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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11803 Posts |
 Posted - 17 Jun 2020 : 08:25:55
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I just felt like making a picture of an NPC I've used now for 20+ years. After making the picture, I felt like posting something I wrote long ago and that I think the people her at Candlekeep, if anyone, could appreciate. Its not extremely long, and its just an introduction for something longer, but I think this bit stands on its own. To note, the picture has one piece not described in the story, because the story is what happens to Lorey during the spellplague. There's an imprint of Auppenser's holy symbol on his tsukagashira (you would call it the pommel) now. If you like the content, let me know, as he's important to me for some reason that I don't even truly understand.
In short, Lorey is an animate, intelligent flying sai that can talk, loves history, magic, and teaching, has psionic powers of use pretty much only for research (though he can "magehand" things), is exceptionally polite but sometimes not tactful, is in love with his "owner" Lady Jillian Doncastle but understands she must find a compatible mate (and sometimes tries horribly to play matchmaker), is HORRIFIED by the idea of being USED by anyone in combat (he will come to the aid of those who can't defend themselves, especially children.... more especially Jillian's children), and who despite having the consciousness of a bard withim him, is horrible at poetry and singing, but loves to do it.
The picture.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4463054
Lorey Hisstory Psion Sai Cyclopedia (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4463054) by sleyvas is licensed under the Creative Commons - Attribution - Non-Commercial license.
The story
The sai lay upon a small table with a hexagonal bronze plaque with the representation of a cobalt blue eye lying unwinking at its center. The plaque was a holy symbol of the slumbering deity of the ancient Jhaamdathi people, a being known as Auppenser, Lord of the Invisble Art, God of Psionics, Master of Mind Magics. The sai sent its mental worship through the plaque, in hopes that it would make its way to his slumbering god. Of course, Lorey, as the sai had taken to naming itself, was unsure if what it was doing had any effect whatsoever. After all, the accident of “his” creation was a bit unique to say the least, leaving the question of whether “he” had a soul in doubt. Lorey had to take it upon faith that he did somehow possess a soul, because anything else would simply make the weapon go mad.
The blue sapphire in “his” hilt had been the amplified psi-crystal of a powerful psion of ancient Jhaamdath. The runes down the shaft, or monouchi, of the sai were in ancient Roushoum, an Imaskari Script, and had been used to instill powerful magics within the weapon. The scribe of Candlekeep who had discovered both items, who was also both a mage of considerable skill and a bard with a sagely repertoire of lore, had seized upon an intriguing idea for an experiment. The scribe had discovered a latent intellect still entrapped within the blue gem he'd discovered in the hoard of an Ogre-magi that had been raiding settlements south of Amn. Though he didn't truly understand what this intellect was or how it had come to exist, the scribe did understand that it was possible to awaken minor intelligence within magic items. The scribe decided that he would seek to enhance the sai for which he'd recently traded a wu-jen of Kara-Tur a captured red wizard spellbook filled with flame magic. Unable to cast some of the divine spells needed for some of the additional augmentations he planned for the sai, the monk-scribe elicited the aid of a mage-priest of Azuth, the Lord of Spellcraft. Of course the mage-priest joyfully agreed to help with the experiment, for to do so would be considered an act holy to his lord. Unfortunately for the scribe and mage-priest, this great act of magical enchantment would also coincide with the fall of the gods from the heavens, or as it would later be called, “the Avatar Crisis”.
The two spellcasters were in the midst of the ritual of unleashing the intellect within the sapphire and tying it to the weapon. Even under ordinary circumstances, the trial of marrying a mind to a magical device can be taxing, but neither of them were prepared for the struggle they would be dragged into when magic suddenly went awry. Spinning out of control, the magic seeking intelligence found it within not only the gem, but also the skulls of the two spellcasters seeking to guide and control the laying of the magical bindings.
Thus had Lorey's “birth” caused the comatose deaths of its creators. Even the very idea that “he” still thought of himself as male in this sexless form was a bit absurd, but his origins definitely wouldn't allow for himself to think of himself as a feminine personae. He possessed the partial knowledge of all 3 individuals who had been involved with the formation of his “mind”, though he still had little knowledge of how exactly his base physical form had been created, beyond the sapphire attached to the tsuka or hilt of his body.
Lorey's research into his own history had led him to some basic facts, such as the fact that the wrappings on his tsuka were no ordinary leather, but rather the supple underbelly of a song dragon named Amathandara Trillingmoon. The fact that the only physical part of his being that was even remotely organic belonged to a female didn't bother him at all. The fact that he could find no solid history of her death and only that she lived over 2 millenia ago was highly disconcerting however. Lorey had had better luck with the physical form of his sai however. The runes inscribed were in Roushoum, an ancient Imaskari dialect that had also been taken up my many mages of the Raumathari empire. The original weaponsmith had left markings upon the yoku, or sideguards as Westerners often called them, which corresponded to markings seen on several masterwork weapons created by a family of crafters in the Raumathari Empire. The adamantine of which he was forged had come from mines beneath that which would become modern day Thay.
