Gâr
Hyperborean%20Duality%20-%20Dragon%27s%20Talon.gif
And in that age so far remote
was carved by human hands unseen
of stone so monumental cold
to build remote from world unclean
a human habitation old.


Where world would end and shadows flee
atop high cliffs and chasms great
was dwelling made so safe to be
no monster could its hunger sate.


Was tegosmel the city named
and only there a man could find
the palace Gordhos-Ree most famed
where treasure lay to strike you blind.
The Book, Page 86
Yet also was a temple made
Gareos, dreadful, place most foul
where curse on curse of death was laid
not reachable by fish or fowl.


Here lay the mighty Gâr, the spear
too terrible for hearts of men
first forged to strike at Dragon's Lair
which killed but once and ne'er again.
The Book, Page 64
Gry - It's like this: Gâr cannot 'perform' without Graal to 'impress'
*waggles eyebrows & makes suggestive gestures*
Nature: Hyperborean superweapon
Location: A forgotten city in a labyrinth of space on the dark side of the moon.
First encountered: Chapter 6.6 "The Night's Plutonian Shores"
Soundtrack: The Sun is Burning - Simon & Garfunkel

Campaign Relevance

P1.1 "The Treasures of the Lost Stradivarius", where the Lost Stradivarius is recognized as important because it's known that Sir James Owsley-Palmer, and the rest of the Bellerophon Society, had been incredibly intent on acquiring it, for unknown reasons. ALSO: First appearance of the Shadow Directory, when the Condiments hand over the accursed play Cardenio to the french Guardian Pierre Dupin, so that he can have it safely locked away there.
Unknown Placement: The quest for the Hiden Gogyo Bujutsu, during which they also found the Green Dragon Crescent Spear, where they encountered the white-robed figure at the ''watchtower of fail'' while exploring the Inner Earth, which gave them a vision detailing many things. Among them: A battlefield riddled with dead soldiers, the style of their uniforms getting older as the point-of-view moved forwards, until they were vikings; a Valkyrie, accompanied by sinister ravens; a castle with a "Black Sun" filling the sky behind it (later discovered by Dorian to be where was built the secret Nazi research bunker where Ahnenerbe tried to back-track the ancestry of the Aryan ethnicity all the way back to Hyperborea); a glimpse of a huge, dark and cyclopean city carved from stone; culminated with their first vision of the Book, and the unspoken understanding that acquiring it would be vital for the cabal (not sure which plot this was, nor when it happened, though probably sometime during Year 2).
2.3 "A Plague on Both Your Houses!", where Tamas died whilst trying to retrieve the Daimonomicon named "The Riders of Pegasus" from the Winchester Manor
P1.4 "The Embassy of Cibola", where the Condiments find the treasure-map of Trondheim, the one which shows how to find Mjøllner, within the Embassy of Cibola in Teotihuacan
3.2 "But Now The Dead Begin to Rise…", where Chimera is corrupted by Layla and the Collar of Tamas, and therefore sacrifices his own life to fuel the resurrection of Tamas. Also: Dorian Gray returns to town, is given his "Wrench" by Greymalkin, and eventually joins the cabal.
3.3 "…and Debts Forgotten Time Collects", where the Unknown Expedition cabal is formed, and PC's notice Enoch for the first time. Skadi's Sphinx-senses reveal that he is 'important' somehow, that he has a potent Destiny. Fate Sight in general registers that much of the Concilium meeting feels more or less like an 'overture, the first encounters with concepts & themes that will become central later on. Polydegmon and Ahura Mazda have the argument which lead to their later Duel Arcane. Divination: "Where will this lead us?" ('this' being something which happened during meeting, but ST isn't sure what that was). Answer: "Trondheim, Tibet, Iram, Xanadu, Constantinople, Czechoslovakia, Rome, The Temple of Seven Pillars, Asgarða, Cibola" (I suspect there was more, but I can't recall the rest)
3.4 "Ghastly Grim and Ancient Ravens", where the cabal finally get some insight into the Halaku, eventually bombing the Moth Summer House where they had their lair/"nest". A divination later revealed that the consequence of this would be that "The Dread Fellowship of Apep will acquire the Holy Grail."

