Scholar Lore

Lodestone Wrote:In an age long past, when mankind flourished under the radiance of arcane mastery, the island of Vylbrand was home to a city-state called Nym. Though the history of that age tells of countless wars waged with earth-shattering incantations, it was the brilliant strategic maneuvering of Nym's scholars that allowed their mundane army of mariners to throw back would-be conquerers time and again. These learned men and women defended the freedom of their tiny nation with their unique command over spell-weaving faeries, utilizing the creatures' magicks to heal the wounded and bolster the strength of their allies.

Alka Zolka Wrote:In that age of wonders more than fifteen hundred years ago, when rival nations brought earth-shattering magicks to bear against one another, scholars were instrumental in ensuring the survival of Nym. Though they were far fewer in number relative to the mariners, it is clear that these mages formed the backbone of the Nymian military. One might describe their role as one which provides support, but that does not adequately describe their capabilities, as far as I am concerned.

Powerful restorative and enhancing magicks, well, those were hardly unusual in that day and age. No, what sets scholars apart was both the strength of their magicks, and the manner in which they employed them. Aye, I speak of the faeries, those otherworldly creatures which the scholars learned to bind and control. However, as we saw firsthand on several occasions, that control is not absolute.

Las Vegas Lore Panel Wrote:Q: To follow up on a question from the stream earlier- the taxonomy that fairies fall into. Is there an origin to how they become fairies of Scholars. Were they fairies and then bound to scholars? or did the scholars create them?

MCKF: Yes, the second one. Fairies again, while they fall under the taxonomy of elementals, they are actually beings that were created. They did not exist before. The Scholar would take the energies and elements from around them and would basically create these beings that were made of the elements.

Q: Those are bound to the soul crystal then and passed from one person to the next where carbuncle is more one per person. Very cool.

Alka Zolka Wrote:According to the tablet, the crystal from which the faerie sprang forth is called the Soul of the Scholar, and it contains the wisdom of those long-dead Nymian mages. With it, you can call upon the faerie as you did before and bind her to your will.

Gerolt Wrote:Fancy yerself a scholar, eh? Like one o' them as helped the nation o' Nym preserve its sovereignty durin' the War o' the Magi way back when? I know a bit about 'em, as it happens. They were a right clever lot, those scholars. Thanks to their brilliant strategizin', the Nymians never failed to throw back would-be conquerers no matter how badly they were outnumbered. Like I always say, it ain't the size what matters, but how ye use it. A-Ahem! Aaanyroad, 'tis a copy o' the Omnilex ye want, a right bleedin' rare grimoire what's supposed to contain all the military tactics ever conceived by man. Unlucky for ye, though, they don't make 'em like they used to. Which is to say, not anymore. But if yer heart's set on a copy, ye might try rootin' about western La Noscea. If I remember rightly, the Nymians used to have a port over there, but it's long since become a Sahagin lair─the Sapsa Spawnin' Grounds, 'tis called.

Gerolt Wrote:Anyroad, let's talk about that text ye brought. It contains accounts o' the major clashes what took place durin' the War o' the Magi. The entry on the Battle o' the Gods' Grip jumped out at me. This was when the Nymians took the Amdapori host by surprise as it made its beach landin'─takin' the siege to the besiegers, as it were. As they're wont to do, the scholars played a key role in the victory, though that didn't interest me near as much as the passage what touched on the Omnilex. Turns out the patterns on the cover are meant to improve the flow of aether from the wielder's hands. An' I'd thought 'em merely decorations. Ye learn summat new every day, eh?

Alka Zolka Wrote:It contains a wealth of military knowledge, much of which details the role of scholars in Nymian units. Apparently, a single scholar could provide effective support for an entire party of marauders! They would employ their magicks to heal the wounds and enhance the abilities of their allies. Moreover, they often served in leadership roles, as they were highly trained tacticians.

Jalzahn Wrote:Legend tells us a grimoire such as this was passed down through the
mages of Nym. Indeed, Golbas Rombas, the hero who saved his people from the floods of the Sixth Umbral Calamity, was known to rely upon it as his secret weapon.

