But while he was a master of the Way, and while he invented the Art, was he ever a life-shaper or nature-bender? He seems to know an awful lot about the Blue Age, and he may have even been aware of Thamasku's existence. Given the Warbringer's godlike mastery of psi and wizardry, we can rest assured that had he known of Thamasku, getting taught the secrets of life-shaping would've been child's play to him.
What do the rest of you think? Was Rajaat a life-shaper? And if so, was he a master of that forgotten art, or was he merely an apprentice? As for me, I make him a potent life-shaper, but nowhere near the level of mastery of the Blue Age. He knows the lore of Thamasku, which, even early in the Green Age, was pitiful next to the lore of the Blue Age. He was still a student, even after thousands of years of experimentation. In fact, it was the Warbringer's intense studies of life-shaping that led to the creation of preserving and defiling.
--thoughts? Opinions? NB
We know Rajaat was the most powerful wizard Athas has ever or will ever have. Spell-casting is like breathing to him, and unlike his own renegade Champions, Rajaat can never truly die. While still beatable, Rajaat is as epic as Athas will ever get.
I like that statement.
But while he was a master of the Way, and while he invented the Art, was he ever a life-shaper or nature-bender? He seems to know an awful lot about the Blue Age, and he may have even been aware of Thamasku's existence. Given the Warbringer's godlike mastery of psi and wizardry, we can rest assured that had he known of Thamasku, getting taught the secrets of life-shaping would've been child's play to him.
What do the rest of you think? Was Rajaat a life-shaper? And if so, was he a master of that forgotten art, or was he merely an apprentice? As for me, I make him a potent life-shaper, but nowhere near the level of mastery of the Blue Age. He knows the lore of Thamasku, which, even early in the Green Age, was pitiful next to the lore of the Blue Age. He was still a student, even after thousands of years of experimentation. In fact, it was the Warbringer's intense studies of life-shaping that led to the creation of preserving and defiling.
I don't like the idea of Rajaat being a life-shaper. My reasons is because Life-shapers were something from the Blue Age. Now, arguably, in 200 years, there could have been some that survived in the region, but I get the impression that life-shaping was outside the realms of rebirth races to use - maybe intentionally on the part of the Rhulisti - after all, if Rajaat could use life-shaping, don't you think he'd have made himself no longer so disgusting, and would be able to solve that problem before it became so prominent an irritation to him?
Regardless, I do believe Rajaat had found much about the Blue Age from when he studied the Pristine Tower, as well as his gathering of Halflings that helped him (I'd guess they might have been other Halflings who, like the Rhaul-Thaun, were from the Jagged Cliffs region, and he learned as much about the history of the world as he could). Further, I'd not be surprised if some of them *were* somehow connected to life-shapers. Heck, he probably had gotten ahold of many a life-shaped device and studied the hell out of it.
Maybe he was trying to figure out how to do life-shaping himself, and accidentally stumbled upon Arcane magic in the process, and found it useful enough for his purposes, and continued developing it instead.
Another thing to think about is Rajaat's Pyreen heritage. the Pyreen, by all accounts are both powerful Druids and powerful Psionic characters - apparently naturally. Druids gain their spell power through the Spirits of the Land, due largely from the pact of Earth, Air, Fire and Water, which the four main elements basically grant the Spirits of the Land to grant divine energy from each. What if Rajaat wasn't only physically disfigured, but spiritually/metaphysically as well? What if he wasn't connected to a Spirit of the Land from birth (or whenever the Pyreen gain their druidic powers), but instead was linked to the four Paraelemental planes of Rain, Silt, Magma and Sun (or rather, at the time, Ice, Ooze, Magma and Smoke)? What could the effects be on a Pyreen who isn't metaphysically linked to the four elements for power, but rather to the four paraelements? And in his lust for power, his search to find meaning for his own existence, and then eventual self-loathing, what could that effect have had on the four Paraelements? Could Rajaat's experiments into the discovery of Arcane magic have corrupted the four Paraelements into eventually becoming the familiar Silt, Magma, Rain and Sun? Could his own quest for power have changed the focus of those four Paraelements from maintaining the Balance (like the Elements do), to gaining as much power on Athas as they can (as the Paraelements of Silt, Magma and Sun have been succeeding with, while Rain has been losing the battle for) disregarding the balance totally? Such a connection could explain Rajaat's apparent connection to the Paraelement of Rain, as shown with the Cerulean Storm.
