This is the followup letter to Shalizar from a module with this crazy mage that I played. -lee ----------------------- Sharon, Hello again! I wanted to send you that second letter that I've been promising. The one from that mage with the rods. Although it would be better to send it to you on paper, I might not see you for a while. so....... A messenger appears at the Midnight Guildhall on the evening of November tenth, 593. He claims to be bearing a message from a man named Hippoc the Gentle, a man that lives a little more than an hour's walk from Ashbury. Hippoc himself stands up behind the messenger, he had been sitting there all along. He begs the messenger, saying that he did not send such a message. The messenger, slightly confused, says that he was to deliver this message to "The Grand Sorceress Shalizar" personally. He describes how he is under orders that "No beast, creature or being other than the Sorceress Shalizar may cast their gaze upon this note, under severe and mortal penalty from the great bearer of the Six Talon Rods." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shalizar, May we journey together! The mages that you sent to assist in my research have been a great asset. They helped me realize the culmination of my works, The Six Great Talon Rods! Before we discuss the import of my discovery, let me tell you about the brave adventurers. Their initial might was revealed when they quickly dispatched the great beasts that had besieged my home, attempting to force me into disclosing my secrets. In the end they -did- discover a part of my secret, as target practice for my newly found powers! Before the revelation, I would have had to hold the -five- rods very closely, drawing upon their power to rid me of the pests. But I am getting ahead of myself. You see, my research has forced me to discover that the magics of earth and sky are not so different. I do not mean to belittle your abilities when I say that you could not conceive of how the two are joined on the most base level! In one grand swath, the two are akin to like poles of magnets (a study that no student of any form of magic should ever give up) or like two casters simultaneously casting Jondar's Charm of Avoidance. They are, however, at the same time bound together by their very nature. Imagine two balls of mercury in a bowl, only their slight surface tension keeping them from becoming one entity. Through my study, and your messengers' serendipitous encounter with me, I have found the way to (if you will allow me to stretch the metaphor slightly) eliminate the surface tension between the balls of mercury! The magics of both earth and sky can be re-united! Do not fear such a union. That is the reaction that I have received from many that I have talked to. The union means a joining and gathering of powers from all the powers of the world, not only drawing upon the ether, sun and stars but upon the flowering plants, and all that exists -within- the ether! This is not even to say that when the magics are fully united their powers will increase. As is a basic lesson, we all know that the sum of two entities cannot be greater than their parts. However, I -have- found a few ways of "exploiting" the transference of magics from the current polarized world to the new unified one. I assure you that this is not an inherently destructive use of the transference. However, this gateway of opportunity will only be open for a limited time, as the magics unite (though I have calculated that it might take several centuries for this to occur!). I believe that if we could find a common ground of strengths between us, perhaps by utilizing your Magesight, my unifying forces, your cunning, my strategy, your most pleasing attributes, mine as well, perhaps we could both profit greatly from the experience. Let me tell you more about how the revelation transpired. As I said, your mages journeyed to my home and dispatched the besieging beasts. When they entered, I was near to terminating them, thinking that they were the beasts themselves, having defeated the defensives that I placed on the door (during my meditations, I often focus so intently on the inner world that I would not even notice a combat at my door, as it were). Convincing me of their benign intent, we discussed the rods. We talked about how close I was to completion of the sixth rod. At this point, of course, I believed that the sixth rod was to be found in the natural world, like all the others. Seeing how close I was to completion of the sixth rod, they volunteered to come back the next day to check on my progress. The very next morning, they arrived as promised. I had not, however, completed the sixth rod. They were just as befuddled as I was as to this matter. Little did I know that the discovery that was about to unfold was orders of magnitude greater than I had originally hoped. I needed, however, an outside influence as kindling for the flames. They suggested that in order to better harness the five rods, they be brought together. I had, of course carefully placed the rods about the room in an effort to center their powers upon my meditation space. It had not occurred to me that, when placed such that they could actually conduct each others' energies, that they would.... it is almost too incredulous to describe! Of course you know the great legends of the Talon Scrolls. These are the scrolls that were discovered in recent times by Kabar in 290. It was the magic of these scrolls that kept the Fanghorn Trolls at bay in 481. Eye-witnesses said that the scrolls were destroyed in the ritual to hold the trolls under the Tower mountains. But of course any history book will tell you this. Looking back, I laugh at what they thought was their destruction! It was their ascension! The scrolls were created long before any Tyrran recorded history. I believe they were created when the world was new and much more malleable but we cannot be sure. They were so imbued with magical energies that they became intelligent... not like a golum that can follow orders 'intelligently' but truely intelligent! I am still researching exactly what happened, but I have them... no, we have eachother! Let me return to my story. The rods were gathered from the various parts of the room. Until all five were in my hands I felt no reaction. But then as soon as they were all rejoined, with emence joy I realized my life's work had reached culmination! The energies around me conducted through my hands and mind, creating a grand force! I was so struck by it that I could not mantain my concious state. I quickly attained a meditative stance on the rug in the center of my Circle and let the energies flow. When I awoke, the rods were gone! I immediatly realized that the sixth rod was my own spirit, I -was- the sixth rod. I cannot fathom how I was blind to the fact that my experiments was actually summoning the great Talon Scrolls, in their greater, ascended form. Now all of us live (if 'live' is the approapriate term!) together, gradually bringing the magics of the starry ether and those of the living world closer together. You see, the Talon Scrolls were originally created to help control the flow of earthly and celestial magics toward and away from each other. An indeterminate time ago, before the Scrolls had gained their ability to think for themselves (and therefore -remember- any occurance) the Scrolls were accidentally misused in some way, sending them to a place innaccesable to their users. Without the proper controls, a great rift opened between the two magics, a rift that continues to this day. It is our task to help rejoin what has been broken. But we cannot do it without outside assistance! You should come and meet with the Scrolls (I wish that I could describe them better but there is hardly any spoken words that can describe their current state that describing their previous state is the best recourse in casual conversation). I may have to interpret for them, as their world is so much different than our own. I am sure that eventually you will be able to converse with them as effeciently as I. My greatest thanks go to Hippoc, the Gentle, and their entire party. If not for them, I might still be living in a darkened age. Let me conclude with the lyrics to a song by a famous bard that I cannot recall the name of, "I hear the real, though far-off hymn that hails a new creation Through all the tumult and the strife I hear it's music ringing, It sounds an echo in my spirit. How can I keep from singing?"