OT: "official" (IE from Sony/Verant) EQ Lore

[Arakni Spellweaver]

I was wondering if anyone coud point me in the direction of websites that list official EQ lore (ie released by Verant). I had seen the 1st flight site listed in another thread but then someone said that it was a mix of lore, fanfiction, etc. I was wondering if there was a lore-only site? Or a site with "official" lore marked off somewhere? I would like to know more of the history of EQ. Why are the Erudites (who can't see at night) in the middle of such a dark, misty forest? Why is the zone off Butcherblock called Dagnor's Cauldron? Who were those people getting married in ToFS, and why are they dead now? Why are there gnome pirates in Iceclad? Aren't they really far from home? And why don't Naggy and Vox live with all the other dragons in Skyshrine? I have been reading the books in the library but was wondering if there was a site with ALL the lore listed.

Thanks!

[byelka]

Vox and naggy

Don't know where an official site is but I know about vox and naggy.

Many years ago a red dragon and a white dragon had a child which became the sleeper a really nasty big meanie who threatened even the gods who stuck him in the tomb thingy. Anyway it was made law by the other dragons that there would be no more intercolor mating. Vox (White) and naggy(red) fell in love I suppose and as a result are permanently banished from one another by the powers that be so they will not have another sleeper type dragon.

[Verdandi]

I don't know of any truly comprehensive collections of lore. Some of the better sites I've found include:
EverquestLive's Library
Seekers of Lore's Books of Everquest
Allakhazam's Game Lore
EQ Stratics' History of Norrath

[Lilosh]

Yup.


Vox and Naggy broke the first rule of Dragon Club, which was

"Thou Shalt not Mate within Dragon Club"

Might have had something to do with Crossing those oh so important racial lines.

Their familys freaked, put the kid up for adoption in sleepers tomb, and then forced the kids to live in different states.


-Lilosh

[Silound]

Vox and Naggy were banished for the Ring of Scale and from Kunark's lands...beyiong that I forgiot all teh loree I knew.

Sil

[Eumerin]

Lots of stuff can be found in game if you know who to talk to. For a good explanation of the Sleeper fiasco, you can talk to the four Crusaders in the upper levels of Skyshrine. Note that the text seems to be somewhat buggy, and I wasn't able to get responses to all of the bracketed words.

You can also find a great deal of lore in the Plane of Knowledge. Many of the vendors carry No Rent books that are free.

Vox and Nagafen fell in love, as we all know, and the Ring of Scale banished and imprisoned both of them rather than risk another Sleeper.

Jaled'Dar led the Ring of Scale. Trakanon, the great blue sky dragon, was a member of the Ring of Scale, and had the gift of foresight into the future. He foresaw that the Iksar would grow to be a threat to the Ring of Scale, and petitioned Jaled'dar to intervene. Jaled'dar refused, and Trakanon decided to take matters into his own hands. He summoned a storm at sea which killed the current Iksar emperor (iirc, Venril's son, Rile). Rile's son, Ganak, then took over the empire, and he led the Iksar against the Ring of Scale. The battle came to its climax in a duel over the Field of Bone between Jaled'dar on the one side and Ganak (flying a sokakar - an extinct cross between a froglok and a dragon) on the other. Both were destroyed in a massive explosion of energy. Trakanon's treachery eventually came to light, and he was banished from the Ring, eventually settling in Old Sebilis, which he took from the Iksar who lived there. At some point during his flight and relocation, he changed from what he was to the poisonous half-living thing he is today. I used to think that it was because the Iksar in Sebilis poisoned him during the battle, but the EQ PnP RPG monster book suggests that he might have cut a deal with Bertox (that doesn't explain why he uses poison instead of disease, however - also note that the information in the monster book is phrased as speculation, so it may not be accurate). Jaled'dar's dead body was taken to the Dragon Necropolis, but his shade stayed in this world, thirsting for revenge against Trakanon.

Note that there's also a bunch of so-called beta lore involving Trak, trolls, an elven hero, and other assorted miscellany. This lore is NOT official, and is in fact fan fiction that people apparently believed was issued by VI.