Just some ideas to think about...
First I'd like to point-out that the warbringer wasn't named Rajaat before being a Pyreen. (I guess he named himself so or, if he (like any normal race) was given birth was probably named from he's parents. So lets call him Vash-rokk. I'd also like to add that I truely beleive that the Pristine tower had a curse (like any other artifact on Athas) which cursed the ''new race'' to not remember their former lives.
Since the war between the nature-benders and the Life-shapers won by the last their has been few nature-benders --althought they had thought to had been anihilated or at the very least pushed way back into the crimson Savanah. But there were still a few and one of them were among the most powerfull Life-shapers still to live near the end of the Blue-age. They were seeking a way to avenge their failure.(war)
They found it in the Epic-Life-shaping-ritual that became the downfall of the Rhulisti. Vash-rokk was the one who intentionnaly made the ''mistake'' that drove the Epic-l-s-r to the outcome we all now know as legendary: the Brown Tide.
Of course the extent of the parasite-plant that was the Brown Tide was as much a surprise to Vash-rokk than it was to the rest of the population.
Althought he participated in the Epic-ritual, Vash-rokk wasn't a true Life-shaper but he was a spy of epic level capable of many feats closely related to life-shaping.
After he escaped the destruction made by the Brown-tide, Vash-rokk came back just in time for the constuction of the PristineTower. During that period, he had a low profile so wasn't among the powerfull Life-shapers who were ''growing'' the tower. At one time at the begining of the Rebirth era, Vash-rokk had a choice to make: to reveal his true identity or be part of the Rebirth and hope for the best.
He chose the last. (here I consider the fact that Vash-rokk was reborn into Rajaat the pyreen rather than born through parentage)
Being what he was as Vash, Rajaat was, well.... you know that.
He couldn't remember anything. He was lost. Eventually he became aware of his ''particularities'' :physical and mental. At first he noticed how truly his twisted physic was at the edge of being out of place. Almost out of this world especialy for a pyreen.
Then, Rajaat slowly came aware of his gift deep inside the racial curse: his intelligence-- which by far, dwarfed the sagest of the Sage.
To continue would to repeat what we/you already know.
The irony in this idea is: as Vash-rokk, he was an enemy of the rhulisti. As Rajaat, he would spend his entire life (and after-life) trying to give back to the halfling their long lost way of life.
As for this quote:
Maybe he was trying to figure out how to do life-shaping himself, and accidentally stumbled upon Arcane magic in the process, and found it useful enough for his purposes, and continued developing it instead.
I'm having a hard time beleiving the possibility that thrue Life-shaping, one could discover magic. It's as if you'd say thrue surgery and genetic manipulation, David Copperfield discovered illusion spells.
See where I'm getting at?? They are to much apart to have any possible relation although in the end they both could have the same result. ex: a life-shaped pod and a spell that both heal. The heal pod was grown thrue manipulation and building block of life manipulation thus time consuming. The heal spell his jut evoked and the result is almost instantanous.
Feels good to express myself
--JihunThere has been at least 2 threads now questionning Rajaat's history and it made me speculate the following which is pretty close to some thoughts from others.
First I'd like to point-out that the warbringer wasn't named Rajaat before being a Pyreen. (I guess he named himself so or, if he (like any normal race) was given birth was probably named from he's parents. So lets call him Vash-rokk. I'd also like to add that I truely beleive that the Pristine tower had a curse (like any other artifact on Athas) which cursed the ''new race'' to not remember their former lives.
Where's your evidence that he wasn't named Rajaat before "being" a pyreen? Where's the evidence that he ever was a Rhulisti at all? We are talking about a period of two hundred years - the time of the beginning of the Green Age, to the time where Rajaat is claimed to have been born. I'm sorry, but 200 years can be a real long period of time. Sure, for the Pyreen, it may not mean as much, but in that case, I'd say his parents could have been Rhulisti, potentially. However, I do agree that the "new races" probably had been "cursed" with memory loss, if not immediately, it could have happened gradually (over a couple dozen years or something), where they forgot their Rhulisti past, and embraced their new future.
