Proposal - Chaos Vents and the Hell's Gorge

Azhira Styralias

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Proposal - Chaos Vents and the Hell's Gorge

« on: 02 October 2009, 04:21:33 »

Chaos Vent - A rip or tear in the fabric of reality. A place where the boundry between Caeleroth and the Netherworld is torn and both worlds co-exist in a chaotic, festering blight. It is thought that chaos vents are created during extremely powerful exchanges of black magic. A battlefield where magic is employed in powerful amounts can create chaos vents. Or if a portal is opened into the Netherworld and is not sealed properly, a chaos vent is created. This phenomena starts small and can grow larger over time. Some myths even say that demonic presences can create chaos vents.

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When the mood takes her, however, Tsalokath can be far less subtle. There are tales of flocks of birds that darkened the sky before descending on a village like a hideous, bloodthirsty rain. There are tales of bolts of blue lightning striking every building in a town with no clouds in sight. There are even whispered tales of the chaos-vents left over near the Portal of Osthemangar, places where a man can step and lose everything he ever was.

The peninsula of Caael'heroth possesses one such chaos vent, an extremely large chasm many strals long, that begins at the Deep Winds Portal of Osthemangar and ends at the peninsula of Aden.

This chasm, so called the Hell's Gorge, for it is thought that this place is a giant rip in the fabric of Caelereth's reality. It is also thought that this chasm was created during the Battle of Osthemangar. Some say it was created when the Deep Winds Portal was first opened, unleashing such a torrent of dark power that it tore the ground open, deep into the hells below.

Thoughts?


« Last Edit: 02 October 2009, 04:24:01 by Azhira »	Logged

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Valan Nonesuch

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Re: Proposal - Chaos Vents and the Hell's Gorge

« Reply #1 on: 03 October 2009, 11:40:08 »

The single explanation feels too concrete. There are members of every race in Caelereth up there (including brownies if the Ghostlings go through) and you're telling me only one explanation for a giant reality-altering chasm exists?

Not to be offensive, but it seems a little... less, than worthy of the great big reality-altering chasm. We have at least two different explanations for why the sun managed to disappear for a year, it would seem. The Elves can have whatever logical explanation they want, but I'd personally like to see some other takes on the Chaos Vents.

Is there only one Chaos vent near Caael'heroth (and by extension Osthemangar)?


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Azhira Styralias

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Re: Proposal - Chaos Vents and the Hell's Gorge

« Reply #2 on: 04 October 2009, 11:51:01 »

Well, the definition I gave would be from the elven point of view, since the Netherworld is an elven concept. Other races could call the gorge different things, of course. Generally, I would propose that the elven definition would be the standard one. Either way, the entry on the Hell's Gorge would include varying names and such for the chasm phenomena. One thing is for sure, I propose that the Hell's Gorge be a supernatural geological place. One corrupted and twisted by alot of dark magics at one time in ancient history. One myth could say that a major battle took place there (Battle of Osthemangar?) in ancient times. Some myths could say the gorge is where hundreds of dragons fell into the earth, swallowed up. Or a place where the demons were cast down etc...so many possibilities.

Bottom line is that I propose to make a connection between the gorge and a chaos vent. How to go about it, I don't know yet.

As for other chaos vents, there are more, smaller ones. The Gorge is by far the largest. Needless to say, there would be very little life up there. But then again, Caael'heroth was never meant to be a sprawling place of many races and cities. Most of the peninsula is a bad place where long forgotten creatures and things exist that most races would like to forget.


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Ta`lia of the Seven Jewels

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Re: Proposal - Chaos Vents and the Hell's Gorge

« Reply #3 on: 05 October 2009, 23:37:09 »

I think the idea is great, Azhira. The main part would be anyway the description of the area, the others explanations, and yours is very fine and fitting to all (dev-) concepts we have thought at.

I would not find the thread now, but Theo had once suggested, that there could be a core of void within the disc (where the Netherwold is on another plane of existence). The core out of Void-substance (wrong word, I know). The orb of Ximax was thought as one blurb as well. So, here at the rift and your chaos vents this captured void could well surface here and there, then add dark magic etc...

Fine concept!

About the name on the map - Hell's Gorge. I thought we agreed at one point to avoid the term "Hell", so maybe this has to be changed at a future map and should be avoided in the description.


« Last Edit: 05 October 2009, 23:41:33 by Talia Sturmwind »	Logged

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Re: Proposal - Chaos Vents and the Hell's Gorge

« Reply #4 on: 06 October 2009, 02:21:18 »

Yep, nice idea, I agree

Just wanted to put something out there in this context to add to that:

There are interesting possibilities with that chasm there if you describe it as "a rip or tear in the fabric of reality", or with the Osthemangar portal as such... Just consider the fact that the Netherworlds are said to exist on the reverse side of Caelereth, so you don't exactly need a portal as such that teleports you like in a Stargate to get there, all you'd really need would be a kind of gorge that allows you to go down there, and the further you get the more you dive into this other reality to finally emerge there. Maybe such a crossing point into the Netherworlds is partly a physical journey and partly a spiritual one? That could be considered for the portal and the chaos vents.

