The First Land Herald/450-02-04
| Article Number: 98 |
| Dateline: 450-02-04 |
| TALKING WITH ELEMENTALS: REVELATIONS FROM HUMAN WARRIOR MAGE VALENAL Valenal's first appearance was so enigmatic that stories about it were met with disbelief. Did he really try to eat a lead rope? Did he really wear a sandwich as a hat? (See FLH article from 450-1-17.) Fortunately, it was not long before I finally had the chance to meet him in person and clear up any confusion. ~ An Explanation of the Entity Valenal ~ Recently, I finally had the chance to meet Valenal on Magen Road in the Crossing. While his erratic behavior during his last visit left adventurers wondering whether or not he was indeed the Human Warrior Mage he claimed to be, this time he was much more forthcoming about his history and background. Valenal said that he used to be a researcher in inter-planar communication and travel. He engaged in a line of cutting-edge research that promised to open incredible new avenues of exploration to his guildsmen. He was researching information exchange and communication between the planes, which in theory was impossible but in practice was not the best idea, as it turned out. When the time came to test his theories, he could not ask his guild for support, nor could he expose the mind of a mere intern to the translation matrix he had developed. "The interface offered me a glimpse into the varied elemental planes, and it offered the denizens of the varied planes a glimpse into me, as well," he said. The result is that he became a conduit. "All Warrior Mages are connected, in a sense, to the Elemental Planes through their alignment. We are, in a sense, a tiny bit elemental," he said. "That enables us to do certain things that I don't need to recap. But with the right protocol, it allows a certain amount of translation. And the elementals can use that protocol to...hitch a ride." At various times in the conversation, the "elementals" took over his body and referred to him as "the human suit." The elementals are concerned that the energetic relationship between their planes and the Plane of Abiding has changed. "To use a simplified analogy," he said, "It is as though a drain has been stopped up." He reassured us that he did not believe any of the elementals had abducted our friends. Apart from having no motive, they did not understand the concept of people as discrete things, they also are not really conscious in any way that would make sense, and such a thing would almost certainly not occur to them to do. Valenal then attempted as best he could to translate what the elementals believed, in the hope that it would help us. "They believe that a master entity or entities has been stealing energy from the planar system. These are concepts I am mapping onto what I get from them. They do not know precisely who the entities are, because the concept of 'entities' is a little rarified for them." While the concepts that the elementals shared with him did not seem to line up exactly with our own known concepts, he described their meaning as "something that can tweak the parameters of the universe" and believed them to be referring to the Heralds. "There is a certain metaphysical order that applies to everything in the planar system. A set of rules, if you like. There exist many powerful entities within the system. Immortals, things from the Void, the remnant of Maelshyve, and so on. These things are very strong. They could do the equivalent of throw a wagon across a field, for example. But the wagon would still fly in accord with gravity and air resistance, and land in a predictable arc," he said. "Whatever is doing this, taking energy, is violating the rules. It's making the wagon fall UP, to extend the analogy. And the list of entities that can do that, at least to my knowledge, is very small." Sorcery, according to Valenal, is a natural process that creates opportunities for interactions between the Planes. It breaks down the planar boundary and makes it more porous. The same thing happens when you light a fire, or when water flowers down a gradient, or when stone erodes or is created through pressure. Moreover, it injects energy into the system that the Heralds, if it is indeed them who are behind this, do not seem to be able to harness. "If sorcery were to stop, the movement of energy between the planes would decrease as whoever-it-is exerted more control. The overall energetic balance of the system would decrease, and the Plane of Abiding would become metaphysically stagnant," he said. "Eventually, the Plane might collapse under its own weight. Assuming whoever it is continues to remove energy." When asked to speculate why the entity would be stealing energy from our plane, Valenal guessed that there may be a conflict taking place that has caused the Heralds, or whoever it is, to act clumsily. He speculated that they were perhaps fighting something and needed the extra energy. "It would make sense if they perceived themselves to be in danger, and long-term thinking no longer ruled their actions," he said. He then began to talk to himself, as if the elemental possessing him was arguing with the Human, complaining that he was bored and desiring "state changes." At the same time he began casting Warrior Mage and Bard spells on himself: Sure Footing, Swirling Winds, Substratum, Y'ntrel Sechra, and Rage of the Clans. His demeanor alternated between expressing excitement about fire and "state change" and pleas for us to leave. Suddenly, he