Myron and Irikos led the Left and Right Hands of Rajaat respectively. Unlike other armies from the Cleansing Wars, the Left and Right Hands had a history that stretched back to the Preserver Jihad.
Irikos was a fanatical follower of Rajaat. He was Rajaat's closest council, and he was the first of the Champions to learn of Rajaat's ultimate plans. Irikos enthusiastically sought to fulfull Rajaat's twisted dream.
As time went on, Rajaat became consumed with his life's work, and Irikos spent more and more time with Myron. During a moment of trust, Irikos let Myron know of his own (actually Rajaat's) dream and the seeds for both Irikos' and Rajaat's downfall were laid.
While Irikos was driven by a near fanatical devotion to the man who raised him, Myron was motivated by a cold, mechanical sense of self interest. Myron knew what Irikos' (actually Rajaat's) plan meant for him, and he began to foment the seeds of rebellion in the Left Hand. Myron had no trouble convincing Irikos' second in command, a crafty defiler named Kalak, to overthrow his leader.
Thus, when the Left and Right Hand sacked Bodach, during Irikos' moment of truimph, his second in Command led him away for council. There, Myron set upon him with the Scorcher, plunging Irikos' burning body off the Walls of Bodach and into the Sea of Silt.
Kalak quickly ascended into Irikos's position, although without Irikos, "the Left Hand" simply became another one of Rajaat's Armies. Later, during that same King's Age Kalak would finish the War his predecessor set into motion.
As Rajaat investigated the death of Irikos and the loss of the Silencer, the Right Hand of Rajaat was dispatched to crush preserver dissent in the South. Rajaat knew of Myron's treachery, and in a City far south of Celik, the War Bringer's own trap was set.
The preservers of the city were desparate to find some sort of magic to protect their city and make their last stand. They made a miraculous breakthrough shortly before the arrival of the Armies of the Right Hand. Unbeknownst to them, their insight was attributable to information planted by Rajaat himself. Rajaat intended to kill the Right Hand for their treachery, and punish the last preserver stronghold on Athas.
Shortly before the final battle began, Myron's top general, Manu, was called back to Rajaat, seemingly without reason. When the preserver spell hit, the results were catastrophic. A vast portion of Southern Athas was transformed into a plain of pure obsidian. Everything in the area was destroyed, but Manu was spared.
Manu was dispatched to retrieve the Scorcher. He pried it from the dead hands of what appeared to be Myron. There on the dead plains, Myron's body stood, a perfect and immobile statue of black obsidian.
Thus, Manu became Hammanu, replacing Myron as the "Troll Scorcher." Hammanu built a new army from scratch, renewing a war which would take more than 1500 years to complete.
Like Kalak before him, the new Champion did not replace the Right Hand. Instead, Hammanu became a Champion just like the other fourteen, and the Armies from the Preserver Jihad became a relic of history.
Kalak was never suspected of colluding with Myron, therefore he eluded Rajaat as the second champion. In time, however Kalak began to understand that Irikos' dream was the same as his master's. After consulting the other Champions, plans for Rajaat's betrayal were set in motion.
The story wasn't over for the Scorcher either, for the sword was empowered with a curse as powerful as the magic which gave it power. The wielder of the Scorcher was bound to use the weapon to betray one of his or her own, only to face a later betrayal which would lead to his or her demise. It was another variation upon the curse borne by each of Rajaat's swords: "Live by the sword and die by the sword."
Wishing to avoid the fate of his predecessor, Hammanu cast away the Scorcher after he used it to dispatch his compatriot, Dregoth.
itf
Shortly before the final battle began, Myron's top general, Manu, was called back to Rajaat, seemingly without reason. When the preserver spell hit, the results were catastrophic. A vast portion of Southern Athas was transformed into a plain of pure obsidian. Everything in the area was destroyed, but Manu was spared.
...
Nice! I like your story until this paragraph, since the deadland already have is own history with Gretch and such.
