CoE Signature Quest History and Lore Goodies (Spoilers)

I ran through the new signature quest this week and found many, many tid bits of history and lore that could be useful for discussion. Here are just a few:

1) Two of the forces that are influencing/corrupting Drinal in the Ethernere are: Rallos Zek (recently deceased in EQ2) and Cazic Thule (recently deceased in EQ1). This is an interesting alignment between the worlds of EQ1 and EQ2 that we haven't seen in quite some time with 2 distinct Cazic Thules at odds.

2) Wegadas, original leader of the Takish'Hiz elves in the old Jaggedpine Valley, has interesting things to say.

3) Madyl D'Lareth, former Unkempt Druid, is there.

4) The Drinal Steward has an interesting history with Erollisi Marr.

5) The Monoliths of Theer finally begin to appear.

6) Wurmbone was a secret dragon necropolis.

7) Chelsith was larger than what we knew.

8) The origin of the combine spires may be in question...

9) Venoz Tarkog, original guild leader of the Dismal Rage, has a part to play.

10) Oligar of the Dead was known by another name when leading many to their death in the Deserts of Ro.

11) There's a former Stormguard commander in Cardin Ward who has an interesting story to tell about the War of the Fay and a familiar chest.

I'm sure there are some that I've forgotten and I didn't even do the side quests, only the signature quests.

we knew the Steward's story from a while back when we were learning Ully's connection to E.Marr as a mortal.

we know that Rallos is the reason, it seems, that Ethernere continues to be cut off from the planes of influence. Dreadcutter was the EQ version of Charon's raft across Styx. thanks to the Rallosians overtaking it, no one can leave Ethernere even if the connections to the planes have been reestablished. Or at least no one can leave via Obol Plains.

the Monoliths were present before. supposedly the large hanging stones in Drusshk's room where Monolith's of Theer. there are 13 of them total. so I think there were 4 in Druushk room, and the sig line reveals 3-4 more.

Jenni Everling is there. and looking for her sisters/mother. supposedly Melanie Everling is in Harrow's End..but what she's doing there isn't known I don't think.

Harrows End is where you go to broker a deal with Drinal as a mortal...it's also his personal prison/torture chamber for those that break a deal with him.

Here is what I don't understand:

(SPOLIERS)
Why is it we need to cut off Drinal from the Ethernere in the end of the signature series if we sent Rallos's spirit into the void and sent EQ1 Cazic back into EQ1's dimension?

And even after we wake him up from his daze and influence from the forces of fear and war, why would the wake up and return to his senses only been momentary?

Have fear and war had a permanent effect on Ethernere?

Ok, two very powerful beings try to regain their godly powers by usurping the now mighty and soul-infused plane of Ethernere. They both start converting the plane to mimic Fear or War. Drinal who is now directly linked to the plane starts to take on these personality traits as his plane is converted. He also takes on the two dieties lust for power.

Setting us up to seperate Drinal from the Ethernere allows us to see that this process works, but that it won't be as easy as taking one of Drinal's ultra-powerful minions and going for a short walk. This is a set up for the heroic and finally epic fights where you ( I assume) finally purge Drinal of War and Hate and really begin to heal the Ethernere. The minion even gives you the advice that he'll help you because you didn't bring an army (hint: army means raid force).

Ok, so the answer to my last question is a Kinda, but irreversible.

it's more like Fear and War have already highly infected Ethernere. Ogres/Rallosians taking over Dreadcutter, becoming highly agressive. the 'Fearcreep' is actually converted portions into PoFear via the EQ1 Caziv trying to pull EQ2 Cazic in to assimilate him. all we really do in the sig line is cut off Rallos' ability to physically manifest himself, and Cazic's ability to pull on EQ2 Fear plane. both of which basically amount to making sure things can't get worse, but don't take care of what's already happened.

Drinal and Ethernere are now completely linked, like any God to a Plane. the infection of one, infects the other. all you do at the end of the sig line is sever that link for a few brief moments. The plan was that it would sever him long enough for him to be able to establish a foothold/fight back. but Drinal hasn't been a god very long, and he's fighting a fight against two of the oldest and most powerhungry Gods. Drinal himself probably doesn't know all that he's capable of. All he gets to do is clear his head, undo some of the damage he's done, and realize that things are not going well before the Plane reconnects to him, and Rallos/Cazic gang up on him again.

