Common_Lore | GM's Information | Story_Idea_2

Common Lore

Common lore articles are written in two parts. The first is a commonly known story or song. The second is a series of adventure ideas for use with the common lore. These articles are designed only as "adventure suggestions" and are left to the GM to detail

The Earth Masters are mythic beings from a time before the First Gods ruled the worlds. While little is actually known about them, there are a few tales in the common lore of Tharda.

Long ago,
In the shadows of our memory
Before Khuzdul and Sindarin met
The Earth masters ruled
In wisdom and peace

Long gone,
All the gates were closed and barred
And a War waged out beyond us all
The Earth masters fought
To protect and hide.

Long done.
And the gates were opened and free to use
And all was quiet out beyond us all
The Earth masters gone
But where and why.

Long sung.
Of times long ago of powers great and mighty
Of places rich with gold and magic
The Earth masters dead.
In silence and woe.

Then return.
For the gates now open beckon man beyond
To see the stars and the planets
The Earth masters shadows
In hope in hope

Godstones
Silent and strong listen to our thoughts
Take our visions of places to be
And put us there
We hope oh we hope

Common_Lore | GM's Information | Story_Idea_2

Part II:
GM´s Information

Story Idea #1

While preparing the road bed for paving along the Corani High Road, legionnaires discover 10 bricks of pseudo stone (white stone that will not break). Each brick is 1´ wide by 2´ long by 0.5´ thick. The stones each way about 5 lbs.

The pseudo stone was buried under 3 feet of dirt and lay roughly below the existing roadway. Each stone has perfectly square edges, and all of its surfaces are smooth as silk to the touch.

These stones are similar to the psychically melded stone found at most Earth Master sites. They are the first stones ever found that were not bound into a structure.

This stone is priceless. Numerous scholars and mages would sell their very soul for just one brick and the legion now has 10. Before the legion can transport and hide the stone, word gets out.

Can the pseudo stone be transported to the relative safety of Coranan´s red domes all the way from Sitarny? If even one mage could get one stone, he would be welcomed into the chantry of his choice on the island.

Other than being almost indestructible, there appears to be no other magical properties to the stone. So little is known about it that the legion is not taking any chances. It is being transported in the pay wagon and should take roughly 3 days to get to Coranan.

Common_Lore | GM's Information | Story_Idea_2

Story Idea #2

Earth Master artifacts are said to choose their owners with great care. There are numerous tails of people &quote;finding&quote; strange black cylinders in places were dozens of other people have found nothing. These cylinders are believed to be aware, and there are even rumors that some can talk.

A mage in Melderyn studied one such cylinder for most of her life. Many believe it drove her insane as she was seen playing hopscotch and skipping rope from time to time. Neither are considered good activities for a Viran of the Shek-P´var.

Each cylinder seems to be a teaching device. Some teach through oral lessons, while others seem to impart the knowledge through more psychic contact. Regardless the knowledge is confused and contains images and details of a culture that seems to meld very advanced technology with unimaginable magic.

The cylinders are patient, repeating their lessons until the holder/user understands completely. While this is a marvelous method of teaching it can also be incredibly annoying as -- if the lesson is not learned, it is repeated again and again, until it is mastered. The cylinder does not seem to care if it must repeat the lesson once or a million times, it will not proceed to the next lesson until the previous one is learned.

The cylinders vary in size, content and color. Most are dark and fit comfortably in a human´s hand. They are also exceedingly rare.

Common_Lore | GM's Information | Story_Idea_2

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