Since the war between the nature-benders and the Life-shapers won by the last their has been few nature-benders --althought they had thought to had been anihilated or at the very least pushed way back into the crimson Savanah. But there were still a few and one of them were among the most powerfull Life-shapers still to live near the end of the Blue-age. They were seeking a way to avenge their failure.(war)
Once again, where would this have come from? Purely out of curiosity?
They found it in the Epic-Life-shaping-ritual that became the downfall of the Rhulisti. Vash-rokk was the one who intentionnaly made the ''mistake'' that drove the Epic-l-s-r to the outcome we all now know as legendary: the Brown Tide.
This seems like stretching the history in order to make Rajaat be responsible for everything bad in Athasian history, even things that went wrong in the Blue Age. I'm really not signed onto the idea that all bad things come from Rajaat. I'd say there's a lot he did that screwed things up, but let's not go placing him in time periods he has no part in.
Of course the extent of the parasite-plant that was the Brown Tide was as much a surprise to Vash-rokk than it was to the rest of the population.
Althought he participated in the Epic-ritual, Vash-rokk wasn't a true Life-shaper but he was a spy of epic level capable of many feats closely related to life-shaping.
After he escaped the destruction made by the Brown-tide, Vash-rokk came back just in time for the constuction of the PristineTower. During that period, he had a low profile so wasn't among the powerfull Life-shapers who were ''growing'' the tower. At one time at the begining of the Rebirth era, Vash-rokk had a choice to make: to reveal his true identity or be part of the Rebirth and hope for the best.
He chose the last. (here I consider the fact that Vash-rokk was reborn into Rajaat the pyreen rather than born through parentage)
Being what he was as Vash, Rajaat was, well.... you know that.
Except that the timelines suggest that Rajaat was born about 200 years after the Rhulisti transformed themselves into the Rebirth races... And there was a lot of things that happened during those years.... like the Githyanki/Githzeri incursions/colonies and the use of their bomb that degenerated those on Athas into the Gith, and sparked the development of Psionics, for instance.
He couldn't remember anything. He was lost. Eventually he became aware of his ''particularities'' :physical and mental. At first he noticed how truly his twisted physic was at the edge of being out of place. Almost out of this world especialy for a pyreen.
Then, Rajaat slowly came aware of his gift deep inside the racial curse: his intelligence-- which by far, dwarfed the sagest of the Sage.
To continue would to repeat what we/you already know.
The irony in this idea is: as Vash-rokk, he was an enemy of the rhulisti. As Rajaat, he would spend his entire life (and after-life) trying to give back to the halfling their long lost way of life.
Interesting irony. But usually, for myself, when I speculate, I like to build my speculation based on what is known, then follow a logical deductive process that builds from that. Yours, while creative, seems to be grasping in a great many areas, the least of which being that there is the afore mentioned 200 year gap, then there is that you want to place Rajaat (even as some other name) into the Blue Age, and then try to blame him for the development of the Brown Tide. While creative, it really seems... well.... cheap. It's a way to make Rajaat somehow responsible for everything. The irony is a cute little aspect at the end, and yea, kinda a cool idea. But.... the rest makes me need to manually suspend disbelief a bit too much.
As for this quote: I'm having a hard time beleiving the possibility that thrue Life-shaping, one could discover magic. It's as if you'd say thrue surgery and genetic manipulation, David Copperfield discovered illusion spells.
See where I'm getting at?? They are to much apart to have any possible relation although in the end they both could have the same result. ex: a life-shaped pod and a spell that both heal. The heal pod was grown thrue manipulation and building block of life manipulation thus time consuming. The heal spell his jut evoked and the result is almost instantanous.
Feels good to express myself
Ahh, but are they really? Look at it this way. if he was incapable of using life-shaping at all, but wanted to be able to achieve it, at what lengths would he go at in order to accomplish this? Arcane magic is tied to life-energy. Life-shaping consisted of either creating a new creature or adapting an existing one to suit the needs of the life-shaper. Both are connected through their abilities with life. I'm not saying he used life-shaping to invent Arcane magic. I'm saying that possibly, in his quest to be able to use life-shaping, he stumbled upon the process for Arcane magic quite by accident, then worked on that more, as he saw it a "means to the end" for his goals. It would be more like a scientist researching biology, and instead found an efficient fuel source for something totally different.