Arcane's Journal

Advent of the Goddess

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The Soul Stream

I've found myself dragged by the Soul Stream, and was greeted by a mysterious figure who calls herself "Nao."
I think I may have met some sort of Goddess; I can compare her to nothing short of the like. She guides me to the world of Erinn, and I'm under the pretense that I'm needed there.
When I come to, I find myself in a Village known as Tir Chonnail, inhabited by humans. They frequently forget my name, and they don't seem to age as quickly as I do. The time seems to work differently here.
They also seem incapable of entering the Soul Stream as I do, and can't revert back their age. The chieftan of the Tir Chonnail village guides me.

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The Snowy Hills of Sidhe Sneachta

I awoke with a strange vision today.
I saw a figure in a large cavern, in a long, sloping white dress, with long black hair, and she had great, black wings that towered over her form.
She gave off a sense of energy that was similar to the strange Nao I'd met before, except much more powerful.
Her entire being was ancient, much older than I.
And yet she seemed pitiful, and scared. They didn't match up at all.
She gave me an odd request.
She said: "Please come to this world."
She called it "Tir Na Nog." And she claimed it was in great danger.
Where is this Tir Na Nog?
And who is she?
I push the dream into the back of my mind, thinking I've gone mad.
In the meantime, Duncan has asked me to retrieve an earring for him, lost in the fields of Sidhe Sneachta.
I am puzzled by his request, but I accepted. Why must this old man always speak in cryptic stories?
There in Sidhe Sneachta, I come upon a strange "Snowman Tomb." Apparently it was built in the remembrance of a long dead Druid, modeled after him and his Disciples.
And there, buried deep in the snow, I find it. The strange earring.
When I recover it and bring it back to him, he tells me a friend of his lost it, and that it's former owner believes that the jagged rock structure in the snow fields
leads to somewhere magical.

Somewhere magical?
This "Tir Na Nog," perhaps?

Duncan says that his friend was a Druid, who vanished long ago. The very same that the snow monument is built for.
But there are rumors that he still lives, within the fields of Sidhe Sneachta, in the form of a bear.
Maybe he knows more about my dream?
I must find him.
Duncan tells me that the rumors say the bear loves Mana herbs, and he gives some to me.

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Give the Mana Herb to the Bear

I return in search of this bear.
I use the structure Duncan told me about, and it transports me somewhere, deeper into the snowy wilderness.
Far into the wood, there I find the bear, standing on a sort of a strange alter.
I greet it, but it unsurpisingly says nothing in response.
It just seems to be an ordinary bear?
Or so I thought. I give the bear the mana herbs, and it starts using its claws to make some strange marks in the snow.
Eventually, I can make out a word, or maybe a name.
"Tarlach."
I will have to investigate this further.

I return to Duncan and ask about the name, and he seems shocked! Absentmindedly mumbling to himself about "three missing warriors."
He admits he himself didn't believe the rumors, and above all, he never would have believed it would be this "Tarlach."
To my amazement, Duncan tells me that the three warriors went searching for this black-winged goddess, to rescue her in Tir Na Nog.
That describes my dream exactly!
It also brings me a sense of unease. If I pursue this goddess, will I go missing as well?
What exactly happened to these three warriors?
Duncan tells me to ask Stewart, the teacher at the school of Dunbarton, more about the legend. He may be able to help me.

