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Seeds of Destruction Information & Guides
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This is a guide to the new features, zones, gear, spells and lore of the Seeds of Destruction po
Seeds of Destruction |
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The Seeds of Destruction expansion is required to access this content. Live: October 21, 2008 |
For the main article concerning group progression, see Seeds of Destruction Group Progression
For the main article concerning raid progression, see Seeds of Destruction Raid Progression
Like Jonas Dagmire's Skeletal Hand and various faction bonus lines from Secrets of Faydwer, Seeds of Destruction provides added incentive for completing all quests in a given theme.
The overall quest arc for this expansion results in the Timeshear which requires collecting fragments from every theme.
Zebuxoruk is the lone occupant of The Void, and boy, does he have a story to tell.
Upon First Entering The Void (The Void "A"):
You say, 'Hail, Zebuxoruk'
Zebuxoruk says 'So you have finally come, to see again the ignominious end of beloved Norrath. Can you hear me, Druzzil? Are you there, Solusek? I am free of my cage. The language of the gods is my own, as are my many thoughts, culled and refined from a thousand million years of ongoing imprisonment. Yet there is no mana to empower my will, nor worshipers to sustain me. Norrath has been destroyed, sundered into [dust].'
You say, 'Dust?'
Zebuxoruk says 'I saw many things as I lingered in my cage. Armies of the unsavory pantheon, and their ignorant opponents, tearing the world apart, breaching the passage of days from What Was to What Is. See noble Veeshan, sprawled dead in the heavens. See the clockworks of Time sprung and broken. The Veil of Order ripped away again and again, delivering [Norrath] and yet also destroying it.'
You say, 'Norrath?'
Zebuxoruk says 'The world has gone, the planes are fading away, and all of you are but orphaned echoes of a dead time, doomed to endless rebirth in the stomach of a beast whose length is measured in aeons. Still you'll try to save what can never be saved, to redeem for yourselves a tiny amount of illusion that the universe is not as it is. Gaze upon the grave of Veeshan, the lifegiver dragon, and know the [truth] of my words.'
You say, 'What truth?'
Zebuxoruk says 'You have done nothing, yet you are responsible! For all of this! You, the innocent, for despite your denials you are powerless to preclude yourselves from involvement in the greater tragedy, the hideous fate which sweeps away all memory, all context, until only the echoes of that mighty struggle remain. Know that the [corpse] of Norrath still bears the many marks of your intervention.'
You say, 'Its corpse?'
Zebuxoruk says 'So predictable, you mortals. Set a problem before you and you must solve it; give you a chance and you will take it. Even when you confront the grandest context of your actions, still you leap to action with hardly a second thought. Have you ever given yourselves to the possibility that perhaps death is a better [alternative] to eternal fighting, and endless destruction?'
You say, 'An alternative?'
Zebuxoruk says 'If I had known what the ultimate outcome would be I would never have tried to give mortals the secrets I discovered. No, that was indeed a mistake. But perhaps I listen only to the voice of my own purposes, perhaps throughout the unknowable length of my imprisonment, I have lost forever the ability to empathize with those mortals I once sought to [aid] with the powers of the gods.'
You say, 'Aid?'
Zebuxoruk says 'Know that it is futile to tamper with time. You gain nothing, for opening the timescape to your own intrusion opens it also for others. But you should know this, for you have already been through these portals hundreds of times, at least in my experience. What are You? What am I? The difference between us is meaningless. You are doomed to repeat the tragedies of time, and I am doomed to witness them. If you still choose to try and undo what has been wrought upon Norrath, I shall repeat these words yet again, yet again, yet again. 'The Portals [beckon]. Do as you will'.'
You say, 'They beckon?'
Zebuxoruk says 'There, in times past, you may find ways to restore your [context], if ever it was truly that valuable.'
You say, 'What context?'
Zebuxoruk says 'The destiny of Norrath sits in peril as long as the enemy's power is undiminished, in what was once called Oceangreen Hills. There must you re-establish the balance.'
