The death of Shra'kt'lor, and the last Zerth?

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BrokenUnity's picture
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The death of Shra'kt'lor, and the last Zerth?

Okay, pretty much my only source is PST because i'm Clueless and have no other refrences. However, from PST text one could draw the following flow of logic:

//

1) Dak'kon was a Zerth.

a. Dak'kon carries a Karach blade
b. "The blade is a symbol carried by the *zerth*. A *zerth* is one who *knows* the words of Zerthimon."

//

2) He was not a novice zerth.

a. "Long have I *known* the words of Zerthimon. Through my voice, many have come to *know* the words of Zerthimon."

//

3) He began to doubt that the true meaning of Zerthimon's teachings where understood.

a. "It came to pass that I spoke the words of Zerthimon without *knowing* the words of Zerthimon."
b. "I *knew* the words. Yet it came into my heart that perhaps others did not *know* the words as Zerthimon *knew* them."

//

4) He caused division within the Githzerai.

a. "And so division formed. As my mind became as two, as my mind became divided, those that looked to me as a guiding stone became divided. Many scores of githzerai, many hundreds of scores of githzerai... doubted."
b. "When a mind does not *know* itself, it is flawed. When a mind is flawed, the man is flawed. When a man is flawed, that which he touches is flawed." Dak'kon paused. "It is said that what a flawed man sees, his hands make broken."
c. This division weakened Shra'kt'lor.

//

5) This leads to a defeat at the hands of the Githyanki

a. "The enemies of Zerthimon came. *Know* that their hatred of his words and the People lent their blades strength. *Know* that they sensed the weakened city, and they brought war with them."
b. Of the two enemeies the Githzerai have, the enemies that attacked had swords, Illithids use flesh not steel... which suggests that the enemies where the Githyanki.

//

6.1) Shra'kt'lor was destroyed psysically or spiritually as a result of the dividion Dak'kon created.

a. "Shra'kt'lor died that day."

//

6.2) Dak'kon became lost.

a."As I fell from the walls of Shra'kt'lor, *know* that my self was broken."
b."My blade was mist, my mind divided."

//

7) Either way, it appears that Shra'kt'lor was not destroyed irrevocably.

a. "I died for days, my mind awash in division."
b. Dak'kon recovered, which suggests Shra'kt'lor could have recovered.

//

Cool After the death of Shra'kt'lor, Dak'kon had become the last Zerth.

a. "Dak'kon, *zerth* of Shra'kt'lor-Drowning, last wielder of the *karach* blade, know that I have come to you with the words of Zerthimon, carved not in chaos, but in stone, carved by the will in an Unbroken Circle."
b. Remember: "The blade is a symbol carried by the *zerth*."
c. The others may have died or they may have or come to not *know* themselves and therefore their blades "became mist" and they lost the rank of Zerth.
d. After being given the unbroken circle Dak'kon again comes to *know* himself.
e. Do Zerths have to have a Karach blade or is this only higher ranking zerths? What do you think the above implies?

//

Note: I think that the division Dak'kon creates was when he came to know the fifth circle and unlocked the sixth.

"Upon reading the Unbroken Circle, I *know* now that I took the *knowing* of the Fifth Circle and used the Power of One to bring about the Sixth Circle in Shra'kt'lor. In so doing, I divided the People. There was much suffering. I carry Shra'kt'lor with me always."

//

"Dak'kon... there is one other thing I would *know.* Why is Vilquar's Eye in the Circle of Zerthimon? It seems strange. It tells of how the People benefited from a treachery from their own. It seems - "

Dak'kon's eyes flash. "I have told you it is part of the telling of how the People came to *know* freedom. Do you not listen?" His voice flattens, as if he is reciting a passage from memory. "It tells the People that even in the greatest treachery, a greater *knowing* may be achieved."

From these two paragraphs I would suggest that Dak'kon sees his division of Shra'kt'lor as a treachery and wants to see the fifth circle as suggesting that some good for the people arose from his actions.

(Though to TNO it "doesn't sound to me like you believe that")

I do not *know* enough to say what it really intends, at least at the moment. I'm tired so I think I will do something else for a bit. I may have been writing utter rubish, or stating the obvious, but I hope that some people find this interesting.

Howarth Davin ag-Talaron's picture
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Um...

Is that a question?

420
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The death of Shra'kt'lor, and the last Zerth?

If the question is, is Shra'kt'lor gone and is Dak'kon the last zerth, I would say "no". Though PST never makes it clear when the story takes place.

Here are some options I came up with to grease up the old porcupine:

1. PST happens in the far future and the githzerai capital Shra'kt'lor has fallen and their culture is in decline.

2. Time doesn't matter in the planes, Shra'kt'lor has fallen before and it will fall again. After all, life in the Ever-Changing Chaos of Limbo has to be pretty dynamic.

3. Shra'kt'lor didn't actually fall but the Nameless One convinced Dak'kon that it did. Another gith in Sigil mentions the event when Dak'kon failed his duty but never says anything about the fate of Shra'kt'lor.

