Тайны Острова Тол Рауко

[Чудесный Маклейн]

Introduction

Situated in the center of the Interior Sea is the island of Tol Rauko. On this island, its walls high and impregnable, stands a mighty fortress. And hidden behind its walls, in the deepest and most secluded dungeons of the fortress, is the Noah’s Arc.

Here they sleep, terrible beasts and unimaginable creatures that once stalked many planes of existence. Now, they are only prisoners of the Templars of Tol Rauko.

Together, these creatures dream, and the dream they share is of peaceful, wide plains, dense forests and solitary mountain ranges.

Deep within their souls, they all know that the peaceful world before their eyes is nothing but a lie. But they don’t know how to escape and they know that those who claim to be their guardians are nothing but their jailers...

Eden

Eden is an artificial world, created as an illusion to trap supernatural beings inside the Noah’s Arc. Only very few high ranking knights of the order know how it functions. In truth, most of what they believe to know about the complex machine is also a lie.

However, even if how it works remains a mystery, there is no denying that it does its job perfectly.

Geology

Once a creature is connected to the Arc, its former memory is concealed or erased and it finds itself in a part of Eden that resembles its former natural habitat.

Therefore, the world is separated into different regions with very different climates

In the north is Uarach, island of ice. Its vast mountain ranges stretch over many hundred miles. The climate is mostly suited for creatures that favor icy and cold lands and high mountains. The landscape is defined by towering mountains and bottomless chasms.

The creatures that end up here tend to be the strongest in all of Eden. Most of them are either able to fly in some way, or have exceptional climbing skills. A being that is not suited to extreme colds will most likely perish after only hours.

Separating Uarach from the main continent is the fiery abyss of Tir Na Nog. It consists of hundreds of steep canyons and gorges, often many thousand feet deep and wide. Rivers of lava flow in the deepest of the canyons, and where the sea plunges into the abyss on its western and eastern end, enormous walls of smoke and vapor gather. Driven by the wind, they travel all over Tir Na Nog, blocking all the sunlight. It is always dark in the abyss, and creatures with affinities to shadows and darkness, but also powerful elementals of fire gather here.

There is only one safe passage over the abyss, the fortress bridge of the Lord of Souls Mannan Mac Lir, but it is guarded by him and his minions. Those who wish to cross must pay the price.

The main continent of Eden is called Gravir. It is the only landmass large enough to be referred to as a continent, while all others are called islands. Gravir’s climate is very diverse but mostly temperate and cool, with rather cold winters and mild summers. The north-eastern part has deep forests and small mountains, while the south is dominated by wide plains and lakes. On its western coast are hundreds of small islands with steep cliffs and deep caves.

Most of the supernatural population of Eden lives here, from earth, water and air elementals to many animal-like creatures. Various spirits and other, more powerful and unique entities such as Dragons have also found homes in the numerous ruins, dungeons and temples that clutter the continent.

The southern coast of Gravir has a warmer climate and the creatures that live here have strong bonds to the sea.

South of Gravir is the Sea of Fand, the Lady of the Sea. It is a deep and dangerous sea that hosts the most powerful creatures with affinity to water.

In this sea, far from the main continent, lie the twin islands of Scadabhagh and Eishken. While the former is nearly lifeless desert island that hosts only the most resilient spirits of earth and fire, Eishken is an island of rainforests and gentle mountains, teeming with life between ancient temple ruins and enormous trees.

On these islands live the most exotic creatures that would not feel at home in the more temperate regions.

Life in Eden

Creatures in Eden cannot die, unless the controllers of the Noah’s Arc wish to. If a creature is killed by another, or by an accident, its memory is once more erased and it will wake up a couple of weeks later in a different part of the world as if nothing happened.

If a being dies of old age, it is taken from the Arc and burned to ashes by the Templars of Tol Rauko.

Most of the creatures that are imprisoned in Eden do not want or cannot comprehend that the world before them is not real. Even though they sometimes feel out of place and alienated from the world that surrounds them, they unquestioningly accept their prison as reality. They tend to stay in their habitat and are subject to the natural law of the real world: Eat or be eaten.

The more powerful or intelligent creatures may fully comprehend that they are living a lie, but do not have the power or spirit to change anything about it. Some of them may even enjoy being closed off from the human world, with its Inquisitors, hunters and adventurers that disturb their peace. Regardless of their motives, these creatures also like to stay in their territories, where there is peace and prey in the form of weaker life-forms.

However, the most powerful beings in Eden might choose to rebel against their imprisonment. The cleverest among them might try to find others like them and start to persuade lower creatures into open rebellion. They try to stay hidden from the unknown powers that controlled and imprisoned them.

