The Antonican Combine Spires

[Zabjade]

<p><span style="color: #00cc00">At best guess I think they are somewhere northeast of the Thundering Steppes going roughly by where the old Splitpaw claws appear to be, somewhat east of township of Dead River Docks <i>(Sorry in my mind the docks are a port town)</i></span></p><p><span style="color: #00cc00">I was curious as I planned on having one of my characters from that part of the old Kanara's  possibly a small town that set up there as a Gatewatch before the Rending and Shattering I planned to have the area a sinking bog with the town on stilts.</span></p><p><span style="color: #00cc00">However I would love to hear any Lore the Vhalen might have on the subject that would correct any or all of my assumptions.</span></p><p><span style="color: #00cc00">That reminds me they could easily expand the Steppes  ocean south and have an floating Aviak town. </span></p>

[Allisia]

I don't think the current entrance to Splitpaw is in the same location as the old one. I'm not sure there are any landmarks in the Thunderrring Steppes that you can connect back to the old Karanas. Neither of the infamous bridges survived, nor do we have any information about the location of the Combine Spires you are referring to. The aviak roost is no more. Two druid rings are also missing (East Karana and North Karana). I really can't find any concrete ties to connect the two time periods. On a related note, who stole all the elephants from the Karanas and dropped them in D'Lere? Lucan's Ark? <img src="/smilies/385970365b8ed7503b4294502a458efa.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Cusashorn]

Antonican Coalition Spires? What are you talking about?

[Allisia]

I believe he means the Combine spires.

[Siogai]

Well... the problem is, to put the current Splitpaw where the old Paw used to be... you'd have to flatten everything from the EK Ramp on down, turn the river around (since it used to run East/West), sink the Aviak city (isn't there a drowned forest off the southern end of TS? I'll have to look again), and get rid of the zone from there to Lake Rathetear and the Rathe Mountains, which are now under water, apparently. With the mountains that are there now, though, it'd be pretty easy to fanfic something into a hidden valley somewhere.

[Lodrelhai]

Arrex@Kithicor wrote: <blockquote>I don't think the current entrance to Splitpaw is in the same location as the old one. I'm not sure there are any landmarks in the Thunderrring Steppes that you can connect back to the old Karanas. Neither of the infamous bridges survived, nor do we have any information about the location of the Combine Spires you are referring to. The aviak roost is no more. Two druid rings are also missing (East Karana and North Karana). I really can't find any concrete ties to connect the two time periods. On a related note, who stole all the elephants from the Karanas and dropped them in D'Lere? Lucan's Ark? <img src="/smilies/385970365b8ed7503b4294502a458efa.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> </blockquote>The stone thorns/claws outside Splitpaw seem to be a pretty good landmark indication to me.  In 'The Trials of Sir Morgan' state that "The figure of evil step foot upon a mound surrounded by titanic thorns, like talons or a great maw rising from the ground," which sounds to me like the mound Splitpaw was underneath.  While re-enacting Sir Morgan's trials, you face the 'figure of evil' in the pool between the Splitpaw thorns.  Admittedly, they're not nearly so widespread as they were in pre-Shattering Norrath, but then, they're not surrounding a mound anymore either.  Possibly the collapse of the mound/of Splitpaw created a sinkhole which drew the land over it in?

[Zabjade]

<span style="color: #00cc00">That is my thoughs on the matter as well, and Yes I meant the Combine Spires, I think I had a Trinity d10 RPG Flashback when I was thinking Coalition. </span>

[Vhalen]

<p>A small city did rise at the spires, a great fortress city of Qeynos. It was named Bridgekeep. Within the Age of Destiny, the smaller bridge in Thundering Steppes bears that name, constructed in honor of the first. The original Bridgekeep was primarily a military keep of large proportions. This was the headquarters of the Tower Watch Division of the Qeynos Guard. The walls extended out to contain the massive architecture of the Combine Spires that rest nearby. </p><p>Unfortunately, we lost those spires during the Age of Cataclysms. Unlike the majority of the Thundering Steppes, the great spires did not fall to the Rending. It was during the Shattering that the spires were lost. Scholars suggest that they have been swallowed up by the Underfoot, because not trace of the spires could be found undersea.</p><p>There were other notable villages within the Plains of Karana. Such places as the barbarian governed village of Coldwind Shores provided great protection for the residents of Karana. There was also places like Thunderhoof, North Village, South Village, Sowlin Farms and Cyclops Keep. There was even Miller's Ranch, but I doubt the residents around there were as secure as other villages.</p>

[Zabjade]

<p><span style="color: #00cc00">I think I remember the Millers they had adopted a Gnoll and an Ogre and had them working on the farm...They seemed to have some trouble with Scarecrows if I recall.</span></p><p><span style="color: #00cc00">Hmmmmmmmmm So the combine spires got blasted by a chunk of Luclin... which means Bridgekeep was likely leveled as well. Was that 5 or 15 years before the "Start" of Everquest II, that slips my memory.</span></p><p><span style="color: #00cc00">Wait? Is the Bridgekeep in the Thundering Stepps all that remains of the Town of Bridgekeep <i>(North Karana)</i>? If so that means that the spires location is just over the ridge to the <strike>right</strike>  <b>LEFT</b> once you cross the bridge coming from Qeynos....It would explain the lack of buildings there...perhaps it's time to rebuild.</span></p><p><span style="color: #00cc00">that means some of that Carbonite might I mined and made into Jewelery might have once been part of the spires?</span></p>

