Hours of Frost/Lore

From Istaria Lexica

Announcement Story[edit]

Wind whips through nearly every city in Istaria as the world plummets into an icy spiral of death. Plants wither away and spring may never be a possibility. Snow thick enough to swallow up an ancient drifts against Kion’s walls and the dragons of Dralk huddle around the lava pools for warmth. Even the Helian are welcome in Dralk during these dark times, the Schism cooling with the freezing weather and the ancient loyalty between Dragonkind sparking up.

However, hope is not lost; multiple councils of the most powerful mages have been pulled together, desperately trying to find the source. The eldest mages of Ice magic have been brought to Tazoon for testing and trials.

Two months into this horrid cold, a discovery is made; the orbit of the Realm of Ice is closer than ever, as discovered by the gnomish astronomers in New Rachival. With the help of a daring dragon, a gnomish piece of equipment was flown above the swirling clouds to make a detailed map of the stars hidden by the cloak of clouds around the world.

Intently studied, this chart proved the orbit of the Realm of Ice and laid the groundwork for discovering possible causes and solutions. At this round table of discussion, the dragon who flew above the clouds finally spoke for the first time after his mission, his wings tattered and blue in places where they were frostbitten from the extreme cold.

“I’m afraid to say, naka’duskael,” he hissed, his voice raw from breathing in ice crystals for hours. “That you shouldn’t look for an inanimate natural cause to this. Realms do not connect on their own; the great Dragon Drulkar had to step into to the Prime through the Gate of Embers, which provided a magical connection otherwise not normal.”

Devolving into a coughing fit, the dragon slouched over, tired and weary. “I was not alone in that sky; something else was there, weaving the icy magic that created those clouds. We have never stepped foot in the Realm of Ice, but I fear what may step foot here from it.”

Event Dialogue[edit]

A little female gnome pops up from the teleport pad, clutching a rolled up papyrus sheet to her chest. She startles at the amount of Gifted surrounding her, her glasses knocking slightly off her nose. Gathering herself, she straightens out her glasses and puffs out her chest. Behind her is a large Ancient Dragon, head held low and scales dulling from age.

"Hello, Gifted! I am Zebrie, a gnomish astronomer! I'm pleased to meet you! As you all know, we've been cursed with a terrible winter for a long time now. The Empire also now knows that this winter has to come from somewhere in the Realm of Ice, perhaps started by a malicious being.

This has been confirmed as many of you may have noticed; a small piece of this... elemental being has been sighted across Istaria, attacking anyone who goes near it or its army of ice golems. The plan is simple, but it's all we got: we open a portal to the Realm of Ice itself!

This powerful portal might tempt the monster to step into our realm in its natural state, allowing us to destroy it once and for all. If it is the true weaver of this icy magic, then that should conclude this horrible winter... or so we hope."

Zebrie falls silent for a long time, the howling wind underlining the desperation of the situation.

Noticing the silence from the little Gnome, the Dragon lifts his head and speaks up for once. His voice is old and scratchy, showing the costs of age. "I spend most of my days asleep now, as many of you spry, young dragons will when you get to my age..." He begins, trailing off, blinking a few times, and then continuing.

"This winter has kept me awake for ages now. At least it helps you; back in my age, the Gate of Embers was new! Not some artifact or mystical device. I remember the creation of the old gate and the process to link Realms together! Or... or so I think. I may have heard it from my father...

Nonetheless! I'm here to help you Gifted fix this... mess of magic. However, I need a very clear image of the constellations that represent the Realm of Ice." The old dragon explains, trailing off while staring up at the sky, seemingly losing his train of thought.

"So that is why I'm here! We will build a brand new telescope that can see through these dreadful clouds. I know we had that dragon fly up and make a star map, but while it's detailed, it's nowhere near accurate enough for these purposes! We need to find the exact constellation the Realm of Ice lies in to unlock a portal to it."

"Let us begin! First, I'm going to need a bunch of tinkering components. This is a BIG telescope, after all! 480 Springs, Hinges, Gears, and Struts from *each tier* for the internal mechanisms! 1000 Glass Nodules for the lens! For the enchantment, we also need 100 Construction Sources from *each tier*!

Please be careful! Adventurers, partner up and defend a crafter if you can; it's dangerous out in that blizzard and we don't know what might happen. Any other idle claws or hands; please scout the area. I have a feeling we're not safe here... "

TASK 1: 480 Springs/Hinges/Gears/Struts from each tier. 1000 Glass Nodules. 100 Construction Sources from each tier. DRAGONS & ADVENTURERS - help your fellow bipeds! Gather raw resources or provide protection.
Discuss amongst yourselves who will be put onto which resource to avoid frustration and overlap.

Zebrie jumps up and down in excitement at the mound of things next to her. "Yes, yes, thank you! Thank you so much!" She quickly sets to work building up a large telescope. She works fairly quick, getting the thing twice her height standing in a matter of fifteen minutes. Other gnomes in New Rachival step out to help her assemble it and, before long, a large telescope stands before the Gifted.

