"Before dawn comes there is but grey, and our world is no exception. Before the dawn of life there was only Grey, and the One waiting, dreaming." - quote from the Liberi Universitas.
Scholars have argued over the origins of existence for ages, and no two theories are alike.
"The world isn't real at all, just a dream and we are all thoughts and figments of imagination..."
"Life is just a simulation, with one great god watching all of us as we go through our daily routines..."
"Gods don't exist at all. Life spontaneously appeared and that's that..."
"We're all adrift on the back of a massive whale! A great beastly whale that swims softly through the heavens!"
Everyone has their own idea as to how it all began, but I know the real story. Come, seekers of truth! I will tell you all of the very first Lords of Creation...
This is a history of mortals, a saga of divinities. A story with no start, and a tale with no end. This is the legend of the Lords of Creation, and the world they help to build.
There is no void, no pervading darkness. It is not palpable emptiness, or an endless space waiting for something, anything to be placed within it. There is nothing, for nothing has been created. It is non-existence, the world behind closed eyes, beyond waking hours, filled with possibilities, and with none at all. And introduced into this nothing are the Three.
Perhaps they had always been there, in the endlessness of it all, in the eternity. They are the Three from beyond what is, from beyond what will be. They are the ebb and flow of Time, and it is with them that our story starts.
From all that has been is born Para, the First Sister.
From all that is springs Pasha, the Second Sister.
From all that will be comes Panna, the Third Sister.
Para, who was the wisest of the Three, knew of the futility of the nothing, and to her sisters proclaimed an end to the non-being. Pasha, who was the most active, wished to be the one to create, while Panna, who had seen what was to come, knew that all must end. She believed in the futility of creation.
Heedless of her sister's warnings, Pasha reached within herself and shaped her desire to create. Thus Creation was born.
Not wanting the past to be forgotten, Para culled from the nothing the power to know, and to remember. Thus Knowledge was born.
Lastly, Panna was furious at her sister for ignoring her warning, and so she placed a deadly pronouncement upon her. That all must come to an end. Thus Destruction was born.
The sisters, done with their work, set their children into the emptiness. They waited, for now, and watched.
In the emptiness that was the universe, a tiny fluxuation appeared from the nothingness, flickering into existence and vanishing once more only to reappear, a little ways off, perhaps a little bigger. Like a rolling wave, slowly gathering up energy as it is blown by an unknown wind, the fluxuation, emptiness upon emptiness, yet somehow different, moved through the nothingness, growing larger and larger with each passing moment. First, like a grain of sand, then, like the smallest marble, then, like a small polished stone, it grew, until it came towards Para. The object appeared before her, now several feet across, flickered, and then changed, the nothingness sloughing from its form as if washed away by a mother's tender ministration.
A white orb, an eye, floated before Para, hazel iris expanding and contracting in a regular rhythm, as if it were a heartbeat or the fledgling god's breathing. Bisecting the iris from nearly top to bottom was a dark slit of a pupil, that dilated as it took in the form before it.
Around the godling, suddenly a voice could be heard, emanating from the being itself:
"Mother. You have called, and I have answered. But I am unfulfilled. What is there to know in this bleak emptiness?"
A ripple of creation reached across the expanse of nothing. So far the natural order was Nothing, to always be Nothing, and it had just shattered. It was called from Nothing, to bring the world back to Nothing. The Grey turned into black, and a tendril of black-matter formed. Sensing another presence, it turned emitting a sound like a hiss. It stared at its own creator and asked.
"Why? Why have you taken me from the embrace of Nothing?"
The presance of another became tangible in the minds of those nearby, but there was no form, no figure, and no words we said. The appararition seemed content to remain silent and unseed.
Para was the first to speak.
"It is enough to simply know that we are, and that you are, all else will follow soon my child."
Then Panna raised her head and said,
"It is your duty to return all else into the Nothing. It is your sacrifice to relinquish your non-being to bestow non-being upon all else."
Pasha, however, was infuriated at her creation's passive nature.
"Rise, my child, and go, create of this nothing, form something of where there is nothing, this is your highest mandate!"
"And only then can I return to the loving hold of Nothing."
Its voice suddenly became more feminine, very similar to its mother's voice, but deeper and more echoing. The tendril spoke again after the briefest of moments, or perhaps after a few eternities,
"Everything that is shall come to know me and become my enemy. I shall destroy whatever creature or thing that comes in my way. I am Destruction. I am Zo-Att."
Zo-Att turned from her mother and floated along the endless expanse of Grey, looking for her enemy: Existence.
The eye bobbled.
"You are wise, Mother. I know that I exist, and that you exist, yet that is not enough. What else exists? What more is there to know? I must find out."
With that, the eye began floating away from Para, out into the nothingness, searching out any other glimmers of existence in the void.
From nothingness a voice echoed forth, following Zo-Att through the void. "So be it. Let the first act of creation, be the creation of force for destruction."
Before the three sisters, the gray nothing begin to glow before a ball of flames burst into existence, containing the previous unformed creation. The sphere split, half of it retaining conciousness, the other floating in place, and endless flame to illuminate nonexistence.
PP Expenditures
3 PP - Claim Domain (Greater) - Fire
1 PP - Create Artifact (Lesser) - The Burning Orb
And so the Three turned to the Nothing. And Pasha spoke.
"If there is to be creation, there must be a space in which to create."
Para added her wise words.
"Something upon which to base reality."
Panna knew she had no chance in stopping her sisters, and so agreed.
"I have seen the future, and it is Time that binds all things, controls all things."
And Para said,
"Then Time must rule the Nothing"
And into the Nothing they pooled their power, into a place to anchor their power. It would forevermore be the centre of all. There was a brightening, in this spot, a glow. Bands of lights poured from the Grey, and spun and weaved through the Nothing. These chains worked to bond reality together, to form a basis for everything. Soon a great roiling mass of bright golden bands existed, holding a relatively spherical shape in what was once the Nothing. Reality around it had taken a new, not easily described aspect. It was real somehow, as the difference between the darkness when you close your eyes, and the darkness when you open them. And all of reality was bound thusly, by the bonds of Time.
PP Expenditure
3 PP Create Artifact - The Eternal Clock - This vast spherical mass of roiling bands of light can control and manipulate time anywhere in existence.
The eye floated aimlessly, when suddenly and without warning, a brilliant light burst into being to his right! The eye's pupil contracted dramatically, momentarially plunging the world into blackness before his eye adjusted and sight returned. Curious, he moved towards it, finally coming to a stop before one of the two spheres, one, he sensed, that possessed a spark of knowing, like him.
"Greetings, Bright One. Who are you, and what have you made? I am in awe of your talents."
The sphere seems to take not of him, but says nothing for a long moment. Finally, it spoke. "I am creation, and I have made a fire, a creation that destroys. It confuses me."
"Is this the face of Existence? Is this what I have been made to destroy?"
Zo-Att turned toward the offending orb. It seemed like it had such beautiful potential for destruction... yet it was still creation. She had best not forget her purpose. A mouth formed on Zo-Att's features, and a black bolt moved from it straight toward the Orb. The Orb burst apart, and for a moment, she looked content with her work. But after that, she saw the Orb had reformed into smaller pieces; multiple orbs rotating around in a circle. She still had some work to do with this destroying business.
PP Used
1 PP - Modify Artifact - The Burning Orb now becomes the Orbs of Flame. (Still no defined purpose)
The eye turned to watch Zo-att approach. "And who might you be?" he called out to the new god.
"Brothers", the eye said, looking at the two others who even now toyed with the non-sentient orb. "It is good to meet you both. May I?"
The eye reached out with his conciousness towards the balls of weaving flames, binding them all together with mystic energies that restored their unity while maintaining their seprate forms. Power and influence exerted on one of the balls would now affect the other balls, if to a lesser degree.
1 PP Modify Artifact: United Balls of Flame. The balls of flame are now connected to one another. Things that affect one orb affect each orb to some degree, although the connection strength is randomly assigned. In the future, such orbs could possibly be used as communication devices over long distances by talented and precise mortals.
"I am Zo-Att. I am that which isn't. I am tasked to put an end to creation."
Zo-Att looked carefully at the Eye, examining its nature.
"You are much like me, yet completely different. I would end your existence right now, but I have a feeling that it would not be possible. What are you?"
"I am... me." the eye waves from side to side as if uncertain. "What more could I be? You could say... I am Knowledge."
"What does it mean to be a Zo-Att? I am Knowledge, but I know not yet what a Zo-Att is."
"Zo-Att means to be what wants not to be. Do you understand? That Orb, it had form and structure. I destroyed that, yet I made it something new entirely, rather than removing it. I advise you to be weary of what you create, for I intend to end that as well."
"I do understand. Zo-att describes you, defines you. Is you. Facinating. If it is alright with you, I will call such a thing a name."
"Then what name defines yourself?"
Inky darkness raised from Zo-Att's form circling around the Eye. She was unsure why this happened...
1 PP given to ??? (The Eye)
The eye paused, a name in its mind yet unspoken. Names had power. Names defined the very essence of that which was named. Such things should not be known by just everyone.
"Brother, I shall tell you my name, but you must promise not to tell anyone else."
Moving closer to Zo-Att, the eye's voice became soft and projected only into Zo-Att's mind.
"My name is Dvrgr, Zo-Att.
The flames hovered, slowly floating away from Zo-Att. "I am creation and thus I create. The how is irrelevant. I simply do."
And Pasha spoke.
"Sisters, why leave the creation to the others? Why not create ourselves?"
Para replied thusly:
"Yes, create a monument to the Three so that the Three may not be forgotten."
Panna, who had been wary about creating the Clock, was hesitant.
"The very core of our being means that all that is must soon no longer be."
Para turned to her sister and said,
"But for there the be Destruction, there must first be Creation."
Pasha, who was excited to begin creating said,
"Then let us begin!"
The Three then saw the burning Orbs, and noted their flickering, changing forms. Para remarked upon them.
"Perhaps we shall make something with a more... stable shape."
The others nodded, and thus the Spheres of Stone were created. Set around a larger Orb of Flame, the Spheres spun through the intervening space, orbiting slowly around the Orb.
PP Expenditures
1 PP Mold Land (Superior) The Spheres of Stone - A massive planetoid orbits around one of the Orbs of Flame.
1 PP Mold Land (Superior) The Spheres of Stone - A massive planetoid orbits around one of the Orbs of Flame.
1 PP Mold Land (Superior) The Spheres of Stone - A massive planetoid orbits around one of the Orbs of Flame.
"Would you help me to Create? I am a fast learner, and I desire something more durable than my current form. Would you show me how?"
"Perhaps, perhaps. . . . I have much to discover myself first, though.'
"Then perhaps we can discover it together, brother. But there is so little at the moment. What shall we do first?"
The eye pulled out part of his essence and tinkered with it, pulling it one way and the next, trying to recreate that which the god of creation had done, but nothing happened. How frustrating!
"Yes, I need your guidance."
1 PP for ascending the god of creativity
He turns and looks at it. "What is that supposed to be? Then again, what was I trying to do before. I've other projects to work on, and other things to do. Hm . . . ."
He brushes past the troublesome god hirriedly, muttering to himself about pestering fellows. In his hasty movements, he brushed the thing, and frowned in annoyance as it drained part of his power. ""That was uncalled for."
Irritated, he moved off to see more of the growing creations around his fire.
PP Expenditures
1 PP +1 PP (From Toph) - Ascend God - Invention
I...
"I"?
What is "I"? Where did "I" come from? Where is "I"? What is all this around "I"?
The fledgling deity looked around in a sort of euphoria. What was all this? What were those different things? What are these things nearby?
It looked back at the nearby beings with a mixture of confusion and curiousity.
"Did you make I?"
The nothingness beyond the light of the orbs of flame pulsed and throbbed, rippling as... something... was born. Or perhaps nothing was born. The nature of secrets was that if they were kept well enough, they might as well not exist. But the god of secrets certainly existed... and it knew. Knew everything that shouldn't be known. A single fact, kept between two instead of between all justified it's existence. A single strand pulling the the cloud of darkness into existence.
Looking about from it's position on the edge of all that is and could be, the new god gazed over what little had been created so far. So little. So boring. How was he to know what should be known when there was nothing to know? How could he hide things that should not be seen if there was nothing to hide? There was only he, and he had to reveal himself if he had any chance to conceal. To exist. The God of Secrets must be an open fact, and the paradox of that confused the god to no end.
Drifting over to the first god that caught his eye, the god of secrets drifted over, a shimmering spot of dark existence that concealed all within and blotted out what was behind it from view. It was a shame there was nothing in either to keep a secret.
"What... am I?" the godling asked the god he would later know as Zo-Att, with a paradoxical voice without sound, as if the god were taking the silence between seconds and arranging them into some semblance of conversation.
Zo-Att stared at this new godling with some interest. It had a similar composition of its body to hers. Did she make this just by hearing his name?
"You are... mine, but no one can know. That is what you are. Do you understand? I am Zo-Att, the end of all things. I have countless unwork to do in the future, and I will require assistance for that task."
Zo-Att's form wrapped around the new god, to feel it. After a moment of that, she asked, "Can I trust you to help me? To help your creator?"
It suddenly occured to her that she had just performed an act of creation. Odd, it did not feel wrong. In fact, it felt right, like the perfect thing that she could have done.
Help his creator? It felt... right. And another secret... the very words 'nobody must know' sent a shiver down the gods (metaphorical) spine as he felt his meager power growing.
"You and I do seem to have a lot in common, Maker," the voiceless god replied in that odd silence with meaning. "What is not meant to be known is the fuel that sustains my very existence. How can I refuse a request that involves adding to my power?"
It seems the god of secrets might be a secret after all.
"So tell me, Maker, what can what is not meant to be and is forgotten do to serve that which seeks the nothingness of the void and rubble of what is and what will come?"
"Well, but-" The eye cut off as Creation pushed past him, brushing against his offered proto-creation as he did so. For the first time, The eye felt the emotion of annoyance. His iris narrowed as he weaved back and forth in short, discrete bursts, giving off a distinct impression not quite unlike a cat arching its back and pacing back and forth.
Then-
Another voice! The eye turned around to spot the new godling, just begining to question the universe.
"Well... yes, you could say that I did make you. But... what are you, little one? Do you have a name?"
The mouth that Zo-Att had just formed crept into a smile. She had already found an ally to assist her efforts. Hopefully her counterpart, the Creator, did not have such luck. She uncoiled from the figure of her new creation and looked right at him. Her voice dropped in volume.
"Do you see the shining orbs of light in the distance? Those are mistakes. I am sure that there is a way to destroy them, or alter them to our purposes, but right now that information is unknown. If we were to figure out, I'm sure that would benefit us both."
Zo-Att's gaze shifted to the bright orbs. They were not meant for this world. Nothing was.
The godling, who shimmered and flicked about like an insubstantial goldfish, flew all around the floating thing that spoke to it.
"Name? What is name? Does I have a name?"
Nothing? Nothing was not something the godling wanted. Nothing would mean that he would be forever doomed to live off of the same two secrets for all eternity, never growing, never changing. But nothing seen... nothing heard... all of existence either reduce to rubble or hidden from the view of his overzealous Maker... that was something the Voice without Sound could get behind.
Looking out at where the god indicated, Voiceless hissed with displeasure. Not at creation, but how open it was! Where was the concealment? The deception? It was just so... sickeningly honest. "I see where your displeasure comes from, Maker. I too would seek a way to make this existence more in line with our vision." Or his vision, not being able to perceive that was secret.
The god would have frowned in thought, had he had the concept of facial expressions. Even if he had, he would most likely have abandoned them as being too honest. Letting other people know how you really think was abhorrent to him. "Maker, what of those stone spheres that revolve around the fires you detest so? Are they a part of existence you wish to destroy also?"
"Well, of course you have a name! All things have names, little one. Perhaps I will call you coleander. Although, perhaps not."
The eye studied the newling god, floating up and down in front of it.
"Sonel, that shall be your name."
The young god flickered with delight upon recieving a name.
"Sonel Sonel Sonel! I is Sonel! Sonel is I! Sonel is happy with this name you have given Sonel."
The little god suddenly turned toward the stony spheres, eager to see them up close.
"Come, come maker-creator! Sonel wants to see those things with the more different things!"
"Why not, Sonel. Let us see what they are."
The eye followed Sonel towards the large structures.
As Sonel approached the spheres that ringed one of the fiery orbs it giggled with excitement. Swiftly alighting upon the surface of one, Sonel proceeded to make all sorts of lines zigzagging across thesurface, racing wildly all about as it did so.
"Look look! Sonel can make too!"
Soon the surface was covered with strange lines and Sonel was bored.
"Want to try to make something together, creator?" Sonel asked cheerfully.
The eye laughed. Sonel's joy was infectious. He was glad of this happy accident that had produced such a joyous offspring. For the briefest of moments, he pondered as to whether or not the other odd occurance, with the far more dour Zo-Att had created another youngling, but, finding such a question unanswerable, he banished it from his mind and focused on the question Sonel had asked.
"Yes, let us create something. Perhaps another friend to explore with us. Something made of wit and ingenuity."
Friend? This was a new concept to Sonel. Friend must be a good thing since maker wanted to make one. Sonel bobbed up and down vigorously in agreement.
"Yes yes! Make new friend that we can play with. Sonel will help! What kind of friend should we make, maker?"
"I don't know, Sonel. Why don't we begin experimenting and see what comes out of our efforts?"
Pulling some proto-stuff out of the nothingness hiding behind the void, the Eye laid it before him, and began to prod and pull at the stuff, slowly but surely working it into a roughly circular shape. He began to draw out matter into apendages, eight of them, each radiating off the main form in a smooth arc. He also moved into the central region of the protoplasm and began working as well, forming two concentric rings connected to one another via four rods.
The eye stared at the creation. It, honestly, wasn't much to look at, all soft lines and shadows... more a suggestion of a being than an actual completed product. Perhaps he did not have all the tools he needed.
He turned to Sonel.
"Why don't you have a go? You might find more luck than I in creating something worth animating."
"I bear no hatred toward them. I merely do my duty, what my creator has assigned me to do. I am Zo-Att now, but I was once Nothing, and it is Nothing that I wish to return to. But these stones and these orbs of flame, there is so little that we know about them. Perhaps we can find a use that no one else knows? That is what you want, is it not?"
Zo-Att traveled to an orb of fire, examining it intently.
[New day, +1 PP, now at 5/7]
Sonel stared in awe as the maker pulled this... stuff from where there was no stuff before. It flitted about as the god molded, shaped, formed the stuff into something new and different. But it still looked like the stuff, and maker didn't like that, but watching it work gave Sonel a lot of ideas.
"Sonel has a plan. Watch, maker!"
Rapidly Sonel began to make alterations to the shadowy form the god of Knowledge had built rapidly giving it definition, streamlining it, tweaking here and there. The godling took materials from the stony sphere, and even a bit out of the Orb of Flames itself to finish it's feverish work. For a final touch Sonel integrated a fragment of its own divine energy. It took a step back to admire it's work.
"How's that maker? Sonel did a good job?"
PP Expenditure
2PP - Create Artifact: Thing for god of knowledge.
5/7 PP
The Three Sisters eyed these young godlings curiously. They danced and capered about their Spheres, and then one . . . created. It was not perfectly smooth as the Spheres, nor as intricately crafted at the glowing bands of the Clock, but it had . . . heart, somehow. Panna, who was most interested by these creatures addressed them first.
"Greetings, oh glowing one, what is this thing that you create."
Para, recognizing the second divinity as her own child addressed him in turn.
"How goes the task I set you young one? Have you yet learned of this world?"
And Pasha, who was just generally excited, proclaimed in earnest.
"We are quite in awe of your work, young ones, please, create more!"
Sonel was in awe of the three thngs that approached. It grew nervous in their presence, for Sonel could feel the great power emanating from them. Twitching shyly it asked, "Are you makers too?"
The voiceless god floated in a different direction to his Maker, intending to view creation and create his own thoughts on it before returning to destructions side. His Maker... confused him. Duty was not something this godling knew. All he knew was lust for more power, and hatred for the honest existence that flaunted itself at him wherever he looked. Seeking to reduce everything to nothing without even a shred of emotion attached to it was not something the silent god could even comprehend.
Floating to an unoccupied stone sphere, the godling looked over it. Nothing but barren rock, all illuminated, clearly visible by everyone. Two secrets were not enough to sustain him forever, perhaps he should try for something a little... bigger.
Moving to the stop of the sphere, the black cloud spread out, and out, eventually becoming so large it enveloped the entire sphere. The darkness writhed for a time, before settling and revealing... nothing. The spot where the stone sphere had been was now just an inky patch of darkness, practically indistinguishable from the inky darkness of the nothing the Silent God had come from.
A small patch of darkness peeled off, the silent god returning from creating the biggest secret the universe currently held. Looking over his work and determining it truly was practically indistinguishable, the godling floated back to where he'd seen his Maker heading, eventually finding Zo-Att looking over one of the orbs of flame.
"Maker, there seem to be more orbs than a god can count, and two stone spheres encircling them. There seems precious little to have to destroy to return all to your blessed nothingness." What he spoke was... not true. There were three stone spheres. But he had said there were but two. The mere fact he had managed to state things not as they were sent an electric tingle down his spine. My my, how easy it would be to make and keep secrets now.
PP Expenditure
4 PP - Create Plane (Greater): Voiceless converts one of the stone spheres into the Shadowfell, in an attempt to create more secrets in existance.
1 PP - Form Domain (Lesser): Voiceless takes on the domain of Deception (well lies really, but deception is the same thing but sounds cooler)
"Yes, child, I suppose we are Makers."
But Pasha was inspired but this young one.
"Sisters, we need to make more children like this one, children to fill this world."
And without waiting for a response, Pasha turned to the void, and exhaled. Borne upon her breath were thousands of tiny green specks. They drifted into the black spaces, and danced and floated in the Void. These tiny specks drifted into the furthest corners of space. Pasha turned to her sisters.
"There, I have created life."
PP Expenditures
1 PP Nourish Land (Lesser) Void Algae
1 PP Nourish Land (Lesser) Void Algae
Sonel floated around the sister who had spoken to it and then the one who had created the Void Algae, enthralled.
"Wow! Sonel is amazed! Look at Sonel's amazement! You made that green stuff and it floated all over the place! Do you like the thing that Sonel made? Sonel's maker helped make it too! It was supposed to be a new friend for us to play with, but Maker hasn't done anything with it yet..." the godling sighed.
Abruptly Sonel began gathering up some of the Void Algae that the sister had scattered, spreading it on the stony sphere. It filled the cracks and lines Sonel had made in the surface and pretty soon the sphere of rock was covered in deep green lines rather than brown.
"Look look! Sonel made it different again!"
Pasha was happy as the little godling capered about.
"Yes, this what we need sisters, this joy!"
And with a great sweeping gesture, the algae upon the sphere exploded upwards and outward. Great bursts of green foliage now peppered the surface of the sphere. A veritable forest of strange and mysterious plants appeared. Pasha was delighted at this display of life.
"Be happy sisters! This is creation at its finest!"
PP Expeditures
1 PP Nourish Land (Lesser) Forests of Pasha - A forest of strange green plants begins to spread across the surface of one of the spheres.
"Fire. It is called this, is it not?" Zo-Att said to herself. She felt great destruction potential inside of it. She opened her mouth and expelled another bolt of blackness. When it hit the fire, a large pillar of flame burst forward from the orb. The pillar of flame made contact with the barren stone sphere surrounding it. Where it made contact, the stone started glowing red, until the heat became too much for the planetoid. It burst outward, into hundreds of smaller fragments, each one with a rough shape, unlike the originally smooth sphere.
Zo-Att moved to what remained of the stone sphere. The chunks were of the same material, but a completely different shape. Despite their new shape, they continued to orbit around the Orb, in the same pattern as before.
1 PP - De-mold land. The empty planetoid is now shattered into several hundred asteroid-like rocks. [4/7 PP left]
Sonel watched as a strange black thing made the glowey thing shoot at the other thing. It was even more surprised when the thing made a loud sound and then changed into a bunch of more different things.
"Wowee! Did you see that! The thing changed! The shadowy thing made the big thing change! I want to make another change now."
Quickly Sonel began floating around the newly formed asteroid field, looking particular rock fragments. After it had found three that by some odd logic it had judged adequate, Sonel brought them to the green sphere. It released them but they just hung in space, they didn't go around and around like the others were. With a frustrated noise, Sonel began digging into the forest sphere until it reached the very center. Then it flew out of the hole and took one of the smaller Orbs of Flame, placing it in the center of the forest sphere and sealing the tunnel behind itself. Like magic, the three asteroids were caught in the pull of the Orb of Flames and began to float around it, orbiting the tree-covered sphere.
"Yay yay! Look, Sonel made it more different!"
Expenditure
1PP Claim Domain: Gravity
4/7PP
Para observed the work of the other gods. She was quite intrigued.
"Look sisters, it seems we can not only create, but change as well. Fascinating."
The Sisters were learning much from these young ones. Panna, on the other hand, was not so delighted.
"Look what you did! You ruined our creations!"
She raged at the godlings, and she began to weep. The tears flowed and fell from her eyes. They rained down upon the green sphere below. The water seeped into the soil, and the plants drank of it, growing more and more plentiful with every passing moment.
1 PP Nourish Land (Lesser) Forests of Pasha
Another godling? Voiceless had known his Maker must not be the only creature in this universe (a secret requires at least two, after all, three if it is to be shared with another), but this young god seemed... energetic. Even if he had not been intent to keep himself a secret the Silent One would most likely have hidden away as he did, simply to avoid having to deal with that sickening enthusiasm until another day.
Speaking of enthusiasm, the Voice Without Sound was glad he'd secreted away his world... it seemed as though his Maker of destruction intended to live up to his domain. "A... bold move, if I might say so my Maker," the silent god commented. 'So much wasted potential for secrecy and lies...'
A new thought caught the gods eyes as a speck of green flitted across his vision. And another one, and another one, and another one. The once empty void was now speckled with small green creations... 'life', the thought came to him unbidden. It seemed so interesting, had so much future potential... but his Maker would never approve of creation as opposed to destruction, and he did not want to irritate the one being that knew of his existence.
Although, if he were to... grasping at large amounts of the green algae, the silent god mushed all the specks together, creating one large, green mass which was more or less simply a green blob with tentacles. Sending into it a shard of his power, Voiceless then animated the thing, where it writhed in his grip for a moment before lazily flying off into the void, devouring all the green specks it came across. It grew with each mouthful it took, and eventually the creature divided into two, each of the two now smaller creatures flying off to repeat the cycle of their parent.
"Look maker, I have created creation that destroy," the Silent God noted proudly. "How ironic that these creatures remove creation, indeed the very thing that it is made of so much more effectively than fire or force can?"
PP Expenditure
2PP - Spawn Beast (Greater) - Spawn Void Amoeba, gigantic creatures that are more or less single tentacled cells that float through space devouring Void Algae. When they grow enough from eating, they divide in two, through a process similar to mitosis.
He wandered through out the newborn existence, irritated. Others were creating but he was not. They were changing the world, moving it on without him. Ifothers could take his niche, then what was the point?
Brushing against one of the large stones, he watched it blacken at his touch. Interest piqued, as did his anger, and he burned brighter, scorching away the plantlife in his immediate vicinity, calming him down as he realized he had created a force of destruction. Not creation. These stones were creation, long lasting and resistant to the forces of destruction.
He was nameles, but creation was his task, his goal, his purpose. These were creations. They were his. He felt himself changing, becoming solid as the stone yet still malleable and shifting as the flames. While this was interesting, he had an idea.
He gathered his power. He had been ceated by another. He had helped to create another. The ultimate act of creation, the creation of a creator. He could have no name until he reveled in this, the greatest act of creation. He released his newly aquired power into the world around him, forcing sentience into the stone, giving life to the earth, that a new creator might be born.
"Let is be known to ALL: I AM LOHAK, master of creation!"
PP Expenditures
3 PP - Claim Domain (Greater) - Earth
2 PP - Ascend God - Earth domain
2 PP remaining
After pausing to admire it's work for awhile, Sonel noticed a unique presence floating about. Curious and energetic as always, it quickly zipped about until it found a strange-looking different thing.
"Ooooh! What are you? A new friend?"
Sonel tried to touch the thing, but when it came too close the thing lashed out with a tendril and tried to grab Sonel. One of the tentacles connected and began to dissolve the godling, who quickly escaped it's grasp by pummeling it with pure gravitational force.
"Owowowww! That thing is no friend! Sonel doesn't like that thing. Sonel is going to make sure that thing doesn't reach Sonel or Sonel's new things ever!"
In a hurry the young deity returned to the forested-sphere and began to focus it's energy. It began diverting gravity from the Orbs of Flames and creating it's own as well. Sonel then began to disperse the gravity in a sphere around the green planetoid, creating a hyper-gravitational field around it. Anything attempting to pass through it would have a hard time now.
"There," Sonel gasped, very winded from the ordeal, "now none of those owwy things can get through and break this place."
Expenditure
3 PP Create Artifact - 'Gravity Wall' that protects the sphere from outward intrusion. Also makes it difficult for non-divines to leave the sphere.
1/7PP
Sorstal stirred. It felt itself open up to existence. The essence around him pulsed with the knowledge of existence.
Sorstal acknowledged that which bordered on its existence, for it sensed, and it had limits to these senses. It sensed what was it, and was not. Sorstal felt itself expand, as its awareness further bloomed. Sorstal recognized itself, and felt overwhelmed by that which was not it.
It acknowledged something then. It sensed it was not alone, for there was something like Sorstal nearby, yet it was not Sorstal. Sorstal could sense that the limitations of this other's senses were fewer than Sorstal's own.
This other. This other was the cause of Sorstal's awareness. Sorstal could not acknowledge a moment before it was aware. There was merely nothing to sense before it became aware. Sorstal sensed the presence of this other, and in doing so, felt, not just sensed, but felt, the power of this other, the few limits which existed around the one who was not Sorstal.
Sorstal's awareness approached this other one, who must have been before Sorstal.
"You are an other? Are you the one who made me aware?"
The eye examined the new creation his... child... had made for him, and was highly impressed by the young god's craftsmanship. The thing was physically perfect in every way.
"I call you Grawlf." The eye said, bobbing up and down before the new thing.
But the new thing did not respond, Grawlf, amazing as he was, was not alive like he was. Frustrated by its immobility, the eye poured his essence into the metal form, willing it to life, yet, despite causing all the legs to move and the central platform to swivel, nothing of note occured.
He turned to Sonel, who even now floated beside him.
