its leaves
swaying in the wind.
He breathed in the sweet scent of the flowers. Closing his eyes, he fell back into the soft
grass, laying there and enjoying the feel of the warm breeze that washed over
him. A butterfly settled on his nose and
he laughed.
There was laughter nearby and the brother felt a woman
tumble into the grass with him. He sat
up and gazed into her deep green eyes.
She smiled and pushed him, leaping to her feet and running away. He laughed and made to follow her.
Suddenly, the smell of rotten eggs and decaying bodies fell
over the field. Flowers turned brown and
shriveled away. The soft green shrank
and turned to cracked earth. The tree
crumbled until it was a mere gray stick.
The sun bore down, sending a wave of heat over the area. The brother gagged, putting a hand to his
mouth.
The beautiful woman screamed and a sickening laugh
followed. The brother looked up to see a
creature that seemed to be made of mud.
It wrapped muddy arms around the woman and captured her. She struggled until the creature’s hand
stretched over her golden hair. Her eyes
grew glazed over. The creature dangled
her from the ground as if she were a puppet.
The girl pulled a sword from the muck and lounged at the
brother. He easily dodged the blow. The creature laughed and mocked him, telling
him to fight the woman. The brother
refused and kept dodging blows until one finally struck into his shoulder. It jerked the girl from the creature’s thrall
for only a few moments, but in those moments, she begged the brother to take
her life. And then she was once again a
puppet.
Snarling, the brother drew blade and ran to attack the
creature, but he was stopped by the woman.
He had gotten close to the creature, close enough to see the number of
bodies peeking out from its muck. The
creature had done this very thing numerous times. He had heard of stuck a creature and the only
way to slay it was to slay its puppet.
The brother fought his love, dodging and blocking blows, but
he did not attack. As blows were
exchanged, the brother looked into the woman’s eyes. He could see her pain reflected in her
eyes. She was hurting and his heart
ached to see her in such pain.
He avoided slaying her.
He blocked her blows. He dodged,
but soon he grew tired. The creature
seemed to never tire and the brother knew he had come to one choice and one
choice only. He closed his eyes and as
the woman made her next attack, he plunged his sword between her breasts.
He opened his eyes. The creature wailed as it sank into the
ground. The woman crumbled to the
ground. She stared at the brother and
tears fell down her cheeks. It was then
that he realized he did not have to kill her.
The woman’s body crumbled and she fell to the ground.
He fell to his
knees beside her. Killing the puppet was
only one way to kill the creature. There
was another way. Sever the creature from
the puppet and the puppet would live.
His scream never halted.
Tunnel of Death
To get across, you will have to jump along the broken bridge or risk falling into the pit of fire.
Oops! Fell into the pit! Don't worry, there's a way out. Time to walk across hot burning coals.
Made it!
The Tunnel of Life
To get to the other side, you will have to jump onto clouds and make your way across or risk falling down down down for forever.
Oops! Fell again! But don't worry, you've got a second chance.
As you come to the end of your journey, the end of your trials and the
rites of your passage through life, you see yourself reflected in the
icy mirror. The reflection shimmers and shows you helping life to
thrive. It shimmers again and shows you helping death along.
Your
path has been shown. Now it is up to you to decide which you shall
carve through your journey. Will you choose Life or Death? Or will
your path find the Truth?
