Conceivable Glimpse to Past: Envisaged Salvation of the Nebezzdos

[RebornMage]

Conceivable Glimpse to Past: Envisaged Salvation of the Nebezzdos

Written by Hermeers Arran

Acknowledgements to Cyrcei O'lique for kind ear and mind before writing this essay and Secrets of Ymph written by Randen Blake serving as a promoter of good questions

Introduction


When I arrived on this island, I was completely and positively surprised of what wonders it held within it. Of course we have our problems but it is also so that some of them are our blessings, perhaps in ways we are not currently aware of yet. I too landed on the top of the Ziggurat where so many others had done before me and like those others, I found my way to the Mistlocke. Curiously enough, the Mist showed me a path through its veil and I experienced a series of visions which could very well have been partly about the history of these islands. Discussions with those others who had experienced a similar arrival to the Mistlocke, I have come to a conclusion that some of the visions shown by the Mist are shared by all - at least the main structure is the same. I will not go into details about that, as this theory is not particularly about the Mists or its visions but I will concentrate on one of them and the facts that I have found later on to support my theory. I suggest reading the text written by Randen Blake mentioned above to follow what comes.

I have confirmed later on in the villages library and through other material that most of what the Mist showed to me about this settlements past has been true so it confirmed me that what I was searching for could very well exist and be a fact. You see, my interest lies in the exact vision which depicts the building of the Ziggurat by the Netherese and the Fall of the Netheril, which also occurred on this island and soon after led into chaos on the streets. But as can be found on other material written before me, it is clear that on Nebezzdos they also had problems which were original to it. For somewhat unknown reasons, a new threat rised in the City of Nebezzdos in the form of Larval creatures. They were, and still likely are, parasitic in form and were claimed to be capable of taking control of host bodies, such as humans. One can consider them to be immensively resistant as the might of the Netherese could not stop the plague and destroy it completely. It is then thought by scholars before me that the Nightrisen were created as an answer for the parasites as larval parasitic infection could not attach into undead skeletons.

The visions of the Mist showed a line of Netherese men and women, awaiting to be inducted into the Nightrisen brotherhood. I put to note their cries as they spoke among each other and they mentioned different reasons and worries about the Nightrisen ritual but considered it to be the best option of those available - a necessity to win the war against the larval and survive as I wish to believe. As a wizard whose most research work has been focused on the magic of life and conjuring of life, some words were imprinted into my mind and I could not let them go. "I do not wish to enter the Dream Tanks, either". A research tank is an important tool in my line of work, mainly to create something new and revive substances. Transmutators often favour them but I am not an expert in this area. Nonetheless, Dream Tank is something that I had never heard of before and it instantly caused busy days of research on my part. In this text I will unfold the content and conclusions of my theory.


Envisaged Future


I am going to present a theory that has good amount of speculation in it but I think it to be one fairly possible historic alternative and should be considered seriously. I believe that the scholars before me have underestimated the strength, knowledge and cunning of the Netherese before us. I am quite sure that even though the Rise of the Larval occurred rapidly, they still had time to prepare and do battle for quite some time. During this time, they calculated that the victory over the Larvals would not be an easy one and it would take time as they did not yet know their enemy or how to completely annihilate it. They realized though that every second they used to come up with answers, a citizen of the Netherese would turn into a larval being or die fighting them.

The leaders of the city were likely aware of the ways of Porenius Herasus, who possibly was a prisoner of the Colony considering the common populace of Nebezzdos relied on the teachings Amaunator and Jergal teachings, both resisting the undead. It is still somewhat unsure why a penal colony was made instead of executing the most dangerous mages and prisoners as in most kingdoms and empires it has been the habit but my belief is that the Netherese knew the value of such time that it took to prepare a boy or a girl into a wizard of considerable power. It would have been waste for the empire to simply cut their heads, rather they provided them a safe research ground to aspire what they desired but also hoping that they would perhaps change their evil nature to one that could be rehabilitated to the Empire, once again. Thus then when Porenius offered them a tool, the Nightrisen Ritual, to avoid the Larval attacks and fight for eternity, the leaders accepted this for no other swift way was seen to be of aid in the current situation.

