The CLOK/COGG (CLOGG) Timeline

[Lexx416]

On a more serious note, something I forgot that Tulpa reminded me of: it might be worthwhile mentioning the IC reason why PCs were moved from d'Esilio to Shadgard somewhere in the timeline

[Rias]

On a more serious note, something I forgot that Tulpa reminded me of: it might be worthwhile mentioning the IC reason why PCs were moved from d'Esilio to Shadgard somewhere in the timeline

I believe the only time that any IC reasoning was given for the moves between Shadgard and Porto was the sickness event, which is mentioned in 1219:

"- A sickness begins spreading in Shadgard, sparking some panic about a potential resurgence of the Aetgardian Plague and the flight of many citizens to other outposts. The sickness is later confirmed to not be the Plague"

Looks like I didn't actually finish that thought (no period at the end), as it was supposed to mention some people finding themselves barred from Shadgard as the gates were closed to try and contain what may have been the Plague but turned out to be some lesser illness that caused some deaths but then passed. I'll update it, but the assumption there is that some of the displaced people (namely our early COGG player characters) went to Porto during that time. The Dominion had already closed its own border at that point so it wasn't an option.

A note on Porto while we're on the subject though: It's more or less the default point of entry in to the Lost Lands for people coming in from territories outside the Quarantine. There are some rarer options, like the Huecatn coastal city to the northwest, New Emberlight, or just being dumped on some random shore for some reason, but the typical first landing in the Quarantine is at Porto D'esilio - it's a very convenient place for other nations to just dump their exiles and move on. So it's not unusual for most characters to know the place and at least say they've passed through it, even if they didn't stay long enough to really get to know any particular details about it. Others can say they did stay a while, like the people who were around in early COGG when I couldn't make up my mind on where things were going to take place. We were still very much in "early game testing mode" at that point though, to the point I believe we even said people didn't have to RP, so anyone playing COGG during those times who wants to say their time in Porto wasn't canon, that's fine.

[Karjus]

Where were the Proud Rabble based, and what happened to them?

[Prism]

Where were the Proud Rabble based, and what happened to them?

If memory serves, first Ebon Pass, later a fort near Emleth.

As for what happened, I can’t say. Near they end of clok they did make briefly make attempts at reoccupation of ebon pass.

[Karjus]

Where were the Proud Rabble based, and what happened to them?

If memory serves, first Ebon Pass, later a fort near Emleth.

As for what happened, I can’t say. Near they end of clok they did make briefly make attempts at reoccupation of ebon pass.

I mean, sure that's great Clok knowledge. But I'm after what is happening in Cogg.

EDIT: That came out more snappy than intended, but considering the Pass was held by Liberi until recently, I'd just like clarification especially as it isn't a well-traveled pass unlike it's previous incarnation. Nor are it's current inhabitants anything like those of Clok.

[Prism]

Where were the Proud Rabble based, and what happened to them?

If memory serves, first Ebon Pass, later a fort near Emleth.

As for what happened, I can’t say. Near they end of clok they did make briefly make attempts at reoccupation of ebon pass.

I mean, sure that's great Clok knowledge. But I'm after what is happening in Cogg.

EDIT: That came out more snappy than intended, but considering the Pass was held by Liberi until recently, I'd just like clarification especially as it isn't a well-traveled pass unlike it's previous incarnation. Nor are it's current inhabitants anything like those of Clok.

You’re all good, I misinterpreted which era you referred to. I’m curious about this as well

[artus]

That raises a question: when and where were Liberi from anyway if they're not natives of this part? They can't just pop outa nowhere, can they? I guess Valeria being deserted means people giving no word about it anymore and they entered at that quiet time, setting a fortress of sort there using the town as their base. But were they already around here in unexplored part of lost lands or where they from anywhere else? It's a gap in the mystery somehow.

[Rias]

The Proud Rabble was a gang of bandits that gained some brief notoriety for being particularly brazen and boastful about harassing travelers and caravans at various points along the roads of the Central Lost Lands and particularly just beyond the southern edges of Dominion territory, but never seemed to get tied to any one specific location for very long (as tends to be the case with some bandit gangs). They've not been heard of in some time and are assumed to have moved on. Some suspect they were either wiped out or driven away by the growing Mistveil Dominion.