It does not take long for the security measures of the Noah’s Arc to find these creatures. Their minds are deleted once again and they are put in a hibernation state for a couple of months before they are once more connected to the Arc.

If this does not help, they are taken out of the prison and brought deeper into the fortress of Tol Rauko.

Some on the other hand are driven mad by the wrongness of the artificial world before them and start to lash out against their surroundings or behave in a self-destructive manner. Once a being loses its mind, there is nothing the Noah’s Arc can do to restore it. For this, the creators of the Arc have installed safety measures into the world to seek out and erase these beings from the face of Eden.

The Fianna

The Fianna are the safety measures of the Noah’s Arc, a group of artificial intelligences that only exist inside of Eden.

They usually take on the form of humans or of members of one of the supernatural races. All of them are very capable warriors or powerful wielders of supernatural abilities, equipped with unusual weapons and armor similar to the Lost Logia of Solomon and alien to most inhabitants of Gaia.

All of them are supernatural entities themselves, and can operate independently. However, they are under the same illusion like their captives and believe Eden to be the real world. They are programmed to imitate real life. They can grow old and die, and they can even fall in love with each other or with the supernatural creatures under their ”protection”.

Whenever a Fian dies in Eden, his or her AI is deleted from the system and a new one is introduced into the world. Welcoming these new guardians of peace into their world is an important part of the ritualistic religion of the Fianna.

The Fianna have a very deep and affectionate relationship with the other prisoners of Eden that borders on the suicidal. They even regard such powerful entities like Dragons as helpless pets that need their protection. However, when they have the mission to hunt and exterminate a rebellious creature, they are merciless and will do anything to carry out their orders.

All over Eden there are about three hundred Fianna on active duty.

Their leader, Lady Fiona Mac Umaill, is an avatar of the Noah’s Arc, a divine, artificial being that has unrivalled power over all of Eden. Fiona usual takes on the form of a beautiful Ebudan woman with two pairs of wings, one sprouting from her head like hair and one from her back. To her, the Fianna are nothing but tools to control the worthless supernatural creatures of her realm. Unlike them, she knows that Eden is a lie and over the centuries of her existence, she has developed a profound hatred for both her subjects and the creatures she is forced to share a world with.

Together with her lover and bodyguard Mor-Rioghain, Fiona resides in the bastion city of Kildare, situated in the west of Gravir.

Kildare is the largest fortress of the Fianna in Eden. It is a massive and imposing complex with high walls and impregnable fortifications. There is one of these strongholds in every part of Eden: Ghabair in Uarach, Kildare in Gravir, Meath in Eishken and Manx in Scadabhagh.

The Fianna can travel between these strongholds with highly advanced Zeppelins or war walkers, mechanical constructs on two long legs, but they also have more traditional means of transportation like horses, carriages and ships.

Other AI in Eden

When the Noah’s Arc and Eden were designed, there were no plans to implement any AI other than the Fianna.

However, the nearly flawless programming of Eden to recreate real life led to some problems. In real life, the emotions and spirits of beings can manifest in many ways in the Wake and in the Flow of Souls, but Eden has no counterpart to these planes of existence. As a result, nearly all of the creatures imprisoned in the Arc rejected the artificial world immediately and either rebelled against it or lost their mind.

To counter this, the makers of Eden implemented additional artificial entities to take over the work of real-life supernatural forces.

Mannan Mac Lir

This AI has set up camp in a giant fortress called Dungarvan on a natural bridge over the deepest chasm of Tir Na Nog. He is said to be the Lord of the Souls and is an embodiment of death in Eden.

When any creature dies of natural causes, its soul returns to the Flow of Souls. As Eden is artificially cut off from the real world, the souls cannot escape and are forced to remain inside the illusion. The supernatural resonance of their death tears at the artificial borders of the world and forces it to partially collapse. Such a collapse creates an opening into the real world that allows the minds of imprisoned beings to escape back into their true bodies.

Mannan Mac Lir was created to function as a homing beacon for the souls of the dead. Instead of trying to escape to the Flow of Souls, spirits are inevitably drawn to his presence and only the most powerful are able to resist him.

The Lord of Souls functions like a living door to the Wake. He guides the souls of dead from Eden, through the Wake into the material world, where they can finally come to peace.

His power over the spiritual world of Eden is so strong that even the most potent spirits must at least stay near him or suffer excruciating pain. This is one of the reasons why the most powerful specters live in the ghastly canyons of Tir Na Nog.

