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Journal: Turandir Melhdiw
Posted: 22 Aug 2008 11:05 AM |
((This is the first installment, i will add more as i write. This is first one is sort of a story version of my character profile, which isn't quite complete, but will have to suffice for now. A bit uncertain if i was going to post it at all, since its more of a way for me to keep my character together, hoping to make him more consistent. I'm in no way used to writing, so it's likely to be a soggy read. By posting this here however, i hope to give people a bit of insight to my character concept, clearing up any questions, inconsistencies, opening for criticisms, and possibly notifying me of any messups on Lore/storyline.))
Written on the first page in flowing script:
To the Great Teachers of Asashi. Those whos fist aim always true, who is possessed of the Immovable Heart, whos mind, spirit, and body is always in the position of total awareness, entering the realm of No-Mind.
Preface:
Now that i have left Asashi to explore the outside world, i have decided to keep this journal, to better recount to the masters my travels and encounters.
First entry:
Ever since i witnessed the battle between the great tiger and the great bear at the glade in the forest, my spirit has been restless. I feel as if the animals -perhaps even nature herself- could teach us things that has long been forgotten. I know there are things i need to see and experience for myself. Not for me the books and scrolls of the Vulture school, nor the incessant physical training of the Serpent. Indeed the Path of the Aimed Fist is the way that has been chosen for me, but it is i who must choose where to aim. The masters seem deliberately vague, and strangely supportive of whatever i choose to be doing. I have learned the basics of combat and meditation. The Immovable Fist, the Needle Strike, the Tigers Claws, i have all mastered. I know how to dodge the sprays of water the teachers use as spell attacks, and can tumble well enough to compete with a monkey. Now i must choose where to aim my skills.
Second:
The Masters have granted me permission. I leave on the morrow. I shall again look upon the ancient forest city of Ferein, witness the tree splitting chill of the frozen lands, travel the seas, and know the constant hustle and bustle of the human cities.
Third:
I have travelled through Ferein, and again seen its marvels. To live in the ancient trees like this seems a wonder. I did not get to stay as long as i wanted, for my ship was leaving with the tide. It will not be long afore i return.
Fourth:
The ship hit a storm between Ferein and Ladriel. At first, it took all my focus to keep from loosing my dinner. As the storm progressed, i learned to move with the waves, and i opened my eyes to the immense power of the natural forces.
Fifth:
I have reached the town of Buckshire. I caught a ride with a rather strange dwarf who drove me to the Four Winds inn. There seems to be a multitude of different cultures and races here, all seeming to coexist in relative peace.
((Note: I have deliberately left out any timeline in these entries. The time it takes to travel from one place to another in Vives is a bit vague, due to game mechanics, and to keep events i will recount here from conflicting with existing storylines, I leave the entry times open.)) |
IG Character: Turandir |
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Re: Journal: Turandir Melhdiw
Posted: 24 Aug 2008 12:08 AM |
The first month
I've been travelling around, and learned a great deal. There are many grave dangers lurking on the very doorstep of these societies, and people seem perfectly accepting of it. Their sewers are filled with vermin who would not hesitate a moment to eat you. Great beasts hunt the outskirts, and there are ancient ruins filled with traps, and monsters i have never heard of. I have even joined a couple of forays out into the wilds. Once i got to battle a cougar alone and empty handed. Most enlightening, though it did leave me tattered and bloody. Luckily, people here seem experts stitching and bandaging wounds, though that hardly surprises me.
A few months have passed
Adventure and exploration has made me stronger. My mind has quieted, i am faster and more agile, training and real battle has purified my body so that diseases no longer touch me. The Great Teachers say that put your heart under the sword, and your true potential shall reveal itself. Now i have experienced the truth of this for myself.
I have begun battling the great hunting cats and bears in the forest. They are surprisingly skilled and cunning. Imitating the great cats i have begun ripping the bark of trees, hardening my fingers and nails to fearsome weapons.
Dangerous tendencies
Alas! Spending so much time among these people seems to have left me prone to rash decisions, and dangerous curiosity. On two occasions i have nearly died, spending weeks in a bed at the Seven Sisters, being nursed back to health.
A much later entry, written in a shakier hand than the flowing previous.
The grandness of my idiocy has revealed it self! My curiosity of the arcane arts had me joining a group of adventurers who was to draw a deck of potent magical cards. They even warned me that it could be dangerous, and that they did not know what to expect. I had the feeling it was a bad idea, but went along anyway, unheeding of my masters warning of tempering curiosity and lust for knowledge, with wisdom and forethought.
This was a most unsettling experience. One card produced a hoard of gold. Another i am not sure about, or i do not remember. The third however, left my mind reeling. I felt filthy, evil, and completely uncontrolled. It was as if my masters had caught me doing something horrible, and was looking at me with horror and revulsion. I also seem to recall somthing about a dragon. After that, i fail to recall what happened, until i found myself at the Four Winds inn. |
IG Character: Turandir |
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Journal: Turandir Melhdiw
Posted: 27 Aug 2008 05:36 PM |
Many months later
I have returned to Asashi, after a long time of wandering. The drawing of the cards had put my mind into irreperable chaos.
I recall the masters warned me that my elven origins might leave me prone to sudden changes of heart, or even whimsicalness. I did not consider this much, as the monastery was always quiet and controlled, never truly challenging my dedication. After i went outside for this extended period of time, however, i have been faced many choices, both the serious and the mundane. I have witnessed my own lack of decisiveness. Perhaps these magical cards (a Deck of Hazards it was called, i found out later, by questioning a wizard), was just the last drop to tip me over.
The blessing of The Mother?