After Completing the Oceangreen theme (in The Void "B"):
You say, 'Hail, Zebuxoruk'
Zebuxoruk says 'Again you have returned, to see the tiny march of progress you have accomplished. Again I must ask: Is the winning of a battle worth the losing of a war? Of a way of life? Of an entire world? The damage was already done, many aeons ago, when first the insane ones came to meddle in Norrath's past. You merely prolong the disturbance by your efforts, setting things the way they were will only help so long as your [enemy] chooses to stop interfering with time, which of course they won't.'
You say, 'What do you know of the enemy?'
Zebuxoruk says 'Yes, your enemy is most implacable. You think yourselves superior to them, yet you become more like them with every iteration through this paradox. Was there ever any use to convincing you otherwise? ... No, of course there wasn't. You have always been stubborn, in all of your forms, in all of your guises. I have seen you come here many times, and like the others, you are always so sure of what needs to be done you never bothered asking yourself the hard [questions].'
You say, 'Questions?'
Zebuxoruk says 'Yes, questions, someone said once that an unquestioned life is not worth living, do you not believe that? In a disordered universe, questions lead to answers, and answers lead to solutions. I myself have had aeons to discuss all the matters of the universe with myself, and I now possess greater truths than you could ever imagine. The questions you must ask yourself revolve around time. When [time] is as pliable and as powerful as the waters of a river, how would you hope to face and defeat a foe who has learned to use those powers, without being able to use them yourself?'
You say, 'What about time?'
Zebuxoruk says 'You begin to see. The struggle has meaning, does it not? Even when the outcome is predetermined, even when the possibility of success is nil for many reasons, and the accumulating damage becomes catastrophic. You may chase down your foe, but they return again soon enough, for in time there is no longer any finality. Not here; not since [they] first came.'
You say, 'Who are they?'
Zebuxoruk says ''They', of course. 'They who devour worlds'. They are legion. You shall never stop them. I have seen your despair, your irritation, in a thousand different frustrating visits. You have been ignorant of these moments, of course, because every time They strike again - and how can they do anything else? - you always rise nobly to the [challenge] regardless of the risks, unwittingly playing your part in an eternal drama.'
You say, 'What is the challenge?'
Zebuxoruk says 'Watching you bravely take the next portal, and correct the [damage], warms my heart. It is like watching a child try to sweep a beach clear of all sand.'
You say, 'What damage?'
Zebuxoruk says 'Though you and your friends haven't the vaguest clue what evil you truly face, your efforts have an [impact] on all things. Some good, some not. Know the difference.'
You say, 'What is the next impact?'
Zebuxoruk says 'The invaders are stealing the past of Norrath by interfering with the outcome of the battle you knew as Bloody Kithicor. You must return to the past, and prevent the outcome from changing.'
After Completing the Bloody Kithicor theme (in The Void "C"):
You say, 'Hail, Zebuxoruk'
Zebuxoruk says 'You again. Behold the fruits of your latest efforts. More progress, but what of it? Will Norrath ever be the same again? Does it [deserve] to be?'
You say, 'It deserves to be.'
Zebuxoruk says 'That's easy for you to say, you haven't spent thousands of years in a magical cage, and millions more years stuck in time, arguing with yourself! On those long afternoons of virtual non-existence, I would count and lose count. Many, many, many, times. I had to make up words to describe the numbers I could count to, and words to describe the [frustration] of losing my place when counting above each of those numbers. I stopped counting after awhile. Among the things I stopped counting, were the number of times you have asked me that exact same question!'
You say, 'What frustration?'
Zebuxoruk says 'No matter. It is all cyclical anyway, yet I must always try to remember that no matter how many times you have been here, and we have talked, it is always your 'first' time. I try to hold my temper at your inability to learn, to remember our many long and interesting conversations over the centuries. You'll [remember] for awhile, then you'll forget and it will be like starting over anew.'
You say, 'I'll remember.'