Erud was the leader of a human faction that was dissatisfied with the state of affairs in the human nations. During a trip to Felwithe, one of his followers smuggled out a copy of a high elven spell book, and Erud quickly mastered its secrets. He taught the principles of magic to his followers, and they resolved to establish their own nation where they could study magic in peace, free from the petty disputes and bickering that afflicted the human nations of Antonica. Erud's followers, the Erudites, with some help along the way from the cat men who lived in Erud's Crossing, settled on the northern shores of the continent of Odus. There they met both the savage but generally peaceable kobolds, who worshiped Brell, and the primitive but largely friendly feline humanoids who were kin to those living in Erud's Crossing. The felines were split into three different groups - there were the aristocracy who lived in the city, the artisans and merchants who lived in the areas north of their city near the Stonebrunt Mountains, and the laborers who generally lived in what is now Toxulia Forest (although I'm not sure if the forest was in the state its in now). The felines were generally friendly toward the Erudites, and assisted them in settling into the Erudites' new city of Erudin.

Unfortunately, sometimes the desire for knowledge outstrips good sense. A faction of the Erudites discovered the dark secrets of necromancy. Although the High Council of Erudin learned of this and forbade them to continue their studies, the necromancers disregarded the council's decision. Eventually the Council discovered that the necromancers were still pursuing the forbidden knowledge and banished them from the city. A war began between the two groups, with the council attempting to deal with the Heretics once and for all. The heretics eventually sought shelter within the walls of the city of the aristocratic felines (who weren't entirely certain as to what was taking place), but before they could do so, disaster struck.

What exactly happened is a matter of debate. The Kerrans of Kerra Ridge show their ignorance by ascribing all of their problems to a desire by the Erudites to steal the land of the felines. The Kejek of Stonebrunt have a slightly more evenhanded view, but they were removed from what happened, and the major consequence to them was that it removed them from contact with the rest of the continent. The Heretics of Paineel can fill in some of the details, but not the reasons or motivations for what happened. And the Erudites of Erudin, the only ones who truly know what happened, have sealed all records of the event, whether it be from fear others might learn of improper motivations, or fear that others might attempt to duplicate their failure.

What is known is this. During the war, the council of Erudin constructed a great magical weapon. This weapon would have the power to settle the conflict once and for all by eradicating the Heretics in one fell swoop. However instead of removing the Heretics, it instead removed the feline city, which was replaced by a massive crater in the ground known only as The Hole. Why the felines were hit by the weapon is subject to debate. Some say (myself included) that the weapon was aimed at the Heretics, but an accident took place, and the felines were struck instead. Others maintain that the council of Erudin was jealous of the felines, and wanted the entire island to themselves. The true answer is sealed away, and no one may ever know (ooc note: what characters in-game tell you generally depends on which group you're speaking to. The devs themselves have actually contradicted themselves in out of game postings, particularly during the lead up to Luclin, so there's not much help from that angle. And no one in Erudin talks about the past.).

No matter the reasons, the continent was thrown into confusion. The kobolds deep beneath the ground suffered from a serious of earthquakes in their caves. As a result, they abandoned the worship of Brell, and instead switched to the unknown "Rolfron Zek", who they call the Forlorn (and who may be an alias for Rallos or one of his two sons). The repercussions of that would not be felt for some time, however. Nor would anyone know that the artisans and merchants survived, barely, in the Stonebrunt Mountains, which were now cut off from the rest of Odus due to the changes in the geography involved in the creation of The Hole. The Heretics took refuge within The Hole proper until their own digging and experimenting accidentally opened a door to the Plane of Underfoot, home of Brell. The Heretics were forced out of their home in Old Paineel, and took refuge in a new city, which they also called Paineel. Here they served Cazic Thule, the lord of Terror, and strove to find the right combination of rituals that would turn the tides against the Council of Erudin. A cease-fire of sorts had taken hold between the Council and the Heretics, and although it was more often honored in breach than in practice, still neither side made overt moves against the other. The laborers who lived in Toxulia Forest were probably the hardest hit by the disaster that created The Hole. Unaware of the reasons behind the Heretic conflict, they blamed the council of Erudin for their problems, and reasoned to themselves that the entire reason for the disaster had been Erudite jealousy of the felines' possessions and lands. It may also be that the disaster poisoned Toxulia Forest, and forced the felines to relocate to Kerra Ridge - which relocation they blamed on the Erudites (this is merely speculation, however - some have speculated that the vile yellow fog in the forest is natural in occurance, and the Erudites forced the Kerrans out. Such speculation ignores the fact that only animals present in Toxulia are those usually associated with vermin, and even those are often diseased. Clearly there is something unwholesome within the forest, and it may be an aftereffect of the disaster.). The Kerrans settled on Kerra Ridge, where they told stories to each other that magnified the deeds of their ancestors and blamed all ills on the residents of Erudin.

