So saith the wise Alaundo

[SixOfSpades]

When shadows descend upon the lands, our divine lords will walk alongside us as equals.

The Lord of Murder shall perish, but in his doom he shall spawn a score of mortal progeny. Chaos will be sown from their passage.

In the Year of the Turrets, a great host will come from the east like a plague of locusts.

When conflict sweeps across the Dales, the great lizards of the north shall descend with fire and fury.

The worm shall wander the earth, and such a pestilence will follow in his wake that all who know of his passing shall be struck down by the plague.

These are the prophecies intoned by the 5 chanters in the garden of Candlekeep. But what I'm seeking are any other of Alaundo's words that appear in-game: The notes in the library in Chapter 6, your final meeting with Tamoko, etc. Background! I want background.

And background, apparently, I can get (well, that which is out-of-game, at any rate): Alaundo's Library for a whole buttload of stuff, including a biography of the man (Go to "Various Unofficial Lore," and then "Alaundo's Prophecies") and a link to all the prophecies he ever wrote. When I go home and unzip it, I'll know more, but I think the portents spoken of in the game itself are a bit more detailed.

One strange thing is that the link I just gave states that the Candlekeep Chanters recite all of the events that are yet to come: Except that the Year of the Turrets was 1360 DR, fully eight years in the past--a Tugian horde invaded western Faerun and was eventually crushed. This, at least, is according to this Roll of Years.

So, if you see anything in Baldur's Gate that smacks of Alaundo-ish-ness, jot it down and post it here, please!

[Pirengle]

Rather than play with HTML throughout my whole post, I'm going to give an up-front warning.
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This post contains massive spoilers.
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Do not read unless you've finished the game.
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Yes, I do mean massive spoilers.
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Which start right after this part.
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Courtesy of Sword Coast Keeper:

From a scroll in the library -
"The spawn of the Lord of Murder are fated to come into their inheritance through bloodshed and misery. It is the hope of their father that only one shall remain alive to inherit his legacy. I foresee that the children of Bhaal shall kill each other in a bloody massacre."

Another library scroll -
"During the days of the Avatars, the Lord of Murder will spawn a score of mortal progeny. These offspring will be aligned good and evil, but chaos will flow through them all. When the Beast's bastard children come of age, they will bring havoc to the lands of the Sword Coast. One of these children must rise above the rest and claim their father's legacy. This inheritor will shape the history of the Sword Coast for centuries to come......"

a HIGHLY SPOILERISH note (and don't read this if you haven't finished the game) -
If you are reading this, it means I have met an untimely death. I would tell you not to grieve for me, but I feel much better thinking that you would. There are things I must tell you in this letter that I might have told you before. However, if my death came too soon then I would have never been given the chance. First off, I am not your biological father, for that distinction lies with an entity known as Bhaal. The Bhaal that I speak of is the one you know of as a divinity. In the crisis known as the Time of Troubles, when the Gods walked Faerun, Bhaal was also forced into a mortal shell. He was somehow forewarned of the death that awaited him during this time. For reasons unknown to me, he sought out women of every race and forced himself upon them. Your mother was one of those women, and as you know, she died in childbirth. I had been her friend and on occasion, lover. I felt obligated to raise you as my own. I have always thought of you as my child and I hope you still think of me as your father. You are a special child. The blood of the Gods runs through your veins. If you make use of our extensive library you will find that our founder, Alaundo, has many prophecies concerning the coming of the spawn of Bhaal. There are many who will want to use you for their own purposes. One, a man who calls himself Sarevok, is the worst danger. He has studied here at Candlekeep and thus knows a great deal about your history and who you are.

a certain somebody's diary (again, only highlight if you want to be SPOILED royally) -
2nd of Nightal, 1367: The Iron Throne council has agreed to support Reiltar's plan. He has been given all the resources he needs, as well as leadership of the project. I have expressed interest to my 'father', and he had promised to include me within the operations along the Sword Coast. He mentioned mother in our conversation: how I wasn't to be unfaithful to him as she had. He made it clear that I would suffer her fate if I was. His threats are weak and hollow, and I shall listen to them for only so long. I have decided to take this time to make my visit to Candlekeep. I have waited a long time to research the prophecies of Alaundo, and I must know if the dreams speak the truth. I will not believe the words of phantoms without proof, and the Priest of Bhaal I confronted gave me nothing. He was old and died quickly in my grasp. If the words are true, I shall surely groom stronger acolytes than this.

11th of Ches, 1368: My research has gone well. The monks here at Candlekeep have been quite helpful. From what I have read, it would seem certain that the blood of Bhaal does indeed flow through my veins. His prophecies are (of course) ambiguous, but I think I understand them. He foresaw his coming death, and seeded his essence across the land. The children born as a result bear the marks of chaos, have power with no direction, and shall feel the blood of a god within them. The deaths they bring shall awaken the father, and through them he will rise. It does not explicitly say, but obviously this means that death wrought by the children will cause them to ascend. Fitting, and since the father was the Lord of Murder, proving one's worth must involve an act in accordance with his portfolio. I begin to see what I must do. Death on a god-like scale.