Interesting would also be if that gorge (which is pretty gigantic anyway), would harbour dark cultures who live down there as some sort of shadow beings, and there proximity to the Netherworlds could explain why they are so twisted. Creatures likes mystrans and the like might have their origins here and want to affect everything that lives aboveground to ultimately infect it with the "shadow" that they see as the true way of existence.


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Ta`lia of the Seven Jewels

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Re: Proposal - Chaos Vents and the Hell's Gorge

« Reply #5 on: 06 October 2009, 04:48:19 »

Was that a "Is said" already? ( in the Santharian society) I thought it were only some obscure thoughts of single persons...

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Just consider the fact that the Netherworlds are said to exist on the reverse side of Caelereth

I thought, that the Netherworld was imagined as being inside the disc, though philosophers or researchers in demonology thought it might be another plane of existence.

If you want to have it this way, we/you should fix it with an entry though.

So far, the question of "How it looks beneath the disc" or if it has a reverse side was not really discussed yet. I remember just one opportunity where it was a subject of our discussion.


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Re: Proposal - Chaos Vents and the Hell's Gorge

« Reply #6 on: 06 October 2009, 05:08:37 »

Well, we have an entry on the Netherworlds, where a lot of that is suggested, how many people actually believe in it is another question. Though the entry seems to lean more towards the idea that there's a bit more to it than "obscure thoughts of single persons".

The thing is of course that it is not really necessary to know what the Netherworlds actually are, where and when etc., but things that happen in a chaos vent e.g. could be seen as indicators of such a Netherworldly theory, or at least this would strengthen superstition in this regard, which cannot be wrong for medieval societies.


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Azhira Styralias

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Re: Proposal - Chaos Vents and the Hell's Gorge

« Reply #7 on: 23 October 2009, 05:17:18 »

Quote

Interesting would also be if that gorge (which is pretty gigantic anyway), would harbour dark cultures who live down there as some sort of shadow beings, and there proximity to the Netherworlds could explain why they are so twisted. Creatures likes mystrans and the like might have their origins here and want to affect everything that lives aboveground to ultimately infect it with the "shadow" that they see as the true way of existence.

Arti...

Would it be possible then to hint at a *new* race of shadow creatures who live along the gorge? More specifically, perhaps the ruins of Cort'mangar could be a "shadow city" of some kind? Big Grin


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Re: Proposal - Chaos Vents and the Hell's Gorge

« Reply #8 on: 23 October 2009, 05:18:27 »

Yeah, I think that would be cool thumbup


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Re: Proposal - Chaos Vents and the Hell's Gorge

« Reply #9 on: 23 October 2009, 05:28:52 »

Not sure if this has been decided, but I agree with Talia that " Hell" just doesn't seem to fit. Conjures up visions of red devils with pitchforks.

Would you consider name suggestions such as Gorge of Shadows, Coor's Gorge, Death Gorge, Gorge of Darkness, Demon Gorge etc.

Maybe I am not hitting it, What word strikes fear in the hearts of Santharians?

BTW- the description your are coming up with looks awesome.


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Re: Proposal - Chaos Vents and the Hell's Gorge

« Reply #10 on: 23 October 2009, 05:34:49 »

Yep, we should try to replace that "Hell" somehow, we need a good substitute word there... huh


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Deklitch Hardin

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Re: Proposal - Chaos Vents and the Hell's Gorge

« Reply #11 on: 23 October 2009, 06:30:37 »

Just wanted to warn you all that I'm about to nerd out on you all BIG TIME. Blame it on too many years of watching Star Trek/Sliders/Buffy The Vampire Slayer/Angel/etc etc etc, though, strangely enough, not Star Gate. Also, I suppose in some ways it could be considered to be inspired by some of Raymond E Feist's books, and even Stephen King's horror books.

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There is that pesky warning again evil

Anyway, here goes ...

My thought is, why not have at least some of them
a) Go to another point in Santharian History ... so that people can see it. To get around the whole "what if they change history" business ... consider using Stephen King's idea in one of his books/movies that is, once the event of history has moved on, there is nothing there any more to talk to/change so that while you can see things first hand, you can't actually change them.

b) Go to parallel version/s of Caeleroth ... where something has changed at a point in history eg
- the dark elves won the last war;
- in 513 b.S. instead of merely being injured, Thar was killed before he could unite those four northern kingdoms
- Ximax was never founded.

c) Goes to the mirror version of Caeleroth ... in which everyone wears a goatee beard.

Feel free to either take this as a serious suggestion, or (and this is my recommendation) take it as me being completely and utterly silly!