[Cusashorn]

<cite>Zabjade wrote:</cite><blockquote><p><span style="color: #00cc00">I think I remember the Millers they had adopted a Gnoll and an Ogre and had them working on the farm...They seemed to have some trouble with Scarecrows if I recall.</span></p><p><span style="color: #00cc00">Hmmmmmmmmm So the combine spires got blasted by a chunk of Luclin... which means Bridgekeep was likely leveled as well. Was that 5 or 15 years before the "Start" of Everquest II, that slips my memory.</span></p><p><span style="color: #00cc00">Wait? Is the Bridgekeep in the Thundering Stepps all that remains of the Town of Bridgekeep <i>(North Karana)</i>? If so that means that the spires location is just over the ridge to the right once you cross the bridge coming from Qeynos....It would explain the lack of buildings there...perhaps it's time to rebuild.</span></p><p><span style="color: #00cc00">that means some of that Carbonite might I mined and made into Jewelery might have once been part of the spires?</span></p></blockquote>I dont think the spires were made of Carbonite, especially since they were made of stone.

[Zabjade]

<p><span style="color: #00cc00">Really? You mean I've been making Jewelery from plants and animals? <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> I know they were made from stone. A lot of stone will have raw metal in it and it won't always look like metal until smelted and metal comes from stone last I heard. <img src="/smilies/97ada74b88049a6d50a6ed40898a03d7.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></span></p>

[Cusashorn]

But the combine spires' material was magic. The stones in Thundering Steppes dont emanate a magic aura.

[troodon]

<cite>Zabjade wrote:</cite><blockquote><p><span style="color: #00cc00">Really? You mean I've been making Jewelery from plants and animals? <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> I know they were made from stone. A lot of stone will have raw metal in it and it won't always look like metal until smelted and metal comes from stone last I heard. <img src="/smilies/97ada74b88049a6d50a6ed40898a03d7.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></span></p></blockquote><p>Carbonite has the name of a mineral (a fictional one, but a mineral none-the-less).  A stone will have normally minerals in it, but mineral =/= stone.</p><p>If the spires were made of carbonite (assuming carbonite is the name of a mineral) then the whole structure would be crystalline, since a crystalline structure is one of the defining characters of any mineral. </p>

[Zabjade]

<span style="color: #00cc00">Where do you think the glowing <i>(Et all)</i> stones come from, even a magical material has to have a base substance.</span>

[Pyrrhx]

Bridgekeep sounds alot like Forkwatch from Eqoa.

[Zabjade]

<cite>troodon wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Zabjade wrote:</cite><blockquote><p><span style="color: #00cc00">Really? You mean I've been making Jewelery from plants and animals? <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> I know they were made from stone. A lot of stone will have raw metal in it and it won't always look like metal until smelted and metal comes from stone last I heard. <img src="/smilies/97ada74b88049a6d50a6ed40898a03d7.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></span></p></blockquote><p>Carbonite has the name of a mineral (a fictional one, but a mineral none-the-less).  A stone will have normally minerals in it, but mineral =/= stone.</p><p>If the spires were made of carbonite (assuming carbonite is the name of a mineral) then the whole structure would be crystalline, since a crystalline structure is one of the defining characters of any mineral. </p></blockquote><span style="color: #00cc00">It's all rock  some of it is just more useful when mined out, and magic is energy, so it needs the minerals for conduction of the effect. <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> but lets get back to the meat of the subject, does this mean the half-town <i>(what is it 2 buildings and a fruitstand)</i> is what is left of the city of Bridgekeep?</span>

[Nocturnal Aby]

<cite>Vhalen wrote:</cite><blockquote><p> Within the Age of Destiny, the smaller bridge in Thundering Steppes bears that name, constructed in honor of the first. The original Bridgekeep was primarily a military keep of large proportions.</p></blockquote><p> Though this could simply be my own misinterpretation, it appears that the Bridgekeep was simply named in honor of the first, and may not be that close to the original's location.</p><p>If I remember correctly, the Spires in EQ were made from an unknown mineral, as studies made by the famous Al'Kabor left the wizard quite amazed and perplexed by his findings.  Though he could not reproduce the powerful pylons, a means in which all could use their power to a limited extent was made available simply by having a small shard of the Spires on your person at times in which the power was activated.  This would teleport the holder of the Shard to the Nexus on Luclin.</p><p>Though probably wrong, I would not be surprised if the disappearance of so MANY spires (in fact, all but the one in Greater Faydark) had something to do with the nature of Luclin's core breach.</p><p>Just to clarify, the spires that one finds in the world today were created by the Quellithulians (erudites), and given as a gift to the world AFTER the original spires ceased working (sometimes during, or before the Age of War).</p>

[Zabjade]

<p><span style="color: #00cc00">Yeah I remembered that last part, was just waiting for you or Cusa to mention it as I forgot how to spell Quellthulian ;þ</span></p><p><span style="color: #00cc00">Alloys can be hard to analize especially when their properties are changed/occluded/enhanced/distorted by Ambiant Arcanum. Look at True <i>(Ancient)</i> Velium we are looking at an ice type metal that has to be freeze-forged and holds its form in hight tempratures <i>(unless I remember the lore wrong and I could very well be)</i> then there is Acryla, Acrylic Marble <i>(?)</i> used as a metal and building block?</span></p>