However what people on this island have not considered, at least I have not found any information suggesting this theory, is that the leaders did not completely trust this prisoner or the way of the undead. They did not wish to turn the complete population of the Netherese into Nightrisen and abandon their human forms. Also, the Nightrisen ritual was likely not completely researched to what it was desired to be as even though the Nightrisen supposedly are capable of reincarnating soon after being destroyed, they have one flaw and that is the smile of Lathander. This is a very fatal flaw and would keep the Netherese from operating on the surface roughly half of the suns circle. I also believe that most of the common populace were not willing to accept this ritual and I am sure that even though some fought and rebelled against its implementation, some were more passive: They did not wish to become the Nightrisen but accepted that some turned into them to protect the rest.

Now follows my own answer to this quotation from the Randen Blake Secrets of Ymph:

"The Netherese civilization fell  but Nebezzdos lived on, at least briefly enough for Nightriser barracks  to be established in the Warden's tower. Where did all of the people  go? What caused all written records to cease a short time after the  death of Karsus? There is no obvious destruction to the city itself, it  only shows signs of weather and age."


My answer is that they did not go anywhere, they stayed where they had always lived. Some amount of the population were given a possibility to enter these so called Dream Tanks. It is hard to say how many of them were given the possibility but it could as well be something such as half of the population to a small minority, maybe one out of twenty. Now you probably wonder, good reader, what was the purpose of these? My speculations are that they were intended for theories.

Firstly, they were made so that the people could survive the war without turning into the undead creatures they despised. Humans still require mass amount of food and other supplies to survive and the life in the Nebezzdos ruins would have been extremely uncomfortable and they would have been completely risking their lives being infected by the parasites and also increasing their numbers while doing so. It would now not matter how long the war took as the Nightrisen can battle forever and the dream tanks were designed to last at least for centuries, as well. After the Nightrisen had defeated the larval creatures, they revive their Netherese bretheren from their dream tanks and allowing them to continue their where it had been seizured at the beginning of the Larval Wars. Naturally, I also believe that once the threat had been eliminated, it is possible that the Netherese planned to turn the Nightrisen back to their flesh form. Or that if such was no longer possible, their purpose would have been fulfilled and they could now finally rest - The Netherese race had survived.

Second reason is the sunlight, the weakness of the Nightrisen. Because of this weakness, they could not have left the Nebezzdos and the prisoners still living there unguarded half the time. (I doubt they were eve given possibility to turn into Nightrisen or if they were, not all wished or that some prisoners had escaped during the chaos of Karsus Folly and Larval Wars) It is for this reason they created these Dream Tanks for other guards to perform tasks during the daylight. They is likely not many of these as the sightings of them have not been numerous. I also believe that they would have taken shifts, that for a year or so few would patrol and then return to the tanks after reviving another group of them to take over so they would not die to old age - at least for a long time. My sightings of these warriors support this theory and I will speak of them further on. It could also be that the truth is a combination of these two theories.

Here I quote the Nightrisen Oath as translated by Jawl Highwind in her tome The Nightriser Compendium: A Look at the Undeath In Nebudzznos (Nebudzznos is an older way of translating Nebezzdos. I assure you, translation of the Netherese is not the easiest of tasks and words and their meanings change during time)

"We, the guards and soldiers of the City that nurtures and shelters us,  do solemnly offer ourself up to the highest bound duties of service, and  willing seek entrance into the Nightrisers.

We seek this unsleeping service to defend when others can not, to  protect where others will not. We are the Nightrisers, and great is our  duty, serious our purpose. We wish to defend the living, we who are not.

We commend ourselves to this service, the lessons of Porenius Herasus,  the endless service that awaits. May the city never fall."                      


From the first part of the Oath you can see a certain sacrifice they are undertaking. It was not required of all and only those who wished it took the ritual if my theory is correct. In the second part of the oath you can note the following "to defend when others can not, to protect where others will not". This refers to two separate things in my opinion, first being that those in the Dream Tanks cannot defend themselves as they are in everlasting sleep. Second part I am not sure but it can either mean that those who decided to take the Dream Tanks and not sacrifice themselves or it means the prisoners who had no sense of duty and who they had to still "protect", as displeasing as to them it must have been. And in the third section, it says that they wish the city to endure. One questions arises though as they say "endless service" is that whether it is simply metaphorical when the Larval War was thought to last so long or whether there was no cure for the Nightrisen. I still like to be optimistic and believe they wished to turn back to men or give up their service once the city was safe of the threats and the Dream Tanks could be opened.