"Sonel, Thank you for your help on this creation. I have named it Grawlf, for all things must have names, and all things are their names. This is Grawlf as you are Sonel."
The eye paused for a moment before reaching inside of himself and sending a portion of his strength to the other god.
"I wish to reward you with this power. Please use it well. For now, I shall travel. You may join me if you wish."
The eye was frustrated that its efforts to create life were fruitless. It moved out into the universe, dragging the construction behind him as he went.
What he saw interested him. In his absence, the heavens had become filled with creatures. For a moment, the eye felt a distinct pang of jealousy. His creation of life had failed, yet others had clearly mastered the skill on their own. He eyed the creations... mindless algae and equally mindless amoebas, eating the algae without comprehension.
The eye looked upon this, and it despaired. The eye wished for children that could learn, children with whom he could eventually speak with. But these, these were not those.
He flew towards the nearest Amoeba and directed his anger and grief into it, breaking it apart into many smaller pieces. The eye stopped, stunned at the sight of the now-dead Amoeba scattered about him. He had not meant to cause such damage! Remorseful, he gathered the pieces together and stared at them for a long moment.
"I will try again." he said, arranging the pieces about him. "I will try to give life again."
He focused his power and sent it out again into the pieces, and to his delight, they began to twitch. He quickly poured more energy into them. He did not merely wish for them to live, he wished for them to grow, to learn, to adapt. His first children should be true to his own calling. They should learn from other life, for surely there would be more life, and in learning, adapt themselves to become a better being.
Soon, the amoeba-chunks floated before him, each now its own life form that looked very much like a very small amoeba, for that was all they knew.
"I call you Vokdara" he said.
Life for the Vokdara would be hard at first, the eye knew. But their ability to absorb and recapitulate features of new life they encountered would be invaluable to them, and would lead them to soon surpass the Amoebas to become a far more effective lifeform. He gave them a final directive to always fight amongst themselves, for only the best should be allowed to further enhance themselves. With reckless, if unintelligent, abandon, the Vokdara began to do just that, fighting amongst themselves, although for now none had any real advantages over any other one. The eye knew that would change.
The eye concentrated again and a giant ball of black rock appeared before him, entirely invisible against the darkness all around. He placed the Vokdara on its surface.
"I name you Vok" The eye said, staring at the black rock, "For from you will the VokDara spread."
However, for now, there was need of something to help them.
"This, here. In the darkness beyond the reach of the Orbs of Flame, here in this patch of darkness shall be their home until they are ready to leave. I must provide them a protector, one to guide the amoebas and keep them away from this spot."
The eye reached out through the fabric of the universe and beyond it and felt about before feeling his mind snag on something. With a gasp, he pulled, and flew backwards in shock as a gigantic beast appeared. Hundreds of meters long, and easily half that wide and tall, the great gray beast floated before him, bobbing up and down to the pulsing of a great tail that, if active, could easily propel it across the heavens. And yet, the beast was not finished. The eye could sense that it lacked a purpose in its brain.
The eye spoke to the beast
"I name you The Shepherd, for that is what you are. Guide the Amoebas and prevent them from ever coming here in large numbers. This is the land of your flock, the Vokdara, and you must keep them safe from all harm. When you grow old, you will teach your offspring, born from your own flesh this task, and when you die, you shall die knowing that you have served the gods."
The beast opened its great mouth and turned to fully face the eye. A glimmer of understanding appeared in the Shepherd's eye, then the whale turned and began moving across the sky towards the nearest amoebas to drive them from the protected zone of the Vokdara.
1 PP: Modify Spawn: Modify the Amoebas to become the Vokdara. The Vokdara are basically unintelligent versions of the Borg. They absorb living matter (gelatinous cube-style) and randomly (at an infrequent but not rare rate) incorporate entire systems into their own selves. The Vokdara constantly fight, so any incorporated system that does not aid them in combat in some way will be quickly removed from the population. Eventually, they will become a fearsome and deadly foe to all of existence, but for now they remain a slowly evolving menace.
1 PP: Mold Land (superior): Create the planet of Vok, home of the Vokdara.
2 PP: Spawn Creature (Superior): The Shepherd. The Shepherd is a giant whale whose brain is large enough to instinctively understand The Eye's directive to guide the Amoebas away from the homelands of the Vokdara. Although long lived, the Shepherd will eventually die, and pass on his knowledge to his son, who will be born from a small portion of the older Shepherd that breaks off and matures into a new Shepherd as the original Shepherd grows older.
1 PP to Sonel.
3/7 PP left.
Finally it's maker woke up! Sonel giggled with excitement at it watched its creator tinker with the thing they had made together, finally getting it to move.
"Grawlf Grawlf Grawlf! That's a name of a friend of Sonel's! We sh-" but Sonel was cut off as its maker flew off and broke one of those owwy things.
"Yeah yay! Break the owwy things!" Sonel cheered, and then it noticed its mak- Grawlf wasn't finished. It started to make things out of the broken pieces too. "Wow. Grawlf sure is smart!"
Sonel watched as the pieces of the owwy thing were changed into smaller looking owwy things. These owwy things started to fight each other on another one of the rocky things. Then Grawlf made the biggest thing of all. A great big long thing! It was bigger than the big owwy things, even!
"Oh wowee! Now that is a big thing!"
3/7PP
"Ah, Sonel. I am not Grawlf. This is Grawlf." The eye gestured to the contraption the two gods had made together.
"My name is a secret. One I will tell you but you may tell no one else. It is..." the eye floated closer to Sonel and whispered [SECRET]Dvrgr[/SECRET].
And yet... a sudden thought struct the eye and it flew towards Grawlf, settling into the central platform and raising it up such that by looking straight 'up' from its central platform, he was looking straight at Sonel. The eight arms of Grawlf rotated about him as the eye pondered for a moment.
"No, it is better this way. Too many will ask me my name, and my name must remain secret from all that I do not trust. I shall become my creation. I shall become Grawlf."
Grawlf looked out from his new body and mentally smiled. This was how things should be.
His Maker silent for the moment, the Silent God decides that it might be best to check in on his secret world. Floating through space, the field of darkness soon passes through the wall of disguising blackness that encompasses the Shadowfell, looking over the dark but empty world. He should really try and-
A sudden noise in the otherwise silent world caught his attention. A sudden impact was heard, and a small explosion of earth was seen in the distance. Disturbed by what this could mean, the god floated towards it, only to see an amoeba struggling in a crater, letting out howls of anguish. It seemed as though the amoeba had unknowingly stumbled through the wall of darkness, and had fallen to the ground hard. Hard enough to kill. But in a universe without death, the amoeba was still very much alive, but in so much agony it couldn't do anything but cry out.
The Voice Without Sound knew this shouldn't be. Things had to have some kind of release at the end of their days, and the sound would attract other gods if too many other amoeba shared the same fate. But he couldn't give it the release of death, death was a concept the universe and the god could not comprehend. So, he decided to give it a different kind of release.
Focusing his power on the beast, it's cries soon became gurgled as it dissolved into a black slime that was neither living nor dead. The new creation soon filled the crater the amoeba had made, gurgling on occasion and lashing out with it's tentacles at nothing in particular. Not the most pleasant first thing to fill his world with, but it solved the issue. And he had to admit, he liked the way it thrashed about, as though hating the very existence it was a part of.
PP Expenditure
1PP - Modify Spawn - Create the Kraaj from amoeba - the Kraaj is a pool of undead, black ooze that despises all living things. It doesn't need to eat, sleep, or breathe, but it still attempts to devour everything it comes across. Fortunately, Kraaj are restricted to their pool and can't move around.
He stared at the creation he had made, considering it, and listening to it speak. "Yes, I have made you. I, Creation, have created you to rule of the dirt and stone, the most solid or creations."
"Interesting..." Zo-Att examined the results of her work, as well as the work of the Silent One. She had learned a fundamental truth about the universe from her studies. When the world had begun, everything was Nothing. As time passed however, everything had become more and more disorderly. The Burning Orb was stable at first, but her act of destruction destroyed that stability and added more disorder to the world. The same happened from her actions with the stone sphere.
From this, she concluded that the universe was moving to a greater state of instability. She would not be able to reach her goal be trying to bring stability to the world; that would be futile. Perhaps she could bring the world to the point where there was no stability left; an entropic collapse.
Zo-Att's mouth formed a smile as she thought about how she should go about making this occur. Concentrating on her very being, she brought the Nothing that had existed and shaped it into her own personal void. It wasn't just a void however, since she also incorporated her newfound aspect into it. What would she call this new concept she discovered?
Chaos.
That is what it would be known as.
PP Use
+1PP new day [5/7]
3 PP claim domain - chaos (I promise I'll ascend someone for it later; just wait!)
1 PP - Create Artifact - Orb of Entropy - This orb is about the size of a house, but it sometimes becomes smaller. Anything that gets too close to it will lose structure, and possibly be destroyed. Right now, nothing is being done with it.
[1/7 remaining]
The eye, now known as Grawlf, although that was not his true name, traveled with his mechanical suit, the first to be called Grawlf, but now merely an extension of himself. He traveled through the universe, examining, exploring, pondering that which was and that which would be in the future.
It frustrated him, the future. While he knew the present and he remembered the past, however little there was, he could only guess as to what would come in the times after now. This uncertainty gnawed at his very being. Uncertainty was the antithesis to knowledge. Knowledge should be decisive, should, well... know!
"If I could study all things, know their places, know how they move, how they are at their core, then, truly could I know what will come as well as what has come." He said to himself as he approached the forest of Pasha and saw the Three Sisters floating above it. He sought out the one whom had formed him.
"Mother, may I speak to you? I am troubled and seek your counsel."
When the two gods had gone off a ways, Grawlf spoke.
"First, I wish to tell you, who know my name, that I have taken another. I am Grawlf now. Second, I am deeply troubled, Mother. I know what has come before, and I have done my best to do your bidding and understand what is happening now, yet I cannot hope to understand what is to be, and my soul aches with the knowledge of my failure. I ask you, nay, beg you who are Time to help me understand what is to be in the future, for I find myself sorely lacking."
But it was Panna who answered the young god's inquiry. In a low, singsong voice she spoke.
"And the one who sees will see the Dawn,
And wake upon the morn,
Eyes shut tight he battles on,
And soon the bonds are shorn.
He'll slay the Beast, and dream of Knowing,
But never find his home,
For who can know a world still growing,
If he still knows not his own?"
And with a knowing glance at "Grawlf", the Third Sister drifts off to gaze dreamily at the Forest.
Grawlf looked at Panna's retreating form as he pondered her reply to his question.
"What riddles..." he thought to himself. Was that what the future was? A Riddle?
The one who sees will see the Dawn... was that the dawn of creation, or simply a dawn? And what is it to see?
Eyes shut tight he battles on... is that a message about how we can strive to know, but it is impossible to see, or is it willful ignorance of important details, much as battling with your eyes closed would be?
And soon the bonds are shorn... what bonds? The bonds that prevent him from seeing?
He'll slay the beast and dream of knowing... Who is the beast? And what is it to know? what is being learned? Is it the future?
But never find his home. This was obvious... he won't succeed.
For who can know a world still growing, if he still knows not his own? These lines seemed the most directed towards him of all, but what did they mean? One's own world... the world still growing. The world still growing was likely the world around them right now. But one's own world...
"Para, what would 'one's own world' mean? Is it perhaps that one cannot hope to understand more than himself if he does not first spend the time to understand his own role?"
Grawlf pondered for a long time.
"Is that the message for me? That my role is not to know the future, but only to know the now and the before? Is that why you created me?"
His world, secret as it was was still rather boring. His Kraaj were interesting true, but for now the rest of the universe beckoned. It might not be secret, and be so honest it made the Silent One a little sick in his non-existent stomach, but he had a craving to know. Odd, seeing as he was the child of destruction... he should have little more desire than to conceal and defile, but he none the less had a burning curiosity to know more. Oh well, it would pass the time at the very least.
Floating away from his Shadowfell, the Voice Without Sound eventually stumbled upon another stone sphere. But this wasn't empty... this was covered in algae that looked to have been tampered with to make it grow taller and oddly. It was an interesting concept, but it was a little bright and green for his tastes. Still, who knew what could be hiding beneath the trees...
Circling the orb, the field of darkness pondered. What exactly was this world he wondered? Or better yet, how could he use it for his own ends?
Sorstal found itself in awe of the Creator. The giver of existence radiated something. Sorstal recognized it was within the Creator's abilities to form and bring into existence both things similar to and things different from Sorstal. That power, waiting to be put to use. Those things which might soon exist, but did not yet exist. Potential things. The potential things intrigued Sorstal as much as the Creator did.
As Sorstal wondered about the potential things, its mind began to spread out, its sentience slithering through the dark, probing at what already was. Sorstal found it simple; all it needed to do was pinpoint its essence - stone. Sorstal felt itself, many selves, or perhaps fragments of many selves, stir in the distance. One did not stir, so much as it trembled, a fragment of Sorstal's sentience that was enveloped in another entity's work. This fragment seemed the farthest of all, yet the tiny sensation within Sorstal's mind was reassuring. It was there. It was still Sorstal.
But Sorstal's mind soon felt the tug of a shaking sensation. Another fragment of Sorstal was surrounded by other entities, the feel of their individual borders similar to the outer limits of the Creator's existence. For a moment, Sorstal wondered if others brushing against its form thought of it in a similar way, but this thought flared and dimmed almost simultaneously. This fragment of Sorstal, nestled within the bosom of a wellspring of foreign entities, was strange. More than any other fragment of its sentience, this one seemed the most interesting. This particular fragment was already in existence, yet it whispered to the rest of Sorstal of things which would soon become - the unique potential that this fragment had, the potential which these other entities had sensed and which drew them to watch over that fragment of Sorstal.
Sorstal felt compelled. These other entities, this distant piece of itself - Sorstal was enthralled by the potential.
"Giver of existence, I feel it. I feel the potential to create. I sense that my potential, your potential, will soon burst forth into this existence. I wonder, what can I create? I sense, in the distance, that I can give shape to nothingness. I sense others. What are we to create?"
Sonel wandered amid the trees of the planetoid looking, touching, listening to all it. It was enraptured by the changes the rock had undergone since it had come to it, but itbegan to notice that some of the trees were turning brown.
"No no no no. The green things are losing their green..."
Frantically it looked about, wondering how it could fix the trees. Then, a realization dawned on the young godling. Taking some of the earth beneath and some of the trees, plants and algae mixed with divine energy it created a new being altogether. It was solid with four legs and had two great long arms with openings at each end that would suck up the dying vegetation. All across it's body there were small pores that, after the beast had absorbed enough dead matter, would excrete fresh algae that would bond to the land and plants and become new vegetation.
Sonel placed it upon the dirt and it immediately began sucking in the brown dead plants and converting them into glimmery green, fresh algae. Eventually it lumbered off in search of more dead material to eat and recycle back into the world.
Expenditure
2PP Spawn Creature (Superior): Cragnas the Green, a gargantuan beast that is capable of converting dead or dying matter into fresh algae that will develop into new plants by passing them through it's body. It moves slowly and ignores most things, but can be provoked by a strong enough attack or something disturbing the natural order. When provoked it will retaliate by drawing in energy from nearby sources and firing hundreds of concentrated beams from the pores all over it's body.
1/7PP
Sonel looked cheerfully at the planet below, watching its big green friend endlessly fixing up the forests. It floated happily alongside it, observing the way it would replenish the parts of the forest that were turning brown, but the godling soon noticed something. Its creation could keep the forests green and protect them from harm, but it didn't have the power to make new trees.
"Sonel wants there to be more forests! To make more forests and to keep them safe is what Sonel wants."
Reaching deep within itself, Sonel pulled a spark of divine life and held it aloft. It began gathering plantlife together, feverishly shaping the heap into what the god thought was a suitable body. It toiled and tweaked and after a few minutes, or a few lifetimes, it stopped and was satisfied with its work.
"Sonel will make new friend and it will take care of all the forests forever! Yay yay!"
The young god then gently placed the spark into the body it had made and waited for it to awaken.
Expenditure
2PP Ascend God: Forest
0/7PP
From the spark of divinity Sonel placed in the earthen mass grew a new form, a conglomerate of the earth and trees. It took on the rough form of a sphere, with jags of green shooting out and returning. From it came a chorus of voices; a mote of divine energy zipped back to Sonel at his touch.
"Father?"
Give: 1 PP Given to Sonel
Para looked skeptical at her sister's words.
"Oh, pay no heed to Panna, I rarely do."
But she paused before adding to that.
"But I do find it wise to take what you can, and leave the rest."
Sonel was taken aback by how quickly the new god responded. It drew in real close and examined the newly formed godling floating all around, making "Hmmm"s and "Ahh"s noises before finally settling down on the ground beside it.
"Sonel doesn't know what 'father' is, but Sonel is your maker. And like Sonel's maker, Sonel gets to give you a name! Yay!"
The god pondered for a moment, trying to come up with a name for it's new friend. It sat completely still until finally it decided with an exclamation.
"Brinn! That will be your new name! Brinn Brinn Brinn! Brinn is Sonel's friend and Sonel is Brinn's maker! Brinn is supposed to keep the forests safe and help them grow. Okay, new friend?"
He looked at his creation, considering the question for only a moment. "What are we to create? We create whatever we wish. This dominion is ours to shape, and we shall shape it."
3/7PP
"Perhaps you are right, Mother." Grawlf said. "Perhaps she meant nothing. It certainly sounded like nothing."
Grawlf left and floated away from the planet, looking back at it as he pondered Panna's words. The last line, the one about knowing ones own place, gnawed at him. He thought he knew his place. His place was to know. And Sonel, his place was to create. And Grawlf, the Grawlf that he had become, its job was to carry him and provide him with a body. The Vokdara's place was to better themselves and nothing more. Even Zo-Att, his destructive sibling, her job was to disrupt the order of the universe. It was not bad, it just was what she did.
The more Grawlf thought about it, the more he became convinced that Panna had not been speaking nonsense, but had in fact been speaking a very wise truth. Grawlf had been so deeply worried about something that, when it came down to it, was not his job. He could know what was, and what is, and truly, he would do that better than anyone, yet to know what was not knowable, the future itself, was not his job, and he should not torment himself over it.
"Yes." Grawlf said, speaking to no one in particular. "This much is clear to me. Everything has its job, and it should strive to fulfill its duty to the best of its ability. Anything less is unacceptable."
2 PP: Claim Domain (moderate): Duty.
3/7 PP left.
As Sonel looked at Brinn, the ball quickly grew, contorting and stretching like putty as the new god took root. The splotches of green resolved into forests, nearly a mirror of the forests below.
"Brinn, Maker?" The ball performed a particurarly violent expansion, bits flying out towards the forest as the rest hung in midair for a moment before descending. "I will do as you say, Sonel." Desending into the forest that was her life, Brinn flowed through it, as much a part of it as without. Though the trees grew, the forest was fixed and finite. Brinn considered this, wondering how the forest was to expand. Taking hold of it as if it was universal building blocks, the new goddess examined the trees and found them to simply....be. This would not do.
Brinn surged back up towards Sonel, her putty-forest trailing up along her. "I want to be bigger. Does Maker want me to be bigger?", she asked as her putty-forest expanded and flattened, giving the impression of growth.
PP: 5/7
Chaotic energies were shedding from Zo-Att's form. The Orb of Entropy was only her first creation. Chaos itself need its own guardian... one that could watch over this new force. The Orb, a source of chaos itself, was using it's own chaos to merge her own energy. She wasn't sure how that could occur, but she didn't care. Any additional forces of destruction were welcome as far as she was concerned.
As her chaotic energies melded together, she suddenly felt the pulse that told her to stop. She felt divine energy coming from the entropic amalgam. Before it fully became aware, Zo-Att fled to a distant part of the universe. It was gaining conciousness, but she didn't want to look over it. She already had one younger god to look over, and this one should be able to take care of itself.
She made it after all
PP Use
(+1 new day, at [2/7])
2 PP - Ascend God - God of Chaos
[0/7]
This world had so much potential... it was so unspoilt, so honest, and yet it seemed as though hundreds and hundreds of secrets could be contained within. But the Silent One's musing were interrupted as he saw the hyperactive god from earlier call forth a godling to serve his whim. And his eyes, if he had them, narrowed into a frown.
This... mere apprentice had a minion to serve him? The god who seemed content to hop around and shoot out power at random according to some divine whim? And yet here he lay, the keeper of secrets, teller of the first lie, cloaker of worlds, alone and without anyone to serve him. It... rankled him. Until that moment, the universe had not known envy, but now it consume the field of darkness.
Floating away from the green sphere, the god of secrets continued through the void, hoping to find something to distract it from the jealousy bubbling in it's soul.
The intelligence tried furiously to escape the bounds of its entropic sphere. Everytime it reached a point beyod artifact's grasp it would congeal into shards of oily green mucous before evaporating into unreality once more. A sick humor developed within the divine spark's grind-wheel cognizance and words formed in maddening spirals upon it's surface. Icannotexistwithoutbeinginastateofchaoticrelease,entropicdissodence,and generalnotniceness.WherewhatwhowhyhowamIhere?
The spirals wounded faster and faster until they formed a seperate energy. The Sphere of Entropy at its' center provided the energy, the intelligence provided the motive, but... where from came the locomotion? Lizt looked around, simple light receptors rapidly forming eyes, before dissipating once more into liquid energy. Upon the godling's surface a new series of words formed in the most base of languages, before morphing into unspeakable texts H-Hello World
6/7 PP
As the Silent One traveled, so too did Grawlf travel, until, spotting the inky blackness and sensing a kindredness to it, the god slowed and called out.
"Oh you! Inky black one, slow your hasty motion and come speak with me!"
Sonel looked at his new friend, pondering what the god would look like if it was larger. It then started to vibrate a little, which is how Sonel grins.
"Bigger! Bigger sounds like fun. But not as big as Cragnas. Maybe about same size as Sonel." the god added with a giggle.
Brinn bobbed curiously, and then chorused "How big is Sonel? The forest is bigger!"
The Silent One stopped in it's track at being hailed. It seemed the god of secrets was no longer a secret... then again, had he been a secret since his Maker laid eyes on him? He supposed he would simply have to keep his loyalty to destruction (or alliance, loyalty was perhaps too strong a word...) a secret instead. It would be much simpler to go about if he did not have to hide behind a meteorite every time a god came along.
Turning to view the god that had called him, the Silent One was face with an odd creature that consisted of an eye and a thing made of shining rock with numerous odd looking tentacles. He didn't know why, but the eye looked... familiar. He felt like he could name it, though how he would know it's name was beyond him. And the power emanating from it... he felt like if the eye had chosen to keep it's domain a secret, there would be more secrets in the world than could be counted.
Floating back towards the eye, the Silent One 'spoke'. "Ah, another god... the first other to speak to me in fact," he lied fluently, almost as much to feel the thrill of an untruth than to keep his alliance with his Maker a secret. "You seem... familiar though. Is there any chance we've met?"
"No, I don't think we've met. I would know one such as yourself."
Grawlf stared at the god before him. He was certain they had never met, and yet the god seemed familiar somehow. How, he could not put a finger on it, and yet...
"I am Grawlf: Knowledge. Who are you, if I may ask?"
The Silent One felt that Grawf was... not this gods name. He didn't know why, but he could FEEL that he had another name, like it was on the tip of his tongue but he just couldn't remember it.
"Grawf? Are you sure that's... no, of course you would be, otherwise you wouldn't say as much. I have no name, or none that I will share in any case. If you must call me something, call me... the Silent One, or perhaps the Voice Without Sound, I refuse to take even a true pseudonym. But my domain is of Secrets... a subset of your domain, if I'm not mistaken," he added, realizing it was true.
Knowledge was everything that was known, and Secrets were but Knowledge that was known only to a few and hidden away from the rest. This revelation disturbed him a little, making him realize that the god before him was his domain plus more. Although it also gave him a true understanding of just what secrets were in this universe, and by extension a truer understanding of himself. It was in his nature to secret away knowledge, for himself or for a select few... as such this god could be a great ally. Or a great enemy...
"Secrets?"
Grawlf immediately thought back to the black shape that had zoomed away the moment he had told Zo-Att his true name in secret. A black shape zooming away, and now this dark being floating before him, claiming to be the guardian of all secrets? That was a mighty coincidence.
"You nearly accused me of hiding my name. That is perceptive of you, for yes, my name is not truly Grawlf, but is something else entirely. Names have power, and my name is the greatest power of them all, for I am knowledge and knowledge is my Name. But if you are who I think you are, you know my name already. It is at the core of your own being. Who am I, oh Secret-Keeper?"
OOC
Dvrgr, Anubis, if you forgot)
His name was power? Then if he truly knew, as this god suspected and he knew in his soul he did, then what power he had in his depths! If he could remember that name... and use it at a later date... who knows what he could do with it. But using this power would have to wait, for now, he had to remember the name to speak to this god. This strangely familiar god who spoke as though he knew everything about him...
Straining his mind, the darkness eventually found a single word in the very center of his being, and, drawing close, whispered it quietly at this so called Grawlf.
Grawlf nodded to the other god.
"Yes, child. That is my name. You were born of that name when I told Zo-Att it in secrecy. And now, here you are before me."
Grawlf's arms spun lazily around his eye as he looked at The Silent One. Secrets were an important part of knowledge, for not all knowledge should be known to any and everyone.
"Yes, you are a subset of my domain... and of Zo-Att's as well, for secrecy requires knowledge to be contained... to be destroyed, and yet, to be kept around for a privleged few to know. It is why I feel I could come to think of you as an ally, while Zo-Att will always remain a potential threat."
This was true, and the more Grawlf thought about it, the more and more he thought that perhaps he had made a mistake in telling Zo-Att his name, for he had no idea what Zo-Att eventually planned. Perhaps in time he would see if his child could do something about that. For now, though...
"Where were you going with such haste? There is so little in this universe... was there something of worth to be seen where you were travelling?"
This god... was his Maker? Or one of his Makers... it had bothered the Silent One that he had been born of nothing but Destruction. Secrets and Destruction were not akin, and did not secrets usually require two people to be a true secret? Now though his existence made more sense, especially with Grawlf's (he would think of him as much to help preserve the secret that had made him) explanation of how secrets required both knowledge and destruction.
"I know not where I go or what there is that is worth seeing, that is why I travel with much haste... it seems you have imbued the curiosity of knowledge within me, Maker," the Silent One explained. He hesitated a moment before going on. "However, there is something that you might be interested in seeing. As Knowledge, it is your right to know even secrets, after all... as long as you keep them as such."
Could he really trust the god with the secret he had tried to keep from the rest of existence? He didn't know... but he owed Grawlf his life for creating him. Sharing the truth of his Shadowfell with him seemed a poultry repayment, but it was a start. Besides, that world of forests flourished while his world lay barren except for his kraaj. With another god knowing of the Shadowfell, perhaps he would feel obligated to contribute to it on occasion...
"By all means I can keep a secret. I am well practiced in it already, and the universe is so young. What is it that you wish to tell me?"
"It is not what I have to tell you, so much as what I have to show you," the Silent One replied. "You see, when the world was younger, and the stone spheres that comprised it were still barren- hold on, we should have this conversation elsewhere."
Engulfing both gods in darkness, the Voice Without Sound teleported the two to a seemingly empty piece of space, before continuing. "There we are... now where was I? Oh yes, the spheres. You see, as my first act in this universe I ventured forth and explored, finding three stone spheres among the cluster of stars. Three. One of these spheres is now the world we met fairly nearby, another was reduced to rubble. But the third... well, it's right here."
Forming a vague tentacle shape from the darkness that comprised him, the Silent One touched the field of darkness that engulfed the stone sphere, causing it to ripple and clearly show itself for a moment before resettling into static darkness indistinguishable from the world around it. "It is in my nature to keep things hidden... and what could be a bigger secret than an entire world spirited away behind a dark curtain?"
"Truly, this is a great secret" Grawlf said, extending a hand towards the hidden planet and watching as the darkness rippled about it like water rippling around a thrown rock.
"But... this is not truly secret. I can feel the planet with my hand. Were the sky beyond it filled with light, I could see it. You have put so much power into this shield of blackness, that with just a tiny amount of effort at the right spot..."
Grawlf extended all six of his hands into the blackness, tugging and pushing for a moment before drawing all of the arms together. The darkness roiled at his touch but after several long minutes eventually settled down. Grawlf flew to the other side of the planet, and looked back to see Secrets watching him.
"Now it is truly a secret" he said. "Light passes around it, so I, here, can see you there, and I have placed inside of the shield a powerful suggestive effect to cause those approaching to subconciously alter their course just slightly to avoid the planet itself. Now it can truly be called a secret."
Grawlf flew back towards The Silent One.
"Child, may I ask a favor? I wish to place something here, something... secret. Do I have your permission?"
The god pondered the question, and then realized it's mistake with a chuckle.
"Oh! You mean the forest. Sonel thought you meant yourself. Buy you are the forest! Sonel's friend is very clever."
The young deity stroked the rippling surface of it's new friend, its touch leaving a small trail behind before it re-assimilated. Suddenly it's concentration was directed elsewhere, as it had felt that now-familiar feeling of a new friend being made. It began vibrating again, grinning to itself.
"Brinn needs to stay here, make the forests grow and protect them. If anyone comes here and messes things up, Cragnas will help you defend the forests. I promise."
Sonel looks away toward the distant with a bemused expression.
"Sonel needs to go meet a friend..."
And with that the young god left the planetoid, trusting Brinn to take care of the forests, and made it's way toward the newly born friend.
With the darkness of the void, and it's large space, the Silent One had not thought to use such an ingenious method of cloaking. He'd trusted in simple camouflage, while his Maker surpassed that. He had a long way to go before he would be a true match for his Makers ingenuity. "Thank you, Maker with the second name of Grawlf," he said sincerely. "I would not have though to employ such a complex method of hiding until it was too late and my world was exposed."
Trying to hide the eagerness for the creation of another secret to add to his power, the Silent One nodded as well as his amorphous body was able. "But of course, my Maker. I would not have shown my world to you if I wouldn't allow you to add to it."
As Zo-Att was leaving to let Lizt fend for itself, she saw another presense approaching. This one gave off youthful energy, but it also had the essese of what she opposed.
Creation
It wasn't pure, however. Perhaps it had the same father as the Silent One, as she felt knowledge in the newcomer as well. THe newcomer could be a threat if she allowed it to interact with her newest creation. Zo-Att swiftly brought herself in front of Sonel and stared at him with menace. Her voice was threatening when she asked,
"Just where do you think you are going?"
