Fate of the Swifttail Caste...(Monk RP and Lore Question)

[TheKensaiMast]

<div></div><div></div><div></div>Just wondering, from an RP perspective...Could an Iksar decendant and follower of the Swifttail Caste end-up as a monk of the Silent Fist in Qeynos...or were the Swifttails more of a bruiser type?I am just wondering as both Ashen Order from Freeport/Silent Fist from Qeynos and the Swifttails were "monks" in EQ1.  As what I have seen, the Swifttails are no more in EQ2......so logically one would think they would either stay in Freeport and join the Bruisers there or head to Qeynos...Please share your thoughts and ideas...Thanks!<div></div><p><span class="time_text"></span></p><p>Message Edited by TheKensaiMaster on <span class="date_text">04-19-2006</span> <span class="time_text">01:02 PM</span></p><p>Message Edited by TheKensaiMaster on <span class=date_text>04-19-2006</span> <span class=time_text>01:03 PM</span>

[Sartredes]

<P>Or there could be an undiscovered outpost of Iksar where the Swifttails still exist.</P> <P>I think there aspects of the Swifttails in both the Bruiser and the Monk guilds of Freeport/Qeynos. The great thing about being a PC in the game is that your "character" can deviate from a mold.  You could play an Iksar "monk" initiate that found himself stuck in Freeport proceed with the path of the Bruiser for the physical training due to the lack of available Swifttail monk masters.  If at the time in your training you are physically capable of betraying, you find the training/skills of the Monk more to your inclination, you could betray to Qeynos.  You're characters philosophy doesn't really have to change.  As betraying doesn't have to mean your character switches from "Evil" to "Good".  All betraying means is that you're changing allegiences and agree to follow the laws of the city to which you've sworn allegience.  So while the iksar inside may be seething at the proximity of the soft-skins around you from whichever city in which you stay, you endure it as a means to an end.</P>

[Vhalen]

<DIV>All monks share some common needs, spiritual and physical requirements to maintain and progress through the rungs of the martial arts. With no Swifttail Caste dojo, the martial art training halls of either city becomes a desirable institute for any monk. Currently, there are more than two martial art factions in Norrath. The Dreadnaughts and... well... there are others. Maybe someday in the Age of Destiny you will begin to encounter the many martial art disciplines of Norrath.</DIV>

[Dreyco]

  The swift-tails were a breed of their own, and to compare them to either bruisers or monks would be silly, while they do share similarities, the Iksar have always found their own methods to accomplish things.  See below a reference of how the caste was formed.<blockquote><hr><em>As transcribed from the books of the Cabilis historians:</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> It was in the early days of the Sebilisian Empire that the art of fist and tail was forged. In the beginning, the pugilists of the five tribes were nothing more than warriors without weapons. Soon we would forge our bodies into weapons as deadly as any blade of the Legion. Grandmaster Tynn was the father of our disciplines. He came to the Empire from the wilds. Some say he was a wanderer who walked the worlds of Norrath where he formed the basis of our disciplines without being rebirthed into them. He entered Sebilis to form a caste which did not exist, and was quickly challenged by the warlords. He spoke his ideas, but they did not listen. It quickly became apparent that the only way to make them understand was to challenge and defeat their finest in battle. He called for four of the finest warlords and allowed them arms. The warlords agreed, thinking his challenge a source of amusement. Grandmaster Tynn quickly dispatched of the warlords with nothing more than fist and tail. He fought in a way never concieved. His victory earned him much respect, and Emperor Venril Sathir soon commanded him to form the Court of Pain and raise an army of these fighters. Tynn formed the Swifttail Caste. Soon the way of fist and tail had hundreds in its ranks, climbing the rungs. Tynn showed them they were not warriors, but monks. They would don shackles as testament to the Age of Snake when the Iksar were a race enslaved; a reminder of the weakness that they had overcome. Inner strength and harmony were taught. The Swifttails were born. The Swifttails were disbanded during the end days of Sebilis. It was not until the rise of the New Empire under the great Emperor Vekin that the caste did reform. Grandmaster Glox, a former disciple of Tynn, came to Cabilis to rebuild the Court of Pain. In honor of Tynn, all masters now drape themselves in a robe like that he was said to wear.<hr></blockquote>    Inner harmony, worshipped pain, deadly grace.  The Iksarian Swift-tails were formidable warriors indeed, who used the teachings of Tynn to shape their bodies into weapons for their Empire.     Would an Iksarian swift-tail find grace with the Monks of Qeynos? The art seems to differ, regardless of it's basis in inner harmony.     Would an Iksarian swift-tail find lessons from the Dreadnaughts of Freeport? Barbarians, Dark Elves, Ogres, brutes... a swift-tail is hardly a brute.     The knowledge of the caste can only found and learned from by digging deep within the Iksar's history.     Below is another reference to a famous Swift-tail known as Talon Southpaw.<blockquote><hr><em>As transcribed from the books of the Cabilis Historians</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> Talon Southpaw was the fastest pugilist ever to train in the Court of Pain. His speed rivaled that of the great Grandmaster Tynn. He could often be found in the local taverns demonstrating the awesome speeds of his fist and tail. Although already possessing legendary speed with his right arm, the speed of his left arm was not to come to blossom for several decades. Soon after achieving the Rung of Tynn Master, Talon went on a wandering retreat into the dangerous outlands of Kunark. He was not seen for nearly five years. Upon his return to Sebilis he told of his captivity within an ancient fortress of the Iksar now claimed by a rebel band of Sarnak. He survived the intense torture with numerous scars which proved his months of pain. The worst scars were never to be seen. Tallon worn a robe which he never removed. The scars beneath were for no Iksar's eyes. His determination to survive gave him an inner strength no other monk could lay claim to. He returned to Sebilis possessing incredible, almost blinding speed with his left arm. He could tap a foe's arm with his left and strike with the same as if having a third arm! He was indeed a paragon of the Swifttails. All the Empire respected or feared him. None would spar him outside of the taverns: with grog comes stupidity. Upon his death in, Grandmaster Tynn removed his hands in a private ceremony. The fists were then sealed in a canopic which would stay within the Tower of Kurn. His body was destroyed and scattered to the winds as dust.<hr>     With the Court of Pain gone, the teachings of Tynn and his Masters do live on with those who would hold their lessons true to themselves.  To a true Iksar, no master of human flesh could match those of memory.     Blaze your own path, Swift-tail. </blockquote><div></div>

