Anomalies... Anomalies, Everywhere!


The following is an excepert from a journal entitled, "Nyssa's Findings of Anomalous Events"

First, a brief summary of the events that have, thus, been observed and not yet reported.  I confess, I must quickly enter these findings for fear that I am not in my right mind to do so in the very near future...

While a recent endeavor took my krewe forth on a few perilous Fractals experiences, I began seeing - on multiple occasions - a disturbance which could only be described as an Anomaly.  These beings have plagued recent adventures, but usually as enemies which are dispatched.  This became apparent during our last romp through the Chaos Fractal, where a rather nasty champion creature attempted to send us to the mists.


This, got my curiosity juices flowing, compounded by the fact the Anomaly appeared again while alone in our Guild Hall.  Fascinated (not startled, at all!) I watched the creature appear to hunch over, as if saddened, then dissipate!  I, being of scientific sound mind, approached the site rather cautiously and scanned the area to determine if residue or plasma could be obtained for further study.  None, however, was found.



Gathering of more information was required, and what better place to gather unfiltered (albeit uneducated) accounts, than to speak with residents and Lion Guard in Lion's Arch.


As expected, this yielded no promising results from booka, however, I did run into a fellow Asura named Maezz, who indeed, did have quite a wealth of knowledge on the phenomenon that plagued me.  It truly prompts me to wonder just how much knowledge the consortium has on such event, and this particular tradesman seemed a bit... unscrupulous.  If memory serves, I once purchased a bottle of krait oil from this vendor, and was nauseated instantly after consumption.  After thanking him for his time, I walked away wondering just how trustworthy a consortium member's information could be.


An epiphany occurred when I realized what I should have done from the beginning: I should go to a legitimate source of information, the Durmand Priory archives.


I must admit, rather than filled with excitement, I found myself wading the the pools of despair - such unsubstantiated diagnosis that I am, indeed, loosing my mind.  And such a thing is probably my most cherished possession, other than my brilliant menagerie of animal friends, mind you!



After much exhaustive research on the subject, I was about to retire, when I came across something interesting!  Only recently has there been documented reports of other Tyrians experiencing the same phenomena, and it seems the commonality in all these cases is contact with high concentrations and overflow of magic!  My mind was reeling!  I've been having these visions since my time at Bloodstone Fen... The explosion must have done something to me; exposed me to an extreme amount of magical energy!


I needed more information!  Exiting the library, I ran into Historian Tranton who has seemingly been working with others to cleanse this "magic overflow sickness."  He explained to me that using a device called a "Shadowstone" would cleanse me of such.  It is believed to have that Shadowstones amplified Seer's magical abilities during during the creation of the Bloodstones, and that it can be used to cleanse me of the affliction!  While I could have continued onward with Tradesman Maezz, the Asura who has already made empty-promise-potions, I chose to allow Tranton to perform the cleansing ritual and use the Shadowstone on me.  I have always allied myself with the Priory, and I hope to one day add my bestiary tomes to their library.

What happened next is something I can't quite describe...  For only a fraction of a moment... I could see.  I mean REALLY see.  I saw... Well, I am not exactly certain what I saw.  Everything and nothing?  The Eternal Alchemy?  Beyond the mists?  I am... I am completely at a loss for describing those brief moments.  But what I can say is that in that moment, I was what I had been seeing: I was an Anomaly!


And then it was gone.


Even now I struggle with understanding the exact accounting of what transpired.  I hope these events will, indeed, correct my affliction as advertised.  However, I do find myself thinking of the experience in terms of... not an affliction, but rather, somehow... A gift.

I suppose only time will tell.



-----------Out of Character-----------
So, this was a really interesting discovery I made in-game and followed through almost completely in-game. What's really fun is that I had the same head-scratching mystery my character had. It's been a while since I've felt as connected to what was going on with my character as this event provided. Maybe other's experiences with this won't be quite as fun, but I had a blast!

There were a few steps I glossed over, cause I really didn't want to get too deep into describing game mechanics that didn't flow well with the story, but all-in-all, Nyssa's assumptions and recollection of the events were as I experienced them!

If anyone's interested in doing this themselves, I'm still not exactly sure what started the weeping anomalies popping up; I did see something that it may be if you did the "chase the anomaly" events, but I know specifically, the achievement entries didn't show up until I actually ran through one of the anomalies that appeared when I was running around Bloodtide Coast. A guildmate saw it during a fractal run a few days after I went through this & I told him to run through it. He said it came up with an achievement thingy, so that very well might be what starts it. Once it's there, it's called "The Burden of Choice."