unleashed a deadly Fire Rain spell, killing several adventurers in the area. Natarian, Golameth, and Dasheek eventually defeated him. Immediately after his demise, he (or the elemental possessing him, as it were), expressed enthusiasm for the experience but confusion that his body was unable to simply reinstantiate. After departing to the temple, Valenal sent gweth messages apologizing for the incident, explaining that the elementals didn't intend to cause harm, but that there were many things they did not understand. He expressed a desire to continue working together and asked us not to follow him so that he could distance the elementals from anyone they might hurt. Dasheek Ku'Rein, who delivered the fatal blow, expressed sympathy for his guildmate. "He sounds like someone that has suffered for his research and earned his knowledge the hard way," he said. "I've always felt we could do more with sorcery, and feel his suggestions about balance are accurate. I'd rather not have had to kill him, but once he targeted Illiya, I had to act." ~ The Human Warrior Mage ~ A few days later, Valenal appeared again in the company of Liraxes and chatted with myself and other adventurers gathered there. Although he appeared confused again at first, the human Valenal apparently regained control of his body over whatever elemental had been controlling him. He discussed the five dimensions of length, width, height, time, and the multiple branching timelines that would be represented in a fifth dimension. And cautiously admitted the possibility that there may be "a set of your friends trapped in another timeline." Valenal expressed a shared desire with Liraxes to restore energetic balance and end the dangerous destabilization caused by the energy theft. He advised Sir Madigan to seek out the enemy of his enemy, saying that he believed the culprit was desperate and posed a significant threat. To this end, he suggested contacting the Immortals, who, despite being inscrutable, might be more helpful than the Heralds or the entity draining energy from the Plane of Abiding. Given the few beings involved in cosmic-scale conflicts, the Immortals might even be involved in the situation. Valenal suggested that our friends were abducted because they were close to uncovering a secret the Heralds wanted to keep hidden. I recalled that Mazrian had mentioned the Heralds right before the abduction. Valenal said that this could be an important clue to who was behind the kidnappings. He also suggested using planar communications to contact the Immortals, offering to help us relay a message. Saragos said that he would prepare a letter and send it to Valenal via postal mail. Finally after offering us information and advice, Valenal excused himself abruptly, saying, "If you would excuse me. I need to go, and I quote, 'jump off a waterfall'." ~ The Earth Elemental ~ I next met Valenal at the site that Liraxes told us was a prime spot for casting sorcery (See FLH article from 450-1-32.). He agreed that the location indicated by Liraxes was a good one, with favorable planar intersections, that it was easier to slip through the planar boundary from the Plane of Earth, to interact with the Plane of Abiding because "the gates here are less heavy." Valenal seemed distinctly different than in previous encounters, speaking slowly and deliberately. As he breathed, the earth shook and from time to time he bent down and ran his fingers through the grass, while the ground swelled and rolled subtly in reaction to his touch. We perceived an extraplanar incursion in the area, and Valenal explained that he had summoned an Earth domain because it was more agreeable for him to be there in its presence. I realized that it must be an Earth elemental inhabiting Valenal's body at that moment, and he confirmed this to be true. According to Valenal (or, as it were, the Earth elemental inhabiting him), our sorcerous casts allowed elementals to "flow freely through the boundary as we were meant to." He described this as a natural process, without which the entities enforcing a stranglehold upon the energy here would shut down the transition, the elements would stagnate, and our Plane would stagnate and die. Then, without the context of the Plane of Abiding, the Elemental Planes would lose their essential link with physical reality and die. Sorcerous casting, on the other hand, replenishes the energy generated through magic and enables the boundaries to remain porous. He reiterated that someone was removing the energy that in general is generated by magic, although it appears that entity - whoever they are - was not able to remove the energy generated by sorcery. When asked, he agreed that it was possible that removal of the entities absorbing energy from the plane would restore balance. The day ended without violence as the Earth elemental seemed to be more deliberate in its actions and tendencies than whichever one was previously inhabiting him on the day he unleashed Fire Rain on Magen Road (my guess is the Fire elemental). Ultimately, Valenal is a curious figure who evokes both sympathy and intrigue. Whether his revelations about the planar imbalance and his hypotheses regarding the entity behind it prove accurate remains to be seen. Nonetheless, they offer valuable food for thought for those of us trying to unravel the mysteries surrounding wild magic and the kidnappings. Keep searching, Illiya |
| Real Date: Unknown Date |
| Subject(s): Wild Magic |
| Author(s): Illiya |