The First Land Herald/447-07-26

Article Number: 79

Dateline: 446-07-26

NEW KNOWLEDGE DISCOVERED OF CUSTODIANS, LIGHTNING SPIDER Today, Saragos and I welcomed a group of intrepid researchers into the Zengmodaleth, the Plane of Electricity. Our aim was to encounter a voltaic custodian under peaceful conditions, in order to study it with the variety of senses available to the various guilds. We were greeted by none other than Grove Scholar Uryutis, whose interest in our experiments has been unwavering. Before we began, he wanted to discuss with us something unnerving he noticed about the recent colossus that attacked the Crossing (See FLH 446-06-18). As we stood beside the plasma vortex in the Zengmodaleth - a caged sphere of rapidly spinning purple energy, contained by four oravir pylons - he spoke of the one we saw within the head of the colossus. That one, he pointed out, had only two pylons containing it - yet his research clearly indicated four as a bare minimum. In Uryutis's own words: "So if you look at this plasma vortex, you may notice its containment pylons. There are four. That isn't itself precisely a function of the size of this vortex, which is rather large as far as they come. While larger and larger vortices do require more containment, there being four pylons is a fundamental *minimum* required to contain the thing. So here's the somewhat rough imagery - imagine a point. A single point. Now turn it sideways, and you can see that the point is actually a line. Now twist that line yet again, and you can see that the point is actually a square. Twist the point again, and now the square is a cube... The plasma vortices require four containment pylons, because they occupy four twists in the Aether backing. The immense energy is not merely stored and compressed in space as we know it, it is also stored, quite deeply I may add, against the Aether. So, you may recall, the colossus only had two pylons. I cannot reconcile that in any way shape or form... somehow, *somehow*, the custodians have built a colossus, which is itself appalling and shocking and weird, and *SOMEHOW*, they have enclosed and stabilized a plasma vortex with two pylons. Of course, this revelation prompted a number of hypotheses from the audience, too many to list here. I encourage interested parties to reach out to Saragos, myself, or anyone else who was present. Upon further probing, Uryutis spoke more about the functioning of the plasma vortex. "The function of holding the sphere in place is mostly a safety matter, in the same way a hot stove holding coals in place not only serves to extract the heat from the coals, but also keep a fool from grabbing them. Move the pylons, somehow, and the sphere will move along with them." He also warned us not to only think about "the physical space we occupy," but rather, "the Aetheric space we rest upon." He added, "Mind you, the best we can muster is four pylons containing a strikingly smaller plasma vortex than the one here. Our exercises in scaling up require additional containment pylons primarily to manage the energy levels, not manage the stability of the vortex. I personally can't manage anything larger than a pinhead, by way of comparison, and I'm not half bad at these manipulations." It seemed time to begin our experimenting. The Fearless Crobin volunteered to scout ahead while Mother Jaelia prepared for us a prayer to the great Firulf, whose grove we believe we had entered. She prepared three altar candles - for the three aspects - and rose her voice in a mighty prayer to the Lord of Elements. Later she would tell me that He was with us, though with interesting caveats. "He approved of our ceremony... He has no sway over this plane, but He would lend whatever He could to us. But this - I am not sure this is 'His domain' directly. I don't know how His power and influence work here. I don't know that He has control over things here directly." Crobin saw nothing of particular interest, and Sir Imroth and I went ahead to prepare the area. Sir Imroth summoned a foreboding Banner of Truce, somehow dripping phantasmal blood, that promised peace, and the rest of the group moved in. Our first order of business was for the Bards present to focus on evoking the history of the custodians. With concentrated effort, many of us were able to pierce the veil of the past. I suddenly felt the weight of an incomprehensibly distant past long settled into familiar patterns: a watchmaker's craft, wound and set along its clockwork course. The factory ceaselessly produced, imbued with a single purpose of the quota, its craft refined and pared until there was nothing further that could be improved. It was forgotten, the Lords of the Void having no need to revisit, the custodians proficient in their task. And then, one day, the routine changed - a single custodian freezing in its task, studying its surroundings. Perfectly functional, the custodian bore no defects or worn components, and after a moment it continued about its endeavors. Time ground on, and the labor continued. Clearly, we had seen the very first custodian to vary its behavior. As we discussed the potential meaning of this vision, I noticed a single custodian behaving oddly. (Or was it several at