27th of Tarsahk, 1368: I take my leave of Candlekeep now, and not a moment too soon, for I am sure that Gorion has perceived my heritage. One thing that I am certain of: is, in actuality, one of Bhaal's brood as well. has all the markings, and it would explain Gorion's curiosity of my studies. Though there is nothing I can do now, I will have to make certain to return and kill the little brat. It would be foolish of me to let one of my siblings live, especially one being brought up by the Harpers (and I am sure that is where Gorion's allegiances lay).

? of Myrtle
No time to write, but I must not neglect my journals so. The future dead must know of how the Lord of Murder again came to them. I shall hire a scribe when time allows. Things have not gone completely as I have planned, but I will still be able to salvage the situation. is on the move to Baldur's Gate; if I could maneuver the whelp to Candlekeep, then I would have the perfect scapegoat for my plan. My mortal 'father,' Rieltar, is there to meet with the Knights of the Shield. He has been blocking all my attempts to escalate the hostilities between Amn and Baldur's Gate, and these meetings will only serve to smooth relations. I must rid myself of them all and assume control of the Iron Throne myself. I cannot allow petty business and monetary concerns to interfere. Terribly sorry, 'father,' but my true parentage calls and you are in my way. I shall be sure to instruct the dopplegangers in the exact manner Reiltar should die. I think a garrote would be perfect for the task.

(BTW, Sarevok mentions earlier that he had a dream where he saw his mother garroted. Nice tie-in.)

That's about all I can find. The buttload of history books don't say much about gods, just places.

EDIT: Thanks to Infinity Explorer, here's some of Tamoko's endgame stuff:

If you're on her good side: "You...you are not so alike after all. He would not have hesitated for an instant. Perhaps...perhaps it is more than his blood that makes him the way he is. I have been a fool. Go! Your path is clear and I wish you well. One last word in passing: beware of the blindness of those who would follow, and the damnable lure of those who would lead. A fool I was, and others are still. Ready yourself for the fire to come."

If you're not on her good side: "You would quote philosophy to one that has lived with its tenets and struggled with faith? I do not need your lectures; the sound is hollow before it leaves your lips. You do not have the strength of character to make your words ring true. Defend yourself, for there is no other way. Chaos shall be sown in their passage, in the land and the hearts and minds."

And earlier, when you're on her good side and she asks you to spare Sarevok's life: "The child becomes the father, or so it desperately wishes. The blood pulls, calls, and demands. The wise Alaundo did say unto the ages, that the Lord of Murder would perish and his doom would spawn his mortal progeny. Chaos would be sown in their passage, but to what purpose? You have felt the hunger and heard the offerings of power? Sarevok thinks they are true and so he seeks a senseless war, and a slaughter of a scale so grand as to defy description. He thinks it will launch him to...to what? Possibly he is right, but I cannot lose him to this."

Same conversation, different path: "Sarevok is...I share Sarevok's company, and would do so until I die, given the choice. That is all you need to know. I would save the man within the beast he wishes to be. I do not believe he will survive his plan, it is all based on conjecture at best. He feels that he has been chosen, and that he will become...more than he is. I do not share this belief. Gods are not known for bequeathing their powers, especially if they have foreseen their deaths. Whatever he is, I would keep him here, grounded firmly among those of us that are all flesh."

[ 12-03-2003, 02:10 AM: Message edited by: Pirengle ]

[SixOfSpades]

Woo-hoo! Thanks, Pirengle. Praise be to all those willing to root through the details of BG1, out of sympathy for those who send their discs to their friends. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Sadly, the zip file I downloaded was nothing more than the text on the webpage from which I downloaded it--what's the point of that? So I've Emailed Frank Penca, credited as the author of that text, on the hope that he still has that Email address, still reads the mail sent there, is still considerate enough to help BG MODders, and of course is still alive. I'll keep you posted!

[SixOfSpades]

Pirengle, I have another BG Engine Infinity Engine recon job for you--would you be so kind as to search the DIALOG.TLK for the words "Balduran" and "Dwarf" in conjuction? There was a thread on here a while ago concerning Balduran's race, and I recall that somebody found evidence in the TLK file stating him to be Dwarven, but oddly enough, an Ironworks Search on those words yields nothing, and the folks over at Forgotten Wars want him to be Human. This inconsistency must end! Although some Humans are rather short, and bearded....hmmm....

[Pirengle]

No luck yet, Six. Went through the cloak/helm of Balduran quest in the city, everyone in Ulgoth's Beard, and even the folks on Mendas' Island. Everyone seems to agree that Balduran was a crusty seafaring chap, but as to race (or even physical description), nobody's talking.

[SixOfSpades]

Hmm....there's a chap named Nikolai who hangs out by the Blade & Stars (perhaps only in the evenings?), who's mighty well-versed on the city and its history--you might give him a try. But if I recall correctly, they actually had to look in the TLK file to find the stuff. I hate to sound demanding, but I just want to get this thing settled.

[Xen]

I can confrim that he actually was a Dwarf.

[Link]

But where did you get that information?

[Xen]

Originally posted by Link: But where did you get that information?

I just know it. I once read it(don`t remeber where) but it was clarieid that he was a Dwarf so that was pretty much from my memory bank. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[SixOfSpades]

Yeah, it's in my memory bank, too, but I need confirmation. (A heavyset, four-foot tall armored beard walks into the room, and knocks me against the wall with one Shieldbash. Okay, now that's confirmation.)