W.W's Spriggan Journal (finished)

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Petrifictus
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W.W's Spriggan Journal (finished)

Post by Petrifictus » Tue Nov 21, 2017 6:06 pm

"Wrote this IC-Story with a hope it ending up being a book item in Arelith." - Petrifictus
EDIT: I was shared little more knowledge by StoneBreaker which I nearly forgot in the war. Improved the journal and I wish the DEVs would look it and add it into the game. - Petrifictus

W.W's Spriggan Journal

The Illusion War, the terrible 10 years old chapter in the Earthkin Alliance's history where many good souls fought the scum and villainy of the Crawler Below, the evil gnome deity Urdlen.

As much I would like to forget the war, I'm feeling a need to write down my experiences so that the earthkins of the tomorrow would know about the war from my point of view.

My name is Wotan Woodberry, the ranger and servant of the Forest Gnome, the gnome deity of travel, forest and nature.
I'm known as the Oakenheart, the Defender of Crags, the Hero of Bendir, the Veteran of the Illusion War and the Leader of the Gnomes in the Earthkin Alliance.

I remember my part in the tale began when I met a wolf in Bendir. It told me about the Nature's Dream, pleaded me to find a forest gnome, Ivory Bushdigger and share the dream with her before it was too late. The dream told about the spriggans and the ”Sad Gnome with a huge blade” who was ahead about something great and terrible. I tried to find her but she found me and we spent time to figure out the dream until she thought we should wait and see.

I praise the Forest Gnome about meeting Ivory. She was a sight of beauty, a bard of wisdom and a great dancer. I never expected us to end up together in love on our long journey in the tale but without her, I would probably be a different gnome, not being able to smile, laugh or have fun after the war. She was my light in darkness.

I had my first encounter with the spriggans in the Skull Crags, alongside with my Oakenheart family, the forces of Triad and the Lion's Legion. We ventured through a portal deep inside the Infernal Prison where I learned the true meaning of evil. They had practiced terrible experiments like turning gnomes into spriggans and elves into drow. Their vile warlocks summoned terrible devils against us but in the end we prevailed. After the battle I met Warden Smith who I shared my experiences about the spriggans and the Nature's Dream, and he in return told me about the enemy and the war I ended up into. After the meeting we started to plan and work together against the spriggan threats.

Urdlen and his spriggans believed that all the living things should be killed, and anything created by them had to be destroyed. He encouraged greed, bloodlust, hatred, uncontrolled impulses and evil.
The gnomes of the Grotto had fought them 3 years since the Illusion War started and spread later to the surface.

Warden Smith, also known with his real name as Torlarnd Ironfoot amongst my kin, was the previous leader of the gnomes before I took his place after the war. He was the servant of Ironhand, the gnome deity of vigilance, combat and martial defence. He was a hammer and shield in darkness and never flinched at the face of evil. Through our deities disliked each other, we forged a strong bond which I pray to stay the same after the war.

During my journey I met Terto Tarquin, the leader of the Gnomen Associations who watched over the gnome rights around Arelith. We both worked for the good of our kin but we had our differences. While I was guided by the faith and dreams, he was by reason and logic. As I saw the best in the other races, he saw only the worse. We were like the two different sides of a same coin.
I joined with him later in the defence of Greyhammer when the Shadow Moles of Urdlen dug up against us and we rushed to save Ivory from his evil altair. If ye feel the moles being around, I suggest ye to check out the area for any signs of them and talk with hands or paper as they can hear ye.

It did not take long when the First Battle of Bendir began, where the spriggans assaulted alongside with their Underdark allies and summoned devils. I was leading the defences, organized by Kera, with my fellow Oakenhearts and volunteered archers. The waiting was the worst part when we waited the dark. Before the battle we had our first encounter with the imposters, doubles or copies, whatever ye like to call them in a forms of Terto and Lissa Whitehorn. They tried to ask us to lay down our arms and claimed this was a false alarm but luckily the real ones appeared soon after and dealt with the copies. During the battle Lissa, Terto and other earthkins were captured and I joined the others to rescue them. In the end we won and rescued the captured but Urdlen left us a shuddering warning in a form of our copied corpses.

The spriggan doubles were dangerous. Once made, they possessed ye skills, power, gear and knowledge, which made the safewords useless but not ye nature. Their revelation made many earthkins uncertain as they would have been anywhere. The best way to reveal one was using the holy water, wards like protection from evil, fun such as singing and dancing or anything positive like the acts of love. I later heard that the cold iron also work but I never saw it in use. I never met any living copies about myself, just dead ones and they still creeped me out.

But we were not without spies of our own. The deep gnome, Vysarene Urda risked her neck by digging up any piece of knowledge she could find. I later learned she was terribly tortured by the spriggans, from which she never fully recovered. I pray the Forest Gnome to aid her hurt spirit.

