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'''Call of the Cryptolith''' is a [[Lore]] book introduced in [[Beyond Light]], with entries acquired by completing [[Season of the Hunt]] [[Triumphs]]. It follows a [[Fallen]] salvage crew working for the [[House of Spider]] and their encounter with a [[Cryptolith]]. | [[File:LoreCall.png|300px|thumb]] | ||
'''Call of the Cryptolith''' is a [[Lore]] book introduced in [[Beyond Light]], with entries acquired by completing [[Season of the Hunt]] [[Triumphs]]. It follows a [[Fallen]] salvage crew working for the [[House of Spider]] and their encounter with a [[Cryptolith]], ushering in the rise of the [[Wrathborn]]. | |||
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==I. KETCH== | ==I. KETCH== | ||
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[[Ketch]] is Kin, Kin are All. | [[Ketch]] is Kin, Kin are All. | ||
Out in the [[Reef]], the detritus of civilization is all there is. Out in the Reef, ruins are as much landmarks as planets and moons. The flotsam of derelict [[colony ship]]s from the [[Golden Age]] flood the atmosphere along with the ruined hulks of [[Hive]] ships from campaigns fought against the [[Awoken]]. For the Eliksni, finding the wreckage of a Ketch is like finding the ruins of a family home, and all the emotions that come with it. But the societal scars of Eliksni clans have long since vanished, and for those who bend a knee to | Out in the [[Reef]], the detritus of civilization is all there is. Out in the Reef, ruins are as much landmarks as planets and moons. The flotsam of derelict [[colony ship]]s from the [[Golden Age]] flood the atmosphere along with the ruined hulks of [[Hive]] ships from campaigns fought against the [[Awoken]]. For the Eliksni, finding the wreckage of a Ketch is like finding the ruins of a family home, and all the emotions that come with it. But the societal scars of Eliksni clans have long since vanished, and for those who bend a knee to [[the Spider]] in the remote corner of the Reef known as the [[Tangled Shore]], they have lost the privilege of such sentimentality. | ||
A salvage crew was dispatched the week after a small scouting party from the Spider's personal fiefdom spotted the wreckage of a Ketch belonging to the lost [[House of Kings]]. The crew chief on the operation, an ambitious [[Vandal]] named [[Kosis]], had shed her attachments to a life within that very house years ago. But the choice to leave something behind and the act of doing so are two entirely different things. | A salvage crew was dispatched the week after a small scouting party from the Spider's personal fiefdom spotted the wreckage of a Ketch belonging to the lost [[House of Kings]]. The crew chief on the operation, an ambitious [[Vandal]] named [[Kosis]], had shed her attachments to a life within that very house years ago. But the choice to leave something behind and the act of doing so are two entirely different things. | ||
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==II. RATIONS== | ==II. RATIONS== | ||
As dusk fell over the frontier of the Tangled Shore, the salvage crew assembled their shelters in a loose circle around the downed Ketch. The [[Dreg | As dusk fell over the frontier of the Tangled Shore, the salvage crew assembled their shelters in a loose circle around the downed Ketch. The [[Dreg]]s begrudgingly established guard posts on overlooks surrounding the camp, with nighttime sentry rotations to match, and the crew's scrap-work [[Shank]] orbited the site on alarm mode. | ||
[[Savek]] seethed as she and the other Dregs dug out their guard posts. These precautions were meant to deter competing parties from biting the crew's claim, but it was a waste of energy this far out. The foreboding quiet would betray any approaching [[Pike | [[Savek]] seethed as she and the other Dregs dug out their guard posts. These precautions were meant to deter competing parties from biting the crew's claim, but it was a waste of energy this far out. The foreboding quiet would betray any approaching [[Pike]]s. | ||
Once camp was established, each crew member received an [[Ether]] ration commensurate with their station. Savek tried not to hunger as she watched Kosis inhale three full portions of the life-giving essence; more than twice her own share. The Spider had given them just two tanks—partly as a cost-saving measure, and partly as an incentive to get the job done quickly. | Once camp was established, each crew member received an [[Ether]] ration commensurate with their station. Savek tried not to hunger as she watched Kosis inhale three full portions of the life-giving essence; more than twice her own share. The Spider had given them just two tanks—partly as a cost-saving measure, and partly as an incentive to get the job done quickly. | ||
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The tower whispered an unheard counteroffer into her subconscious. | The tower whispered an unheard counteroffer into her subconscious. | ||
<> | <<Come.>> | ||
<> | <<See.>> | ||
==V. WHISPERS== | ==V. WHISPERS== | ||
Savek found herself standing at the mouth of the cave when she woke. The first touch of violet pre-dawn was sharpening the horizon. She stared at the Hive construct, her head crooked as her eyes traced the languid movement of its concentric metal turbines. She inhaled its luminous green vapor. | Savek found herself standing at the mouth of the cave when she woke. The first touch of violet pre-dawn was sharpening the horizon. She stared at the Hive construct, her head crooked as her eyes traced the languid movement of its concentric metal turbines. She inhaled its luminous green vapor. | ||
<> | <<Seek the whispers—they are faint, but they are calling.>> | ||
She remembered putting in a full day's work on the Ketch, carefully disassembling the remnants of the gyroscopic stabilization system. The delicate assignment required her normally sure-handed touch, but that day, she was distracted and unfocused. In a moment of inattention, she cracked the gyroscope's ceramic housing, reducing its resale value by half. | She remembered putting in a full day's work on the Ketch, carefully disassembling the remnants of the gyroscopic stabilization system. The delicate assignment required her normally sure-handed touch, but that day, she was distracted and unfocused. In a moment of inattention, she cracked the gyroscope's ceramic housing, reducing its resale value by half. | ||
