Visions

9/30/03

A wave of vertigo hits you suddenly.  As the corners of your vision darken, your ears are filled with a peculiar whistling sound, like that of the wind, though no wind touches your skin.  Without warning, your mind's eye flashes upon the silent image of a blackbird, a grackle, circling overhead.  As you watch, it flies away, but the vision fades abruptly just as you turn to follow.

It has been 373 years, 329 days since the Victory of Lanival the Redeemer.

9/26/03

Blackness obscures your vision without warning, making you lose all sense of equilibrium. It remains dark for several long moments, long enough to make you wonder if you've permanently lost your sight -- but after a seeming eternity, the wan glow of a torch blinks into view. The flickering light passes over the angular shapes of ruined architecture, and your line of sight tilts downwards, toward the ground, showing a pair of booted feet stepping carefully over scattered bits of broken masonry. The vision slowly fades and you drift back to the present, but not before the flash of single red eye stares at you from the darkness. Then, it, too, fades away.

9/21/03

Strands of the web of fate suddenly unfold before your eyes, carrying your vision down one glistening line. As your inner sight plummets down the web, the strand grows larger and larger until gleaming whiteness is all you can see. After a moment the whiteness fades and you see a shattered cairn surrounded by toppled menhirs in a small mountain valley. Two withered fists suddenly thrust out of the detritus beneath one piece of the cairn. You are able to discern a large signet ring on each hand's gaunt ring finger before the vision passes.

It has been 373 years, 292 days since the Victory of Lanival the Redeemer.

9/09/03

Your vision dims once again, and you find yourself looking upward from a position mere inches from the ground.  The blue sky is blocked, then, by the face of an Elven woman, her sun-browned features drawn into an unpleasant smile.  The feeling of foreboding strengthens as the vision fades.

Your vision darkens for a moment and your ears fill with a disconcerting ringing sound.  An image flickers in your mind's eye, a bird's-eye-view of a crystal city surrounding a great gleaming tower.  A small, dark avian shape circles below you, then suddenly plummets as it is shot by an arrow from below.  In a blink, you return to the present, but not without a lingering feeling of unease.

It has been 373 years, 245 days since the Victory of Lanival the Redeemer.

8/01/03

Your vision begins to blur.  In a violent explosion of color, a fiery scene forms before your eyes.  Ash covers the buildings and streets of a small town, its residents beseiged by flaming figures.  As the vision fades from view, you can make out the charred remains of a lone caravan and what once must have been its driver.

It has been 373 years, 86 days since the Victory of Lanival the Redeemer.

7/16/03

The air before your eyes begins to shimmer slightly.  In a violent explosion of color, a morbid scene plays out before you.  Gigantic humanoid creatures stand victorious in what is obviously the aftermath of a devastating battle, their massive swords raised in triumph over the battered and broken corpses that litter the ground.  With a dizzying blink, the vision fades from view.

Your vision blurs.  Blossoming into being before you is the life-sized image of a towering cyclops, its lone eye staring at you in single-minded hatred.  A feral snarl on its lips, the gigantic creature swings its blade directly at your head!  As you instinctively draw back, the vision fades from view. 

The air before your eyes begins to shimmer slightly.  The image coalesces into a drab, colorless scene.  Dark, hulking shapes pour through a blasted and scorched cliff-side door, leaving a pile of dead bodies in their wake.  The vision slowly fades from view.

373 years, 24 days since the Victory of Lanival the Redeemer.

7/15/03

The air before your eyes begins to shimmer slightly.  In a burst of dark colors, the image of a small clan beseiged by gigantic humanoids blossoms into view.  As the vision fades, you notice a pair of the monstrously-sized creatures entering a scorched door in the face of the cliff.

7/03/03

The world about you shifts, and your mind's eye is filled by the image of the underground compartment slick with ice crystals and powdery frost.  Cold air wafts from deeper within the small space, seeping through unseen cracks and a larger crevice.  Oddly, the back of the cavern seems no darker than the front.  Sudden clamoring fills the chamber and a mass of small white-haired forms burst from the darkness at the back of the chamber to swarm through the fissure and disappear down the mountainside.  Moments later, the mournful cry of a snowbeast fills the air. With a jolt, your vision returns to normal.

A sense of foreboding overcomes you, chilling you to the bone and leaving you uncertain about what the future may hold.

With a gut-wrenching sensation, the world around you seems to shudder and twist.  A stillness settles over your senses, and everything seems duller, less alive, than before.  As you gaze around, trying to determine the cause of this feeling, you are certain that your mundane senses are unchanged.  Nonetheless, you are certain that something is missing.