And as for the now absent nobility of the feline society? Unbeknownst to all, it had been torn free from the surface and sent upwards into space. There, for reasons entirely her own, Luclin, the mistress of Shadows, took pity on the felines and deposited the ruins of the city, along with the rock those ruins rested upon, onto the surface of Luclin (incidentally creating the newbie pit in Shar Vahl) where they would be able to start a new life as the Vah Shir.

[Morani]

One of my side projects (been derailed for a while by my effort to get my tradeskills up for the Prayer Shawl Quest) is to put together the most comprehensive collection of OFFICIAL lore and put it on the web. (I currently have 112 files that I'm sorting and verifying.)

The answers to your questions can be found in the following stories:
===Why are the Erudites (who can't see at night) in the middle of such a dark, misty forest?
THE HUMANS AND ERUDITES under it's original title or more commonly as: The Erudites, Necromancy, and the rise and fall of Miragul
(Well, it SORTA addresses the question. Ok, not really but it's the closest you'll get with the Lore I've been able to find.)

===Why is the zone off Butcherblock called Dagnor's Cauldron?
THE FIRST OGRE-DWARVEN WAR

===Who were those people getting married in ToFS, and why are they dead now?
The answer is scattered though a NUMBER of sources…
The Tower of Frozen Shadow was built by a Woman named Tserrina Syl'Tor by capturing spirits " before they were able to cross over beyond the mortal realm and through her dark magic transformed them into a crystalline shadow substance." Continuing: "The crystalline shadow substance was used as building blocks for Tserrina's tower on an Island near the frozen lands to the south as well as fashioned into armor and weapons for her mindless servants."

It is Rumored that Tserrina was betrothed to Mayong Mistmoore manyages past (around or even before the Combine Empire). She must have been OBSESSED with him because the slashed pictures that can be found all over the tower are Mayong. During their wedding, She presented him with a gift: a dragon-lich. The gift infuriated him (perhaps it has to do with his hate of dragons, perhaps he was afraid of retribution from Veeshan), he rebuked her, and left; declaring the wedding off. In a fit of rage, Tserrina killed the entire wedding party and other occupants (who are now the undead that inhabit it) and tore through the tower destroying the images of Mayong. There is a big web of possible and maybes that make this story feasible but I've yet to find anything Official that lays it out all nicely. The myster of Mayong is a favorite of mine so I've done a lot of digging. I'm still teasing the pieses together.

===Why are there gnome pirates in Iceclad? Aren't they really far from home?
Some story can be found in the Scars of Velious manual (you know, the thing that comes with the cd) and SCARS OF VELIOUS and other pieces in the dialog from the folllowing quests:
The Grammar Manual
The Lost Map
The Pirate Ship

===And why don't Naggy and Vox live with all the other dragons in Skyshrine?
To expand on what others have said, the 2 of them violated the law among Dragons that they may not mate beyond their "color". The Sleeper is the reason the law was made (the result of the FIRST cross "color" mating). Basically, the Sleeper is an abomination that is WAY too powerful for the dragons to control and bend on destroying the world/universe. Nag and Vox particularly are interested in mating for that reason; power and destruction. Thus their peers where no to happy to find out about it. I'll give you a bit of a mystery to look into for more details: The Claw of Veeshan.

