War of the Plagues

[IrishWonder]

<DIV>Basically, what was it? I assume that it occurred before the attack on Qeynos by the Second Rallosian Army. I think the Bloodsabres were somehow involved... and all those undead isles in the northwest area of Qeynos are a consequence of it all... but I really have no clue what it was, who exactly fought in it, and why. It's an event that I've always took for granted when trying to place things post-EQ but pre-EQ2 into a timeline... using it to judge when other things may have happened... and I started thinking about it today and realized that, although I know it happened, I really have no clue what it was :smileywink:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Anyone have any insight?</DIV>

[Cusashorn]

<DIV>I don't remember any war of the plagues... Can you tell me what reference this is from?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The only thing involving a plague that I can think of was the Three Plagues the bloodsabers unleashed on the Plains of Karana back during the summer of 2001 in EQlive. There was no war though. Not a war with armies, anyway.</DIV>

[Siufu]

It is mentioned in the fifth volume of The Varsoon Collection. You can find it in <a href="http://www.eiwyn.arcanya.com/" target=_blank>Eiwyn's Library</a><p>The story of Varsoon does not end simply with his death many hundreds of years ago. During the War of Plagues, there were many reported rumors of a mysterious mage that led the Bloodsabers, a group of cultists devoted to the worship of the god of disease, Bertoxxulous. The cult is reported to have existed for many hundreds of years, but one day came out of hiding to lay waste to Qeynos during the time of King Antonius Bayle V. </p><p>The War of Plagues raged across the land for a number of years, with neither side gaining ground. Using tactics reserved for only the depraved, the Bloodsabers, under orders of their leader, contaminated the city's water supply. Thousands of innocent people died during the war, and most of the atrocities were blamed on a mage the Bloodsabers called "The Undying." </p><p>"The Undying" was seen at the head of their armies, raining down upon the soldiers of Qeynos all manner of blights. From locusts to oozing miasmas, the Undying was a formidable mage. It didn't take too long for some people to claim that this mage was Varsoon returned to life. </p><p>Using the fear that came with the name Varsoon, the mage began calling himself Varsoon the Undying. His demands against Qeynos were for them to hand over every second child that lived in the city. It seems there was some type of dissension among the Bloodsabers over this demand, which allowed Qeynosian soldiers to gain the upperhand. Soon enough, after a massive battle, Qeynos defeated the Bloodsabers once and for all. Unfortunately, they were never able to find Varsoon the Undying after the battle. </p><p>There are hidden records, however, that we had the privilege of reading. These records tell of a mage's body being found on the battlefield. The mage's body was covered in scar tissue from horrible burns to his entire body. The cause of death was not from fire, however. He had died from nothing more than a simple arrow piercing his heart. Or so they thought, until they noticed that he was still breathing. </p><p>A priest of the Temple of Life was with the party that discovered the body. Being a high-ranking exarch, he knew this man was no ordinary undead soldier. The priest summoned several of his brethren to the body and began to perform a very intricate ritual over the body. </p><p>After several hours, the priests had completed their spells and proceeded to burn the body of the mage until it was nothing than ashes. Rather than letting the ashes be scattered to the four winds, they gathered them into a special container and carried them to a special crypt in the Qeynos Hills. When asked what the ceremony was all about, they explained that it is the only way to prevent a lich from returning to life.</p>It happened during King Antonius Bayle V. A captain named Kane Bayle betrayed Qeynos and help those bloodsabers to infiltrate through the tunnels. You can read the story from the books: <a href="http://lorenorrath.free.fr/read.php?link=martyrtale" target=_blank>A Martyr's Tale</a> and <a href="http://lorenorrath.free.fr/read.php?link=trialkanebayle" target=_blank>From the Trial of Kane Bayle</a>.