Everything around you disappears in a bright light which fades as the world around you turns blue.  Points of white flicker like stars in the night sky, and a green disk appears in the center of your vision.  As the disk grows, you see that its center is white and pale pink.  The white points widen into thin lines that appear and disappear with no obvious pattern.  As details become clearer, it becomes apparent that it is not the sky, but the ocean, that fills your vision, and the white threads are actually the foamy caps of the waves.  You seem to be falling at an alarming speed towards the green disk, now identifiable as Taisgath Island, with the spiraling Guildhall at its heart.  As you continue to plummet towards the ground, you notice a black void where the obelisk should stand, as if it has been wiped out of existence.  Just before you land, your vision returns to normal, leaving you gasping for breath.

*Note: : The ability to PREDICT pretty much was taken away when the last three visions occured. This was almost concurrent when Ealuik and Hhstin decided the obelisk on Taisgath would look better sporting a black seal attached to a hemisphere.

372 years, 372 days since the Victory of Lanival the Redeemer.

6/14/03

You are drawn to an empty field facing a town on the water.  Reflections of light appear to glisten along the waters.  The sounds of ear-shattering thunder and crackling lightning draw your attention away from the sparkling image as you notice a darkened fortress lit with the embers of a crimson flame.

Your mind clouds over as the volume of the chanting increases and begins to echo throughout the lands.  For a brief moment you feel yourself being many places at one time.  The ground beneath you appears to tremble as frightened animals and other creatures try to regain their balance.

372 years, 296 days since the Victory of Lanival the Redeemer.

6/12/03

Your mind swirls in a kaleidoscope of images sending you into a deep trance.  As the vision takes form, you observe several cloaked figures which appear to be digging at the ground.  A chanting in a tongue that seems older than time itself is heard emanating from the walls.  A sudden distraction wakes you from your vision. 

The image of a burning battlefield strewn with decapitated corpses permeates your thoughts.  Your attention is drawn to a hilltop where a burnt and tattered banner flutters in the breeze.  There appears to be an image on the banner you cannot quite make out.

You are drawn to an empty field facing a beautiful tower of crystal.  Reflections of light appear to glisten along the walls.  The sounds of ear-shattering thunder and crackling lightning draw your attention away from the sparkling image as you notice a darkened fortress lit with the embers of a crimson flame. 

Your mind is drawn to the image of a stone fortress.  In the background smoulder the remains of a burning forest.  Above you, clouds appear to be moving at a quick pace and form a thick blanket across the night sky.

As if seeing through another's eyes, you notice a ritual being performed.  Before you stands a familiar figure of ages past chanting in an unknown tongue.  The very ground beneath you trembles and cracks, then begins to soften as a fierce rain storm is unleashed.

Your mind returns to the myriad of images as you observe a gathering around a giant pit of flame.  A fierce crackling of sound and light illuminates the room before fading into total darkness.  Moments later, a loud screech is heard followed by the sound of rumbling beneath the ground.  Brief glimpses of figures clawing from the dirt emerge as lightning illuminates the night sky. 

The image of a gathering continues as familiar figures observe the ritual.  A loud screech is heard from above and as you gaze upward, you notice a raven peering down at you.  Returning your focus towards the gathering, it appears the ritual has paused as the figures turn to glance at you.  A dark hooded figure draws closer and before you can react a pair of hands wrap about your neck.  You awake feeling somewhat drained and sweating profusely.

*Note: : As this was happening, Shard had its own fun with sky giants, red bear orc bandits, red bear orc scouts and long-fanged warcats.

372 years, 288 days since the Victory of Lanival the Redeemer.

5/18/03

Your vision blurs. The image of vine-like creatures slithering around a stone marker, as if in a bizarre dance, flashes into your mind. Just before the vision ends, you hear a low rumble as the vine-like creatures morph into carapace bodies.

372 years, 187 days since the Victory of Lanival the Redeemer.

4/27/03

The image of a tall cloaked figure appears and in a familiar voice beckons, "Edenlaen, did you really believe I would let you continue this journey?"  The figure draws closer and continues, "Your time draws near, and I will be waiting."  The figure disolves into a swirling mass as a swift breeze permeates the area.

*Note: Seen at the Horse Clan.

4/13/03

The fog thins and the shambling worm infested corpse of an elf appears to be walking towards you, the fog closes in and the corpse is gone.

The fog thins and the rotting corpse of a gorbesh soldier fades into view momentarily.

The fog thins and you see a gnome kneeling in the dark while a woman with no face stands close by, the fog closes in again but not before the gnome looks up with despairing eyes.