[Cusashorn]

<DIV>The Swifttails believed in pure physical discipline and rigorous training. If some part of your body wasn't hurting on a daily basis, you weren't training hard enough. The highest honor a swifttail could recieve from thier master was a hard kick to the groin. They didn't strive to achieve inner peace through the same ideals of the Ashen Order or Silent Fist,  yet through thier beliefs in Fear and Cazic Thule, they still somehow managed to almost achieve it anyway.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>So this still leaves the question: Are the Swifttails more like monks, or bruisers?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Well, they kinda fall in between.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The Swifttails never showed much faith in keeping a tranquil mind, or learning patience (at least nothing much of that was ever shown anyway.) They also don't have any objection of starting the fight or going out to seek an opponent instead of just fighting in self defence. This doesn't put them very close to monks of the Silent Fist or Ashen Order.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>But, They're methods of training are disciplined. They still train and manage to focus thier bodies into lethal weapons. They still maintained Order within thier own society. From my understanding of Bruiser Ideology, Discipline is not in thier dictionary or vocabulary. They just go out and rough up anything they see. Very Chaotic.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>So with Order in one hand, and Chaos in the other, I believe that the Swifttails would better fall in with the Silent Fist Monks. Physical strength can always be achieved by any means, but to go out of your way to study and train in order to properly use that strength shows that you've already achieved a level of inner peace that a bruiser never can.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[Zabjade]

<font color="#66cc00"><font size="2">I don't know if this will make any diffrence: Ashen Order: Quellious Clan Swiftail: Cazic Thul Slent Fist: Agnostic (on Cazic Thul Server, where agnostism wasn't allowed; Veshan) I apoligize for mispellings. </font></font><div></div>

[Zh]

I would think you could come up with a pretty decent explanation considering the lack of Swifttails. You could say he went to Qeynos and became a monk because he was more disciplined than brutish, or he was in FP as a bruiser for the opposite reason. The character had to make a choice, possibly neither of which he liked the idea of but whichever suited him more.<div></div>

[Cusashorn]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Zabjade wrote:<BR><FONT color=#66cc00><FONT size=2>I don't know if this will make any diffrence:<BR><BR>Ashen Order: Quellious<BR>Clan Swiftail: Cazic Thul<BR>Slent Fist: Agnostic (on Cazic Thul Server, where agnostism wasn't allowed; Veshan)<BR><BR>I apoligize for mispellings.<BR></FONT></FONT> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Uhhhh.. Cazic Thule was a normal PvE server like everyone else. The only server in existance that didn't allow agnostic as a religion was Sullon Zek, in which case all Vah Shir worshipped Tunare, and all Monks who started in Qeynos worshipped Veeshan.

