The Fall of the Paladin

[Ama]

<p>I've been wondering this for a bit of time and really don't know where to begin so I thought I would turn here.  Who exactly was the first Shadowknight to come into being? Was he/she corrupted in some manner or did they decide to turn "To the dark side" one day? </p><p>One thing I do know is that Shadowknights have existed for quite some time even before EQOA.  Shadowknights (Human SKs) started in the basement of a building in the sandy desert town of Freeport.  I don't remember alot of lore given behind why SKs came to being.  Only that we were to do our duty and progress down the path of dark knighthood.  </p>

[Cusashorn]

<p>The Shadowknight probably rose up along with Necromancy. They arn't all fallen paladins.</p><p>While it doesn't say who the first shadowknight was, the Epic Quest 1.0 in EQlive does tell who the first Human shadowknight is.</p><p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/quest.html?quest=766" target="_blank">http://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/....html?quest=766</a></p><p>You say, 'hail Gerot Kastane' Gerot Kastane says, '{Your name} ! My hero! I am at your service. I have been told to tell you all I know of the Head of the Valiant. Its construction is a mockery to the gods of Light, an abomination above all others. The method of creation of the Head of the Valiant was passed down through my family for centuries. All I require of you is the physical head of a valiant warrior. I have the rest of the materials right here to fashion this item for you. Head to Kerra Isle and hand the "Note to Marl" to Marl Kastane. Marl Kastane reads the note, eyes widening in panic. He raises his eyes to you and says, 'This is grave news, friend. If the prophecy is allowed to be fulfilled, our strength will vanish into obscurity. Goodness and purity will spread like a plague across the land and the servants of Hate will be powerless to stop it!' Your faction standing with Truespirit got better You say, 'What prophecy?' Marl Kastane says 'I suppose it is time for the secret to be shared. Ages ago, two brothers were born. Glohnor was highly favored by the pompous Lightbringer, whose name we do not utter. Lhranc was chosen by the Prince of Hate to bring destruction and turmoil to the sons of men. The one thing they shared in common was their love of the fair priestess, Kyrenna. Kyrenna fell deeply in love with Glohnor. When Lhranc discovered this, he was overcome with rage and unwisely attacked his brother, who happened to be far more adept in combat. The fight cost Lhranc dearly. He lost his dignity as well as an eye in the struggle. He was ordered to leave Freeport and live his life in exile from the only home he had ever known. You say, 'What became of Lhranc?' Marl Kastane says 'Lhranc wandered the deserts of Ro for weeks, sinking deeper into depression and giving in to rage. Reports from the local merchants and caravans had him roaming the dunes muttering to himself incoherently. Eventually, he was forgotten, blending in with the hermits and madmen common to that region, forgotten by all save one. You say, 'Who is the one?' Marl Kastane says 'Innoruuk had not forsaken Lhranc. Once his rage and hate had matured and sufficiently altered his soul, the dark prince summoned him and gave him dominion over the demons that had enslaved his mind. He was given a weapon that made him powerful enough to slay any enemy that stood in his way. He was to become the first human to harness the power of the almighty shadowknight. After years of traveling and teaching mankind his newfound abilities, Lhranc sneaked back into Freeport through a series of sewers in search of revenge against his brother and in hopes of kidnapping Kyrenna, the source of his obsession. Waiting until Glohnor was alone, Lhranc sprang from the shadows and slew his brother. This was the act that brought about his curse. You say, 'What curse?' Marl Kastane says 'As I said, Glohnor was highly favored by the Lightbringer. When the contemptible god of honor discovered what had been done, he transformed Lhranc into a deformed spectral knight and placed him in the ruined city. Lhranc then used what remained of his power to summon Kyrenna to his side and bind her there in a timeless, seamless sphere. He struggled for centuries to break her will and convince her to serve Innoruuk, certain that together they could remove his curse. But then, there was the prediction. You say, 'What prediction?' Marl Kastane says 'The prophecy states that one day Kyrenna will escape the clutches of Lhranc and that she will resurrect Glohnor. Together, it reads, they will destroy Lhranc and undo all he has done. I trust that I do not need to tell you, {Your name} , that this would decimate our foothold in Norrath. When the prophecy was written, its words spread across the land. A dark council was held to construct a plan that would frustrate the words of the prophets. My ancestors were responsible for robbing Glohnor's tomb and securing his remains. For generations we have been charged with the duty of guarding those remains and the secret plan, should the corpse be discovered. </p>

[Rainmare]

the other thing is that there are shadowknights that serve not only Hate, but Decay and Fear. I think it was Meldrath the Malignant that brought Necromancy, and the rise of Shadowknights into Ak'anon...the Trolls and Ogres had thier own as well. and of course the Iksar, that probably learned the practice from the Shissar. As well as the Tier'dal, thier first king I believe was an SK. While there may have been a 'first' shadowknight for many races, I imagine the very first SK was probably an Iksar/Ogre/Tier'dal, seeing that those empires I think are/were the oldest that would allow/endorse the SK profession. and out of those three, I'd probably say it was the Ogres. the Tier'dal didn't come into power until after the races were seeded and probably a bit established, so I'd guess the Rallosian Empire employed the first Shadowknights.