Happy Hunting

Edit: Go side tracked and it took me a while to get this post together so I didn't notice Eumerin's post. I've not had a chance to read it and don't have time to right now. If I'm being redundant here or contradicting, I apologize and I'll look at it again tomorrow.

[Eumerin]

===Why is the zone off Butcherblock called Dagnor's Cauldron?
THE FIRST OGRE-DWARVEN WAR
[/i]

Didn't really cover anything you did, so no problems there. There's an awful lot of lore out there for those interested. Mostly talked about the history of the Erudites (but not Miragul, as he's a minor footnote to the story I was telling) and the true history of Trakanon.

The one thing I thought I'd mention was the above. I could be mistaken, but I think the above is another offshoot of the same so-called "beta lore" that produced the god-like Trakanon, the troll migrations, etc...

Ergo, I have a strong suspicion its not legit.

[Morani]

Note that there's also a bunch of so-called beta lore involving Trak, trolls, an elven hero, and other assorted miscellany. This lore is NOT official, and is in fact fan fiction that people apparently believed was issued by VI.

Ok. Here's the deal (it took me a LOT of digging on the web to find this, it seems that Google NEVER cleans out their old Cache files <grin>) There are a few KEY stories that have been written and rewritten and "adapted" involving these topics: THE BLOOD OF A HERO - Edril's Tale, THE FIRST OGRE-DWARVEN WAR, THE HUMANS AND ERUDITES, THE ORCAN EXILE, THE TRIBES OF TRAKANON, THE TROLL IMMIGRATION, and WAR OF THE BROKEN CROWN. These stories have indeed been circulating since Beta and I have seen text from the original authors stating that they are works of fiction inspired by the game but that if Sony wanted to use them, it was welcome to do so. The authors credited are as follows: "Aradune Mithara (Ranger Lord and Outrider of Karana)", "Zasstryn H'yonith (Drow ambassador of Neriak)", and "BloodWyrm (Warlord of the Skorcher armies of Oggok and Grobb)". For those who don't know, Aradune is the name of Brad McQuaid's favorite Ranger. I've been unable to find out anything about Zasstryn but Bloodwyrm I've found stuff on. He was the poster of these stories back in Sept of 1999 on EQ Stratics when it ran like a newspaper rather than a message board. He was also THE key player in organizing a huge battle at the end of Phase 4 beta called the Battle of Ro. From what I've gathered, the player was a GM at some point and had a connection with Brad somehow. I have been able to determine that Brad (at the very least) knew about these stories and there is hint that some of the quests that he wrote where "allowing" for them (what ever that really means). I have some connections that I'm looking down to see if I can determine one way or another what is official, fiction, or officially accepted with these stories. If I had to place a bet on one of the three, I would side with the last one. I currently have them listed as "verified NOT from source but probably "official".

And as for the now absent nobility of the feline society? Unbeknownst to all, it had been torn free from the surface and sent upwards into space. There, for reasons entirely her own, Luclin, the mistress of Shadows, took pity on the felines and deposited the ruins of the city, along with the rock those ruins rested upon, onto the surface of Luclin (incidentally creating the newbie pit in Shar Vahl) where they would be able to start a new life as the Vah Shir.

The Vah Shir have a different take on this story, naturally. If you go to the library in their city, you can find some texts talking about their arrival on the moon. Two of those books (The Shifting Volumes 1 & 2) contain the following text:

The Shifting: Volume I
As told by: Mahlimik Dak
Grand Historian of the Jharin

This is the tale of the time that followed the Shifting. Our people had been thrown into darkness with only a handful of heroes to guide us. Perhaps it was fate that brought us here... or maybe the spirits are calling us to their aid.

When the magic ripped us from our realm, we found ourselves within a strange land. We could no longer sense our guiding spirits around us, and fear began to overtake our kin. Fortunately, our king Vah Kerrath was quick to see this, and so he began to give us tasks to help our people regain their sanity and stability.

He sent his greatest warriors under the leadership of the great explorer Khati Sha to the north to find out more about these strange lands.
King Vah Kerrath then sent another army of brave men to the west under the leadership of Dar Khura.

