THE QUEST FOR VAAITHARG
The Myth
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It came to pass that in th Age of the Eleven Great Battles that almighty
Zorak Zoran's weapon was stolen from his grasp by the evil Bull-headed Broo
God and the mino-mino men who accompanied him.
Without Death, Zorak Zoran felt he was at a disadvantage. He could see that
the weapons others wielded were Death, but he had neither the orginal nor
had he been left with a simalcrum. For three days he howled with rage atop
Manmath-geg, which elves know as the Knoll of Elder Wood. His mind, clouded
with hate and anger, was not clear enough to help him acquire another blade
or maul and so his Great Sister took it upon herself to aid him, "Brother,"
she said, "whose blood is bonded to the Darkness, Subere crafted Death which
was surely mighty, but you are a warrior and she was not, surely you can
create a a weapon even greater than hers. See, on the horizons of the world
are so many beasts that you might claim power from. Here, brother, take this
maul you gave to me for defence. I return it to you, that it might become
even greater." Zorak Zoran took the maul and never forgot the act of
devotion for his sister was forced to the Lands of the Dead soon after for
want of a weapon.
He then left, deep into the Guardian Forest, to search for beasts and gods
from which he would steal powers from -- like he had Yelmalio. The Forest
Guardian was a creature well known to Zorak Zoran, and was dispatched with
his powers, and allowed him from the knoll into the lands. He was forced to
meet elves and dryads, whom challenged him at every turn. Eventually he
managed to break away from the barriers they formed and escaped into the
Lands of Chaos, although he loathed how he did it.
In the Lands of Void, he was faced by every form of horror and terror, but
he had met each one already and so dispatched them with his sisters club.
When he at last came across some remanent of Life and Existence, it was in
the form of the Blue Moon Army. He met with Boktazang, and discovered they
had been tracking a particular Chaos Bitch for some time, but after she was
confronted she had slain two of Kyger Litor's Great-grand-daughters, and so
the army had retreated. They warned him of her poison. Zorak Zoran followed
the trail that Boktazang showed him though it got difficult near the end, in
the hope that he might find the Six-Legged Demoness.
Eventually he came across her, pounced while she was in the ribcage of a
dead god, and defeated her with the Seven Stones. He filled his Sister's
Maul with the Scorpion Mother's Blood and left her for the Blue Moon Army,
which later presented her body to to a Sky God for some unfathomable reason.
Zorak Zoran has ever since wielded his poisonous club, which he named
Vaaitharg, or "Sister's Gift".
Author's Notes: "The Age of the Eleven Battles"-- The trolls commemorate 11
battles of the Greater Darkness, and so it is this period it refers to.
"Bull Headed Broo God"-- Ragnaglar, who stole Death from Zorak Zoran
according to KoS.
"mino-mino men"-- I'm not sure, but they might be broo.
"but he had neither the orginal nor had he been left with a simalcrum"--
Unlike the other gods of the Darkness, when Death was stolen it was not
replaced.
"Great Sister" obviously Xiola Umbar.
"Blue Moon Army"-- According to Trollpak Boztakang the Chaos Killer lead the
Blue Moon Army in many offensives.
The goddess Zorak Zoran defeats is of course Bagog. According to LoT p.40
Bagog was presented to Yelm by Murharxarm, and so to link in with this myth,
The Blue Moon Army presents the body to the Sky Gods. The club was mentioned
also in Trollpak, briefly, but no myth was given to it's name nor it's
creation. That is my own. Notice that this myth takes place late on in
Godtime, it is riddled by the decay and death of the late Darkness where
most gods are already dead, dying, or infested. This mood can add a lot to
the Quest when run.
Preparation
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This is a major HeroQuest, and so many people and potnetial Questers spend
years researching it, and gaining more mundane support and power to aid on
the magical Quest.
All Questers must destroy, break or dismember their weapons before the
Quest. All weapons must be so destroyed. It is not permissible to give your
weapons to someone else and later recover them, but permanently giving them
to someone else can occur. A Quester must also have the blessings a Xiola
Umbar Priestess, who must give the Quester a Maul -- usually this is made of
strong, strong wood, or enchanted lead, and may have from 1-10 points of POW
of enchantments depending upon how likely the Priestess believes the Quester
is to suceed. The Ritual spell is described below. It may be sacrificed for
by any Zorak Zoran Deathlord at a Great Temple or in a Shrine to the
Posionous Club (which only appear in certain parts of Dagori Inkarth and Guhan).
THE RITE OF VAAITHARG
5 points
Ritual (ceremony), re-usuable
During this rite the canidate (who may, or may not, be the caster of the
spell) destroys his weapons and then begins a howling rage for three
consecutive days. During this time supporters can cast Endurance spells to
keep him awake. Any allied spirits released in the weapons being destroyed
become disembodied, and will rebind themselves into the Posionous Club if
the Quest suceeds. All others powers, enchantments etc.. in the weapons are
destroyed -- except in special circumstances determined by the Gamesmaster
to do with special blessings from Zorak Zoran. At the culmination of the
rite, the Zorak Zoran Quester forms as his/her avatar on the HeroPlane.
Ths Quest may only be undertaken by single Questers, multiple Questers are
not allowed. Only worshippers of Zorak Zoran may be sent.
The Quest
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(1)Manmath-Geg
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Tree Guardians (collections of bloodvines, poison bushes, spine throwing triffids etc...)
Body 2 Skill: Combat 2; Perception 1+; all other NA. Mind 1 Magic Points: 14
Author's Note: This is a simple encounter to ensure that only potential Hero's continue. Those who ignore what the Myth says about the guardian, and ignore the logical conclusion that in an elven forest the plant life is the enemy, get everything they deserve. At this point a Quester may decide to return to the Mundane Plane if they believe the Quest is too tricky. Those who continue may have lost Support Points and such attacking the Guardians, which will be neccessary later on.
(2) The Guardian Forest
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Author's Notes: Obviously, those who keep fighting will be taken down soon enough. Obstinate Questers are likely to fail badly. This part of the Quest relates a lot to the I Fought We Won description given in Cults of Terror wherein Kyger Litor aids Zzabur and Zzabur aids another god and so on, to ensure success.
Nick E.
- -------------------------------------------------Nick the Shaman of Thed E-Mail:wal_at_eff.u-net.com
I thought Britain was Dorastor without broo, but then Sandy made it all clear to me.
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