Atlantic Roleplay Community Boards

[Skylocke]

---

The only illumination dancing upon the dark walls came from a single candle set upon a wooden table. A large, somewhat hunched figure sat on a stool that was too small for his bulk, huddled over piles of parchment, books, pens and ink bottles. The odor of decaying wood had once been a distraction, but Jaggerauth found himself becoming accustomed to it.

He had set two tasks before himself. That is, tasks prodded on by his new keepers. A fleeting thought ran through Jaggerauth's mind; a recent memory, which chilled his spine and made the horns on his head tingle. He was completely and utterly surprised by the dark-clad figured. They moved as the shadows do, and they were upon him before he had time to gather his things and flee. Fear crept along the back of his neck as he remembered, if only briefly, the things that they had done to him. Such monsters!

Jaggerauth cringed in pain at that last thought. One of the runes carved into his skin burned like fire, and he banished the thought as quickly as it came. He could not think that way. Not if he didn't want the pain. No, he would need to keep such thoughts away. He dived back into the task he set before himself in order to avoid any further, wreckless thoughts.

There was a codex set in front of Jaggerauth which guided translation from Gargl to Common and vice versa, which has been his most valuable tool for learning to write in Common. Such a rediculous language! The simple purity of ideas and concepts convoluted with unnecessary pronouns, syntax, structures... So ineffecient. But his masters wanted him to learn it, so that he may learn to read the Entropic Chant. These... necromancers, which they call themselves, were unlike the humans which Jaggerauth had spent much time running from in the upper worlds. They were not human. Or at least not anymore, for some of them. That simple fact both comforted and horrified him. But they shared his general hatred for those pink-fleshed beings, which made him feel more at home. Their magic was unlike anything he had experienced in the Royal City. He would like to learn more about it.

There were two books in front of him, and a number of scrolls. One book was the Entropic Chant, which Jaggerauth wanted to translate into Gargl, and the other book was Kodeks Benomanni, which he carried with him from the Royal City and wanted to translate into Common. He was still in the process of trying to write in Common, so thought it would be best to start by translating the Gargl book into the Common language of this world, and then later translate the Entropic Chant. Perhaps after these tasks, his grasp of Common would be more useful to his masters. He had picked up the vernacular to speak Common, but never bothered to learn to read it. He began his translation, ocassionally stopping after the literal translation to figure out a more idiomatic meaning for the text:

(Actual book can be found in the Royal City)
Kodeks Benommani
The Book of Prosperity

Vas Praetim, vas vidlem naksatilor kalle kodeks ante termur.
Great Past, great seer Naksatilor summoned book into world.
Long ago, the great seer Naksatilor called a book into the world.

Ita rele vastim benommani.
Thus begun an age of prosperity.

Kodeks terle ante terort pritas, terestra re vidle pa lem nesde vasuis.
The book placed no temple shrine singularity, there to begin looked by he/she/it/they require great knowledge.
The book was placed in the Shrine of Singularity to be looked upon by anyone who sought great knowledge.

Vidlem terreg, monle pa nakstilor, juksarkle kodeks ku saeykt grav.
Seer land, lead by Nakstilor, danger-hidden book with protection energy.
The Seer's of the land, lead by Nakstilor, hid the book from danger with protective energy.

Sol lem ad omde vestas trak uis canle terpor ew leg kodeks.
Only he/she/it/they upon scared quest toward knowledge allowed reach and read book.
Only those who went upon a sacred quest to gain knowledge were allowed to reach and read the book.

Ante kodeks skrile pri ben ew ver res kui kuae.
Into book known one well and truth answer anything problem.
The book held the true answer to any problem.

Lem nes sol terpor kodeks, leg lem ew inuislok lemde monuis aptade.
He/she/it/they require reach book, read he/she/it/they and *indecipherable scribble* his/her/it/their lead knowledge properly.
They are required to reach the book, read it, and understand it to properly secure the knowledge.

Ku verinde uis ew ankadsa ski, tu mante est ten un, or, ew us nesle re pos apta via.
With perfect knowldge and infallible knowledge, all remaining are have control, passion, and diligence required to begin after proper course.
With the perfect and infallible knowledge and wisdom, those remaining will have the control, passion, and diligence required to begin the correct path.

Ista est desintas uide murom, ew ita uide zenmur sa per kodeks uisde ew bende.
This is underpinning we and I society, and so our people able function book knowledge and well.
This is the foundation of our society, and thus our people are able to use the book's knowledge properly.

Ista est kuauis kodeks est: re mon gargh zenmur trak ultim benommani.
This is knowledge book is: begin shall lead Gargle people toward ultimate prosperity.
This is why the book exists: to lead the Gargle people to ultimate prosperity.

Jaggerauth put the pen down and looked over his translation. The task of translating had awoken in him his more intellectual desires, which have all but disappeared while running from humans on the world above. These necromancers have given him something he had almost forgotton, the comforts of intellectual persuit. Perhapst hey were not the monsters he had thought at first. The rune carved into his skin did not burn with that thought.
_________________
Sometimes you must lose yourself before you can find yourself.