BUT, we all know that Celik is part inhabited by humanoid and the other half part inininhabited by undead. Maybe that could be your catastrophic result?
itf
Have you read this thread at all? There was mention of a Myron/O-man connection in it.
itf
I am not saying that your idea is bad or anything- in fact it is very interesting. I just wanted to point out that it is a contradiction. That being said- hey it is your game and you can make it happen anyway you want- that is who I run my game if the canon material does not fit what I want in my game for the story I am telling- for example, I have Oronis much further advanced in his avangion metamorphasis and he does not look like an alien moth- he has very dragon-like features, with golden skin/scales and huge white feathery wings.
Well, a lot of time past between the Cleansing Wars and the "discovery" of the Obsidian Man in the Smoking Crowns. Perhaps there is an interesting story about how Myron got there, but it certainly doesn't have to contradict the timeline.
BTW: Any thoughts on the rest of the stuff?
itf
I am not saying that your idea is bad or anything- in fact it is very interesting. I just wanted to point out that it is a contradiction.
Most of what people post is contradictions, even Greyorm's fabulous stories are told from the viewpoint of a person that has not experienced RaFoaDK and some of the other DS sources...
In retrospect only a few of us have read all the material, and recently at that. NytCrawlr, me, Kamelion, Jon, Flip, ... are the only people I'm sure have read and reread all the stuff in recent times. IIRC, even Methvezem, my equipment buddy, has not read RaFoaDK...
Most of what people post is contradictions, even Greyorm's fabulous stories are told from the viewpoint of a person that has not experienced RaFoaDK and some of the other DS sources...
In retrospect only a few of us have read all the material, and recently at that. NytCrawlr, me, Kamelion, Jon, Flip, ... are the only people I'm sure have read and reread all the stuff in recent times. IIRC, even Methvezem, my equipment buddy, has not read RaFoaDK...
I am currently rereading the books- half way through the PP series right now.
As for my comment- I was just pointing it out as a FYI in case he did not know about the OB entry in the BoA.
inix toenail filth- I like your ideas- and I have a simular thought on a few of the issues. I too believe that Rajaat, with this huge secret, would have told someone sometime and Irikos is the perfect canidate. I also have Myron turning agains Rajaat because he learns of the War Bringers goal- but he finds out from the PCs (time travel).
Overall it it good stuff- have you used or introduced any of this material to your players yet?
IIRC, even Methvezem, my equipment buddy, has not read RaFoaDK...
Yeah, unfortunatly. The latests DS novels are hard to come by and find now.Great story inixtoenail, I really like the insight you give about the link between the various major players of the Preserver Jihad and the Cleansing Wars.
inix toenail filth - NICE!!
Not quite on the topic, but what is RaFosDK ??
inix toenail filth - NICE!!
Its suppose to be RaFoaDK, which is short for the novel "Rise and Fall of a Dragon King".
I think the obsidian man being Myron is a great idea. In rise and fall he got killed for what? being a procrastinator? I'd prefer the Obsidian man story. Rise and fall was a great read but things like Myron and the ending of the book is something I'd change in my version of Dark Sun.
Once I see them, I can tweak or rearrange the story and make things fit where they need to be.
I guess one thing I have trouble with is that some folks here have more access to unreleased information from Athas.org. We as gamers try to fill in the blanks of the existing world, only to have other's (who have the inside scoop) tell us that material we haven't seen (either unreleased from Athas.org or unreleased from TSR) is heading in a different direction.
Of course, I always appreciate the input, but it is a little bit frustrating to be in the dark all the time (not that anyone is trying to keep us in the dark -that's just the way things are...)
Anyways, there are some cases in which I want to head in a different direction than the source material. Like I said early, I really didn't like how TSR set up a beautiful, engaging, and totally unique world, only to gut it, and turn it upside down with the Prism Pentad. Maybe after TSR mapped out the whole world and there was no place else left to go, destroying the cornerstones of the world would have been a good thing. But in the end, I just feel cheated.
So when it comes to fleshing out the Dark Sun World, I am much more interested in what happened in the past rather than what cataclysm is going to turn everything upside down next (killing off the Soceror Kings, the Psionatrix, Dregoth, etc...) There is so much rich history -from the discovery of magic, the rise of the Rebirth Races, the Rhulisti and Life Shaping Technology, the Cleansing Wars, etc, it seems a crime to blindly charge forward without fleshing this stuff out.
