Go4tfi5h
Loyal Servant of Altera
Excerpt from the Collective Histories of the wandering sage, Bu'ur-Kan of Vamal'Kur:
Out of the east they came, those who called themselves the Zhn'Oan, in flight from a monstrous cataclysm - the cause and nature of which remains unspoken, even today - in the hopes of finding release and absolution, for they were an accursed people. For many leagues they trekked, through grand mountains and low valleys, through foetid swamp and pristine tundra, through verdant jungles and barren wastes. How they knew to come to the land which is called Ubar, none are aware and, as with the terrible event which precipitated their departure, none of their descendants speak of it today.
Ubar itself is a desert of vast extent, peopled by a hardy race of Men, who are respectively called the Ubari. Nomads they are, goading vast herds of oxen, sheep, camels, and horses; moving from reservoir to reservoir. It is from their accounts that the tale of the Zhn'Oan is told, for only they are willing to speak.
It was far-flung ages ago that the Zhn'Oan came to Ubar, who appeared in fear and shame. It is to be noted that those farther tribes of the Ubari, who live on the meadow-strewn plains at the outskirts, claim that when the founders of Irem came, they wailed throughout the nights in terror and despair and had brought with them many potent drugs and mixtures by which they would ease their collective pain. But those who dwell closer to the desert's center claim the contrary, that they were of quiet demeanor, though apprehension racked their features. The mystics of the Ubari, who are much skilled in astronomy, divination through evisceration, and the seeking of hidden wells, told their people not to interfere in the journey of the Zhn'Oan, to allow them to seek their destination. In doing this, both races would benefit greatly, the sages said, but to take them in would in turn invite ruin for each. Thus the people of Ubar traded with the Zhn'Oan as they would any caravan, and let them continue on their course. With great surprise did the tribes of the Ubari watch as the architects of Irem went deeper into the desert, towards its fallow and unforgiving center. The Ubari dared not raise tents, nor even cross through the center, so inhospitable is this place to that which walks by the sun. They warned the travelers of this, but still they persisted. Riders of the Ubari followed them until they came to the Rim of Izai (rendered as 'Crown' by some tribes). This line of chalky hills forms a ring around the desert's center and nearly all of the Ubari believed that it was the site of another cataclysm from an even more distant epoch, which forced up the earth and made it lifeless. Beyond this rim, none of the Ubari pass, for fear they will never return. And yet when the wanderers passed through, it is well noted that they were without any fear, even that which they had brought with them. For some years, they were not heard from.
In time, great concern arose for those who had traveled through Ubar. Thus some of the chiefs came together, and formed an expedition of men to find some hint to the fate of those melancholy wanderers. The courage in which the Zhn'Oan passed through the Rim served to ease their fears of the cursed place somewhat, enough that they would travel into the center, for the first time in a dozen generations. Many well-fed camels were saddled and made to wear packs for but a few well-chosen men who would travel only by the morning and twilight hours, to avoid the blistering heat of day, and the biting cold of night. And so into the center they went, following the trail they believed the vagrants of the east to have taken. Nothing could have prepared them for the wonder that they saw.
First, they noted that the heat was not so blistering and the cold not so biting, and that even the sandstorms seemed tame compared the the furious temptests which raged around the Rim; though this last boon the men attributed to the line of hills, less than preternatural things. This was indeed strange, and they wondered if the curse set upon this land had abated over the years. But it was not as strange as when they reached the true center of the desert, and they were greatly astonished, for there they found the people who called themselves the Zhn'Oan, creating for themselves a paradise that the Ubari had never believed was possible.
At the lowest place in the valley, farms stretched outward from a settlement of local stone of the curious architecture of the Zhn'Oan - themselves centered around a small hill with sizeable slabs of stone erected in the center, the sight of which struck the Ubari in a way the could not articulate to each other - fed by rivers and streams whose source the Ubari riders could not see. Balmy winds rolled down the gentle slopes, gently brushing small trees which had been planted in recent years. Wheat grew tall and healthy, though none should believe it possible. Through arts unknown, the Zhn'Oan had made a land, once fallow, fertile. The riders rode into this settlement now, though believing themselves to be held in a mirage. This was soon dispelled, as they were greeted by a group of dignitaries who invited them to sit, to eat, and had their animals fed and watered. It was first noted that these people who were once wanderers had lost their fear entirely, and now sat with them with palpable ease as though happy kings in their own court. Those who were not tilling fields conversed freely or made music on distinct instruments from their far lands, and those who were tilling hummed foreign songs and worked with blatant content. The children, who before were reticent and always silent, now played or did chores without care or worry.
