SGW-ShroudWorld GodsHelp Page
Direct Connect to: sgwshroudworld.game-server.cc

Links
BioWare
Never Winter Nights Official Home Page
SGW-ShroudWorld Official Forums

ShroudWorld Server Info
SW DNS Address
sgwshroudworld.game-server.cc

Basenbe, the Prophet

Alignment: Good
Domains: Lesser God, God of Fate
Symbol: Hourglass
Appearance: Basenbe had very little opportunity to appear on the mortal plane before the Tower of Salt and Sandstone was built. Those who have seen him claim that Basenbe presented himself as a young male High Elf, with the fair looks of his mother, but with eyes that are solid white, as if he were blind...however, to the contrary, Basenbe sees far too well.

History: Due to the short amount of time Basenbe has been among the gods, little is actually known about him. Basenbe is the eldest child of Sorn and Allanbay. When he was born, Allanbay exclaimed at Basenbe's clear white eyes and, for a while, Sorn and Allanbay feared that he was blind. It did not take long, however, for them to discover that their son had better sight than all of the other gods put together.

Unlike his younger brother Malamay, Basenbe was a serious child who would often wander off on his own with a blank scroll and writing ink in his hand. Allanbay and Sorn were always curious about what their son wrote of, but Basenbe was reluctant to share his scrolls with anyone. One day, as Basenbe was speaking to his father, Allanbay saw something which disturbed him greatly. Basenbe had suddenly halted his speech mid-sentence, and entered into a trance-like state. He remained this way for quite some time, so Allanbay went to Sorn and asked her to come quickly as he feared their son was in danger. It took some time for Sorn to connect with her son and, when she did, Basenbe looked deeply troubled. He immediately excused himself and disappeared with yet another scroll and bottle of ink.

Sorn was in tears, and she asked Allanbay to go to their son and find out exactly what was wrong. Thus, Allanbay approached his son just as Basenbe was rolling up and sealing the scroll he had written upon. Allanbay beseeched his son to tell him what he wrote about and what had caused him to flee from his mother's loving embrace. After a great deal of coaxing, Basenbe took his father to a hidden place among the stars, a secret place known only to Basenbe. There, Basenbe showed his father thousands of sealed scrolls all of which contained Basenbe's written hand and seal.

Allanbay went to one of the scrolls and attempted to break the seal. An eerie feeling came over Allanbay as he broke the seal, and he swore a dusting of orange and yellow sparkling energy emitted from the scroll as he unravelled it. The energy made the scroll so hot, Allanbay knew that if he was a mere mortal reading the scroll, he would have experienced a rather nasty burn. As he began to read his son's writing, Allanbay blanched and looked at his son in horror. He immediately rolled up the scroll and shut with his own seal. "My son, what has possessed you to write such things?" he gasped. "I do not know father," Basenbe said honestly, "All I do know is that I see things that are yet to be, and after I have one of these visions, I experience the most urgent need to inscribe what I see, as if some force greater than myself is willing such things to be written by my hand."

"How many of the things you have written about have actually come to pass?" Allanbay inquired, the concern evident in his voice. "Many things, Basenbe explained, "And when my writings prove true, the scrolls break from the seals that bind them shut. They remain opened and readable for a time in this place, but eventually they crumble away into dust."

"Are there any opened scrolls I may see?" Allanbay asked his son.

"Yes, father, just over here." Basenbe led his father over to a table where three scrolls lie opened. Allanbay picked up one of the scrolls and read about Sorn's destruction of the great city of her people. "Has this already come to pass?!?" he cried.

"Not yet father, but I suspect that mother will be taking myself and Malamay to the mortal plane this very day now that your gifts for the mortals are ready." Basenbe muttered. "I do intend to try and minimize what will transpire as much as I can, father. But I have found that it is almost impossible to change what is meant to come to pass."

"How much of the future have you seen?" Allanbay asked.

"I wish I could tell you, father," Basenbe sighed, "but I forget what I write as soon as I seal the scroll. When the scrolls open, I am given but a few hours at most to read them and contemplate whether or not I have any chance to interfere, and determine whether or not my interference would be of any use or if it will just make things worse."

"If you can't open the scrolls, then how was I able to open that scroll over in the corner just a few moments ago?" Allanbay wondered aloud.

"That is a very good question father. I wish I knew the answer...maybe you were meant to open that scroll for some reason. I do know that, when I first began to write, I would try for days to open the scrolls I had sealed, but with no success. I have since left the scrolls to their own devices...it is as if they have a mind of their own..." Basenbe sat down with a sigh.

Allanbay went over to the scroll he had opened just moments before, and the scroll refused to be opened. Allanbay was shocked, for it was his own seal that the scroll bore, yet he was unable to break it. It was then that he understood. The scrolls had given him a brief moment of opportunity to discover his son's power. More importantly, Allanbay had received a glimpse of the future, for the scroll had told of a great army of Phykrell's that would one day march upon the mortal plane. While he had been unable to read the scroll in its entirety, Allanbay had read enough to know that he would watch Phykrell more closely from now on.