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The Three Missing Warriors

I ride to Dunbarton by carriage, to speak to Stewart.
He is a gentle-looking young man, with dark gray eyes and eyeglasses perched on his nose.
I ask him about the legend of the three warriors who went to search for this Tir Na Nog, chasing after the same dream I've recently had.
Stewart tells me that scholars have been debating the validity of this legend for years, but now I know it to be true.
Stewart gives me a locket, that he tells me once belonged to Tarlach, and is known as a "Memento."
I look inside the locket, and I see a picture of a scrawny young boy in glasses, standing next to an older woman, his sister.
Stewart tells me if I use the locket correctly, it can be a gateway into viewing the previous owner's memories, in hope of learning more about the legend.
"Tarlach spent his entire life trying to rescue the goddess who holds the secrets of Tir Na Nog. His desires and memories remain in this locket."
I'm directed to place it on the Altar of the Goddess within Alby Dungeon, which is located near Sidhe Sneachta.
I return to the outskirts of Tir Chonnail to do just that.
The moment I lie the amulet on the altar, I'm struck with another vision, of three figures standing in front of the altar I was moments ago.
A tall red-headed man, a short girl, and an older version of the scrappy child I saw in the image of the locket.
A twinge of sadness strikes me, as I watch them fight fomors and rest together. They seem like close friends.
Knowing they already disappeared long ago, and were torn apart, I wonder what ended up going wrong?
They were young, strong, and had a future ahead of them.
I learn that the tall red-haired one is called Ruairi, and the short girl is a villager from Tir Chonnail, her name is Mari.
Tarlach mentions his master was a druid as well, and I briefly wonder if Tarlach was one of the disciples represented in the Snowman Monument.
I also learn that Tarlach's sister, the girl in the locket, was killed by Fomors, and it's why he is searching for Tir Na Nog.
Is Tir Na Nog some sort of afterlife? A heaven?

When they defeat the giant spider of the dungeon, the one called Ruairi mentions a dream, and I listen intently.
This must be the very dream that kicked off the disastrous adventure.
Why was it Ruairi and I that recieved the dream?
It seems our dreams were identical, the very same warning he recieved from the Goddess.

Tarlach also mentions something of importance.
"Dungeons were created to protect the world of Erinn from the creatures of the Fomor World. They are formed by the Goddess in Tir Na Nog."
The Goddess Altars in each dungeon, and the woman in my dream, this Goddess in Tir Na Nog must be the same person.
The three warriors seem concerned about the increased amount of fomors showing in dungeons, proving there must be something wrong. The barriers between the fomor world
and the world of Erinn are weakened, and the Goddess of Tir Na Nog is in trouble.
Something doesn't seem right about all of this.
But one thing for sure is certain. I, and the world of Erinn, are in danger.

I relay what I saw to Duncan, and ask him about this Goddess the three warriors spoke of in the memory.
Duncan tells me her name is Morrhigan, but he knows nothing much else about her, and tells me to search for Meven, the head of the Tir Chonnail church.
Surely someone who devotes their life to worshipping this world's gods will know more. Duncan also tells me that Meven needs a package delivery done.

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The Story of the Goddess

I seek out the Tir Chonnail church, and inside, I find a calm, elderly man with kind eyes and silvering hair. He tells me Kristell is the recipent of the package...
She is the church keeper in the town of Dunbarton.
I take the package from him, and he offers me a blessing as I go.
As I leave the church, though, I see a disturbing sight.
There is a cloaked figure in the town square, spouting the ravings of a madman.
"He will come! He will redeem us!"
Yelling about a chosen one, being adknowledged by an apostle and granted tremendous power.
Before now, I never would have thought gods existed, so I can't exactly judge whether this prophecy he speaks of is false.
But something about what he says sends a chill down my spine.
I try to ignore the cloaked man, and head on with my delivery. I'm not sure what this has to do with my questions, but I trust that Duncan has higher motives than a delivery-man,
and my errands will surely pay off.

It's a long trip back to Dunbarton.
I make my way to the Church next to the town square, and there stands the lovely Kristell.
Her hair is a strange, unnatural pink. Does she dye it?
I give her the package she is expecting, and return to Meven.
Meven gives me a historical book on the Goddess Morrhigan I will have to read later, and he confirms to me that Tarlach is, in fact, the bear,
and he's known he was still alive for some time.
He tells me to visit Sidhe Sneachta where the bear stands on the altar, at night, in order to be able to speak with him. How strange.
But first, I should read this book he gave me...titled "The Goddess Who Turned to Stone."

The Goddess Who Turned to Stone

"Anyone who has ever entered a dungeon has seen the statue of the winged goddess carrying her sword. Though she looks at peace, there is a hint of sorrow in her eyes as she looks upon adventurers. This statue has been made to commemorate the wonderful goddess Morrighan, who sacrificed her life to save us humans during the war.

Long ago, the evil Fomors constantly invaded the human world, killing countless innocent lives. Many lived in fear of their invasion, lost their lives, and some were even taken into slavery. Those who could not take the abuse attempted to fight back, but the Fomors were too powerful and intelligent and humans were no match for them....resulting in defeat.

