(02-24-2016, 04:47 PM)Warren Castille Wrote: Let's just go whole-ham with the theories here. Undead (the conventional sort) are corpses possessed by voidsent (I think!) and are much just animated dead.
The mages in Lost City, though, aren't the shambly corpse people. They're more like unlife, really: Empty vessels driven to movement and thought instead of being filled with another thing possessing them. Motor functions return, but the spark of life is out.
I can't articulate this well.
I saw Amdapor got brought up a few times in thread, so let's go over some things.
Firstly, the undead Mhachi and Amdaporians. These are a type of ashkin known as Fomors, undead preserved by magic who still possess a soul, which is why they possess the personality, combative, and magical capabilities they had in life. Fomors fall loosely into the category of Revenants, undead who refuse to accept death, and so fiercely cling to life that their soul does not depart to the Lifestream. Unlike Revenants, however, Fomors are aware that they are dead.
Fomor Wrote:These raging revenants are bodies long dead animated by dark magicks. They retain the combat skills they had in life, as well as boasting unholy strength.
I cover this topic in a bit more detail at the bottom of this post.
Now, its a fair theory to believe one of the reasons the elementals believed the Amdaporians corrupted succor was because they created undead, however, we do not actually know if it was the Amdaporians who animated these Fomors or if it were the invading Mhachi or their Voidsent allies. Most Fomors we see in game today date back to the Belah'dian and War of the Sisters eras, wherein powerful thaumaturges and alchemists were both noted for reanimating the dead to use in their armies. Belah'dia especially. And Belah'dia was formed of mages who survived the Great Flood which wiped out Mhach and Amdapor. So... are the undead there because of Amdapor or because of Mhach? We don't know.
This moves into another point I saw earlier that animating inanimate objects was a corruption. This was not a corruption actually. Magicks which animated inanimate objects was actually quite a common practice during the 5th Astral Era. Amdapor, Mhach, and Nym all have inanimate constructs in their lore histories. In fact, Amdapor was built by magically animated bricks. Nym was guarded by soulkin, creatures whose soul resides in an external object, such as a golem and their soulstone, or a spriggan and their rock buddy. And Mhach animated entire mountain ranges into golems and such to fight for them. So, this part was likely not the corruption.
So, what was the corruption? The final boss. When Amdapor corrupted Succor into a tool for war. When white magic was no longer used to heal, but to hurt. This was the corruption. This is what angered the elementals and possibly why they feared to go into Amdapor while Kuribu still lived. This also fits in very nicely with already established lore of why the elementals drove out the Amdaporians:
Oha-Sok Wrote:Hast thou forgotten the pact of Gelmorra? The powers granted to the Padjal must not be used in conflict.
Miounne Wrote:The conjurers teach us that elementals of the Twelveswood are not instruments of war, and no attempt shall be made to use them as such against the Empire.
Raya-O-Senna Wrote:Emboldened by magic, man went on to reach the zenith of glory. But his hunger knew no bounds. Over time, even they who donned the white began perverting their powers for the sake of self-gain, and in this single-minded pursuit scrupled not to sully the sanctity of the Twelveswood. In his pride and avarice, man brought down the wrath of the elementals upon himself.
Also, thanks go to Osric for asking last night, there's mention of the "Hannish" people by F'lhaminn and her companions. Hannish refers to people from Radz-at-Han, the capital of Thavnair. Essentially, F'lhaminn and the other scions went into hiding in the Near East.
