THE RISE AND FALL OF ZORK

THE GREAT DIFFUSION

• Event causing the end of the Second Age of Magic 1247 GUE.
• Magic was being used irresponsibly and evil magic had gotten the upper hand.
• The Good Wizards decided that all magic and magical devices, whether mechanical or enchanted, should be dispersed into the atmosphere with the hope that evil magic would be vanquished forever. Most Wizards and Mages lost their powers in the process.
• The mage, Canuk, and the wizard, Trembyle, cast themselves a long life spell ensuring that they would eventually regain their powers.

ESPIONAGE

• An evil spy was placed in the midst of the Good Wizards while they were plotting the Great Diffusion, but the Good Wizards, being clever wizards, fed the spy false information.
• The Good Wizards created a Wall of Illusion as a decoy with which to trick the evil wizards into believing that all magic would be hidden behind it. They then vaporized all the magic, both good and evil, (the decoy wall went, too), scattering it to the four winds.

THE VALLEY OF THE SPARROWS AND SHANBAR

• After the Great Diffusion the cows got fatter, people slimmed down and the food got better. Life improved.

THE NATURE OF EVIL

• But Magic and Evil cannot be destroyed. They can be diffused but there will always be resurgences.

EAST AND WEST SHANBAR

• The Valley of the Sparrows was renamed Valley of the Vultures.
• East and West Shanbar used to be divided by the Northern River. But East Shanbar mysteriously began to disappear. First the Inn, then the General Store, then Moodock's place all vanished. The west half of the bridge still stands.

THE VULTURES

• Vultures arrived in the Valley of the Sparrows and immediately began stealing.
• They stole illumynite from the Dwarves....
• ...and started carrying people away.
• The vultures act as the eyes and ears of Morphius.
• Everything Morphius wants to study is turned into stone and carried away by the vultures.

ILLUMYNITE

• Illumynite is a glowing mineral mined by dwarves.
• Over the years, the evil magic percolating down through the soil was attracted to the illumynite.
• Originally considered useless. Illumynite is now used extensively for building underground. Valued for its grue repellent qualities. Normal Illumynite will gradually lose its glow after prolonged exposure to sunlight and/or water.

FEEBO'S FOLLY

• Also known as THE CLUSTER. The Dwarven Miner Feebo found a large, peculiar chunk of Illumynite. Everyone laughed at him and called it Feebo's Folly before a use for illumynite was found. Illumynite is now a major product of the Dwarven mines.
• FEEBO'S FOLLY BECOMES THE CLUSTER BECOMES MORPHIUS!
• The Cluster, as it gained power, renamed itself "Morphius."
• The mage, Canuk, was mesmerized by the evil power of The Cluster and when he disappeared the Cluster lost its brilliance.

ROOPER

• Rooper talked the Wizard Trembyle into going underground to investigate the disappearance of East Shanbar and other strange goings on.
• Rooper brought Moodock underground where they, along with Trembyle and Canuk, formed a partnership to develop the glowing illumynite caverns as a resort. Canuk drew up plans for Dizzyworld and other land development prospects.
• The four partners also built the prototype Orb. Bugs were being worked out of it when the partnership folded. The Orb can receive but it can't send.

MORPHIUS

• Morphius communicates with people through their dreams.
• Canuk, under Morphius' influence, stole The Cluster.
• Created a Wall of Illusion and built the citadel behind it for The Cluster/Morphius.
• WHAT IS MORPHIUS DOING WITH HIS SAMPLES?
• Morphius is studying the best qualities of every life form and incorporating them into himself.
• Keeping all the samples stone is very taxing for him.

WHAT HAPPENED TO CANUK?

• Canuk seems to be taking instructions from the Cluster.
• He started acting peculiar after he came into contact with the Cluster at Bel Naire Temple.(See previous entry.) He stole The Cluster and replaced it with a replica.
• Rooper had to turn Canuk into a duck in self defense.

THE CLIFFS OF DEPRESSION

• After falling under Morphius' spell, Canuk engineered the Cliffs of Depression in order to mine Translumynite.
• Morphius enslaved most of the people from East Shanbar to mine Translumynite to build his new empire.
• Workers, whose bonding plants wilt while they are there, are stuck at the Cliffs of Depression as virtual slaves.
• The translumynite, along with the illumynite stolen by the vultures, has been used to build the Citadel behind the Wall of Illusion for Morphius.

THE FLYING DISC OF FROBOZZ

• The Frobozz Magic Company manufactured Flying Discs that were used to shatter walls of illusion. The last remaining disc was broken into pieces and hidden by the evil wizards before the Great Diffusion.
• The evil ones were waiting for the right time to gather the pieces together, re-forge them, and shatter the Wall of Illusion to get to the magic hidden behind it.

ANCIENT RUINS

• Near the Holy Temple of Bel Naire there are ancient ruins, sculptures that, legend says, used to move.
• They are the shrine to the six muses of the arts.

THE ANCIENT FORGE

• The evil ones built a mechanical forge before The Great Diffusion to repair the Flying Disc of Frobozz after all its pieces have been recovered.
• The forge is disguised.
• The forge is the shrine to the muses.
• The Orb will focus the light needed to make the forge work.

SURVIVOR

• A game of strategy involving two players in the guise of Wizard Trembyle and The mage Canuk, the only two survivors of The Great Diffusion. The Wizard Piece plays a compound move comprised of one straight and one diagonal move in one turn.
• The Canuk Piece can move to any square on the board to block the Wizard Piece's movement. Whenever the Wizard Piece vacates a square on the playing board the square gives way to form a pit. The object of the game is to occupy the last remaining square on the board.
• The Wizard Piece may pass on any turn.

APPENDIX A - SONGS OF THE TREE SPIRIT

• Based on the Fabled Songs of Singing Tree in the Forest of the Spirits