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3.5 "Your Permanent Record", where Hal was at the auction in Prague that sold the various belongings of the late Daksha known as Utnapishtim, from which he bought the "mineral collection", which among other things contained samples of Apergium & Cavorite. Also featured a "Lesser Shatterstar"
3.6 "As Easy as ABC", where The Book is brought back from the Omphalos Shrine, which held much vital information about Gâr, Graal, Halaku, the Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra, Hyperborea, and where various events fit within recorded history.
3.8 "War of the Words", where Mazda was attacked by an unknown creature of darkness while on his way to the duel with Polydegmon on Mars, on the 21st of December, an attack which managed to steal his soul, though the PC's succeeded in getting it back for him. The same evening, both before and after Dorian's birthday celebration, the Dark Wolves were spotted.
Interlude "Fall of the House of Schäfer", where Dorian Gray learns about Project Vajra and Tanze auf Graben, meets Übermensch, and finds the soviet note.

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P1.5 "The Tablets of the Hieromagus", where the Condiments also encounter Tanze auf Graben, and later explore the secret vaults of the Vatican, where they meet the trapped 'angel' Seraphiel, who tells them about its own duties, how it relates to the Grail, and lists which great civilizations have been "made great" by said item.
4.1 "Veni, Vidi, Venice", where the PC's assisted the Tremere Liches of Venice so much that they were given extensive access to the Liches' archives, which among other things involved rare factual information about the Holy Grail, such as the document "Into the Holy City", which detailed the 1204 sacking of Constantinople.
4.2 "A Sound of Thunder", where the Paradigm, together with several other assisting Obrimoi, succeed in summoning and trapping a Supernal Being. Research & experimentation on it begins.
4.3 "Growing Up, Moving Out", where Hermes exploits the "Groundhog Day" time-loop he's experiencing to trick Ahura Mazda into explaining all about the history and nature of Tamas, Layla, the Halaku, and the Dread Fellowship of Apep
4.4 "Caverns Measureless to Man", where the PC's find the Dua'ath Array, and the Shatterstar, learn about both from its protectors, and then utterly destroy the array.
4.5 "Now Reap the Whirlwind", Hermes & Nobel experiment with & study the Shatterstar, before the Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra takes it back, in return for semi-full disclosure about the backstory. It turns out that the Dua'ath installation was (among other things) a secret defense-network, which had protected the entire city against the powers of darkness. This is no longer the case, thanks to the actions of the PC's.
4.6 "Body of Knowledge", where it's discovered that Nobel's sister has been taken as host-body by the Halaku, and during negotiations with them they name their price: Thor's Chariot

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4.7 "All the King's Mages and All the King's Men…"

Convocation:

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  • The Las Vegas concilium would like to make the awakened community more alert and ready for potential future hazards posed by the sun
  • The Bangalore concilium would like to bring to everyone's attention the fact that the world is due to end soon, and horrible disasters are in store for the world at large. Both the Trondheim and Las Vegas delegates comment that this seems to match their own experiences.
  • Divination: Q: When will the world end? A: Within a year or two. Visions of Tamas Angra Mainyu holding the Holy Grail, and the world engulfed in strange flames. Q: How? A: Faint, indistinct symbolic imagery of Dorian mounted upon a winged horse with Tamas as a serpent-like demonic entity trampled underfoot, where Dorian is in the process of smiting Tamas with a spear, all of it seemingly modeled after some iconic religious imagery (1), (2), (3), (4), but with Tamas apparently using the Grail to catch or divert or survive the blow. Q: Where will it begin? A: Gareos.
  • The Mysterium Caucus of Bangalore report on the findings of their underwater archaeomantic excavation of the Burckle Crater on the bottom of the Indian Ocean
  • The Libertines of Las Vegas and Hong Kong can proudly report that their efforts at preemptive modernizing have worked: By transforming library-texts into a digital format they've become 97% less susceptible to the depredations of various spirits, rivals, cryptids and the walking dead. Several enclaves of Mystagogues from around the world were asked to evaluate the results and almost all of them have already signed deals to have their Athanaea receive this sort of upgrade.
  • The New Bellerophon Society proudly reports on their progress with magically enhanced satellites and "conceptual spacecraft".
  • Alchemists of Las Vegas have developed a process by which they can produce perfected metals at an unprecedented speed and cost efficiency, which has led to a research project into both forging new magical alloys and reverse engineering old ones whose method of creation are lost, such as Primium & Apergium, the first targets of this new initiative.
  • Bangalore researchers can at long last confirm that Alexander the Great was a sleepwalker, though how much he knew of the Awakened world still remains a matter of much debate. It remains a mystery why and how he suddenly sought out so many old sites of mage activity in India directly after conquering Persepolis.

5.1 "…Couldn't put Þrúðvangr together again", where •Nobel delivers Thor's Chariot to the Halaku in return for them releasing their hold on his sister. •The PC's also get to keep Megingjörð in return for rediscovering Þrúðvangr and preventing it from falling into the hands of the Seers. •Dorian makes alliance with the Sodality of the Tor to get info from Heliopics….and a date with their representative. •The Cabal talks to Ask, the expert on the Gods of the Outer Void, and so learn many things.
5.2 "There but for the grace of us", where PC's are flung into a post-apocalyptic future, and Nobel manages to offend the sun. They manage to escape through time instants before being consumed by the Gods of the Outer Void
5.3 "Tick-tock goes the Calendar", were Skadi & Nobel accidentally project back to Constantinople in 1204, where they face their previous selves, in the middle of an invasion, and overhear that those people were on their way to the "Grail Chamber". Also: Nobel is punched in the face by his grandfather for allowing his sister to have her eyes ripped out, among other things.

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5.4 "Grapes of Sorrow", where they:

5.5 "A Pair of Star-Cross'd Lovers", where they meet the Aeons.

  • Nobel learns enough about the principles involved in building the Mayflower II, and the magical alloys involved in its design, for him to be able to repair it.
  • Skadi promises to kill Ahura Mazda no more than 24 hours after he is dead, and to get around to translating vital parts of The Book.
  • Nobel promises that he (or another in the cabal, if he can't) will use the Gâr. Preferably without blowing it up.
  • Rui Shi promises to wear, bond with, and wield the Eye of Ahriman, and to kill the child they will come to know as "The Hieromagus".
  • Hermes is told "You've been looking for answers about Gâr and the Graal, and the most complete collection about the former found on your planet, out of what is reasonably accessible to you, is in the hands of the Thulskaya Soviet, in Siberia, after their predecessors acquired it in Berlin, anno 1946. They happen to be old foes of the Loyalists of Thule",
  • AND "You have something which Enoch would pay dearly for and which would make him incredibly happy, and which would cost you almost nothing to give him."
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6.1/P2.1 "Cum Vix Iustus sit Securus; The Fall of Constantinople", where the PC's mentally project back in time to 1204 and relive the experiences of their previous incarnations, and so learn about how Galahad acquired the Grail, and witness the founding of the Knights of the Round Table.
6.2/P2.2 "Ardente Veritate; The Siege of Montsegur", where the powers and functions of the Grail are explored, Anduriel is summoned, and the Tamas of that age is revealed. The PC's come up with a plan to evacuate the population (and the Grail) to "Avalon", the safe and remote headquarters of the Sodality of the Tor, in Britain. Dances on Graves is given his name by Medusa.
6.3 "Lo! Death has reared herself a throne", where the Dread Fellowship of Apep (and/or its allies) has hordes of minion creatures & cultists invade San Fransisco, for reasons that are still somewhat unclear. A large horde of them tried to destroy the Athenaeum, while another tried to break into Coit Tower, but was held off by Skadi and Ahura Mazda, before being finally obliterated by the Tunguska Fragment. It's later commented that this is exactly the sort of thing that the Dua'ath would have prevented, and that this incursion is most likely an attempt to learn the extent of the city's current defenses, probably in preparation of a larger attack yet to come.