Many of these spirits have made pacts with Mannan, swearing allegiance to him to gain more power over the other prisoners of Eden. They are his vassals and guardians of Dungarvan. Not all of them have truly accepted their fate as prisoners of the Arc. Some of them wish to use the powers granted by Mannan to find an escape from the world. The Lord of Souls knows, but cares little about these schemes, as he firmly believes in the unbreakable walls of Eden.

Mannan’s intentional ignorance of their planned betrayal has led to tension between him and Fiona Mac Umaill. The leader of the Fianna believes Mannan to be a weak fool, not worthy of his position as Lord of Souls, while he thinks of her as an arrogant megalomaniac. Therefore, Tir Na Nog is a forbidden zone for the Fianna and they pretend it does not exist.

The Aos Si

Every element in Gaia has brought forth a certain species of Dragons that work as incarnations of the various aspects of the elements.

The power of the natural elements is so diminished in Eden, where their influence is only simulated and programmed, that the controlling techno-magical undercurrent has become an element of its own. And without any influence of its controllers, this new element has made its own Dragons.

These beings loosely resemble the dragons of Gaia, but their skin is forged from metal and their eyes burn with an unusual electronic light. Their mercurial blood flows through tubes and cables and they speak in slow, harsh sentences with mathematical structures. They have called themselves Aos Si

In a way, they also function as guardians of peace in Eden just like the Fianna. There are only few of them, and they stay deep within their lairs between supernatural machinery and metal. Yet if a threat to Eden arises that not even the Fianna can stop it, the Aos Si will rise and defend their mother element from whatever harm that stands against them.

Fir Bolg

The Fir Bolg are something like the natives of Eden. Before the first supernatural creatures were connected to the Noah’s Arc, these human-like beings populated the artificial world to test its functions and usefulness.

When the facility was finally activated and creatures were introduced into the world, there was no effort to delete the Fir Bolg AIs from Eden. The creators of the Arc were confident that the more powerful and dangerous beings would simply destroy them.

What they had not anticipated was the very human-like survival instinct of the Fir Bolg. They gathered in small settlements around the great strongholds of the Fianna, or in secret, underground settlements deep within the forests and jungles of Eden. A few of them have even set up small villages in the high mountains of Uarach.

Their lives are dominated by the constant struggle against the more powerful creatures of Eden. From the perspective of the people of Gaia, they are primitive and vulgar. The Fir Bolg clans are usually led by a patriarch or matriarch and they have developed various shamanistic religions that center around demons, the supernatural creatures around them, and angels, the Fianna in their towering castles and flying machines.

The Fianna mostly ignore these people, as their main concerns are the supernatural creatures under their wing. They allow the Fir Bolg to settle near their own fortresses and some even enjoy visiting them, as they are worshipped like gods by them.

The Technological level of Eden

While the Fir Bolg only have access to tools and weapons they forge from whatever the flora and fauna of Eden provide, the Fianna have access to technology that is largely unknown in Gaia.

The most curious are their transporters. For air travel, they use Wave Sweepers, highly advanced, zeppelin-like flying machines that can travel from one end of Eden to the other in only a few hours.

Sometimes, the Fianna have to operate in areas where there is no place for their zeppelins to land. Here, they use War walkers, techno-magical constructs on two long legs that are built to resemble monsters, to keep weaker creatures from attacking them. They can be piloted by a single Fian and the larger ones can carry up to a dozen additional warriors.

Also worth mentioning are the arms and armor of the Fianna. Most deadly among their armaments are ranged projectile weapons called Fragarach. They range from small pistols to larger rifles and even giant cannons. They differ from their equivalents in Gaia as they can fire many shots at an increased rate of fire with only minimal reloading time.

The bullets of the Fragarach can pierce even most the most durable armor and hide.

For protection, the Fianna wear advanced partial and full plate armors that are usually combined with a magical shield to defend them from normal and supernatural attacks. Some don’t wear any armor at all and rely purely on their magical shields.

For outsiders, and even the few Tol Rauko supervisors, this technology is beyond comprehension. They don’t know why the residents of Eden possess such powerful weapons and they don’t know where the ideas for them came from. All their attempts to copy and recreate these technologies in reality have so far been futile.

The Truth

Only a handful of beings in Gaia know the true origin of the Noah’s Arc. On the island of Tol Rauko, only the High Marshall of the order knows the truth about Eden and its creators. And even to him, the control rooms deep within the Arc are closed off.

The truth is that the Noah’s Arc serves as a battery for a large part of the techno-magical facilities of Imperium, the power in the shadows.