[Nocturnal Aby]

<P>There are several references to the War of the Plagues.  I am wondering if it may have been the event that took place in EQ in which the Cult of the Bloodsabers tried to summon some great denizen of Bertoxxulous, or something like that.  The primary documents that support the War of Plagues are:</P> <P><A href="http://lorenorrath.free.fr/read.php?link=trialkanebayle" target=_blank>From the Trial of Kane Bayle</A></P> <P><A href="http://lorenorrath.free.fr/read.php?link=commanderswife" target=_blank>The Commander's Wife</A></P> <P><A href="http://lorenorrath.free.fr/read.php?link=martyrtale" target=_blank>A Martyr's Tale</A></P> <P><A href="http://lorenorrath.free.fr/read.php?link=ignatiacellus" target=_blank>Ignatia Cellus' Family History</A></P> <P>And from Fallsworth, a guard in Nettleville Hovel who is stationed near the Mariner's Bell:</P> <P>Fallsworth says, "The Bloodsabers were an underground cult dedicated to the god of plagues, Bertoxxulous.  They were eradicated after their defeat in the War of Plagues during the Age of Turmoil, so these rumors are to be taken under a bit of skepticism.</P> <P>You ask Fallsworth, "What was the War of Plagues?"</P> <P>Fallsworth says, "During the Age of Turmoil, the War of Plagues spanned over the near entirety of the Qeynos kingdom.  The Bloodsabers had conjured an army of plague-ridden undead soldiers and sent this festoring horde upon the innocents of the kingdom.  An undead knight known then as Lord Grimrot led this invasion.  His thirst for destruction and power was overwhelming.  For a time, it seemed he would be victorious."</P> <P>You ask Fallsworth, "Who was Lord Grimrot?"</P> <P>Fallsworth says, "Lord Grimrot was a powerful undead knight of Bertoxxulous who was notorious for his brutal tyranny in the outer territories of Qeynos.  He wielded an ancient and powerful relic, Pestilence.  This war scythe was said to have been forged on the Plane of Disease and was the source of his power.  The truth to any of this is unknown for the scythe was not recovered with Grimrot's remains."</P> <P>You ask Fallsworth, "How did Lord Grimrot die?"</P> <P>Fallsworth says, "Although the war lasted no more than two months, a great many innocents and noble warriors were lost.  The undead horde, along with Lord Grimrot himself, eventually fell to the might of Qeynos' armies and its valiant and brave people.  Still, so many had been lost and the earth itself had been soiled with the plague carried by the undead."</P> <P>You tell Fallsworth, "But Qeynos obviously recovered, right?"</P> <P>Fallsworth says, "Indeed, the spirit of Qeynos could not be broken and the kingdom moved past the atrocities of the war.  The undead hordes were forced into the earth, buried for all time by the powers of Qeynos' combined priesthood.  However, Qeynos would face yet another mournful loss; the senseless treachery of one of our own was revealed."</P> <P>You ask Fallsworth, "What was this treachery?"</P> <P>Fallsworth says, "Antonious Bayle IV, the then current ruler of Qeynos, had a half-brother, Kany Bayle.  Kane had served as Captain of the Guard for most of Antonious' rule.  Kane's jealousy at his brother's ascension had corrupted his judgment and he had allied himself in secret with the Bloodsabers many years before the war."</P> <P>You ask Fallsworth, "How did Kane's treachery contribute to the loss of lives?"</P> <P>Fallsworth says, "Kane had assured that the armies of Qeynos were spread thin throughout the world before the time of the Bloodsaber's invasion.  When the hordes came, Qeynos was unprepared. Although Kane survived the war, he did not escape the justice of Qeynos.  He was put to death along with the other captured Bloodsabers.  The Bloodsabers had been defeated and forever eradicated from Qeynos, or so it was thought."</P> <P>You ask Fallsworth, "Why do people think that they've come back?"</P> <P>Fallsworth says, "As I've said, there are only rumors floating about regarding the return of a Bloodsaber presence in the catacombs, but our history with the War of Plagues has forced us to handle these rumors with a degree of seriousness.  The Qeynos guard has been into the catacombs numerous times, but we have found no definitive evidence of any such revival."</P> <P>He continues on to cation about venturing into the catacombs. </P> <P>I recall a time in EQ when emotes like, "You get a fever, you nose feels stuffy" and other such emotes would occur on your character, if they were running around in the Plains of Karana.  I also found <A href="http://eqbeastiary.allakhazam.com/search.shtml?id=5190" target=_blank>Lord Grimrot</A> in Allakhazam's EQ bestiary, found among a band of skeletons in South Karana, complete with his lootable scythe, and began looking into the quests involved with him. It seems that there were two versions of Lord Grimrot, the common one was a skeleton that was only around level 30, and was relatively easy.  The rarer version is a human, and is roughly level 35 and is supposedly much tougher.  The quests that he is used in involve killing him, and retreiving his scythe and his heart for a Priest of Life, giving you a sheild.  It seems he (Grimrot) also sends you on a quest to take vengeance on the lover who jilted him, a Gypsy named Arlena who ran away to Castle Mistmoore, unfortunately, she was removed when they revamped that zone, so the quest doesn't work anymore.  The last quest was taking him Trumpy Irontoe's head, as directed by the Necromancer leader of the Bloodsabers.  As I eluded to before...I think the War of Plagues may have been a GM event somewhat early on in EQ (I want to say pre Shadows of Luclin).  It involved running around the Karanas a lot, tracking down runes that, come to find out, the Bloodsabers were using to summon some Plague, or avatar, maybe, I don't recall the details too well, but I seem to remember Al'Kabor being involved.  All I really experienced of it was getting the emotes when running through the Plains of Karana, getting the sniffles and itching, and the like.</P> <P>So theres what I have on the War of Plagues!</P> <P> </P> <P>Edit: Heh, Siufu beat me to it, but my links should provide some more info, and like I said, there's an NPC dialogue, too, think it's from the guard near the docks in Nettleville Hovel, will post back with the useful parts.  Mostly, he's warning you about rumors of Bloodsabers being in the catacombs under Qeynos.</P> <P> </P> <P> </P> <P>Message Edited by Nocturnal Abyss on <SPAN class=date_text>07-04-2006</SPAN><SPAN class=time_text>11:53 PM</SPAN></P><p>Message Edited by Nocturnal Abyss on <span class=date_text>07-05-2006</span> <span class=time_text>01:53 AM</span>