Allanbay turned to his son and asked what him what he planned to do in order to lessen the impact of Sorn's imminent actions. "Well father, you see, the scroll tells of this loyal priest with a small circle of friends who are also still faithful to you and mother. I plan to tell mother of this priest, and encourage her to have him steal the tear from the temple...."

Allanbay and Basenbe walked from the hidden room as Basenbe continued to tell his father of his plans. They did not notice that a dark figure had followed them to this place and had witnessed the entire exchange between father and son. As soon as Allanbay and Basenbe were far away, Hester emerged from the shadows and cackled with glee. "So, you all tell of the future, eh?" she smiled as she scanned the shelves of scrolls with interest. "Well, I dont think Basenbe will notice if I take a few of you with me." Hester reached for a scroll and jumped back as it singed her skin. She let out a gasp which sounded more like a hiss, grabbed a discarded bag and knocked about five scrolls into it. "You may not let me touch you now," she exclaimed to the bag with anger, "but I will not let you rest until you reveal yourself to me!" With that, she swept from the room.

Basenbe did, in fact, help lessen the impact of his mother's tirade on the elven city of her kin. Thanks to him, the faithful priest and his companions escaped from the city with Allanbay's tear moments before the city was destroyed. After he returned to the heavens, Basenbe went back to his visions and writings, sharing any important information he received from the scrolls with his father.

When Crest came to the gods with magic, Basenbe was shocked that the scrolls had not provided him with any forewarning of the event. Basenbe looked on as Crest demanded gifts of all of the gods in exchange for his magic. Since Basenbe had not received any premonitions from the scrolls about the event, Allanbay was not concerned about providing Crest with a gift, and agreed to his terms, even in the face of strong objections from Sorn. Thus, Basenbe and Allanbay were rendered speechless when Crest took Sorn from Allanbay to reside with him in his moon fortress.

After Sorn was taken away, Allanbay and his sons were too distraught to notice that one god was trying very hard not to laugh aloud. Instead, Hester let loose a smile so evil and malicious that it threatened to make her beauty fade just a little. Contrary to what he believed, Basenbe had written of this event...only Hester had stolen the scroll containing the information. As she had been admiring herself in the mirror earlier that day, one of the scrolls she had forgotten about fell from its bag and opened at her feet. Hester had read with pleasure about what had just transpired before her. Oh, what power she would have if she could discover a method to open the scrolls much sooner! Hester left the meeting thinking she was going to devote more time to these scrolls than she had in the past.

Basenbe and Allanbay fled to the hidden place among the stars and rummaged through all of the scrolls in the room. None of the scrolls seemed willing to provide them with the answers they sought. Then, just before they were about to give up, a scroll fell from the top of a nearby shelf and opened itself on a nearby chair. With a look of horror, Basenbe handed the scroll to his father and began to grab scrolls and stuff them into bags. As Allenbay read the scroll, his face became red with anger and he began to help his son. "I know just the place to hide these," he told his son, "and it will be one of the last places Hester would ever think to look."

The next day, Hester came to the hidden place with the intention to steal yet another half dozen scrolls from Basenbe's stash. When she reached the place, the room was empty except for an open scroll lying upon the table with a note lying on top of it. Hester read the note, written in Allanbay's hand, a note which threatened her to stay clear of his sight unless she desired harm to be inflicted upon her. With a shrug, she tossed the note aside and read the scroll. He face darkened in fury and Hester let out a piercing scream that destroyed all that was around her for several miles.

Basenbe did not experience any further interference from Hester from that point on, but he knew that she likely possessed a few more of his scrolls, and that concerned him greatly. He continued to write on throughout the First and Second Wars of Fate, and aiding his father and brother in their constant struggle to free their mother.

After the Second War of Fate, when Phykrell was imprisoned in the Crown Spires, Basenbe had a series of horrendous visions, visions so horrible they were almost impossible to comprehend. Basenbe saw a time where the Gods were constantly waging ware upon one another on the mortal plane, and saw that evil would prevail. In the brief moment between vision and inscription, Basenbe experienced his first moment of control over his actions. Knowing that as soon as he inscribed these visions upon the scrolls, they would be forgotten, Basenbe fought to control the power that forced him to write, and went down to the mortal plane to consult the only god he knew could help prevent his visions from coming to pass.

So Basenbe went down to Daeder and told him of his visions, and Daeder constructed the Tower of Salt and Sandstone to prevent Basenbe's visions from coming to pass. Daeder suggested that Basenbe remain on the mortal plane with him, but Basenbe knew that he needed to be close to his mother, and declined. Daeder shrugged and cast his spell, sealing the fate of the gods, at least for a time.

Most recently, to Hester's delight, another scroll in her possession has unravelled, and Hester is very pleased with what she has read....

Followers: It is no surprise that the followers of Basenbe consist of the rare number of prophets on the mortal plane who can be found among all of the races. These prophets are blessed (some would say cursed) with the incredible power of seeing into the future and relaying to others what will come to pass. The most notable (at least the most known) prophet is Haldath, prophet of Allanbay and writer of the Tome of Heavens. Legend says that the mortal plane is blessed with approximately 1 to 3 prophets every two thousand years, and that these prophets live for almost as long. It is rumored that a blind prophet by the name of Papon currently lives among the mortals, and that the Shroud has recently captured him in order to use him for their own evil purposes.