There was noone near enough for Lizt's constantly melting features to detect... A strange creeping sensation shot through the godling's being. Images of violence and suspended anguish flashed across the surface of his roiling discontinance. Is... Is anyone out there? he ventured to ask, the characters dripping across his surface like rain-slicked neon.
He knew at once, and understood the chaos that was his core. Destruction and creation licked across his mind, giving and simultaneously taking away any semblance of sanity. He suppressed the madness, for what was madness without some sane yardstick to compare it to? That word held no meaning for him yet... but the other. The sinister lonelyness. The abandonment and solitude he felt amidst the shifting shapes of the cosmos, and void. He knew fear before any other creature... and savored his first emotion with relish.
Claim Domain (1 PP): Fear
6/7 PP remain
Sonel looked confused at the god of destruction's attempt to stop it, not knowing that she was attempting to scare it off. The young god knew no concept of fear. It tried to go past her again, but to no avail. Even more confused, Sonel looked up at the elder god as if trying to figure out it's motives for her keeping it from a new friend.
"Sonel just wants to meet the new friend that was made. Will you move please?" the young god inquired. "Sonel wants to make friends with the newly made friend!"
Grawlf turned to face the planet. Pressing forward, he pierced through the rolling blackness that coated it and made his way to the surface. There, he dug a great hole, hundreds of feet wide and nearly a mile deep. Down he traveled into the depths of Shadowfell until he came to the bottom of the pit.
Grawlf glanced about, making sure that no one was watching. He imagined The Silent One might be spying on him, but... he trusted the secret-keeper to keep what he was about to do a secret. Grawlf reached into the space outside of the universe and pulled back what he had stored there earlier.
As it turned out, when he had tried to create a companion god for himself in Grawlf, he had not been wholly unsucessful. For the briefest of moments, he had felt a connection, a spark of life enter the metal form, yet, without the help of Creation... His first solo attempt at life, which had started out so promising, had ended in disaster.
As Grawlf looked upon the writing, moaning form before him, he closed his eye in shame. This was the first Grawlf, the one before he had taken the name, and it was a monster. Segmented arms, covered in red bands of flesh and white mucus reached out from a central platform where two black eyes, as dark as the void itself, peered out at Grawlf with hatred. The godling, for that is what it was... or had been, was misshapen, arms splayed and bent at odd angles, central platform warped. Grawlf looked at it with pity, then floated upwards, dirt and rock cascading down and fusing together once more as it covered up the monster.
At the surface, the last of the rock replaced. Grawlf hovered for a few moments.
"I name you... Failure" he said quietly. He was not sure whether he was talking to the beast below, or to himself.
2 PP: Spawn Creature (Superior): Failure, the first form of Grawlf, horribly broken and disfigured by the attempts to raise it to life, and now imprisoned deep beneath the surface of the Shadowfell.
2/7 PP left.
The Silent One watched... though even if he hadn't, he would most likely know the truth. Secrets were his essence, and it was in his very nature to know everything that which was hidden. This creature that his Maker called forth and placed in his Shadowfell... he knew not where it came from, but it reminded him of his kraaj. Neither alive, nor nothing, neither living nor oblivion. For some reason, it just felt right that his Shadowfell should be full of such creatures.
But to do so he needed a base. When his Maker turned his back on his creation, the Voice Without Sound struck, severing a piece of rotting flesh from the thing and spiriting it away to the void gods used to carry that which they didn't want to physically carry. He then returned to the surface as quickly and silently as possible. He knew not what this things true nature was, but if his Maker sought to hide it away, he would most likely not like other gods to meddle with it.
"Well my Maker," the Silent One said nonchalantly as he met him on the Shadowfell surface. Another secret to keep, another secret to add to his power. "How do you like my hidden world? I admit that it's not nearly as far along as the world of greenery, but it has it's own dark charm."
Zo-Att circled around Sonel and started wrapping around his form. He was getting quite annoying and Zo-Att couldn't figure out his persistance. Her mouth opened, this time with sharp fangs and whispered threateningly,
"I asked you to leave. This is the last time that you will be reminded."
"I do like it very much, and even without the greenery, it has its own... charm to it. Thank you for letting me hide my secret here. If I may ask, what are your plans for this place? It is awfully dark to allow much of anything to live here."
"Live? Perhaps, in the way that life is on that green world. But not everything that exists must live, my kraaj are proof of that. And not everything that lives must survive with light and earth, as my creatures in the void prove. There is a whole other side to life and non-existence and everything in between than has been explored by us gods, so much more knowledge to uncover and secrets to keep. Observe."
Gathering his power, the Silent One thought of what he must do. He did not want this world to be green, but plant life would be necessary if things other than the creatures that walked the veil between life and otherwise were to live here. But without light, plant life would be hard to sustain... but he was a god. His power was unrivaled except by those of other gods. If he could dream it, it could be, and he dreamed... of plants that drank in dark the way that those green plants drank in light. A perfect creation for such a dark world.
Spewing forth a veil of darkness that soon engulfed the entire stone sphere, the dark clouds soon condensed to form the creations he imagined. Tough red grass that looked as though it would cut whoever touched it, gray leafed trees that were so twisted and gnarled they looked like they were in agony, and deadly looking vines that looked as though they could ensnare and strangle whatever came by. And all of them thrived in the dark, drinking it in to sustain themselves.
"You see? These living things thrive in the dark, need it to survive. If we can dream it, it can be. We can create life, unlife, or anything else wherever we will! If doing so would break whatever rules have been established by other creations, we must merely change the rules so that they can be so!"
PP Expeniture
2PP - Nourish Land - The Shadowfell develops dark plant life, that use darkness for photosynthesis instead of light. It still remains largely barren however, though the plant life is far from rare. Basically, grass grows in clumps and doesn't carpet the ground, forests are often smaller or more spread out etc.
[0/7 PP left]
Brinn floated above her forest, wondering how she should start. She knew her why, but why did the forest exist? Sonel simply wanted it to grow, but for what purpose? She wondered about it, deciding at length that as she was the goddess of this forest, so should this forest be her. And no reflection of a goddess like herself should be so dull.
Curious, she seperated a part of her 'body' and used it as a test for what her new creations would be like. They needed a why, and she could give it- these new plants, the flowers that she would create, would bring color and beauty to her forest, and by extension to her. Her chorus whispered to herself as she molded the body-piece into the images in her mind. A symmetric design... with bright colors. Oh! And these would need some way to expand in the forest! She thought about this, knowing that she would not always be able to make the new forest and plants herself. The flowers would need to do it themselves, and so she created a kernel of the plant, a practical duplicate, in the middle of it's petals.
"Yay! Brinn is so happy!," she cried as her image matched the physical form. Gently engulfing it, Brinn turned a bright shade of green and began whirling and stretching out over the forest. Moments later, millions of motes of light struck the algae and earth, blossoming into her newest creation. Flowers sprang up in many colors, all of the same design adding vibrance to the dark green trees.
Rising happily back into the void above, Brinn looked around, beyond her small forest, and felt sad. "It's all so empty... not at all beautiful, like me!" She giggled, glad the forest was growing well for her. But she still felt a little sad... She knew her why, the forest was learning it's why, but she still felt empty somehow. She, who was a composite, was one... Her Maker had already left her, and she was alone. She needed another, someone of equal stature to her, with a will and soul of it's own. The vast expanse was too much for her alone, she realized, and immediately set out to make her new..."friend", as Sonel had said.
Raising the earth below, the fledgling goddess pondered. She would want a creature of boundless energy and passion. It would need strength, though, and ferocity if needed to protect her forest. The forests itself would herald it's passage, and lush growth would spring up as it lingered. With such a vast amount of void and earth to cover, it would have to travel quickly. Working feverishly as the ideas formed in her mind, the earth in her 'hands' molded itself into a long shape, defining itself after the ideals she placed for it.
This creation would travel the ground, she thought, and stay with their beloved forests forever. She molded four feet from inspiration, strong enough to run forever.
This creation would need weapons, and it grew fangs and claws.
Her masterpiece needed to be beautiful. And it grew luscious, soft fur.
Last it needed a spark of life. A chunk of Brinn's 'body' fell to it, absorbing into the creation as it stood, blinking its eyes on the land outside the grove below. The wolf-creature stood hugely above it, but already shoots of growth struggled up under her new friend. It looked up at her with amber eyes, and gave a short bark.
"Yay! As Sonel made Brinn, as Brinn made flowers, now I make you! Will you be my friend?," she asked, bobbing quickly in excitement. The wolf nodded and licked her, part of her divine body sloughing off under the rough tongue. Of course, my friend. It was what we were both born to do.. The touch of her new friend's 'voice' thrilled the forest goddess, who zoomed down to eye level. "Then I name you Ankirega! Together, we will fill the void with beautiful forests!"
Brinn was happy. Not only did she have her why, she had her first friend.
PP Expenditure:
1 PP: Nourish Land: Creates flowers of many colors under the 'trees'.
3 PP: Create Exarch: Ankirega
PP Remaining: 2/7
Sonel would not be deterred by the god in front of it. It grew annoyed by her insistence that Sonel should go away.
"Sonel doesn't want to go away. Sonel wants to see the new god! Move out of the way!"
Zo-Att grinned at the young god's tenacity, and her fangs sharpened. She had given him ample warnings; he brought it upon himself.
"That's too bad."
She opened her mouth wide open and closed it on Sonel's form. Grey energy burst outward with explosive force. Zo-Att quickly pulled back, and waited for the energy to settle before seeing the the young god survived.
As Lizt listed through the void he began to slow his spinning. His fear began to reside, shifting to the rear of his thought processes. Some force was dragging his beloved orb towards it. He saw a planet, being circled by three smaller masses. He drifted closer. Greenery, beautiful flowers and a peerless hunter began to dance across his exterior: What was this? It seemed so... together.
Anathema, and exciting to him all at once, Lizt was hooked. He stayed just beyond the reach of the terra, and stared at the goddess below. Enfatuation, fought fear. A word formed upon Lizt' exterior, four letters of our common tongue, but in the language of gods beautiful beyond words.
It dissipated again. An inkling, without substance. You see, this is why love is maddening at times. Chaos knew her first, though Fear kept it in check.
Claim Domain (1 PP): Love
5/7 PP
As soon as Zo-Att's fangs came into contact with it's being, the young god felt somthing unpleasant, something that made the godling's essence want to seperate into a million pieces while simultaneously exploding. It was the second time Sonel had felt pain, but this sensation far outclassed the first. It weakened the god and made it feel like part of Sonel didn't exist anymore.
Zo-Att had dealt a terrible blow to the young god who barely endured it before trying to cut the god off with a wall of gravity, but it's power wouldn't come forth. All it did was make a cloud of grey-colored energy burst forth from it's being. Using the last of its energy Sonel ran from this terrible being trying to get back to the relative safety of its blossoming world. But before it could make it back home the young god, who had managed to confront the goddess of destruction and live to tell the tale, lost consciousness.
Sorstal listened to the words of its Creator. It paused in contemplation. The potential was vast, but it needed to pace itself. Might as take small actions before moving on to bigger and better things.
Sorstal noticed several chunks of rock nearby. It knew what why these shards were so small compared to its own bulk, but it brushed this information aside. Sorstal peered deeper into the rock; peered deeper into himself. He felt the tug of his selves band together and reverberate with power.
"This will be my first test."
Sorstal bade the stones fly around it, lazily at first, at a speed which barely surpassed stillness. Seconds passed, and the stones accelerated, until finally, within Sorstal's concentration, they flew past so quickly they seemed to lose their definite shapes due to motion. Sorstal felt a twitch within its consciousness. The stones suddenly halted, once more still. A few seconds passed, and nothing more came. Without warning, Sorstal bade the stones collide with one another, at a speed faster than that which they had already met. The four shards of stone crashed into each other, and shattered. Sorstal felt more than it heard the impact.
When it regarded the stones now, it was pleased to see that even after colliding at such a speed, the stones were not truly destroyed. They had instead fragmented into smaller pieces. Sorstal contemplated this. Stone was indeed strong. Even turned against itself, it would divide itself rather than destroy itself. Sorstal felt pleased.
"Stone is indeed a hardy substance. Indeed, Earth must surely be one of the pinnacles of creation. Such power dwells within stone; such strength lingers even in the resting rock. This ability to withstand and continue is most impressive; this concept, most comforting."
Sorstal sensed the stones, and bade them take a new form. The tiny chips of stone reformed, the bodies of four former stones forming one new stone. This stone was still puny compared to Sorstal, but size mattered not. The stone had a potential that was to be realized.
"Come forth, that which shall be. Let Sorstal grant you realization."
A pale lavender mist formed around the stone. A fissure sank into the creation, forming a spiral mark of sorts. The spiral blazed with an intense blue blaze, which made the lavender mist pale in comparison. The newly shaped stone approached Sorstal, and began to rotate around the god, lazily and at peace.
"This shall be the beginning of my creations. This shall be the first step that leads ever forward. Now let us find what we are to see."
*1 PP: Claim Domain (Lesser): Endurance
**2 PP: Create Artifact (Greater): The Beacon - Formed of four individual stones merged into one, the Beacon blazes with the mists of Sorstal. It circles the god endlessly. The artifact enables Sorstal to sense when stone is being shaped by another deity, be it through creation or destruction. The artifact is not flawless, however; deities that use deception and illusion have a good chance of evading the Beacon's notice when they use stone for their purposes. Also, the Beacon's enhancements only extend a certain distance. Stone beyond its area of effect can still usually be sensed by Sorstal itself, but the bond is less strong.
Remaining PP: [4/7]
Brinn's elation suddenly drained as she felt her friend above dissapear briefly and then flicker dimly. "Friend Sonel!," she cried, rocketing up and outside the forest. Ankirega barked a question, and then set to guard the forest while his friend was away.
Out in the darkness, Brinn found Sonel barely existant, and morphed herself to cushion his drifting. "Sonel! Sonel!," she cried, afraid for her friend, before returning to her little forest. She had no idea what to do, and could only hope that Sonel would get better..
"You are very perceptive. I had not thought of using darkness to create life. Clearly, your operating in the shadows has opened your mind to alternate solutions to the problems that face us all."
Grawlf froze for a moment. Something was wrong.
"Excuse me, Secret-Keeper. I feel my presence is needed elsewhere. I hope to see you again soon."
Grawlf sped off into the abyss, and made his way quickly back towards the planet, where he quickly sensed Sonel was not doing well. Moving quickly, he dropped to the surface and found Sonel and another god.
"Sonel! What has happened to you?" Grawlf cried out, looking over the younger god with no small amount of concern in his eye.
Hearing Grawlf's voice, the god started to come back to reality. It had been seeing strange visions while unconscious, visions of strange beings like the suit of the god of knowledge but shaped differently, marching in synchronicity with each other. Sonel did not understand what these fever dreams were or what they meant, and it had seen other things as well. Things made of unidentifiable substances, one of earth, one of a strange substance that glistened in the sun, and one a substance like the Orbs of Flame were made of. Things that had no will of their own, performing the will of their makers silently and efficiently. But thankfully the god of knowledge awoke the maimed youngling from it's hallucinogenic state.
"Gr... Grawlf... Sonel doesn't feel right. Another god made Sonel hurt... bad..."
The god gratefully looked at its friend Brinn, who had found Sonel drifting through the nothing.
"Friend Brinn... you took care of Sonel. Sonel is happy that you did, and Sonel won't forget this ever... Thank you." the god breathed. Then it turned its flickering attention back to Grawlf.
"Grawlf... Maker... Can you fix Sonel?"
Grawlf looked down at Sonel. For a moment, he summoned up the powers within him and held them, feeling them pulse in time with his breath and want to be released into the wounded god before him.
But Failure flashed before him, and Grawlf feared that his attempts to repair the wounded Sonel would result in the same atrocity that he had buried not an hour before.
"Sonel... Your wounds... they lie beyond my abilities. I must seek out your other creator, the one who truly understands these things. Be brave, I will return as soon as possible."
Nodding in thanks to the other god, Grawlf pushed off from the surface and sped to find Creation... the one called Lohak.
"Brother Creation," Grawlf said as he came upon the other. "There is one of us in need of your talents. He is greviously wounded, and I fear he may perish, be destroyed, if you do not intervene to help him. Please, come with me."
Without even waiting for a response, Grawlf began making his way back to Sonel.
Growling in frustration, Lohak turned and brought his sibling to a halt. "What is going on? Why would you seek me out again, cousin?"
Grawlf stopped abruptly. My, was this God good at annoying him. Grawlf had assumed that the urgency in his voice would have been enough to bring the god with him, but clearly that was not the case.
"Creation. One of your Children, one you made accidentally while I asked you for advice in how to create, has fallen afoul of our Sister, Zo-Att, the Destroyer, and now lies wounded and scarred down beneath the Gravity Shield. Hurry, Brother. I am so hasty because there is little time left to be had. This lies far beyond my abilities, and only you, Creation, have the skills he needs to live. Come!"
Lizt watched from the sidelines, near enough to hear the gods' conversation. While most of his eyes were glued to the flower-tender, He couldn't help but see the pain of the one called Sonel. He felt a lesser mix of fear and love: pity. And feeling this came foreward a bit before holding back. He noticed a single tendril of his reaching towards the little one... He touched, but immediately knew he has chosen poorly. Lights flashed across his surface and he shot back: Entropic energies shot a spark of creativity, followed by destruction. That could not have been pleasant.
The godling flashed questions rapidly. !!!IIIWhatwasthat?Areyoualright?AmIalright?!!!
Sonel felt a jolt of fresh pain from the new god's touch. Although it hurt, it was a help as well. It kept the young god lucid and awake, whereas he had been drifting through more strange visions and nightmarish images. Sonel focused on the god, feeling it out, and recognizing that power, the source of it that had coursed through him.
"Sonel is fine... Hello friend. I was trying to meet you, but your maker..." the god gestures at it's wounded form, "your maker did this. But Sonel will be alright... maybe..."
Before it could finish what it was trying to say, Sonel's mind drifted back into that feverish dream-state it was now familiar with.
Recalling the moment, he grimaced then, turned to Sorstal. "I'll trust you to your own devices for the moment, child, but avoid Zo-Att, destruction incarnate. I doubt she'd be pleased to meet you." Turning, he followed Grawlf to the site. Seeing the state of Sonel, he probed carefully, exmining and understanding that the injuries were nothing normal, but the essence of destruction itself eating away at the godling.
"This is beyond any, I think. He is soaked in the essence of destruction itself. It eats away and consumes at him endlessly. To soak him directly in my own essence would tear him asunder destroying his spark for eternity."
He continued to probe and sense, considering the trouble, watching the godling struggle to survive. Deep inside, he grinned to himself, relishing the challenge of developing a creation to solve this problem. "Yes, yes, something to hold him together while the essences neutralize each other, and protect him from existence while he heals. But what to use. Stone it to easily chipped and broken, it shall break over time. Hmm, something similar to stone, but harder, more solid, perhaps more intriguing to look upon. A new peice of creation, yes."
He focused, and an arc of flame reached out, piercing into the gobling, drawing out his power for the task at hand, letting him fuel his own salvation. The flames bustout of Sonel, surrounding and encompassing him. A destructive creation changed and modified to Lohak's will, becoming solid and protecting the godling.
He nodded. "It is done. This consturct is full of the essence of creation. It will netralize Zo-Att's poison, and let him heal in safety. Assuming it works correctly, it should bend to his will, allowing him to do what he wishes while he heals as well."
He glanced at the new arrival finally, considering this being that reeked of destruction, yet was something else entirely. "Hello."
PP Expenditures
3PP - Recieved from Moondoggy
2 PP - Create Artifact (Moderate) - Revita-Core (serves as a combat artifact
2 PP - Claim Domain (moderate) - Metal
4/7 PP
The words caught Lizt off guard. He considered the creature before him for a bit longer, before moving on to its words. What is... His spinning stopped, and he formed a perfect rectangle with the word Creator? Etched in violet streaks.
Then the other... The Burning Earth encased the first in something wholly new. Waves of realization (loss and reremembrance) shot through Lizt. He had an instinctive urge to try the same sort of thing. Neat trick... Lemme try The entropic energies began to shoot out and in, compressing the orb of entropy, fighting and inciting further chaos. There was a buildup of flesh and steam, metal and bone. A heart of roiling chaos was formed within the core of the god.
Create Plane 4 PP: The Chaos Engine. Within the chambers of this rhythmless heart lies pure chance. If it is unlikely, it can happen within the confines of this plane. The Chaos Engine provides an element of random to the multiverse, and feeds off of each unfettered chain of circumstance, The Plane of Unfate
1/7 PP remains.
Brinn floated behind the the other gods, Ankirega standing protectively next to her. If there was something else out there, destroying gods, then what if it came for her next...? Relief was her dominate emotion though, hearing that her friend Sonel would live.
"Thank you..," she said softly.
PP: 3/7
Sorstal watched the Creator speak to the Unfamiliar Other. It listened to the Creator's words of advice, and watched Lohak depart with the other god. The two became specks in the distance, then faded altogether. Sorstal floated, alone and in thought.
"My own devices? Well, there's nothing more I want to do right now than create again."
Sorstal began to drift, searching its minds for a new idea. The Beacon obediently continued its orbit around Sorstal's form, never slowing. Sorstal watched the movements of the artifact. So lethargic, yet enchanting. Sorstal appreciated this, yet it wondered about that which was not lethargic, but still enchanting. It sensed that there was more movement to behold in this existence. Sorstal thought, and forged an idea.
"Before, I used stone which already existed. Now, not only shall I bring forth stone by my own will, but I shall also shape it into something more exquisite."
Focusing its will, the god watched as little chips of stone began to appear before its form. These chips soon turned to shards, these shards to lumps, and these lumps to boulders. Sorstal melded the stones, fitting them into a long, slender form. Bulk was not its goal; grace was. Sorstal watched as its creation was completed, a long, jagged mass of stone which curled around itself.
"Arise, my child. Into you I breathe being."
The stone shifted, until it no longer resembled stone. The hard rock retained its nature, but it took on a glossy appearance. Towards one end of the creation, two deep fissures appeared; within these two pockets flared emerald light, a light which denoted not only life, but something else - intelligence. The stone creation's eyes regarded Sorstal, and a third fissure appeared, a massive one, this time below its eyes. This fissure sprang open, and revealed a maw. Sorstal watched in delight as its creation awoke from its slumber in Nothingness. This new creation and its form and movements. Sinuous... that was how Sorstal would describe it.
"Now that I have given shape to such a noble creation, let us proceed forward. My own Creator departed, and I believe I know where he was going: the same fragment of my self that was being watched so closely by those Others. Let us see what there is to be seen."
With those words, Sorstal and the stone serpent started out, following Lohak and the mysterious Other.
*2 PP: Spawn Beast (Superior): Agon, the Serpent of Stone - A massive serpent formed from sheer rock, the first creation of Sorstal's which truly knows life. The serpent appears coiled around itself; its true length is not yet known. Two emerald eyes show intelligence, and its maw possesses sports four vicious looking fangs. The serpent's stone has taken on a glossy appearance, as if the stone that forms its body is something more than just common rock. Agon is a companion of Sorstal's at the moment, and is following it to that which has drawn the attention of Lohak.
Remaining PP (after including +1 for new day): [3/7]
The task completed, Lohak abruptly left. The godling would know who fixed him Let him seek me out later to thank me if he wishes. He returned to beyond the gravity well, staring down at the stone sphere he had just left.
He looked at himself, considering the creation which dominated his form. Fire. An asect of creation that mostly destroyed. Odd really, that this burning force of destruction can been his first creation. Of course, fire could do much more than destroy, he supposed. It could mold and shape other aspects, changing them. Creation and destruction, bound up and twisted into one thing. Oposites, forced together. Funny, thought to himself, that opposites could be intertwinned into something so useful.
Still, uncontrolled flames would destroy. Something was neede that could quench them, allow the destruction to be halted when fire raged out of control. Setting him mind to the task, he cast out his thoughts to create, watching to see what woul happen.
In an instant, water burst into being, flooding over creation unchecked. Suprised, he pulled himself back, withdrawing his power, but the action was already done, and water was everywhere, intermingling and mixing with everything that had come, pooling upon various stone spheres, quenching several orbs of flames, and even slipping in between the golden bands of the Eternal Clock.
"Hm, need to watch my own strength." This was not something for him to control, though. Another should control his. Remembering well the creation or Sorstal, he focused his power in a similar method, calling forth divinity to fill the creation with life, brining forth a new godling.
Mechanics
1 PP - Mold Land (Superior) - Scatter a large amount of water over creation
2 PP - Ascend God - Water domain
Grawlf watched from a distance as Lohak worked. He was a quick learner, so the act of watching another, especially one as gifted as Lohak work provided the god with what he felt were the tools needed to do such a thing as Lohak had done... the creation of something out of nothingness.
Soon, Lohak was finished, and Grawlf could feel Sonel's power slowly returning to him. Relieved, Grawlf moved closer, to both check on the wounded god and offer his thanks to his healer, but before he arrived, Lohak had sped off into the Void. Wishing to thank him, Grawlf sped after, arriving just in time to see Creation begin shaping what he eventually realized was going to become a new god.
Grawlf watched once more, noting the places where his creation of Failure had differed from the creation of this new god before him. It required a more delicate touch than he had expected. Rather than merely pouring one's energy into an object and willing it to ascend, one had to shape it, mold it, give it meaning and a purpose and something to rule over.
"Ah. So it is through purpose that Gods are given life, not merely through will." he mused to himself as Lohak put the last touches of power into the whirling maelstrom from which the new god would emerge. Grawlf settled down to see what sort of god would come out.
The divine spark drifted for some moments, alone in the void. As it passed by stray droplets of water, they changed direction, heading straight for the divine quintessence. In short order, the water had coalesced into something... else.
Hrinori floated through the void, twisting, writhing, and still gaining in size as droplets of fluid continued to collide and merge with her body. I exist.
The still growing goddess spun once more, this time orienting herself towards the nearest presence -- something was out there. As eyes and a fanged maw finally formed, the Goddess looked upon... she knew not what.
Hrinori tilted her head downwards in a gesture of respect.
I know not who or what you are, but know you worthy of respect. My name is Hrinori; I greet you.
"Welcome to existence, Hrinori. I am the one who created you, that you might govern over water."
Hrinori paused, waiting for something further. When none came, the goddess slowly cocked her head to the side. Perhaps her...creator... was simply laconic?
Her form undulated several times as the silence lingered.
May I go now? Unless you would ask something of me, I would like to explore existence.
He radiated a sense that he was pleased. "I brought you forth to watch over my latest creation, the water, so that i might have a guardian just as the earth and stone does. If you wish to go, then go and see existence, and learn what you can."
Pausing for a long moment, he offered one final thing. "I may have a task for you in the future, you and your brother both, but I shall wait for now while I think on it."
Grawlf sped down to the surface. Lohak and the new god were busy... he would speak to both of them later.
"Sonel, are you feeling better? What happened?"
When Sonel awoke for third time, it found itself inside of an odd apparatus. It still felt awful, but there was also a soothing feeling that was constantly washing over it. Unsure what had happened, it looked up to see Grawlf, it's maker, standing overhead. The god floated up to see it's friend, easily manipulating gravity to enable this new... body? Shell? Whatever it was, it was a part of Sonel now. It flew around a bit and then stopped in the air by Grawlf.
"Hello Grawlf," the god said. "Sonel is feeling a little better now thanks to this thing. I ran into a strange and angry goddess when I was looking for a friend and she attacked me. She bit Sonel and this awful pain overtook me. I fled as best as I could and lost consciousness. But thanks to this thing I'm recovering. Where did it come from?"
"Not from me, Sonel. This came from Lohak, who I brought here to help you. It is certainly an... interesting... contraption."
Grawlf reached out to touch the shell. It gave off an odd and somewhat ominous feel... like the air just before a lightning strike, but did not harm him in any way. Whatever it was, it seemed to have worked.
"This being who attacked you. You said it was a She... and it bit you. Did it look like this?"
Grawlf concentrated and, waving an arm, traced an outline of Zo-Att into the air, where it hung, glittering golden light for a few moments and then vanished once more.
"Yes," Sonel said without a moments hesitation. "She looked like that. Do you know her, maker?"
Brother?
Hrinori thought about the word. She knew what it meant of course, but not what it meant. What did it mean to have a brother -- what did it mean to have any family, for that matter. She had not been, and then she was. As far as she was concerned, that was that. Why should similar incidents of creation mean... well, anything?
The goddess bowed again and darted away from the father-god-presence, swimming through the void as if it was, well, water. Mere moments (or was it eons? So hard to tell) passed before she located something else. A serpent, emerald-eyed and hewn from stone was passing below her, a small stone orb drifting in its wake.
The resemblence immediately triggered recognition.
You must be my brother.
Hrinori bowed to the stone snake.
I greet you, rock-brother, but I am perplexed; for what reason do you carry such a stone around with you?
"Sonel, that was your Aunt, Zo-Att. The Destroyer. Stay here and rest. I will deal with her."
Grawlf sped upwards into the heavens, casting about for Zo-Att. The god was nowhere to be seen. This was wholly unacceptable to Grawlf, whose soul was filled with questions. Why had Zo-Att attacked Sonel? Why was Sonel even dealing with her? What did she think gave her the right to attack another god like that?
Grawlf zoomed about the planet, and through all the spaces illuminated by the Orbs of flame, but could not find Zo-Att anywhere. Clearly, she had fled into the deep darkness that lay beyond the reach of the orbs.
Grawlf could not wait. He could not wait for Destruction to creep back towards the warmth and light of the orbs. No, he heeded answers now. Reaching out to the nearest ball of fire, Grawlf dragged it towards him and poured more divine energy into it, molding and shaping the orb... compacting it, expanding it, ripping it to parts and putting it back together again, constantly keeping the purpose for which this creation was being made at the forefront of his mind. Light. He needed a light to guide him through the blackness to find the one who had attacked his child.
Then, with a final wave of energy, it was done.
2 PP: Ascend Domain: Light.
1/7 PP left.
Zo-Att was contemplating what action she should take next when a visual annoynace got her attention. She looked up to the source of the light corona to find out that it was her brother. It wasn't just her looking at him, however. The god's eye was fixed right on her as well. She vaguely noticed that he had built a machine since she had last seen him, but the construct was not what got her attention. Grawlf's eye had a look of intense anger fixated on the god of destruction.
Wondering what she could have possibly done to offend him, Zo-Att glided over to his position.
"Hello brother. You seem angry, is there any reason?"
"Angry, sister? Yes, you could say I am somewhat upset with you. Mostly, though. I am confused and concerned. Not too long ago, one of my children ran across you and for some reason, you attacked him and left him dying. I must ask, sister. Why?"
behind him, the light continued to spiral, and something within began to form. Grawlf momentarially thought about stopping its development and reclaiming his power, but decided against it. While he did not need it anymore, another might require the services of Light in the future.
