Tag: Trailblazer One

#Lore 24 – Entry #119 – Sci-Fi Month II #28 – The Draconic Ruins of Vellion III – A Brief Overview

From the Official Record of Seraphino Basara, Chronicler of the Lady Goldeneyes, assigned UEF-04 Maharani Morgiana.

Devouring the reports from the scouting parties that entered the Vellion system is one thing, but finally being able to set foot on the third planet itself, to see the ruins that were discovered by the ASD divination team is something else entirely!  It’s remarkable the similarities between the ruins on this world and those I’ve explored on the other side of the Demon Barrier; even from the air during our approach, I could make out the similarities…and I would daresay, the identical nature of the structures.  The shaping of the draconic reliefs upon the upper level structures, the arrangement of the buildings themselves atop the mountain in relation to the planet’s solar cycles, even the presence of a massive draconic statue at the center of the ruin site…it’s almost…eerie just how much it reminds me of the ruins found upon the Dragon Isles of Andyllion.

I would daresay this discovery alone fortifies the Draconic Migration Theory, if not outright proves it.  I may be a bit presumptuous in that declaration, but how else can the presence of a place like this be explained?  How did the ancient dragons reach the Vellion system through the Demon Barrier?  At the very least, they would have had to have shifted to another plane and traversed through it and came back, but even planar travel into the Demon Sector is at best unreliable, at worst, deadly.  Did they…or do they…possess an advanced technology like the ATK drives, or some form of magical travel we can only begin to imagine?

But I digress; that’s a topic for another time.  As to the ruins on Vellion III…given that we’ve only been on site for two weeks, I don’t have all the data, certainly, but between myself and others who have began studying the ruins, we can ascertain certain facts regarding the history of this location:

  • The draconic language found on this world is identical to that of the worlds on the other side of the Demon Barrier. The inscriptions within the ruins themselves are readily readable by anyone who is familiar with the script of the language, and even includes High Draconic phrases.  The diplomatic party who ventured to the local kobold settlement were successfully able to discuss their history in relation to the ruins using the same language, modified slightly for the local dialect that developed.  I fear we may have adversely affected the development of their culture by revealing that we are not of this world, but who is to say that they would not have encountered “travelers from beyond the stars” eventually anyway?  At least our goals did not require violence upon them.
  • Like other known draconic sites, there is a historical record, the Magna Historiarum Draconis, marking the beginning of the draconic presence upon the world. Though local events are expectedly different, the same general pattern of development is present.  In short…the dragons appear upon the world, bringing their servants, primarily kobolds with a mix of other races, with them.  They construct their various empires and civilizations across the face of the planet, either benevolent or malevolent, all of which eventually decline as the dragons seemingly lose interest and withdraw, their former servants turn upon them and each other, and they eventually vanish, the Historiarum remaining unfinished.  There is also a massive portal chamber, likely how the dragons perhaps arrived or left the world, though long since destroyed, as is typical; likely it was destroyed by the final dragons to leave the world.
  • Based upon our analysis, the ruins here are approximately five thousand years old, making them amongst the newest ruins found to date. Without delving deeply into the vast history of the planet’s multiple societies, we cannot understand the true impact of this site and others like it that no doubt still exist upon the planet.  It will take lifetimes (relatively speaking) to properly study the histories here. 
  • The mysterious group that preceded us inside the ruins would seem to contain at least one properly trained archeologist, given the care and attention that was given to the excavation of the vault near to the destroyed portal chamber. Though we cannot ascertain with one-hundred-percent certainty if any relics were removed, it appears that most of what remains in the vault (some gemmed gold and silver treasures, ancient scrolls in preservative tubes, and other such items) was perhaps examined, but returned as they were found.  In a few instances, during prior excavations of similar sites beyond the Barrier, documentation was found indicating other worlds visited by the dragons that led explorers to them, so it is entirely possible we may have leads to other worlds possessing draconic sites.  Further analysis is still pending.