I meditated for some months at Elbereths Tears. Though I could no longer find the normal discipline to quiet my mind and meditate as i used to, after a while something happened. The sounds of the waterfalls, birdsong, animals foraging in the underbrush, at first they where mere disturbances. I persisted, trying to forget everything around me, but I continually lost concentration. One day, i gave up completely, and just sat there, listening to it all. Suddenly they all seemed to tune in to one. A harmony in the chaos, somehow. It was as if nature itself spoke to me through these sounds, the wind, and the sun.
The Dryad here, who keeps the place, came and sat beside me one day as i meditated. She said nothing, but after a while she beconed me further down the slopes. As i followed, i came upon a young panther. I do not know how it got there, but i fed it some dried meats, and since then it followed me.
As my experiences grew, i found that i could understand much of the animals communications. Most of them was simple, conveying some emotion or danger, but some could through through a combination of sounds and body movements, convey more than i thought possible by such simple means.
One day i packed my few belongings and left. The cat, who i had named Ecane, followed. It was time to return and face my masters.
I have not yet officially spoken to the masters after my time away, but i will be called any time now. I admit i dread what their reaction will be, when i relate my story. |
IG Character: Turandir |
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Re: Journal: Turandir Melhdiw
Posted: 11 Sep 2008 06:00 PM |
I have spent some time at Asashi now. I feel more as a guest than a resident as time passes. Though having attended the communal meditations, and gone through the old martial forms morning, midday, and evening, my mind cannot find peace.
News has just reached me that Ferein has been attacked by Atalans. It seems war and turmoil is brewing outside the peace of Asashi, and i feel drawn to again be part of the world.
I have grown restless, and begun ranging the forests surrounding Asashi. The Atalan attack against Ferein has made it inaccessible by land. It will be perilous to travel from Asashi, now that one cannot go through Ferein, though i feel my time here is drawing to a close.
The masters have given their reluctant blessing, saying that the answers to all questions lies within. I argued that there has always been Monks that have taken on journeys at one time or another in their training. It was agreed that each must find his own path. I promised to return within a year and a day. Thus i go forth again to see if i can find my peace out in a world of chaos and turmoil.
Having travelled through the mystic woods, i have come to the foot of the slopes of the divider chain. There is rumours of trolls preying on miners and travellers in these parts of the chain, yet i must press on, and try to keep a low profile.
Masters and mountain trolls
It is said that when the student is ready, the master will appear. As i was standing there, entrenched behind a collection of old carts, getting ready to make my peace with Elbereth, a being appeared. He simply wandered in between the trolls, gave them a few hits in choice places, moving in such a way that they were hitting an falling atop one another in short order.
I bowed deep and thanked him. There was no mistaking it. This was one of the great masters of Asashi, one that i had only heard tales of. He proceeded to speak to me of what he called the Empty Way. A path of opening, becoming empty, releasing all thought and emotion.
The masters words hit me hard. This may well be what i have been seeking all along, only in the wrong direction. I have been doing more and more, seeking, searching, getting further entangled in an ever more complex web of thoughts and actions. According to this teacher the solution is in letting all of this go.
Meditating and pondering this subject will take up most of my time from now on. |
IG Character: Turandir |
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Re: Journal: Turandir Melhdiw
Posted: 21 Sep 2008 06:30 AM |
Through sitting in midst of the world meditating on nothing, i have come to many realizations. Many a thing has come under a new light, and i here place them on parchment. These will be written in five different scrolls.
The scroll of Earth
To understand the ways of the earth, on must embody the charitable heart.
Just as Elbereth in her abundance shares her bounty with the world, so should we, her children give of ourselves.
Nohing is truly possessed, just borrowed for a short time from nature.
Thus we should freely give of our borrowed things, indeed of ourselves, as our very bodies are a loan that one time or another must return to the cycle.
Give, and give again, and that which is neccesary for life will be bestowed by nature.
Look upon all with a charitable heart, and heaven will bestow its fruits upon you.
((Credits: This is heavily inspired by Bujinkan shihan Paul Masse who has generously explained the Go Jou to those of simpler minds. Much of what is written in these five posts are rewordings and embellishments to fit the Vives setting)) |
IG Character: Turandir |
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Re: Journal: Turandir Melhdiw
Posted: 21 Sep 2008 06:57 AM |
The scroll of Water
To understand the element of water one must stay on the true path, the righteous path.
Stay aware of yourself at all times, so that you do not fall into the traps of lazyness, avarice, and bad habits.
Do not point a finger at another, placing the blame of your miserable situation. The world is but a mirror of your own heart being reflected back at you from the stillness of calm water. Poking a finger in the water may disrupt the reflection for a while, but it does not change the truth.
Look upon the one who caused you injury as you would a quiet pond, for others are the best mirrors of ourselves.
Indeed, as others may ruffle your surface, you may watch from the quiet of the deeps, following the righteous path, keeping an eye on the reflections on the water for guidance. |
IG Character: Turandir |
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Re: Journal: Turandir Melhdiw
Posted: 23 Sep 2008 03:41 PM |
The scroll of fire
Wear the armour of natural perseverance and its fire will purify your heart and uncloud your vision.
To have the heart of natural perseverance is to not let your vision be corrupted by the unenlightened and the lowly. Endure wound and insult, and let it fuel your inner flame like a fresh breeze. When faced with slander, degredation and outright attack, instead of closing your heart in defense, open yourself fully, encompassing everything in the light of perseverance. For no thing of chaos and darkness can long withstand the light of the fire of perseverance
As training cover your body and soul in sweat and blood, and so will the flame of natural perseverance develop and protect your heart. |
IG Character: Turandir |
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