Secret of the Dream Tanks


The secrets of the Dream Tanks are still currently mostly unsolved but I will pass here what I know of them. Some of you might now begin to question also whether my theory is anything but a bunch of very absurd speculations but I assure you that I have seen those tanks which I believe to be the so called Dream Tanks and I have also seen alive humanoid beings in them and outside of them. I have now visited few times the Nebezzdos colony and on one of those times I visited some of their prisons. The prisoners were dead but their work remained, more or less damaged. Similarly as told by Randen Blake in his essay, there were also rooms for the guards. In these rooms/floors the Nightrisen were still present and they were conducting their patrols and were likely keeping the prisoners in their cells to their best capability. But the guards' barracks were divided into two sections: One called the Nightriser Barracks and the other called the Dayriser barracks. And indeed, alongside the Nightriser were battling something of quite different nature - beings who were much like you and I. They were mostly humans by their look, except their skin was yellowish, had many scars and looked as if they had been partly stitched together, to keep the flesh intact. They held healing potions with them and used them effectively for their benefit and as far as I am aware, they were flesh and blood. At their side were also alive guards dogs. How could these guards and their hounds have survived for so many years, guarding the prisoners of the this section?

I received answer soon enough as I entered the Dayriser barracks. Inside both barracks were bedding that had likely belonged to the era before the Larval Wars. But inside the Dayriser barracks, there were dozens of glass tubes large enough to hold a humanoid inside, filled with curious liquid I had never seen before. All were empty but it could be because the numbers of the living had been diminished during the time of their service - we did not slay enough of the yellowish warriors to match for all the tubes. And thus from this, it became quite obvious for me what these tanks were: They were the Dream Tanks, at least those made for those I presented in the second theory, the Daytime gaolers and protectors. I did not have time to break any of the glass to take a sample of the liquid and I did not dare as it might ruin the whole contraption and we were in hurry to leave. I also noted that the Dream Tanks were haphazardly placed to all about the barracks, wherever there was room for them. I thus believe that they were implemented in hurry and the barracks were not originally designed to serve Nightriser or the Dayrisers. Neither requires the bedding either as I would imagine the Dayrisers to prefer sleeping in their tanks while the Nightrisers watch.


How do they work? I believe it is simple for the users: One steps into the tube and someone closes it or you close it yourself. Either through an unknown mechanism or just simply entering the liquid, you will fall into catatonic state of endless dreams, likely pleasant. Have you ever considered how many different kind of dreams you have had? I am sure they can keep the human mind occupied for centuries. The content of our brains and mind are rather fascinating, a discussion for another time but the most important thing in the tank is that it is capable of either nurturing the body for a very long time and stopping the bodily aging process or simply just the latter which causes the lack of need for sustenance. Actually I believe the tanks are quite ordinary in kind, that they are simply tubes made out of glass and metal but that the liquid inside is behind the process of sustaining life for a long time or maybe even for eternity. What the formula of this liquid is, I do not know but I am currently doing my best to uncover it and learn more. I though believe that constant out-in process causes the sickly appearance in the Dayriser guards and that is why their looks differ from ours. But I believe they could be treated as well. Staying inside the tube without leaving it might as well just preserve the body completely so going into one and being revived 300 years later would be quite the same as traveling through the time, except you have been seeing dreams for the past three centuries.

It should also be noted that during my time in this prison facility I encountered a human inside one of these tanks. He spoke to us but he had become slightly delusional and could not be of much more assistance. He was clearly aware that he was in a prison and remembered the Warden. I believe he was a prisoner. From all this it would be then clear that the Netherese knew of this technique before the Larval Wars and had experimented on it. But as seen from this man, it is now maybe clear why one cannot stay awake inside the tanks - Long time spend in it would result in a loss of mind and sanity.


Status of the Netherese


Why have the Netherese not yet prevailed and what did it mean to the Dream Tanks? Why is there so few records of these Dream Tanks?

