The History of the Manatonics

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||      ||  || ISTORY                |

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||      / /  \ /  \ \  ANATONICS     |

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||        By Aesea MacLeod         *&|

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Contents

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*         Table of Contents          *

*                                    *

*Section:                      Page  *

* Preface.......................03   *

* Chapter 1: Creation...........04   *

* Chapter 2: War of the              *

*    Manatonics.................07   *

* Chapter 3: The Great Battle...09   *

* Chapter 4: The Aftermath......16   *

* Chapter 5: The Ethereal            *

*    Returns....................18   *

*                                    *

* Appendix A: The Generations...20   *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

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Preface

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*  Preface:                          *

*   The contents of this book have   *

*been gathered through word of mouth *

*and personal experience. Some of the*

*names have been omitted for obvious *

*reasons. This is also by no means a *

*complete history of the manatonics. *

*Many important stories have been    *

*left out due to a lack of           *

*information. One in particular that *

*I wish to study is the story of     *

*Eremon MacLeod. If you should have  *

*any additional information, please  *

*let me know. I shall try to keep the*

*volume up to date. I hope that you  *

*enjoy reading it as much as I       *

*enjoyed researching and writing it. *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*             -Aesea MacLeod         *

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Creation

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*      Chapter 1: Creation           *

*                                    *

*All are aware of the many gods whom *

*the mortals worship, but few are    *

*aware that there exists another     *

*being. This entity is the essence   *

*of our kind, the order of the       *

*manatonics. The one who I speak of  *

*is known as the Ethereal. The       *

*Ethereal watches over us, he is our *

*protector, our creator, and our     *

*mentor. Unlike the other gods, the  *

*Ethereal does not interact with the *

*other gods or mortals. His sole     *

*purpose is to watch over his        *

*chosen ones.                        *

*                                    *

*The Ethereal chooses his followers  *

*at birth. Those chosen are then     *

*watched until they have reached     *

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*maturity, at which point the        *

*Ethereal bestows his gifts upon the *

*person. The gift is nothing more    *

*than an awakening of dormant parts  *

*of the mind. The person will find   *

*that they are able to use their mind*

*to do things previously impossible. *

*Of all the gifts given, eternal life*

*is considered one of the most       *

*precious. The details of the rest of*

*the powers will be explained in a   *

*later book.                         *

*                                    *

* With the gift of eternal life, the *

*manatonics have become a race of    *

*watchers. With infinite time, comes *

*infinite choices. Most have chosen  *

*to watch and then act, as extra time*

*will not affect their outcome. I    *

*often like to think of the analogy  *

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/************************************\

*of the stream of life. Each person  *

*flows along his or her own course,  *

*be it a leaf on the stream, or a    *

*part of the current. The manatonics *

*are removed from this stream. They  *

*stand aside and watch as the current*

*flows past. Occasionally they will  *

*step in and disrupt the flow, but   *

*inevitably the stream will continue *

*to flow around them.                *

*                                    *

* It is the watching and waiting that*

*led to the first of the manatonic   *

*wars in the first generation. *     *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*  * See the appendix for a better   *

*    explanation of the different    *

*    generations.                    *

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War of the Manatonics

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*  Chapter 2: War of the Manatonics  *

*                                    *

* For some time, the manatonics had  *

*been gaining power. Some soon       *

*discovered that by killing other    *

*manatonics, their own power would   *

*grow. What they did not realize at  *

*the time was that those who died,   *

*lost more power than was gained.    *

*Before long, a few manatonics       *

*emerged as the strongest. Many of   *

*the gifted ones went into hiding for*

*fear of being hunted down. Among the*

*most notable of those who gained    *

*power were Blake, Teufry, and       *

*Tenoyar.                            *

*                                    *

* Of all manatonics ever recorded,   *

*Blake was the most powerful. Blake  *

*was the first of the manatonics to  *

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*develop his mind enough to study the*

*ancient arts of the monks. Blakes   *

*power grew to such an extent, that  *

*he became more powerful than even   *

*the firstborn of the gods. He had   *

*enough power to rival the gods. It  *

*was this power that the gods feared,*

*and thus the second great battle    *

*begun.                              *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

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The Great Battle

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*    Chapter 3: The Great Battle     *

*                                    *

* The gods (please note, all of them *

*except the Ethereal), fearing the   *

*power that these chosen people could*

*attain, sought to destroy them all. *

*A golden dragon named Pryzm, one of *

*the largest dragons to ever walk the*

*lands, claimed that the existence of*

*the manatonics was blasphemous.     *

*Their very existence was unnatural. *

*There is much speculation as to the *

*real identity of Pryzm. It was said *

*that he was as powerful as three    *

*dragons, and some even believed that*

*he was Necrucifer or Devion in      *

*disguise.                           *

*                                    *

* I fear I must make a small comment *

*about how manatonics drew their     *

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*power in order to allow the reader  *