[Vhalen]

<DIV>There are advantages for both the martial arts school that allows the Swifttail into their training hall as well the Swifttail that enter into such a union. Secrets of both ancient styles can be traded and developed into new arts. For the Swifttail, he can develop his art into something greater, an art that may even match his delusion of invincibility. For the gracious order of monks or brawlers, they can learn the secrets of the ancient art of Fist and Tail to develop new techniques. In a sense, they both win in such a union, but it does not go without difficulty. <BR> <BR>The Swifttail are fiercely competitive and will not back down from any opportunity to display the dominance of their art in combat. They often create conflict or enter chaos with the sole purpose to prove their dominance. They have no need to test it; it is supreme, (in their minds). Any organization that allows them, even organization that are not schools of the martial arts, also allows the conflicts that accompany a Swifttail.<BR> <BR>As for the Swifttail Caste, I know where they are and what they are up to in the wilds of Kunark. They are an order that has overcome many hardships and they now face their greatest threat. Hopefully, all you lost Swifttails will find your way back to the Court of Pain someday and begin your journey of rediscovery.<BR></DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[Sartredes]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Vhalen wrote:<BR> <DIV>There are advantages for both the martial arts school that allows the Swifttail into their training hall as well the Swifttail that enter into such a union. Secrets of both ancient styles can be traded and developed into new arts. For the Swifttail, he can develop his art into something greater, an art that may even match his delusion of invincibility. For the gracious order of monks or brawlers, they can learn the secrets of the ancient art of Fist and Tail to develop new techniques. In a sense, they both win in such a union, but it does not go without difficulty. <BR> <BR>The Swifttail are fiercely competitive and will not back down from any opportunity to display the dominance of their art in combat. They often create conflict or enter chaos with the sole purpose to prove their dominance. They have no need to test it; it is supreme, (in their minds). Any organization that allows them, even organization that are not schools of the martial arts, also allows the conflicts that accompany a Swifttail.<BR> <BR>As for the Swifttail Caste, I know where they are and what they are up to in the wilds of Kunark. They are an order that has overcome many hardships and they now face their greatest threat. Hopefully, all you lost Swifttails will find your way back to the Court of Pain someday and begin your journey of rediscovery.<BR></DIV> <DIV> </DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE>Nice.  Verification that Kunark, in some form, survived the shattering.  Now what would their greatest threat be?  The Sarnak?  The dragons of Kunark? The return of Venril Sather? Or maybe something more internal, like infighting between the iksar necros and monks?  Hmmm...speculation gone wild!<BR>

[IrishWonder]

<DIV><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> <BR> <BR>As for the Swifttail Caste, I know where they are and what they are up to in the wilds of Kunark. They are an order that has overcome many hardships and they now face their greatest threat. Hopefully, all you lost Swifttails will find your way back to the Court of Pain someday and begin your journey of rediscovery.<BR> <DIV> </DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Aww sooky, Kunark lives on. I bet Phurzikon finally spawned, and was more powerful than anyone could have imagined.</DIV>

[BrownDogLongTong]

Like the original poster, I'm having a hard time trying to decide where I would fit in the best. Its obvious the Iksarian martial arts take the best of both the Monk and Bruiser world to be far superior to the rest, its a shame we have to pick between 2 lesser sides...<div></div>

[Cusashorn]

<DIV>Except that they arn't superior.... >_></DIV>

[TheKensaiMast]