[Cusashorn]

^ You forgot War, but yeah. They're not exclusive to one diety. They're just fighters who use necromancy.

[Ama]

So the original human shadowknight did indeed fall so to speak becoming a twisted corrupt version of a paladin. 

[Cusashorn]

Not really. Lhranc's story says his brother was a paladin. Is says nothing about him being one.

[Ama]

<cite>Cusashorn wrote:</cite><blockquote>Not really. Lhranc's story says his brother was a paladin. Is says nothing about him being one.</blockquote>Well i'm assuming a "Brothers in Arms" type of scenario where they were both paladins then one struck at the other.  I'm wondering if Kyle Bayle would fit into all of this somehow.

[Nocturnal Aby]

<p>Well, the order of arrival of races is as follows:</p><p>Dragons-wurmkind</p><p>Gnolls-Various other secret creations of Brell </p><p>Elves-Giants-Kedge-Dwarves</p><p>Tier'Dal</p><p>Gnome-Ogres-Orcs-Halflings-Trolls-Iksar</p><p>Barbarians-Froglocks</p><p> Humans</p><p>Sarnak (not real sure where exactly they fit in, but I imagine it was somewhere around here, possibly even after the emergence of the High men) </p><p>Erudites</p><p>Fae</p><p>Guktans</p><p>Ratonga (possibly created before the Guktans emerged from the Frogloks, but didn't enter into our sphere of knowledge until very recently)</p><p>Gorowynian Sarnak</p><p> Arasai</p><p>So it's possible that the Teir'Dal had the first Shadow Knights.  Also, we have no idea what the first King and Queen were, other than them both being Teir'Dal.</p>

[Cusashorn]

<cite>Nocturnal Abyss wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>Well, the order of arrival of races is as follows:</p><p>Dragons-wurmkind</p><p>Gnolls-Various other secret creations of Brell <span style="color: #ff6600;">(Dwarves, actually. Gnomes, Gnolls, Roekillik, Ratonga, and Burynai would come later on, in that order.)</span></p><p>Elves-Giants-Kedge-Dwarves</p><p>Tier'Dal</p><p>Gnome-Ogres-Orcs-Halflings-Trolls-Iksar</p><p>Barbarians-Froglocks</p><p> Humans</p><p>Sarnak (not real sure where exactly they fit in, but I imagine it was somewhere around here, possibly even after the emergence of the High men) </p><p>Erudites</p><p>Fae</p><p>Guktans <span style="color: #ff6600;">(Actually the Guktans came first, as the Fae race as we know them wouldn't come around until less than 500 years ago.)</span></p><p>Ratonga (possibly created before the Guktans emerged from the Frogloks, but didn't enter into our sphere of knowledge until very recently)</p><p>Gorowynian Sarnak</p><p> Arasai</p><p>So it's possible that the Teir'Dal had the first Shadow Knights.  Also, we have no idea what the first King and Queen were, other than them both being Teir'Dal.</p></blockquote>

[Kryussius]

<p>I'd say it was either the Teir'Dal or the Ogres that first blended combat with necromancy to make anti-paladins.</p><p>And yeah I know some will say that they're not really anti-paladins since they're power doesn't come from the dark gods, but from dark magic - but you couldn't be one without choosing a god, so they're definitely influenced by religious fervor.</p><p>My own rp for my main was that he's a survivor from the time of EQ1 whose powers disappeared when Innoruuk pulled his influence from Norrath (hence explaining why he went from lvl 52 in EQL to lvl 1 in EQII).  Kry regained his strength by harnessing hatred directly instead of through worship to Innoruuk, whom he sees as a traitor to his devout, just as Cristanos is a traitor to her loyal by cutting off Neriak for so long.</p><p>I played Kry as a total zealot in EQL.  In EQ2 he still has his zealot nature, but it's dedicated in opposing all he used to serve out of a desire for vengeance and a belief in following pure hatred instead of hatred diluted through the intermediary of a god.</p>

[Ama]