All this the riders of the Ubari took in and were much in awe of the those who sat before them. Neither knew the language of the other, but each was accustomed to dealing with other races. Through gesture, through scrawls in the dirt, the Zhn'Oan communicated to their Ubari guests that they had found a 'sea under the earth', a vast cistern of fresh water, which they drew their water from now. This, coupled with their extensive knowledge of agriculture from times before, allowed them to nourish the dust and sand, and grow crops from them. At this the guests balked, for no where in the world is there a race of Men who is more apt at seeking places of water than the Ubari, and yet it would seem they had been outdone by newcomers to the wastes; this wonder was further compounded that any race could transform loose dust into rich soil. And such the riders presented themselves humbly to their hosts, remembering the words of their mystics, as exchange between them could only bolster the wandering tribes outside the Rim. In the days that the Ubari stayed with the Zhn'Oan, they formed a basis of trade between them: cattle and beasts of burden and copper from the Ubari for the wheat and fruit and worked objects from the Zhn'Oan.
On this, the Ubari left their hosts, pausing only at the outskirts to ask the Zhn'Oan what name they had bestowed on their new home. 'Zh'Rm' they had named it, which the Ubari heard and spread as 'Irem' to their tribes and thus is how it came to be known across the world.
A traveler of the wastes will be no doubt be dazzled or believe he is held in fever when he beholds Irem for the first time, and indeed the experience changes with the revolution of the sky. In the bright noon of day, the grand city will shimmer and waver on the horizon, it's silver and golden domes glittering in the sun like a city of Jinn which may blow away with the wind, never to be seen again. In the desert twilight, when the air is cool, the red sun catches and illuminates the city's tall towers and high walls against the darkening sky, like a paradise only glimpsed in the opiate-inspired dreams of artists and poets. When the full moon reaches its height, bathing the city's spires in alabaster light, it would seem the realm of the spirit had crossed into the world of men, revealing a metropolis of otherworldly mystery on a plane of white. And when the moon sheds no light, it shines from the void of night, blotting out the stars in the sky and twisting the constellations, and from behind the walls and atop the towers, drums and flutes issue forth and roll over the shadowed dunes, like a daemon-city nestled in the heart of madness. Such is Many-Towered, Many-Pillared Irem, and it may be that no vision of the city is entirely wrong.
Specifics:
Mayor: Go4tfi5h
Population: 1
Coords: 11232, 65, 11280
Tax Rate: None; won't be one for a long time
Link to old Project page (which is still mostly relevant, but ignore RP intros): http://hollowworld.co.uk/index.php?...-special-building-permission.4343/#post-30273
From its conception, Irem has been intended as a massive, 1:1 scale, ancient city in an extensive desert which would serve as a backdrop for numerous RP stories of a different flavor. In planning the city, the history behind it, the surrounding region, and the culture of those who people the lands, my inspirations have been the Dream Cycle stories of H.P Lovecraft and the short stories of Robert E. Howard, as well as the prose and style of classical historical accounts. With these in mind, I hope to create a place in HollowWorld with an authentic and rich role-playing experience for the players who come to this region. I had hoped to have the temple (the current and only standing structure), which the city is centered around, finished some months ago. But with a bunch of distractions over the last year, and the fact that the temple's construction has been mostly unplanned up until the last few months, the building has been slow, and though I have a plan for the city in mind and the palace (the other largest structure of the city), it is doubtful that Irem will progress any quicker (especially with Planetside 2 coming out next spring). And so now I am calling on players, old and new, to help me build up Irem, which is (mostly) for the server, like Port Silver (also, I'm lonely out here). Competent (and innovative) builders, gatherers, and providers of tools are all welcome. If you read all the way from top to the bottom, thanks for doing so (and thanks for just reading this part if you didn't), thanks for your consideration, and a thanks in advance for any of you who are willing to put up with me in building this.