Which brings me to my next problem.<BR><BR>I have decided to follow and stay within the walls of Qeynos, for now.<BR><BR>However, I am wondering now, from a RP perspective, could I still follow Cazic Thule and be allowed to live in Freeport or would I technically be kicked out?<BR><BR>Another words, do I need to change my beliefs and if so how would this effect my status as a Swifttail.   Based on lore and everything I have read, it appears all Swifttails follow Cazic Thule.  YET,  there being a monk and philosophy wise it points to something else.  They HAVE NO FEAR!!  Having fear is part of the worship of Cazic Thule, however, because that makes you respect him through your fear for him (and that he only lets those who do fear in his name and fear him live).  So what do we have here ?  <BR><BR>They also seem to have a blend of the inner peace granted through worship of Quellious, even though they don't worship her.<BR><BR>Its just that they get their inner peace and balance from a different source - pain and suffering...survival of the fittest.<BR><BR>I could really use help again from all you EQ Lore Keepers and Philosophers please.<BR><BR><FONT color=#ff0000>Here is somemore lore:</FONT><FONT color=#ff0000><BR></FONT><FONT color=#ff0000><BR></FONT> <P><FONT color=#ff0000><I>"Welcome to pain, young Swifttail..." -- Master Niska</I></FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#ff0000><B>Introduction</B></FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#ff0000>The Swifttail Caste of the Iksar holds a powerful place in Iksar history. They, along with the warriors that now make up the Troopers of the city of Cabilis, are the oldest caste of the Iksar, far predating the Necromancers who now control the city through fear, and the Greenbloods and Scaled Mystics, who use their religion to bring unity to the people.</FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#ff0000>Unlike these groups, the Swifttails, the Monks of the Iksar, provide a foundation for the Iksar. Their ways have remained unchanged for centuries. They still believe, as is written in one of the most ancient Iksar texts, that through pain and self-sacrifice, a Swifttail can achieve higher personal strength and, through that strength, help all Iksar.</FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#ff0000>Even today, the Swifttails remain, in many ways, separate from the rest of Iksar society. Being reborn into the caste means that you forsake all your prior personal history. You are no longer known by your birth name, but instead by one you choose for yourself, one that symbolizes your inner strength. They don't engage in the political struggles that the other castes engage in for the control of Cabilis. The silence of Grand Master Glox is all that meets the other castes' messengers.</FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#ff0000><B>Why are you Superior?</B></FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#ff0000><I>"You feel that? The pain you feel now will one day lead to strength." -- Master Raksa</I></FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#ff0000>The Swifttail is one of the most feared warriors in Kunark and in the world. They have no fear, and in fact relish pain as the path to greater strength. They have all of the strengths of their human counterparts, but have two additional ones that the humans don't possess. One is </FONT><FONT color=#ff0000><B>regeneration</B></FONT><FONT color=#ff0000>. With regeneration, the Swifttail can recuperate quickly from a battle and fight more. The other is </FONT><FONT color=#ff0000><B>infravision</B></FONT><FONT color=#ff0000>, which allows them to see at night and in dark places that the humans can not. They are also able to forage, which allows them to go far afield for extended periods without needing to return to society. Indeed, there are many legends of ancient monks who were lost in battle, only to be found years later alive and well.</FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#ff0000><B>Your Weaknesses</B></FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#ff0000><I>"Know your weaknesses more than your strengths, as they will more likely be the end of you." -- Master Bain</I></FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#ff0000>The Swifttails have few weaknesses, but they are important to note. For one, all Iksar are shunned by almost every other creature in the known world. Our kind is deemed unnatural to the races from Antonica and Faydwer, for they see our scales as meaning we bear kindred to their feared snakes. The inhabitants of our own continent hate us, as most of them have ancient, inbred fears from our domination in times past. Walk with an eye to the horizon, for most that you see there is your enemy.</FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#ff0000>Our other major weakness is that, due to the nature of our skin and our need for heat radiation through it, we are unable to wear armor that most other beings find tolerable, that made of plates of solid metal. We are able to wear, at most, armor made of links that allow air to move through them, or else we overheat readily in the jungles and swamps.</FONT></P> <P>Message Edited by TheKensaiMaster on <SPAN class=date_text>04-25-2006</SPAN> <SPAN class=time_text>01:58 PM</SPAN></P> <P>Message Edited by TheKensaiMaster on <SPAN class=date_text>04-25-2006</SPAN> <SPAN class=time_text>02:00 PM</SPAN></P><p>Message Edited by TheKensaiMaster on <span class=date_text>04-26-2006</span> <span class=time_text>05:25 AM</span>

[Zh]

I think you're mixed up, lol. Iksars start in FP and so The Faceless is quite allowed there. Of course I myself have an Iksar Ranger so I went over to Qeynos but the outdoor room of my 3 roomer is a shrine to Cazic-Thule.As far as the Swifttails having fear or not, I'd say that they may not be afraid of much other than Cazic-Thule himself. However they could also show thier strength by causing fear in those lesser than them. Spreading fear in the name of The Faceless is likely something the god would enjoy. As said here: <font color="#ff0000">The Swifttail is one of the most feared warriors in Kunark and in the world. <font color="#ffffff">Which I think says it quite nicely. I would also say of course they fear The Faceless. I'm sure if they decided not to that he'd find a way to make them afraid.Anyway, I'd say you can any route you want. Maybe if you go to Q to be a monk instead of a bruiser you just secretly worship Cazic-Thule, as I do in a designated private room of your home =D</font></font><div></div>