[Saroc_Luclin]

Interesting information. BTW, in EQlive, Mistmore was un-revamped (which is different from being unvamped. <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> ), so Grimrot's ex should be back in the castle again.<div></div>

[IrishWonder]

<P>Wow, there are some major inconsistencies between those two sources (the book mentioned by Siufu and the NPC dialogue mentioned by Nocturnal.) Strange that they should be so inconsistent when they are both from in-game EQ2 lore.</P> <P>- One notes that Antonius Bayle V was the current ruler during the war of the plagues, the other states that it was Antonius Bayle IV.</P> <P>- The guard NPC says the war lasted only a few months... the book claims that it raged on for years.</P> <P>- The Guard seems to remember that Grimrot led the armies... but the book ties that role to Varsoon the Undying (or an undead mage calling himself such.)</P> <P>Is this oversight by the dev team, or are both sources right and wrong in a way? This only confuses the point even more, hehe.</P> <P>Oh... and I think that's de-re-vamped :smileyvery-happy:</P><p>Message Edited by IrishWonder on <span class=date_text>07-05-2006</span> <span class=time_text>07:21 AM</span>

[Saroc_Luclin]

Hard to say. There may be two events. Though I don't remember Grimrot being involved much with the Plague in the Karanas, it's possible. So some of the events being talked about may have been related to the Karanian plague, while later on we get the actual Plague Wars (wiht the new Qeynosian leader).One thing I can't recall; which Bayle is currently leader in EQLive Qeynos? That's the one that would be involved with dealing with the Karana plague after all. (And we know the Bloodsabres are still around and active in Qeynos even after that Plague, so I don't think it's the War mentionned)<div></div>

[Cusashorn]

<DIV>Ahh. So that was it then.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The Plagues of Karana back during 2001 must have been just that.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Mind you, there was never actually any "War" in the traditional sense. It never came down to the bloodsabers fighting the Qeynos guard out in an open field untill the last man stood alive, or anything like that.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>It was more like the "War on Terrorism".</DIV>