Doot's first time (11-12-16)

I organized a little gang get together for a fun foursome (turned fivesome) for a great PvX experience.  As this was the first time I've ever PvE Dungeoned, Fractaled, & PvPed, I thought I'd share my experience.  Yeshua, Urel, Harper and her brother all formed our five man group with the addition of little ol me :)

 Starting out, we decided to do all story paths in all the dungeons (like 8 in all, I think?).  No small task, but since we're pretty powerful, they weren't difficult at all.  The main purpose was to try to unlock all dungeon tracks & get any achivements for doing them if possible.  Also, I'd never done them and relished the chance to actually see the lore play out with the cut-scenes.

Since the dungeon start points were located all around Tyria, I was awarded the choice to swap between all my characters with whom had the area uncovered or was close.  Each dungeon was unique and I really had a relaxingly fun time.  Previously, I'd joined a group that did a dungeon and was told where to stand, when to walk, etc.. So I really didn't think dungeons could be fun, but our little group thankfully put my qualms to rest.  Everyone was respectful in their information about what to do and I was all the more excited with each dungeon we completed.

 After our dungeon tour was over, we decided to try our hand at PvP, and we got our you-know-whats handed to us!  Urel, the veteran PvPer assures us that we did better than most when trying PvP, and we did do better than half the other team's winning score, but alas, our randomly generated named team "Snow Drifters" was awfully fortuitous!  Either way, it was a great time, and I even got top score!  (Whatever that means!)

 So something that was really strange throughout us doing dungeons was that I kept seeing this being made of light and electricity appear and disappear.  It happened twice in different dungeons and when I asked others what it was, they exclaimed that they didn't see it.  It was a really strange thing, but I just shrugged my shoulders.  The last Fractal we did, the Chaos Fractal, I see the same enemy called a Champion blah blah Anomaly blah.  I excitedly told everyone that this is what I saw!  Everyone laughed and said I was having premonitions of this point.  Later that night, I stood alone in the Guild Hall, and the damn thing appeared several feet from me.  Scared the piss out of me!  I observed it (almost crying), and set out on a quest to find out what's it all about.  What I discovered is that apparently, my characters have become infected with a type of Blood-Crazed issue and are seeing the anomalies because of this.  Supposedly there's a quest line to cleanse it, but until then, I'll keep seeing them appear (only on my system) and nobody else will see them... Really interesting!  I'll post more on this as I explore.

Oh, and about Fractals... They are fun.  A little strange to get used to the mechanics of all the stuff.  I actually didn't understand the stuff that was dropping for me and inadvertently deleted stuff that was worth gold :(  Either way, it seems as if you continue doing fractals, they give you stuff to resist agony, which means you can keep doing more & more.  Harper was nice enough to give me a couple of infusions which allowed me to slot some rings with & now I've at least got my foot in the door.  More Fractal posts coming soon, I'm sure...

 Our eclectic crew wound up at the top of a jumping puzzle, me making everyone pose for pictures, cause you know... it's what I do!  From left to right: Asami (Yeshua), Nyssa (me), Solomon (shootdafoo), Harper (Harper), & Arian (Urel).  We all kinda felt like hot shit, considering we didn't have any real bad wipes throughout our playtime, and even when we lost our PvP, we really kept good spirits.  This is a great group of people that I'm happy to call my friends!

 We ended the night by jumping through the swirling whirl-pool, which kept teleporting us back to the top & falling down through it.  Through our experiments, we leaned that a vendor, summoned while in this state pretty much floats in mid-air.  (You can see the trader's feet in the picture above.)  Also, I took a Halloween consumable and became a ghost.  While the effects on my skin eventually wore off, the ghostly smoke continued following my transparent self.  If you look closely at the blue swirl, you can make out my transparent form.


Exhausted from an amazing experience, none of us wanted to log out, but we eventually had to.  Everyone expressed their enjoyment from the day's events, and vowed to do such again in the near future!

All-in-all, a successful first Dungeon run, PVP attempt, and Fractal experience for Doot!  Love you guys!


Mitrian Lobelia


Character Name: Mitrian Lobelia

Race: Sylvari

Gender: Female

Profession: Mesmer / Illusionist / Chronomancer

Age: 8

Hair / Leaves / Flower: Dark Blue / Pink with Cattails

Skin: Light Blue

Appearance details: Pink BioLuminescense

Religious beliefs/philosophy: Ventari’s teachings; All Things Have a Right to Grow; the Pale Tree be protected.

OOC Intro:
The second character and first Sylvari I created was Mitrian Lobelia, named both after an old Everquest character & the plant genus Lobelia.  I spent alot of time on getting her look just right & really just fell in love with how she turned out.  Like most of my Sylvari, I tend to keep her look the traditional cultural armor and love how her skin tone & glow blend so well.  Even though I'm not typically very good with Mesmers, I brought her to max level the old fashioned way, before all the crazy boosters & tomes were available, so I'm pretty proud of that.