GG,
Go4tfi5h
Out of the east they came, those who called themselves the Zhn'Oan, in flight from a monstrous cataclysm - the cause and nature of which remains unspoken, even today - in the hopes of finding release and absolution, for they were an accursed people. For many leagues they trekked, through grand mountains and low valleys, through foetid swamp and pristine tundra, through verdant jungles and barren wastes. How they knew to come to the land which is called Ubar, none are aware and, as with the terrible event which precipitated their departure, none of their descendants speak of it today.
Ubar itself is a desert of vast extent, peopled by a hardy race of Men, who are respectively called the Ubari. Nomads they are, goading vast herds of oxen, sheep, camels, and horses; moving from reservoir to reservoir. It is from their accounts that the tale of the Zhn'Oan is told, for only they are willing to speak.
It was far-flung ages ago that the Zhn'Oan came to Ubar, who appeared in fear and shame. It is to be noted that those farther tribes of the Ubari, who live on the meadow-strewn plains at the outskirts, claim that when the founders of Irem came, they wailed throughout the nights in terror and despair and had brought with them many potent drugs and mixtures by which they would ease their collective pain. But those who dwell closer to the desert's center claim the contrary, that they were of quiet demeanor, though apprehension racked their features. The mystics of the Ubari, who are much skilled in astronomy, divination through evisceration, and the seeking of hidden wells, told their people not to interfere in the journey of the Zhn'Oan, to allow them to seek their destination. In doing this, both races would benefit greatly, the sages said, but to take them in would in turn invite ruin for each. Thus the people of Ubar traded with the Zhn'Oan as they would any caravan, and let them continue on their course. With great surprise did the tribes of the Ubari watch as the architects of Irem went deeper into the desert, towards its fallow and unforgiving center. The Ubari dared not raise tents, nor even cross through the center, so inhospitable is this place to that which walks by the sun. They warned the travelers of this, but still they persisted. Riders of the Ubari followed them until they came to the Rim of Izai (rendered as 'Crown' by some tribes). This line of chalky hills forms a ring around the desert's center and nearly all of the Ubari believed that it was the site of another cataclysm from an even more distant epoch, which forced up the earth and made it lifeless. Beyond this rim, none of the Ubari pass, for fear they will never return. And yet when the wanderers passed through, it is well noted that they were without any fear, even that which they had brought with them. For some years, they were not heard from.
In time, great concern arose for those who had traveled through Ubar. Thus some of the chiefs came together, and formed an expedition of men to find some hint to the fate of those melancholy wanderers. The courage in which the Zhn'Oan passed through the Rim served to ease their fears of the cursed place somewhat, enough that they would travel into the center, for the first time in a dozen generations. Many well-fed camels were saddled and made to wear packs for but a few well-chosen men who would travel only by the morning and twilight hours, to avoid the blistering heat of day, and the biting cold of night. And so into the center they went, following the trail they believed the vagrants of the east to have taken. Nothing could have prepared them for the wonder that they saw.
First, they noted that the heat was not so blistering and the cold not so biting, and that even the sandstorms seemed tame compared the the furious temptests which raged around the Rim; though this last boon the men attributed to the line of hills, less than preternatural things. This was indeed strange, and they wondered if the curse set upon this land had abated over the years. But it was not as strange as when they reached the true center of the desert, and they were greatly astonished, for there they found the people who called themselves the Zhn'Oan, creating for themselves a paradise that the Ubari had never believed was possible.
At the lowest place in the valley, farms stretched outward from a settlement of local stone of the curious architecture of the Zhn'Oan - themselves centered around a small hill with sizeable slabs of stone erected in the center, the sight of which struck the Ubari in a way the could not articulate to each other - fed by rivers and streams whose source the Ubari riders could not see. Balmy winds rolled down the gentle slopes, gently brushing small trees which had been planted in recent years. Wheat grew tall and healthy, though none should believe it possible. Through arts unknown, the Zhn'Oan had made a land, once fallow, fertile. The riders rode into this settlement now, though believing themselves to be held in a mirage. This was soon dispelled, as they were greeted by a group of dignitaries who invited them to sit, to eat, and had their animals fed and watered. It was first noted that these people who were once wanderers had lost their fear entirely, and now sat with them with palpable ease as though happy kings in their own court. Those who were not tilling fields conversed freely or made music on distinct instruments from their far lands, and those who were tilling hummed foreign songs and worked with blatant content. The children, who before were reticent and always silent, now played or did chores without care or worry.