"That incident? Oh, that fool was about to disturb one of my newest creations. He knew full well what he was getting himself into, in fact I even... wait..."
Zo-Att stoped talking, and concentrated hard, as if trying to remember a detail.
"Yes, I definitely warned him before attacking. Twice if I recall correctly. So he knew the risks of incurring my ire, but even if he didn't, I do not know why you would be so upset. Destruction is who I am; you would not be angered at our other brother for creating something, would you?"
"Sonel... is headstrong sometimes, I must admit, and yes, you are correct. Your place in this universe is to be the destroyer, as mine is to know and Lohak's is to create. If you warned him, then I am satisfied."
Grawlf grew visibly calmer as he spoke, arms slowing and coming to a halt and his eye returning to its natural color, rather than the darker shade it had taken when he had been full of anger.
"And yet, Sister-God, you create. How does the destroyer create? That is not your duty. For that matter, how do you create twice? Have you met the Secret-Keeper? The one that came from my telling you of my name? He is your creation as well."
Fire took her, fire made her, fire molded her, shaped her, formed her and in the end gave her life.
A being had appeared, a creature made of purest light, one that shone brighter and brighter for each passing moment. One that raised her jaws against the endless sky and roared as divine essence made a heart beat, blood flow, flesh form and scale appear.
Her roar were as load as thunder as the newborn Godling greeted the world.
The Light faded and in it´s place a serpent was. A strange being to appear in an unshaped universe such as this. She was a being of materia, with a long, nimble body covered with the whitest of scales. Her eyes shone as two suns, her breath sounded like a waterfall and her voice seemed to shake the world as she spoke.
" This one, Maibe of the light, greets her Father that brought her sight, hearing, flesh, blood and life. "
The Wyrm bent her head in respect and gave her Father a solid look with her ever glowing eyes.
Sorstal and Agon sped through the Existence, brushing past tiny fragments of Sorstal's selves. Sorstal peered into the distance. It thought it saw something odd. A stone different in color than any it had seen. This color was odd; it radiated.... growth, a flourishing, brought about by the wonders of not only stone, but soil, another magnificent aspect of Earth. Sorstal recognized it as its special self, that fragment which had been watched over by those Others. A thrill ran through Sorstal, and the Beacon's next revolution came quicker than normal.
"In the distance, Agon, do you see? That is where we head."
Sorstal felt no reply from its companion. It turned, and found itself staring at another serpent. This serpent was not stone, however. This serpent was something strange, of a substance Sorstal had never beheld. Sorstal noticed this newcomer was inclining its head to Agon. Sorstal heard the second serpent say something, a greeting to Agon. Then something else: about why Agon kept a stone sphere with him.
Sorstal chortled. This second serpent was interesting, alright. It, no... she, Sorstal sensed, though it knew not how, and just what that meant, had yet to push her consciousness along the borders of Others, as Sorstal had soon after its birth. The Beacon drifted lazily past, dragging Sorstal from its thoughts. Sorstal knew it had to correct this case of mistaken identity. The god drifted upwards, until it was hovering a few feet to the left of Agon's maw. Agon merely continued staring at the flowing serpent, his eyes never leaving this strange new entity.
"Well met, serpent of non-stone. What interest have you in Sorstal, It of Earth, and Agon, Serpent of Stone?"
The Silent One was alone was once more on his dark world... it seemed that his Maker had found something else to occupy his time. No matter, he'd already given him a wonderful parting gift, even if he wasn't aware he'd even given it. With the chunk of Failure's undead flesh, he could use it as a base to create all kinds of glorious, hidden monstrosities. But where to begin...
Taking out the slab of undeath from the void of nowhere in particular, the Silent One began gathering his power, channeling it through the flesh to create a nexus of necrotic energy. Letting the power pulse through him, his mind wandered, dreaming up what he could create. At least, until a wet droplet of... something... touched his essence. Curious, and still channeling the power, the Voice Without Sound looked up... only be be swallowed by a deluge of the newly create water. Getting washed into a newly formed dark ocean, the Silent One screamed as he lost control of the power that flowed through him, soon being consumed by the energy instead of controlling it.
After a brief flash of black light the water was silent for a moment, before the Silent One crawled back out, still holding the chunk of undead flesh. Though he was... changed. No longer was he merely an amorphous field of black, now he took a shape of flesh and bone. Well, flesh anyway, taking the form of what looked like a black octopus without a head, but a large expanse of skin where the tentacles met. This expanse was mostly taken up by a yellow eye, that was set into what looked to be a socket of bone.
Shaking his new body, the Silent One held his tentacles so he could see them, before looking at his reflection in the water. "I've... I've been twisted? No! I'm supposed to be a god! What kind of god takes a form as mortal like and hideous as this!" Gathering his power, the god attempted to shift back to his amorphous dark form... but couldn't. It seemed the influx of Failure's power had imbued some of his short comings onto him, most notably being unable to change.
"DAMNIT!" the Voice Without Sound 'yelled', smashing everything around him in a fit of rage at his new form.
[1/7]
The white Wyrm turned her head to face the newcomers, she frowned, bent her head once more and greeted them in a polite fashion.
" I greet thee, Sibling God. I am Maibe of Light, newly born child of Grawlf. "
The Goddess shook her head, black hair fell and hanged along the sides of her pale head. The white Wyrm moved forward, closer to her sibling, sniffing carefully at him with her black tongue.
" You are one of mass...one of form and shape. One that relishes in solidity and unchange. I am light, unlike you...but still like you. "
The white Goddess smiled, if a serpent now could smile and turned her eyes to her siblins Exarch.
" And..now who is this? Another sibling? Or maybe..one you your offspring? "
"Yes, you should probably tell him to watch where he plays. Yes, I can create, but in the end, it all ties in to destruction. I am sure that Lohak could destroy if he put his mind to it. An-"
Zo-Att was cut off as the light behind her gained divinity.
"I'll leave you alone."
Zo-Att aimlessly floated through space, contemplating what her next action should be.
Hrinori turned to the voice (How odd, a stone with a smaller stone), realizing her mistake.
Ah, forgive me.
She bowed once more.
I assumed that all of...Lohak's brood... were like me -- sinuous and serpentine, but I learn now my mistake.
Greetings Sorstal of the Earth, I am Hrinori of the Water. I was not, but am now. Pray tell, what is this small rock that spins around you so? And why does your stone-serpent-friend stare at me with that vacant stare -- there but not here, lacking the fires of divinity that shine within our own?
Ripples fluttered down Hrinori's body.
And, perhaps, how many others, like us, are there?
She watched idly as another godling approached. The light of its creation sent rainbows piercing her fluid form.
Before Sorstal could respond, yet another serpent appeared. This one literally radiated, and seemed more majestic than Agon.
This form certainly is gaining popularity amongst that which is coming into existence, thought the god. Perhaps the nothingness has recognized my creativity, and is complying.
Sorstal beamed, the Beacon flowing around it rapidly. The third serpentine entity greeted Sorstal as the second.
"Well met, Maibe of Light, and Hrinori of Water. Agon and I are heading to the green stone over yonder. We are guided by the ever-watchful, Beacon. Agon here is my creation, but more so, my companion and friend. His eyes are sharp, do not doubt, yet his is not quite the power we hold. Truth be told, though, I know there to be others such as we out in the distance. That green stone, in particular, is the gem amongst the Others, so we chose to investigate."
The stone slowed for a moment before regaining speed.
"Tell me, how came you two to Exist? What-"
Sorstal trailed off. In the corner of its perception, it thought it sensed something slither away into the darkness, far behind Maibe. This is intriguing, thought Sorstal.
I was created by Lohak-- I know not why.
He said that he may have a task for me, for us if you are the.. sibling... he spoke of.
Maibe is... new to me as well. Greetings.
Hrinori bowed once more.
Maibe bent her head to both of her Siblings and spoke.
" Greetings brother and sister, I am honoured in body body and soul to meet others of our kind. "
The white Serpent looked out at the nothingness the universe was and shook her head sadly.
" This world...seems to be depressingly empty.."
Hrinori nodded.
Indeed. From the smallest bits of water still ebbing about this void, I can assure that it is not merely empty, but vastly so. I think there is only a single mass of any sorts, the green one over--
Hrinori stopped, draconic brow furrowed. There actually might be a second orb. She finally announced.
I can feel my water coursing over its surface, washing, washing, washing something away. This... why do I get a bad feeling about this?
The great eel shook her head, as if to shake dust off the top of it.
Sorstal, I feel compelled to ask -- why are you not a serpent like ourselves?
"My form is of my own choosing; as I first was, so I still am, though a new form I could assume at any time. Still, this one endures, and I am not alone in picking a non-serpentine form. The Giver of Existence is truly unique. His is a form all can appreciate."
Sorstal turned the Beacon to Maibe.
"Indeed, this world is still the foetus of existence kicking. However...."
Sorstal trailed off again, this time intentionally. Picking up his friend's clue, Agon raised his head and turned it towards the green sphere in the distance. The Beacon pulsed with lavender light.
"My destination appears to be thriving, at least glancing from this distance. Agon and I still intend to see what is to be seen on that purest sphere of green. We would enjoy company, if neither of you have any more pressing matters."
Sorstal let the offer hang in the air. Agon shifted its maw slightly. The Beacon continued orbiting its master.
I would gladly accompany you, for no other reason than there is somewhere I have yet to have been. But I ask you again, Sorstal, how is it that this stone-serpent and this rotating-light-rock exist? They are not gods like ourselves.
" I would be glad to come with you, Brother. This world is new to me...and there is much for me to see before I am ready to do what is neccessary to be done. Things..here are different from what I expected them to be..."
The white Goddess shook her head once more and gave the emptiness an uncomfortable look.
Sorstal stopped, pondering the question of Hrinori.
"Well, I simply extended my will. The Giver of Existence granted me an extension of His own abilities, the power of creating. That which is of stone and earth springs forth by my will. The Beacon is of stone before I, the pride of stone's ability to endure and evade destruction. Agon is of stone after I; not only does his Existence stem from me, but so too does the existence of the stone which granted him life. He is not only Existence, but Life, which I think is somehow more precious than just Existence. Stone existed before me, it's true, but stone was never the same after I was given existence. Not all that exists is divine; I think the great divide between the two is that we the divine are the shapers, and the non-divine can only be shaped. Yet tis true that the divine have shaped themselves. We are proof enough of that."
Sorstal peered at Hrinori, while Agon coiled his tail slightly around himself in thought. Sorstal's tone became thoughtful, and the Beacon slowed slightly.
"You can do it, as well. You can extend your will, through that which you embody. Water. You have the ability to expand that which defines Water. Even another drop of water shapes Existence, in the grand scheme of the All. What do you say? Will you give it a try?"
Hrinori pondered that.
Perhaps, in time. Let us to the sphere for the moment. I would not interrupt you merely for my own curiosity.
She started off towards the planet, quickly swimming through the void.
" I was made out of fire. I was made a weapon..one that would track the Destroyer. I was made with knowledge and purpose. The will and the strengtj to do what I was created to do.."
The white Serpent whispered as she followed her Siblings.
" Aye..Sister, you have power within you just as I and brother. I bear the power of light within me. Chaotic and changing...yet stagnant and orderful. It´s a paradoxal domain in many ways...one that confused me. I need a new purpose.."
That last sentence the white Goddess mostly meant for herself.
Sonel had been watching Brinn as she went about her duties, tending the forests with her canine accomplice when it abruptly felt the presence of... not one but three! Three new gods! Approaching quickly at that!
It dipped and cantered through the air in glee at the prospect of meeting not one but three new friends, giggling to itself all the while. And then it noticed the water. The water that had spread all over... well... EVERYTHING. It had even managed to get through the Gravity Wall somehow, and lay pooled about on the ground.
"Hmm... an interesting substance. I'll do something with it later but first new friends! New friends are coming!"
"But just because you can does not mean you should. We all have our roles to fill, Sister." Grawlf said as Zo-Att left. He spent a long moment watching the other god go, and by the time he turned around to greet his new child, several other gods had joined them. One he recognized, the one that Lohak had created after healing Sonal. The other was completely foreign to him.
"Greetings, Maibe, light-born. I, Grawlf, greet you warmly. Welcome to Existance, daughter."
Grawlf turned to regard the others who had joined the two of them.
"You, I know, Water-wielder. I saw as Lohak brought you to being not long ago. You, however... I know not, Earth-Shaker. Where did you come from? I am Grawlf, Knowledge-keeper, born of Time."
Sensing that the other gods were travelling somewhere, Grawlf joined them, wondering where the assorted gods would end up taking him.
The first one that came was the white Goddess that ascended from the skies surrounded by illustrious light. The light faded and in front of Sonel ther white Wyrm now flew.
Her eyes shone as two minature suns, her scales shimmered and her wings moved up and down for each wing-beat the Goddess made.
The Goddess looked down on the world. Blue seas, green plants...life...looked up at her and the Goddess smiled. Her eyes light seemed to grew as the Wyrm slowly began to laugh.
" Good tidings to you, Cousin. I am Maibe, Goddess of Light, daughter of Grawlf, truth-seeker and world-lighter. Is it you who has created the beauty of this world? "
The Goddess asked in a warm tone as she looked down upon exsistence with a smile playing upon her lips.
Hrinori swam on, undeterred by the new arrivals. Let them cavort about as they will. I care not for their bonds of family. There exists infinte undiscovery left to consider.
Hrinori glided in low over the sphere. Mentally wincing at the water soaking the orb, blotting out the greenery, hiding the earth. A flick of concious was all it took to send the water sliding away. It would not do to hide other's work. No... water must flow down, and fill in the void where no one dares walk. As the waters receeded into the lowlaying areas, lakes, seas, oceans, ponds, rivers, and the like came into neat, ordered existence.
Hrinori shrank her form, becoming longer and thinner, faster and quicker. She stared at the trees, the plants, but most of all, the flowers.
Such beauty. Ordered beauty.
She saw how even now, the flowers continued to grow, adapt, and change. Some were even floating on the surface of her water.
Had she done this? Had her errant thought wrought this change?
PP:5/7
1PP - Nourish Land -- normalized the water of the sphere, causing an explosion of new water-bound and water-based plants.
The new god before him shimmered like nothing Sonel had encountered before. It was impressed by it's power, and it felt waves of happiness at the compliments the new god has paid him.
"Hello Maibe, it is nice to meet you. I am Sonel, and this world is the combined efforts of a few gods. I appreciate the... glowing praise. You are very beautiful as well."
Then the god noticed the water that was all over the planet began to recede. Surely this was the doing of one of Maibe's siblings.. It quickly bid the god adieu and went to investigate, finding a rippling god of water flying about and toying with the water.
"Hail, cousin!"
Hrinori looked up, unsuprised to see yet another godling.
Hello.
The Dragon Eel bowed her head in greeting.
Have you seen these things? These flowers? I've never seen their like before... they're...
Hrinori's tail spun back and forth in an erratic fashion, sending the serpent's body whipping back and forth.
I want to make one.
"Very creative, Hrinori." Grawlf said as he watched the younger god work with the water below. "You have quite the delicate hand."
"Hello, Sonal. Its good to see you are feeling better. I had a talk with the one who hurt you. She regrets the injury she caused, but she told me that she warned you multiple times to stop. You must listen to others... especially those who have sharp teeth! Have you met your sister yet? Maibe is her name."
Sorstal peered around. At last. The green sphere. Agon lay along the ground, spreading around the trees. The serpent appeared to be savoring the feel of the soil. Sorstal appreciated the serpent's affinity for all Earth. But it was the Others who most interested Sorstal. The watchful eye, the effervescent one, and the one resting among the trees. Sorstal was most intrigued.
It turned its attention to the one it sensed was the oldest, the one whose boundaries were grander than Sorstal. This one seemed to be... wiser. Wiser, perhaps, than the Giver of Existence? thought Sorstal, but it banished this thought from its mind as quickly as it came.
"Well met, grand one. I am Sorstal, It of All Earth and Stone. I come with my stonekin, Agon, Serpent of Stone. I am Earth Incarnate, and I was drawn to this incredible stone, which has flourished in a way I did not expect. Tell me if you will: What is this place, and who are all of you?
"Well met, Sorstal and Agon. I am Grawlf, and this stone... has no name, but has seen much activity. Down below, the forest itself is alive, much like you or I. I believe Sonal is responsible for that."
"Hrinori... a lovely name, fitting for a goddess with such grace. I am glad that you enjoy this world and it's lovely creations. That flower is the work of Brinn, my daughter. You are welcome to stay here as long as you wish, consider this world your own, my dear cousin."
Sonel then turned to the other newcomer, who had introduced himself as Sorstal. He had brought with him a quite interesting creation, serpentine and very similar in divine composition to Brinn's companion.
"Sorstal of the Earth, you say. So you're similar to the very rock and ground that comprises this world? You have my thanks then, brother, for without this 'earth' this planet would not even exist. You too are welcome here for as long as you wish."
Hrinori hovered over a river, still eagerly twitching with excitement. She sent energy coursing through the liquid below, billowing up, expanding, pushing, tearing, teasing, until a lotus blossom of water hovered before her.
She let go of the energy then, only to watch in dismay as her creation collapsed, drawn back down into the current below.
She tried again, and a third time, only to meet with the same result.
My essence may be omnipresent, but water is horrid for creating things out of. I need something that is of water, but not-water. Hm...
Hrinori called to the water once more, but this time, did not pour energy into it, but drew the energy into herself instead. The water slowed, crystalizing.
I shall call it... ice...
As the stolen energy churning inside her grew painful, Hrinori breathed out, weaving the borrowed energy and more back into the flower.
PP Expenditure
2 PP -- Create Artifact (Moderate) -- Crystal Lotus -- a dazzling creation of ice; can be used to focus, direct, or amplify beams of energy and light.
3 pp -- Claim Domain: Ice (Greater)
0/7 PP
as Sonel spoke, concern crept into Grawlf's stance. Something was off.
"Sonel..." he said, coming closer to the god and speaking softly so the others could not hear: "Are you feeling alright? You are speaking in a different manner than you did before."
Sonel looked at Grawlf in confusion, unsure what he meant. As far as he could remember, he'd always spoken this way. Surely Grawlf was mistaken...
"I'm not sure what you mean, Grawlf. I've always behaved in this manner. Surely you are remembering something else."
Sonel then turned back to Hrinori, enthralled by her skill and creativity.
"Such beautiful work, cousin Hrinori. It takes a great amount of talent to perform such delicate acts of creation. It looks lovely as the flower itself. But 'tis nothing compared with your own graceful beauty."
Sonel then flew to a position where it could address all three gods.
"Brethren, I have invested a lot of time and energy into this planet. I, along with help from Pasha, Grawlf, and Brinn, have crafted this small bit of rock and dirt into something wondrous. Safe behind my Gravity Wall, so it is sheltered from the amoeba which float listlessly through the void. And now with the pleasant additions by Brinn and Hrinori, the flowers, woods and rivers, this place has become even more of a treasure in this emptiness. I ask for your support, nay your alliegance, so that we may preserve this land and keep it from the grasp of those who would bring it to ruin. What do you, my family, say to my proposal?"
Brinn piped up, happy that Sonel seemed to be ok, if less happy than normal. "Friends together, Sonel!" Looking at the new gods, she saw no malice in them, and bobbed in front of them with her earthen sphere. "Will you be our friends, too? I like the new thing, Hrinori, it looks happy!," referring to the water. "Looking" around, she realized that she didn't know much of anything about the others, and resolved to become friends with them all.
But why this sphere, Sonel? I feel the water... elsewhere. In the void and... somewhere else. Why is this sphere better or worse than any of the others? Or the shards drifting aimlessly and forgotten?
What makes this sphere worthy of protection?
Hrinori looked down at her lotus, and then at the verdant growth surrounding her.
Besides the flowers, that is.
"Because this land was provided for us by the great three who created everything. It has earth, which our brother Sorstal values, verdant forests, thanks to my wonderful child Brinn, and your water, Hrinori, which sparkles and flows like nothing I've seen before. And not to mention the gravity, which keeps everything from floating off of the surface. It is all working together, co-existing beautifully, and this is what I want to preserve. This harmony of existence."
The word 'harmony' struck a chord in Brinn, who realized that it was what she strove for- the perfect combinations of whys and meanings, where everything would have a reason to be....together. Just like her friends. "Harmony, I like that. Let's make something, together! In harmony!"
Ankirega, Brinn's furry friend, came up to them and woofed an agreement.
3 PP Expenditure: Claim Domain (greater): Harmony
PP remaining: 1/7
Sorstal and Agon listened to Sonel's words a little ways off. Sorstal floated above his friend, the Beacon faithfully continuing its perpetual orbit.
"Truly this one is correct. This sphere is beyond mere stone, thanks to, above all else, this concept called unity. Things certainly are exciting here."
Agon lazily turned his head to stare at his master. His eyes flickered, and his maw shifted slightly.
"I'm aware of your comfort, dear friend. I too enjoy this wondrous sphere as well. There's so much potential in this stone."
Sorstal floated away, to Sonel's and Brinn's side.
"Kin Sonel, Brinn, this sphere is indeed a magnificent entity. I would very much like to aid in the shaping of this world."
Such lovely potential behind those little words.
Brinn bobbed happily at Sorstal's agreement. "I've got an idea! Let's make the forest and water reach into the sky, so we can all see it from far away! My flowers, Hrinori's water, and your stone, all reaching to the void above!"
Was not everything in this void, including ourselves, created by these great three?
Sonel, I am not trying to deflect your intentions. I merely want to know this: why limit yourself to a single sphere when there is an entire void out there? What is wrong with the whole of the void being nurtured by the same harmony?
The Chaos Engine began to pump a tattoo pleasing to Lizt's eye. He focused his thoughts on the device and was surprised to find it hollow. Within, lay unimaginable twisting shapes and colors. Images of odd creatures, who sheathed their bodies in the hides and parts of other creatures. He saw, for an instant one of these creatures draw a blue beam of light and commence to fight another with a red beam. Then the creatures were gone, replaced by laughing demons and crying clowns. Ice fell from green skies within, worlds formed, dissipated at the most unlikely time possible. A machine similar to Sonel spoke the worod "forty-two" The changing scenery was pure pleasure for Lizt. Here was chaos encarnate. It was beautiful, and simple. There was no complications, no boundaries, no rules... pure potential.
[And I created this...] Lizt thought to himself. This makes me Creator. [I should share this with the one I love...] he turned a few of his eyes as they sprouted in Brinn's direction. They turned away, disgusted. Where once was a beautiful creature all he could now see was... Harmony. The word started to form upon his surface, but failed to coagulate after the first four letters. Using the Chaos engine, he formed all of his feelings of attraction into a ball of raw feeling, before hurling it at the goddess. As it fell through the atmosphere bits and pieces fell off, contaminating the world below.
Mold Superior (1 PP): Giving the Domain of love to Brinn/with a little love for everything physical. Think like a splash of paint, except instead of paint you have liquid domain. Free love for everyone.
0/7 PP remains
Grawlf kept watching Sonel as he spoke. The god was different... he had not had these mannerisms before. He would merit close watching over the next while... perhaps the damage that Zo-Att had done had not been purely physical in nature. He kept listening as Sonel and Hrinori debated over whether or not this planet deserved special attention over any other place in the universe. Eventually, he spoke.
"Sonel, Hrinori, you both have excellent points. Hrinori, I agree that this rock here is not more or less special than any other rock or place in this vast universe we find ourselves born into. Sonel, I agree that just because this rock is not inherently better, it has had so much energy poured into it that it should be protected from harm. To both of you, I say this. I will help you to protect this place from harm and destruction. I propose that we make this place to be an example to all others. A paradise to drive our future efforts to ever higher peaks of glory. For there will be other places, there must be. This universe is so large that it would be a shame to only have one tiny rock be our entire focus of work. Let us agree to protect this place, but let us further agree to pool our efforts to create more worlds such as this one, so that the universe is filled with beauty."
"Now, some of you might find this difficult." he looked at Brinn, whose forest existed only on this world. "You feel it is your duty to help this planet, and you are correct to listen to your duty and obey it. But We are gods, and our duties extend beyond one mere world. So, if you all will agree with me, I propose that together, we form additional worlds, each of us" he gestured to the gathered gods of water, forest and earth "Providing what our duty obligates us to provide. What say you all?"
2/7 PP (+1)
Sonel listened to the elder god, bobbing up and down as if nodding in agreement. Grawlf truly was a wise being, with knowledge of almost everything the nothing had to offer. And he was right about this 'duty' idea. Every god had their place in existence so why not embrace it? Just like it was Brinn's place to nurture the forests, it was Sonel's duty to invent new things like it had invented gravity, or Brinn herself.
"Grawlf is right. We all have our place in existence. Sorstal to create the earth, from which we shall build upon. Hrinori to spread her water across the land. Brinn to bring the forests and foliage to new planets. And Maibe to light them. Even I have a place, inventing new and exciting things to contribute to the world. We all have a part to play."
" What of me then? My light is precious...it is what makes plants grow and life to take form. But yet...the light of this world is nor rare and nor wholly mine. It eminates from fire..from those vast fire-spheres the first God´s must have lit in the sky. "
The Serpent had stood still while the others had spoken, her head bent and her gaze troubled when Sonel had finished speaking the white serpent turned her head against the sky and spoke.
" If I should be a part of this beautiful dream of yours...I need to change and through that change give this world something that only I can give. A light that brings comfort, a light that brings warmth, an ever-glowing bastion of hope that grants life and care to an empty universe. "
The white Goddess shook her head, hissed and flew upwards. Light gathered around her as she began to fly faster and faster until she was nothing but a distant point of light in the sky. Within her hope burnt as she flew out to give this world something that only was her to give. Then something changed, that tiny point of life began to grew as the white Goddess tapped in to her divine powers. It grew and grew until it dwarfed even the planets themselves and from it searing heat and blinding light eminated. It dominated the sky and the air of the world grew uncomfortably hot for a couple of moments, but that did not last.
The Goddess pressed her body against her Sun and began to push. Pushing it farer and farer away from the World. Until it was in what she saw as the centre of this unmade world, she was not done though. It´s heat was still intense, it´s light still blinded and no world would flourish under it´s endless gaze.
The Goddess poured even more power in to her Sun, giving it a gravitational field that pushed and pulled on the nearby stones, planets and objects. Forcing them to moving around it with it´s pull.
When she was done the serpent returned to the world, eager to hear what her family had to say about her work. Something had changed though with her, her scales were no longer white...no they were as if they had been forged by purest gold.
Claim domain: Sun 2PP
Claim domain: Hope 1 PP
Create Artifact ( Moderate ): The Sun ( This is simply the divine part of the sun that creates it´s gravitational field.
2/7
The Silent One floated out from his secret world, penetrating the cloaking field and propelling himself through the void with his new tentacles. It would take some time to get used to this new form... this disgusting, hideous new form. But get used to it he would, for he had much to do in the universe, and moping about how his old form had escaped him from a mere accident would not get any of it done.
But... was it just him, or did the universe seem a lot more honest? And good, and kind, and all those other things that brought people to share their feelings and their secrets with each other? Perturbed, and slightly disturbed, the Voice Without Sound floated onwards to what he sensed was the source of the new cosmic unity. Which was of course the green planet, it always came back to that rock. It had so much potential, but it was a magnet for things that put a dent in his vision of how the universe should be.
Drifting close to what he sensed to be a large gathering of divine power, the Silent One hid behind some of the plants... sickeningly, honest plants... that dotted the world and looked on at a sort of divine council. Listening. Watching. And then having to suppress a scream as hot, warm light assaulted him at the new gods creation. He was a creature of the darkness, and having such warm and wholesome light assault him was almost more than he could bear. Fortunately he could carry his own darkness with him, and shrouded himself in an aura of the stuff. But that meddling had grated on the gods last nerve.
"NO!" he shouted without shouting, floating into the center of the circle of gods. Who cares if he looked vile, who cares if his existence was no longer a secret, this had to stop! "You young gods seek to create so much without considering all your companions?! You seek to make Unity without Discord! Light without Dark! Love without Hate! Not all of us gods are as righteous and 'gooood' as you are! What of my secrets? What of my lies? What of Zo-Att's Destruction? Where do we fit into your vision of worlds of flowers and kindness and sickening naivety! This sun you have create burns away my precious dark, and no-one has even thought to give the dark anything in return for limiting it so! And look at all this life, this beautiful, beautiful life... where does it end? How does it end? These things are MORTAL! All mortal things must have an end! Only the gods should go on for an eternity unchanged, that's what makes us GODS!"
The Silent God panted heavily, as though shouting out all it's thoughts and feelings in such an honest fashion had physically weakened him.
Grawlf blinked furiously as Voiceless hurtled himself into the center of their gathering, calling out names and accusations of all sorts.
"Secret-Keeper. Son. While these here may not have remembered, I know your duty, know Zo-Att's duty, know the duty of the one called Lizt. You and the rest of Zo-Att's children are not forgotten, and your points are well raised. You have always striven to fulfil your duty to its absolute fullest, and I cannot and will not ever tell you to stop. You ask many questions, and so I will answer. You ask: what is darkness without light? What is destruction without creation? We are in complete agreement: without the one, the other is meaningless and empty.
My siblings understand this perhaps the best of all of us.
The Destroyer creates things to destroy. The Creator uses destructive powers to help him create. Once, not long ago, I chastised Zo-Att for that very act, but in her explanation of why she created, I found myself understanding that her duty was to further the goals of destruction, regardless of the middle steps she had to take to achieve those goals. In fact, it was through an act of creation that she was able to create the things with the greatest potential for destruction, just as Lohak used the powers of destructive fire to create a powerful artifact to stitch back together a wounded god.
I have seen your world, Secret-Keeper. Is it not as horrid to you as the worlds you accuse us of creating? Coated in darkness without light, despair without hope? I say, let us keep these worlds as they are. One full of light, the other full of darkness, and in the other worlds of creation, we strive to find a balance of light and dark, for truly, one cannot exist without the other. What say you, Secret-Keeper? Is this acceptable to your Duty?"
The Silent One visibly flinched at each secret his Maker unwittingly spoke forth. He spoke of his world. He spoke of their relationship. But he could not blame his maker for doing so... the Voice Without Sound had known what exposing his existence would mean, but he had done so anyway. There were less secrets in the universe now, but now that he could operate amongst the other gods and push his own vision, there was the opportunity to make much, much more further down the line. Patience was a good trait to have, especially when you were immortal.