RolePlay Brief Story: 


After placing the last item in the center of the lily, Mitrian softly touched its petals; one by one the flower closed to form a small satchel.  A last look into the reflecting pool with a quick adjustment of the cattails that adorned her leafy hair completed her preparations.  Her mentor returned the bittersweet smile Mitrian beamed her, with an added nod and a look of pride.  The Sylvari felt as though she would sprout flowers, so excited and giddy with anticipation.  A black-skinned, slender Sylvari came to walk beside Mitrian, both carrying provisions for the journey.

“Can you believe it, Tressa?” Asked Mitrian.  “We’re finally heading out on our own!”

Tressa grinned slightly at the bright blue and pink ball of excitement that was her friend. “Been waiting for this day for a while, haven’t we?"

“Indeed!  Since I first awakened!  What adventures lie in store for us?  What excitement?  What thrilling possibilities?”  Mitrian bounced.

“Either way, let’s promise…”  Tressa paused, prompting her friend to stop and look down at her.  “Promise we’ll have each other’s backs out there.  No matter what!”

Mitrian blinked glowing aqua eyes.  “Well, of course!  We have been there for each other our entire existence!  Nothing could separate us!”  She giggled adding, “I know your face from my dream!”

--------Sometime Later--------
“Just a little further!” Mitrian yelled, outstretched her arm, and drew a sigil as she ran.  A vivid pink spark illuminated the distance.  If the portal coalesced long after they reached it, the Nightmare Courtiers would catch up and all would be lost; timing was critical and Mitrian prayed to the first mother she judged the distance correctly.

“But… wait… I’m not sure…” Tressa’s voice was small, inaudible to her frenzied rescuer.

It was only after they reached the portal that Mitrian turned to see her friend’s worried expression.  “What is it, Tressa?  Come on, we jump through the port and I’ll close it behind us.  Let’s get you out of here!”
Tressa stared at her friend for a moment, then said resolutely, “No.  I’m… I’m going to stay.”

“Come on!  We do not have time for such nonsense.  Come back to the Grove, we can wash away this nightmare that has enthralled you!”

“You don’t understand; I want nothing more to do with the Dream!”  Tressa pulled from her friend’s grasp.  “I’m where I belong… where I believe I was always meant to belong!”
Mitrian shook her head in disbelief.  In one year, how deeply could the roots of the Nightmare Court grow?  “Tressa, you are not thinking clearly.  They have poisoned you.  I know you do not understand what you say.  Come back with me!”

“I don’t expect you to understand,” Tressa continued.  “You’ve always had the best trainers: the most gifted student.  Your talents were always there, since your awakening!  Mine… I’ve had to hone and cultivate.  Here in the Nightmare Court, they understand me!  Go back to your Pale Tree, but do so without me!”

Tressa shoved Mitrian through the portal.  With a sorrowful and heavy heart, Mitrian sat on the edge of the Grove weeping at the loss of her friend.

--------Sometime Later--------
Mitrian smiled thick blue lips.  Her bioluminescent glow seemed all the brighter today; it’s pink hue illuminating the gazebo of flowers.
“Are you certain?” a fellow warden inquired, "Once you leave we have no way of communicating with you."

“Oh yes,” she said decisively, “it’s what I have trained for.  I am disgusted with the Nightmare Court; everything it stands for: its teachings, its members, its allure to the newly awakened.  It must be dealt with and contained, before it poisons others the way it has those closest to us.  We are Sylvari; I will stop at nothing to stop the Nightmare from destroying the Dream!”




Saplinghood:
Mitrian awoke from the Dream with wide-eyes and an ambitiousness to set out on a path far away from the Grove.  She showed aptitude to be a powerful Illusionist and studied to increase her Mesmer abilities. 


Recent history:
As part of an advanced scouting force, the Wardens of the Grove sent Mitrian to investigate the threat and ascertain information about why Sylvari like Scarlett Briar were committing such atrocities. While it's known she did play a role in the downfall of the Breachmaker, no more information has been obtained as to her whereabouts since the aftermath, and with Mordemoth's awakening, the wardens fear her fate.



Personality:
Slightly xenophobic, Mitrian is weary when dealing with other races, preferring to stay absent from direct contact.  As a Warden, she has been awarded such solitude from other races of Tyria, only having to travel when the absolute necessity from a mission demands it.  Often perceived as shy, she surveys the situation quietly before speaking, which, in turn, appears as wisdom and prophetic when she does speak.


Notable relationships:
Reserved, Mitrian never speaks of her past relationships.  It is believed she once loved someone that perished at the hands of another race, accounting for some of her disdain for the other races of Tyria.  Only time will tell if the weeds of distrust will allow her flowers to bloom again.


Favored alcoholic beverage:
While not completely understanding the other race's need to indulge in alcohol consumption, she has been known to drink with her fellow Wardens after successful missions or objectives.


Favored food: Carrots

Favored weather or season: Summer and Fall in the night cycle

Favored color:  Blue and Pink (obviously) but partial to dark greens.