<cite>Kryussius@Lucan DLere wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>I'd say it was either the Teir'Dal or the Ogres that first blended combat with necromancy to make anti-paladins.</p><p>And yeah I know some will say that they're not really anti-paladins since they're power doesn't come from the dark gods, but from dark magic - but you couldn't be one without choosing a god, so they're definitely influenced by religious fervor.</p><p>My own rp for my main was that he's a survivor from the time of EQ1 whose powers disappeared when Innoruuk pulled his influence from Norrath (hence explaining why he went from lvl 52 in EQL to lvl 1 in EQII).  Kry regained his strength by harnessing hatred directly instead of through worship to Innoruuk, whom he sees as a traitor to his devout, just as Cristanos is a traitor to her loyal by cutting off Neriak for so long.</p><p>I played Kry as a total zealot in EQL.  In EQ2 he still has his zealot nature, but it's dedicated in opposing all he used to serve out of a desire for vengeance and a belief in following pure hatred instead of hatred diluted through the intermediary of a god.</p></blockquote><p>Not sure if the SK was the "Creation" of a mortal race.  It would seem to me that a paladin or atleast a crusader fell from knighthood.  This led him/her down the path of darkness where they combined dark arts with crusader ways.  It is this which would be akin to crusaders combining priest/healing arts with crusader ways creating the paladin.  </p><p>To me SKs and Paladins are yin and yang, light and darkness, good and evil that were created close to the same time of each other.  Could be wrong though and Inny could have taken a Paladin corrupting him/her into a SK for the sheer enjoyment of it. <img src="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/images/smilies/ed515dbff23a0ee3241dcc0a601c9ed6.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" width="15" height="15" /></p>

[ke'la]

<cite>Cusashorn wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Nocturnal Abyss wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>Well, the order of arrival of races is as follows:</p><p>Dragons-wurmkind</p><p>Gnolls-Various other secret creations of Brell <span style="color: #ff6600;">(Dwarves, actually. Gnomes, Gnolls, Roekillik, Ratonga, and Burynai would come later on, in that order.) </span></p><p>Elves-Giants-Kedge-Dwarves</p><p>Tier'Dal</p><p>Gnome-Ogres-Orcs-Halflings-Trolls-Iksar</p><p>Barbarians-Froglocks</p><p> Humans</p><p>Sarnak (not real sure where exactly they fit in, but I imagine it was somewhere around here, possibly even after the emergence of the High men) </p><p>Erudites</p><p>Fae</p><p>Guktans <span style="color: #ff6600;">(Actually the Guktans came first, as the Fae race as we know them wouldn't come around until less than 500 years ago.) </span><span style="color: #cc0000;">Accually I would say the Fae came in slightly more then 500 years ago as they awoke in the "Footsteps of Tunar" while she was preparing to leave Norath. They just didn't rise to any kind of power until after the Second War of the Fae.</span></p><p>Ratonga (possibly created before the Guktans emerged from the Frogloks, but didn't enter into our sphere of knowledge until very recently)</p><p>Gorowynian Sarnak</p><p><span style="color: #cc0000;"> Arasai I would put Arasai befor Gorowyn Sarnak as we know that the Gorowyn Sarnak have only been awake 50 years or so while the Queen of Neriak has been working on creating the Arasai from the Fae sence not long after the Fae came into being. So it's likly that the Arasai have been active longer then the Gorowyn Sarnak.</span></p><p>So it's possible that the Teir'Dal had the first Shadow Knights.  Also, we have no idea what the first King and Queen were, other than them both being Teir'Dal.</p></blockquote></blockquote>

[teddyboy4]

Yeah, a fallen Paladin does not a Shadowknight make, just look at Lucan. He was a Paladin for a good long while, and yet when he fell from the graces of Mith Marr he didn't become a Shadowknight. If anything I'd say that, for a time after Mith Marr stripped Sir Lucan of his Paladin-powers he was just a simple Warrior. Lucan was never considered a Shadowknight b/c he never turned his devotion to a dark god and learned the ways of Necromancy.Think about it, what is a Paladin? A Paladin is, very generally, a mixture of Priest and Warrior right? So, a Paladin that falls from grace loses touch w/ the Light, and is left with only the training he has in the arts of a Warrior. A Shadowknight on the other hand, is, again, very generally, a mixture of Necromancer and Warrior. So a Shadowknight IS, sort of, an anti-Paladin in the fact that he worships  "dark"/evil gods that are opposed to the "Light, and in so far that Necromancy could be considered an anti-priest as they practice bringing about death, while a priest fights death. So, all told, a fallen Paladin is much closer to being a Warrior after his fall then a Shadowknight. If, after his fall he turned to a "dark" god and started learning Necromancy, then he would be a Shadowknight.