Lissa Whitehorn was the previous mayor of Bendir, before she stepped down and passed the title to Kera Nutcracker, the Hawkin sheriff and the leading Alderkin after the battle. I heard she was captured before and forced to build terrible machines to the spriggans and she was plagued by her imposter, who was later revealed as her aunt, Selmila Whitehorn. Her aunt was driven mad by the loss of her daughter and sought to make the earthkins suffer, while trying to force Lissa becoming a new daughter for her. My first encounter with Selmila just ended up me falling in deep sleeping coma by her magic but praise the Forest Gnome, Lissa was with me or else I shudder what would had happended.

Long time later the Grotto fell under the tyranny of a imposter ”Torlarnd the Greater” who outlawed all the practice of gnome religions. Me and Smith worked with a plan to use the Festival of Star to reveal the spriggan doubles and the tyrant himself with a use of songs from Ivory. We gained aid from thane Ghestaldt Blimth of Brogdenstein and its dwarves. The festivals turned into a battle as we fought off the enemy as we offered our gifts and prayers to the each gnome god. We won the day and the tyrant was captured but with the cost of Smith, who was taken into the Iron Prison in the Plane of Shadows. We gnomes were left without a leader and I felt lost as thus far Smith was the one who had led me in the war.

Mykthar Silverbeard was the first one to raise a voice about me becoming the leader of the gnomes. I felt scared and nervous about the idea and it took a while to accept the role, but after many encouraging words from my close friend and loved ones, I rose up to the challenge. I was prepared to step down after Smith was saved but he felt that the others were right and I should be a leader.

Together with thane Ghestaldt and colonel Keryvian of Myon, we gathered a force, including many bards to sing along, to march into the Plane of Shadow to rescue Smith from the Iron Prison.
In the prison me and Mykthar were separated from the others and he made a risky bluff to trick the enemy being one of their agents, with me as his prisoner. I was brought to the great machine which the spriggans had used to turn gnomes into one of them. Mykthar tried to buy me more time until the others would arrive but I was hit by the blast. I've never felt such unspeakable pain as I felt my body, mind and soul twisted and bend, but by luck or will of the Forest Gnome I somehow survived, through I was in deep shock. It took some time to recover but with the aid from my beloved Ivory, I endured.

After my survival and the destruction of the machine we encountered devils fighting each other, and later drows which revealed that the spriggans have started infighting each other. We succeeded to find Smith who had uncovered Selmila's identity and later we blew up the prison. I could not breath for long when Bhando Muddletoes warned me about the spriggans gathering their remaining forces and aiming their machines on Bendir.

I joined the Second Battle of Bendir which was also the end of the Illusion War. I lost the track of time as I fought side by side with Terto against the endless waves of spriggans and we were hit by their machines, infected again with corruption. At the highest hill of the battlefield, I saw a lone giant tree in the middle and hugged it, offering a prayer to the Forest Gnome to aid me and once more I was saved. After breaking down the machines and the battle being won, I joined Terto and the dwarves to hunt down Mephez, the last of the known three enemy leaders

We dragged him out from the Glorag Mur to face judgement in Brogdenstein as his hideout blew up. Thane Ghestaldt, Terto and me judged him guilty and the punishment was death. Thane allowed Terto to strike down the killing blow. Mephez laughed about being send to Urlden and gave threats about coming back more powerful than before but I asked him to tell his god who send him.

The Illusion War was over but it still had one more victim to claim. Terto fell into darkness. He did not survive from the corruption as I was. The long battles had hurt him inside and killing Mephez was the final push over the edge. He turned on me, questioned why I was saved while he was not, why I was special and why I became a leader. He called me weak and believed himself to be the strongest, the best bet for our people. I asked the dwarves not to raise their arms and faced hatred with love than fear. I did not wish to spill more blood and I knew there was still good inside him, a conflict. I allowed him to leave with a promise to not harm others. Terto vowed that he would give me time to prove him wrong or else he would dispose me as he see fit. I will save him someday from the claws of the Crawler Below.

I continued being a leader of the gnomes in the Earthkin Alliance, determined in leading us to the better tomorrow to heal the wounds and repair the damages of the war which nearly wiped us out.
We must move on for those who were lost and for those who still remain.

Urdlen and his spriggan legions will return someday, maybe not on my lifetime but they will return. I hope my journal can somehow aid ye but remember that with the determination, faith and dreams ye can face any challenge. Remember to have fun and be happy because those keep ye from falling into the holes of the Crawler Below.

Forest Gnome provides,
Forest Gnome protects,
Forest Gnome watch over us all.
https://petrifications.deviantart.com/
Gnome Wotan Woodberry - (Shelved)
Goblin Toymaker Karma - (Rolled)
Ogre Karstaag da Main Man - (Active)

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