The citizens that marched into the darkness in those days were responsible for the security that we now enjoy.

The bravery of Vah’s leaders and our ability to come together as a people secured our sanctuary here in the darkness. Those days were full of turmoil and conflict... much like they are now.

Continued in Volume II

The Shifting: Volume II
As told by: Mahlimik Dak
Grand Historian of the Jharin

Before the time of the Shifting we had the spirits to guide us, but their guidance seemed to be blocked from us by the darkness, much like the sun.

We had no voices to follow and no light to warm our spirits. Our shaman tried to find the spirits but they could only sense a distant creature lurking as if it was of the shadow itself.

Without the will of Vah to guide us through those desolate years, we might have lost everything.

Our people feared that we were the only of our kind left alive and to give up would have meant that the honor of our ancestors would have surely been lost to the ages.

When our king passed on, we took his name as our own to show that we are strong, for he was a strong king. Under the leadership of Vah Kerrath, we survived.

We survived the loss of our ancestral spirits and we survived the loss of our home and our people.

We stood firm against the lurking shadows and roared the name of Vah as a challenge to all who would stand against our will to live. That is how we survived the Shifting.

Another set is the Prophecy of Vah: A History of the Vah Shir. Here is the contents of volumes 1-3:

Vol. I
The Prophecy
Before the beginnings of Kerran Civilization, each Kerran roamed their own territory as did the beasts of the wild. Soon the lands became too small to divide, and so four of the eldest Kerra journeyed to the very top of the highest peak in the Stonebrunt Mountains to seek out more land, one from each direction.

When they reached the top, they met and began to speak to one another. Kajek, the first one to arrive spoke first, and he said, “I am the first to have found this peak. And so the land is mine.” Shir the second to arrive and largest of the four spoke next and said, “You are the first, but there is no more land, and so we will fight. The victor shall take this land” Karani and Shahar were females and spoke as one, and they said, “We will share this land with the victor.”

But Kajek was wise and he said to the three, “You say there is no more land and so we must fight. Perhaps the spirits can show us if this is indeed the last of the land.” And so they agreed. Kajek made fire and called to the spirits to show them the truth. He chanted to the spirits until night when the moon came forth and Kajek glanced to the skies and placed his staff upon the fire. The crystal stone with in his staff began to glow and upon the moon the image of Shir could be seen. And Kajek spoke, “Up there lies land. If you are truly strong then that land is for you and this is my land.” Shahar and Karani agreed, “He is right and we will share this land with Kajek as the sprits foretell.” Shir turned away his head as if to leave. It was then that the voice of the spirits cried out. “You must share the land until the journey to the farthest land of the nights sky can be made by the children of the beast. It is on this land that chosen ones will become the warriors of the great spirit. It is on this land that the destiny of the chosen ones shall be proclaimed.”

The four nodded in acknowledgement of the wise spirits. Kajek howled to the spirits,” It will be so, but it was Shir who had wished to slay me. From this day his kin must seek council with the three that wish for peace.” The reply of the spirit came forth, “It shall be so until the wise one steps forth form the rocks and the mist. It is then that all shall be as one.”

And so went the prophecy of the Kerran. The lands were divided among the four. Kajek took Stonebrunt to watch the passing of the land and learn. Shahar took the fruitful plains to the north. Karani who could swim took the islands. And Shir took what was left, the barren lands.

The Splintering of the Four
As time went by, the four great kerrans of the prophecy had children. It was then that Partha Shir, son of Shir, stepped forth on a day of mist to claim leadership of all kerran under him. But the children of Kajek, Shahar, and Karani lay claim that the prophecy called for the rocks and the mist. Nairu Karani, daughter of Karani, proclaimed that the mist is the water and the rocks are the islands and it was her kin that would be queen. Kiara Shahar chose to speak for she was wise. Faern Kajek had the wisdom of his father and said the wise one would come from no tribe but unite them all as one.

Time passed and the moon left the sky. This did not please the children of Shahar, Karani, or Shir. Great anger took hold and battles raged for many years. Thus began the splintered ages.