"Let's see if this works..." Zebrie sticks her eye against the eyepiece, angling the telescope upwards, the gears grinding and scraping. Thankfully this contraption has no potentially explosive magic on it... as far as you know. She frowns and turns the scope this way and that before sighing. "Nope, nada. I can see the stars, I promise! But they're blurry."

"What about the magic that dragons use, little Gnome?" The ancient says impatiently. "Our magic is far more in tune with this world, it being of the prime and not your silly elemental stuff. We don't use Construction Sources; we use *Primal* Essences of Melding! We don't use nodules; we use Azulyte! Why don't you try using something a little less... useless?"

"Oh… Oh that might just work! Thank you!" She seems startled by his interjection, the large beast nearly forgotten about. "Gifted!! Do as the old dragon sa- AH! WHAT'S THAT?"

Zebrie peeks out from behind Karvanoth's large forelimb. "Is…is it over? Oh no, we're in trouble... this beast is on to us! Quick, do as the dragon says; fetch me 1000 Focused Violet Azulyte and 100 Primal Essence of Melding of each tier, please!"

TASK 2: 1000 Focused Violet Azulyte. 100 Primal Essences of Melding from each tier.

"Okay.. thank you, Gifted, thank you so much!" She looks nervous and tired by now, but is still excited. "I sincerely hope this works…" She mutters, fixing up her telescope and building in the new pieces with a few extra pair of gnomish hands. In a short while, once again, it is done, with the telescope standing proud once more.

Does anyone have any ink or papyrus on them?"

TASK 3: 50 Papyrus, 10 Squid

"Thank you! Now let me mark the stars down annnd… done!" With a short curtsy, she scampers off through the portals.

End of phase 1, 15 minute break.

"Here you are! One fresh, giant duplicate of the star chart! I hope it's to your liking?" The gnome places a papyrus sheet nearly as large as a full-grown dwarf in front of the dragon, laying it out on the ground.

"Hmm... " The ancient examines the image in front of him and nods slowly. "Yes, this will do. Thank you... little Gnome," he says, reluctantly.

"I'm glad to help! Gifted... fix this winter. For the Empire! For New Rachival!" She cries, jumping in the air before, once again, scampering off.

"Good riddance... Gnomes are fun to toy with but they are irritatingly confident in their skills," he growls before lifting his head. "Okay, Gifted... to open a portal to another Realm, we need more than just stars. We need everything and anything related to the Realm itself. In this case, ice-related things. Pieces of living creatures that are aligned with the Realm of Ice.

From here, that'll just be a hassle to do; let us move to the naka city of Summit; it's far closer to the various beasts you'll need to take pieces from than this pitiful desert and tiny town," he says with a snort, standing and moving his old body towards the portal. "Come on now!"

"Are we all here? Good, good. Now... spread out," he commands, coughing a few times and staring expectantly at the Gifted. "Adventurers; shoo. My fellow Dragons, fly far into the distance for your contributions. Naka'duskael and young hatchlings, hunt in the nearby area.

Bring at least twenty of whatever you wish to collect and be sure that it is ice related! Sapphire Shredders, Ice Golems, Ice Beetles, Nix Beetles! Any of the nearby ogres or pygmies! Go!" He spreads his wings, sending you all off. "Now, crafters!" He turns to address those remaining.

"Bring me a few hundred Frozen Essence Orbs... any tier will do, just make sure I have a couple hundred," he commands. "A portal needs power."

TASK 4: Spread out and gather 20 components, trophies, or a mix of the two and come back to Karvanoth. Be sure the contributions are ice themed. You have twenty minutes to do so. Crafters, bring Karvanoth 500 Frozen Essence Orbs total of any tier. Everyone else; be on guard...

"Excellent." Karvanoth examines the sizable collection of loot and orbs in front of him and looks to the crowd. "Now, I need one final object; something imbued with the power of ice magic itself, but not from an immediate natural origin like you just provided. "I just can't remember for the life of me what that could be!"

TASK 5: Offer Karvanoth ice-related magic objects to jog his memory. Don't think too complex; it's likely something you have on you.

"Ah.. ah yes! A crystal! A crystal of ice magic! Thank you, this is exactly what I needed. An ancient craft from Dragon claws. Yes, exactly... " Karvanoth examines the crystal before looking around again. "Now... we must go somewhere there is a high concentration of Ice magic. Come, Gifted; follow my lead."

TASK 6: Follow Karvanoth to the final zone. If you get lost, set your sights on 25188 / 28840.

"Here we are, Gifted! The heart of one of our most icy regions. A large flat expanse ready to house a portal! Are you ready to see the magic of only the most ancient of Dragons, Gifted?" He grins like a young hatchling. "Let it... begin."

Karvanoth pulls out the star chart and stares unhappily at the sky. With the other donated items surrounding him, he begins to swirl primal magic in his paws, pulling and pushing the star chart and lifting the objects up. Surprising amounts of powerful magic spin around Karvanoth, hiding him in a ball of blue-white light.

Then... it appears.

"There she is!" He roars joyously, flapping his wings in excitement at the large portal ahead of him. "Oh my beautiful creation; I would have not thought it pos-" With that, Karvanoth hits the ground, speared through the back with a splinter of ice.

The denizens of Ice are not pleased.