Post by frobones on Jan 19, 2015 12:38:26 GMT -8
If anyone is interested in the details on how/why Ardan/Varis ended up the way he did after the LMoP... here is is:
Distraught after watching Brodrick destroy the forge, Adran abandonned the party without saying a word. He was so frustrated with the incompetency he had surrounded himself, he didn’t realize he already made it back outside the Wave Echo Cave. After a moment to collect his thoughts, he begun to think that he could rebuild the forge. Waiting in the forest nearby, Adran waited for the rest of his former party to exit the cave. Once they were gone, he returned to the location of the forge and retrieved every speckle of the forge that was brought down by Brodrick’s divine fury.
With the forge in tow, Adran retreated to his study to begin researching how to rebuild the forge. Months pass… and Adran still has no inclination on how to rebuild the forge. He managed to physically rebuild it, but the magic it once had was lost. His personal tome and the library he surrounded himself with had no hint or clue on how to restore the magic to the forge. His prayers to Oghma seemed to fall on deaf ears.
A year passes… He has travelled, researched and investigated virtually every possible lead on this physical plane; nothing brought him closer to his goal. At his wits end, Adran realizes there is one option he has not pursued. He would contact a being from the Far Realm - The Great Old One. He would make a pact with the being from a time before time. Surely the Great Old One had the knowledge Adran sought.
Adran gathered the necessary materials and performed the ritual to make contact with the Great Old One and establish a pact. Adran entered his trance in the middle of his Ritual Circle. His astral form was projected into the Far Realm, standing before the Great Old One.
The Great Old One asked, “What do you desire?”
Adran replied “I seek the knowledge to restore magic to that which was lost.”
The Great Old One responded, “I have what you seek, but it is not free. An exchange must be made. What you seek is contained in this Book of Shadows. If you forfeit your knowledge of the Weave and your personal tome and pledge yourself to me, the book is yours.”
Adran hesitated, but only slightly. This tome was his life’s work, but it was useless to him in his current task that consumed his being.
Adran boldly replied, “My tome and knowledge is yours to have.”
The Great Old One seemed to smile and replied, “So be it… but I also require proof of your commitment to the knowledge you seek. The book is yours if you are willing to become that what you hate the most.”
Without a second thought, Adran shouted, “Yes! yes!... Whatever you need, just give me the book already!”
And with those words, Adran’s pale grey skin became dark as night and his dark blue hair turned to stark white. His bright blue eyes that were speckled with gold faded to very pale blue. Adran’s astral form shot back into his body and in his lap was the Book of Shadows.
Adran had the knowledge he sought and he knew exactly what must be done to rebuild the forge. He cared not that he had become Drow, for it mattered none now that he attained what he sought for so long.
The knowledge he attained allowed him to perform the ritual to restore the magic conduit back to the Forge. However, the conduit required a spark. Adran needed to reclaim the magical energies that dispersed from the forge when Brodrick struck it down. Yet again using his knowledge attained from the Great Old One, Adran forged an orb capable of absorbing the energies lost from the forge. He performed the first absorption on his robes that were enchanted by the energies.
All that was left to do to restore the forge was to track down his former party, acquire their forge imbued items, and perform the ritual to siphon back the energy. Along his journey for restoring the forge, he heard that his former allies started a guild in Phandalin.
So the task was simple: Adran would travel to Phandalin, seek membership of the guild, and eventually gain their trust in order to be able to get access to the items. Adran would do so under an alias, now that his physical appearance has changed.
He would now be known as Varis Nailo - an aspiring researcher seeking a home that would expose him to adventure for the chance to uncover lost artifacts, tomes, knowledge, etc.
Distraught after watching Brodrick destroy the forge, Adran abandonned the party without saying a word. He was so frustrated with the incompetency he had surrounded himself, he didn’t realize he already made it back outside the Wave Echo Cave. After a moment to collect his thoughts, he begun to think that he could rebuild the forge. Waiting in the forest nearby, Adran waited for the rest of his former party to exit the cave. Once they were gone, he returned to the location of the forge and retrieved every speckle of the forge that was brought down by Brodrick’s divine fury.
With the forge in tow, Adran retreated to his study to begin researching how to rebuild the forge. Months pass… and Adran still has no inclination on how to rebuild the forge. He managed to physically rebuild it, but the magic it once had was lost. His personal tome and the library he surrounded himself with had no hint or clue on how to restore the magic to the forge. His prayers to Oghma seemed to fall on deaf ears.
A year passes… He has travelled, researched and investigated virtually every possible lead on this physical plane; nothing brought him closer to his goal. At his wits end, Adran realizes there is one option he has not pursued. He would contact a being from the Far Realm - The Great Old One. He would make a pact with the being from a time before time. Surely the Great Old One had the knowledge Adran sought.
Adran gathered the necessary materials and performed the ritual to make contact with the Great Old One and establish a pact. Adran entered his trance in the middle of his Ritual Circle. His astral form was projected into the Far Realm, standing before the Great Old One.
The Great Old One asked, “What do you desire?”
Adran replied “I seek the knowledge to restore magic to that which was lost.”
The Great Old One responded, “I have what you seek, but it is not free. An exchange must be made. What you seek is contained in this Book of Shadows. If you forfeit your knowledge of the Weave and your personal tome and pledge yourself to me, the book is yours.”
Adran hesitated, but only slightly. This tome was his life’s work, but it was useless to him in his current task that consumed his being.
Adran boldly replied, “My tome and knowledge is yours to have.”
The Great Old One seemed to smile and replied, “So be it… but I also require proof of your commitment to the knowledge you seek. The book is yours if you are willing to become that what you hate the most.”
Without a second thought, Adran shouted, “Yes! yes!... Whatever you need, just give me the book already!”
And with those words, Adran’s pale grey skin became dark as night and his dark blue hair turned to stark white. His bright blue eyes that were speckled with gold faded to very pale blue. Adran’s astral form shot back into his body and in his lap was the Book of Shadows.
Adran had the knowledge he sought and he knew exactly what must be done to rebuild the forge. He cared not that he had become Drow, for it mattered none now that he attained what he sought for so long.
The knowledge he attained allowed him to perform the ritual to restore the magic conduit back to the Forge. However, the conduit required a spark. Adran needed to reclaim the magical energies that dispersed from the forge when Brodrick struck it down. Yet again using his knowledge attained from the Great Old One, Adran forged an orb capable of absorbing the energies lost from the forge. He performed the first absorption on his robes that were enchanted by the energies.
All that was left to do to restore the forge was to track down his former party, acquire their forge imbued items, and perform the ritual to siphon back the energy. Along his journey for restoring the forge, he heard that his former allies started a guild in Phandalin.
So the task was simple: Adran would travel to Phandalin, seek membership of the guild, and eventually gain their trust in order to be able to get access to the items. Adran would do so under an alias, now that his physical appearance has changed.
He would now be known as Varis Nailo - an aspiring researcher seeking a home that would expose him to adventure for the chance to uncover lost artifacts, tomes, knowledge, etc.