Things turned around during the second war at the Mag Tuireadh plains as humans defeated the Fomors and chased them out of Erinn. However, we must remember... the sad take of the Goddess Morrighan during the first of these two wars...

Goddess Morrighan is one of the three goddesses of Erinn who represents War and Revenge. However, despite the fact that she is the Goddess of War and Revenge, she is not a violent or vicious goddess. As a matter of fact, she blesses and encourages the warriors that go out to battle, and when soldiers are wounded and defeated, she helps them get revenge. She has such deep compassion for humans, that everytime we were threatened by the Fomors, she protected us from their evil grip.

But it all happened during the first war of Mag Tuireadh, when the war was almost over. It was the first war the humans, represented by the Tuatha de Dananns, faced the Fomors. The cunning Fomors used Tir Bolgs, another human clan, and put them on the forefront of the battle, making it difficult for the Tuatha de Dananns to fight.

Thankfully, Tuatha de Dananns were able to defeat the spell bound Tir Bolgs, under their mighty King and Warrior, Nuadha. However, during the last battle, with victory close at hand, Nuadha was seriously wounded on the arm by a Tir Bolg warrior named Sreng. Nuadha was immediately taken to the Rath to hideout.

Raths are fortresses that were made specifically for the war against Fomors. It has been inactive for many years after the war and now they are known as dungeons.

Although victory was clearly leaning toward the Tuatha de Dananns, the refugees that were hiding out in the Raths began to panic as they saw their great leader wounded.

This is when things got worse. The Fomors were waiting for the Tuatha de Danann leader to retreat to the Rath. Through the secret passage of the Fomors, they invaded the Rath from the inside and began attacking.

In the middle of the fortress where our soldiers and our leader was resting unguarded...the Fomors...appeared without warning. A passage way opened from the land of Fomors and they continued pouring in, slaughtering all the people inside the Rath. The fortress of the humans turned into a slaughter house as the Tuatha de Dananns were on the brink of defeat.

King Nuadha tried to fight off the fomors with his wounded body, but it was no use.



Just then, the black winged Goddess Morrighan appeared."

That picture! It was her!

"The Goddess used her power to stop the Fomors from coming through to the Rath. Many were able to escape while the Goddess held off the Fomors.

However, the Fomors did not back away. Even as the Goddess of War, it was too much for her to single handedly take on the entire army of Fomors. The Goddess slowly began growing weaker.

As a last resort, the Goddess used her remaining strength to cast one last spell. She had to use her body as collateral to seal the passage of the Fomors. The Fomors were forever trapped inside the seal of the Goddess, stuck inside forever. The few remaining ones in the Rath were killed by human warriors.

However, what people didn't realize... The magic the Goddess used required a tremendous sacrifice...the Goddess herself had to turn to stone... that's how much she wanted to protect us.

After the war, as a commemoration of their victory, humans set up stone statues of the Goddess all throughout Erinn to remember and honor her sacrifice. These are the statues you see inside the dungeons.

The Goddess, who lost her physical body in Erinn, ascended to the land of gods, Tir Na Nog. She is there right now...watching down on us from there.

And like that, Goddess Morrighan allowed the human race to flourish in Erinn and disappeared.

Now she can only be seen as a statue in the dungeon. But...one strange thing happened. People have reported that if you place an item at the altar of the Goddess, you are transported to another place.

Although the Goddess turned into stone, people started to believe once again that she was still watching over us...even in Tir Na Nog...

and that's why people call her the Protector of Humans,



and Warriors and revere her.

The Goddess is watching over us....forever."

So the Goddess Morrighan, the face of the statues guarding every dungeon, she sacrificed herself to save the humans of this place during the first war against the evil Fomors.
And these very statues are what seal the dungeons, preventing the fomors from escaping into the world.
She still resides somewhere, in the land of Tir Na Nog, and her seals are weakening, because she is in danger.

If these "Fomors" escape from their seals..What is to happen to Erinn and it's people?

This isn't good.

I resolve to set up camp in Sidhe Sneachta and wait for nightfall, to speak to Tarlach.
The strange bear with it's piercing perceptive gaze keepse me company in the cold next to my campfire.