We can only assume that the Raid version (HM at that prolly) has you forcibly remove the essences of Rallos and Cazic from Drinal and thus Ethernere.

I'm perty sure in the sig line we kick Rallos out of the Ethernere and into The Void so he is physically removed from the plane. Cazic is still in the Ethernere but his link to EQ2 is (temporaraly?) severed.

The forces of War are still in Ethernere and remember Rohen Theer returned from the Void as did Anashti-Sul. Rallos is easially not gone. As per Cazic and Cazic; technically EQ1 Cazic (assuming that is indeed what the "other dimension" refers to) Is still in Ethernere.

Drinal is a new-god and quite weak whereas Rallos and Cazic are almost Elder Gods by their age the only god who rivals their age really is Prexus. I hope that updates add quests and new tiers to Etherenere at the very least because as is... there are no Heroic or Raid quests to defeat the revitalized minions of Cazic or Drinal. Venekor said he would return and as I said Rallos could easily break from the void as Rohen Theer did.

According to EQ mythology age wise The Nameless is the oldest, followed by the Elemental Dieties. Prexus is a god of influence, like Veeshan and the rest. As for who is older than who out of the Gods of Influence there is a lot of talk about which ones are relative newcommers. We don't know who is the eldest otherwise.

we banish a part of him into the Void. the part that was able to physically manifest. Rallos infected Ethernere..corrupted Drinal...but he needed his own form to 'fully' become a god. Right now he and Cazic both are more like parasites attached to Drinal. We stopped Rallos' ability to manifest. when you talk to Gulgotha, he says that Caizc of EQ1 is pulling in the PoFear from EQ2 in an attempt to bring the Cazic we know into Ethernere and consume him/merge with him. we stop that by closing down the Fear Gate link between the planes. All we do is stop things from getting worse. the Raids probably have cut scenes that will show Rallos/Cazic being expelled from Drinal and ultimately sent to the Void or wherever gods go when they die....or maybe Drinal will 'absorb' them and balance himself out with our help to give him a fighting chance.

The portal to Luclin has been found. You find a researcher inside the new Chelsith who was playing with a piece of Luclin stone and was ported into Chelsith through the portal.

I actually had the first kill on Heroic Drinal on my server and that seems to cure him. He talks about being fine again and he sends you out to help the rest of the Ethernere because there is still alot of corruption. You also get a title for beating Heroic Drinal if you've completed the signature quest already.

One little interesting Tidbit is a lost Traveler in the new Chelsith Dungeon. he was on his way to Erudin(Either that or Odus in general) from Luclin! so there is either life in the Shards of Luclin or more likely he was trapped in the teleportation network for 500+ Norrathian Years.

actually luclin only blew up like 50 years ago. it very well could be that he's simply been there for 50 years.

The traveler makes a comment along the lines of the portal looking older though so I believe the theory about him being trapped in the network makes more sense.

Don't forget, the Nexus was disabled BEFORE Luclin blew up. It's all part of the "Tome of Destiny" lore. The gods had a meeting and decided to do something to disrupt the unity among Mortals so that they would be less capable of attacking them and the Planes. In the third chapter soldiers from the Plane of Tactics assaulted the Nexus and disabled it. The time frame between the Nexus being disabled and Luclin blowing up is unclear.

http://lorenorrath.free.fr/read.php?link=destiny3

Lets see, by the time of the War of the Fay the Nexus was shut down. I think the lore goes something like teleportation stopped working during the invasion as the Thexians seemed suprised they couldn't teleport home. Not sure about that though.
The Second Rallosian Army had to arise after this, because the final conflict happened only a few years before the Rending occured. The Rending prevented some of the forces from the battle that stayed to help with rebuilding from returning home.
The Shattering only happened at most 50 years ago. That puts about 400-200 years between the Nexus shutting down and the Shattering.

I think it was mentioned in the story leading up to Odus, that yes, the Rending was way before the shattering, but that generations had come and gone before El'Arad showed up. the Nexus/Luclin was still whole, just didn't work. El'Arad combined Paineel/Erudin into a united force, and started on the Quelthulian Spire network.

the Deepwater knights didn't approve of alot of his methods (such as basically disbanding them and most military to become workers at the 'new' Nexus) and there was an Erudite scholar that found out the real plan and confronted the Council/El'arad on it but was dismissed. He claimed that the results/conclusions were wrong because of the Nexus on Luclin not being taken into account.