Nobody knows where the local population of Liberi came from originally, as they're not very good at conversation with outsiders. They indeed cannot just pop put of nowhere, but the Lost Lands is a big place, particularly when you consider that the game area is the Central Lost Lands, and there are large regions off the map in all directions. On a whole the Liberi have been known of in various places around the Lost Lands since before the start of the above recent history timeline, so they didn't just come into existence recently. It's just that some of their people only more recently arrived in the game's area (in significant numbers or to notable effect, anyway).

[Kismet]

Taking into account that Thaumaturgy and Templars are mentioned in various rumors and NPC dialogue, that PCs from CLOKK with those abilities roaming the lands is now cannon, and that the purge of inner light users four years ago is on the timeline as a major event, I find it strange that most people speak of Thaumaturgy as something either only known in myth or something that flat out doesn't exist. What would the average person's knowledge of the practice be?

[Rias]

I find it strange that most people speak of Thaumaturgy as something either only known in myth or something that flat out doesn't exist.

Are you getting this impression from PCs or NPCs? If it's from PCs, then it's very possible they've just never actually seen one (see: the present circumstances of thaumaturges being hunted down and spirited away and presumably in hiding and such). The confirmed existence of thaumaturges has always been in the lore however, and even in the modern Central Lost Lands, so it's possible that the frequent pointing out of the rarity of thaumaturges is being misconstrued or misinterpreted as casting doubt over whether they ever existed at all.

There's a fair amount of NPC dialogue that talks about how thaumaturgy is not well understood, and that it's rare and difficult to learn, but rarity and difficulty both imply that some are known to have achieved it and served as a sort of gauge to measure the difficulty of doing so. There's even some mention of certain practices and methods established to try and help people hone their connection to the Inner Light. There are also mentions of both Templar and Monks, the latter going on to say they produced quite a few thaumaturges, but that they were disbanded after troubles with the Mistveil Dominion. This is dialogue from before CLOK's shutdown, let alone the timeline merge, so it's been implied from the beginning (or at least upon the introduction of these NPCs and their dialogue) that thaumaturges were known to have been around the Lost Lands but have not been seen lately, often speculated to have either have been spirited away by the Dominion or to be in hiding at the moment.

It's possible some who never met an actual thaumaturge or saw one use thaumaturgy could be under the impression it's all just myth or exaggeration or smoke and mirrors, but in general, the knowledge that practicing thaumaturges have been in the game's region in modern times is common. They certainly weren't hiding their presence and actions until the year 1219 - four years ago. They worked in infirmaries to help heal the wounded, helped guard the gates in times of need, went out to patrol the roads and nether-infested areas (and occasionally needed rescuing themselves ...), sent up thaumaturgic beacons to draw souls of the Undying back to their bodies, and so on which made them very much visible and known to the public. Admittedly, the exact year of 1219 was not given until the timeline merge, and it was previously implied to have happened earlier than 1219 (clearly, since it came up in a COGG Q&A in 2017/1217 when COGG and CLOK were both running at the same time ...), but again, it was always in the lore that thaumaturges had maintained a presence in the region, even if a small one, and had only recently become an exceptionally rare sight presumably due to efforts of the Mistveil Dominion. From the mentioned 2017 Q&A thread:

Q: Why does the Church of Light/thaumaturgy have a lesser presence?
A: For a number of reasons, but perhaps the biggest one is that the Dominion has not been kind to the Church, which already had a rather small and limited presence when the Dominion was rising to power. They always seem to find reasons to go after the Church and its more prominent members - particularly those seeking to learn the ways of thaumaturgy. Word on the street is that it's dangerous to even proclaim too much support for the Church these days because bad things might happen to you, though certainly there's some exaggeration there ... probably. This isn't to say there aren't any members left, and they have a modest facility in town, but overall the Church has fallen on hard times in the Lost Lands.

It's also possible that an occasional NPC here or there might have some particular reasons to be deliberately speaking in vague terms or roundabout ways regarding their knowledge of the presence of thaumaturges in the Lost Lands.

What would the average person's knowledge of the practice be?

The common knowledge is that thaumaturgy is typically associated with the Church of Light, particularly those who take on a path of deeply spiritual and highly disciplined asceticism, and that it's likely to come more naturally and powerfully to those with a particularly strong sense of compassion and generally unprejudiced regard for their fellow man. Its most well-known abilities are the healing of wounds and the burning of nethrim (and its tendency to produce a warm golden light). These things could easily have been observed by people of the Central Lost Lands as of four years ago (and if you believe the rumors, some rare clandestine instances since then as well).