Chrysalis

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Chrysalis
Status:	Unknown
Race:	Unknown
Location:	Prior to hatching - Dergati's Shrine, Ker'Leor, Therengia (Ranik Map 43)
Relatives:	Xitoccanemun, Dergati

Appearance Prior to Hatching

The humanoid-sized chrysalis adheres to the tunnel ceiling directly above the altar. Its cocoon strands consist of a thick substance that somehow appears both cottony and ambery at the same time. One end of the strands parts slightly as you watch, letting you glimpse <Random Player's> face on the creature lying there for a moment before it is concealed again.

Silver glints have appeared along the sides of the cocoon, leaking strands of dark vapor. A constant, low whispering permeates its vicinity.

Origin

The Chrysalis came into existence about midway through the Dane Family Dergati Vigil, just after Sebastienne attempted to make an offering to Dergati. The chrysalis started taking spirit from people present, killing them. Later on, it only took spirit if someone willingly interacted with it.

Interactions

Different interactions with the chrysalis had different results.

Looking at the the chrysalis was safe and resulted in a normal view. The faces that appeared were those who had connected with it, and on occasion you could glimpse a pale face.

Touching, perceiving, poking, licking, focusing, pointing, getting and more resulted in mild to moderate spirit loss. Touching could occasionally result in the chrysalis granting the person a Soul Shield. The shield protected against some spirit loss, but not all, and would usually be dispelled on the next interaction.

Sample Messaging:
You get the feeling that the chrysalis focuses on you!
A strange, almost thankful purr echoes in your mind as a large portion of your spirit is sucked away.
Roundtime: 9 sec.

A lucent sphere flickers around you, protecting your spirit. A weak point in the Soul Shield is exposed, unravelling its energy entirely.

You get the feeling that the chrysalis focuses on you!
A lucent sphere enfolds you, protecting your spirit.
An annoyed, almost hateful hiss echoes in your mind.

Clerics could sense that the chrysalis is blessed.

Listening, praying, and kneeling before it was the most dangerous and most interesting interaction. With no Soul Shield present, most people reported that it took a default 98% of their spirit. It was the most interesting because it was the sole interaction that granted 'visions' from time to time.

Sample Message:
Closing your eyes and genuflecting before a translucent black chrysalis, you concentrate on whatever wisdom or secret may lie in its tenebrous whisperings.
(Assorted Vision or effect)
You suddenly realize that the chrysalis has been syphoning your spirit energy during your distraction!

Visions/Effects

Eerie Connection

Occasionally, people who fed spirit to the chrysalis felt an odd connection to another, regardless of their location. This was the beginnings of the Spirit Parent phenomenon that was made more clear during the events after the hatching.

A thin thread of silvery light flashes in the air between the chrysalis and Cyiarriah for one fleeting moment.
All of a sudden, you feel an eerie connection to Ogdaro.

Speculation is that this was somewhat random. It happened once or twice when one person looked at the chrysalis and saw another's face.

Visions

There were many visions when listening to the chrysalis. Some that were actual visions, others that seemed to be the chrysalis learning, others where the chrysalis was repeating phrases from the Vigil, and sometimes nothing but a headache.

In its early stages it would force visions on those nearby even if not connected to it. Also it became more active as it started to shift its appearance.

Repeating the Vigil

The chrysalis whispers in broken Common, "I have been, for many years now, haunted by terrible nightmares of things that happened in my youth."

The chrysalis whispers in broken Common, "My name will forever be a curse in the mouths of the world. May they all choke when they say it."

The chrysalis whispers in broken Common, "My name is Saranari. And I advise against setting it on fire as well."

You hear the voice of Aeviona proclaiming her love to the chrysalis.

The chrysalis whispers in broken Common, "A beautiful dance, Terra."

The chrysalis whispers in broken Common, "I hope she is pleased."

You hear the death cries of Nefarious and Lochran accompanied by plaintive sounds of cracking bones, replayed again and again in your ears.

The chrysalis whispers in broken Common, "Yer king places 'imself above th' gods? I wish 'im well in tha'."

The chrysalis whispers in broken Common, "I could swear I just heard a voice from the chrysalis."

The chrysalis whispers in broken Common, "That is the will of the goddess."

The chrysalis whispers in broken Common, "I would like to offer my eyes to the goddess."

The chrysalis whispers in broken Common, "Well, it seems the vigil was partially successful."

You hear the voice of Aaiyaah attempting to give a bit of courage to those willing to join him

Evidence of Learning

Unintelligible Gamgweth phrases flood your mind: a mishmash of minced syllables and half-chewed words desperately trying to become coherent and failing pathetically.

The chrysalis whispers, "Pama cambri," and then launches into a long string of what sound like some very complicated instructions, concluding with an inquisitive "Leor?" (translation) "This magic" and "listen?"

The chrysalis seems to gloat as it chants over and over, "Xitoccanemun! Xitoccanemun!

You hear nothing, but you get the disturbing feeling that the chrysalis is intently listening back, perhaps even probing your thoughts. The chrysalis and you listen to each other silently for a while.

The chrysalis's whisper blares into a scream in your head, "Powerhaus! Powerhaus! Powerhaus!" (Listener's Name)

The chrysalis whispers, "Aman alreid?" (translation) My teacher?

The chrysalis whispers, "Mivar ama." (translation) "Know me."

Sensing your attention, the chrysalis heroically attempts to cobble up some Common in order to converse with you. However, possibly discouraged by your blank stare from not understanding a thing, it grows sulky and shuts up.

