Mayong’s Cruelty: The Drachnids

“Mayong’s Cruelty: the Drachnids”

From the diary of Najena, Tier’Dal sorceress.

It was in the beginning of the apex of my career of sorcery when I accomplished what I still believe to be my prized achievement. They were beautiful beasts with carapaces that gleamed so black they seemed to be cut of obsidian, multi-faceted eyes that could not even begin to comprehend, and they were many hundreds, possibly thousands, of times the size of their much smaller cousins: the black widow spider.

They were beautiful, deadly, and my creations.

Once I had discovered the secret of raising these magnificent beasts, I sent some as gifts to those I admired. Among these individuals was Mayong Mistmoore. Seeking to curry his favor, and to let him know exactly how capable of a sorceress I was, I sent him one as a gift.

Imagine my surprise when he sent it back, irrevocably changed. And my poor emissary, L’Dalt, butchered for his experiment.

What had left as two different beasts returned as one. He had grafted the head and torso of L’Dalt onto the body of the spider, and the two walked as one. L’Dalt’s personality and memories seemed to have been lost in the shift, but his cunning and magical powers were still there – capable of being carried to and utilized wherever the body of that spider could take him. It was a truly formidable combination.

I couldn’t help but feel a hint of amazment and respect for Mayong’s ingenuity. At the same time, however, he had stolen my design and used it to his own ends. The thank you note he sent, “Thank you for supplying Mistmoore with suitable raw ingredients for true servants”, mocked me. I vowed to learn all I could of these creatures and create something better.

I studied these creatures, which came to be known as Drachnids, after Mayong began to release them into Norrath in packs.

They settled into small, neatly organized colonies. The young males spun the webs, and the young females caught food for the nests. The business of the mature males was always elusive. They seemed to be carrying out orders, possibly of Mayong’s, but to what ends? I could never tell. The mature females fought for dominance in the position of nest matriarch. These Widows fiercely protected their station and killed the younger females that might challenge them. It all had a beautifully simple design to it. Mayong was truly a genius.

My studies ended when I was discovered. Trapped in their webbing for days, I nearly went mad from hunger and thirst and finally, out of a purely desperate attempt to live, I managed to use my magics to get free. I evaded all who pursued me, though I know I am truly only alive today because I never had to contend with any mature Drachnids, and hid beyond their borders.

Before I was to truly escape, however, I confronted Mayong. He seemed to be waiting for me, on the edge of their territory, and his face was without pity, or humor as I approached. I outlined what had happened, expecting, well, I am not sure what, but something from him. He, however, only coldly acknowledged that his creations seemed to be establishing themselves well and learning to act together.

When I told him exactly how offended I was that he cared not for what had nearly happened tome, he merely stared at me and informed me that the only reason he had called off the mature Drachnids was because I had played a small role in their creation. I felt foolish then, incredibly so, for imagining he would be angry at his creations for capturing me. If anything, it was a testament to their prowess, and had doubtless pleased him. He told me then that my boon had been expended, and that I should not lurk around their nests anymore. Next time I would not likely find so fortuitous a path to safety. Nearly every hour of every day, I think of something I should have done or said to prove to him that he had crossed the wrong sorceress, though the truth was that I said nothing to him. I only ran away in a wash of emotions I do not care to admit to having felt.

Once back within my own dominion, however, I began to plot.

I designed newer, more ferocious creatures to match and surpass his own. He, I vowed, would feel that same fear and humiliation I had, and I would not rest until he had been shamed.

I am still striving. I have created creatures from all manners and pitches of nightmares, but none seem to have quite such deadly perfection as those beasts.

I will find one though. It is only a matter of time, and then Mayong Mistmoore will regret what he did to me, and regret having ever made the Drachnids.

By my blood,

Najena

Sorceress of the Teir’Dal

A History of the Sporconid

Thousands of years ago, a group of brilliant iksar druids sought a power unlike any other possessed by their people. They tapped into a deep, ancient power that drew on a very different aspect of nature.

This power is the root of decay – truly a mixture of nature and shadow power. Where most natural power gives energy and life and growth, this power sucks it away. Some powers of wardens and furies draws on this in small doses, but none plunge straight into it the way that these iksar did.