There is no power-source in the world that emits the same amount of energy as the life force of a living being. Any creature that is connected to the Arc and forced to live in Eden provides more power to the giant power plant situated in its core.

Inside this plant is the control center, were dozens of techno-magical beings serve as the data- and memory banks for Eden and its artificial inhabitants.

Occasionally, Imperium may send an agent of Jurgand to check up on the Noah’s Arc, but it is largely a self-contained machine that needs neither maintenance nor repairs. As long as the Templars of Tol Rauko provide it with new creatures to control, it will continue to produce energy of massive proportions.

Вступление

В центре Внутреннего моря лежит остров Тол Рауко. На нём, за высокими и неприступными стенами, находится могучая крепость. И сокрытая за её стенами в самых дальних и глубоких подземельях таится Noah’s Arc.

Ужасные звери и непредставимые разуму существа, пойманные однажды на разных планах бытия, спят в ней. Все они - пленники Храмовников Тол Рауко.

Объединённые общим сном, эти создания витают в иллюзорном, полном гармонии и мира плане, среди бескрайних полей, великих лесов и могучих гор…

Глубоко в своих сознаниях они понимают, что прекрасный мир пред их глазами – суть ложь. Но, никто из них не знает как из него сбежать…

Эдем

Эдем – искутссвенный мир, созданный как иллюзорная ловушка для сверхестественных существ покоящихся в Noah’s Arc. Только самые высокие ранги рыцарей Ордена знают как он функционирует. Но истина в том, что все их знания об этом коплексе машин также фальшивы.

География

Эдем разделён на разные регионы с очень различным климатом.

На севере находится ледяной остров Uarach. Голые горы растянулись на сотни миль вокруг. Этот климат предназначен специально для существ, предпочитающих лёд, холод и высокие горы. Ландшафт составляют высочайшие горы и бездонные пропасти. Существа, населяющие этот край Эдема слывут самыми могучими из всех. Большенство из них предпочитают полёт, как способ передвижения, или обладают поразительными способностями к верхолазанью. Ведь не привыкшие к таким экстремальным условиям замёрзнут за считанные часы.

Остров Uarach и главный континент разделяет огненная бездна Tir Na Nog. Она состоит из сотен коньёнов и ям и многих тысяч пустошей и низин. Реки лавы заполняют глубокие коньёны и, собираясь в моря, растекаются на запад и восток, подымая стену из дыма и пепла. Распыляясь поветру они застилают собой весь Tir Na Nog заслоняя солнечный свет. Мрак в безднах привлекает существ Тьмы и Тени, а также могучих огненных элементалей.

Есть только одно место через которое можно миновать Бездну это Крепость – мост принадлежащая Lord of Souls Mannan Mac Lir, но она под охраной его и его слуг. Те, кто захочет пройти здесь должны будут заплатить.

Главный континент Эдема называется Gravir. Эта земля единственная настолько большая, что может называться континентом, все остальные земли – только острова. Тут очень разный климт соединяющий и холодные зимы и тёплое лето. На северо-востоке лежат глубокие леса и небольшие горы, на юге преобладают широкие равнины и заливы. К восточному побережью прилегаеют сотни маленьких островов.

Множество необыкновенных сущностей обитает здесь – элементали воды, земли, воздуха, а так же огромное количество звероподобных существ. Многие духи, а также более могучие и уникальные виды, такие как Драконы также избрали своими домами руины, подземелья и пещеры этого континента.

Южное побережье обладает мягким климатом и является излюбленным местом для морских существ.

Юг Gravir омывает Sea of Fand, the Lady of the Sea. Это глубокое и опасное море населяют самые сильные существа

водной стихии.

В этом море в далеке от основного континента, находятся два острова - Scadabhagh и Eishken. На первом преобладают безжизненные пустыни, заселённые самыми странными духами земли и огня. На втором острове находятся скрытые джунглями древние руины и небольшие горы. Климат – тропический. На этих островах обитают самые экзотические обитатели Эдема, не нашедшие приюта в других его частях.

Жизнь в Эдеме.

Существа в Эдеме не могут умереть самостоятельно, только если операторы Noah’s Arc не захотят этого сами. Если существо было убито другим, либо как-нибудь ещё, его память подвергается очистке и оно просыпается в другой части мира неделями позже, как если бы ничего и не произошло.

Если же существо умерло от старости, то его извлекают из Noah’s Arc и сжигают до пепла Храмовники.