Also consider this: The Nameless One most likely tampered with Dak'kon's "Circle of Zerthimon", so don't put too much stock in it as evidence. More likely it was a tool used by the Nameless One's insane wizard incarnation to store spells that only he could unlock.

Shra'kt'lor is mentioned in WotC's Manual of the Planes:

Quote:

Shra'kt'lor: This is the githzerai's largest city. A fighter/wizard general called the Great Githzerai rules the city and is revered as a deity-king.

Since Shra'kt'lor exists in 3rd edition D&D it would seem any of the theories could hold true.

-420

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The death of Shra'kt'lor, and the last Zerth?

'420' wrote:
If the question is, is Shra'kt'lor gone and is Dak'kon the last zerth, I would say "no". Though PST never makes it clear when the story takes place.

Here are some options I came up with to grease up the old porcupine:

1. PST happens in the far future and the githzerai capital Shra'kt'lor has fallen and their culture is in decline.

False. The story of PlaneScape: Torment takes place after the forming of the factions but before the Faction War, since the Mercykillers are intact and the factions exist in Sigil, etc.

'420' wrote:
2. Time doesn't matter in the planes, Shra'kt'lor has fallen before and it will fall again. After all, life in the Ever-Changing Chaos of Limbo has to be pretty dynamic.
Possible, if one takes into account time travel. Or maybe not...

'420' wrote:
3. Shra'kt'lor didn't actually fall but the Nameless One convinced Dak'kon that it did. Another gith in Sigil mentions the event when Dak'kon failed his duty but never says anything about the fate of Shra'kt'lor.
False, as she later says that the fortress fell to the Githyanki.

'420' wrote:
Also consider this: The Nameless One most likely tampered with Dak'kon's "Circle of Zerthimon", so don't put too much stock in it as evidence. More likely it was a tool used by the Nameless One's insane wizard incarnation to store spells that only he could unlock.
True, and then False. The Practical Incarnation created the Unbroken Circle (a "collection of lies") and its spells to help stablize Dak'kon, but it may have some basis in fact. But the Paranoid Incarnation (the "insane wizard") was incarnated right after the Practical's death and couldn't have had access to the circle since it was in Dak'kon's possession at the time, but anyone with enough wisdom could have unlocked the circle and not just the Nameless One.

'420' wrote:
Shra'kt'lor is mentioned in WotC's Manual of the Planes:
Quote:
Shra'kt'lor: This is the githzerai's largest city. A fighter/wizard general called the Great Githzerai rules the city and is revered as a deity-king.

Since Shra'kt'lor exists in 3rd edition D&D it would seem any of the theories could hold true.

-420

The truth is unknown. All of the theories don't hold up to scrutiny. Likely, the "Great Githzerai" may be Dak'kon (fighter/mage), who gained that title after leaving paths with the Nameless One and then reclaiming the city from the Githyanki.

420
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The death of Shra'kt'lor, and the last Zerth?

'Zenosaga' wrote:
The truth is unknown. All of the theories don't hold up to scrutiny. Likely, the "Great Githzerai" may be Dak'kon (fighter/mage), who gained that title after leaving paths with the Nameless One and then reclaiming the city from the Githyanki.

I considered Dak'kon as a possible candidate for the Great Githzerai but I was unsure when the concept of the Great Githzerai was introduced, before or after PST. The real problem is the consistancy between the 2nd edition Planescape material and the 3rd edition generic planar manuals.

The removal of the factions from Sigil would indeed indicate that PST took place somewhere in the past. Which is too bad because I always liked the far future theory.

Anyway, I think we can al agree that at some point Shra'kt'lor did fall to the githyanki but it wasn't destoryed and it is currently in the hands of the githzerai.

As far as Dak'kon being the last zerth, (I'm still just guessing at the original poster's intent), the 3E Manual of the Planes says any multiclass githzerai are called "zerths".

-420

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The death of Shra'kt'lor, and the last Zerth?

Quote:
3. Shra'kt'lor didn't actually fall but the Nameless One convinced Dak'kon that it did. Another gith in Sigil mentions the event when Dak'kon failed his duty but never says anything about the fate of Shra'kt'lor.

I wouldn't agree with you, remember what Kii'na said:
“You walk with a pariah and you know not his history? He is quick to speak other words, but of his history he has remained silent? Ask him of Shra'kt'lor, of the fall of a mighty fortress to the githyanki, and see what his divided mind reveals to you. Ask him how he speaks with Zerthimon’s words, but his karach is as mist.”

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The death of Shra'kt'lor, and the last Zerth?

The Great Githzerai was introduced in the 1st edition Manual of the Planes, and was described again in Planes of Chaos. He is Zaerith Menyar-Ag-Gith, also called the Wizard-King and the God-King. He is definitely not Dak'kon, and in fact is opposed to the zerths (not enough to crack down on them, as he knows they're too integral to githzerai culture to get rid of, but he doesn't like them because they adulate Zerthimon rather than himself).