El'Arad continues his plan...the New Nexus is activated, and the Great Feedback occurs, from the new nexus 'accidentally' trying to synch up/add to the Luclin Nexus. the Feedback creates a huge magical blowout. this blow out alters the physical appearance of most the Erudite race, it mentally barrages many that aren't physically changed making them OCD over the acquisition of knowledge, and sends Odus into Ultera...and supposedly is the trigger that detonates/destroys Luclin which is called the Shattering. (either by the Luclin nexus blowing up form the feedback, or a similar magical 'blowout' detonating the Dresolisk Stone)

A fairly good argument can be made that the activation of the Quelthulian Spire Network can't be the trigger. In one of the quest lines a scholar claims they have been in Uteria for "100 cycles". If a cycle is a year, then they arrived in Uteria 50 years before the Shattering. You could make arguments that a cycle isn't a year (so how long is it?), or that time flows differently in Uteria. I feel that cycle was used specifically to confound us actually. It gives the devs another chance to dodge arguments that link bits of Lore together.

Either way they have been in Uteria long enough to rebuild paineel. Also...they have been fighting off the void invasion for at least 50 years. That sounds...incredibly dumb. Sure the force sent against the Nexus is small, but you'd think attrition would work into it on both sides. Maybe the invasion is an on and off kind of thing? Dunno.

I had forgotten, however, even before Luclin exploded the spires had been rendered dormant for a very long period of time.

The following is from EQ1 lore. However it refers to incidents that happened far before the time split so it's lore should also be relevent to EQ2's timeline. It talks about the Unkempt Warders (which are a faction opposed to the Unkempt Druids) and the Unkempt Woods (located to the East of the JaggedPine Forest, and never made it into EQ Live).
Vhalen also confirmed in a post on the old forums that the Unkempt Woods survived the Rending, (but again, never made it into EQ2 either).
It discusses the Valley of the Dawn (a part of SubTunaria, (which in turn was that part of the Underfoot beneath Antonica) and the races of the Lujien and the Gihjna (Gehein?) and the founding ot the Unkempt Warders by Wegadas.
My question is what happened to the Gihjna?

The Unkempt Warders: Volume I

This work details a little of the unknown ancient legends and history of the Unkempt Warders. All the text is factual, though many parts of this history are missing. The Writ of the Wild, the ancienttome from which I gathered much of this information, is lost to me and the world for now. I give this warning and note to all who read these words: Do not use this information as a catalyst to pursue the Unkempt Woods, or the people who dwell there! This work is done out of fervent respect for the Unkempt People and the Bestial Folk who have called this region home since before the time of the Elves. Their story is great, and one that should not go unheard. Do not disturb these unique people who have mastered the true harmony of existence within the natural order of birth, destruction, chaos, and order!

In any case, those who dare to trek within the Unkempt's territory will find themselves greeted with passionate virulence! Even if you believe yourself one of the purest Druids of the Mother of All's modern following, the woods are not a domain for you to dwell. Leave it be--for your sake and for the sake of the last pure forest to grace the face of Norrath since the destruction of the Elddar!

~Anonymous

The Unkempt Wood

The Valley of the Dawn

Nestled in ancient mystery and untold secrecy, within the topmost regions of the Underfoot, beneath the Unkempt Woods, resides a mystic place known as the Valley of the Dawn. This haven of the Wilding Beast-Folk was constructed in the unknown past, and concealed from the Keepers of Norrath's history by the blessings of chance.

The Valley of the Dawn was constructed before the time of Man; perhaps even before the time of the Elves. The Beastial Folk known as the Tribes of the Dawn and Moon, took haven on the surface of Norrath; comfortable and nestled within the confines of the dank, dark, and strangely beautiful redwood forest now known as the Unkempt Woods. As the Solar and Lunar tribes established themselves as fierce warriors and guardians of the natural world that they revere as sacred above all else, the tribes built The Valley of the Dawn--a complex and beautiful subterranian citadel dedicated to the Laws of the Wild that these beings protect.

Within the First Era of Man, when great civilizations and cultures were still in the far distance of time, a nomadic tribe of Humans stumbled upon the redwood forest. The Tribes of the Dawn and Moon were curious, although they did not interfere with the Human's initial presence. When the Humans had shown themselves to be intelligent beings that wished for nothing other than their own survival, the Tribes approached.

