| Diary of A Dead Mind |
| Welcome, insignificant mortals, to the personal log of Kenok Tarill, Necromancer of the 40th season, currently in residence in the Plane of Knowledge. You may wish to turn back now before reading the dark dark workings of a mind more rife with death every day. Your other option, of course, is to realize that it's not all that scary at all, and just keep reading. I highly recommend the latter. In keeping with the quick pace of modern society, I have condensed the journal entries into a more autobiographical format. Enjoy! |
| Blue commentary in the photo pages is from Jak, the editor. |
| Part one: Nektulos Forest (1-13?) In my early days, I was a more naive sort of Elf. I looked at the Necromancers, seeing only their high position in Neriak's society, never comprehending what a life so centered on death and hatred was like. I soon found out. The elders of my guild were quick to welcome me into my chosen profession, and sent me into the wilderness with minimal equipment and magic. I was able to work my way up through the early levels, fighting creatures of the forest with my undead companion at my side. I managed to acquire an unimpressive uniform of cloth armor. The next phase of my journey proved to be ssignificantly more taxing. Upon reaching the fourth season, I recieved new spells and a new assignment from my guild. I was to assemble for myself a suit of Unholy Silk Armor. This insidious collection of armor earned its name by being chiefly composed of Halfling Skin. Having recieved this bizarre new assignment, I ventured deep into the woods to find a stump, around which a troop of Halflings was situated. Its central core was too well guarded, so I hid over the hills, waiting like an assassin to pick off wandering scouts. At first the gravity of slaughtering the helpless Hobbits had its toll on me, but I soon became desensetized to the murder that I was on the giving end of. Having created many pieces of the armor, I was sent to far corners of the forest to find different components. The most taxing of these proved to be the Deathfist Scout Scalps, belonging to the scouts of the Deathfist Orcs. These freakish little creatures were rare, running errands between a number of Orc camps in the forest. After weeks of hunting, I managed to accumulate a grand total of one scalp out of the four I needed. I used it to create a bracer, and then gave up the hunt. I had heard tales of a marvelous hunting ground on Luclin, the moon of Norrath, where young adventurers could battle bugs and bandits to gain incredible amounts of experience. I was anxious to escape the stifling compunds of the forest, and thus sought the quickest way to get the more important parts of my new wardrobe. In fact, the only piece of armor I had yet to asseble was the Robe, and for it I needed Embalming dust. After having killed a number of mummies in the forest to no avail, I realized there was little left to be gained from them. I had heard of a nearby desert where the wrapped undead were much more plentiful, and decided it was finally time to escape the confines of the Nektulos. I traveled over the Eastern Commonlands to the Oasis of Marr and hunted the Shrivelled and Crypt Mummies that lurked about the area. I soon collected all the dust I needed, and returned home to make my robe. Only one part of the quest remained, the Writ of the Fallen. It, not being a piece of armor, was somewhat seperated fromt he rest of the quest. In a remote corner of the forest was a collection of odd stones known as the Graveyard. Multitudes of undead roamed the area, and four of them had the pages I needed to complete the power enhancing Writ. This proved to be a relatively simple task as well, as other adventurers in the area were willing to help me out by pointing me towards the pages, which none but Necromancers have any use for. I returned to Neriak to fashion the book, and found it to be just as useful as I had expected. With most of my equipment in hand, I embarked on my first great journey. Without the recent innovations in world travel, I had to make this, and only this, journey by foot. I once again trekked out into the Eastern Commonlands, but instead of going south towards the desert, I headed west. Into the Western Commonlands I travelled, and then into the Kithicor Forest. Wanting to delay as little as possible, I decided to journey through the woods at night. This proved to be somewhat of a mistake, as during the dark hours the place is filled with angry, powerful Undead. As if this weren't enough of a threat, it was also filled with powerful Half Elven Rangers, who protect the forest for the Halflings. As such, each and every being in that forest hated me with a passion as I crossed through it. Fortunately, with a deft control of my magical skills (Invisibility and Invisibily vs. Undead, which can not be used simultaneously), and a careful avoidance of those creatures who could see through my illusions, I made it through safely. Next, I crossed into Highpass Hold, a narrow mountain path inhabited by Orcs and Gnolls. Fortunately, I was able to remain invisible throughout this zone, and passed safely to the Karanas. These huge, flat, plains cover most of Western Antonica, and so you can imagine how long it took for a poor little Dark Elf to run most of the way through Eastern Karana to Northern Karana to reach the Spires. These huge towers reside in the south of Northern Karana, and are the only link between Antonica and Luclin. With one wave of her hand, the kindly Nexus Scion wisked me off to the Nexus, the hub of travel in Luclin. My first stop was the metropolis of Shadow Haven, run mostly by Humans but friendly (to a degree) to all Norrathians. Here I rested, and the place became my base while I fought in the legendary Paludal Caverns. |
| More to come soon! |