All this the riders of the Ubari took in and were much in awe of the those who sat before them. Neither knew the language of the other, but each was accustomed to dealing with other races. Through gesture, through scrawls in the dirt, the Zhn'Oan communicated to their Ubari guests that they had found a 'sea under the earth', a vast cistern of fresh water, which they drew their water from now. This, coupled with their extensive knowledge of agriculture from times before, allowed them to nourish the dust and sand, and grow crops from them. At this the guests balked, for no where in the world is there a race of Men who is more apt at seeking places of water than the Ubari, and yet it would seem they had been outdone by newcomers to the wastes; this wonder was further compounded that any race could transform loose dust into rich soil. And such the riders presented themselves humbly to their hosts, remembering the words of their mystics, as exchange between them could only bolster the wandering tribes outside the Rim. In the days that the Ubari stayed with the Zhn'Oan, they formed a basis of trade between them: cattle and beasts of burden and copper from the Ubari for the wheat and fruit and worked objects from the Zhn'Oan.
On this, the Ubari left their hosts, pausing only at the outskirts to ask the Zhn'Oan what name they had bestowed on their new home. 'Zh'Rm' they had named it, which the Ubari heard and spread as 'Irem' to their tribes and thus is how it came to be known across the world.
Introduction
A traveler of the wastes will be no doubt be dazzled or believe he is held in fever when he beholds Irem for the first time, and indeed the experience changes with the revolution of the sky. In the bright noon of day, the grand city will shimmer and waver on the horizon, it's silver and golden domes glittering in the sun like a city of Jinn which may blow away with the wind, never to be seen again. In the desert twilight, when the air is cool, the red sun catches and illuminates the city's tall towers and high walls against the darkening sky, like a paradise only glimpsed in the opiate-inspired dreams of artists and poets. When the full moon reaches its height, bathing the city's spires in alabaster light, it would seem the realm of the spirit had crossed into the world of men, revealing a metropolis of otherworldly mystery on a plane of white. And when the moon sheds no light, it shines from the void of night, blotting out the stars in the sky and twisting the constellations, and from behind the walls and atop the towers, drums and flutes issue forth and roll over the shadowed dunes, like a daemon-city nestled in the heart of madness. Such is Many-Towered, Many-Pillared Irem, and it may be that no vision of the city is entirely wrong.
Specifics:
Mayor: Go4tfi5h
Population: 1
Coords: 11232, 65, 11280
Tax Rate: None; won't be one for a long time
Link to old Project page (which is still mostly relevant, but ignore RP intros): http://hollowworld.co.uk/index.php?...-special-building-permission.4343/#post-30273
From its conception, Irem has been intended as a massive, 1:1 scale, ancient city in an extensive desert which would serve as a backdrop for numerous RP stories of a different flavor. In planning the city, the history behind it, the surrounding region, and the culture of those who people the lands, my inspirations have been the Dream Cycle stories of H.P Lovecraft and the short stories of Robert E. Howard, as well as the prose and style of classical historical accounts. With these in mind, I hope to create a place in HollowWorld with an authentic and rich role-playing experience for the players who come to this region. I had hoped to have the temple (the current and only standing structure), which the city is centered around, finished some months ago. But with a bunch of distractions over the last year, and the fact that the temple's construction has been mostly unplanned up until the last few months, the building has been slow, and though I have a plan for the city in mind and the palace (the other largest structure of the city), it is doubtful that Irem will progress any quicker (especially with Planetside 2 coming out next spring). And so now I am calling on players, old and new, to help me build up Irem, which is (mostly) for the server, like Port Silver (also, I'm lonely out here). Competent (and innovative) builders, gatherers, and providers of tools are all welcome. If you read all the way from top to the bottom, thanks for doing so (and thanks for just reading this part if you didn't), thanks for your consideration, and a thanks in advance for any of you who are willing to put up with me in building this.
GG,
Go4tfi5h