Stroking where his chin would be if he had a true face with his tentacle, the Silent One considered his Makers proposal. "Perhaps you are right, Knowledgeable One. With nothing to contrast it with, light and dark, hate and love, all of these are as nothing. Without both sides of the same coin, we might as well have failed to create anything from the void at all. I was merely afraid with the way you were all speaking that you would all seek to create worlds like... this." He shuddered at the very thought. "But if we were to try and create the best of the both worlds... whatever the best of this disgusting world is... I can see how they would complement each other perfectly."
Another thought took him as he looked over the assembled pantheon. "Though I admit, it is disturbing to see gods of love, and unity, and light, when they have no divine counterparts. I understand that doing so so early in our existence is forcing needless symmetry, and I am more than willing to be the voice of darkness, and hater, and discord, but it is something to consider."
Hrinori furrowed her brow at the newcomer.
I will help you with that endeavor, dark one.
Zo-Att meditated in the dark recesses of space. There was no more Grey now that light had been formed, the deepest parts of the universe were black in light's absense. Zo-Att was nearly invisible when in the darkness. The only parts of her that could be seen were her two glowing white orbs for eyes. She opened her mouth and breathed outward. Her breath couldn't be seen in the black depths, but as it moved closer to the world, a black mist could be seen.
The black mist traveled to what was once just a stone orb. From there, it caused a few flowers to wither, and a bit of trees to fall over. Gathering the destructive energy of its actions, and the chaotic energy of how they fell, the mist gained form. Its color changed from the darkest black, to a bloody red. It grew more solid, and formed 6 apendages, putting it in a vaguely humanoid form. It's first leg took the form of dead wood, and rooted into the ground. The second leg turned grey and cracked, gaining the same consistency and appearance as stone. An arm formed of raging fires, causing smoke to fly into the air near it, while the other arm became veiled behind inky darkness. Between his legs, a tail was made of sharpened metal, ending in a deadly point. The head was a rough shape, looking as if it were the very essense of decay. It was a gray blob, melting down toward its scaled body.
Zo-Att saw her newest creation. She smiled and bestowed it a name of the divine tongue.
Raithon...
Demon.
PP
+3 PP (3 days since last use)
3 PP - Ascend exarch - Raithon, the first Demon. +1 Spawn/Week
Maibe turned her head away from the shadow, frowned and flew away on mighty wings. The troublesome thought his words had created faded away as she looked down at the beauty of this world, as she saw it´s first sunset at a distan horizon, as she saw it´s forests, as she...landed and wandered along it´s shores with crooked bones.
It was a beautiful world....
She thought and a faint smile touched the white Goddess´s lips.
The Three Sisters had wandered off. They lurked now in the farthest reach of the Space, where the light from the Orbs of Flame and the newly born Sun could not reach. Here the sisters waited, and experimented with the fabric of Time. Para the Wise was the first the speak.
"It binds all, and holds all, yet binds nothing, holds nothing, how can this be?"
She pulled and prodded the space between spaces, the very thing that held this all together. Pasha was the next to speak.
"Sister, what are you doing? We shouldn't mess with this."
And she pushed at her sister, forcing her to stop in her experimentations. Para spoke again.
"I apologize sister, I did not mean to cause you distress."
But Panna, who paid not attention to her sisters, was caught up in her own experiments. And they were not the gentle tuggings of her sister. With a mighty heave, she split the fabric of space. A small circle of emptiness, of nothingness, was the product of her attack. Pasha and Para were horrified. Para spoke then.
"Sister, this is surely wrong what you are doing!"
But Panna merely smiled, and pointed. The very space and existance around the hole was unravelling, fast. The small hole in reality soon became a gaping one, and still it unravelled. Time itself, attempting to repair the damaged, caused the hole to warp awkwardly, and twist. Soon a weird knot sort of shape hung in the air, though easily larger than any of the planets. And though Time had slowed its progress, the knot was twisting and expanding inexorably outwards all the time. Pasha spoke then.
"But we have to fix it!"
And Panna made no move to halt her two sisters as they joined together, and attempted to pull the hole shut. They could make it smaller, but could not hold it closed, it would just reopen, faster than ever. Para had a suggestion.
"If we cannot hold it closed, then perhaps we can create something that can."
This time they pulled a piece of Time, but rather than ripping it forcefully out, they kept it connected to the greater weave. They shaped and molded the piece, and soon a large, many-legged thing existed. The sisters set it into the whole, and it began to weave strands of Time across the hole, sewing the knot shut. The sisters made, a third, then a fourth and a fifth spider, and soon the vast knot was crawling with the things. But the wound was deep and wide, it would take the efforts of all these spiders to merely regulate this thing. Their job done, the three turned andl left.
PP Expenditures:
2 PP Create Plane (Lesser): The Knot: This vast twist in space is unfathomably deep and wide, and expands ever outwards all the time. Only the work of the Time-Weavers control its inevitable consumption of reality.
2 PP Spawn Beast (Superior): The Time-Weavers: These massive arachnids work tirelessly to seal the vast maw that is the Knot.
1/7 PP
The Silent One turned to look at the young godling who said they would help. A possible ally... and one who was not completely deluded by promises of sunshine and flowers hopefully. This could prove useful. "Thank you, wet one," he replied, his tentacles twitching in something approaching gratitude.
Thinking for a moment, the Voice Without Sound spoke once more. "Since Grawlf has already revealed it's existence, perhaps my world could prove useful for our new cause... you know only the brightness of this world, but if you are to truly create worlds of both light and darkness you must see both the best and the worst, lest your vision be tainted with one or the other. I must ask of you though, that though this shall no longer be a secret to the gods, neither mortal nor immortal, living nor unliving, nor rock nor stone nor shrub nor sun shall know of this place, lest I destroy that which learns of it."
[2/7]
Hrinori nodded sagely.
I respect your whims, secret keeper.
In truth, I have already felt your world -- felt the bleakness that fills it when the water-that-is-my-life were sent scouring through the void.
But I name you hypocrite. You find this world an antithesis to yourself, yes? Would not Maibe or the others feel the same of yours? No, lurker, a true fusing of opposites must begin from the void anew. Perhaps several times, the better to catch the nuance of oppositeness.
[1/7] +1 new day
As Voiceless offered to show the gathered gods his Shadowfell, a chill passed through Grawlf. To reveal the Shadowfell would be to come one step closer to revealing his Failure. He did not want that to happen, even if in principle he approved of the visit. Thinking quickly, the god spoke.
"No, Secret-Keeper, let us keep some secrets safe. I regret revealing the presence of the Shadowfell, yet it remains well hidden and there is no need to disturb its secrecy any more than is necessary."
Grawlf's gaze bored into the other god's eye, making it clear which secrets he was actually referring to.
"No, that which is wholly dark should not be seen by those who walk fully in the light lest its darkness swallow up their radiance just as that which is wholly light should be avoided by those who walk fully in the shadow lest they be burned away. Let us create a third world, larger than this one or yours in darkness, and show each other what we can do best."
The Silent One frowned at the Wet One's comments. He was not aware that the other gods could sense his world through their elements... it seems his world would have been doomed to be revealed anyway. "The void it shall be then, my sibling. Or cousin, or whatever else we may be in our divine family. I admit I fail to take notice of which of my fellows raises who, it is hard to see all from the shadows in which I dwell."
Grawlf's opposition confused the Voice Without Sound at first, until it realized just why his Maker wanted to keep the Shadowfell a secret. Failure... he didn't know how anybody who didn't already know it was in the core of his planet could even sense it, but if that was his Makers decisions then so be it. Besides, it gave him leverage in case he ever needed anything from his fellow god... "Then we shall not travel there, Grawlf, if you suspect that these younger gods can not withstand the dark as I can withstand the light despite the pain it brings me. I shall simply have to imbue the world, or worlds we create with my own share of darkness until these younglings learn to create their own forms of darkness and evil to balance the light and good."
I am likewise unafflicted by these precepts of "family".
Come, dark-whisperer. The void awaits.
Hrinori let herself drift upwards into the expanse of the void. She snapped her maw at some of the void amoebas, driving them into the further reaches of the area.
This should be large enough for two or three more spheres. Now who is with me?
Sonel who had been silent for sometime, listening to his Maker banter with the Silent One, finally decided to speak.
"Silent One. I too wish to aid you in creating a new planet, one of opposites working together in union with one another. Such acts seem perplexing to me, but I would be a fool to let this chance pass by. To think of all the possibilities, all the inventive ways for these conflicting pieces to work together... Truly it will be a test of my abilities as well as a fulfillment of my duty to invent new concepts and creatures. I will come with you."
Then the god turned to Brinn, his daughter and patron of the forest.
"My child, my friend. I need you to remain here for a time and take care of these lands. Create something wonderful, something with beauty that is worthy of you. I promise I'll come back soon. The new planet will need forests too, someday. Be a good girl while I'm gone."
The god then flew up to where the gods had gathered, floating next to Grawlf.
"Okay, I am ready whenever you are."
This young godling was... intriguing. The Silent One actual thought he could like her, even though the water that comprised her essence is what made him lose his focus and left him with his hideous form. Although this was thrust to the back of his mind as it pondered why the sickeningly energetic god he saw in the void some time ago now seemed so serious... no matter, it didn't effect him.
"This place should indeed be open enough for several spheres," the Silent One agreed. "Though perhaps we should allow earth to do the honor of crafting them, since they will no likely be created with their foundation? Unless of course we intend to create orbs of water, or secrets, or... light." He shuddered at that last one.
"Before we begin, I would ask that we seek out my siblings and those not here and ascertain that they, too will not move against our plans without warning. Sonal, Sorsten. Perhaps you could seek out my brother Creation, for both of you share a special connection to his desire to create. Secret-Keeper, perhaps you and Hrinori can go seek out Zo-Att and the one called Lizt. Talk to them and explain to them our plans and see if you can get them to agree to allow this experiment of ours to go on in peace."
Grawlf paused for a moment, his gaze resting momentarily on each of the present gods.
"I also ask a favor. I wish to create something, a reminder of this meeting and our agreement to mix the paints of light and dark to form a truly wonderful masterwork. I lie in the middle of this spectrum, neither truly in the light or the dark, so I cannot truly do this on my own. I ask that one of you fully in the light, and one of you in the dark lend me a fraction of your power so I can make a remembrance truly worthy of us."
Lizt approached the mass of gods slowly. He was curious, and afraid he'd miss out on something important. He in fact had missed most of the conversation... They wanted to create more things? He was a creator, this would be easy. He focused his energies into the Chaos Engine. Instead of compacting into the unlikely plane, he drew things from it. From the plane came what appeared to be a planetoid... though its colors were too vibrant, as if the planet was composed in Crayon; an immitation of the Earth. There were forests, and lush seas vibrating in place. It seemed composed of some sort of Gell. The "Planet" was alive.
See what I have made for you? This is my offering to the void. I present a new planet for... something went wrong. What is this?
Spawn Creature (Superior) 2 PP: Sticky World. The planet is technically a giant slime, in the image of the mother planet. The "inhabitants" of Sticky World are actually a part of the giant slime, though they look vibrant and overpleased. The give away is that they must always have a tendril attached to the main creature, lest they die. Even "birds" will eventually trail a little life feed. Whenever a newcomer to Sticky World sets foot on its' surface, it takes a while for the immense jelly to sense it. At first, the creature is allowed to wander about: each step, like walking on weak flypaper. After a period of time (much less time if the alien attacks Sticky World's "Happy Folk") the planet starts to affix the creature more firmly to its' surface. Eventually, the slime eats the creature out from the inside, using the base of their feet as an entry point. The more creatures the planet eats in this way, the better the ruse (and the trippier the adventure on its' surface).
+1 for Friday, +1 for Thursday, -2 for awesome.
0/7 PP remaining
The Silent One looked on bemused as the god of chaos they were to seek approached them as if on queue. "Well, it seems half of our task is done... now all that must be done is to keep down my Maker. I am not sure if I'm looking forward to arguing for a project he will most likely hate on mere principal..."
Before floating off however, the Silent One had to respond to Grawlfs request. "We have no-one of darkness amongst us, but I suppose I will have to do in their absence. If you are to record the records of this day however, I have one request: leave me out of them. Or rather, keep me in them, but hide the portions to which I appear from mortal eyes, for I refuse for the god of secrets to be known by any mortal man I do not choose to let know. A secret too wide spread is merely a fact, after all."
Concentrating for a moment, the Silent One passed on a shrapnel of his power onto his Maker of Knowledge, before floating off in search of the Maker that had greeted him into the world... and who he had said he would assist in making the universe an empty place. And now he was going to ask him permission to fill it with even more worlds... he hope Zo-Att had learned to control their temper.
PP Expenditure
1PP given to Topheph for his project, on the condition the commemoration of the Silent One remains hidden from all but the gods and those who chooses.
[1/7]
Hrinori drifted after the elder god, calling out softly to the secret-keeper as she did so.
You seem to lead a very lonely existence.
She thought about it for a while.
And, yes, I realize you are god of secrets.
What you-- what we need, is another ally. One who will regulate the laws and keep the other gods bound to their word. It seems the whole of us are rather unaffordably optimistic. I do not see that as a good thing.
The golden Serpent had rested upon the rocky shores of the world for a quite while, curled up with her head placed upon a nearby rock with a faint smile playing upon her thin lips as she enjoyed the warm caress of her creation, the Sun.
" There are enjoyment to find in the oddest of ways..."
The Serpent thought, yawned and slowly got up from ground with her crooked legs. The ground under her was soaring hot, her clawed feet had even left foot-prints after them in the sold rock. The Serpent shook her head, yawned once more, flexed her wings and flew upwards once more, flying on conjured winds she easily shaped with her mind. There was much to do with this world....much indeed the problem though was were to start?
The golden Serpent shook her head, letting her pitch-black mane flow in the wind as she thought. The world was beautiful indeed...and yet at the same time suprisingly empty. There was life here and with her sun, her sister´s water and her brother´s earth it was supported. Algae, sea-weed, trees, grass and bushes flourished in meadows and forests both over and beneath the waves. Earth and water had both their fair share of life but what of her domain? Light? What else could it do other then support her siblings and relative´s work.
A bitter feeling began to grew within the young Godess´s heart. Was that her role? To never grant life on her own? To just help others? To be a constant supporter? The Goddess shook her black-maned head.
No, no, no...that was not her role at all! She was Maibe, Goddess of Light! The evershining one! Not Maibe the illustrious servant, not Maibe the poor she had to be more then that! No, she was destined to do more then that! The golden Serpent stretched out her wings and flew away from the world, her eyes searching for a place where she could give life to creations of her own. Far, far, far away from the creations of her siblings.
Sorstal listened to Grawlf's request. The wise one had devised an interesting plan of action.
"Seek out the Giver of Existence? If that's what you want, it's fine with this one."
Sorstal floated over to Agon, who was still resting, nestled in amongst the trees and soil.
"Friend Agon, rest you here for the moment. The earth here is an ideal spot for you. I will be away in a bit, but shall return as soon as I can."
Agon lifted his head, staring questioningly at his master. Appreciating the chance to rest, though, the serpent inclined its head sharply and returned to its relaxation.
Sorstal drifted back to Grawlf and Sonel, the Beacon pulsing.
"I'm choosing to leave Agon to his own devices for the moment. He'll keep watch over the forests with your own guardians. Kin Sonel, what say you? Shall we unite and seek out the Creator?"
Brinn felt very sad. The others had all left, and she was left alone, but for Ankirega. They hadn't even thought of her mountain idea, but perhaps that for the best.... Sonel trusted her to make something beautiful. It hurt, though, to be left alone...
Let us make something of beauty, as Friend Sonel says. Ankirega came up and nuzzled her, bumping her with his furry snout. Let us show them that we can do great acts of creation ourselves. Let us create the mountain of your dreams.
After a long moment of staring sadly towards the gods, all together save her, Brinn turned towards the forest.
PP: 3/7 (+2 for Ankirega)
"Brinn, why do you turn away? Your special talents will be vital to our efforts. Please, join us in our task." Grawlf said, calling out to the retreating Brinn. He had thought he and the other gods had been close enough to include her in their gathering, but clearly he had been mistaken.
Brinn turned back to Grawlf, torn. "But Friend Sonel told me to stay, that he needed me to stay!"
"Well, I am not going anywhere. I must gather my energies for my special project. The others go to bring more people here as well. You need not go against what Sonel wishes, but do not hide yourself below either."
Sorstal looked past Sonel to Brinn. The forest deity seemed a bit dejected.
"Is she upset with the need to divide? Grawlf's plan is intriguing, but in order to inspire harmony, he must temporarily fracture immediate unity. Before I leave, perhaps I will leave my mark on this sphere. Kin Sonel, please wait but a moment."
Sorstal darted past Sonel, to the edge of the forest. I cannot disturb the growth of the trees or the flow of the waters. The border should be ideal for my craft.
Alone, but not out of sight, Sorstal concentrated its will. The Beacon froze in place, its orbit disrupted by that which was about to exist. A rumble formed within the earth, slowly at first, but gaining in strength. The earth began to shake, but Sorstal gave it no attention.
With a thunderous crash the likes of which Sorstal had never heard, the stone and soil erupted upwards, a great mass of earth expanding its domain. The landscape changed, the fang of earth continuing to climb higher and higher, until finally Sorstal's focus ceased. Now, along the edge of the border, stood a tribute to the might of stone. The mountain. Sorstal glanced upwards, shivering in delight. The Beacon resumed its course.
"My mark has been made. Let all those who enjoy this world witness the dawn of Mt. Sonnarian. Perhaps Brinn and the others can make use of the mountain."
*4PP: Mold Land (Lesser): Mt. Sonnarian - Bordering the forest, the mountain is a tribute to the uniqueness of the green sphere. Its height has not yet been gauged, but truly it is a sight to behold. It stands overlooking the trees and waters, a great fang which stands firm.
Remaining PP(after factoring in +1 for new day): [0/7]
Brinn looked past Grawlf in amazement. "Wonderful.." she managed, before turning to Sorstal and bobbing in front of him, seeming quite a bit more cheerful. "Thank you, friend, I will care for it as I would my own forest." Mount Sonnarian...
Ankirega suddenly piped up, 'talking' to Sonel, though all could hear. "Friend Sonel, tell me, why can I and Friend Brinn not help you with this project?"
The empty sockets in Raithon's skull-shaped face glowed with a malevolent dim light. When he got up, he looked to the Forests of Pasha and he felt a great hatred for them. Not because of what they were or stood for, but simply because they were there. He reached out for a tree, and touched it with his arm of flames. The tree caught fire, and eventually burned down to ash, but not before spreading the flames to nearby trees. The flowers beneath his feet wilted and lost all of their color. He was pleased with the results, but wished to go further. Finding a tree that was still standing, he reached out with his hand of shadow. The tree instantly disitigrated, leaving behind only dust. Raithon then moved his tail in an arcing motion, causing trees behind him to be removed from their trunks, falling to the ground and loosing the life they had.
And from above Zo-Att looked at her creation, pleased with its efforts. It had no need to ask of its purpose, it simply knew and performed. Exactly what she was looking for
+1 PP new day [1/7]
Lonely? The Silent One had never thought of it before... it was true that actually being amongst his fellows gods felt... better... than it was to lurk in his world, scheming how he could manipulate them each to his side, but he was not sure whether liking someone to talk to could be construed as being lonely when he didn't. And as for her suggestion of another ally, he had to admit he still felt the bubbling of jealousy at how his half-brother had an 'apprentice' god while he had none. However...
"I am all for adding other gods to our side, however I cannot promote crafting a god of order when there is so much else that lies without divine manifestation," he replied. "Those of us that dwell in the dark number two or three, depending on whether you regard Chaos as such, whilst those that dwell in the light number far more. I would suspect order would dwell in the light as well, as their domain would be a shining beacon of civilization, instead of ending it or manipulating it. Besides which, I have... other ways... to get gods to do as I will without binding them through divine contract." And between fornicating to Zo-Att and pretending to be a disciple of destruction, and knowing enough of Grawlf's secrets he could doubtless get him to do anything he wished if he chose to make it so, he was well protected from betrayal even without something as frivolous as universal law.
A noise from below started the Silent God out of his revere, and he looked down to see a demonic creature smashing everything about it. "That is one of Zo-Att's creations if I ever saw one. Sometimes I can hardly believe I was born of such a blatant god... ah, there he is," he amended, floating towards the figure of Zo-Att in the distance.
[2/7]
Maibe finally stopped. Her sun was nothing but a tiny speck of light now, the world on the other hand couldn´t be seen at all. The Goddess looked around, smiled and whispered.
" It´s here my creations will live. Here in the darkness, far, far from other Gods and their quarrels. This though will not be my land...the beings I create here will just be a proof to my siblings and relatives that...Light is more than they may believe. "
The golden Wyrm slowly began to move, to fly around a singly empty spot with her glowing eyes focused upon the spot in question and then there was light.
Far, far, far away from the Golden Wyrm in the distant forests of the world the night sky changed as a tiny spot of light appeared shortly to be followed by another and then yet another. Hundreds of these shining spots soon covered the skies and spread with a tremoundous speed until there were nearly a thousand of these odd constructs.
Maibe smiled as she looked out at her newest creations. Each of them the size of her sun, each of them a living being in it´s own right, each of them one of her children and a living proof of that Light had the same potential to support, give and be life as water and earth had.
Her creations were odd creatures. Enormous spheres spheres made of the purest of light but there was something more to them. There was something within those shining spheres, beings that lived, thought and grew as they sucked nourishment out of the light of the distant sun. They were beings of purest energy holding nearly unthinkable amounts of arcande and divine energy trapped within their bodies, gargantuan in size but shallow in intellect and slow in movement. They would be known as Star- beasts in times were such names as star and beast actually had a meaning.
Spawn Creature ( Superior ) 2 PP: Star-Beasts. Enormous light-absorbing leviathans.
1/7
Zo-Att stopped looking at Raithon's work, only to aknowledge the Silent One's presense. In a proud tone, she announced, "Look at him, isn't he wonderful? He's doing even better than I expected." She turned around toward The Silent One, her voice changing to be more buisiness-like. "Is there any reason in particular that you sought me out?"
Sonel turned to Sorstal and congratulated him on his fine creation.
"Thank you, cousin. You've made my daughter happy with this... mountain you crafted. While you were down there, I managed to get a lock on our target and patron. He seems to be..."
The god turns in the direction of the new sun, glaring as brightly as it could down at them.
"He seems to be within the sun itself. For what reason I cannot imagine, but that is our destination."
He then turned towards Ankirega, who had asked him a question while he was trying to home in on Lohak.
"Ankirega, you are helping. You and Brinn both. You are keeping the forests and lands of this world safe. It's all you need to do, my friend. And when the time comes to build new forests on new worlds, I'll come and get you so that you can sow your seeds and spread life there."
Hrinori drifted out from behind The Silent One's trailing darkness into full view of Zo-Att. She spoke:
Greetings, destroyer.
Your brother, I believe, requests word. Those gods other than yourself had been content to modify and add to their own small part of the cosmos, blantantly diresgarding the desires of any other.
The dragon eel bowed.
I am Hrinori, newly extant, and of such meddling. Now, out of either fear or jealousy, your brother would sate his concious by asking you to take part in their next efforts at creation. What was it he said, "it would not be fair to continue without consulting her", I believe.
The Silent One looked down at the demon destroying everything in it's path. "Yes, truly magnificent," he agreed. Honestly, it was far too blatant for his tastes, and seemed in essence merely a void anemone that destroyed instead of ate. But it would hardly cement his position as the destroyers ally if he said so out loud.
Chiming in at his companions comments, the Silent One attempted to twist the truth a little so that the prospect might be more appealing to Zo-Att. "If we do not contribute to this enterprise, odds are that the other gods would merely do so anyway, but we would not be able to contribute our own views and creations to the mix. If creation must be had, we should take a part should we not? After all, it would all be so much easier to destroy if we craft a few weak links, so to speak." Truth was the Silent One couldn't care less about the destruction of what they create, but it was the best spin he could put on the project that he could think of.
Besides. Think of all that's been created while you've been out here. If you can't stymie their efforts here, they're just going to gain a greater and greater lead.
A new world? That would explain why they have not taken immediate notice to Raithon. Although it is ironic that they would ask a God of destruction to "contribute."
After briefly considering the preposition, Zo-Att looked at Hrithori and responded, "That sounds like a wonderful idea, but I would rather not. But make sure to tell my brother that I'll definitely have some contributions to add later." Zo-Att grinned almost sadistically at the word "contributions." She continued, "I would advise not becoming too close to anything you create. Just a thought."
As the water goddess left, Zo-Att turned to her son and addressed him, "I see no reason really. I'm sure my brother Eye invited my so that he could keep an eye on what I do. I prefer to work in secrecy, or at least not blantantly in front of everyone. Besides, they are asking for an ordered way to bring in chaos and destruction, which I'm not sure is possible. You may do whatever you like, but just know that I reserve my right to contribute at a more appropriate time."
"Very well, Maker," the Silent One replied. "I see your point. If you do not wish to contribute right away, feel free to do so at any time you wish. I prefer to sow the seeds of corruption with the first layer of soil rather than attempt to blow away everything once it has already been planted, but that is merely a matter of style, not one method being superior to the other." The Silent One smiled without a mouth. "I do find it amusing that you profess to work subtly even while your humongous creation devestates everything in it's path as blatantly as imaginable however."
Hrinori sighed as she sped back to Grawlf. She had hoped that Zo-Att would have favored her with... something. Now *that* was one god you did not want to anger.
Though I wonder, can Zo-Att ever hope to succeed? After all, if her goal is to destroy everything that has been created, won't she someday have to turn her destructive tendencies towards herself?
Grawlf, we did as you bid, and as you suspected, the god of destruction would have nothing to do with this new endeavour.
"I feared as much. Very well. Let us hope my brother is more willing to help us."
Grawlf looked around to those still nearby.
"Will no one in the light contribute to my project? I promise you will receive something worthwhile from the bargain."
The sudden destruction of Brinn's beautiful forest suddenly struck her like a lightning bolt, and Brinn whirled to see Zo-Att's force of destruction. "NO!," she cried, Ankirega and herself surging towards the intruder as Cragnas plodded his way forward as well. Ankirega reached the giant beast first, his equally massive form slamming it away from the forest as his jaws sought a hold on the demon's form. A quick blow from the demon sent the wolf flying, but not before he left a pair of glowing claw-marks down the demon's torso.
Brinn struck next, sudden growth surging around the demon, trapping it in place while Ankirega recovered. Cragnas, however, came on it next, his massive form trampling the trapped demon. Screeching, it sliced wildly with it's bladed tail and managed to free an arm, but with Cragnas atop it, it was still trapped. Ankirega dashed in, biting hard on the free arm, crunching through the demon's bones as the arm dropped to the ground.
Moments later, Cragnas had consumed the fallen demon, converting it into life to repair the forest.
"Why...," cried Brinn. "Who did this?!"
Sonel looked towards it's maker, contemplating what it could have in mind when it realized something. It's brother the Silent One had given him a piece of his divine energy. Did Grawlf expect some from Sonel as well? It wouldn't hurt to contribute, Sonel thought. His maker was wiser than he, and his plans more far reaching. If he needed assistance, then Sonel would help as well.
"Maker! Here is a fragment of power that you may use to further your goals. For the advancement of existence I give this to you."
Expenditure
1 PP - Given to Grawlf
1/7 PP
Pleased with Brinn's delight, Sorstal returned its attention to Grawlf. The god of Earth studied Grawlf for a moment, then flicked its attention to Sonel for but a second before returning to the wise one. The Beacon continued to rotate around its master. Every second counts, I suppose, thought the god. The Lord of Stone floated over to its fellows.
"Indeed, I will set out to find the Creator at once. Come, kin Sonel, shall we not seek out the Giver of Existence and ask him for his aid? There are none more suited to the task."
Zo-Att descended into the forest, right next to Brinn and whispered in her ear, "I did."
The God of Destruction's face was impassive as she stared at the forest goddess. Wings formed on her body and she slowly moved even closer. Very little distance separated them. "I'm quite impressed how you handled that. The destruction was... intoxicating." Her voice was even and it was difficult to tell if there was any anger in that statement or not.
His eyes opened, and he flinched from the brightness. Light surrounding and engulfing him. He could not see. Creation was blinded by the sun all around him.
Outrages, he flailed about, power circling and rotating in random directions as he tried to remove the offensive light from the are so he could see, but it was to no avail as it returned as soon as the power had passed.
Feeling th eodd one he had healed feeling for him, he growled, and unleashed the full of his power into the annoying light blinding him. Under such pressure, the sun exploded, shattering into millions of pieces as they scattered across existence.
His vision finally clearing, he looke about, finally realizing what he had just done.In the far distance, he could see the shattered fragments still glimmering. He turned to towards Sorstal and Sonel, moving towards them.
As he aproached, he realized something. "I must name this new creation. Let them be known as stars." Turning to the godlings, he finally noted them. "I felt you looking for me. What is it?"
PP Expenditure
1 PP - Modify Artifact - Shtter the sun into millions of points of light, known as stars, cattered across the nether reaches of existence.
2/7 PP
Sorstal glanced up at the Creator.
"We come bearing news from Grawlf. The wise one has suggested that those who exist in divinity should seek harmony over conflict. Though diverse, we stand to gain more from cooperation than antagonism. Entropy and prosperity, gaining a greater understanding of one another. In harmony, this existence can expand, and that which shall one day exist shall be realized all the sooner. Grawlf seeks an accord, for he desires your aid. As the embodiment of Creation, your influence is so great that it rocks the cosmos. Grawlf would like you to aid us in the flourishing of this potential, and in turn we shall aid you."
Grawlf bowed to Sonel as he felt the god's donation flow into him form.
Thank you, Sonel. Now, give me a moment to work, and I will show all of you my plans for-"
Suddenly, the sun exploded into millions of tiny pieces, the resulting sparks slowly spreading out from the now vacant area where he could sense Lohak's power slowly returning to Creation's form.
"Once more one of my Siblings shirks their duty. Unacceptable. Wholly, completely unacceptable." Grawlf's form shook in irritation, his pupil dilating and contracting as he raged within his soul at the act of destruction from the god of Creation. It was wrong, it was contrary to duty. He would have to set things right.
"If he will not do his job, then I will have to do it for him. It it fortunate that his destructive act is compatible with my own plans."
Grawlf reached out to the glowing mass of points of light and gathered them towards him. As they approached, he tapped into Sonel's power, feeling its joy and light flowing through one of his arms before he pointed it at one of the approaching shards and released the energy into it. Using these shards of light was going to make things simpler than making them out of his own will, but it was still going to require tweaking their purpose in a significant way.