3/14/03

A soft glow appears on the horizon, growing brighter until it consumes your vision. The image of a pearlescent moon takes shape before you, rising above the dark outline of a crystal-roofed observatory. As the blurred images begin to take focus, a hand reaches out and grasps the moon. Jagged black cracks mar the surface of the moon, which explodes silently. The hand violently hurls the moon-shards against the base of the observatory, shattering its dome and telescope, and fracturing its foundation. Your sight returns, leaving you gazing at the sky.

11/01/02

Your vision darkens momentarily, a sullen grey fog rolling in to obscure your sight. A moment later it clears, leaving you with a definite sense that the Web of Fate has in some way realigned. Before the sensation completely fades you realize that you feel distinctly more expressive.

10/16/02

Your vision swirls and churns disconcertingly, eventually dissolving into an image of a rather unique looking swamp troll. Burrowing excitedly, he digs at the root of a wickedly twisted oak, pausing occasionally to mutter, "Hides me stash, yah, har har." Eventually his efforts are rewarded as he hefts a small chest from the tree's roots. With a quick snap, the troll pops it open and produces a scroll. "Now," he grunts, "Thems gets payback." The vision swirls and fades.

9/22/02

With the whistle of a frigid wind, a grim haze of snow swirls with uncharacteristic glee, blurring your sense of sight. Upon this canvas of pure, shifting white, images coalesce and dance, eventually forming into that of a determined goblin shaman knee-deep in the muck and mire of the Zaulfang. Beady eyes flickering with malice, he cheerfully sends a fist of stone hurtling at a nearby bird. The shaman turns his head over his olive-toned shoulder to a swamp troll, who nods and grunts, "Yah, you gots it. Now go and teach dem others of yours." Lips curled in a savage grin, the goblin shaman trudges away as the vision fades, returning to mere snow, then finally vanishing altogether.

7/16/02

For a brief moment your vision shifts to the heavens where stars uncounted hang quietly in the night sky above.  As if some forgotten memory suddenly springs forth into consciousness, a constellation that had escaped your notice before now sits within the star-filled dome, unwavering and true, as if it had always been there... and always will be.

*Note: In memoriam of Tinsie, (Observe the heart in the sky.) or just morbid timing with the release of the new constellations?

7/10/02

A sudden chill sweeps over you and your mind becomes clouded. A mass of open fresh graves interspersed with older stone markers fills your vision. A tunnel of trees opens up into a round clearing where eight gravestones have been placed in a circle. The sound of clashing blades echoes within you as the vision fades.

6/22/02

From the mists, a crackle of lightning fills your vision blinding you from reality.  A torrent of rain descends from ominous clouds splaying marsh grasses and causing reeds to bend and snap under driving rain.  Amid the rising waters, small scurrying animals seek the protection of higher ground.  Slowly your realization returns to normal as the vision fades.

From the mists, a crackle of lightning fills your vision blinding you from reality.  The moaning of a crocodile rages against rising water and an unseen enemy.  Slowly your realization returns to normal as the vision fades.

*Note: For those who missed it, there was a pretty decent storm up near Haven. Result? The marsh where crocodiles live is now flooded. Folks are finding..things..on their person after spending some time mucking around through the water.

6/2/02

Your vision shifts to the night sky above, the thick clouds quickly disappearing before your gaze, allowing an unfettered view of the myriad of twinkling stars resting in the heavens. Looking more closely, you quickly realize that many of the stars appear out of alignment for this time of year, looking more like the summer firmament than the winter. As if attempting to gain your attention, the constellation of the Owl begins to flicker and waver as parts of its stellar makeup begins to change position, giving the overall shape a varied appearance without disrupting the original formation. In sequence with the subtle alteration of shape, each of its bordering celestial bodies begins to pass through various changes in shade and color, eventually returning to normal. Quickly, dense clouds return to fill the sky, and all too soon your vision ends leaving you with little more than a brief glimpse of a few familiar stars twinkling behind their foggy curtain.

*Note: The Familiar-Hunter-Person Gliith demanded something along the lines of the entire owl collection of familiars. After a hefty "No, we like them were they are," the Warrior Mages had to fight off some ruffians and cutthroats. Somewhere in the battle a glowing egg and two owl charms were scattered on the ground. Sadar, after breaking this glowing egg, gave the Warrior Mages a vision that something had changed. And how! All owl familiars had become a little more descriptive.

