Nature: Ancient mage
Status: King of Atlantis and the Oracle of Acanthus
Path: None (implemented/created the concept itself)
Order: Blood of the Dragon
Soundtrack:
●Remember Me - Josh Groban
●Cat's in the Cradle - Harry Chapin
Info: Father of Ashir, Danu and Denavi.
Participated in the Atlantean Civil war, and when they lost to the usurping faction he went into exile in order to bring his youngest daughter to safety. Once there, he and the other kings & queens convened, gathered their loyal followers, and then secretly returned to Atlantis in order to oppose the Exarchs and their cosmos-defiling project for unnaturally achieving Ascension while still in fully "real"/material/"Phenomenal" form.
"The Ark can change everything". "Is forced indoctrination really the answer? You would deny them the very essence of self. It is no different than the murder they perpetrate." "We believe in the systematic understanding of the physical world, through observation and experimentation, through argument and debate. But most of all through freedom of will. I will not compromise the fundamental tenets of my devotion in order to preserve it". |
-The Ark of Truth |
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Whether he and his fellow Oracles still "live", whether they have any remaining awareness or sentience or personality, has been a matter of lively debate among the awakened for millennia, just like any other topic related to the Watchtowers, their origins and their nature. But there is at least one unavoidable truth: The access-channels he and the others built, the methods for gaining power, the paths to enlightenment, have no say in how a person chooses to use that power. Those who awaken to a tower can freely choose to employ the power granted to them in the service of the Exarchs, and the oracles have never done anything to prevent this. Orthodox mage lore says that this is because the oracles are fighting for freedom & free will, in opposition to the tyranny, enslavement and control of the exarchs, and so they will not (or cannot) interfere with the choices or actions of human beings, since this would make them no better than their opposition.
More recently, it was discovered that the visible aura/nimbus emitted by the Kalakin Engine when its components are activated has been discovered to actually be a "translation" of Kherem's name into a different visual "format", another way of 'writing' it without using conventional text.
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References
- "Dreams & Visions" segment
- Story of Basaida, part 1
- Story of Basaida, part 5
- Page 188: "Consequences"
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Suspected to be linked with:
- Children of Danu
- Denavi
- The Symbol
- Lalitha Meddha
- Page 144: ''Five kings''
- Page 200: ''I will find you father!''
- Page 2: Second half
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The Book, page 124
Basaida was a young woman of low caste in Aztlan. She was the daughter of immigrants, who gave her an Aztlantean name meaning, “blessed promise,” when she was born. Her family lived on the outskirts of the prestigious northern banks of the island, making their way as servants to the household of the powerful sorcerer, Kherem. Despite their status, Basaida’s family enjoyed the prestige of service to so great and esteemed a willworker, and many suitors, handsome and wealthy, came to her parents with offers of marriage. Still, Basaida had eyes only for Kherem’s son, Ashir, who would, she believed, surely one day be as great a man as his noble father. Ashir, who was anything but great and noble, however, played with Basaida’s emotions freely, sometimes going to far as to stoke her love for him with his spells, so that he could amuse himself by her poorly articulated attempts at subtle gestures of affection.
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The Book, page 128
Kherem stepped forth. “I name you anathema, Basaida. You are Lalitha Meddha: Slaughterer of Youth. May you be cursed to wander this world forever, condemned to an eternity awash in your tears, eternally to haunt the steps of misfortune, that you should behold no joy, from now until the end of all things.” At that, the old wizard smote the cobbles at his feet with his staff, and the sun hid its face and the wind grew still for fear of carrying so awful a curse, even for a moment.
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Old Theories posited by the PC's
- He was married to Danu
- He was father of Danu, or of Shemyaza
- He was a King in Atlantis
- He built the Acanthus Watchtower
- The Kalakin Engine is made to 'reach' him in some fashion; exact details like 'how' or 'why' still subject of wild speculation.
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To list of NPC's