The True History of the Dark Mountains
Transcribers note: I [Marcus] have endeavored to keep both line breaks, and text as close to the original as possible, including errors. I [Marcus] have titled this book per the author’s text and not per my own opinions on the factual nature of the work. I [Marcus] have added page numbers into the transcription for ease of additional transcriptions and to accurately simulate the layout of the book. The images were transcribed under a magnifying glass and at larger size to get more of the details of the images easily seen. I [Marcus] have also had a portrait made of the original cover of the book.
Page 1:
My name is Soren Bittersworn. I was
born in the village of Romaga in the
Lost Heart valley. Lady Divia, that
ceneorious old hag, owns me and my labor.
However I am theiving away the
fruits of my work so that I can
compile a single tome of truth.
It will be unique in that respect.
This is not my journal.
This is the True History
of the
Dark Mountains.
Page 3:
I will begin with a catalogue
of the difficulties + pitfalls
common to this area of research.
First, + foremost, I am besieged
on all sides by the bad history
deliberately sewn by both the Lords
of the Dark and by the Seekers of
Dawn. Both sides present an account
of history that is, at best, biased +
at worst, falsified. How then is one
to find the truth? To whom shall I
turn?
To put it plainly,
No One.
Page 5:
There is no word in the
Acerbian tongue for the type of
scholarship I intend to pioneer.
Let us refer to it hereafter as the
“Bittersworn Technique”. This method of
historical inquiry requires that one
find places + objects from the past
to study. I am making assumptions.
My assumption is that there are more
places + objects to find than the
“Tower State” fragment. (More on that later)
No regime, no matter how powerful,
could completely annihilate any every
artifact of the past.
Case in point: The Caves
of Light.
Page 6:
Drawn from
memory:
My depiction fails. this symbol looked more like a gargoyle.
This one
reminds me of
“The Eye of
the Lord”
This
one
is
possibly
wrong.
Page 7:
Because of my nominal association
with The Seekers of Dawn, I was
given a rare visit to the fabled
“Caves of Light”. (Blindfolded at first,
for obvious reasons)
Aside from being overwhelming, I
found it most interesting. They
would not, unfortunately, allow me to write down
any of the dozens (hundreds?) of characters written on the wall.
I suspect that this may be
the fabled “Oscurian Tongue”,
but if that is true, why the light?
Page 8:
Drawn
from
memory:
“Acerbian Tower States”
This is what I can
remember of the
Tower State rubbing
given to me by Goran.
In the original, there
were ten towers (soldiers?)
and ten spheres.
(not 3 as depicted above)
Page 9:
“Caves of Light” (cont.)
I suspect that this may be
a Greater Working of the Dooms,
created using the principle of antipathy.
Would the Oscurians (whose existence
is dubious at best) have used the
Dooms in this manner?
Would they not have preferred to
exalt in darkness?
My candle has
gone out.
I will write more
later.__________________________
Page 10:
Drawn
from
memory:
“The Steel Skull”
Originally stolen from Lady Divia,
it is said that this artifact
pre-dates the rise of the Lords of the
Dark. It is quite intricate (my depiction
is terrible)
It has unknown properties related to
the Dooms.
However, the Seekers refuse to
let me investigate it myself.
Nevermind that I am one of the
foremost scholars of the Dooms!
(Even if I don’t practice
them myself…..)
Page 11:
This is not my journal.
But please indulge me in a personal
note. I know with absolute certainty,
that this tome will outlive me. I’ll
eventually be caught snooping around
somewhere I am not supposed to be.
My nother and father await resurrection
in the Citadel. My brother Nichol
died in the wilderness + was never recovered.
My sister, Eshu, was slain by Lady
Tacita’s raiders, My husband, Altu, was
taken by the praetor named Ruthless Sorcerer’s
Gaze. My son, Goran, died of cholera.
That is the story of how I was
freed to do this thing I do now.
They can’t hurt me now.
Page 12:
Current working map
X - Necropolis
^ - Citidel
Tacita makes raids on
every valley + thus she
must share a border with
nearly all the vallies,
Tacita + Magda have the
fewest conflicts from what I can
tell, so I assume they are
seperated.
Page 13:
The Lords of the Dark do not
permit travel between Valleys, and
thus, there are no public maps.
The Seekers use the caves of light
to move between valleys, but this
method of travel defies mapping.
We know that most of the Valleys
share mountain borders with one
another, but these relationships are
deliberately obscured.
Page 15:
A Conundrum Child babblers.
They walk out of the night.
Cold. Wet. Afraid. No means of
communication.