5/30/02

With no warning other than a brief coldness behind your eyes, your mind erupts into a vision. Glancing around, you notice a compound of buildings in ruins. A shadowy humanoid hovers over the buildings, the air swirling violently around him. He gestures at the ground beneath him. Thousands of blackened spiders emerge and engulf the institution of what was. With a wave of his hand, the spiders dissolve. He glances over the ruins, his eyes glowing with a pale light. In retaliation, the ruins claim the shadows around the figure, drawing the dark shroud to itself in its final act. The pale form of an elothean can now be seen descending to the ruins from the night sky. He stands. He gazes. 

As a crystal waterfall cascading down a mountainside, so begins the air to ripple before you, drawing you into its vision. You see an elothean dressed in white, sitting on a boat. As he senses your gaze upon him, he rises and looks into the distance, his eyes glossing over. He smiles and begins to speak, although you are unable to hear a word that is said. The vision dissipates and you find yourself, once again, aware of your surroundings. 

Your sight is darkened by a shroud of swirling mists. You can sense movement as if you were travelling at a great speed. You feel yourself slow, and the figure of an Elothean in white stands in a clearing, surrounded by a forest of trees. A closer study of him reveals a transparancy in his form. Two images fight within, both in the form of children; one shadowy and the other gleaming white. As the struggle intensifies, you feel yourself being pulled away, and stand within reality once again. 

Your vision blurs and reforms into a scene depicting a seaside cliff. Lying at the bottom of the cliff is the broken and shattered form of a dark child. As you gaze somberly at the grisly image, the face takes the form of a bat-winged skull. The Darkmage of Tezirah lies dead at your feet. Atop the cliff, the whiteclad Elothean gazes down at the corpse, a smile of resignation echoed in his eyes.

5/21/02

The day Magic died.

Was too much to post all of it here.

5/20/02

A faint greenish hue washes over you momentarily, and then fades away into nothingness.   A moment later it returns, lingering a little longer before fading reluctantly out of sight, leaving little more than a memory, silently drifting through your mind.  Before you can give it another thought, a flushed, hazy image of a lone, pillar of shadowy-grey marble appears before your eyes, its dark mottled coloring bathed in a soft green light, cast by swirling, flickering motes of luminescence.  You focus your mind bringing the image more into focus, the column of granite now looming high above.

The sickening, greenish illumination washes over everything around you, but it becomes clear now that it doesn't quite touch the surface of the marble, but appears to be held at bay by an aura of almost imperceptibly clear, barrier of crystallized eldritch fire, unwavering in its attempt to block the yellow-green light from reaching its intended target.  A brilliant flash followed by countless shards of crystal tears though the air around you, as the remaining auras collapses into a single glowing force, and vanishes into the darkness.  Your vision clears quickly, and while all looks normal, your pulse races at the imagery you just witnessed, and the implications of the future possibilities the vision contains.

5/19/02

A faint greenish hue washes over you momentarily, and then fades away into nothingness.  A moment later it returns, lingering a little longer before fading reluctantly out of sight, leaving little more than a memory, silently drifting through your mind.

A faint greenish hue washes over you momentarily, and then fades away into nothingness. A moment later it returns, lingering a little longer before fading reluctantly out of sight, leaving little more than a memory, silently drifting through your mind.  Before you can give it another thought, a flushed, hazy image of a lone, pillar of shadowy-grey marble appears before your eyes, its dark mottled coloring bathed in a soft green light, cast by swirling, flickering motes of luminescence.  As you try to focus more intently, the vision fades, but you sense you have been given something -- but what, you have no clue...

A faint greenish hue washes over you momentarily, and then fades away into nothingness.   A moment later it returns, lingering a little longer before fading reluctantly out of sight, leaving little more than a memory, silently drifting through your mind.  Before you can give it another thought, a flushed, hazy image of a lone, pillar of shadowy-grey marble appears before your eyes, its dark mottled coloring bathed in a soft green light, cast by swirling, flickering motes of luminescence.

You focus your mind bringing the image more into focus, the column of granite now looming high above.  The sickening greenish hue washes over everything around you, but you notice now its coloring doesn't quite touch the surface of the marble, but appears more to be attacking an unseen force surrounding it, seeking this way and that, trying desperately to find a breech in its invisible armor.  A brilliant flash of red blinds you momentarily, and you find yourself standing quietly, with no sight of anything tangible from your vision within view.

5/17/02

A faint greenish hue washes over you momentarily, and then fades away into nothingness.

5/15/02

Your vision is suddenly overtaken by a thick plume of smoke rising into a clear evening sky.  Your view descends rapidly from above, falling upon a burning pyre in the middle of a dusty road.  A small band of kobolds dances gleefully about the burning construct, their yipping cries echoing in your mind as the vision fades.