I can offer some theories for these two questions as well. The Netherese did not prevail because the one who created the Larvals continued his work. He is maybe a prisoner as well, escaped one, and is rather adept at creating new forms of it constantly. It is also possible that they have not found a way to completely destroy the source of the larvals or that the Nightrisen began to fight among themselves, as some notes before me suggest and the battle with the Larval halted for a while. It is also possible that Porenius altered the goal of the Nightrisen or that some other powerful prisoner meddled in these affairs during the chaos of the Larval Wars and has brought the Nightrisen other troubles.

It is also possible as said in the essay of Randen Blake that the late Jergali Scribe now known as Warden Lotheri Sanq had lost his memory for one reason or another and could not lead the Nightriser in their original goal, the destruction of the Larval and protection of the Nebezzdos from threats. I like to believe that there is some amount of coincidence in all this, as the Mythallar became active and began bringing living people to this island and the Old Port began to settle on here. I assume the Larval received more potential targets to infect and the Nightrisen have always seen us as a threat to them -as intruders. That is mainly because no living can exists in the Nebezzdos until all larval are dead We are all a risk to them.

The reason I believe that there is so few records about the Dream Tanks is that I believe they are mostly either destroyed by the Larval as they have overran the facilities or that they are hidden deep below the city in secret vaults, heavily guarded. None would have dared to have gone this deep as the Nightriser will keep all these chambers secured - they are their last hope to preserve the Netherese race. Why they would keep them well below the surface level is that the only thing guarding the Vaults are the Nightrisen and they cannot battle in the sunlight. It is also because of this reason the larval was well have been out of sight and not much have been written about them: The larval are constantly trying to break through the Nightrisen defenses and into the Vault where hundreds, maybe thousands of Netherese hosts await them. Why the Larval did not attack the Colonists, one would imagine they were easy targets compared to the heavily guarded Nightrisen barricades below? I believe the reason for this is that they did not know as they are somewhat mindless beasts and were bullrushing against the Vault or that the late colonists owe a thank to the Nightrisen. The Nightrisen swore an oath to protect those who cannot and the Netherese domain, they might have thought of the colonists as some who they also need to protect. But likely just is that they kept them from attacking the colonists because they would have turned into larval beings and tried to destroy them during the night so they wouldn't turn into larvals. Another possibility is that they have already been revived or at least some of them in the upper sections, when the colonists arrived. That means - and I am rather anxious to say it - there might be some living netherese among us. Most of us are foreigners to each other and the Mythallar brings people here every now and then so none finds it odd to see new faces daily. And if they have been reviving those in the dream tanks for a while, it could be they have been living among you for years.


Revival of the Netherese


Now what also interests us all is when then are they going to revive all those in the Dream Tanks if they exist. I believe that such time will come when the Nightriser believe all threats have been defeated. The nightrisers should not be taken as mindless machines performing a task, rather men with duty but the sands of time might have changed them as well. The first priority is of course the death of the Larval. Before this, they will not revive any of those inside the tanks except if it were the last rescource. Even if they destroy all the larval, now that the Maiden has awakened they might feel her threathening the living of the Netherese and will battle here and only after the Withering has been removed shall the Netherese be revived from their long dream.

It is also possible that none of the tanks is still intact and no revival will happen. Then the nightrisen might be suffering from a dilemma, as there's non to protect. I find this possibility highly unlikely. Some of them must have survived through time and they are still intact. They might not be many but they are still there or now alive, released from their long sleep to find safety elsewhere. One should also consider the possibility that the Nightrisen have changed so dramatically that they have destroyed all the ones in the Dream Tanks in a spree of madness, trying to protect the Netherese race from the larval threat by removing all the possible hosts and thus destroying their proteges as well.

Whatever the situation currently might be, I like to think that a large amount of the Netherese have survived alive in the Dream Tank Vaults. There is a picture, a painting in the Curios and Epistles depicting a rebuilt Nebezzdos with new life evident on it and the creator has marked the year 1402 to its corner. Perhaps the mysterious painter was one of the Netherese from the Dream Tanks and he wanted to remind us of the bright future coming and  thesacrifices they had done to save a whole race from a downfall.