What valley are they from?
Ten of so per year.
They get collected.
Someone important wants them.
Why?
Page 16:
No one has seen a
Necropoli unobscured + illuminated.
Except Lucio of Romaga, my
home town. He glimpsed it when
a great flash emminated from
the Lady’s citadel. He was there
interring his recently deceased
brother. He said it looked like
this:
The base of a tower?
Page 17:
When did the custom of building
Necropoli begin + why?
Are these structures legitimately
made to house the bodies
of the virtuous until the
Day of Resserrection?
Oryn, a young necromancer from
Lord Sislau’s lands says that
it is a channel of sorts, like
a moonlit stream. Private
Sextus claims they are building towers.
Towers?
Page 18:
Page 19:
Those creatures lurk in
the Mountains.
Some describe vivid encounters.
I have collected their descriptions
here, although I doubt their
total veracity. After all,
some people just disappear
in the darkness of the
mountains. Many don’t
need monsters to find
their doom in the
wild places.
My hunch:
These monsters are creations of
Divia, sent to hound the
minions of other Lords.
Page 20:
Page 21:
My great grandfather bought an
ax that had originally been
forged in Lord Petru’s valley. He bought
it because it was made with higher
quality steel. When my father
gave it to my husband, it
had been in our family possession
for 50 years. It had a certain
amount of rust. I just received
a battle ax with a maker’s mark
dated 100 years ago. I would say
it had twice as much rust as my
great grandfather’s ax
100 years ago.
War.
Page 22:
An old pottery shard.
Date unknown.
Possible configuration.
Page 23:
I purchased a black market
pottery shard today.
I believe it depicts the
Brightening. 300 years old?
Is that too conservative? 500?
Crops growing up stakes?
Scarecrows? Severed heads?
Or Corn?
It is unknown.
Its my secret now.
Page 25:
I may have been ratted out.
My artifact dealer has been nabbed.
Perhaps I assume too much.
He hasn’t been seen in three
days. Maybe its a coincidence.
People disappear around here
a lot. With alarming frequency.
Seekers say its Divia. Maybe.
I don’t make assumptions based on what I don’t know.
Page 26:
- Eye of the Lord (no points)
- Skull/Misfortune (-2 points)
- Plowshares/Sun (+1 point)
- Moon/Luck (+2 points)
Two six-sided dice
with 1 Skull, 2 Plowshares, 2 Blank,
and 1 Moon. (The blank squares
grant no points + are marked by the
Lord’s Eye)
Skulls ward off evil, hence,
associated with evil and bad
luck. Plowshares represent
material profit + happiness.
The moon is good fortune,
but random, fickle, and
normally absent.
Page 27:
Knuckle dice.
Village elders hate the game
but its old as hell. I’d
wager its as old as the
Dark Mountains.
One legend says Lord Petru
came up with it to play
with other Dark Lords, with
their serfs as wagers. People
in his citadel spread it thereafter.
Human knuckles are required to
play because it shows all
participants are sober + serious.
Page 29:
Dark Lords… mortal or otherwise?
Constantine claims to be immortal.
Petru, Divia, Tacita, + Magda claim a
line of succession exists.
Sislau claims to be the
embodiment of the New Day,
neither mortal of divine.
I think that “succession” seems
implausible. I’ve talked to enough
nobles to know the truth of it.
They have no illusions about
what they serve.
They serve something ancient.
Page 30:
A crude sketch of a vague
description from a dying man.
He claims that the Black Beast
abducted his Seeker-of-Dawn
recruiter. He died not long
after.
His name was Olaf.
Page 31:
I’ve been on the run
now for six weeks. I
narrowly avoided the Saint
of Desolation. Romaga
probably has a few less
farmers.
The Saint was radient.
He brought the Bright Hands
of Annihilation. It seems
odd that such a being
of power could be as
night-blind as he was.
Praetors are mortal,
it seems.
Page 32:
A pebble
A curious symbol…
I found it in the gloom
of the Mountains. I wonder
at it’s purpose…clearly old.
Page 35 (Transcriber’s note: All purple text, bottom of the page has red spatter in the bottom right): This is not my personal journal
but I have to tell of my experience
The Saint is tailing me.
One of his men nabbed me
and Crow. We got away, but
my writing arm got stabbed.
Random thought:
Lords do not leave their valley.
Suspicion:
The Lords breed us as building
blocks for their towers.
Sorry about the Blood. I’m getting delerious.
Pretty purple ink.
Page 37 (Transcriber’s note: All purple text, bottom of the page has red spatter in the bottom right):
I found someth