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[peskyninja]

We need this saga drawed and animated.

[Vharuck]

It'll be like the middle ages for the plump helmet men, as they build a crude civilization structure dependent on the few dwarven structures they can understand, like how Europeans relied on the Roman Empire's achievements.

I wonder if they'll use the royal tomb area as a temple, worshiping the long-dead rulers of Weatherwires in emulation of the worship they are shown to have received in all the carvings.

[DS]

The merchant guard turned planter, Dakost Paddlecreeds, is the next victim of the murderous spirit.

The oldest of the mushroom children have begun to come of age. The group of 27 plump helmet folk are released into the dome, now that all exits to other parts of the fortress have been properly sealed. They stand in groups of two or three in statuaries or municipal parks, speaking to each other in their strange spore-based language. By themselves, or in twos, they walk from place to place in the dome along the otherwise deserted avenues.

What relation they had to the dwarves, if it does indeed go beyond the realm of being merely a pet project that expanded to unforeseen proportions, remains a mystery. Were the plump helmet men somehow related to the infertility? Are they the reincarnations of the souls of the dead in fungal bodies? All this is speculation. All that can be known for sure is that the mushroom folk now outnumber the dwarves nearly three to one.

[ivanthe8th]

Long-time forum watcher here, and this amazing story compelled me to sign up to post.

First of all, bravo.
And secondly, some part of me wants this to end with the remaining dwarves returning to the surface. I feel like it would complete the story somehow. Looking back, we recall that the only deity not worshipped was Baros Buriedplagues, god of rebirth, death, murder, day, and light. The dwarves of Weatherwires did not individually worship Baros, but I feel that instead their entire civilization collectively worshipped him through their history.

We have death and murder in the deeps, the unending sorrow of dwarves dying by the dozens with none to replace them.
We have rebirth, a new race inhabits the dome and grass grows in the abyss.
Now is the time for the light, a return from death beneath the earth to once again embrace the day that had once been shunned.

I think you should move the dwarves to the upper fortress. Begin outdoor activities. And as the last dwarf rails against the horrors of the earth who have taken all the Merchant of Echoing once held dear let him look up to the sun and finally understand the true nature of Baros Buriedplagues.

[ledgekindred]

I'd have to rewrite the entire thing to make it palatable as an audiobook. That said, I enjoy storytelling (if you couldn't tell) and reading books aloud, and I've also been told I have a voice that is "easy to listen to," so I might attempt to record it myself if there's demand enough for it.

I imagine it as someone reading an old tome they had found.  A diary, not unlike the scene in Lord of the Rings with Gandalf reading the final moments of Moria.

As for my opinion of the quality of this thread... well, let's just say everyone is their own harshest critic.

While I understand the feeling, I say Pish and tosh.  This is an artifact thread.  It is decorated with hanging rings of epic and menaces with spikes of awesome.

[Karakzon]

Long-time forum watcher here, and this amazing story compelled me to sign up to post.

First of all, bravo.
And secondly, some part of me wants this to end with the remaining dwarves returning to the surface. I feel like it would complete the story somehow. Looking back, we recall that the only deity not worshipped was Baros Buriedplagues, god of rebirth, death, murder, day, and light. The dwarves of Weatherwires did not individually worship Baros, but I feel that instead their entire civilization collectively worshipped him through their history.

We have death and murder in the deeps, the unending sorrow of dwarves dying by the dozens with none to replace them.
We have rebirth, a new race inhabits the dome and grass grows in the abyss.
Now is the time for the light, a return from death beneath the earth to once again embrace the day that had once been shunned.

I think you should move the dwarves to the upper fortress. Begin outdoor activities. And as the last dwarf rails against the horrors of the earth who have taken all the Merchant of Echoing once held dear let him look up to the sun and finally understand the true nature of Baros Buriedplagues.

+1

The last dwarves should seal the fortress tomb behind them, so they can spread the word of Weatherwires far and wide.
A legend to be rememberd forever. And if any other dwarves yet still live, to pass on the heriatage of the dwarves,

[Lordraymond]

If no one else minds, I could take it upon myself to make the story of Weatherwires an actual story, probably through a series of journal entries from various long-lasting dwarves, though I think no dwarves from the beginning lived to the end. Instead I will choose a dwarf who lived from year 80 to mid-thread, then when they die make another series of journal entries based on whichever dwarf lives last.

[peskyninja]

PLEAAAAAAAAAAAASE DO IT NOW!

[Necro910]

If no one else minds, I could take it upon myself to make the story of Weatherwires an actual story, probably through a series of journal entries from various long-lasting dwarves, though I think no dwarves from the beginning lived to the end. Instead I will choose a dwarf who lived from year 80 to mid-thread, then when they die make another series of journal entries based on whichever dwarf lives last.

I suggest doing what you're doing, but instead of just picking a random dorf doing his own thing, have the successor go "Urist McPrime had these journal entries, I wouldn't want these to go to waste, so I will continue them."

[Lordraymond]

I'll try to get working on it ASAP, but remember:

1) I may not have a whole lot of time until Christmas Break, which is in a week from tomorrow. Don't expect a huge amount of material until then.
2) I'll have to take some creative liberties, I can't make an example here or anything, but some of the stuff would be really hard to write into journal form. There's also 30 pages of stuff here, so naturally I'll miss a few things. Feel free to point out any glaring errors.
3) I'll be posting this in Googledocs, so if you can't use that for some reason then tough luck.