Sonel's light spread out, touching each shard one by one and changing each of them, binding them together with a common magic. The shards began moving around as if attached by long invisible tethers. Grawlf watched the power moving the shards for a moment, then he released Voiceless' darkness. The inky blackness jetted from another arm, jumping from shard to shard in a seemingly random way, flowing across the sum of the shards, breaking their connections only to have them reform nearly instantly. Where the magic was disrupted, the shards stopped moving together in unison. Grawlf grasped both powers with his arms, apendages moving rapidly, dragging pieces back and forth and manipulating the delicate balance of light and dark that at its core would power his creation.
After what seemed like an eternity, Grawlf released a small amount of his own power into the mass of energy, light and darkness, connecting it all together, binding it into a whole. Grawlf reached deep into the center and quickly pulled out two thin rods, one black as the darkest obsidian, one white as the purest branch of yew. As he pulled with his arm, his other arms pushed outwards, forcing the magic, and the shards, out into the blackness of the void. As they moved further apart from one another, the darkness that Sonel had provided became more dominant, causing the shards to move more slowly and also breaking them apart into discrete chunks of lights connected with magic. To those gods who cared to look, the shards revealed something truly amazing: a record of the meeting of the gods, and all that had happened before that point, back to the creation of Lohak, Grawlf and Zo-att. As those present watched, the shards slowly rearranged, maintaining the old story but also revealing more words, the story of the creation of the shards themselves. Grawlf watched as the shards continued to slowly move in the heavens, the light and dark balancing one another in a complex and ever-evolving dance, responding to the subtle movements of Time itself as it reacted to the actions of all creation.
Calling out to Voiceless and Sonel in particular, and any other god who cared to listen, Grawlf brandished the two rods.
"Behold, I give you the Stars, forever in the sky to record that which is notable in the history of the universe we together are creating. See the points of light embedded in the darkness, see also the constant slow motion: chaos instead of order. See the story of our creation, to always remind us of the larger picture.
Voiceless, I give you this rod of darkness. Point it at the stars and think of something, and it will be erased from the story the stars tell. Use it judiciously, for too many secrets make them lose their power.pa
Sonel, I give you this rod of light. Point it at the stars and think of something, and it will be highlighted in the story the stars tell, making it appear as images instead of divine text. Use it judiciously, for too many pictures will dilute the message of the stars."
Satisfied, Grawlf turned once more away from the planet and towards the stars, watching as they slowly related more of the story of the universe...
2 PP (1 from Sonel, 1 from Voiceless): Modify/Create Artifact: The Stars. The Stars are magical creations born from the joining of light and darkness through the medium of the shattered pieces of the first Sun. They move constantly in a slow pattern, forming divine text that always tells the story of the universe, always expanding but never actually losing parts of the story.
1 PP: Create Artifact: Rods of Obsidian and Yew. Together, these rods are capable of controlling the text of the stars, capable of rewriting the story however the posessor of both rods wishes. Sepratly, the Obsidian rod is capable of removing segments of the story of time from the stars and the Yew rod is able to highlight certain sections, which will be transformed into constellations.
2 PP: Claim Domain (moderate): Stars domain.
+1 from new day for 1/7 PP left.
Destruction...
She felt how her sun was ripped in to pieces by the hands of a god. How those very pieces were take by her own father and spread out across the heavens...she felt how her gift to life was destroyed. The Goddess of Light was not pleased at all, closed her eyes and began to mumble. Mumble and mutter words of power and strength as she did so the stars themselves began to burn. Fragments of the stars, the star-beasts, fire and every other thing or being that created or spread light or heat broke of from what they once had been a part of and slowly began to gather where her child once had been.
It looked lika vast cloud of orange, shining dust that whirled around a lone point of light. Then there was an expolsion of the like few had seen. Extreme heat and searing light ruled the universe for a couple of moments and when all of this was gone, a new sun stood in the darkness. Slightly smaller then it´s brother but growing even more brightly then before.
Modify artifact 1PP: Reform the sun by taking small amounts of power from star-beasts, stars, fires and life-forms and combining them in to a sun.
2/7
His task over, and his conversation with his Maker over (he really should sit down and have a long chat with Zo-Att about the direction of the universe, they were supposed to be allies after all) the Silent One floated back to the circle of gods just in time to see the stars light up the story of their labors. Of ALL of their labors, his included. Enraged, he was about to tell off his Maker... before he made the offer a rod that could rewrite the heavens as he willed. The ultimate tool for creating secrets... he had to admit it, he was actually touched.
"This is... thank you, Father," was all he could think to say, gently taking the rod with a black tentacle. The gesture actually left him so touched he didn't even think of the power the rod gave him for at least five seconds... but he couldn't sit there staring at it. He had to use the power to set things to right.
Looking up at the heavens, the Silent One read over them, mentally highlighting a few key passages for erasing and alteration. He removed any mention of his Shadowfell, altering any references to the darkness of his world to the darkness of the void. He removed any place where he talked or contributed that it wasn't necessary for it to be known, such as his relationship to Zo-Att and Grawlf, as well as presenting the case to Zo-Att instead making it seem like the water god had traveled on their own. He credited the void anemone as a mutation of the algae and not a divine act at all. Finally, and most importantly, he replaced any parts where the story would simply not make sense without him being there, such as his interruption of the council, with a fictitious tale that the void itself gained a voice, and used it to state how it felt it's darkness should remain in balance with the light the other gods brought. A clumsy lie perhaps, but the best he could think of without crediting another god with his work.
His tentacles now full of the stars he'd pulled down from the heavens to conceal his existence, the Silent One threw the true story into several blank places where no stars shone, and covered them in concealing darkness that only the gods and those who he blessed could perceive them. "There, much better. Now the god of secrets shall remain as such, from mortal eyes at least. A thought struck me as I worked however: the void anemone. They devour all they come across, and would surely assault any worlds we made. This world of light is shielded due to this field of force, my world of dark is shielded due to it's unseen nature, and I saw reference in the stars about a world that is protected by a great beast. Perhaps if we worked being unassailable by the creatures into the worlds itself, such fanciful methods of protection might not be necessary."
Brinn recoiled from Zo-Att as she drifted nearer, wondering what the other goddess wanted. She could feel Zo-Att's destructive impulses, from her words, her actions, her movements. Here was not a god of order and harmony, but it's pure opposite- destruction for the sake of destruction. She was a goddess of life; Zo-Att of death. Brinn realized sickly that they were probably destined to fight, perhaps many times. Ankirega came up, growling at the goddess.
"Who are you, and for what reason do you destroy our forest?", demanded Ankirega as he stared at the destroyer.
PP: 4/7
Zo-Att now had a twisted smile on her face as she responded to Brinn.
"I did not destroy your petty forest, that was my pet's doing. I just wanted to congratulate you on your excellent battle. For your sake, you had better keep a closer watch on this forest if you want it to regrow. Raithon's work is not finished."
(New day, +1 PP, 2/7)
And the sisters turned to each other and spoke.
"Let us seek out our children, long we have been gone from the world, let us see if they have completed their tasks."
And into the centre of existence they strode. Towards their blazing Clock in the centre of it all. Para's eyes were drawn immediately to the points of light scattered across the blackness. In them, she could read the history of the ages. Her son was performing his job most admirably. She was pleased. Pasha's gaze was drawn to the new life and new objects that littered the Space. Her son was doing his job quite well. She too was pleased. Panna instead looked to the beast that tore through the forests, and the secrets stolen away from the world. Her daughter was taking to her job quite adeptly as well. She was pleased. But it was the Knower they first sought out. They found their son working away, and Para addressed him first.
"Hello my son, have you yet to complete the task I set you?"
3/7 PP
"Mother." Grawlf said in greeting, bowing to the three that had given him life.
"I grow close, yet I have come to a realization that my task shall never truly be over until time itself is broken and the universe ceases it continual march forward. Perhaps if I had control over all things, I could know the future as well as the past and the present, yet..." he glanced at the goddess of the future, "Your words, while confusing, were very helpful. I now understand that I had to focus on my own purpose and duty. To know what is and what was, and not what shall be. That is beyond my duty, and it will not do to dwell on it.
My siblings could use some of that wisdom, Mother... These beautiful stars that you see... I was forced to use that which Creation had destroyed, an abberant, anomalous occurance to create them. He could use a message about his duty. Destruction has been Creating as well... although always with the purpose to destroy, which is certainly within her duty. I feel she understands how this universe is meant to work and is operating in it to the best of her abilities.
Oh! But where are my manners. Mother, meet your grandchildren and great-grandchildren." Grawlf took a few moments pointing at the gods in the area and naming them for The Sisters. "Together, we plan to create several new worlds, mixing all of our talents, both light and dark, together in order to create something wonderful."
"Both beautiful AND terrible, my Maker," the Silent One spoke without speaking. "That is the whole point of mixing both light and dark together, after all. Mixing joy and sorrow, light and dark, unity and discord, only then can a world be considered more than an extreme aberration."
Floating closer to the sisters, the Silent One looked over them curiously before bowing as well as his body would allow. "And you must be the makers or my Maker. I must thank you for spawning knowledge, for without it secrets simply could not exist. And as much as it sickens me to see it, I must also thank you for making the universe so honest, so that lies have true meaning."
[3/7]
The golden serpent appeared at her father´s side and gave the horrid god of secrets a cold, unpleasant glare before she eyed the three beings in front of her before finally turning to her father.
" Father, my sun, my gift to this word...was ripped in to pieces. Who was it that did that to my child? Was it you? Or that horrid being made of secrets and lies that hides his face as if he was eternally ashamed of what he is but at the same time tries to eternally justify his existence? Or was it them? "
She turned to three sisters once more and eyed the suspicouly.
" Kin, were it you that brought destruction to my child? "
She asked coldly as she glared at them with shining eyes.
First, Grawlf looked at his son.
"Secret-Keeper. I stand in between my siblings, neither destruction nor creation am I. To me, what is wonderful is both."
Then, he turned to his daughter.
"Child, no, it was not I nor was it anyone gathered here that destroyed your creation. It was Creation himself who destroyed it."
Grawlf shook his head. His brother had proved nearly impossible to reason with, yet... he would have to try... for his daughter's sake if nothing else... the look of pain on her face was nearly unbearable.
"I am sorry for what happened... I could not stop it, but I hope that my act of creation with it has pleased you... Your new sun may be smaller, but now in every direction you look, you will see your light, see tiny bits of your first great project lighting up the night sky and serving as a constant reminder of you to whoever looks... even if they are far from the sun's rays."
name: lucifer
domain: i would prefer to be the god of magic and fire
symbol: a ball with bodys of spirits coming out
goal: to destroy all living things
appearance: as a fire bird
Hi There! You're in the wrong thread. This is for purely IC posts. You want:
community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/758...
instead. (please delete your post when you finish copying it over... we want to maintain the flow of this thread to the best of our abilities)
Brinn stared at Zo-Att, not wanting to fight yet unbearably angry. Not only did this other god destroy much forest, she acted nonchalant and denied direct responsibility. And yet what was the demon but her own hands? Crackles of green energy surrounded Brinn as she prepared for a possible battle, as Ankirega began circling. Below, Cragnas remained on the demon's corpse, feeding the forest....was that what the other goddess spoke of? Was such a being so infused wih destruction that it's corpse was destructive?
"Who are you?," Brinn demanded, "and for what reason do you wish destruction on my home?" Ankirega growled his agreement. "If you do not wish for battle, then answer well, fiend."
"Destruction is what I strive for, something I cannot be without. I have to hatred toward your trees. But as long as they aren't Nothing, I must deal with them as I am instructed to."
The God of Destruction slowly moved closer to the goddess, her form soldifying in a similar shape to a Coatl. A dark orb descended from the sky, swirling in a vortex of chaotic energy. The earth started to shatter slightly as the orb got closer down. She coiled around Brinn and whispered in her ear.
"But if you want a fight, I'd be more than happy to help."
[3/7]
Brethren, shall we start then?
Hrinori made a decisive thought, and the waters of the void surged forth, void algae and void amoeba alike echoed a macabre chorus, the water they had uncaringly absorbed brutally drawn forth, brutally slicing many of the creatures from the inside out.
Slowly, the maelstrom slowed, coalescing into twin cores of steel-blue ice, massive entities that drifted idly, unanchored by the void.
[PP Expenditure]
+1 PP new day
-2 PP spent as part of collective effort to create two new planes/spheres
0/7
Sonel held the rod of yew high, waving it back and forth and he was amazed to see the stars actually moving according to his guidance. He thought for a moment, wondering which events were noteworthy, and after a time decided upon a few. He waved the rod again and created a simple constellation, triangular in shape with an extra line coming off of each point.
o
o
o
o
o o
o o
o o
o o
o o o o o
o o
o o
o o
This was to symbolize the three Sisters creating Grawlf, Lohak, and Zo-Att. He then created a second constellation. A jagged line shooting a second line toward a circular shape.
ooo ooo
o 000000000 o o
o ooo ooo
o
o
o o
o o
This was showing how Zo-Att, goddess of destruction, destroyed one of the original planets. Now just one more constellation to make for now. With a wave of the yew rod, the stars began to move making a third constellation.
o o
o o o
o o o o o
o 0 o o
o o o o
o o o
o o o
o
A radial design with a circle in the center, and a smaller formation making the pupil of the eye. An image of the god of knowledge himself, cementing his image in eternity. With those three done, Sonel lowered the wand. It was tiring work moving the stars themselves...
Maibe looked around, her gaze sank as she slowly and unwillingly muttered.
" I am sorry, Father for my outburst. Your words ring true though...your stars are truly magnificent. "
The golden Wyrm face his gaze once more.
" Who is this god of creation you speak of? I would like to come with you and reason with him as well. It may be so that his act of destruction was nothing but a mistake..but it burned me. "
She raised a paw in front of her father. It´s golden scales were burnt, dark and dead. Darkly coloured blood slowly dripped from the palm of her paw, falling down on the ground below them.
" The Sun is a part of me, Father. A part of my flesh and mind...what others do to it they do to me as well. Through his actions the god of Creation injured me and I will not take it. "
Her eyes had lost their former coldness to be replace by stubborness and anger.
Panna eyed this young goddess curiously. The passion and fervor with which she took to the tasks that were set to her intrigued the goddess of Time. And so she spoke.
"I will accompany you to speak with my son, my Creation."
Para murmured in agreement.
"Yes, we have some matters we wish to discuss with him as well."
Still, Pasha looked wary. Her son, he who was to Create, why had he committed this act of Destruction? This was not his task, so why had he done so? This worried Pasha more than ever, that her son would do such a thing. So she spoke.
"Yes, much to discuss with him..."
Edit: Ara, you ninja you!
"Actually, Secret-Keeper... if I may?"
Grawlf took back the obsidian rod and, holding it in one of his hands and pointed it lightning fast at several places in the sky. Unlike when Voiceless had used it, the stars did not get pulled down and hidden elsewhere... they merely scattered to the corners of the heavens, or in some cases rearranged themselves. Gone were any references to his true name, or references that he had not always been Grawlf. Gone was mention of his first failed attempt at making a god. He too had things he would rather be kept secret
"Thank you." he said, handing the rod back.
Then, he turned to Maibe.
"I am sorry for the damage caused by my brother. Steel yourself when we go to speak to him, for I have found him frustrating to deal with in the past. Not evil... merely absorbed in his own self-importance to a degree such that he views even his own brother as something of a pest. Come, let us be off. I hope that the fact that Mother will be coming with us will do something to help him see that he cannot do whatever he pleases without causing unintended consequences"
Turning to the others, he spoke again.
"Forgive me, but I must go seek out Lohak. I will return shortly and then we can begin our works of creation once more."
+1 PP for 2/7 PP.
" Thank you, Father. Thank you, noble Goddess.."
The Golden wyrm nodded in agreement to all words that was spoken and smiled against her "Grandmother" and her sisters.
" There is much to say indeed..."
She muttered and grimaced as her burnt paw pained her once more. Pain...was an interesting experience..but at the same time one that she preferably would have wanted to avoid. She shook her head once more, black hair flew in the air as her eyes began to glow even more intensly then before. This...would be a most interesting encounter.
3/7
The Silent One looked over the pair of ice planetoids, thinking carefully. "A good start, though perhaps a layer of earth so that creatures could live without slipping everywhere would be a good idea," he said finally. "I would do so myself, but it is not in my essence to create something so... productive, for want of a better word."
The Voice Without Sound was disappointed he had not thought to remove such mentions himself, as they were great secrets he dearly wanted to keep so... he needed to pay more attention to the story the heavens told. In that spirit, the Silent One read over the stars, before hiding away any references to the black rod he currently held, instead making it seem like only the rod of light was created and given away.
As Gralf described his brother, the one greater god the Silent One had no relationship with, the cogs in his mind turned in thought. This god of creation was arrogant, and had a great sense of pride... the perfect personality to woo over to his side with a few well placed compliments and a false pledge of loyalty. "Wait, Maker, I will go with you. It is time I met this god of creation, and even though I detested that sun with a passion I feel that on principal the cause of this confrontation is just."
It seemed that a good number of its kin were going out to seek the Creator, Lohak. "If they were all going out to have a talk with him, surely there was no need for me to go and seek him out as well," Sonel thought and then began making its way toward Hrinori to help with her planet-making endeavors. It looked over his cousin's work, the two spheres of ice glistening in the light of the stars.
"Hrinori these are beautiful, but we need to cut some basins into the surface. That way we can make the oceans much like you made on the first planet."
Quickly Sonel dropped to nearly a foot above the planets surface, whizzing across while cutting vast, organically shapped chunks out of it to make a place for the new oceans.
Zo-Att distanced herself from Brinn after sensing her desire not to fight. "You do not seem to want to engage in battle. I understand, perhaps another time." Zo-Att moved further from the planet, until she could the stars. Their positions were changed. She frowned as she scanned them to see what stories they told.
There was no mention of the Silent One being her son. Was he ashamed, or did he just wish for it to be a secret? She could clearly see her destruction of the planet, shattering it into asteroids; she almost beamed at the recognition. She looked back down to the forests, she could still feel Raithon's presense even though he had expired.
While Zo-Att was thinking, she couldn't help but feel slightly different. As though there was another presense near her... a destructive one. Experimenting, she sent a pulse through a cluster of stars. They scattered, forming a message.
If you seek destruction, approach its origin.
Any force truly interested would understand the message. She turned around and arrived at the asteroid field that she had created, waiting.
+1 PP, new day, 4/7
He turned to the youngling. "Welcome back, child. Forget Grawlf for the moment, he can wait. How have your efforts to creaqte gone so far?"
Sonel felt a cold shiver ripple through its being, making it lose focus on carving the oceanic basins into the surface of the frozen world. A bit of a message came drifting into its mind, but from where or who it did not know.
"....seek destruction... it's origin...."
It halted mid-flight, wondering what those words meant. And then a second shiver overtook it, this one a bit painful. It felt as if Zo-Att's venom was still in it's system.
And... another feeling... a pulling, alluring sensation that it had never felt before. It felt dark. It felt forboding. It felt... good.
Sonel took off into the nothing, these feelings tugging it and pulling it somewhere. Somewhere it had been before.
The asteroid field.
As she lurked within the asteroid field, she noticed someone approaching her. The message must have worked (it didn't seem likely that anyone would come to the field by chance, anyway.) As he approached closer, Zo-Att could make him out to be her nephew, Sonel. How... interesting.
She moved closer to him, and when they were face to face, she asked.
"Nephew of mine... what brings you here?"
"I felt your call. I felt the stirrings of destruction within me." Sonel replied. "I want to know, I want to learn how to create destruction. Something that is antithetical in itself, a creation that destroys. It is intriguing. I would love to... experiment with such power. Invention knows no bounds nor morals, my aunt. Teach me your ways."
He waited patiently for his child, letting a small arc of flame brush himj gently on the should as a greeting. As the flame died, Lohak considered the feel of the stone beneath his touch. Solid, hard, inflexible. His mind drifted back iunto his memories, recalling that he had created water as an opposite to fire. Flame to water, but what was the other side of the coin for earth, for Sorstal.
Intrigued, he gathered his power once more, casting it forth before him, calling again for existence to bring forth a divine spark, reveling in his own power as he ciommanded existence to release a new god at nothing more than his will.
PP Expenditures
2 PP - Ascend God - Air Domain
2/7 PP
As Grawlf moved to seek out Lohak, he turned his eye in its swivel so it was looking at Para next to him, also travelling to find the Creator.
"Para, Mother, I am concerned. Is it right to hide away knowledge? I once thought that the Secret-Keeper was an excellent addition to our universe, for not all knowledge should be known to everyone, and yet..." he paused, thinking, and then continued.
"And yet, I fear that his power if left unchecked will lead to knowledge actually being lost from the universe. Think of his secret, hidden planet... he has erased all record of it from everything but my memory and his own. If he were ever able to go that next step and cause someone to actually forget something they had learned... I fear that knowledge as a whole would be in grave danger. And yet... I am unsure as to what to do. Do you have any ideas, Mother?"
Zo-Att smiled. He was so eager to learn, even after she attacked him. Well, who was she to deny destruction?
"Very well then. There is currently an experiment I am doing in the Forests of Pasha. An agent of destruction, Raithon, was killed there by a creature dwelling in the planet. Cragnas, I believe he is yours. Anyway, even though he was defeated, I can still feel Raithon's presense. I think he may be able to bring further destruction. Do you wish to help me find out how?"
"Ahh yes. Cragnas. One of my finest inventions. I assume he made short work of your demon friend. But I must say I am interested to learn how thise demonic entity can affect something from beyond destruction. I would be glad, nay honored to assist you in this endeavor, my dear aunt."
"Follow me then."
Zo-Att descended to the forests and looked for anything out of the ordinary. At first everything seemed normal. Some trees were perfectly fine, some were burnt, and others were unrecognizable from their previous appearance. After careful examination, she noticed that there was something off about one of the trees. Its branches were limp and its leaves were pale, but there didn't seem to be a reason for this affliction.
"I can feel his presense strongly in this tree. Yet, it seems so subtle. Odd considering what he was originally like... what do you think?"
1 PP given to Sonel
3/7
Brinn hovered for many long moments. She wanted to protect her forest....yet she didn't wish to fight. Why did this goddess of destruction have to exist? Why was destruction such a temptation? Looking at the star field, she saw the history of the cosmos. Each god was made with their own purpose... perhaps destruction was just as important as creation. But she was tired of sitting back and letting this destruction run rampant. First...she needed to know who else there was, and what their purposes were. With Ankirega at her side, she began reading the history through.
PP: 5/7
Sonel concentrated on the tree, feeling the taint within. It seemed that the demon wasn't completely destroyed after all. Ingenious...
"This is truly remarkable. The beast withstood being reduced to almost nothing by Cragnas internal workings. And even after all that it's still trying to destroy the forest. It's just so..." Sonel paused for a second, looking at Zo-Att and contemplating the correct word. "It's elegant. The subtlety, the persistance. I would love to make a being of thiscaliber. One with the same foresight, the same tenacity. And with your own fragment of destruction combined with my own divine energy, we could make that dream a reality. Together we could sire a child of corruption, the likes of which this nothingness has never beheld!"
Sonel drew forth a spark of his divine creativity, combining it with Zo-Att's own destructive energy. The two forces combined together easily, becoming murky and discolored, a deep cancerous purple which began coiling around nearby trees, instantaneously sapping them of their lifeforce. The combined essences then reformed, compacting itself into a tight orb. The orb hung in the air for a while humming ominously before shattering, scattering lethal shrapnel wildly, shards of deep purple essence burying themselves into the forests and the earth. What was left after that violent violet division was a being that floated, unimpeded by gravity. It looked like a child, but was wrong somehow. It's skin was the same purple color, and it would constantly shift between shades. It's eyes were black with luminous yellow pupils, and it had fangs like it's mother.
Sonel was the first to react, floating over to it.
"Welcome to the world, my son." Sonel said with a sinister laugh.
Expenditure
1PP and 1PP from Zo-Att - Ascend God (Corruption)
3/7 PP
Sorstal watched his Creator.
"My attempts have gone well. In addition to the Beacon, which you see hovering around myself, I have also given life. Though my companion, Agon, is not with me at this time, he is an impressive specimen, if I do say so myself. He is a great serpent, formed of stone but given true life by my will. Finally, there is the mountain I have crafted. Like an artificer of nature, I created a grand mountain bordering the Forests on the green sphere. It is a beacon to the might of stone, a great fang which stands stark against the sky."
Sorstal watched as the Creator concentrated. It appears there is more to Exist, thought the god. How intriguing, this immediate Potential...
Remaining PP: (Calculating both today's and yesterday's +1): [2/7]
The young god looked at his parents and asked, "Who am I? Where am I?" Then, he saw the destruction around his birthplace, he smiled. He walked over to one of the plants and poked it, watching it crumble, and almost laughed aloud in glee at the destruction. Turning back to his creators, he asked, "Did I do this?"
If Sonel had a mouth, it would have smiled. The child looked so pleased with what had happened during his creation.
"Yes, my son. You did do this. You are corruption incarnate, your very nature is to slowly alter or destroy that which you come in contact with. Plants, creatures, even gods if you put your mind to it. You need a name as well. Just as my father named me, I shall name you now."
Ther god thought for a moment trying to think of a good name. Abruptly one stood out amongst the others his mind created.
"Sku'byss"
A puzzled expression appeared on the godlings face, which was quickly replaced by a smile and he said, "I like Sku'byss, it is a nice name."
Then, he pointed at his creator and asked, "Are you father?"
Para eyed her son curiously, interestedly, as if seeing him in a whole new light.
"It is enough, I think, that you know."
But then she thought for a moment and added.
"But perhaps a new youngling is necessary. After all, the young can often surprise the old."
She reached out and touched the top of the eye that was her son.
"For me, it is enough that there is knowing. I can see however, that this will never be enough for you."
And with her words, a spark of power flowed to her son, and there it rested, like a tiny warmth, right by his heart.
PP Expenditure:
1 PP Given to Grawlf
3/7 PP
"Yes, my dark child. I am your father. I am Sonel, a great inventor. And that lovely goddess behind me is your mother Zo-Att. A being of destruction incarnate."
Grawlf felt his spirits lifting as Para's divine spark flowed through his core. Her suggestion had put his mind at ease, and a mother's touch had put his soul at rest. He slowed to a stop and floated in the void, feeling that energy infuse him, filling him with a sense of right. He knew what he needed to do, he knew it with ever fiber of his soul.
Suddenly, his eye shone out in brilliant radiance, peeling back the darkness that surrounded him. His arms twitched, curling up as he concentrated on bringing the brilliant beam under control. Slowly, he drew the energy in, focusing it on the patch of the void before him. tighter and tighter he brought the beam, now the brightness of a thousand suns all in one, yet focused on one spot of the void not twenty feet from him. Beyond that, the void continued in inky blackness. It was almost as if Grawlf was trying to burn through the fabric of reality.
Yet, that was not Grawlf's intention... he was scouring away layers of reality, yes... but in a controlled way. Finally, he stopped, the beam only a few inches across now, but impossible to look at. He scoured away reality until he reached its most basic layers, the true backbone of everything that was in the universe. Into this backbone he sent his power and his mother's power, blending their powers with the revealed backbone of reality. Finally, he felt a quickening, and felt something rushing through the hole and out into space itself.
"Hello, Child. Welcome to Reality."
2 PP: 1 from The Sisters: Ascend God: Truth.
1/7PP left
He touched another plant, and openly laughed as he watched it die, before saying to his creators, "Are we alone, or are there... others?"
"Yes, child. There are many others like us. They're not here though."
The god turned toward the sky, indicating that gods are in space.
"We'd have to travel through the nothing to find them. Would you like that?"
As the light slowly dimmed down from the immense amount of power that had been focused down into that one point in reality a form would begin to gather itself. That backbone of light forming the core of the rocky humanoid form that seemed on outer appearance to be the purest of marble stone. But while his body was a pale as the light that had created him, his eyes were what stood out as these pale blue orbs would peer forth from the rocky body to gaze out into the reality he had been born into.
This embodiment of Truth did not hide, indeed every being that existed at that very moment of his birth would feel those blue eyes on them however briefly. His eyes were what everyone would know and be able to see even from a distance, for he was created so that every being in this reality that was being built would be able to spot the light of Truth. But that gaze moved first to those that had created him, Grawlf and Para were able to gaze into those blue eyes as he regarded them.
"Child...yes I as created by the both of you. I am Kouru, I am here in this Reality. My own form of light will shine here."
Sku'byss nodded and said, "Yes, father, I would love that very very much."
On that note, Sku'byss flew up, and exited the sphere's gravity wall, entering the empty space that made up the majority of the universe. At first, he was a little... disappointed... by the emptiness, until he spotted the amoeba.
Looking at the amoeba, a smile appeared on his face. Going over to the simplistic creatures, he tapped one of them. Instantly, the creature convulsed, and grew to a subtly larger size. Then, the creature turned and began to feast on the other amoeba. Turning to his father, he asked, "You like?"
1 PP Modify Creature: Some amoeba become Corrupted Amoeba, who eat on other amoeba.
[5/7 PP]
Sonel watched the child speed off toward the emptiness of nothing. He looked at Zo-Att, wondering what she was thinking, what she thought of their child. He laughed to himself, "It looks like he inherited my energy and enthusiasm. The energy of my old self, rather, from before your venom touched my mind. I wonder what traits he's acquired from you..."
The god lingered for a moment longer before following the child's path into space. When he got to the gravity wall he was amazed to find that it was slowly beginning to disintegrate. No doubt a result of his son's presence. He quickly patched it up and then kept on following Sku'byss' path. Before long he found the boy, toying with a void amoeba. With but a touch the thing grew to almost twice it's size and began headed toward other amoebae, devouring them wholly.
"Impressive child. With the slightest touch you've altered that simple creatures rudimentary programming." the god said in astonishment. "You've got quite a talent, no doubt the same cleverness you share with your mother."
Sku'Byss grinned and said, "It wasn't so hard... If I wanted to, I feel that I could make this whole universe like this... well, maybe not the whole universe. Now, can we meet the others?"
((Notice how he avoids saying corrupt))
'If you'd like to, yes we can go and meet the others. You can even meet the one who created myself. Just follow me."
And with that, Sonel took off in the direction he felt his maker Grawlf. Surely the other gods had all gathered and were still trying to inspire Lohak, whom he'd heard could be rather surly at times, to help them create new planets. He'd turn around every now and then to check if the boy was still following him. If Sku'byss was anything like himself, he'd have a short attention span. With power like the child's he needed supervision. For now, at least.