[Vhalen]

<P>There appears to be an inaccuracy within the text you refer to as well as one within the words of an npc. </P> <P>Antonius Bayle the V was not the ruler during the War of Plagues; Antonius the IV was the ruler. He is the ruler in EQLive. He showed his great skill as a swordsman and tactician during the final battle of the war.</P> <P>The other contradiction was with the duration of the war, it was a couple years long. The war did not rage as great as any war before it until the final battle in Qeynos, where yours truly fell to the evil horde. The battles that took place before that final one were small skirmishes at strategic locations. These small conflicts were never pieced together as a single war until the true plot was revealed near the final battle.</P> <P>The final battle was comprised of three battlegrounds within the Kingdom of Qeynos. There was a large battle raging in the Thundering Steppes (Plains of Karana.) There was also a large battle in Antonica (Qeynos Hills.) The final battle took place within the walls of Qeynos. Each of these battles had its own commander of legendary and infamous stature. Take a guess at the three. </P> <P>The War of Plagues was a long brewing war that pitted the Kingdom of Qeynos against the evil horde of the Bloodsabers, a society of Bertoxxulous worshipers secretly existing beneath Qeynos and in the borderlands. The Bloodsabers hoped to seize the city of Qeynos for their new world order.</P>

[Dregor]

I miss the Bloodsabers and their sewer lair <img src="/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /><div></div>

[Nocturnal Aby]

<P>Thank you SOOO much for clearing that up, Vhalen!  So was the Plague event in EQ just like one small part of this War of Plagues?  Also, are the generals:</P> <P>Vegalys Keldrane</P> <P>Vargon</P> <P>Borthen</P> <P>Adun</P> <P>Just out of curiosity, heh.  Also curious to know, Vhalen, if you plan on altering those in game sources to fit what actually happened?</P> <P>And, I agree, the Bloodsaber's Shrine to Bertoxxulous was one of the coolest places in the game, imho, much better than what the Dismal Rage got stuck with, but I guess they've upgraded quite a bit since then, haven't they?</P> <P> </P> <P> </P>

[Cusashorn]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Nocturnal Abyss wrote:<BR> <P>Thank you SOOO much for clearing that up, Vhalen!  So was the Plague event in EQ just like one small part of this War of Plagues?  Also, are the generals:</P> <P>Vegalys Keldrane</P> <P>Vargon</P> <P>Borthen</P> <P>Adun</P> <P></P> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>Now that I think about it, I think that they are those specific generals.</P> <P>I remember the quest that the spirit of Vegalys Keldrane gave me in the Crypt of Betrayal. His ghost cannot find rest untill he is assured that his appologies are accepted by 3 of his most trusted men. He said that both through his actions and inactions, he was responsible for thier deaths, even though he never intended for them to happen. He blames himself for thier deaths, even though he probably couldn't have done anything to prevent them.</P>

[Siufu]

There is a EQ2 quest about the <a href="http://eq2.ogaming.com/db/quests/LordGrimrotsScythe.php" target=_blank>Lord Grimrot's Scythe</a>, it give access to the Firemyst Gully. Is this quest related to Lord Grimrot? Or that dwarf just like to get that scythe?

[Cusashorn]

<DIV>Heh. That dwarf only wanted the scythe. Grimrot's history is nothing but a mere afterthought. Lord Grimrot himself certain didn't leave any lasting effects on Norrath, thats for sure.</DIV>

[Siufu]

Codex of War has a <a href="http://www.1stfistoflight.com/html/1fol/everquest/eqcodex/lore/mordavintelase.htm" target=_blank>page</a> about Mordavin Telase leading the bloodsabers. I remember some of the stuffs there are fan fiction or unused beta lore. However, I found this page about a GM event <a href="http://www.planeteq.com/cazicthule/events/001025_mordavin/" target=_blank>Mordavin Telase</a>. So actually Varsoon and Lord Grimrot didn't involved in the War of Plagues.<div></div>

[Cusashorn]

<DIV>Nope. Not in the slightest.</DIV>

[Vhalen]

