This idea has been floating in the backwater eddies of my mind for some time, and now I'm ready to jumpstart it so here we go.
I want to introduce a new character in a way that really builds their background, their mindset, all the while exploring the settings of Yliakum. Please to meet Finnis Shelnut, a middle aged Xacha, self proclaimed observant traveller, and ponderer of the deepest Mystery. Contained within this forum thread will be lost pages from his travel logs and journals, an insight to the inner workings of his mind.
At the same time I wanted to provide some entertainment for my fellow players, so with the help of Sarva and perhaps other GMs, these pages will be placed throughout Yliakum as book objects to be found and collected. Think of it as an easter egg hunt. I've asked the GMs to place the books for me, so that there is at least the possibility that my characters might find them as well. I have written the first journal entry and as far as i know, it has been placed in game. Happy Hunting!
What I wish is for a character to find these lost journal entries randomly in their adventures and RP their reaction to them accordingly.
Without further ado, here is the first journal entry, please to enjoy:
A funny thing happens in the land of Yliakum. Because the Great Crystal remains stationary in our granite sky, and the land does not move in relation to it, many variances occur behind and underneath large static objects within their fixed shadows.
Take for example, the biggest, most static of all objects, the mountains. Many differences occur between the crystal facing slopes of a mountain and it's corresponding darkside. An observant traveller will take note that a mountain's darkside will be mostly barren, rockier, and with a gentler slope, while the side bathed in Crystalight will be lush with vegetation, well weathered and eroded. The difference in wealth of vegetation can be explained by the theory that plant life needs access to nutrient rich soil, water, and abundant Crystalight to grow healthy. This idea is rarely disputed and well accepted as true among most farmers, botanists, herbalists, and alchemists I have met throughout my travels. Further evidence is the observable fact that a plant will turn it's leaves and branches to face toward the crystal over time. Even a potted plant, when moved, will reorient itself in this manner. I've met one botanist on the barn level who has used this habit of plants to create the most fascinating works of living sculpture. Whole trees twisted into knots and coils dot his gardens and orchids. It is truly a sight to behold.
Behind trees, boulders, and in the shadows of great mountains, I have witnessed entire unique ecosystems exist. Because of temperature differences (it is noticeably much cooler in the permanent shadow of an unmovable mountain), the lack of plantlife and other factors lead to different environments within each shaded region. Some plants prefer the low light; mushrooms are prevalent given the soil is moist. Entire subsets of varied small creature species are unique to a single shadow. I've heard stories from adventurers of a giant Arangma species unique to a single mountainside, dangerously ferocious creatures, devouring anything in sight.
In my own travels, I have collected 12 distinct species of fern from the same valley, each growing beneath it's own tree.
I have received an invitation from an old friend who is a student of the Crystal Way Circle. A Master of his has been performing experiments with the light of the Great Crystal, and his results have been very interesting. Perhaps his findings may help explain this connection to the abundance of life and Crystalight. I leave for his study and workshop on the morrow.