[DS]

I have no problem at all with someone doing a retelling. My own writing is rather cold and analytical, I think - I'm generally unable to create believable characters at all - so having someone go back and write a good story about the fort based on the thread is a welcome prospect. In all, I've been as true as possible in my chronicling of the saga as I could to the actual events that took place in game, so everything here is in the raw, with no dramatization at all (well, a little bit).

The medium of a found journal is, I feel, the way to go. If the story were told in any semblance of a detailed narrative, it would be quite a tome (or a series of tomes) indeed. However, journal entries can be deduced almost completely from posts in this thread.

Of course, if any information from the fortress is needed for a retelling, I'd be happy to provide it.

[DS]

In the mid-summer of 234, the last child of the Quakedented clan is killed by Ilral Visioncloistered. The miracle of that clan's emergence granted false hope to the dwarves of Weatherwires. It's existence is an anomaly - why, in the midst of all of this tragedy, was a single couple out of dozens allowed to produce progeny? We will never know for sure.

I like the suggestion about returning to the surface. I had been struggling with a proper way to end the story (apart from the dwarves being killed to the last by a vengeful ghost, which is what is happening right now), so that is an option. I am conducting some experiments on an alternate save to determine the nature of the crash that occurs whenever the fort is abandoned - after I make some progress there, the story will continue.

[Lordraymond]

The story has begun. I have chosen Edzul Granitetamed as my first writer, as she passed away around page twenty and migrated well before the first page so there's time for a prologue.

QUESTIONS:
What year did the dome complete?
What year was the great tantrum spiral?

[DS]

Concerning the tantrum spiral, this is the information that I've gleaned from Legends mode, combined with my memories of the event (which are vague, trust me - I never expected things to come this far).

Some background - in 129, the Scorpion of Recreations (goblin civ) declared war upon the Diamond Cloisters at Weatherwires. The conflict came to be known as the Molten-Conflict of Combating. The first attack, made in the late spring of that year, was known as the Disemboweled Onslaught.

In the late autumn of 135 (shortly after the dome had been planned out and designated, and the top layers having been dug out), the Scorpion of Recreations attacked the Diamond Cloisters at Weatherwires in an attack known as the Riddled Assault. Seven dwarves perished in the initial attack - only seven. It was these deaths that set off the tantrum spiral. At this point, if I recall correctly, the fortress population was a little over 200.

Before winter arrived, the dwarf Stukos Girderopen went berserk and was slain by Udil Rimlulls the Purged Contingency with Fallengrasp the Poetic Illnesses (a masterwork silver warhammer). In an attempt to avert the already occurring tantrum spiral, I had a broad area of the fortress engraved. It did nothing.

By the time the new year had arrived, 61 dwarves had died as a direct result of infighting during the tantrum spiral. 54 had died of thirst or starvation after being stricken with melancholy, or driven mad. A well-timed (on their part) goblin ambush caused the deaths of an additional 3 dwarves.

Spring arrives, and the chaos continues. 14 more dwarves die at the hands of the angry or insane. 24 more wither away after refusing food or drink. A few ghosts rise, but are put to rest as quickly as those who are still sane can manage.

During the summer of 136, 3 dwarves die of thirst, and 1 of infection from untreated wounds (inflicted by another dwarf, of course). In the autumn, 1 more dies of thirst. At this point, the tantrum spiral is officially over. Total death count: 158 - included is the duke, Kogsak Murdershot. 168, if you include the goblin attacks that triggered the event and took place during.

You can see why I've referred to this as the "great tantrum spiral" ... about 5/6 of the fortress died in the span of less than a year. At this point, I might have abandoned - I have, in the past, when something like this wiped out the majority of the population. But I didn't - I had already spent an absurd amount of time painstakingly designating the outline of the dome. I used no utilities in the process - the entire project was designed and executed using nothing but geometry, a little algebra, and a calculator. I wasn't about to let that effort go to waste.

As for the dome... that depends on what you mean by 'finished.' The first stage of excavation was completed in the early spring of 146. Magma flooding took place from the late summer of 149 to 150. By 164, all accessible stone had been dumped, and the upper areas of the dome made contiguous with the upper cavern layer (prior to this, there had been a thin sheet of rock separating the excavated area and the cavern itself). By 180, all the dwarves had moved into the dome, abandoning the upper fortress - this is the stage at which I would consider the dome complete.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask, either here or in a PM. If you'd like, I'd be happy to provide you with a save that has access to Legends mode up to the year 185, as well as my personal notes, which span the years 146-207. I stopped writing in my fortress journal after that year, and instead started making the public updates in this thread a kind of journal.

[Lordraymond]

Crap, well I've written as if the dome was done by the time Edzul showed up, so for all purposes I'm taking creative liberty here and saying that it was finished being carved. The magma flooding, however, can be saved for later, as well as the big general move downward. If anyone wants to take a look, I'm about done writing for tonight.

Linky-dink: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LmBFv4ni5wX6IJRYRdFJemg-8X1H0t2mACxJ4kE9j5g/edit?hl=en_US

P.S. and minor spoilers maybe? The theme of Edzul wondering why there's so many empty rooms is a prelude to her learning about the tantrum spiral. Also, if time changes seem abrupt, then I apologize. I have to advance time throughout the fort to get the general history established before i move on to the interesting events that occur in the thread. At that point, the entries will have dates much closer together.