Zebuxoruk says 'No, no you'll not. You'll declare yourself victorious one day, perhaps, if you endure long enough; but the world will once again be shattered and you will appear again, young, like you are now, and ready for battle. I have wearied myself to tears many times over the relentless [inevitability] of it all.'
You say, 'What inevitability?'
Zebuxoruk says 'Inevitable but necessary. I wouldn't know what to say to you if you didn't try to restore Norrath; fortunately, you always try, so I've never had to find out. Once I became used to the predictability of You, I [fear] anything else.'
You say, 'What fear?'
Zebuxoruk says 'I've had to cope with Eternity and the endless destruction and rebirth of Norrath; my prison sentence has far outlasted the most sadistic wishes of those who condemned me. What else would I fear but sudden, random change? Who are you, if you will not [restore] things to the way they were?'
You say, 'I will restore things.'
Zebuxoruk says 'The Sebilisian's war against the Dragons in the Field of Scale has given the Discordians an opening to redraw the history of Norrath. Don't let them succeed.'
After Completing the Field of Scale theme (in The Void "D"):
You say, 'Hail, Zebuxoruk'
Zebuxoruk says 'Welcome back! Ha, I never tire of saying that to you. It is a small amusement we share... but I see you don't remember. I have heard the echoes of the gods, perhaps even Veeshan will be returning soon to mourn the death of her world. As you can see, the destruction has been catastrophic, but not [total]. You may have had something to do with this.'
You say, 'Total?'
Zebuxoruk says 'Whatever victories you have won in the past, know that even a single arrow can slay the future. In this place, the [future] belongs to the ones who dare to defend the past.'
You say, 'What future?'
Zebuxoruk says 'You have confided to me many times on these repeated travels that you could not rest in your own timeline, knowing that this struggle was as yet underway. Time and time again... you might leave the battle for years, return to Norrath, settle down, raise children, build a different life... and still your [nightmares] of the Enemy would disturb your sleep.'
You say, 'What nightmares?'
Zebuxoruk says 'Yes, the recurring thoughts of the Enemy, working day and night to undo your reality, in past, present, and future, made your inner peace impossible to regain. Now, you are as much a prisoner of this reality as I am, though we both now possess the freedom to [leave] this place anytime we wished.'
You say, 'Why don't you leave?'
Zebuxoruk says 'But where would I go? What would I do? My place is here. If you came here and did not find me, that would truly mean the Enemy's final victory. The loss of my remaining magic, which holds these Portals open and the air upon this rock, would eliminate forever the possibility of saving Norrath and giving you mortals yet another chance to [save] yourselves.'
You say, 'Help us save ourselves.'
Zebuxoruk says 'When the Rallosian Empire was at its peak, the ogre leader Murdunk led an army to the Plane of Earth to subdue the Rathe Council. With a push by the Discordians either way, history as we knew it could become undone.'
After Completing the Invasion of Earth theme (in The Void "E"):
You say, 'Hail, Zebuxoruk'
Zebuxoruk says 'It is good to see you. You usually don't make it this far. Gazing after you through the Portals, I often see you fall in battle. Watching you die has no impact upon me, for I know someday you will [return], with each new trip of the cycle.'
You say, 'Return'
Zebuxoruk says 'From here the battles get harder; I always feel the duty to warn you. It is right about now that your true foes begin to recognize your interference with their plans, and begin redoubling their efforts. Theirs is a dangerous path, playing games in time with none other than the gods of Norrath, but their [tampering] cannot be detected except by us.'
You say, 'Tampering'
Zebuxoruk says 'Those among them who can see the changes in time, they know that they will always inevitably succeed, thus they never consider the futility of it all. They cannot; they require new worlds to consume and Norrath is the next to fall. Resistance is as costly as the contamination itself; each trip through these portals wears away at the fabric of existence ever so slightly, but taken together the [impact] is enormous. The Enemy may decide to stop their compulsive assaults upon the history of Norrath, yet Norrath would soon shatter anyway, its elemental forces becoming imbalanced for all time by their interference.'