The past makes for interesting story lines and it defines the present. That's why I enjoyed the "Windrider's" supplement so much more than any of the Prism Pentad-based adventures.
Sorry to go off on quite a big tangent. I just have a lot of DS stuff on the mind lately. This board is a great place for DS ideas and I am glad to be here.
itf
Irikos grew up admiring and emulating his mentor. When he grew up, his loyalty developed into nothing less than fanaticism. The Left Hand was a Cult as much as it was an Army, and Irikos inspired the same sort of fearless loyalty and reckless abandon in his troops. The Left Hand was notorious for throwing itself into impossible situations and somehow managing to come out on top through a combination of unpredictibilty and their sheer with will.
Myron was the opposite of Irikos in almost every way. He came to the War Bringer himself, seeing magic as a means to advance his position and attain personal power. He went about his tasks with a calculated precision and never let anything -not even his own ambition- jeopardize himself. The Right Hand operated in the exact opposite of the Left, with disciplined, mechanical efficiency.
Whereas in many cases opposites cause friction and concophony, Myron and Irikos became tight like brothers. They complemented each other's weaknesses, and had little friction, since both units operated independently of each other. They were both Rajaat's most trusted advisors, and with the Preserver Jihad behind them, they shared experiences much deeper than that of most Champions.
As one of Rajaat's oldest Warlords, Irikos was also the first to grow weary of the constant fighting. Centuries of warfare, and a victory after victory failed to bring Irikos any closer with the man who raised him. Irikos wasn't spurned or bitter -he was too devoted and too invested in Rajaat to feel as such. However, his relationship with Rajaat disquieted him, put his emotions askew, and more than anything Irikos hated seeing what he thought was a weakness developing inside of him.
Thus, Irikos grew to admire Myron's cold sense of detachment. Throughout nearly a thousand years of constant warfare, Myron was dispassionate and unmoved. Irikos spent more time with the Right Hand as Rajaat became increasingly absent with his preparations for the "Final Act." Irikos sought to free himself of weakness and thus he became closer to Myron.
Irikos confided in Myron about "his" ambitions for the Return of the Blue Age, and although Irikos was fervent to give his life up for Rajaat, Myron failed to share the same enthusiasm. Thus it was Irikos's loyalty and sense of trust which sealed his own fate.
Atop the walls of Bodach, while providing counsel to his general, Kalak, Irikos felt an explosion in his back, and pain tearing through his insides. He didn't see his assailant at first. What he did see was his stomach burst open as the Scorcher pierced the far side of his body. He knew the red blade engulfed by black flames, but he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Even as blood and fluid spilled across the front of his body, the Left Hand experienced more disbelief than he did pain.
Shadows receded as the blade was pulled back out of his body, and Irikos stood to face his attacker. Irikos tried to mutter a word of disbelief as the second blow crashed down, cleaving his shoulder and neck. Irikos took a step backwards to where there was no wall, and thus plunged toward the Sea of Silt.
Still clutching the Silencer, Irikos muttered a final curse before his burning body smashed into the powder below.
****
So perhaps the Silencer and the Scorcher are blades that possess a natural antipathy for each other? (i.e. the wielder of the Silencer will feel compelled to attack anyone in possession of the Scorcher.)
What do you think Irikos might have cursed Myron with? Surely the curse contributed to his demise. Perhaps the curse was also passed on to (or maybe imparted upon) the Scorcher.
Any ideas?
itf
....so my thinking was that the curse was bestowed on everything Myron would do on Rajaat's account, you know that he would fail on any detail against Rajaat's plans and that he would never find rest in death so he would know his failure and betrayal against Rajaat and his followers for eternity, the biggest curse ever made!
IIRC, even Methvezem, my equipment buddy, has not read RaFoaDK...
I haven't read it either and I'm actively looking for it... I only have that one and Hawke's book in the Athas Chronicles to acquire (reading Cinnabar Shadows as we speak). I have to say that Mrs. Abbey paints a pretty good picture of Athas apart from some inconsistencies I haven't read in RaFoaDK, yet. :P