*Note: The Clerical Merchant Vemiir was later found to be attacked on the Southern Trade Road by Archrost and friends. After being struck down more times than I'd like to count, he managed to escape and start with the studies of his new found books from the caravan's wreckage, and a chalice from the temple.

5/13/02

A cold wind blows in from the north, bringing with it the sound of bells. Your vision blurs for a moment as wolf-like shapes take form, fleeing from some small dark creature. The forest seems alive with darkness, as one shadow after another falls still to the ground.

An image suddenly flits into your mind, depicting a large ebonwood caravan pulled by yaks.  It trundles at a steady pace south on the Northern Trade Route, laden with a plethora of scrolls and books.  A sickly sense of illness grips your stomach as the vision fades.

1/15/02

Your vision dims for a moment, hazy gray pinpricks of light passing before your eyes.  Shadowy shapes flit along the corners of your mind but are gone before you can begin to focus on them.  As the fog in your mind begins to lift, you get an image of a weathered granite monolith, half-buried in the forest.

Wispy formless creatures cavort about in a sinister dance in your mind, beckoning and whispering things you cannot quite understand.  The darkness of the lush forest crowds around you, bathing your senses in an eerie silence.

A mass of swirling shadows fills your mind and the image of two glowing sanguine eyes emerge, clothed in little more than a rag of a robe.  With a head-reeling jolt the hallucination pulls back and away but not before you can see the tall wooden walls surrounding a small city.  Slowly your vision fades...

1/12/02

The world about you blurs in a vortex of color.  Before you, a horde of dark shapes moves silently across an expanse of water.  In the background, a large slab of rock juts forth, a lone observer to the stealthy crossing.  With another dizzying swirl, your vision returns to normal.

Swirling in a myriad of colors, faint pinpoints of light begin to form before you.  A wall of reeds slowly materializes, only to be bent and crushed as hundreds of feral shapes lumber southward.  A faint howling echoes in your mind as the vision fades.

With an ashy haze, your vision momentarily clouds over.  An undulating mass of dark shadows plods toward an obsidian ridge, leaving a trail of mire and muck in its wake.  Desperate battle cries and howls of triumph briefly echo in your mind as the misty vision fades.

With an implosion of churning images, the sinister scene resumes.  A mass of dark figures rumbles onward, their passage south sending up clouds of ash and dust.  As the vision fades, you catch a glimpse of a lone sirese flower standing its ever vigilant guard.

A cloud of dust rises before you, drawing you into another macabre vision.  With a feverish hunger, a group of foul-looking creatures despoil an unfortunate soul rotting beneath a branded tree.  The scene vanishes with a gust of chill wind.

A blast of cold air assails your senses as terrifying imagery wavers before you.  The decaying wood of an abandoned shack shudders as the swarming horde presses onward, leaving billowing poisonous mists in its wake.  The vision fades.

A thin tendril of a luminous silver mist coalesces in front of you.  It opens into a large cloud that quickly snuffs out the rest of your vision.  Looming before you is the image of a gate guarding a large town.  Strewn about it are hundreds of bloodied bodies, some still jerking in the final spasms of death.  Baleful howling rises in a loud crescendo as the vision slowly fades.

11/13/01

The sky blackens as your vision begins to blur.  Suddenly an image of a vast horde comes into focus.  Massive shapes begin to emerge, scrambling over one another to get at the gate that is blocking the way into the river city.

Your vision blurs and the image of dark massive shapes can be seen making their way south down a long dusty road.  Hoping to take the southern city by surprise they surge forth.

*Note: Later this vision was meant as a warning for the armored warklins and warklin maulers that were headed to attack the Crossing.

11/03/01

A stark image of an elderly Moon Mage springs into your mind, his eyes glowing with a smoky blue light. "Greetings, students," he rasps in a time-worn voice. "If you would open your spell books to the page with the Burn spell pattern, I have some carefully researched corrections." You feel oddly compelled to do just that, and carefully scribe down the changes as he recites them in the vision. "Later, students, I or one of my peers will have comments on the Telekinetic Throw spell as well." With that said, the vision flickers away.

*Note: [Significant changes in the Burn spell are now LIVE.  These changes include: requirement of a bright moon OR the sun to cast, not instantly arresting those in town, incremented damage for already damaged areas, updated messaging, the ability to burn through fog with enough mana, a check for armor and appropriate armor damage, and a temporary removal of the ability to use naphtha.  For a full listing of the changes, please refer to the Moon Mage Boards, Guild Guru Announcements.] - Taken from an old news report.