*to better understand the events that*

*transpired next. Throughout the     *

*world, there were special portals.  *

*These portals connected to the      *

*Ethereals plane. Through these      *

*portals the manatonics could draw   *

*upon the wisdom and knowledge of the*

*Ethereal, and it was these portals  *

*that all of Algoron focused its     *

*might against.                      *

*                                    *

* At the time of this war, the leader*

*of New Thalos (who shall be unnamed *

*at this time to protect her         *

*identity) was threatened by the     *

*dragon to step down and remove      *

*herself from the city. As sultana of*

*her people, she refused to leave.   *

*Pryzm convinced the minotaurs from  *

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/************************************\

*Icewall to leave their homes and    *

*sail to Althania. Pryzms real goal  *

*was not New Thalos itself, but what *

*lay beyond. Past New Thalos was     *

*Dragons Vale, an ancient valley     *

*shrouded in mystery.                *

*                                    *

* The other manatonics, realizing the*

*trouble they were in, banded        *

*together for the first time. Both   *

*evil and good, strong and weak, came*

*together to save their way of life. *

*Instead of risking innocent         *

*bloodshed, the manatonics came      *

*together in the Vale, where they    *

*would be most powerful              *

*                                    *

*Pryzm, angered by the Sultanas      *

*refusal to leave, went on a rampage *

*through New Thalos. Many watched in *

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*horror as the great dragon sent wave*

*after wave of devastating fire      *

*breath throughout the streets.      *

*Within minutes, the once beautiful  *

*city of New Thalos was reduced to a *

*pile of smoldering ashes. The       *

*minotaurs quickly captured the      *

*destroyed city. The sultana, seeing *

*her city being burned to the ground,*

*left and joined the rest in Dragons *

*Vale.                               *

*                                    *

* Many of the other mortals, caught  *

*up in the bloodlust, joined the army*

*that marched to Dragons Vale. The   *

*only thought on all their minds was *

*the destruction of the freaks of    *

*nature, something the manatonics had*

*been labeled ever since their       *

*discovery. The odd band of          *

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*manatonics guarding the portal      *

*stood, awaiting the onslaught.      *

*                                    *

* Elf and dwarf fought side by side, *

*steel combined its efforts with     *

*magic, and light walked with the    *

*darkness. The manatonics fought     *

*valiantly, but after days of        *

*fighting and many deaths (mostly on *

*the armies side), their strength    *

*began to wane. Soon even Blake could*

*scarcely defend himself. The other  *

*gods, seeing their chance to strike *

*when the manatonics were weakened,  *

*called down their wrath upon the    *

*portals all around Algoron.         *

*                                    *

* Seeing the skies fill with         *

*lightning and fire, the manatonics  *

*fled the Vale. None of the          *

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*manatonics had died in the battle,  *

*but each had barely enough strength *

*to either run or speak the words of *

*magic that would take them far away.*

*What happened next, few will ever   *

*forget. The heavens opened up and   *

*lightning of various colors rained  *

*down upon the portal. An unholy fire*

*sprang up in the Vale and scorched  *

*everything in its path. When the    *

*storm finally cleared and the sun   *

*shone its glaring light on the      *

*valley, the portal was destroyed. In*

*its place stood a blackened crater. *

*                                    *

* Many of the other portals were     *

*reduced to craters as well, but a   *

*few of the smaller ones were well   *

*hidden, even from the view of the   *

*gods. The manatonics themselves hid *

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*in fear. Daily they could feel the  *

*great loss they had suffered. Their *

*connection to the Ethereal was weak *

*at best. They had no powers left,   *

*and many faded into nothingness, to *

*be forgotten in the vastness of     *

*time.                               *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

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The Aftermath

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*      Chapter 4: The Aftermath      *

*                                    *

* All of the manatonics were weakened*

*and began to go into a hibernation  *

*of sorts. It was during this time   *

*that I believe the Ethereal removed *

*himself from the plane of both      *

*Algoron and the other gods. Many of *

*the manatonics awoke to find that   *

*they had nothing left, and many     *

*ended their lives. A few remained to*

*search again for their powers and   *

*regain what was lost, but there were*

*too few and they were too scattered.*

*                                    *

* The tales of the manatonics soon   *

*faded to history, and then to       *

*legend. A few of them still walked  *

*the land. Though their powers were  *

*gone, they still retrained their    *

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*everlasting life. They were soon    *