Множество пленников Эдема не знают, либо не могут догадаться, что мир перед ними не реален. Большое число самых сильных, либо умнейших сущностей по своей воле соглашаются жить во лжи, но не из-за недостатка силы, либо мудрости они не хотят ничего менять. Просто здесь они могут скрыться от мира людей с его инквизиторами, охотниками и искателями приключений вторгающихся в их жилища. Независимо от мотивов, эти существа остаются на своих местах, в мире и покое этой странной формы жизни.

Наверное, величайшие и могущественейшие из пленников Эдема, могли бы восстать самии сподвигнуть на это более слабых существ, но вместо этого они скрываются от неизвестной силы поймавшей и пленившей их здесь.

Это делается задолго до погружение в Noah’s Arc. Мысли о восстании удаляются за несколько месяцев до усыпления.

Никто не может помочь и освободить их из глубин крепости Тол Рауко.

Правда.

Только немногие существа в Гайе знают истинное предназначение Ковчега. На острове Тол Рауко только Высший Маршал Ордена знает правду об Эдеме и его создателях. И несмотря на это, вход в комнату управления Ковчегом закрыт для него.

Правда состоит в том, что Эдем, является своеобразной батареей для функционирования техно-магических фабрик Империума, Силы в Тенях.

Это не источник энергии в мирском понимании, но источник природной силы и жизни живых существ. Любое существо подсоединённое к Ковчегу вырабатывает много энергии для огромных силовых установок.

В центрах управления этих установок, дюжины техно-магических существ работают над сопровождением информационных банков Эдема и его обитателей.

Время от времени, Империум направляет агентов Ёрганда для проверки Ковчега, но большое число машин уже невозможно восстановить. Но до тех пор пока Храмовники ловят новых существ для Эдема, Ковчег способен вырабатывать достаточное количество энергии.

Изменено 9 марта, 2010 пользователем Free Agent

[Чудесный Маклейн]

Завтра ещё добавлю. Хочу спросить про Noah Arc.

Насколько знаю, тут какие-то параллели с Библейскими мотивами...как лучше перевести. Может, в курсе кто?

И в общем, устраивает ли вас такой уровень перевода?

[White Boy]

Ноев Ковчег ))))

[Guu]

Мда. Матрица. Пошловато.

Я кажется начинаю вникать в чисто анимешную концепцию этого мира - гребаный империум бесит чем дальше тем больше.

[Чудесный Маклейн]

Ноев Ковчег ))))

Это да, но в контексте сюжета звучит как-то инородно...Может так и оставить английскую версию. Либа просто Ковчег?

[Акабоши но Теньши]

Гы гы. И здесь есть аналог ВоВа... ужос. А какие бонусы то получают храмовники за то, что хранят у себя монстров?

[Чудесный Маклейн]

Докинул эндинг. С остальным разберусь после командировки.

[Веселый висельник]

Докинул эндинг. С остальным разберусь после командировки.

Буду есть твой хлеб :) . Кусок перевода про Тол Рауко

Тол Рауко принадлежит к числу одних из самых могущественных организаций Гайи. Это военизированный орден Храмовников, целью которого является локализация и сохранение любых нечеловеческих культур или сверхъестественных существ . Основной задачей является уверенность в том что эти культуры и существа не исчезнут бесследно. В то же время необходимо предотвратить доступ людей к знаниям, которые в грязных руках могут стать опасными. Члены ордена экстраординарные бойцы с широкими познаниями в археологии и оккультизме и они готовы к любым трудностям. Их символом является крест гранатового цвета с круглым навершием.

История Тол Рауко сильно запутана. Первый Император был озабочен тем, чтобы люди не забывали свои истоки, но он не винил сверхъестественных существ в том, что произошло. Тем не менее ненависть к сверх существам была слишком явной, и всегда существовала возможность что если кто либо сможет обрести достаточно мистической силы разгорится новый конфликт и люди снова пострадают от его последствий. Жестокость, с которой работала его же собственная Инквизиция и ее старые союзники, вынудила его предпринять ответные шаги и он создал орден из людей преданность которых не вызывала не малейшего сомнения. Во главе организации встал первый Маршал Императора, Адам Графт, который превратил организацию в силу сравнимую только с Повелителями Войны.

С годами Тол Рауко становился все сильнее и сильнее, сумев полностью отгородиться от всех политических сил за исключением Императора. В данный момент главой ордена является Маршал Малакиас Графт, который присягнул на верность Императрице. В то же время он состоит в хороших отношениях с Азурным Альянсом и множеством независимых княжеств. Не смотря на то, что его главной целью остается верность Абель, предвидя тяжелые времена, Малакиас не хочет в открытую впутываться в политическую борьбу.