Alka Zolka Wrote:Much of what I have learned until now has pertained to the roles of scholars within the military. However, these latest texts offer insight into a scholar's activities during times of peace. As you can imagine, they were not the sort to let their restorative magicks go to waste. One particularly stirring account describes their selfless efforts to combat the spread of a virulent plague which at one point threatened to engulf all of Nym. Naturally, they did so with the aid of their faeries.

Surito Carito Wrote:I am...I was Surito Carito, before the sickness from the sea transformed me. The traders, they were the first. As their ears and noses began to atrophy, their limbs grew shorter, and their skin... We scholars tried to halt the spread, tried to find a cure. But in time, we too fell ill.

Sympathy turned to fear, and fear to anger. Monsters, they called us. Abominations! They sealed the sick within the temple with magicks─tried to drown us...tried to forget us... Though our bodies had been changed, our minds remained intact.

Surito Carito Wrote:From traders who returned from the south seas, yes. They had lost their mainmast in a fearsome tempest and drifted, victims of the current, until at last they ran aground on a desert isle. Half dead, they stumbled ashore, and would have perished but for the Lalafellin tribe that lived there. These natives nursed the traders back to health and helped mend their ship. They even sent our men home with an amphora etched with ornate designs─a gift of friendship. Yet our joy soon turned to horror. The traders began to grow ill, for the sickness was upon them. They transformed, and the rest, you know.

You mean to suggest that it was not the men who bore the disease? Then who─or what...? Something they carried, perhaps, something...like the islanders' gift! Yes, here, a binding sigil cut into the bottom─ ...Dear gods, it cannot be! This is the work of Mhach! Mhach was our enemy, rapacious and unwise. Their magi trafficked with the void, grew mighty from shadows and attacked our lands time and again! Look no further than this─their sigil which sealed a voidsent in this “gift.” The islanders must have been their pawns in a plot to bring us to our knees.

Mahisha Wrote:In death does Mahisha find its purpose, and so the scent of corse-flower is sweet to this creature. A stele unearthed at Nym records Mahisha was summoned during the War of the Magi in the Fifth Astral Era, for the conquest of the Floating City. The ploy failed and Mahisha was bound at great cost, by the efforts of some two-score phrontists at Nym. What broke the tethers is not known, though there are theories ranging from the Calamity to the humble weevil.

Camate Wrote:Many grimoires can be wielded by arcanists, scholars, or summoners. However, each grimoire is tailored to a single profession, which can be determined by examining its contents.

Arcanist grimoires contain geometric symbols that shape and direct the power of arcanima; summoner grimoires contain incantations used to call forth and command primal egi; scholar grimoires contain a wealth of tactics and stratagems which can be applied during battle.

Each grimoire will display one of these three patterns when opened. However, we’ve heard your requests for more variety, and will relay them to the art team. Thanks for the feedback!

Sightseeing Vista #030 Wrote:Camp Bronze Lake
The formation of great underwater fissures during the Calamity saw the nearly half of the water comprising Bronze Lake vanish in the span of a single night. The result was the uncovering of ancient Nymian ruins submerged for thousands of years - most notably, the Wanderer's Palace, a temple dedicated to the god Oschon.

Sightseeing Vista #021 Wrote:Woad Whisper Canyon
Little more than a shallow valley but five years past, Woad Whisper Canyon was carved into a gaping gorge in a matter of moons after the Calamity drained Bronze Lake and dramatically altered the course of the Nym River. On hot days, laborers from both Summerford Farms and the Skylift will oft take respite in the cool mists of the falls... if not met by bandits.

Sightseeing Vista #033 Wrote:The Floating City of Nym
Suspended high above the foothills of Mt. O'Ghomoro is the Floating City of Nym - central hub of a lost civilization which prospered on Vylbrand during the Fifth Astral Era. The accepted theory was to how the city was torn from the realm involves the over-aspecting of corrupted wind crystals - a phenomenon witnessed late in the Sixth Astral Era.