However, his knowledge of the psi-crystal embedded to the tsuka brought lots of information on his former self in Jhaamdath, the ancient Empire built on mental magic. Supreme in their control of psionics, the Jhaamdathi people had flourished, building a wonder filled society that made the modern day pale in comparison. Their deity, Auppenser, smiled upon that which they had built, a peaceful culture of collaboration and helpful co-existence. With the creation of their udoxias artifact that bestowed the powers of the invisible arts upon even its least citizens, the plights of the common people of Jhaamdath were lessened. The Bladelords of Jhaamdath still had to defend their borders from encroachment, and his psion personality had been chief amongst those who had pushed back against their nearby Untheric oppressors. Still, for the most part, his life in Jhaamdath had been one of mostly quiet research. In contrast, the blood filled brutality of today's insufferable, power grabbing, backstabbing, greedmongers quite frankly made him ill, or as ill as a magically animated object can feel.
Still, there was always a light in the darkness to brighten the gloom. For Lorey, that had come when he'd been flitting about Candlekeep's library shelves several months after his “birth”. During the entirety of the Avatar Crisis, he'd spent his time perusing the history books to catch up on all the changes to the world over the past two millenia. He'd learned of the fall of many of the great empires he'd known in his life as a Jhaamdathi citizen.... militant Raumathar, demonic Narfell, mystical Netheril, and even the God-King ruled empires of Mulhorand and Unther had lessened in power. In their wake had formed new governments, the magocracy of Thay, the masked wychlaran of Rashemen, the kingdoms of Cormyr, Aglarond, and Impiltur, as well as numerous city states. Luckily, Lorey's convergence with the other two unfortunate souls had enabled his “mind” to rapidly assimilate this new data, for as he made connections in his studies, often facts known by those two individuals would come to the fore. Still, the more he knew about this new world, the more out of touch he felt in it.
Then one day a young, raven-haired beauty had shown up in the dank and drafty section of the Candlekeep library in which Lorey had been hiding. It was obvious from her dress that the woman was of noble birth, but she carried herself as if she didn't realize the value of the frock which she wore. The fact that the dress was covered in ink stains on the sleeves only attested to her lack of care. Her index finger was darkened, obviously from long amounts of time dipping a quill into ink for transcribing texts. Her lips also showed a slight darkening, a testament to her bad habit of sticking her finger in her mouth when she was thinking. Of course, this bad habit of hers was something that the lonely sai found even more endearing as he watched. Hours led into days, and days led into weeks, but the sai never approached the young woman who had so captured his attention.
Then came the day in which the young woman had come into the library and begun to read the treatise on Neverwinter nobles which Lorey himself had been perusing the night before. Oddly, the woman had turned to the same section which Lorey had been reading. This intrigued the sai. Floating in the air behind and above her, the weapon began to read. Suddenly, the young woman spoke, “So, are you done yet? Can I flip to the next page?”.
Aghast at being discovered, the sai mentally froze in his tracks. What would she do to him? Would she tell the scribes of his existence? Would they experiment on him to determine how he'd been created? The questions were unfolding in his mind nearly faster than he could completely think them. Then the young woman turned around to look at the floating said and spoke again, “Look, if you're going to stare over my shoulder, at least be polite enough to introduce yourself. My name is Lady Jillian Doncastle of Neverwinter, but you can call me Jillian or Jilly for short. And you are?”
At that time, Lorey hadn't actually considered the concept that he'd need a name. Oddly the names of all his former personalities seemed wrong to him, as if he'd absorbed their memories but in an oddly factual way. Sheepishly pointing his tip towards the floor, he answered her, “I don't rightly have a name to tell the truth, mistress Jillian. I've only been created in the last several months, and I've never talked to anyone else since my creation.”
Jillian smiled at the awkward little weapon. It was a smile that would change the sai's life, as she said, “Well, I've been paying attention to you for these past few weeks. You seem to like all of this lore just like I do. How about the name 'Lorey'?”. She paused for a second, to look at the numerous history books surrounding her and then added, “And for a last name, how about History... or maybe His Story... yeah Lorey Hisstory.... do you like it?“
The sai thought about it for a second, before answering, “Why yes, I do believe I like that mistress Jillian. Please, do call me Lorey, and as pertains to your previous question, why yes I had finished reading the page two minutes ago and was quite hoping you would turn the page soon.”
Thus had started a relationship that would span the next twenty-seven years.
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Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
Edited by - sleyvas on 17 Jun 2020 08:30:13
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Lorey Hisstory: A Sai makes a Friend