Needless to say, we could likely spend years upon Vellion III at the very least, so our teams are trying to expedite our analysis as much as possible, given that Captain Silvercask has already inquired as to whether we have located any information relating to other sites.  Assuming that it was a Trailblazer team that preceded us, there is likely a clue that we have yet to uncover which they have already acted upon, but as soon as a determination is made, we will alert command so our course can be decided upon.

#Lore 24 – Entry #100 – Sci-Fi Month II #9 – Trailblazer One

 

From the Personal Logs of Captain Durgen Silvercask, decryption algorithm successful, translated from original Dwarven Script:

I certainly didn’t expect to see the CEOs of Veylani Transport AND RestrainTech when I awoke this morning, especially not aboard the Morgiana, but apparently Ms. Veylani was in the mood for a surprise inspection this morning.  Having finally met her, I can say that my earlier impressions were somewhat in error, though I still think she’s far too lacking in experience for the position.  Perhaps that’s one reason why she’s latched onto that Varmyrl fellow?  They seemed happy together, hells, I could almost swear they were talking to each other with just a look between them at times, so maybe they were made for one another.  Not really my place to consider such personal matters, though.

The meat of the conversation came after the inspection, when we retired to my cabin and Ms. Veylani discussed our initial flight plan and objectives for this expedition.  She was quite adamant that we attempt to follow a particular course on our way to Marchosias, even if it may conflict with our proposed course that has been submitted by the ASC.  Though not significantly different, there are several diversions indicated, all of which she promised would hold significant supplies of useful resources, but also sites of significant interest to the research teams aboard.

I had multiple concerns about this, not the least of which was how she had gotten this information, and why she had come to me directly with it instead of following the standard procedure of dissemination through the Council.  Though somewhat reluctantly, when pressed she finally revealed that her source was one of the Trailblazer teams and would only give me the designation Trailblazer One.  Apparently, this source, whoever they are, has been sending information directly to Ms. Veylani, through methods she did not elaborate upon.  When questioned as to how trustworthy the source was, she was even more adamant that she counted them among her most trusted allies but gave no further details.

What information she did share with me indicated that most of the significant sites of interest were ancient ruins of some form or another, with structures that resembled, if not outright mirrored, those of the ancient draconic structures found throughout known space on the other side of the Barrier.  Though Trailblazer One had already given a cursory examination of the sites, Ms. Veylani wants them given proper study, and even provided some of the notes and scans that have already been conducted.  I must admit, the similarities in the forms are startling, and, it seems, that there may be some kind of trail that her explorer has uncovered, given the fact that so many of these places have been found in such a short amount of time. 

This information has placed me in an awkward position.  There will be questions if I divert from the expected course, the least of which being how I knew to go to these systems.  I continued to press for more information, but all I could get out of either of my guests was that Trailblazer One’s identity was known to them, they were trusted, and there were opposing interests involved who would see harm done to Trailblazer One if they knew more.  As much as I didn’t want to be, I find myself mired in corporate intrigues.  Am I to suspect corporate assassins or sabotage on this expedition?  Perhaps my security chief’s concerns were not entirely unfounded, and not nearly as paranoid as they seem.  Though reluctant to do so, I have agreed to Ms. Veylani’s proposed plan of action, and will henceforth be receiving additional information as she receives it from Trailblazer One. 

At least I have some time to consider how exactly I will explain our diversions that lead to discoveries.  Perhaps I will begin opening conversations with some of our arcanists and the clergy aboard to see if any are feeling particularly drawn to any areas nearby the points of interest, or see if we can increase our long-range scanner efficiency the further we get away from the Barrier; some reports indicate this may be the case, but time will tell.  Perhaps I’ll simply have to explain them as hunches?  Supposedly we dwarves can sense treasure, after all, so some would believe it, though I am certain many more would not.  Give me harsh aetheric seas any day over this corporate conspiracy any day.