Portal Lore
Volume one
Thomas P. Walton
10-20-2015
Rumor has spread about
the portals of the nine archetypes manifesting here and there, in both the
realms of fantastic beasts and the medieval lands of men and dragons. – Malaar, the wise.
…
About this book…
To better understand why there are nine portals in my role-playing system, I will tell the tale of the
legend behind all portals.
As with many of the ancients, the elements were the building
blocks of the world. The lore of portals would be incomplete if I did not
include the history of the elements, and the creation of the ultimate potential
for existence… Midgard (a.k.a.,
Middle Earth), which in my fiction I call Gaia
Saar.
Most game lore is based on the Hermetic philosophy in regard to elements. I’ve decided to run my
RPG universe a bit differently, mainly because the Teutonic system is so much more interesting, and in greater detail.
We begin with the element of ice, and thus, our first portal
in the entire universe is born…
The Beginning
Darkness held the ultimate void in its tendrils of
domination. Yet, it was from this darkness that the polarity of contraction
manifested as ice. From ice came forth the fire of the younger gods, who then
formed the ultimate portal for giants--the fire
portal.
Between these two polarities emerged the parallel universe
of air and water, thus forming the air and water portals. These four portals
are referred to as the primary portals of power.
The secondary portals formed from fire and air, and gave
birth to iron. The aggressive, wild expansion of elemental fire threatened to
burn away all that darkness dominated. So, then, the spirit of air flew before
the curling flames of endless energy, and presented fire with the element of
iron as its child god. Fire taught iron the ways of strength, determination,
and conquest through expansion—unlike the contraction of the great darkness the
elements fled from through outer-space.
And so, the metal portal was born of fire and air.
Hearing of this newborn god-child, the element of water went
unto the ardent god of fire, and gave him a second child. The child was Venom.
The spirit of venom was as restless as her fiery father. She
projected herself out into the void, but found that she could not expand, nor
create, nor find joy in any part of the universe.
The father of ice was envious of his fiery children, and so
drew water to himself. Ice tore away the power of life from the spirit of
water. Fire saw this, and in a fit of rage fought against the great darkness of
Ice. In their cosmic struggle, the element of yeast scattered everywhere in the
cosmos.
Water and ice formed yeast.
The quick intellect of Air saw the opportunity to steal
power from the spirit of darkness. So, he took from Ice the designs of the elder
gods. In his cleverness, the great spirit of air breathed his life-force into
ice, causing the darkness to slumber, and took from him the salts of the
essence of life.
Ice and air formed salt, and thus the first necro portal was
born.
These were the first eight portals.
Then something miraculous happened… As the fairies and the
giants waded in the fiery depths of their great work, a new element gave birth
to all life. This element, the ultimate potential in the entire universe, is a
place we call home, or also known as Earth.
These are the nine portals of power.
The giants settled down beneath the earth and the seas.
Others took up great houses for themselves upon the earth. The fairies settled
in the trees, and others hid in the secret portals of flame, in the infernal
realms beneath the deepest depths of the earth. Those who remained built doors
of magic. With these magical doors, the giants could traverse the realms in the
entire universe, and keep mechanisms of the greater portals in order.
…
From the Darkness
In the beginning there was only darkness.
Wading in the fiery depths of their great work, the fire
giants were the first to behold the work of their fairy cousins: A new
elemental spirit formed from the variations of the primary and secondary
components of the universe. Alu sung
the child a beautiful name, and her name was Gaia. From Gaia’s gay and
merry voice a song was heard. The giants took up the song, making variations of
their own. The fairies picked up the melodies, and Alu cried with joy!
The earth was then formed from the great composition of the
elements. The realm of Gaia Saar was then born into existence by the
imagination of the children of Alu.
When the age of men reigned strongest on Gaia Saar, the
fairies hid their younger cousins in the sea, while the fairies themselves
entered the secret doors set in trees and knolls. The fire giants returned to
their infernal realms by way of the mountain, which later became the center of
all power in Gaia Saar.