You kneel for a long time with your thoughts dominated by the chrysalis, which turns out to be frighteningly intelligent. Although it lectures -- or preaches -- you at length, you cannot remember any of it after it falls silent.

The chrysalis whispers, "Sudu? Sudu? Mivardin ama!" (translation) When? When? I don't know!

You hear a series of multi-toned squeals from a Human-like voice in rapid succession, as if it is trying to imitate a mole or some other rodent.

You hear the chrysalis trying to tell you something, but its voice, so Human, is wracked by bouts of good-natured chuckling as if being mercilessly tickled.

The chrysalis whispers, "Stilva...lyba nardel..." (translation) "Stilva...Spirit mother..." (Listener's name)

You hear the faint sound of a baby crying. The noise seems to grow and swell, until it turns into a torrent filled with an almost deafening wailing.

Possible Futures

From the chrysalis's manifold and disparate streams of consciousness, you infer that, upon maturing, it will spawn a new race of Dergatian monsters to run amok in Therengia.

From the chrysalis's manifold and disparate streams of consciousness, you infer that, upon maturing it, it will become a powerful spirit-helper of the goddess and bestow miracles upon the worthy.

You get the feeling that the chrysalis is projecting its will over a fairly large area beyond the confines of this shrine, as though flexing its nascent powers. You are unable to discern any more.

You hear the sound of thousands of shrikes flying through the air. Wind seems to whip all around you, sending a chill through you down to the bone.

You hear echoing footsteps walking down a tunnel, then reaching open air filled with the sounds of a forest. Soon after, your ears explode with agonized screams and pleas for mercy in a gypsy dialect.

The thoughts and senses of another being meld with your own. The more you listen to the world outside of your cocoon, the more hateful you become. Er, what?!

From the chrysalis's manifold and disparate streams of consciousness, you infer that, upon maturing, it will bring about death and destruction upon mortals.

Miscellaneous

A weak squeak precedes some nauseating sounds of flesh slowly being ripped that come from inside the chrysalis, though nothing has moved.

You hear the ugly screech of a bird, but it is obviously a poor imitation by someone who must not be a ranger.

Barely audible, irregular skittering and tapping sounds inexplicably make you think of heartbeats despite the complete lack of similarity.

You hear the faint sound of a hungry kitten mewling, as if in pleas for milk. All of the sudden there is a sickening crunch and the noise is cut off.

"Heh, here we are."

"I can barely see. Where are the little easy-picking pilgrims you mentioned?"

"They must have gotten tired of watching their failed experiment. Even Book's runts could have done better."

"Well, I'm in the mood for some altar sacrilege. Do you have everything necessary for the ritual?"

"Uh, sure. Aren't you afraid of the blood-sucking moles? You know..."

"Haha, were you reading The Immortals or something again? Silly woman. Hey, where'd you go? I-"

You hear nothing but dull thrumming noises that give you a headache.

"Is this the place? I really don't like it."

"It is."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes! I followed those dirty cultists last time. Careful there, don't drop the torch."

"I won't, not before we take care of that thing. Too bad the Hounds didn't believe us."

"Hold on, what are those? Moles...?"

"Why would moles-NO!"

Transformation Visions/Effects

You hear a faint thrumming noise from the chrysalis, as if it were happy... almost purring.

A garbled whisper comes from the direction of the chrysalis, but you cannot make anything of it.

A constant, low whispering begins to emanate from the chrysalis, unable to be heard clearly without listening more closely. However, the insidious tone of the whispers evokes in you an instinct to cover your ears and run.

A translucent black chrysalis shudders. You feel lightheaded for some reason. Your unconscious form collapses onto the floor.

The chrysalis pulsates with a myriad shades of black you never imagined. Before the pulsating ends, you are made to endure a realistic vision of Cyiarriah prone in a suffocating darkness where Halfling-sized slugs slowly chew on her limbs without consuming, careful to keep her alive as long as possible.

Somewhere in your soul, you get the feeling that the chrysalis is calling to you. Your eyes sting and water, becoming filled with a realistic vision of Delgram descending into a frenzy and slaughtering everyone else present while they are kneeling in prayer.

From the darkness you hear a soft voice say, "I saw Wold Dragon hatchlings eating Stilva."

From the darkness you hear a voice say, "I saw Powerhaus bein' hunted by knife-wieldin' necromancers."

A translucent black chrysalis shudders. As whatever psychic wave it just emitted washes subtly over the shrine, you feel... loved.

The Mole

During an orc invasion, Viggu visited the altar, and the chrysalis seemed to call for help, followed by an appearance by a mole.

The chrysalis lets out a brief, ragged screech three times in equal intervals. It sounded like a call for help.

From the darkness outside the shrine, a ferocious squeal answers the chrysalis's call.

A baby mole squeaks ferociously!

A baby mole runs around the altar in quick circles, looking up with apparent concern.

Look: It is tiny, black, and devilishly cute.

Pet Mole: A baby mole avoids your touch.

A baby mole just went southeast.

Sealed Away

Citing the potential danger of what it housed, Therengian officials blocked access to the chrysalis for quite some time. Over the years, knowledge of and interest in the chrysalis seemed to wan outside of those sworn to stand guard, though some still did keep tabs on it as best as could be done considering the circumstances.

The Hatching

Though those who had communed with the chrysalis when it was accessible had gotten wildly different ideas of when it might hatch upon each attempt to ascertain such things, the time came in 410 AV. News of the hatching was somewhat delayed in reaching the realms in general due to the demise of the guards on duty at the shrine at the time, and the subsequent investigation by Therengian officials. By the time that word of it came, the Akul'tiz were already well away from their presumed birthplace.

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