You say, 'What impact?'
Zebuxoruk says 'Go and [resume] your struggle. All you can do is make them pay for what they've done.'
You say, 'Resume'
Zebuxoruk says 'The Discordians have journeyed to the past, to the worlds of Kuua and Korafax, to cause changes that would further increase their own power against the defenders of Norrath. You are running out of time, they must be stopped!'
After Completing the Kuua + Korafax theme (in The Void "F"):
You say, 'Hail, Zebuxoruk'
Zebuxoruk says 'You wear away at the great threat like the tide against the shore, tirelessly, and with noble grace worthy of a [god].'
You say, 'A god?'
Zebuxoruk says 'I begin to understand why the gods punished me as they have. Given the language of the gods, mortals would someday outdo them. The mortal context is so much more flexible, yet mortals also possess an understanding of what it means to lose everything, the humiliation of defeat, that drives their pursuit of victory. At the same time, your limitations bar you from knowing where your true limits lie, and this gives you faith in the impossible. Perhaps it is well you cannot perceive the greater context of the [struggle].'
You say, 'What struggle?'
Zebuxoruk says 'You have already advanced to the level of a godlike being; you transcend time and place, you wield fantastic power. It is time to [complete] your task, as I have seen you do so many times before.'
You say, 'I will complete my task.'
Zebuxoruk says 'The most dangerous of all battles awaits you, the final terrifying confrontations with those who dwell within Discord Tower.'
After Completing the Discord Tower (in The Void "G"):
You say, 'Hail, Zebuxoruk'
Zebuxoruk says 'All has been restored; all that remains is the final merging of the tired shards of reality into a unified whole. Norrath, as you knew it, is [saved] . . . For now.'
You say, 'It's saved'
Zebuxoruk says 'There is no escape for either of us, however. The gods will never notice that I have served my eternal sentence of imprisonment many times over, so I will yet linger in my cage when Norrath is reconstituted. You, of course, will return to Norrath with your friends, and do the great things you do, live out your life, leave your [legacy], until at last you pass on. Then, the cycle will someday begin anew as the lamentable Discordians again dabble in time.'
You say, 'What about our legacy?'
Zebuxoruk says 'It is my fate to be punished for the endless eternities, for giving mortals the power you needed to save yourselves, to prevent the destruction of Norrath and the planar realities it touches. Your legacy will be to remember me, and to use the time you have gained to [prepare] for what is to come. Norrath cannot stand forever against its invaders.'
You say, 'We will prepare'
Zebuxoruk says 'Soon you will leave, and I will watch you go through the portal. Later, as the portal shimmers to show a different vista, I can see what I call the Thing's Eye . . . something which waits for the right moment to strike. Perhaps when the [weave] of time becomes too weak, it will come.'
You say, 'The weave?'
Zebuxoruk says 'There are many curious creatures beyond the shattered shards of time. The Discordians are aware of some of them; some they even created, others they evicted from the worlds they struck. Others are completely foreign and beyond your vaguest appreciation. Watch for them. They will sweep aside the very foundations of Norrath in the cosmos, and they will destroy me and all the other gods. I have [foreseen] this. I have spent eternities gazing through the portals, looking upon impossible visions.'
You say, 'What have you foreseen?'
Zebuxoruk says 'When the timeline is weak enough, a new assault will come to Norrath. By then your powers will be so great that both past and future will be evacuated, their peoples to make a last stand in the Now. What a magnificent effort that shall be, though it will be utterly futile. At the moment of your greatest despair, look up and see the Alabaster Tower which shall offer your [salvation].'
You say, 'Our salvation?'
Zebuxoruk says 'You ask too much of me. I saw what I saw, but can offer no evidence. It is but another path among ruined timelines, perhaps one that will yet not be taken. Go now, and savor your victories. I shall wait here in endless timelessness, here with this forlorn tree, for your unwitting return.'
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Seeds of Destruction |
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The Seeds of Destruction expansion is required to access this content. Live: October 21, 2008 |