They might have had the world at their feet if the nature of the magic hadn’t slowly drained them of their mental power. They fed more and more on it, and as they did, they lost more of their mental acuity and of their physical form.

Soon, they had little more will or reason than fungi, and their bodies had grown to resemble their intellects;ashen skin covered in slime-like glaze. A small growth, protruded from their head, and as time passed, it swelled and swelled until it resembled a mushroom cap.

Today we know these beasts as the sporconids, and they dwell in the much near Dragon Drool Lake. Though they may resemble giant mushrooms, they have a measure of sentience, and an undeniable power at their finger tips. Fortunately, they don’t have the guile to harness this power fully.

And so we see what can result from harnessing a power that is not fully understood. What might have been a world devastating force became the idle plaything of a childlike, simplistic race of swamp dwellers.

Should the sporconids ever once again realize what they have in their hands, and find a way to apply it fully, all of Norrath might be on their knees before them. Fortunately, they would need an intellect magnitudes greater then their own to do so.

When Tinkering Goes Dreadfully Wrong

For the past two days, this has been the new look to the magus in the guild lobby. The model is called a “Girplan” (I believe.. I may have gotten it wrong after all) and if memory serves, came out with Gates of Discord. Or at least, I remember fighting a whole lot of these guys for someone’s epic in a discord zone. I think they look sort of cute. Still curious how it ended up that way though. Maybe project illusion can be cast on npc (an enchanter aa) or a bored GM was wandering around. In any case, it was something I noticed as I headed to the guild hall, and couldn’t help giggling over.

Just so much to do

One thing (of many) that I’m completely loving in EQ1 is just how much there is to do. In EQ2 I feel as though I’ve done it all, or at least come pretty close to it. I’ve seen all the zones, run all the instances, I may not have my epic, but pretty much everyone else does. Getting 140aa is easy and there’s nothing really left to do anymore. I mentioned before about how you’re not supposed to feel like you can ‘beat’ an mmo because there’s always something left for you to do – and while in EQ2 I don’t feel as though that’s true, in EQ1 it certainly is.

Early in the evening yesterday Malfi and Binxs logged in, along with Woosao, Tipa, and myself, and we headed to Blightfire Moors to get some levels. Malfi was away on business when we ran our Nostalgia group last week, and Binxs could use the exp as well. So I logged to Minxe, my dark elf necromancer. She was level 32 at the time, and after all was said and done after two hours or so we’d all gained 3-5 levels, it was nice. Tipa joined us as a level 30, in shroud form. Mostly to try it out rather then anything else. In the end she’d actually gained two regular levels – something she was trying to avoid. It was great that she could lower her level to play with us, but until we hit level 51 and stop gaining experience in favor of aa, it’s frustrating.

I managed to craft my level 33 pet spell (cheers) and set off to Abysmal Sea to gather the rest. Since Minxe is no longer my progression character, I’ve decided to stop playing my level 30 monk with Woosao, and to play Minxe. That means I can delete the 30 monk, and thus have another character slot open (which is rare for me). That leaves me with: 70 rogue, 68 enchanter, 68 cleric, 45 shadowknight, 40 cleric, 38 rogue, 36 necromancer, 33 druid, and a level 7 beastlord.

Yes, I have two clerics, and two rogues. Not sure what I’d like to make next, I’m sure I can figure it out though. Lackey (magician) logged in and promptly headed to Najena to hunt for a broom and shovel. Apparently these items are used in some magician focus items (and thus for the epic 1.0 as well further down the road) and he was having some difficulty getting things to drop. Urtog (faithful warrior that he is) volunteered to help him out, and within the hour had gathered so many pieces Lackey needed, it made my head spin.

All I managed to do was get Lackey killed – supposedly twice. We went to Ocean of Tears (and me on my 68 cleric) to kill a few Seafury Cyclopes and steal their toes.