6.4 "The Hieromagus Cometh"

6.5 "The Night's Plutonian Shores", where the PC's find Gâr.

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Info

Description: According to Ahura Mazda, as far as his cabal's research has managed to determine, the Gâr is apparently the size of a city, or at least it is housed within a city-sized structure. The item itself is said be be small enough to wield in one hand, though there are indications that it might exist in more than one size at the same time.

Powers: As the dual opposite of the Graal, the "yin" to its "yang", the Gâr is suspected to be an instrument of destruction, the power and force matching the control and guidance of the Graal.

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Page 86 of The Book

And in that age so far remote
was carved by human hands unseen
of stone so monumental cold
to build remote from world unclean
a human habitation old.


Where world would end and shadows flee
atop high cliffs and chasms great
was dwelling made so safe to be
no monster could its hunger sate.


Was Tegosmel the city named
and only there a man could find
the palace Gordhos-Ree most famed
where treasure lay to strike you blind.
P1040993.jpg
P1040995.jpg

.

Page 64 of The Book

Yet also was a temple made
Gareos, dreadful, place most foul
where curse on curse of death was laid
not reachable by fish or fowl.



Here lay the mighty Gâr, the spear
too terrible for hearts of men
first forged to strike at Dragon's Lair
which killed but once and ne'er again.
P1040952.jpg
P1040953.jpg

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Page 191 The Book

Nobel has theorized that the Gâr is the same thing as mentioned here:

Coming upon a small human settlement at the edge of the world he decided to take them as his own, and consume. Yet this place at the top of the world was Hyperborea, and they defied the godling, refusing to let him consume them. Sent they then their greatest warrior, and armed him with their mightiest weapon. Tired and wounded already was Akalu Uha, and potent indeed was that strike, and so it was that the Prince of Carrion was slain.

.

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Inscriptions on Mjøllner

left side of shaft: nifl mjolnir graal nifl
right side of shaft: muspl mjolnir gar muspl
head of the hammer: duergar bygd hammar gi kraft av jorð til sky oven. mjolner gir muspl til nifl

Trondheim texts

In the beginning-times the Odin and his two brothers came unto Ginnungagap and great Yimi-r residing within, and they found it was overrun with corrupted Jotnar, that the very peoples of Yimi-r itself were fallen and inbred. So vile had affairs grown that it threatened to overwhelm the entire cosmos with that filth through Yimi's power and mastery with Nifl and Muspl. So the Sons of Bor did strike at the entire Yimi and destroyed it

And in the dead remains of Yimi-r's form there came to be scavengers, as is the nature of things, whom the Aesira came to know as Duergar. And from the deep places of its corpus did they dig out what they could of stone and metals and power, learning what craft and secrets they could, and made out of it all new wonders to call their own.

Loki came to know that the Duergar had, from the bones and grit of ancient Yimi-r, managed to pry a speck's worth of knowing about the Nifl and the Muspl, just as the Odin before them had sought out and won the carved signs which are mystery. And from seeing those of Yimi-r had the Duergar also fashioned powerful marvels, crafted in that inspired image; both riches and treasures but most importantly weapons.

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See also: Graal, Hyperborea, Hyperborean Tools, Adamant Vajra, Vajra of Heaven, Project Vajra, Seraphiel, Spear of Convocation, Duergar, Mjöllner Array, Trondheim Texts, Dua'ath, the Shatterstar and Alexander the Great

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