Gaia Saar, once a great kingdom (driven from power by the
cybernetic armies of Truul, and again by the Borg from the necroverse),
built its brick monasteries and towns closest to the ancestral mountain of the
gods. It was from this mountain that all the spoils of wealth pored into the
kingdom.
((Truul came from the depths of Threshaven, and was a foul mutant expelled from the world of
gaints. The Borg, a cybernetic race of machine-men emerged from the first metal
portal with the help of the dwarves.))
A final battle was fought on the peninsula
of Talos, between the
druid-mages and the necromancers.
However, an unforeseen consequence of the firing of vorpal
weaponry triggered a cosmic phenomenon unseen before such times. A great smash
portal tore the realm into ruins, leaving fragments of Gaia Saar across
multiple realms in the cosmos.
A rare journal was set down by the sage Malar, or Malaar,
who in legend is said to have walked firsthand among the people of Gaia Saar on
their day of doom. We cannot completely dismiss the legend as myth, nor can we
ignore the importance of the value in this lore.
((Talos is the south peninsula where the counsel of mages
resided in Gaia Saar’s kingdom))
Alas, the orifices of Threshaven are all that remain of the
dead planet. For in all realms exists the greater portals of power; whether
these be manifestations of nature, the supernatural, or replications of the
elder archetypal portals, all realms harbor a secret door to the center
of the universe—a pinnacle of all dimensions, which was so very long ago
the beloved kingdom of Gaia Saar.
Taking account of the recordings of Malar, the great sage of
that period in Gaia Saar, we can see that the kingdom of Gaia Saar was in its
last years a historical treasure trove of artifacts—Many relics baring symbols
associated with the gods who were believed to have dwelt deep within the
mountain Threshaven.
Relics of the ancients aside, Gaia Saar in its latest years
was indeed a historical treasure.
It is said that long ago there was an uncanny rogue-mage
venturing the farthest reaches of the realms in search of the origins of
Gaia Saar’s many people. The rogue is believed by the sages of Talos to have
discovered the secret to unlocking the first of the great doors of Mount
Threshaven. Barring the curious
adventurer from the secrets of the gods, Threshaven was shrouded in vorpal
mists, which is said to cause men to lose track of time, or disorient the human
mind enough to cause hallucinations of other dimensions. Malar, having been the
first explorer to sketch a rough map of the mountain, sought the entrance to
places beyond the realms of man, and to seek out the secrets of the gods.
Malar describes the mountain
of Threshaven as a colossal rock,
broken only at various angles by smooth stones which must have once been the
great stepping stones of giants. These flights of steps reached a monolithic
door at either side of the mountain. Other orifices or doors existed in this
great mountain of the gods which seemed to mock the senses of men. Sometimes
these were pools of glistening light and mist. Other thresholds were described
as being entirely made of empty spaces never illuminated by the light of the
sun.
Malar describes one particular portal of interest, which he
referred to as the fire portal.
…
From the portal of fire came both the builders and
destroyers of the world—the fire giants. - Malaar, the wise.
The coming of Lord
Truul is a tale of bitter seduction.
In the earliest
years of man, the giants remained inert in a cloister of portals at the base of
Threshaven. From therein the haggard and twisted giant spawn, Truul,
emerged from his long slumber. It is written in the ancient lore of our people
that, slender and seductive spirits came upon the lonesome giant, Truul. They
were the daughters of Venom, one of the secondary elementals to shape
the earth.
Truul was lured by
the silky smooth beauty of these spirits, and lay with them. The passions of
great magic were shown to Truul, but in everything the spirits taught him there
was no love—For the daughters of Venom were not unlike their mother, who was
without joy, and who was herself as restless as her fiery father. Therefore,
Truul shared their pain, anxiety, which drove Truul to prove himself worthy of
recognition. It became a burning anxiety, which in time drove Truul to do the
will of darkness.
The other giants
were angered by Truul’s insistence, for he had roused all of his cousins from
their epoch of sleep. The great work is done, protested the elder of the
giants. But, Truul did not feel satisfaction.