It was the Gihjna that the Humans first encountered-- the Ursine Behemoths who represent the side of Life and Creation within the Cycle of Nature, and who comprised the Tribe of the Dawn. The gentle, although wary, Gihjna interacted with the Human tribe over the course of a single year, and in that time, the Gihjna lent their knowledge and beliefs to the curious and eager Humans.

The Lujien--the Wolf-Like creatures that embodied Destruction, Death, and inherent Chaos of the Wild, and who comprise the Tribe of the Lunar Tribe of the Moon--never did show themselves at this historic moment, despite their shared curiosity with their Ursine brethren.

The nomads settled within the forest and adapted themselves to the Ways of Nature and the Wild as the Gihjna had taught them. They were fledgling in their beginnings as Primordial Wardens of the Wild, although their magical gifts were few and almost vulgar, for all they had learned was from the Gihjna, whose spirits are more tightly bound to the Natural World than any Human or Elf.

The Unkempt Wardens: Volume II
A generation would pass before the Elves of Tunaria would first find the majestic redwood forest. When the day arrived that a small band of Scouts from the Elddar Forest found the untouched beauty of this rugged wilderness, the Human Nomads reacted as the Gihjna had greeted their ancestors. The Elves were not receptive to the warm welcome that the Humans extended, all but one--an Elf Druid by the name of Wegadas. He was curious about the Human settlers, and even more curious to find that there were no man made structures to deteriorate the Life Force of the Forest that he felt so strongly.
Wegadas accepted the Human's hospitality and despite the language barrier separating them, Wegadas quickly learned that these Humans were in harmony with the Forest, and likely had been for some time. Their intense geographical knowledge of the region was percise and what little bit Wegadas had to observe. He took notes of the harmony in which the Humans shared their habitat. He was reminded much of the Primordial Elves--in the time before Takish'Hiz and the establishment of the Great Empire his people had come to be.
Wegadas' Elven companions were entranced with the dank, gloomy treasure they had found. They were lured by the gentle song of the Forest's Spirit, a song that any Elf's Spirit would easily hear, and bewitched by the purity and strength of the uncorrupted and untouched Spiritual Life and strength of the wood.
After a day of intense scouting and breif interaction with the peaceful Human tribe, the Elves reunited with their brother and spoke of their need to have this forest for the Takish'Hiz Empire. Wegadas spoke out against his fellow Elves, he did not wish to drive the Humans from their home, for they lived with it in a way parallel to the Elves own cultural ways. He felt that the Humans could be brought to the ways of the Elves and the Forest could, with the aid of the Elven Empire, thrive on it's own and remain the pure emerald jewel of the wilderness that they stood within. There was no need to reave this home for the Tribe, for they lived only in harmony with thw Wild and Balance of Nature.
The Superior in the group, a Wanderer by the name of Kuvriathan, objected to Wegadas' argument and sent him back to the Takish'Hiz with instructions to report their discovery. The Druid departed his party's side obediently, but did not leave the Forest boundries.
The Elves then tried to herd the Humans out of the Forest in an attempt to cleanse it of the Tribal presence and the taint they believed that the Humans would inevitably bring--for these Elves had seen the fledgling foundation of the Eastern Coastal Cities, and knew the destruction this race was capable of on a whim. The wary Gihjna and Lujien immediately interfered, having watched the Elves since their arrival.
Unsuspecting of the fierce and powerful Guardians of the Woodland, the Elves were taken unaware. All but one of the Elven party were destroyrd--Wegadas. When the Lujien came for him, he presented himself unarmed and willingly, despite the Human pleas for him to go and not incur the wrath of the Guardians that had allowed them haven in the woods. The Lujien halted their advancement when they saw the plight of their accepted Human guests to spare the Elf's life.
It was their Pack-Leader, an Elder Lujien warrior known to the Human Tribe as Udos-Ehai-Digowa (Fang of the Shadow in the common tongue), that approached Wegadas and sank his great maw into the Elf's shoulder, but did not kill him. The Lujien spoke in voiceless words to the Elf, a conversation that would later be written in the Writ of the Wild, a sacred text that dictates the history and code of the Unkempt Wardens.