<P>Without going into too much detail:</P> <P>Lord Valdoartus Varsoon has been around since the Combine Era. He exists only because he was cursed by his undying thirst of arcane knowledge, as so many mad mages are. He is a prime example of the saying, "Be careful what you wish for. It might just come true."</P> <P>Varsoon was instrumental in the War of the Plagues. His participation was not obvious at first, but at the final battle of the war he played a major part. Although he was a major participant within the Bloodsaber plot, he was not involved for the same reasons. His goals are always his own. </P> <P>Lord Grimrot is an evil figure from Qeynos' past. In the Age of Turmoil he was dead and buried. Well, undead and buried. He did play a major role in the War of the Plagues. The thing about Lord Grimrot... his soul always seems to find its way back to the Bloodsabers.</P> <P>Most of the events that are part of the War of the Plagues have not been depicted in EQLive.</P>

[Nocturnal Aby]

<DIV><BR></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Siufu wrote:<BR>Codex of War has a <A href="http://www.1stfistoflight.com/html/1fol/everquest/eqcodex/lore/mordavintelase.htm" target=_blank>page</A> about Mordavin Telase leading the bloodsabers. I remember some of the stuffs there are fan fiction or unused beta lore. However, I found this page about a GM event <A href="http://www.planeteq.com/cazicthule/events/001025_mordavin/" target=_blank>Mordavin Telase</A>. So actually Varsoon and Lord Grimrot didn't involved in the War of Plagues.<BR> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV><BR>The Codex of War has been proven over and over again to be fan fiction, and is not anywhere near official lore.  Very GOOD fan fiction, yes, but most of it is the way some guild leader WANTED things to go, and got very, very upset when Verant (the Sony subsidiary that created and ran EQ for the first few years) didn't do things his way.  Don't trust anything you read in it, most of it is made up, and is not EQ lore.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[Siufu]

But <a href="http://www.planeteq.com/cazicthule/events/001025_mordavin/" target=_blank>this page</a> shown an GM event on Cazic-Thule server in 2000/10. That's why I believe Mordavin Telase really exist.<img src="http://www.planeteq.com/cazicthule/events/001025_mordavin/sighting02.jpg"><div></div>

[Thax]

<DIV>Eww...back when there were only 6 buttons per page...</DIV>

[Dregor]

To this day I still can't make my fingers automatically use a hotkey past 6 <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />  I usually click 7+ with the mouse!<div></div>

[MerlinTKD]

<div></div>I was lucky enough to take part in that GM event on Brell Serilis, with my bard Palsel.The short version is that Velgalys Keldrane stood in Qeynos, then in Qeynos Hills, calling for a number of adventurers to assist him in the name of Qeynos; we were to hunt down the hiding place of Mordavin Telase, leader of the Bloodsabres, who had escaped justice. It seems he had been the mastermind behind the series of plagues that had afflicted the Plains of Karana, Qeynos Hills, and Qeynos itself. He was finally captured, tried, and sentenced, but before he could be executed, he called up an undead army which ran through Qeynos, slaughtering left and right. Telase managed to escape in the confusion.We adventurers followed Keldrane through the Plains, all the way to the Highpass Hold, where we discovered Telase holed up in a cave near the entrance to the High Keep (for those of you familiar with the area, the bandit camp directly opposite the Keep entrance, #5 on <a target="_blank" href="http://www.eqatlas.com/highpassholdmap.html">Muse's map</a>). Keldrane offered Telase mercy, Telase spit in his face, ad we attacked, though Keldrane cautioned we had to take him alive. We did, finally, an Telase was escorted back to Qeynos under guard, where he was reportedly executed at last (though this was never seen).Keldrane led his followers into High Keep, where he passed out rewards... Palsel was fortunate enough to be awarded both The Qeynos Shield (AC 75) and a title, "of Qeynos"!So Telase did indeed exist, for a short time at least; of course, according to Vhalen, these events were not the War of the Plagues... unless perhaps this was one of the seemingly unrelated events that Varsoon was masterminding... hmmm...<div></div>