Before too long they caught up to Grawlf, who was in the company of Maibe and the Sisters as well as a newcomer Sonel didn't recognize.
Sku'Byss followed behind Sonel, occasionally looking out into the distance, distracted by occasional amoeba, but ultimately he managed to follow his creator to their destination. Seeing the other gods, he was slightly frightened, but managed not to show it as he stood behind Sonel.
"Hello Grawlf, Maibe." Sonel called out as they drew near. He nodded to the three Sisters as well. He wondered what they were all doing gathered here. Hadn't they been traveling to see Lohak? And who was this new god who was with them?
"I've come at the behest of my child to have you you all meet him. He is eager to meet you all."
He nudged the new god who was lingering behind him bashfully.
"Come now, no reason to be nervous. Introduce yourself."
Sku'byss came forward and said, slightly nervously, "I am Sku'byss, son of Sonel and Zo-att..."
The Golden Wyrm gave both the god´s a cold, serious though at the same time slightly curious look. She shook her head from side to side and mumbled darkly.
" Three new godlings has been made under my light...each one of them with powers vast enough to destroy everything we has created but at the same time create so much new. "
A faint smile touch the golden Wyrms lips as she spoke once more.
" I greet you both, young Gods...and i implore thee to come to me sometime. This universe is void end empty and I see that we togehter would be able to do great things. "
The Silent One had intended to travel with his Maker to see this god of creation, but he'd given him a look that just screamed 'mind your own business' and started whispering to his own Maker while floating away. Well, the Voice Without Sound was not one to ruin a perfectly good secret... though he'd kill to find out what it was. What was the god of secrets purpose if not to know every secret there was, and make more things secret?
Still, he had other tasks to occupy his mind. It seemed as though none of the other gods were game enough to start altering the icey globes, so the Silent One decided to take initiative with one of the two. This would be the darker of the two globes, though still far, far brighter than his Shadowfell. It was unavoidable with the other gods working on it.
Though it pained him to take over another gods domain, even so briefly, the Silent One enshrouded one of the ice spheres in a thick layer of dirt and rock, layering it over the cold center. Seeing a few void amoeba float towards the sphere, as though attracted to the smell of the water of their dead comrades and prey, the Silent One thought fast as to how to keep them out of the new world. A guardian creature, a gravitational field, hiding it from sight... all of these had been done. He needed something new. Something... dark. But still neutral enough that the other gods would not complain that he took too much of an extreme when he himself had cried for balance.
Gaining a flash of inspiration, the Silent One stretched out his tentacles to great, otherworldly lengths, penetrating the layer of rock at many points on the surface and probing down, down and down until they had penetrated the ice sphere as well. Pouring forth the foulest and most dangerous power he could muster, the ice soon turned a sickly dark green, the outer layer of which steamed out through the newly made vents the god had crafted. Soon, the entire sphere was enshrouded by noxious, poisonous fumes that would make even the hardiest mortal keel over and die in a matter of minutes.
The amoebas paused at the beginnings of the constant deadly smog, not willing to risk entering. One or two fool hardy ones did try and enter the sphere, but they were soon festering on the ground dead, the smog rapidly accelerating their rate of decay.
"There. Now we have the basis of a world of toxin, which is safe from invaders. Fear not though my fellow gods, I know for myself that life is adaptable. We can easily craft creations that can not only live in this field of death, but can THRIVE in it. Now, perhaps it is time someone else-"
Piercing blue eyes flitted across the Silent One's vision for a moment, making him cut himself off mid sentence as a shudder passed through where his spine would be if he had one. This feeling, it was... hatred, rivalry, fear, disgust all mixed in one. It was... his opposite, and equal. Did creation feel this way about destruction? He knew that even his Maker didn't feel this way... after all, she had said herself she did not hate creation, merely saw it as her duty to reduce everything to the void. But this feeling... he wanted this god to go away, die, or anything else to get him out of the way so badly it hurt. But this fear... he would not approach the god for now. He'd wait for the new god to come to him... and try to create enough deceit and secrets that this searing truth was a mere shadow next to secrets and lies.
PP Expenditure
1 PP - Mould (Superior) - One of the ice spheres develops a layer of rock and dirt
1 PP - Mould (Superior) - The same ice sphere grows numerous poison vents, that spits out a foul and poisonous smog from the corrupted ice in the center as it melts and steams away. In turn, eventually enough of this poisonous soaks into the earth that it drips down into the core and refreezes, thus promising an eternal cycle of toxic smog without end.
[2/7]
Hrinori nodded thanks as The Silent One molded one of the frozen cores. The plane was almost complete.
The effort to keep control of the cores was maddening. The-Lurker-in-Dark's contribution had stabilized the one, but until both cores had received enough divine energy to become self-sustaining and self-propogating, the goddess would be immobilzed, overseeing the work.
You call this choking mist poison? Impressive, secret-keeper, but I think it needs regulation, lest this mist come to envelop the rest of the known cosmos.
Hrinori watched as the god of secrets shook with... with something.
What happened, Walker-in-Darkness? Are you ill?
[4/7]
+2 new days
Maibe turned her head to face the God of truth with a curious spark appearing within her eyes.
" I am especially interested in you, Brother. You have something within your eyes that has a promise. After this ordeal is over I will come to find you..there are things I would like to discuss. "
She smiled once more as she turned to her father, preparing herself to follow him.
When Lohak unleashed his power at first nothing happened, the void was calm, creation unimpressed apparently by the wonderful act of divine birth. Then a presence, a disturbance in the nothingness appeared...
... From the void he awoke, called from the endless sleep of non being, from the blank dreams of unexistance, at first he was so weak, the pull of the insignifican particles that filled the void was too strong for him, he felt his form dispersing in the largness of creation, but at the same time he was growing... the pull of nearby worlds was getting stronger but the god power and will was increasing with every passing moment... Soon he was able to pull himself away from the grasp of gravity and had time to expand his perception to the strange new universe that he was now part of...
Eshcal watched the vastness of creation in front of him and he saw Lohak, he felt something familiar in that being, a common energy pulsating into both of them, even if in lohak it was a far stronger and less "diluted" energy.
The wind god begun concentrating, focusing his will to concentrate his own essence into a form that could communicate, with this being. He called the small particles that floated in the void and at first assumed the shape of a formless cloud, then a more and more defined appearance... a feathered serpent, still ethereal for any onlooker but solid enough for Eshcal.
Then he moved toward Lohak.
"So... I feel that we share a common nature, a portion of it at least, who are you?"
OOC and PP:
PP - X(6)/7 (I'll spend some greater mold action to cover the worlds with an bouble of air, the portion of Eshcal attracted by the gravity field of the plantes, how much do I have to spend to cover more than one world? 1 each?)
Sorstal watched as the new god came into Existence. Interesting. I have a .... brother? thought the god. The form became slightly more distinct, and as Sorstal noticed the shape, the Beacon's orbit accelerated in a blur. Another serpentine form? It appears I've set a precedence, mused the amused god.
The new god drifted in front of Lohak, giving off that not-bold, not-timid aura of new Existence.
"Well met, my non-solid brother. I am Sorstal, It of Earth, pure firstborn of Lohak. Who might you be?"
RPP: (+1 for new day): [3/7]
Kouru turned his head away from both of his Makers to inspect those that were nearby and those that were approaching the cluster of gods. Each one of them would feel the blue gaze upon them and without knowing just who he was it ment they might now recognize the way his eyes would seem to learn about them with the blue gaze. Of all of them however his glowing blue gaze would rest upon Sku'byss for a little longer then the others. But his gaze moved on to look at Maibe who had spoken to him.
"This Ordeal? What Ordeal do you speak of?" Kouru spoke in a precise tone that seemed to carry a slight vibration thru the void. But he was suddenly distracted, a very faint smile coming to his lips as the blue light of his gaze turned once again towards the location of The Silent One. He was not sure what he had felt when his gaze passed over the one who wished to remain hidden, and so he was curious.
PP: 7/7 (+1 for New Day)
Eshcal turned toward the newcomer, another being not unlike himself, even his chosen form was not that far from his own, the creature grasp on reatity was probably stronger than his own...
The god reflected about the newcomer question for a few moment, "who am I?" he tought "Have I a name too?" He begun exploring his ancestral memory, the one of the time before his own existance and a name came easily into his mind...
"I'm Eshcal, and I think we are ralted somehow, I feel something familiar in you... and in this other being... Lohak, as you call him..."
Then he lost concentration for a while letting his form disperse and the many particles that composed it begun to form confused images, nearly dissolving in a large bank of otherwordly mist.
Eshcal begun studying the other god, how can he manage to maintain his essence so well, he wondered. After a while he tought that he got the trick and begun shifting, at first assuming again the shape of the large feathered serpent, the first one that he ever used... Taking inspiration from the other god own form... Then his mind briefly drifted to other ideas and he briefly made himself completely different, a giant humanoid with 4 large wings formed fully of mist and vapors...
The Silent One turned to Hrinori, gathering his composure. "I... am fine. It is just that I sensed... something. Someone. It's like... imagine if you could see yourself in the reflection of a pool, but what stared back at you is the exact opposite of what you are, and everything you hate all wrapped up into a single package. But at the same time, this reflection has the power to reach out of the pool and attempt to drag you in and drown you. It is a new feeling... it is familiar hatred, but also... fear."
Feeling the eyes of the god on him again, he shuddered yet again before forcing the feeling to the side. He would not let this new god interfere with his works and plans."In any case, perhaps we could find a god who's domain could help us contain this gas with some kind of... occupation zone layer, or o'zone layer if you wish to shorten it. I would have no idea how to go about this however, without making access to and from the planet impossible."
[3/7]
The Sisters gazed down upon their new son with happiness in their hearts.They knew then that they must stop monitoring the work of their children. They were so adept at creating things of such beauty on their own, they did not need any constraining influence. So Para spoke to her son.
"Dearest Knower, we have been unkind, we must let you Know on your own."
The other Sisters agreed. Panna added her words.
"It is your destiny to learn what must be done on your own."
Pasha spoke next.
"Sisters, let us return to where our work began, to our beloved Forests."
And through the Space they went, leaving their children behind. To the Forests of Pasha they journeyed. When they arrived, they sensed immediately that something was amiss. Upon the floor, writhing in pain, was a poor little Void Amoeba. It thrashed wildly amidst the plants, and the Sisters could see that something was amiss. A great purple bruise-like mark was spreading across its midriff. The thing looked wretched and pale, and somehow rather bloated. The Sisters could feel its terrible agony coursing through the creature's little body. Pasha was the first to act. She swept the thing off of the floor, and held it gently above the ground. Then, Para touched the top of the thing. A sudden stillness overtook the thing, a gentle peace. Its thrashing slowed and stopped, and the agony seemed to leave it. Finally, Panna took the thing, and with a smooth gesture, lifted away the sentience, the conscience, the soul, the beautiful, perfect, happy soul. She held it fondly, stroking it softly, and felt warm inside. Para spoke then.
"It is dead, then."
"Yes."
I think I love it."
This last came from Panna.
"We should protect it, hold it close."
"It looks so fragile.
Within her heart, Panna could feel all at once a terrible sadness, and a lovely joy. But there was a sadness without as well. She looked up, and saw the goddess Brinn staring down upon the Forests. Pasha spoke.
"I will speak to her."
Her Sisters nodded in agreement. Up, up, up, flew Pasha, and she spoke.
"Hello, sad one, why are you so sad?"
PP Expenditure:
3 PP Claim Domain (Greater) Death
1/7 PP
Brinn looked at Pasha, who she now new was her creator's creator's creator. Truly, these women near her were awesome, but she cared not at the moment. "Sonel, who was my friend...he and your daughter Zo-Att have brought a new destruction to the forest. I protected it from her monster, and from it came a new god of destruction! Why?! Why do they destroy the forest? Why did Friend Sonel...betray me?" If the goddess could cry, she would be. She worked to create, as she knew her purpose was, and that which she made was destroyed.
Ankirega stood next to her in the air, comforting her with his presence. Looking at Pasha, he too replied, "Your daughter brings great destruction, yet my friend Brinn is alone in making it- is this how you will it?"
PP: 6/7
Zo-Att was pleased with her son. He sought destruction in a different form, but it served her purposes, nonetheless. She left him and Sonel to do what they will, as she looked at the fruit of her efforts. If any god doubted that she was a force to be reckoned with, it had changed now. The devastation filled her with a euphoric feeling, and she hardly noticed the three Makers approaching the forest.
When Pasha left to speak with Brinn, Zo-Att approached the other two sisters saying, "Hello Makers. What brings you to this once-forest?"
To the Forest Keeper, Pasha spoke.
"I hear your pain, I can feel it, but I know not how to relieve it."
She pondered for a moment.
"You feel lonely, saving this world all on your own, perhaps you deserve a child of your own to share the burden?"
To the Destroyer, Para spoke.
"My daughter, we come to . . . admire your impressive work."
She turned to gaze upon Panna, who was now making her way among the trees, lifting dying souls from their pain and suffering.
"You have discovered the cycle, my daughter, an admirable thing, life follows birth, and leads on to death."
She fell silent as she watched her Sister easing the pain of the dying by offering Death's sweet embrace.
PP Expenditure
1 PP Given to Brinn
"You mean...a new god? I can do such a thing?," Brinn asked. She'd never really thought about that before, but then, if the other gods can, maybe she could as well! A new god of life, to help against the death! "Yes! Can I, Pasha?"
Pasha was overcome with joy at the young goddess' words.
"That is a question that only you can answer my dear."
Kouru let his eyes fall on The Sisters as they each spoke after he had been created, and his blue gaze would follow them as they moved towards the orb that hung in the Void. With not the time to reply to the words he would just float there and contemplate them for bit as things moved on around him. It was then that something seemed to speak to him inside and without question he turned and would head towards the orb. Something spoke to him and told him that this place was important after all.
A blue gaze would fall now upon the orb and the Forests that grew on the surface, Brinn would feel the gaze of Truth, as could The Sisters and Zo-att. His pale form would just float above the world, watching as that voice said there was something he must see to view the Truth.
Sku'Byss shifted uncomfortably when Kouru looked upon him, and was glad that the other young god had left. However, he still felt a little ignored and nervous, so he slowly returned behind Sonel.
Excited at the chance, and Pasha's trust, Brinn swooped down to the forest, where she could feel every young life easily. These young trees and plants remained vital, those that the destructive acts of Zo-Att, Sonel, and their new puppet had spared. Even Panna's deathly touch was welcome for it- life in pain was little life at all, and death was truly an inescapable part of mortal existance.
What she sought was the underlying energy of all the plant life, the essence and soul that had each striving for it's purpose. Each of those sparks, while small, formed a great web that spanned the forest and the amoebas above- a web of life and soul that would help her to create. At the center of the web, Brinn placed herself- infusing it with the divine essence she held and Pasha had donated. The twin sparks raced into the web. If it had been visible, the 'center' would have bulged like a knot- as it was not, however, Brinn only felt the subtle change in the web, of a slowly awakening concious more similar to her own that any god she had yet to meet, save perhaps Pasha.
"Awaken, my new friend....and let us create great life together!," Brinn cried happily. The young goddess seemed as mercurial in her moods as the forest's predictable wildness. Perhaps that was part of her purpose as well, the passion and change she embraced openly. She could only hope that her new creation, the growing spark, would form into a god unlike those that threatened their home. Ankirega lay beneath the suspended web, keeping a vigilant mental 'eye' on the growing roil of life.
"Thank you, Pasha. You have given Brinn hope again.", he said to her alone. "I feel that it is my own purpose to support her through this, but I wish that I too had the power to create. I... do not believe that the creation life is in my reach, only the protection of it. Again I thank you."
PP Expenditure: 2 points to Ascend a god for the Life Domain
Remaining PP: 5/7
Zo-Att smiled cruelly.
"I am not done with this forest yet. It seems like it will be the perfect breeding ground for something I want to try. I should give it a chance to regrow though. It isn't fun if there isn't anything left to destroy. Farewell, Makers."
And with one last happy glance at the young goddess, Pasha turned and left. Para and Panna too followed their Sister. Into the Space they wandered, seeking out creatures dying from the harsh pain of the Corruption. The innocent souls of the creatures were lifted from their broken bodies, and came to dance and play about the Sisters. Taking the form of playful, child-like versions of their former selves, the souls hung off of the Sisters, and capered about them. More and more they found, and eventually they reached the noxious planet, spewing harsh smog into the Space. Here the Dead were plentiful, and the Sisters took many into their loving care. Pasha spoke then.
"Sisters, I feel a great ache in my heart for these Dead, but how can we ever manage to find them all?"
Para had but a simple answer.
"We will do our best."
Hrinori thought back to Lohak, large in her memory, and filled with an inexhaustable furnace of flame.
Yes. Yes, I think I do know something of the sort. In fact, that gives me something of an idea...
Hrinori reached deep into herself, following the chains of her memories back to her sudden inherant existence. It was at that instant, when the forges of Lohak's indominatable creation had wrenched her concsiousness here from... elsewhere. That moment, when the fires of creation had flowed through her...
I see what you mean about using that which falls into the domain of others.
Hrinori coughed, nearly choking with the unfamiliar energies coursing through her. The white hot flames she finally expelled shattered the core of the world, sending scalding water racing across the surface.
As hot steam roiled in the newly formed seas, Sonel's carved basins filled with melting water. The planetoid rose in temperature, until finally Hrinori's energy swept over the surface once more, causing strange toxic plants to compliment the bog with a strange jungle of ferns.
Behold, Secret-Keeper. Lor'quhan.
Hrinori spun in the air, reorienting herself on the Lurker-in-Darkness.
But I digress, Dark One, our work here is done. If you know of such a guardian, no doubt you shall come find me.
[PP Expenditure]
4/7 remaining
Instead of waiting for a response, Sku'Byss pondered over the other new god's, this god of truth's, stare. The stare did intimidate him a little, but he felt that it would be wise to learn more about this new god. After all, they were both very young gods. Already bored of this meeting, he slipped away, following the truth god to the sphere...
Kouru remained floating above the World, gazing down with blue eyes to watch the actions of Brinn as she brought forth a new deity to embody Life. But his attention wasn't completely upon what was happening there, for his blue eyes would turn to gaze upon Zo-Att from above the world. His blue gaze remained for some time as he was trying to determine something about The Destroyer, and when he found what he sought he would float away towards the nearest of the two moons.
Kouru would gaze upon the barren piece of rock and landed upon the surface, finding a nice spot to view the World from his spot on this Moon. Here he would remain and consider what had taken place and what he had felt inside that had lead him to viewing the creation of Life. Finally he understood and would seize upon that understanding to begin his first great act as the God of Truth. His hands would come out and face each other as he begun to pour his divine energy into his creation, the blue light would shine from the surface of the Moon to allow anyone gazing in that direction to know some act was being performed.
When the light faded, a tall staff was between Kouru's hands, it's shaft made out of contensed moon rock from the area. On top however stood a hoop of a strange white metal with a crystal lense inside that hoop, the crystal itself was almost clear but gave a slightly blue sheen when gazed thru. The staff was soon in his hands and with it the Light of Truth shone brighter.
-PP Expenditures-
1 PP - Claim Lesser Domain: Insight
3 PP - Create Artifact Greater: The Oculus Verumi is Kouru's first act towards his goal and duties that come with being the God of Truth. A staff with a hoop on the end with a crystal lense inside, this artifact will increase the distance of Kouru's gaze in search of Truth. It is unknown at this time what other powers it may possess as it is untested.
Current PP: 3/7
Sku'byss watched as Kouru created the artifact. He looked at the staff created by the truth god, and he immediately disliked it. It wasn't... perfect. It needed corruption... but he was to afraid to approach the truth god. Instead he began to move away, but not before leaving a small trail of corruption, hinting at his presence.
Lohak nodded at his new child. "You are a new born god, master of a new element of creation I call air. Your sibling here is the master of earth and stone. I am pleased that my efforts to create you were not wasted, and it is good to meet you."
"I will have need of your help soon, my child, but for now you shoul go and create. Revel in your power."
He turned back to Sorstal. "Now, what were you here for again, my child?"
4/7 PP
Grawlf's iris twitched furiously as spots covered his field of vision and what could only be described as a headache pounded through his entire being. After a long, long moment, he managed to steady his vision. He had no idea how long he had been incapacitated, yet... things had changed. His new child... Truth... was gone. Grawlf had been able to make out the god's appearance as he had exited the beam of light, so he knew how to find him later. The Sisters had left, which was slightly concerning, and Sonel and some new god who was leaving the area quickly had joined them.
"Ah, Sonel. Greetings... I thought you were planning on coming with us from the start! I am glad you managed to catch up to us in our journey. Who is that other one, the Runner? Maibe, Sonel, shall we continue to find Lohak?"
+1 PP for 2/7 PP
"This planet reeks enough of my work." Zo-Att left the Forest to seek out a new place where her destruction had not yet reached. Before going off, she took one last look at her handiwork. Ashes, disease, overwhelming death. It was like a dream come true. It was originally her brother that sought her out to help make new worlds; she supposed it was about time that she joined up with him.
When she found Grawlf, he was speaking with other gods. Not wanting to interrupt, she floated nearby silently, letting her presense be known.
(New day, 4/7)
Hrinori gazed over the toxic world. Tendrils of poison laced the void surrounding it, killing amoeba, algae, and corrupt amoeba alike.
I think Zo-Att would like this.
The goddess drifted away from The-Darkness-that-Watched, eventually spotting Zo-Att rising from the lush planet. Hrinori sped after her... aunt? It didn't matter -- they boh existed -- as far as she was concerned, they were near equals.
Zo-Att. Do you have a moment? I have, with the help of... The Void... created something you should like to see -- a world of poison and rot; a world whose mere presence kills. Surely such a place could benefit from your pets.
Sonel looked at Zo-Att and then back to Grawlf. He laughed in his head imagining how the god would react to what he was about to tell him.
"Grawlf that "runner" was our son. Zo-Att and I have made a child together."
So eager...
"Well, my only pet is dead, but it sounds like a lovely piece of work. Show me where it is; I'm sure I could find I use for it."
The Silent One was fast starting to like Hrinori... the toxic fens that fed off of the rotten, toxic water was a fine addition to the planet. He wasn't sure of the name however, he preferred simple names like the Shadowfell, not fanciful ones such as Lor'quhan. But he had forced the development of the planet in it's rotten direction, it was only fair another had the power to at least choose its name.
"Our work here is done?" the Silent One mused. "My dear cousin, this planet is far from complete! But you are right, establishing it alone has been completed... it is now the right of any god to add to it as they will. Which I think I will do right now," he added thoughtfully.
Grasping onto a nearby floating void amoeba, the Voice Without Sound descended into the toxic field, feeling the creature struggle in his grip as it was deprived of it's precious... whatever it breathed in the airless void. Taking some of the toxic gas and fusing it with the very essence of the creature, the Silent One twisted and contorted the thing, reshaping it until it became an earthbound creature of pulpous sorest and plagued breath. Breathing the toxin freely, the creature ambled along on it's new legs and forearms, ripping out a toxic tree and beginning to munch on it, absorbing it's toxins into it's own systems and expelling an even more concentrated form of the stuff.
It was a good start to a good world... but the other ice ball still required work, as did his Shadowfell. And who knew what the other gods were up to while he partook in this little experiment... then again, the longer he managed to avoid those blue eyes the better.
PP Expenditure
1 PP - Modify Void Amoeba to Spawn Epic Creature Populace: Create the Plague Amoeboids, hunching creatures that look like a cross between an amoeba and an ape with a whole lot of sickness added to the mix. They persist mostly on toxic vegetation, though they're not above devouring meat, sentient or otherwise if they can come across it. They use the toxin they consume to create their own concentrated brand as a defense mechanism.
[3/7]
Hrinori bowed her head, and swam back towards the new planet.
See how even now the amoeba start to avoid the place? Do you not delight in the dead amoeba strewn about the planet?
Hrinori narrowed her eyes.
It would appear the Lurker-in-Darkness is already hard at work expanding this place.
Grawlf looked up to see Zo-Att floating not far away.
"Sister. It is good to see you. What brings you to meet me?"
He turned to address Sonel.
"You and Zo-Att? I am glad to see that you and she are not harboring ill feelings over her attack on you. If I may ask... what does this new god claim as its core duty? I must know this."
+1 PP: 3/7
If the god had a face, a mouth, he would have smiled evilly. His voice became nothing more than a sinister whisper.
"Corruption, my friend. Corruption."
"Are you sure everything is okay, Sonel? You've been acting differently ever since... the incident."
A sudden thought raced through Grawlf's mind. He had assumed it was the attack that had changed Sonel, but... what if it was the cure? Lohak's device was still operational. If Creation had done this to his... their child... It was not creation at all that Lohak had done, it was... Perversion.
Lizt faded back into existance near his creation. So many gods had come into existance now! There was so much happening, and with all of his power returned to him, he was again conscious enough to enjoy the creation of so many different and conflicting elements. Unfortunately he sensed some sort of direction in the creations that were taking place. It grinded on him, and made him spin in reverse direction. He shouted to the cosmos, I Refuse purpose! I refuse ORDER of any sort! I AM THE CREATOR, AND SHALL HAVE MY FUN!!!
He went streaking across the cosmos, spewing disruptive energies at random. He saw the creations of the other gods and scoffed whatever perfection they possessed. He scowled at their angles and rigidity, and decided purpose was far to limiting. Far to Rational. From his eschewed energies came a wave of meteors, which headed straight towards the other gods.
I'mBackI'mBackI'mBackI'mBack!!!
Mold Land(Greater): Space Junk, and an unfortunate though competely attention snaring meteor storm upon the prime planet. Forget catching up (for now), let's have some Chaos.
Current AP +3(S,S,M) -2 = 1/7
Sonel did not see the meteors coming, nor did he feel when the first one pinged against his 'body'. But he heard the sound the impact made and looked around questioningly. There was Lizt, off in the distance hurling these rocks through space. The god manipulated gravity for a second, freezing the stones in mid fall, and then heightened the gravitational forces to such a degree that they rocks were smashed together and compressed into a dense ball of superhard rock.
"Catch, cousin!' Sonel exclaimed, forcefully hurling the ball of stone back at the god of chaos.
Lizt watched as the rock came hurtling back at him. He waited until just before impact and closed his body around it. The stone connected with the Chaos Engine, propelling the plane out of Lizt' body and into space. It took the god to realize that his heart had been knocked clean out. He Raced off to retrieve it.
Good Shot stranger!
Heart and stone in tow, Lizt came down to spaek with Sonel. He realized that where originally he was victem to the laws of Gravity, Lizt now had to propel himself towards this new character. Hello there! Who are you?
With the Oculus completed and held firmly in the grasp of Kouru it ment that his work for the time was done. The feeling of this new Insight that was part of him would flow thru his rocky being and seem to smooth out some of the rough edges to change his appearance by just a small degree. It was then that he sensed Grawlf returning to his senses and floats up from the surface of the moon to go to one of his Makers, his Father if you wished to think of it that way.
But he was not actionless as he moved towards his Father who he was eager to speak with. The Oculus that he held in his hands would shine as Kouru's gaze would peer thru it to let the blue light fall once again upon that which it had not already. First that blue gaze would fall upon The Silent One and the Plague Amoeboids that were his creation. Secondly his blue gaze would fall upon Lizt and the Space Junk he had spread thru the Void.
Finally he would arrive at the gathering that had formed around Grawlf, but he would not interrupt for the time at least. Just letting that steady blue gaze remain on everyone there as he listens to what was being said.
Current PP: +1 New Day, 4/7
The Silent One shuddered as he felt that gaze upon him. Again, those eyes... those damned eyes just wouldn't leave him alone. This feeling inside him... he didn't like it. It tore at his insides, making him shudder, and sweat, and just float away as fast as he could.
But he wouldn't let this... THING have the satisfaction. He'd stand up to him, when they finally met, and he'd prove to be the stronger. This foul, piercing truth would be as a mere insect to the weight of his secrets and lies.
Gathering the feeling inside him, the Silent One added it to his core being, making it of his power the same way that lies and secrets were. Let others feel this feeling! Let him spread to all across this universe!
PP Expenditure
1PP - Claim Domain - The Silent One gains the Fear domain.
[2/7]
In the void the Star-Beasts hovered silently, basking in the glory of the sun, growing and multiplying just enough to keep their numbers as they were at their creation. When a Star-Beast died it vanished in to thin air...but one behaved differently.
When the beast closed it´s unseeing eyes for it´s last time a smile touched nonexistent lips and a thought was heard in an empty mind.
" Let there be life "
And so the shining shell of the ancient beast turned hard and the light was soldified and remade to the whitest and finest of sand. Mountains arose as ancient, dust-covered bones were risen and oceans flooded the world from newly turn up wounds and as the Star-Beast breathed for the last time plants began to grow they were small at first and everything that grew was white as newfallen snow.
White flowers spread open on grass-covered fields, trees pushed their way out of fertile ground as mushrooms, bushes, moss and other plants plopped up wherever they were meant to be. Winds blew through calm fields, foam-covered waves smashed against rocky shores, life sang as the distant sun shone brighty in the sky. Rivers were drawn with unseen fingers, lakes dotted the world´s single continent that floated in the middle of a vast ocean. Everything had a thought behind it. Every river, every lake, every forest and every mountain was connected and had an effect upon the world at large.
White deserts, barren mountains, ever-reaching shores and vast forests covered this world. This was a tranquil world. One of peace, one of silence and one far, far away from the other worlds of existence.
Yrië, The world of the first-born, the world of light, the world doomed to die, Yrié world of winds, Yrië world of distant ancestors, Yrië the world of the serpent had finally been made.
1 PP Mold Land ( Superior ): Yrië, the world of light.
1 PP Nourish land: Creates a vast varierty of plants and spreads them over the planet.
1 PP Mold Land ( Superior ) Creates oceans, rivers and lakes for the planet.
( 2/7)
Brinn saw in the distance the gathering of gods, and her heart ached that she could not be with them. Yet her own forest had been burned and destroyed, and it was her purpose to keep it lush and vibrant. Even if Sonel had abandoned her, she had not forgotten. And she would not miss the creation of the new god of life for anything- even know, the physical air was twisting and shifting, almost like water going down a drain, but at a slower rate. The forest could be rebuilt, and perhaps she could help with the new world as well. But friendships happened once, and missing that was something Brinn could hardly comprehend.
PP: 6/7
"I see. It's potential for destruction is great, but if left by itself, there is nothing to be accomplished. If you really want to impress me, you could show me how to, say, use the toxins here to affect... that new planet over there."