Vol. II
The Splintered Age
Much suffering had been felt during the time of the splintered tribes. In battle Partha had been mortally wounded. In remorse for what he had done to cause such blood, Partha tore the fangs from his mouth and came them to the wisest of his sons, Ratha Shir, and spoke to him. “You are not my heir, but you are the wisest of your kin. You must show these to your brothers and tell them they must battle no more. You must lead them with wisdom.” But when Ratha had done as his father had asked, he was slain by his eldest of brothers in secrecy. The years of war and death raged on.

Safra, daughter of Faern Kajek, went to the Shir to ask for peace once more. It was then that Vahaan, son of Partha, was taken by her beauty. Vahaan and Nairu agreed to peace for Vahaan was nearby when Partha had spoken to his uncle Ratha. But he was the youngest of his kin and knew they would slay him for his thoughts. Vahaan took the fangs of Partha and Nairu journeyed with him to the lands of Shahar to ask the spirits for guidance. Many years passed and many kinsmen lay slain upon the fields. On the day that the moon returned, the mists rose from the great veil. Kejaan Kerrath stepped forth from the mist with Vahaan and Safra at his side. “It is the wise one!” They cried out. The Kerrans saw that this was good, but some Shahar and Karani took their leave and vanished to the lands. All that chose to remain were united as one as the prophecy claimed. The golden Age had begun.

The kingdom on Odus
Kejaan chose the wildest from the clan of the Shir, those who were outsiders of their kin. From them he made his nobles and warriors. Kejaan took the wisest from the clan of Kajek. From them he made his shaman and advisors. Kejaan took the quickest from the clan of Shahar, from them he made his hunters and farmers. The children of Nairu, the Karani, became the servants of the kingdom. United, the Komiyat Kerrath prospered for many years. Kejaan build his palace of gold within the claws of the four fingered paw.

Vol. III
The Furless Ones
On the lands of the vanished Shahar, a new civilization emerged unnoticed. They were the furless ones who had come from the sea. They had built their homes of large white stones in the lands of the golden mist. They could call forth spirits of fire and of earth, beings of water and air stood as warriors by their side. They did not speak to the beasts as the Kerrath would but could bend them to their will. They were at war with the furless ones who spoke to the dead. Kejaan heard the anguish of the spirits of the dead and went to speak with the furless ones who spoke to them. He asked them to lay down their magic for it had harmed the ancient spirits. Many days passed and Kejaan returned sickly and pale. They would not listen to his words and the aching of the spirits burned his very heart. Kejaan retuned to the mist and his son Vah stepped forth as the king.

The Shifting
Vah gathered his strongest, the nobles, the Shir. He sent the weaker ones away from the kingdom and back to the wild. Vah called to the shir and proclaimed this was prophecy, but none understood. Vah called to the spirits in the unknown tongue. None could move, the time of the shifting was at hand. The spirits wailed around the city of the Shir. The furless ones that disturbed the dead gathered at the gates pursued by the furless ones who commanded fire, earth, air, and water. A great mist enveloped the city of the Shir and Vah cried to the spirits as loud as his voice permitted. When the shifting had ended, they found themselves in the darkened lands. The land and the air had changed and the voices of the spirits could not speak their tongue. Vah cried out to the Shir, “Hear me and know that I am your kin, my blood is of yours and you are my people.” He pulled forth the fang of Partha and spoke the truth of Ratha’s death. With the fang he spilled his blood upon the ground so that all could smell that he was kin. When it was learned that Vah was a true Shir, they took his name as their own and honored him for finding their land. The prophecy had unfolded and they were united as one on the farthest of land under the leadership of Vah. Filled with pride that they were indeed the chosen ones, the Shir called out the name of Vah to the darkness as a challenge to all who would stand in the way of their destiny.

Thank you Eumerin, I'm REALLY enjoying this.

[Farnyr]

Sorry, only one things thats been bothering me. Trak is a Green dragon, go take a look at him.