Now, I know this may be hard to believe – but –

It was my first EQ1 boat ride, ever. Apparently, they used to be a lot longer, but when I started playing 3-4 years ago, the boats were all broken, and Translocators were set up on docks in order to port you to your destination. It was nice to see that the boats were back, and I enjoyed the ride. In another short hour Lackey had all of the pieces he needed, and later today I’m sure he’ll eagerly complete the quests granting him his items. Aside from the death (or two) it was a great night, again spent with great friends. The Tuesday Nostalgia group was canceled for the night, since one of it’s key members was called away unavoidably (the healer). They were meant to spend the night in Najena, but it looks as though it’ll have to be next week instead. I never did spend that much time there leveling up.

I’m pleased that most of the people who were slightly behind in Nostalgia (the Friday run) have caught up the few levels they needed. Coldheat, Malfi, and Binxs, with Gozad not too far behind. Aerrik and Sev still have a little work (Sev being away for medical reasons) and Said as well, I believe. This Friday we’re heading to do Everfrost LDoNs, which I’m sure will be interesting. This is another one of those camps that I dislike, and I can’t quite recall why. No doubt Nostalgia the Guild will change my mind though.

Between leveling, hunting for gear upgrades, doing random quests, crafting, getting excited about aa, and where Nostalgia the Guild is going next, well. The game is pretty booming, what can I say. For now it’s still my ‘game of choice’ though I do wander into EQ2 still on occasion. Having a group of steady friends on has been just the thing I needed.

City of Mist, Temperance, and Fun..

This weekend has been fun. In fact, so fun that I completely forgot to take screenshots. I know, I’m bad. Last night (was it only last night?) Tipa, Lackey, my favorite warrior Urtog, and of course myself (as Ishbel, the cleric) headed out for fun and mischief. We found plenty of both. It started off of course when Tipa’s own druid forgot to bring.. TIPA along in the port to Emerald Jungle. Or maybe it started before that when we spent 20 minutes deciding where to go. Either way, that set the tone for the night, and I barely stopped laughing until we finished our adventures.

We headed to City of Mist, a favorite zone of mine in the past, and made our way to the stables. There was no one around (surprise surprise) and it’s not a hot zone but the experience was steady. Breaking camp is always the best part of any group, and Urtog managed it with Ease. Lackey nuked away while his pet DPS’d and Tipa did it all, tanking, dps’ing, you name it. I sat and looked pretty in scales, of course.

We were lucky, it seemed that every named was up waiting just for us when we zoned in. It started with the Mighty (red) Golem right at the entrance who dropped a pretty face piece for me. Then we took down a few ghosts and a shield dropped with mana preservation III on it. Very nice. Lackey also got himself a shield, though it wasn’t quite as nice as mine, it was better then the nothing he was wearing before. A pair of plate gloves found their way to the guild bank, and the only down side to the evening was that we reached our level cap for this week – again – too early.

It’s only Monday and we can’t play our Nostalgia characters until Friday, for fear of out leveling everyone else. Tipa’s already 41 and creeping up on 42, Ishbel is 20% away (though she’s not technically my Nostalgia character). Lackey isn’t a part of the Friday night groups and he swung by 42. Urtog sits comfortably at 40.

Since I hit 40, it was time for me to work on my temperance spell, a cleric quest that’s really quite easy. All it requires is talking to an npc in Gunthak, heading over to Dulak Harbor, being on the right boat (gulps) and killing things there until it drops. Tipa came to the rescue, and her third mob in, found an emblem. I’d be lost without her what can I say. I ran back to Gunthak, talked to the npc again, and set off for the beaches to find the female erudite ghost – who was also up.

Give her the new emblem, and presto, I have temperance.

At level 45 I’ll be able to scribe the group version of this spell, which is waiting for me, having already made it with Kameeko (I like being able to research, though the new method is a little.. odd). All in all, the weekend has been great. I wandered around Stone Hive some more today with Growlius’ necromancer, though not too much dropped for me. In Dulak I found a nice pair of shoulders for Ishbel – though the rogue is a little harder to gear up. I’m hoping to drag her around to finish some quests, or maybe craft her some more pieces of gear like jewelery. We’ll have to see I suppose.

All in all, just another great day gaming. Now if I could just remember to take screen shots while I’m having so much fun…