different times? So difficult to tell.) First, it merely approached us and then receded back into the general traffic of the facility. Then, it approached again, chirruped several times, then returned to the flow. The third time, it involuted into a tight bolus of electricity. A fine, hair-like electrical storm flared outward from the custodian and it rolled backwards before leaving again. Finally, it approached again and seemed to glance back and forth, focusing on individuals present. The custodian shuddered oddly, and with surprising speed, rushed over to the metal maw we were standing near and engulfed the opening in a web of electricity with a loud *BZRAAAAP*! The metal maw opened and shut twice, then suddenly froze, gaping wide around a large cube. The cube was stuck slightly askew, holding the maw open and allowing a slight gap beyond. Normally, this maw is where custodians gather processed materials, placing them inside as it regularly slams shuts and opens again, revealing an empty chamber. Ordinarily it is impossible to get a glance inside further, but the stuck mechanism allowed an opportunity. One the Warrior Mages were all too eager to take. Several pulled out talismans and sent their smaller familiars through the gap! I interviewed Veteran Apprentice Anuril's cat familiar, known as "The Captain," about his journey inside the maw. He said, "Look, I knew it was a fool's errand from the start. But I was promised a promotion. And fish! With the other members of the Northern Watch there, I could hardly back down. Madigan looks up to me, you see. So, in I went." He told me that the cramped space was surprisingly narrow, and the walls crackled with energy. A sort of 'rush' raced past him in a pulse every second, disorienting him. Far to the west, the passage vanished to a narrow horizon point. The cube that partially blocked the entrance was made of an unidentifiable material. He raced west, once hearing an odd echo hammering above him. At the end of the hallway, a pink-green light billowed around him, and zig-zagging tendrils of electricity raced along the walls of the corridor. A strange creation of lightning and too many legs began to coalesce, solidifying into what could only be described as a lightning spider! The spider roared like rolling thunder and rushed forward, tearing him apart. Woten confirmed that his familiar saw it too, and it bore purple fangs and "dozens of unblinking eyes." A similar fate befell the other poor familiars who entered the maw, which soon emitted a loud *CLANG* and slammed shut again, a dull clanging indicating something very large then receded rapidly away from the opening. A custodian (the same one as before?) circled around the group, pausing, motionless, as it studied its surroundings, studied us. After a moment, it returned to its duties. Undeterred by the terrible violence done to our friendly Aetheric allies, the group decided to press ahead with study. Heart Tender Kethrai and Bastion of Life Karthor reported that their probes of life essence within the custodians revealed nothing of note. "Not surprisingly, the custodians feel like a construct usually does," said Karthor. Kethrai agreed, "No life essence within them." Hunter Hanryu also searched the area for any tracks, but found nothing unusual. Saragos asked Paladins and Redeemed to focus their senses on the structure of the plane, looking for instability. Dawnsworn Briaen reported, "I can only note that there's a blend of potent mana of many types here. Life, Holy, Arcane, and Elemental all appear blinding to me." (Kethrai did note that he had raised the Life mana.). Sir Imroth said, "Nothing of note that I can sense." Finally, I led the Bards and Saragos led the Warrior Mages in a probing of the custodians via Othersight, an ability that senses the Aether of an area or subject in order to discover disturbances, changes, or patterns. Observing the flow of custodians, I was reminded of an orchestra, a multitude of instruments played in harmony, manifesting a beautiful song. I briefly sensed strange energies and patterns, and for a fleeting moment, heard the greater melodies, and importantly, a singular interruption, a note played intentionally off-tune. Saragos told me that he was reminded of an anthill, a steady stream of simple instructions manifesting a larger purpose. He also sensed the strange energies and saw briefly a singular interruption in the greater shape of activities, like an imperfection in the schematic. We ended the experiment with a brief discussion of what we had learned and what it could all mean. Given how productive our studies were, we have much to think on and put together. I encourage all intrepid researchers to use the information reported here to form your own hypotheses, so that we may find new ways to test them. Time is of the essence, as I fear the custodians are busy working on the next iteration of their own work. Scientific knowledge is in perpetual evolution, and so are they. Navesi Daerthon Planesweaver, True Bard, Zoluren's Herald Editor in Chief of the First Land Herald

Real Date: Unknown Date

Subject(s): Lesser voltaic custodian Lightning selrek Orichalcum Plane of Electricity Planes Uryutis Zengmodaleth

Author(s): Navesi