Obsessed with the
rite to rule, Truul sought the advice of the ladies of Venom, who in time
taught Truul all that they knew of portals and sorcery, for they were
unreserved spirits who held nothing back, and shared Truul’s passion for
extreme outcomes—For to them, the daughters of Venom, nothing short of conquest
was worthy of invention.
After the poisoning
of his kin, Truul ruled supreme all the lands of the underworld. But this was
not enough for Truul. In time, his hordes withered into weakness. They had not
the power of order, for that power rested in Alu, their elder father, and the
giants of Truul were chaotic and vulgar in their practices. So, Lord Truul set
out to find human consorts.
Capturing the
daughters of men, elves, and other humanoids, Lord Truul deformed and molested
the gene pool of order. He created the dark and foul creatures of which were
feared throughout all of Gaia Saar.
…
After a victorious battle between the denizens under
Threshaven and the Alfs of the far
eastern shores of Gaia Saar, Lord Truul returned to his grotesque kingdom. With
him were many slaves. But, few were in the service of Truul, for he did most of
his own fighting, being the biggest giant alive on the earth, standing at
eighteen-feet tall.
Back within his gruesome abode Truul ate a portion of his
slaves. Their viscera littered the morbid halls under the earth. His meal
however, was interrupted by the swift return of his spirit wives, the daughters
of Venom.
When the daughters came to him, they did not make love to
him as they had many a night before. Rather, their faces were grave, and Truul
recognized the fear in them. It was a fear that made Truul, sick, and he
detested them. However, the sisters pressed their concern upon the deaf ear of
Lord Truul, who feared nothing himself.
It was told to Lord Truul by the sisters of Venom, that the
eldest father, Alu, was aware of their destruction upon Truul’s kin. All-father
Alu, who ceaselessly holds back darkness, and transforms chaos into order,
forever painting the beauty of the cosmos, stopped in his great work to look
upon the daughters of Venom with furious vengeance.
So terrified of the wrath of Alu, the daughters begged Truul
for protection. But, Truul had forgotten Alu, and could not remember ever
hearing of him. So, Truul laughed contemptuously at his slender spirits, and
named them as lying serpents. Truul’s nonchalant retort offended the daughters
of Venom, for such spirits did not tell lies—at least not intentionally. They were,
though venomous and fiery, very pure spirits of their elemental maker.
Alu sang his sadness into the hearts of the daughters of
Venom, forbidding them to traverse the realms, and removing their ability to
fly between the great spaces of the stars. Never again would they behold the
beauty of Alu’s almighty work. So, the sisters, fearing for their end,
slithered into the pores of Truul’s gigantic body.
When Truul had finished his feast, he carelessly fell
asleep. Abruptly, Truul awoke. He discovered great pain in his body, a pain
he’d never felt before. The very blood in his veins burned, and every nerve in
his body was on fire. His oversized heart, a gift from the fairies of old, was
burdened with labor.
The daughters of Venom gave their remaining life-force to
Truul, so as to hide their identity’s imprint within the monster they had
created. In the process of nesting their spirit DNA into Truul, the power of
venom turned Truul’s blood to acid, and corrupted his body.
Truul found himself driven by a great thirst, and went
hastily to the pools in the depths of his lonesome cavern. Upon seeing his
reflection in the water, the giant roared with confusion and anger. And he felt
something else… fear. Lord Truul had
never known fear or defeat, even before his victory over his brothers and
sisters of the giant mountain.
In the waters of the dark cavern, the giant looked upon a
face which was a texture of foul color, greenish and gray. His eyes were
completely black, which did not contrast well with the dark spots growing all
over his body. Truul touched his hooked nose with a long talon-like finger.
Desperate to breathe the sweet air of the world above, Lord
Truul made his way up the bone cobbled steps to the surface world. Upon
reaching the outside world, Truul tried to stand erect, but found that his back
was hunched. Terrible pain moved the bones in his body, and his neck shot fire
into his melon sized skull.
What came out of that mountain was a monstrosity so fearful,
that the people who remained in the kingdom
of Gaia Saar hid in a fit of
ultra-phobic terror.