*rewarded.                           *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

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*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

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The Ethereal Returns

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*   Chapter 5: The Ethereal Returns  *

*                                    *

* After many years of being dormant  *

*and regaining strength, the Ethereal*

*returned to the plane of Algoron and*

*began to call his followers again.  *

*Those who were left found that their*

*powers returned, but many of the    *

*powers they once possessed were     *

*gone. Most notable of those were all*

*of the offensive powers. The older  *

*manatonics also noticed that there  *

*were new people who were gifted with*

*this power.                         *

*                                    *

* Of these new chosen, a few stood   *

*out. One was Lysoryn who was the    *

*emperor of Althania for a short     *

*while. There was also Deykan, a monk*

*who was in Gareth Keep. He was the  *

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*first of the manatonics to lose his *

*powers in the Althania Gladiator    *

*League to Maxx in a championship    *

*match. Note: Deykan was the second  *

*monk to be among the clanned people *

*of Algoron. As suddenly as these    *

*manatonics appeared, they left.     *

*                                    *

* As they left, I was born. It has   *

*been some time since I have seen    *

*another of my kind, and as of the   *

*writing of this book, I, Aesea      *

*MacLeod, am the master of the       *

*manatonics. Any questions pertaining*

*to this book or the history of the  *

*manatonics should be addressed to   *

*myself.                             *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

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Appendix A: The Generations

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*    Appendix A: The Generations     *

*                                    *

* I define the first generation as   *

*any manatonics born before the great*

*war in which most of the portals    *

*were destroyed. The second          *

*generation is those born after the  *

*return of the Ethereal. The third   *

*generation is those born after the  *

*disappearance of the second         *

*generation.                         *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

*                                    *

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A Letter Regarding the Morality of Transferring Manatonic Powers

Tue Dec 20 21:13:28 2011

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Dear Sir,

I'm sorry I had to be away so abruptly. Your thoughts on the transfer of

manatonic powers gave me much to consider.

First, I must ask the question, is it possible to non-violently 'gift'

another with one's powers?

If this is not possible, and the only way to remove the powers is through

violence, then I find myself unable to approve of a transfer in such a

fashion. Doing harm to another, particularly in a way which would take away

from their being, is most certainly not something which pleases Siccara.

It does seem unfair if the only way to transfer power about is through evil

means. However, I have read and heard repeated many times that the power

granted in this violent act is always less than what is taken. In a way,

the transfer of manatonic powers in the world is a true metaphor for why

evil does not work, and can only destroy, and not create. Powers taken in

this way constantly in our world means that they will wither and die away

after much time, and many lives.

Evil does the same with every resource and power it touches. Using it,

abusing it, then discarding it when it is no longer useful. Not looking

ahead and planting new trees in a forest, or taking care that the tailings

of their mines stay out of the water supply of villages. In this way, they

run down the entire world, destroying any and everything they touch.

It seems to me, the powers of manatonics exist as a great test of one's

will. If the only way to transfer them is through an act of violence, it

creates a great temptation to do evil to those undeserving of cruelty.

It remains, there are those, like Symiad, who may in the line of duty end up

with powers that they do not want. If they wish to be violently cured,

gifting what they may to another, I think this is their personal choice.

However, such a gift would be tainted if the giver was coerced, or felt so

in any way to give it. Thus it is impossible to solicit for such a gift,

but the giver would have to come forward, unbidden, and offer it in complete

freedom out of the generosity of their heart.

Thus, in answer to your question, finally, no, I don't think you should

write Symiad with this request. I cannot believe other elves did not wish

for, covet, or solicit either in joke or earnest, for his powers when they

learned he came upon them unwillingly. Yet he chose not to gift any of

them. Right or wrong, greedy or no, he had the powers taken up to the gods.

Unless you and he are close friends, with which you may share anything, I

would not trouble him on the topic.

I would encourage you to seek out Sir Regus Draven some time for discussion.

He would no doubt have further insights, and, as you intend to petition for

paladinhood, you will need to meet with a priest for confession, anyhow.

I will leave you with an ancient scripture to consider:

If one

Ponders on objects of the sense, there springs

Attraction; from attraction grows desire,

Desire flames to fierce passion, passion breeds

Recklessness; then the memory -all betrayed-

Lets noble purpose go, and saps the mind,

Till purpose, mind, and man are all undone.

- The Gita (I think it is Shokonese)

Siccara bless,

Lady Datai d'Aggravaine, Shield

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