Tempest
The Tempests are the rulers of Tenebrae on Pagan, residing in the palace in the city centre.
Description[edit]
When threatened with death in ancient times, Hydros had to grant the power of Tempestry to the Tempests. There are many powers they can wield. Tempests can walk over water, breathe under water, summon or dissipate storms, and call lightning bolts or explosions. Since all of it comes directly from Hydros, no words of power, reagents or other utensils are needed to do the magic. Such power pretty much predestined them for rulership. Sadly, it is a inherited trait, and can't be learned, only granted by Hydros. The laws of inheritance set by Hydros rule, that the firstborn always gets the bigger power than all that follow.
History[edit]
In ancient times, Hydros earned the enmity of the necromancer Kalen after killing his beloved and pulling her body down into her seas. Conspiring with Lithos for revenge, Kalen managed to trap Hydros at Carthax Lake and forced her to not only return the body of his beloved but to also grant him and his line the power of Tempestry. From then on, the Tempests became the rulers of Tenebrae instead of the Necromancers.
By the time of Ultima VIII, Mordea was the acting Tempest, ruling as absolute dictator due to her fear that it could become known that her half-brother Devon actually was the first-born with greater power. After the Avatar revealed the truth, Mordea found her death and Devon took the throne. In a attempt to gain the power of Tempestry, the Avatar later made a deal and freed Hydros. But the hero was tricked, and the power of Tempestry was lost for all time to Pagan and the Tempests. Hydros' later destruction at the Avatar's hand made sure it would stay that way.
Lore[edit]
| “ | Many generations of hardships passed and a hero became known to the people. His name was Kalen, and in time he became their Necromancer. He fell in love with his Apprentice, who returned his affections, and soon they were to undergo the Ceremony of Bonding. Then tragedy befell them as Hydros, considerably displeased with the pact between Lithos and the Pagans, sent a great wave to wash across the city, pulling Kalen's beloved into the seas. As the people began repairs to the city, Kalen headed to the Temple of Flowing Waters.
There Kalen begged for the return of his betrothed, but Hydros refused his request. Instead she revealed to him the image of his love in her new form, pale and sickly as that of one of the Lurker's minions. Thoughts of vengeance entered Kalen's mind and he visited Lithos to learn of means for justice. He found the Mountain King eager to comply, having no love for a rival Titan. Lithos revealed that a powerful substance, called Blackrock, was immutable by any amount of the Lurker's powerful waves. Kalen remembered the tales of the ancient Pagan Temple and the great obelisk. He returned to the volcano and found in the crater the remains of the obelisk. There, in the murky waters continually filled by Hydros' rains, was the darkened silt of this Blackrock. Using his Necromantic powers, Kalen reshaped the crater to prevent fresh water from entering the Temple of Flowing Water. In addition, he melded the Blackrock into the crater wall, preventing the Lurker from eroding away the land. He had trapped Hydros. Entering the Temple, Kalen was prepared to destroy both it and Hydros by reforming the crater. His intention was that not enough water should remain for the Titan's existence. Before he could complete the task, the Lurker's pleas stayed his hand. She promised to return his beloved's body so that it could be interred properly, no longer a servant to the Titan of Water. She also offered to pass on to him and all in his future bloodline a modicum of her powers, equal in measure to the abilities he gained from Lithos. Kalen accepted her bargain for the good of the people. From that point on, the storms ended, and two separate sects of magic, Necromancy and Tempestry, were present in the land. – from The Chronicle of Pagan (Ultima VIII)
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Known Tempests[edit]
Trivia[edit]
- Originally, the Avatar would've gained the powers of Tempestry after freeing Hydros, but Tempestry was part of the cuts the original plot was subjected to. The powers of tempestry would have opened new areas to explore in Pagan. See Plot Cuts in Ultima VIII.
Gallery[edit]
A battle between Tempests
A water-walking tempest