<> | <<The cutting word is a doorway—the first syllable of hated salvation.>> | ||
"You've ruined it. That's coming out of your share." Kosis was suddenly standing behind her. How long had Savek been staring at the broken gyroscope? | "You've ruined it. That's coming out of your share." Kosis was suddenly standing behind her. How long had Savek been staring at the broken gyroscope? | ||
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"Flaws diminish the salvage; half portion of Ether and double guard shift. Another mistake, and we leave you behind." Those last words were less literal and more a euphemism mutated over time through Eliksni cultural drift. The Dregs lowered their heads as Kosis strode off in the direction of the Ether tanks, then turned their palms toward Savek in sympathy. | "Flaws diminish the salvage; half portion of Ether and double guard shift. Another mistake, and we leave you behind." Those last words were less literal and more a euphemism mutated over time through Eliksni cultural drift. The Dregs lowered their heads as Kosis strode off in the direction of the Ether tanks, then turned their palms toward Savek in sympathy. | ||
<> | <<Cleanse thyself of your decay, then will the mind be free to understand the value of transgression.>> | ||
Savek remembered dragging her exhausted body to her guard post. She remembered watching the lazy debris of the Reef float by. She remembered speaking with someone in the darkness. Someone reassuring and powerful. Who was it? | Savek remembered dragging her exhausted body to her guard post. She remembered watching the lazy debris of the Reef float by. She remembered speaking with someone in the darkness. Someone reassuring and powerful. Who was it? | ||
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She tore her eyes away from the obelisk and surveyed her body in the thin morning light. Her dry skin flaked. Connective tissue wasted at her joints, and a sickly crust had developed around her mandibles. She was emaciated from lack of sleep and Ether. Her hunger was a void, slowly filling with green vapor. | She tore her eyes away from the obelisk and surveyed her body in the thin morning light. Her dry skin flaked. Connective tissue wasted at her joints, and a sickly crust had developed around her mandibles. She was emaciated from lack of sleep and Ether. Her hunger was a void, slowly filling with green vapor. | ||
<> | <<When imagined, your potential will infect, and spread.>> | ||
==VI. SACRIFICE== | ==VI. SACRIFICE== | ||
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==VIII. UNMADE== | ==VIII. UNMADE== | ||
Savek supplicates before the obelisk. It looms over her, listing from the cave entrance into the bruise-colored sky. Its black metal surface writhes and undulates like wormflesh. It whispers of victory and transcendence. | Savek supplicates before the obelisk. It looms over her, listing from the cave entrance into the bruise-colored sky. Its black metal surface writhes and undulates like wormflesh. It whispers of victory and transcendence. | ||
<> | <<To claim evolution one must be unmade.>> | ||
The throb of Ether courses through her prone form. She can feel the longing itch of her arm stumps that yearn for regrowth. Sickly sweet Ether leaks from her body, mixing with that of her crewmates. | The throb of Ether courses through her prone form. She can feel the longing itch of her arm stumps that yearn for regrowth. Sickly sweet Ether leaks from her body, mixing with that of her crewmates. | ||
<> | <<Flesh and mind are but cages—become unbound, or remain ever unworthy.>> | ||
Savek's claws dig convulsively into the grainy dirt as her body ruptures. Her skin gives a grisly rip as her viscera expands beyond its confines. The thick glow of Ether is joined by another more ravenous force. Plasm spurts from connective tissue as her body swells, molting and regrowing in an eruption of chitin. | Savek's claws dig convulsively into the grainy dirt as her body ruptures. Her skin gives a grisly rip as her viscera expands beyond its confines. The thick glow of Ether is joined by another more ravenous force. Plasm spurts from connective tissue as her body swells, molting and regrowing in an eruption of chitin. | ||
<> | <<Your prison of the flesh is being unmade, your mind freed—such glories do not come easy.>> | ||
<> | <<Allow the flesh to give of itself, that it may surrender to the coming evolution.>> | ||
There, kneeling before her new god, Savek's mind is broken and remade in continuous motion. She watches as her memories are deconstructed into images without association. She observes her identity dissected into the unknowable motives of a stranger. She watches herself transform from She into | There, kneeling before her new god, Savek's mind is broken and remade in continuous motion. She watches as her memories are deconstructed into images without association. She observes her identity dissected into the unknowable motives of a stranger. She watches herself transform from She into It. | ||
<> | <<You will know—through the pain, through the fear—there is no longer a you that was, only what comes next, and all the pain to follow.>> | ||
<> | <<As the old self falls away there will be only suffering.>> | ||
It raises its head for the first time, and finds the tower likewise transformed. The black spire opens like a birthing cavity, yawing forth a new realm. The breach draws the creature into a massive cathedral hall with malachite suns roiling overhead. Here, the whispers are all-consuming. | It raises its head for the first time, and finds the tower likewise transformed. The black spire opens like a birthing cavity, yawing forth a new realm. The breach draws the creature into a massive cathedral hall with malachite suns roiling overhead. Here, the whispers are all-consuming. | ||
<> | <<As the old self falls away there will be only suffering.>> | ||
<> | <<There will be only suffering.>> | ||
<> | <<Only suffering.>> | ||
[[Category:Articles with verbatim transcripts of official documents]] | [[Category:Articles with verbatim transcripts of official documents]] | ||
[[Category:Lore]] | [[Category:Lore]] | ||