Interesting items...

[fishbulb]

<p>I don't know about the rest of you, but when the TSO ramp up started and we first met the Grathok (void beasts), I assumed they were something completely new.</p><p>Surprise surprise, they'd been planned for some time.  From Remembrances - Nyalla-Phon:</p><p><span style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><em>Aggregate Gathering, Hour 3: The Grathok insist on disrupting the peace again! Loudly clacking their claws will not speed this up, as the Chancellor keeps telling them. But will they listen? No! It's always about them, isn't it? Sheesh. Whose bright idea was it to let them join the Aggregate, anyways?</em></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><em>Aggregate Gathering, Hour 5: Here they go again! Clack-clack-clack! Stubborn to the core, I tell you! How can I keep the minutes of the gathering with all that racket! I am right about to stuff my trunk in my ears if they don't quiet down! Well, it's about time! The Arisain themselves have finally soothed those lobster-headed fools. Hopefully we can get back to business.</em></span></p><p>So some of these books are almost certainly from other planets invaded by the Void, but Berrox is certainly from Norrath.</p>

[Anaogi]

<p>Interesting.  If it's the lobster-clawed 'void beasts' they turned into, it may explain why they've never been responsive to the Master Strike for that type...</p>

[The_Cheeseman]

<p>Yes, the lore for TSO has been planned since launch, they planted seeds in the original release about things we're just starting to hear about. This is not the only example, you can find many others if you do all those, admittedly-horrible, old-world book quests.</p>

[fishbulb]

<p>I can't say I'm terribly surprised that they've been in there that long; I'm just always impressed when I find another layer of detail they went to the trouble to create. It's nice to be reminded of how deep the story of this game goes as compared to <em>other</em> games.</p>

[Cusashorn]

<p>There were some topics way back when they were introduced a few years back. I noticed the description in the books back then. I thought it was pretty cool they followed up on the book descriptions like that. I kinda wish one of the books described the Lamia though.</p>

[Iskandar]

<p><cite>Cusashorn wrote:</cite></p><blockquote>I kinda wish one of the books described the Lamia though.</blockquote><p>I hear there's some backalley shops in Freeport that sell books like that <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" /> <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/49869fe8223507d7223db3451e5321aa.gif" border="0" /></p>

[Cusashorn]

<p>^ Why didn't I see that one coming?</p>

[Terron]

<p><cite>The_Cheeseman wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>those, admittedly-horrible, old-world book quests.</p></blockquote><p>I like those quests. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" /></p>

[Wilin]

<p><cite>fishbulb wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>So some of these books are almost certainly from other planets invaded by the Void, but <strong>Berrox is certainly from Norrath.</strong></p></blockquote><p>I'm not sure where you got the idea that Berrox is from Norrath. I just re-read it and there's nothing indicating Norrath in it.</p>

[Jait]

<p><cite>Wilin wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>fishbulb wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>So some of these books are almost certainly from other planets invaded by the Void, but <strong>Berrox is certainly from Norrath.</strong></p></blockquote><p>I'm not sure where you got the idea that Berrox is from Norrath. I just re-read it and there's nothing indicating Norrath in it.</p></blockquote><p>The book doesn't explain the whole story.  Some of the places and characters in this story existed in EQ1.  King's Rest was translated from the word "Lxanvom" aka The Crypt of Decay.  The whole story exists out there in pieces different tomes/lore.  It was these same people who summoned and gave good old Berty the path to apotheosis.  I would have to argue it's definitely Norrath as he's a part of Norrath's pantheon.  The contradiction being that there's an EQ2 story that claims both Bert and Nife came from other worlds; Nife having arrived on a nice stylish space ship to ask if the plague had arrived on Norrath yet.  If Lxanvom is on another world then we would have no explaination for how he got to Norrath, so I have to assume it was.</p><p>It should also be noted in this tome other vague Gods being long forgotten were sought for advice...</p>

[Cusashorn]

<p>The Temple of Life in North Qeynos was founded when Rodcet Nife gave his flying saucer as a gift to Qeynos upon arrival.</p><p>I just can't see those Rememberance stories depicting areas on Norrath. At least one of the stories tells of the destruction of that world when they were engulfed by the presence of the shadowmen and the void.</p>

[Jait]

<p>Rather than re-edit my last post, I dug up a story some of you may not have had a chance to read.  Explains a lot about Bertox and his origin as a God.</p><p><a href="http://everquest.allakhazam.com/wiki/The_Crypt_of_Decay">http://everquest.allakhazam.com/wik..._Crypt_of_Decay</a></p>

[Cusashorn]

<p><cite>Jait@Venekor wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Rather than re-edit my last post, I dug up a story some of you may not have had a chance to read.  Explains a lot about Bertox and his origin as a God.</p><p><a href="http://everquest.allakhazam.com/wiki/The_Crypt_of_Decay">http://everquest.allakhazam.com/wik..._Crypt_of_Decay</a></p></blockquote><p>There's a problem with that though. Even back in PoP, the lore explaining the supposed creation of Bertoxxulous wasn't backed up with any other proof or lore. It just came out of nowhere, since Bertox really had nothing explaining himself until that point.</p><p>However, it does allude that he was created on Norrath. It's hard to tell which is the real story, because neither of them have any further lore to back them up.. nothing obvious at least.</p>

[fishbulb]

<p><cite>Cusashorn wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>There's a problem with that though. Even back in PoP, the lore explaining the supposed creation of Bertoxxulous wasn't backed up with any other proof or lore. It just came out of nowhere, since Bertox really had nothing explaining himself until that point.</p><p>However, it does allude that he was created on Norrath. It's hard to tell which is the real story, because neither of them have any further lore to back them up.. nothing obvious at least.</p></blockquote><p>A lot of PoP felt that way for me, but the names and accounts from <em>Berrox</em> are definitely the names and accounts from a part of EQ2's inherited canon, so it's pretty anchored in that sense. It's probably safe to say that The Boss had his attention focused elsewhere during PoP's development cycle, so his usual attention to detail and careful construction are conspicuously absent.</p><p>I actually kind of like the tone <em>Berrox</em> takes, though; it shows the good/evil designations for the matter of perspective that they are, if only briefly.</p>