 Coconut of Quendor (A) Coconut of Quendor inside Watchdragon Coconut of Quendor inside walking castle, 1067 Yannick tries to take coconut, 1067 (A) / (B) |
For many years historians, though reluctant to dismiss the Coconut outright, regarded its historical existence as dubious at best. Orkan of Thriff has suggested that if all the "Shards of The One True Coconut" and "Vials of The Blessed Milk" were gathered in one place, they would form a stack nine bloits high. It holds the power of High Magic and is rumored to make "one heck of a pina colada." The shell is hard as a rock, smells terrible (it was many centuries overripe), and the sound of something slooshing around inside can be heard when it is shaken.
Orkan and Gustar Woomax, the leading chronicler of Coconut lore, was one of the privileged few who were on hand in 966 GUE when the existence of the Coconut was actually verified. For years the Coconut had been in the possession of a group of Implementors on the Ethereal Plane of Atrii. When the Circle of Enchanters realized that the First Age of Magic was coming to a close and their powers would cease to be, the sorcerer knew that they would not live to see the day when magic would again hold sway over Quendor. But, they had a plan to ensure that their vast and ancient knowledge was not lost through the erosion of time. The sorceress Y’Gael suggested using the Coconut of Quendor as a container in which to preserve all of the knowledge of magic for a later age. For its seed embodied the essence of their wisdom. It was believed that the shell of the Coconut was impervious to the passage of time, and thus the knowledge of magic would survive the Age of Science, and be rediscovered by generations in the distant future. She was determined to reclaim it from the Implementors and hide it away before its secrets were forgotten.
Y'Gael knew that the fabric of magic was unraveling, and that they dared not rely on its protection. Thus they sought another champion; an innocent unskilled int he lore of enchantment who could not know the price of failure, or recognize the face of death. The Enchanters decided to dispatch an innocent adventurer on the dangerous task of regaining and then hiding the transcendent Coconut of Quendor. This quest led the peasant to ascend into the Ethereal Plane of Atrii, were a group of Implementors were seated around a food-laden table, playing catch with the Coconut of Quendor itself. While playing catch with the relic, an ur-grue, whose motives are not entirely understood, stole the Coconut and secreted it deep under the Mithicus Mountains. This peasant was directly selected by the Implementors themselves to bring it back.
This anonyomous peasant ventured the caverns beneath the Mithicus Mountains and defeated the ur-grue. As the hero reached into the ur-grue's treasure trove to lift the coconut off the floor, not only did an angelic choir swell, but the ground underfoot trembled for a moment. Mighty zorkquakes forced the roof of the cavern to give way and tons of tranite crumbled all around. Unknown to historians, the peasant was miraculously saved and brought back to Grubbo-by-the-Sea, where Captain Zahab; the Enchantress, Y’Gael; Cardinal Toolbox; Grote Clutchcake; Sneffle the Baker, and the heroic ex-peasant sailed off into the sky with the Coconut of Quendor. It was to be taken to an unknown destination to be kept safe until magic could be returned.
For bound in a powerful incantation by the enchanter Y’Gael, the Coconut was the spellbound keeper of a desperate purpose—the preservation of all knowledge of High Magic ever known to the Empire from the First Age of Magic (knowledge enough to fill an entire coconut). Together, with the Skull of Yoruk and one of the Cubes of Fountain, the Coconut of Quendor carried with it a part of a lost Rune of Abjuration, a sort of master magic spell woven in Old Speech. If the three powerful magic objects were to be recovered, the Rune would summon Y’Gael back down from the Ethereal Plane of Atrii and their essences would be freed and magic would return to the Empire. It appears that the Time Tunnels were constructed by the Enchanters Guilds during or before the reign of Dimwit Flathead for this vary purpose--to restore magic to Zork in the instance that a tyrannical anti-magic despot should have eliminated it.
The ship carrying the Coconut of Quendor met a terrible fate in 967 GUE when it was swallowed by the great flying Watchdragon. When the magical race of griffs later stumbled upon the ship wrecked deep in the Great Sea near the Dragon Archipelago (which was the group of islands formed by Watchdragon as he slept upon the surface of the sea), they found it haunted. Onboard they discovered the Coconut of Quendor. This magical talisman protected the griffs, causing them to flourish as they carefully hoarded the Coconut. For whoever had the Coconut in their protection was fulfilling a magical destiny, and could not be harmed.
While it is not known how long the griffs had the Coconut in possession, a greedy horde of dragons (who were its rightful stewards) fell upon them in attempt to reclaim the relic, and it was lost again to the talons of the Watchdragon who departed somewhere into the vicinity of the Great Sea and would guard the treasure for almost a century until such a time as it could be restored to the Great Underground Empire. All that remained was a bedtime tale that told that only the bravest, most important griff in the world would defeat the old Watchdragon and reclaim the Coconut for his race. In the meantime, without the Coconut, the griffs were quite defenseless (already lacking the natural protection of their armored dragon cousins) and over time dwindled in number to the point where there were only a handful left in the entire Empire.
On the Frobuary 34, 1067 GUE, AFGNCAAP and his companions were able to use the Time Tunnels to recover the three lost artifacts (Coconut of Quendor, Skull of Yoruk, and a certain Cube of Foundation). A certain griff returned to the past and recovered the Coconut of Quendor from the mouth of the Watchdragon himself and brought it back to the year 1067.
The following day, the three artifacts were brought together at the Flathead Mesa and placed in proper order along the radio tower. The Skull of Yoruk, being the receptacle of deep magic, went in the glass dome at the bottom. The Cube of Foundation, being the container for middle magic, went in the nook halfway up the tower. The Coconut of Quendor, being the symbol for high magic, went in one of the balls of the wind gauge thingy at the top of the tower. When AFGNCAAP cast MAXOV upon the tower to bind the energies, a blast of powerful magic hit the top of the antenna. As the three magic treasures had been combined according to the prophesy and the wisdom of Y'Gael, she was summoned forth from the Ethereal Plane of Atrii. The resultant blast threw AFGNCAAP, his totemized companions, and the Grand Inquisitor from the tower while sending a shockwave of magic across the land. Thus the Coconut of Quendor placed its essential role in the restoration of magic and the dawning of the Second Age of Magic.
The little that is known about the possible fate Coconut of Quendor following the birth of the Second Age of Magic is to be found during the time of the Great Monster Uprising. At this time, the Guardians of the Coconut of Quendor emerged, as well as a new currency system. With the near bankrupcy of FrobozzCo International stimulating a massive zorkmid inflamation, a new method of currency was enacted using replicas of the lengendary Coconut of Quendor (said to convey part of this wisdom onto the owner). These possibly magical coconuts would become the prime method of currency during the terrible during this terrible zorkmid inflation of the Second Age of Magic.
TRIVIA:
Before the Coconut of Quendor was recovered in 966, Orkan of Thriff had once suggested that if all the "Shards of The One True Coconut" and "Vials of The Blessed Milk" were gathered in one place, they would form a stack nine bloits high.