…
The eldest giant, Gygatherion , was a good and faithful son
of Alu, though he was prone to wandering from the great halls of his father in
search of adventure. It just so happened, that one evening Gygatherion stumbled upon the horror that was Truul.
Aloft the highest peak
of Threshaven, Gygatherion battled Lord Truul. The beast known as Truul
was fiercer than Gygatherion had ever
fought before. Truul’s talons tore through Gygatherion ’s divine armored
breastplate, and wounded him. But the valiant son of Alu was not easily
defeated. With all the power of his will and his heart, Gygatherion hefted a mighty ax, and decapitated the arm of
Truul.
Truul leapt a hundred feet down to an adjacent tier of rocky
slope on the side of the mountain. The ugly giant entreated the magical stone
empowering a metal portal. Truul slipped under the arc, and then passed through
the glowing threshold.
Gygatherion pursued
his prey, but Truul was gone from the lands of Gaia Saar.
After this epic battle between the sons of Alu, Gygatherion freed what remained of the slaves of Truul.
And for good measure, Gygatherion ensured that all monstrosities created by
Truul were slain by his own ax.
Alu was briefly dismayed by the actions of Gygatherion , but
he received his son warmly. And all was forgiven. Then, on the next beautiful
day on Gaia Saar, Alu visited the lands with his son. Therein the strongest
bones of the earth, Alu commanded his son to take a bride from the daughters of
men. Alu believed that the good heart of his son, Gygatherion , would flow
through the bloodlines of men, and a fair king would be ensured for a long,
long time.
True to his father’s will, Gygatherion married a wife of unearthly beauty. They had a
son, who Gygatherion named Futharion.
…
Typically, a game master will decide on whether to make a
portal visible or to merely hint at the presence of a portal. The decision to
make a portal obvious may have everything or nothing to do with the sequences
of events and encounters that the game master has planned out for players. Yet,
making this distinction between the obvious and elusive portal is the craft of
the cunning game master. (The process of declaring a portal is predetermined in
the master control document, or it may be annotated on the portals router with
a simple hash mark or other indicator of the game master’s preference). Players
who can see a portal may be tempted to enter the portal without having a better
look around the environment. Perhaps, keeping the portal in the shadows will
allow for a more likely encounter with pursuers coming up the rampart on the
heels of the players.
Utilize portal routing charts across multiple maps--and blend genres with confidence!
Nine Portals was created to expand the ordinary role-playing game into the extraordinary collaboration of story telling RPG’s. To accomplish the impossible, 9 Portals makes use of nine greater portals of power and an infinite range of lesser portals, thus greatly expanding the potential for mixing, merging, and configuring RPG genres.
Portals are the bridge between maps. Each portal is plotted on a portal router document.
The portal router document allows the game administrator (the portal master) to access different maps quickly and accurately. In a sense, the game is micro-managed behind the scenes by a series of controlled documents. In the event that some players venture through a portal, while others do not, the game administrator will have little difficulty in maintaining a steady game flow. This is because each map and portal is documented on the portal router diagram/ portal matrix.
Mechanical levers, switches, catapults, spacecraft, and just about anything else can be plotted onto the document as a reference document. The document is given a number or short name, for example Mechanical Documents 101.
Portals may be considered mechanical constructs, particularly when a mechanical means of activating, accessing, or powering a portal is required. Complex thresholds like the fire portal may require some specs for operation, skills, combat, and other rules of which can apply to portals in various RPG's. (Attributes, hit points, weight, and dimensions of a portal's threshold are outlined in Ultimate Portal Master's Guide).
The portal master knows where to find the document containing the fundamental information about a mechanical apparatus, such as a lever which shuts down a portal from a completely different map. That's because it has been documented well, and more importantly, it is easy to find from the portal matrix!
However, Nine Portals offers more than a means to manage maps, documents, and cross referencing charts. Nine Portals is all about the creative imagination of The Storyteller's Thesaurus
. Portals offer a means to greatly expand a game beyond the ordinary box and lid of your basic or advanced game set.
Mixing and merging becomes easier, because the portals are redefined by 9Portals.com/portals (more information in our books, however, is necessary to play 9PRPG style games to their full potential).