[Itzena]

Unfortunately, sometimes the desire for knowledge outstrips good sense

Tch, typical High Council propaganda. Those who lack the courage to face the Dark Truth and become one with it shall be swept away when our time comes. </IC>

Oh, and Rolfron Zek is listed in the PNP GMG - he was a kobold shaman elevated to Godhood by Rallos after Brell abaondoned the kobolds/they abandoned Brell. Also known as The Hollow God, The Forlorn or The Prince of Despair, Rolfron Zek appears as an albino kobold wielding a sword. He dwells in the shadow of Rallos, inflicting hopelessness and despair on the victims and enemies of war.

[Farnyr]

[quote="Itzena"]

Also known as The Hollow God, The Forlorn or The Prince of Despair, Rolfron Zek appears as an albino kobold wielding a sword. He dwells in the shadow of Rallos, inflicting hopelessness and despair on the victims and enemies of war.

So HES the one that makes half the clerics go LD 5 seconds after engaging Rallos Zek.

[Eumerin]

Didn't take too close a look at the Vah Shir text you quoted (read it in the Library a while back), but iirc, it suggests that the little "incident" with the Erudite weapon was prophesied in the distant past. I don't think there's anything there that conflicts with what I posted, although feel free to point out if I'm mistaken. Unfortunately, the thing that I still am the most interested in - the intentions of Erudin (i.e. was the target the felines or the Heretics?) - is completely absent from both stories.

The Trak story from beta lore is bad, plain and simple. It states that Trakanon is some ancient primordial beast that predates Norrath. That flies in the face of what is known - i.e. that he was a powerful but more or less an ordinary dragon with the gift (or perhaps curse might be a better word in this case) of foresight. And he may be green now, but I'm fairly certain that before his banishment from the Ring of Scale he was nothing like what he is now (i.e. poisoneous breath, etc...). At some point following his banishment he was changed into the half dead thing he currently is, living deep beneath Sebilis. My original guess was that the Iksar defending Sebilis hit him with a large infusion of poison magic and this made the change, but the PnP Monster book suggests (at the same time making it a rumor as opposed to a fact) that Trak struck a deal with Bertox and was changed because of that (the book also suggests that the dracoliche in Fear may have been an associate of Trak's that cut a deal with CT, but wasn't quite as lucky - note that both are written as if they were unconfirmed rumors, not gospel, although that doesn't mean they should be discounted). Personally, I'm not too fond of that background idea because it doesn't explain why Trak uses poison instead of disease, but it shouldn't be ignored. At any rate, I've seen him mentioned as a blue dragon initially, and while that information could be bad, I wouldn't use his present form as an argument for or against it.

I think there are also a couple of problems with the Troll Migration story, although its been a while since I read it, so I could be wrong. Personally, I'd be inclined to toss out all of the "beta lore" that is somehow tied to Trak. IIRC, this doesn't get rid of the Dagnor's Cauldron story, however (I don't think there are any ties between that and the Trak stories).


And here's a piece of lore trivia for those interested.

Not too many people are aware of the method the Erudites use to execute criminals, although the method is easily discovered by conversing with one of the city guards deep beneath the palace. The Erudites, with their advanced theories on everything, have realized that evil is not found on the exterior of the body, but generally contained within. And because of that, they have decided that when possible, they should remove that evil. Unfortunately, due to the method involved, it can only be used on those to be punished by execution, but I'm sure some diligent Erudite somewhere will eventually come up with a better way to accomplish this task. In any event, execution takes place in this fashion: Since the evil is located inside the criminal, the criminal has his insides removed. This purges the evil from the criminal (it also kills the criminal, but as they were sentenced to be executed, its only a minor detail). The shell of the body is then buried while the insides are removed from the city via the great underwater plug beneath the palace (where the sharks presumeably eat them).

[Lilosh]

Nothing like a civilized, advanced, intellectually superior society to act so barbaric.


-Lilosh

[Eumerin]

That's the irony, however. According to every principle of science and understanding as they know it, they're doing the right thing. And you can even logically reason it out. The problem, of course, is that the understanding of living beings is flawed, and that's what creates the problem.

If it actually worked, then would we still consider it barbaric?