The Great Githzerai lives in the Floating City, the spiritual capital of the githzerai people, in his Illuminated Tower. Shr'akt'lor is led by a council of generals in the Great Githzerai's name.

Torment implies that Dak'kon's radical interpretation of the zerth creed sparked a great conflict in the people of Shr'akt'lor, weakening it enough that the githyanki were able to destroy it. This hasn't happened in official D&D. Torment, as Zenosaga said, takes place prior to the Faction War and within the last few hundred years of Planescape's timeline, as all the "modern" factions are there (I don't remember any Planescape factols being specifically introduced, though - did Darius (of the Believers of the Source) or Erin (of the Sensates) ever make an appearance? I think the only NPC from the books was Fell, who's been around for many centuries. So the game might have taken place a few generations ago, I suppose, if that's true. It's conceivable that Shr'akt'lor fell a hundred years ago and was rebuilt.

You could also simply add the fall of Shr'akt'lor to an ongoing campaign, but the real answer is that Planescape: Torment isn't considered canon - it deserves to be, perhaps, but it isn't.

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Bear with me

Bear with me here... 

When I was writing my Zerth prestige class I completely omitted the Unbroken Circle as PST makes it clear that it was the Nameless One who created and gave the Circle to Dak'kon.

 Dak'kon is known to the Githzerai as Dak'kon the Pariah because of what happened at Shra'kt'lor. He was an outcast and the one whose lack of faith (and others coming to realise his lack of faith despite being one of the more devoted followes of Zerthimon) caused those within the city to doubt their own faith. If one as noble as Dak'kon can be made to falter, maybe it all IS falsehood...

 This is what shook Shra'kt'lor and made it fall to the siege of the 'Yanki raiders. But that was just it, they were raiders and not conquerers. The Githyanki can't hack it in Limbo any more that the 'Zerai are suited for the Astral. They came, killed and left burning wreckage. When the Nameless One approached Dak'kon, he was lost and his mental discipline had faltered so much that his blade had lost all form and was a mess of chaos. We all know the story from here, Unbroken Circle -> Faith Restored -> Kickass Githzerai again.

As for the blade itself, the way I have done it in the PrCls I made gives the blade an enhancement bonus equal to the wielders base Wisdom bonus (does not include artificial boosts from magic items as this is false wisdom). This might seem a bit overpowered but there are a lot of spells and other nastiness out there that can sap wisdom and so slowly erode the Zerth's weapon. Also, I have ensured (for balance issues) that the blade cannot be enhanced by any other means (no flaming burst Karach Blades!). So a even maxing out my Zerth PrCls would result in someone who realistically has one +5 weapon which carries no other enhancements other than being tied into the other class abilities which give it limited bonuses.

My whole point here is that 1) Zerth as a caste apparently existed long before PST highlighted the legendary RPG character Dak'kon as being one 2) The Karach blade is the weapon of the Zerth, but like all the best martial artists it is most deadly in the hands of those who are attuned and trained in its use (reflected in all Zerth having one but it being enhanced if that Zerth spends points to improve his focus and thereby improve his blade). If anything I would say Dak'kon may (in PST timeframe) have been the last of the Zerth if we assume he was the only survivor of the Zerth caste in Shra'kt'lor. But he either returned with renewed faith to train a new generation of Zerth or the Zerai were smart enough to have other Zerths around Limbo who were equally qualified to teach the lessons of Zerthimon (if not knowledgable of how to shape chaos-matter into tangible weapons). Finally 3) Shra'kt'lor is alive and well, it was attacked, besieged and burned to the ground...but then again, so was Rome and look how that turned out for the next 500 years (and they rebuilt Rome several times without the aid of magic and psionics!).

 As always, im sure there is a point in there somewhere. Mine long and hard to find it and it may even answer your question...if there was even a question there :-s

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In Planescape:Torment

In Planescape:Torment variations of a story are told in which a Gith becomes lost and so floundered she doesn't remember how to make land or a building (basic survival mental exercisez in Limbo). Dakkon's blade changes by the moment according to his mood. He doubted the word of Zerthimon b/c the motive seemed suspect: how would a conquering army of their people be bad? Doubt of Zerthimon's loyalty to the cause is then traced back to earlier stories. What if he didn't appease the Illithids to decieve them but really had been broken and led a rebellion to be tracked by them? Then he wouldn't want the Giths to kill Illithid's out of loyalty to the brain-suckers. {Anyone could be suspected of Illithid mind-control. Dakkon was paranoid. If the rebellion was fake why would the Illithid's let a free faction live out in Limbo? There's no gain for them.} Dakkon was, by the other gith's account, a pillar of the community. His paranoid doubt made the city waver like the mind of the lost gith. Because their buildings relied on mental focus, unsure minds meant a city collapsing. Invaders seeing it took advantage and the degree of damage in the battle's ambiguous. But the city could be destroyed and remade instantaneously, at the speed of thought.

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