Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Aug 12, 2004 18:33:27	Can anyone tell me what the elven writing on Galdra, Sorak's sword, translates to? I'm a couple hundred miles away from my books and won't be with them again for a few months. Thanks in advance- -malaryal
#2 zombiegleemax Aug 12, 2004 18:40:56	Strong in spirit, true in temper, forged in faith. (I take a bow)
#3 zombiegleemax Aug 12, 2004 18:50:11	Cyrus- Thanks! I thought it had something to do with "the person who weilds this will crown the next elven king" or was that just the legend? Its been a long since i read the trilogy. and the bow is deserved. -malaryal
#4 zombiegleemax Aug 12, 2004 18:56:03	Yup, that is the legend part of it. I wonder if this means that TSR eventually planned on setting up an elven kingdom somewhere....
#5 zombiegleemax Aug 12, 2004 19:25:28	Only if we can crush in DS style once it is built up.
#6 zombiegleemax Aug 12, 2004 19:30:17	Lol! I was thinking more of an elven king who was able to band a few tribes and form a city. Then it was all out war wiith the kingdom against the tribes because the king claimed to be there king as well and they didn't like it. And the kingdom is plagued with the idea that it has to unite the tribes.
#7 zombiegleemax Aug 12, 2004 20:08:53	And then the tribes crush it in DS style once it is built up. See? We're on the same page here.
#8 zombiegleemax Aug 12, 2004 20:25:48	And then the king and his followers revert back to a roaming tribe and become a nomadic kingdom and continue to cause strife amongst the elven tribes!
#9 xlorepdarkhelm_dup Aug 13, 2004 1:19:11	To quote Mach2.5: And then the tribes crush it in DS style once it is built up.
#10 korvar Aug 13, 2004 2:29:27	Never read any of the Sorak books; where did this sword come from?
#11 zombiegleemax Aug 13, 2004 6:05:40	From way back when the last king of the elves died. It was passed on to a pyreen and then transferred to the villichi.
#12 gforce99 Aug 13, 2004 10:38:41	Alaron, the last elven king, gave his enchanted elven steel sword, Galdra, to a elf-friendly pyreen. She gave it to the Villichi convent who in turn gave it to Sorak the Elfling. Alaron gave it to the pyreen with a prophesy that the son of a 7th son of a chieftain, who had Galdra would become the Crown of the Elves. The books are a little vague, but essentially the Crown of the Elves would "crown" a new king of the elves. In the novels, Sorak, as the Crown, makes his grandfather, Sage the Proto-Avangion, the King. Also, Galdra had a curse that if it was handled by a defiler, it would break. Which it did when a defiler agent grabbed it. Galdra is no broken and only says "Strong in spirit" since the other runes were destroyed.
#13 dawnstealer Aug 13, 2004 10:44:28	Yet another reason my PCs hate me. In this campaign, they decided to all be elves of a tribe that was (nearly) wiped out by scrab. I kept leaving little clues about an ancient and powerful elven city. They found it around level 15. Yup, shore did! What was left of it after Albeorn got his hands on it. Needless to say, there were gobs of undead and hints that maybe the city was better off dead.
#14 gforce99 Aug 13, 2004 13:24:50	If anyone is interested I have a pretty cool lost, paranoid elven city write-up for Dark Sun.
#15 zombiegleemax Aug 16, 2004 21:41:31	i would like to see it thanks!
#16 gforce99 Aug 17, 2004 23:29:56	Originally posted by CyricFirehands i would like to see it thanks! Here you go, from DSO:Age of Heroes forum: Tar Honak - The Elven City It is not known if anybody in the table lands area of Athas has ever heard of the last elven city of Tar Honak. It was the first non-rhulisti city to be built and the last to remain. Its history can be traced back until the 8th World Age over 14,000 years ago. How the city survived the Cleansing Wars and elven wars: Here are some possibilities. Feel free to use any which are suitable for your campaign if you like this city. The Earthdawn:"Parlainth" idea: Any knowledge about the city was erased by one powerful spell developed by a group of preservers and/or psionicists. In addition the city was hidden. Should one of the Sorcererkings ever hear what happened they will a) want to have their revenge and b) be determined to get hold of this spell and certainly nobody (well, almost nobody) would ever wish to see a Sorcererking with a copy of that scroll! "The site has moved": The city was moved to a different location by a powerful spell. In this case the only people who know about Tar'Elon for sure are the Sorcererkings. Amongst the elves the city is only a legend. Tar'Hoank was hidden by a druid or was secured with help of magical traps like mazes, maddening illusions, neverending roads etc. The city of Tar Honak is incredibly big and incredibly beautiful. Its huge population consists solely of elves. In the beginning of the Vanishing there had also been a few humans and half-elves, but after thousands of years of interbreeding hardly any traces of human characteristics are visible apart from a slightly stouter built of most Tar Honak elves and less sharpened senses which can also be a consequence of city life. From above the looks like a spiral. Because of the spreading population the city had to be expanded century after century. This was not accomplished by setting up new quarters or adding "rings", but by building an open ring of buildings around the old city centre so that buildings can be added. This way, the main road is a spiral though it is crossed by smaller roads which go out like rays from the spiral's heart. This way you are literally able to follow the city's history. Government: Tar Hoonak is governed by a the Council of Eight, which was only recently called The Council of Nine. To understand this one has to know that the city has a system of guilds. These guilds elect their member for the coucil. The Eight are: The preservers (called mages), the clerics, the druids, the bards, the merchants, the psionicists, the soldiers and the workers. And the ninth guild were the nobles. The nobles faction was abolished because more and more people were suspicious of the nobles growing influence on other factions. The nobles used to be the only faction which was allowed to join different factions than their own and were steadily increasing their power by having more and more candidates in other guilds. The current council consists of Andin Taahar (preserver(+fighter), lawful neutral) Chimitii Iphsha (earth cleric, neutral good) Dayanuu So'al (psionicist, lawful neutral) Airaan Yinek (merchant, lawful neutral) Cassis (bard, chaotic neutral) Kainaan Osakis (soldier) Haaya Ima'iin (druid) Siyana Kaih'al (worker) The leader of the officially abolished 9th faction is Riial Dabuu (noble (fighter/wild talent)). Since the beginning of the Cleansing Wars the Tar Honak elves have become paranoid about the outside world - after they had witnessed what was done to the city of Tar Elon (see The Valley of Dust and Fire: "The Sea of Silt"). Even after decades of isolation they did not dare to leave their city. However, the council has always had spies. It is not that the paranoia results from ignorance but from the certainty that as long as the former Champions are alive the city cannot be safe. Therefore, nobody is allowed to leave the city apart from the Watchers. This used to be a problem especially with the young people. Therefore (you may chose from these or take your own idea)... ...the council decided to remove all knowledge about the outside world with another powerful spell to keep the people from making their escapes. ...magical traps and barriers were formed around the city. They make an escape almost impossible...but only almost (GDR syndrome)! The players might encounter a Tar Honak elf who has made his/her escape and now wants to go back/is in the custody of an inquisitor/tells people about the city to bring it freedom. ...the people are fed up with hiding and determined to defend their city. ...The elves have constructed an underground adventure and leisure park or links to other hidden settlements.