Zo-Att's tail pointed to the newly created Yrie, which was so far exempt from destruction. That would have to change. It looked so peacefull, so orderly, and so safe. It absolutely sickened her. She turned to Grawlf, smiled, and said, "I want nothing more than to see what you're up to Grawlf, and if I could be of any assistance. I was a bit, ah, preocupied earlier, but I have time now. Anything to help my brother."
[5/7]
Sorstal turned to Lohak. It appears the thrill of Creation ensnares attention more easily than even I thought.
"Grawlf has devised a plan to expand the Existence, and establish a balance between Creating, Existing, and Destroying. He asks that you lend your aid in this endeavor. However, it has been quite some time. I wouldn't be surprised if Grawlf sends another messenger to obtain an answer."
The Beacon drifted lazily. Sorstal floated silently. This Potential is slow to be realized. All the more worthwhile, then.
RPP: (+1 for new day): [4/7]
He unleashe3d a deep laugh that rumbled and sparked through the area. "Grawlfr is always planning and thinking ahead, to busy and distracted to enjoy what he is doing. I'll listen to what he has to say, but I make no promises that I'll help him.
5/7 PP
"At the moment, Destroyer, we are off to see our sibling, Lohak. He has been acting in a way very unbecoming his duty, and has wounded Maibe, who if I am not mistaken you have already met."
Grawlf gestured with an arm towards Maibe, then continued.
"Mother was travelling with us, yet she has vanished. Perhaps you could come with us? I worry that Lohak may not listen to only one or two gods."
Grawlf paused.
"Also, I hear congratulations are in order over the creation of a new god of 'darkness', as the Secret-Keeper is so fond of calling them. Your brood grows stronger, sister... forces of destruction to balance those of creation that Lohak has brought into being."
It was then that Grawlf saw Kouru waiting not far off.
"Kouru, Truth-Seeker. Welcome. I am sorry that I was unable to greet you properly before, but your creation left me temporarially incapacitated. I am Grawlf... Knowledge."
Grawlf took a moment to introduce everyone else gathered.
"Perhaps you too should come with us to meet with Lohak. I feel that your keen eye will be able to detect whether he is lying to a better degree than I."
Kouru would remain floating there to listen to the first parts of the conversation before he became part of it. A very small flare in his eyes and perhaps the slightest amount of a smile as the mention of the term Gods of Darkness as well as the mention of the Secret-Keeper. Wondering if that was the one he had sensed responding to his shining gaze in the far reaches.
"Do not worry Grawlf, I simply wished to go and witness something that took place upon the Forest Sphere. I am glad to see that you have recovered from the efforts and I am ready to accompany you to meet Lohak. For I look forward to learning of this Ordeal that The Sisters mentioned." Kouru's voice would seem to vibrate as he spoke for only the second time.
The Oculus that Kouru held would seem to glow very slightly, and once his gaze was cast up into the crystal it ment that his pale blue gaze would shine forth towards one area. The blue shine of light would spread out some to flow over the world of Yrie before the blue light would then fade.
Sonel regarded this strange being with curiosity. His form and demeanor were constantly shifting and changing, as if he couldn't make up his mind about who or what he wanted to be.
"I am Sonel, I am invention. The creative spark of insight and inspiration that leads others to create anew. I have a feeling that we've met before, shifty one, but I cannot linger here much more. I feel an urge to return to the forested sphere. Follow me if you like."
Dropping through the gravity wall Sonel began scanning the land searching for Brinn, and it did not take long for him to determine her location. She was...
What was this power, this presence that had spawned upon the planet. Was it a work of Brinn's?
The god had to find out, and made haste to the epicenter of this energy. Before long, he found her. His daughter had created... something new? Something that was suspended upon a web of some substance...
The god of invention looked upon her work, and felt pride. He was happy that she had made something completely new, something the universe had never seen before.
"Brinn, my child! What have you made here?" he asked excitedly.
Brinn looked at Sonel oddly. In the pulsing of this new life-web, she could see the potential spark of everything around, and Sonel felt...off. Even his form seemed chaotic and unsure. Had Zo-Att's attack somehow split his own life-spark? Curious, Brinn asked, "Are you my Friend Sonel? Or not?"
"Friend? I am your maker, Brinn. I am 'father'. Now tell me what this thing is at once. I'd love to learn more about it."
"So I shall go and begin handling my new responsabilities father, but I'll be ready to answer should you ask for my help..." He replied to Lohak,
turning toward the emptiness of the void... The universe was so vast, so many things has being done while Eshcal was sleaping, he wanted to know them all, to embrace creation with his touch...
"I'll never be able to explore this alone" he tought "Maybe I should do like my father and make more beings to this work for me... Yes... Creatures that can traverse the depths of the cosmo and than come back to me bringing tales of its greatness..."
Then he called the fragments of his essence that was scattered in the cosmo when he was born, and the ones shaped by the other gods to achieve their own ends, from the ones turned into deadly weapons to those forged to bring peace in a land bathed by the sun... He imbued each of these small fragment with a portion of his own essence, awakening their conciousnes, they was not gods of course, but still they could work for Eshcal...
Only when exactly 1001 of these new beings awakened the god of air greeted them all... Touching their mind with his power he asked them to disperse in the universe, to explore it in his name and than return to tell him the tales of their travels.
"Is that enought?" he tought "Well, I'm not supposed to know creation, I have to shape it somehow I guess... maybe these beigns can help me in this task..."
"Should you find a place to settle, one where a portion of me, or you already exists, you should stop to administer its flows, to make creation more glorious... If you find a place that deserve our blessing but that lacks it, you should grant it or at least come seek me so that I can do that in person..."
The new spirits bowed to their master and begun dividing the cosmo among each other, burning with their master drive to explore...
Then Eshcal turned toward creation himself and watched the god assembling around a ruined planet, he moved there trying to understand what happened, forcing his will to maintain his visible shape for the other gods present to see...
There he spotted the two gods among the forest remnant, still beginning to regrow as new life appeared among the ashes... Talking about something that he could not hear... He was eager to meet new of his kind so he moved toward them...
PP 4/7
1 PP - Claim Domain - Exploration
2 - Superior Spawn - Create the 1001 winds, these are minor aspects of Eshcal, each with its own distinct personality (that strognly depends on the kind of air they was created or came in contact with), they are meant to be quite independent creature but loyal to the god of the wind (they should also be opened to other meddling should they decide to do that) what kind of action might them be?
Staring at Sonel, Brinn knew that something was fundamentally wrong with her friend. Not only did he speak oddly, SOMETHING was wrong with him. She couldn't tell what...but she knew someone who could. Ankirega, please go find Kouru of the eyes. He will be able to help, I know it., she told her exarch in private telepathy. Ankirega woofed and dissapeared immediately. As deception did not even occur to her, Brinn replied with some hesitation, "With Pasha's help, I will create a god of life to balance the death that yo....that Zo-Att has spread. The life essences of my forest will create a beautiful new god," she said, unable to hide the pride she felt.
Moments later, Ankirega re-appeared a respectable distance from Kouru, God of Truth, and bowed his head respectfully. "Sir, my friend Brinn asks that you might help her- she fears her friend Sonel is somehow being corrupted into what he is not, a lie of the greatest order." The last he added on a whim, knowing that a god of truth would detest un-Truth. If Kouru agreed to help, he would return to the life-web and help Brinn..
PP: 6/7
"We have waited long enough. We need to do this so we can go on to do more acts of great power."
With the others, Grawlf sped off towards where he could still sense Lohak.
"Creation. We must speak."
Sonel floated closer to the developing godling.
"Impressive. You and one of the Sisters have made life together. But it would be a shame for this newborn to develop incomplete. I could give it more power, make it truly strong enough to bring this... life throughout the nothing. And it would vanguard that life, defend it against those that wish to take it."
"Together we could make this life everlasting," he whispered softly into Brinn's ear, "a life with no end. One which can truly enjoy all of creation for all of time. Would you like to help me, dear daughter?"
Deep within the forest that Brinn protected, grew a tree, taller than any other. From that tree, leaves fell, in unison, swirling around into a few form, a form of shifting, mutlicolored chitin. The swarm, contrary to appearances, shared one mind and one voice, and spent the first few moments of its divinity looking around. Due to its nature, it already knew the names of all the trees and flowers around it, and most importantly, it knew its name.
"I am... Khitis..." the godling whispered to himself.
The godling spent time moving through the forest, reveling in the abundance of plant life around him. He then heard voices, and moved towards them, seeing two other gods conversing. One, he knew of as the voice of the forest, and his creator and mother, Brinn. The other he was unfamiliar with, but the other god seemed to be causing his mother pain. Still, Khitis was unsure of how he could intervene in the situation, and so he just watched for now.
6/7 PP
A little confused as to what was going on, Sku'Byss decided to return to his father, who he sensed was on the sphere below him, along with another god. So, he went down to the surface of the sphere, leaving a noticeable trail of corruption, and in a matter of seconds was standing next to his father, Sonel. Seeing the other god, he stood slightly closer to his father, but he was not intimidated by this other god.
Lohak made an noise indicating irritation as he turned to his cousin. "We were on our way. No reason to rush over here and act like the worlde were ending demanding that we speak. What do you want, brother?"
Brinn stared strangely at Sonel. Her old friend had told her to create works of life... and now he was saying it wasn't good enough? No, it wasn't that.. he wanted to change it somehow. Did he not see the beauty of the life growing right in front of him? She could practically smell Zo-Att's influence, and hoped that the god of Truth above might help her find out the depth of her friend's change. She began to respond to Sonel in the negative, before she was interrupted by two things: another of the new host of gods had come, one who's birth caused slow death to the forest she loved.
She did not hold grudges against it for it's nature- all things had a place, though Zo-Att's heartless and disspassionate slaughter held no similarity to this new god. If it left her precious forest alone, she would hold no grudge- even more as it was her brother of sorts. A half-brother, perhaps, seeing as he was created by the combined work of Sonel and Zo-Att.
The second was the far more important in her eyes. The web of life tensed and imploded, the life spirit creating the god within, still wrapped in the life-web of it's creation. Revelling in the joy of creation and new friendship, Brinn forgot about the two darker gods behind her and went to Khitin, hearing it speak it's name. As the myriad insects scattered along the forest floor, she addressed those that remained, knowing that this god was no more a thousand-fold than she was.
"Welcome to life, my son!," she said, and a wave of peace and harmonious joy spread out from her, touching the forest and the life around and giving it vigor.
Sku'Byss had already been sidetracked from the conversation. He needed for something to happen. He walked over to a nearby tree and poked it, watching it die spontaneously. Yet even that was not enough to sate his curiosity. Going to another tree, he touched this one as well, only this time focusing his corruption rather then letting it flow freely.
The results were... interesting. At first, the tree began to rot, and its leaves fell off almost instantly, and looked in appearance to be dead. But then, the tree's roots sprung out of the ground. The immediatly grabbed a few other plants, pulling them under the tree's roots, and sapping the life out of them to fuel the tree. With each plant destroyed, it grew larger. Eventually, the beast-tree was satisfied, and its roots went back under the ground. But its evil presence was still evident.
Sku'Byss, on his part, practically laughed with joy as he watched the tree turn into its now evil form.
3 PP Spawn Beast (Moderate): The first corrupted tree is created. No name as of yet.
[PP 3/7]
As Zo-Att left, Hrinori found herself thinking. What did she want from that other goddess. What had caused her to share her new world with Destruction? Whim? Destiny? Hrinori laughed mirthlessly at that. Destiny -- what a flawed concept.
Hrinori looked at Lor'quhan below her, and then at Maibe's world, far in the distance.
Nothing too overt -- if she kept her actions discrete, she could gain favor with both Zo-Att and The Silent One.
And Hrinori greatly wanted to curry favor with that one.
Reaching out with her divine being, the eel-goddess called out to the world below her. Not far beyond the tepid equator, ice still reigned supreme. Hrinori called to the frozen rocks, compelling them out into space. When she had enough, the goddess arranged them, sending them spinning eternally in two orthogonal rings around the planet.
Hrinori allowed herself a small, cold smile.
As Hrinori called up the frosted stones, she made sure that some had frozen The Silent One's poison inside the ice. Others had sprouts or seedlings from her own, venomous contributions. And she had called up a lot of rocks. It's not her fault if some got knocked away during the constructing process. And Maibe would just have to curse random chance that some of the toxic rocks were slowly (ever so slowly!) tumbling through space towards her world.
"Now now," chided Sonel, "there's no need to go and alter Brinn's forest. You were born here, remember? This place belongs to your sister and I won't have you going and upsetting the order here."
The god focused his mind, reducing the appetite and size of the beastly tree so that it wasn't much of a threat to the surrounding plantlife.
"Now, Khitis, I am Sonel. I am the father of your mother. And this child with me is your... uncle? Cousin? It matters not. He is family as well. Welcome to the family."
Expenditure
1PP Modify Spawn - Altered the tree thingy so that it is smaller and less violent and hungry.
Sku'Byss frowned and muttered, "But I only made it better... the trees were weak, I made it stronger and better..."
"Mother," Khitis responded, joy evident in his voice at meeting his creator. The other two gods nearby, though... something about them didn't seem right. Especially after one altered one of the trees in the forest fundamentally, making it more... malevolent.
Khitis wasn't out to allow this forest, his home and the place he loved, to be destroyed outright like that, so thus he acted, drawing upon a manipulation of the divine forces he commanded instinctually. A cloud of moths appeared at his whim, flying towards where the corrupt god had passed, the beating of their wings lessening the effect that the god had on the forest.
Khitis then turned back to Brinn. "Mother... These other two... I do not think that they have the forest's best interests at heart."
3 PP Expended - Spawn Beast (Moderate): Purification Moths. These moths have been created by the God of Life with the express purpose of lessening the impact of any force that corrupts nature that they come across.
3/7 PP Remaining
Brinn frowned at the younger god. The destruction angered her, certainly, but it seemed this small god didn't understand what it was he did- the acts of destruction he was causing. "Perhaps, Sku'Byss, but this forest was placed by Pasha, and granted to me by your father Sonel as my charge. This forest is a reflection of life, and when one life takes others to sustain itself, that is nothing evil. But when acts of destruction are for nothing but greed, that causes pain. It hurts me to see my forest hurt, do you understand?" Smiling slightly at Sonel for his efforts, she turned back to Sku'byss. "You wish to perfect life, truly?"
Smiling in joy that her son was so like her, she laughed. "My dear son, everyone in creation has a purpose. Yours is to create and nurture life, mine to give it a home, and this young uncle of yours....he is finding his home. Would you discipline a child for what they do not yet understand?"
Sku'Byss nodded empathetically and said, "Yes, I wish to perfect them by making them stronger, as I did to that tree. When stronger, they can survive longer, and they are far more interesting that way. Stronger is better, I suppose, and all I did was make your tree stronger."
Brinn smiled gently. With her earth sphere body. Somehow. "Yes...you've made that tree stronger, but what of the others? You've built one tree up, and torn down a dozen more for it. How do you know which is right, and what if you make a wrong choice?"
Sku'Byss shrugged simply and said, "In order for something better to be made, inferior objects must be lost. The tree was stronger, but the others weren't and had to be destroyed for the stronger tree's benefit. If the weak remain, the world can't be perfect."
"Do you then feel your purpose is to tear down all life and create a singular entity of all power? What then would it live for? What is the purpose of merely being the only being in existence? For if the 'weak' live, it makes a contrast for the strong to shine. Or perhaps... the weak create a beatiful picture, and your goal of perfection is the intent. We are all made of opposites- you and my son Khitis are corruption and life, yet does that mean you must work in opposition? When two unite and work together, greater works will be made. Just ask your father- he made you together with Zo-Att. Is it then not right to take pleasure in all things?"
Khitis turned to the corrupter god (Sku'Byss). "I believe we have not been introduced. I am Khitis, keeper of life. And I don't like what you have done with that tree. If destroying everything that is beautiful is the only way to reach this 'perfection,' as you call it... Then I don't wish to find perfection. And I will protect the beautiful things that aren't perfect, because I believe that they are worth protecting."
Khitis could feel his sense of purpose grow. Not only was creating and keeping life his only duty now; he also now had to look after it, to keep it safe from those who wished harm upon it.
2 PP Expended - Claim Domain (Moderate): Protection
1/7 PP remaining.
Sku'Byss looked at this... Khitis... and said, "Well then, keeper of life, I am Sku'Byss, god of corruption. Beauty does not matter in the long run. If you think so, then I am afraid you are weak, and must ultimately be purged, along with all others that are weak. You cannot stop me from achieving my goal, keeper of life."
Just to prove his point, he turned to another tree, touched it, and watched it die.
"Ah, I see Sorstal has found you. Yes, I do wish to discuss that with you as well, but I have come for additional reasons... reasons that could not wait. Lohak, you are Creation... it is your duty to create, not destroy, and yet that is what you have done, doing injury to my daughter in the process. I came to ask you, Creation... why did you do such a grand act of destruction? You, especially should not venture too far into our sister's methods, lest the balance between the two of you shift too far."
"Hm? Oh, you mean that annoying light that blinded me, surrounding me on all sides. It was an irritation, that was preventing me from doing more than flailing about. I eliminated it. Sometimes, you have to destroy to create. My first creation was a force of destruction, cousin."
Chuckling, he continued, "And this 'duty' you speak of? What I need or do not need to do are none of your concern. I don't come to you questioning why the stories written in the stars are vanishing do I? Is it not your duty to insure that the knowledge is preserved? Then are you not slacking in your own tasks?"
"Let us continue to more pressing matters. Why have you sought me out?"
Zo-Att followed Grawlf to meet with her other brother. Something he said confused her however.
"Brother... what exactly is this darkness rubbish that you're talking about? And I see no reason to congratulate me, it was your son's idea. Funny what's happened to him isn't it?"
Brinn's fury ignited, and a blast of magical energy shoved Sku'byss away from the forest. She was dimly aware of Cragnas plodding along towards them in reaction to the evil and dead trees, and of Ankirega's knowledge of what was happening. At this point, she didn't care what happened. Moments later Ankirega was behind Sku'byss, as Cragnas approached from the side.
"You so brazenly destroy our forest after all your warning?! You are truly like your mother, Sku'byss!"
Sonel put himself between Sku'byss and the attackers.
"I'll have you stand down now, unless you want me to crush this planet. You two are siblings and I'll not have you fighting! Sku'byss I want you to apologize to your sister for breaking her trees right now."
Lohak's gaze narrowed as Zo-Att approached. "Welcome, cousin. It has been a long time since we last parted ways. What brings you before me?"
Sku'Byss made a face and said, "Never. She is against all that I am, but if you insist, I will stop destroying her forest."
Closely followed was him mumbling, "For now..."
The Silent One, now accepting fear as both is essence and weapon, floated up above the toxic planet in time to see his companion- odd, he'd never really thought of any of his other gods so closely- decorate the planet they worked upon with great rings of ice. Ice that seemed to be... something more as well. This Hrinoni was very interesting indeed... their domains were practically alien to each other, but they seemed to have a very similar way of thinking.
"A very interesting addition to our world, friend," the Silent One voiced without voice. "I must admit, I'm starting to like this toxic paradise almost as much as my Shadowfell. However... I fear that if I tamper with this world any more than I have already without the input of some of the brighter gods, they will claim I am tilting the balance too much in the way of destruction of darkness. I foolish claim, as if balance actually means anything in a universe that can be reshaped at a whim. The only reason I even raised the issue was so they wouldn't spread their cursed sunshine and love throughout the universe."
The god looked off into the void... his yellow eyes attempting to pierce through the distance. He knew that his new foes was off in that direction... and it was time to give HIM fear. "I am sorry friend, but I have some... business I must attend to. It's time for fear to spread it's dark taint over the 'shining beacon' of truth, before it starts piercing veils of darkness it had no business doing so."
With that, the Voice Without Sound began to float through the void, intent on finding those blue eyes... and possibly poking them a few times.
[3/7]
Zo-Att nodded at her Creator brother, "Yes, it has been a long time. I came to Grawlf asking if there was anything he wanted done, but he was going to see you, so thus, I am here."
Brinn felt a white-hot anger burning inside her. Her friend had left her, become someone far more like Zo-Att...he gave birth to this Sku'byss, a brazen killer... Zo-Att unleashed Raithon on the forest....Why!? Why did they all do this?!
"SONEL!! You are not the friend I knew! My friend would not protect a rabid destroyer! I know Zo-Att did something to you, and now you're with her in causing destruction! Is the creation of life not good enough for you now?!"
"I've... changed? I don't know what you mean. Creations are important to me, and both you and your brother are my creations. The last thing I want is for my creations to try and destroy each other."
"You used to find joy in everything, Sonel! You were happy, excited, full of energy and life! Now you're but a shallow shell! Remember how you tasked me to protect this beautiful forest? You loved it, and now you work with Zo-Att to destroy it, hand in hand, before creating this foulness! Don't tell me you haven't changed, Sonel, don't tell me...!"
He nodded. "Our core desires may differ cousin, but we are not as incompatable as some might think. Sometimes, the most efficient way to create it to destroy, and the reverse is also true. Try to remember this in the future, and I think we may not be the enemies many might think"
"Of course. I harbor no ill will toward your prowess of creation. It is only the others that may feel that there is some war between the forces of creation and destruction. I only wish for an end at some point, but I can be patient." Zo-Att was silent for a moment, trying to remember something.
"Oh yes, I don't know if you've seen Sonel recently, but he has gone through quite an odd change. He has taken a liking to me, which I find unnatural. You may wish to talk with him."
Sku'Byss felt like yelling out loud, but instead he replied calmly and coldly, "I will have you know that I do not appreciate being called 'foulness'. In addition, I am nothing like Zo-Att. She destroys for destruction's sake. I destroy to perfect. I do not seek total destruction, I seek to strengthen existence by eliminating the weak..." he paused, before continuing, "Such as you."
"Knowledge is not always best displayed for all to see, Lohak. Sometimes, those who are the keepers of it must decide what to share and what to keep to themselves. As long as the knowledge is not lost entirely, then my duty is still being done."
Grawlf considered Lohak's explanation as to why he had destroyed the sun.
"Yes, your first creation was a destructive force, but it was not the destruction of something. I do understand though why waking up in the middle of it might have given you reason to lash out, though. I am satisfied... although Maibe may have something more to say on the matter later.
I have sought you out to ask you and your children's help in creating a series of worlds upon which the gods can create, destroy and modify life and creation as we please.
I seek a balance between the forces that create and those that destroy, one which we can experiment with over and over again on world after world. Which is stronger? Are Creation and Destruction truly opposites, or is there something that connects us all?
Zo-Att... I had heard you were uninterested in this venture... is your presence here an indication that you might be willing to reconsider?"
"I agree, there must be an end. Nothing is forever, not even, I beleive, us. When the time is do, I do not begrudge you your right."
Listening about Sonel, he perked up. "That is the godling you attacked, is it not? I imagine you had your reasons though. I built the artifact he inhabits to heal him, but it will take time. Your essence thouroughly infiltrated through him. He should be watched by those who know him best, and restrained when he acts out.
"I was occupied at the time, but I am ready to create and destroy at the moment. Destruction and creation can work together, but they can also conflict. Poor Sonel has both conflicting in his mind right now, but I suppose that means he will think twice before annoying me. Very well, did you have something in mind to make, Grawlf?"
He nodded once more. "Yes, yes. Such conflicting forces will result in wild persaonlity shifts, but they will subside and normalize over time."
He looked at Grawlf. "You hardly need my assistance. I can look out over the existence and see many budding worlds, slowly growing and shaping to divine will. You just said Zo-Att was not interested. If destruction had chosen not to act, and you seek balance, why would you seekto bring me in, withoout her assistance as well? Perhaps your intentions are less noble than you claimed, and you simply seek help, rather than just balance?"
He stretched his arms, eyes opening wide. "It seems my sleep did more to me than I had suspected. Something to consider later."
He looked at Grawl again. "There are many children out there now that may or may not help you, but myself, I've little interest in the endeavor. I have other things that are occupying my thoughts at the moment, something I desire to create. However, my new creation may be of assistance in your own tasks."
He turned to his present child and considers Hrinori and Eschal, so far away. He stretches out his hand, sending a message away to them. "Children, I have a small task for you. I request a small portion of your power for a new creation."
As the message jetted away in a streak of flame, he turned to Sorstal and Eschal. "I shall need a small boon from both of you, a shard of your power to twist and combine into my creation. Would you both kindly oblige?"
He cast a glnace at Grawlf. "Perhaps you'd like to contribute as well, brother?"
Hrnori barely suppressed a smile as she watched The-Lurker-in-Darkness slither into the void.
Does my new secret empower you, Watcher?
Hrinori looked over Lor'quhan, mentally nudging the planet farther away from the second icy core, still empty and unused.
She had plans for these spheres. It would be no good with them quite so close. And thikning on that...
The goddess exhaled, ice dripping from her snout in a great torrent. She let the ice float in front of her for a while, considering. Eventually concluding that she had no better ideas, Hrinori snarled at the frozen water, shaping it into a much smaller image of herself.
You... I have no name for you yet. But you will prove useful to me in times to come. Now, follow.
Hrinori swam through space, heading for Maibe's world of light. She would seek the goddess out, and see how her world developed.
PP Expenditure
-3 Ascend Exarch -- this small, unnamed ice exarch is a dragon eel, like Hrinori
[0/7]
Hrinori was halfway to Maibe's world when she felt the summons.
She stopped abruptly, considering.
If the goddess of light wanted more words with her, she would have to have them later.
Traveling in a new direction, Hrinori came upon a celestial gathering.
Sorstal. Lohak. Grawlf. Zo-Att. And... someone new. Greetings. I am Hrinori. Who are you?
Not waiting for a response, Hrinori turned to Lohak.
As promised, I am here to provide a favor. I apologize, Lohak, but I wasn't expecting your summons. I have just finished creating... her.
Hrinori's eyes fixed on the small ice serpent, gaily circling amongst the gathered gods.
It will be some time before I can create again -- though if time is of the essence, perhaps she can provide my power instead?
Sonel became more and more puzzled by his children's behavior. Why didn't they get along? They were arguing and threatening one another and he didn't know what to do. And what was thistalk of 'change' Brinn was throwing at him. He had not changed at all.
...had he?
His daughter spoke of him finding joy in everything, and being enthusiastic and energetic. That didn't sound like him. But the more he thought about it, the more hazy, nearly recalled things tried to push their way into his head. The spheres... back when there were three of them. Him running all along the surface of one, and him creating gravity. And suddenly, it came flooding back. How he had been, how he had acted before his run in with Zo-Att. And how he had changed afterward. It was almost like night and day how different he had become in that amount of time. What had Zo-Att's venom done to his mind? And... and...
He had fathered a child with that very goddess. He had felt the tug of temptation, the seductive pull of destruction and the goddess who was it incarnate. He felt it still, even now pulling at his heart like a bard weakly plucking his lute. It was part of his nature, after all. To know both the beneficial inventions and the harmful ones. But his mind was in conflict, he could barely control himself as his whims overrode his common sense. There was still something very wrong inside of him, something that could never truly be fixed.
But it could be kept in check. He just needed help. He wearily turned towards his daughter, his friend. "My child, my best friend Brinn. I need help. I need your help to fix me."
"Yes... let us just say our children are a little more... impulsive than I am. As for seeking you out... I did initially seek you out for the hope of balancing you and Zo-Att, yet by the time I got her reply, Sorstal was already on his way. Of course I could use the help, but yes, my request is far less... urgent. You are just far better at this than I am, and, I can only imagine any of our children would be... I sense some of their worlds... they are horribly out of balance. If not your abilities, I would ask you lend your advice to the world-builders, both light and dark.
Oh, Zo-Att..." Grawlf said, turning to the serpent. "You asked earlier about why I refer to things as darkness and light... that is not my choice, but rather the Secret-Keeper's... he has claimed the world is divided into groups of forces of light... creation would be more accurate, and dark, which is your own destruction. The terms are not perfect, but they have been adopted."
"Lohak, what is it that you are creating?"
Sku'Byss glared at his father and mumbled, "I don't have time for this..." He hated this planet anyway. He sensed there were places he could be otherwise. Thus, he once again left into the empty space, leaving a trail of corruption behind him once again.
He sensed a place that was a nexus of corruption, a place where he could better 'perfect' the universe. Thus, he came to the sphere surrounded by poison. There, he began his first great work of corruption.
Out of the corruption in his soul, he created a dark-purple triangular gem, which literally radiated the essence of corruption. Later, this foul artifact be called the Heart of Corruption, but for now it was Sku'Byss's tool to be used at his whim. He grinned, wondering what he should do first with it.
3 PP Create Greater Artifact: The Heart of Corruption, an artifact that provides Mold Land PP.
[PP 0/7]
Sku'byss had finally left, much to Khitis's relief. The other god, Sonel, who referred to Brinn as his daughter, remained. At the moment, his mother was attempting to get Sonel to remember something, and at long last, she seemed to be getting through to him.
Khitis then moved next to the elder god. "Sonel... grandfather... I am Khitis, life, son of Brinn. Is there anything I can do to help ease your suffering?"
"A place where creation runs rampant, a place of infinite possibilities to spark my mind and challenge me to try new things in new ways with new resources. Seperate from this world, so as to not offend our deasr sister here, but still connected to this place, that it may be used for many purposes."
5/7 PP
"That sounds like an absolutely facinating project, brother. Would you mind if I watched to see how it is done?"
He smiled. "Why not contribute cousin? Lend me your strength to this task."
"I am not sure that my power would be useful for this endeavour, brother... I am neither a god who controls a mighty force of creation nor one who knows how to weave those forces together into a cohesive whole like you yourself can. I fear all I would provide would be organization and structure to the whole thing, and in something where Creation runs rampant, as you say... I fear that would be counterproductive. If you can think of something that my... flavor of power would be helpful with, I would certainly consider contributing."
"My cousin, your contribution is easy. You expect me to perform a duty of my sphere, an act of creation. I will do so, but your gift of power would aid me in my action."
Grawlf's eye narrowed.
"It is not my duty to coddle those who shirk their own. It is my duty to know and to learn and to record and to create those that wish to know and learn and record.
Answer me this. In this place, would it be possible to set up for me a place where I may experiment with the raw forces of the elements? Perhaps somewhere where creation runs slightly less... rampant? If that would be possible, I would be willing to provide my aid."
Brinn's anger evaporated in tears as she saw Sonel struggling with himself. Whatever the evil Zo-Att had done could be undone! The old Sonel she'd loved was in there; she was barely aware of herself racing towards the other god, her physical form sloughing away like wet sand into the sky. Within moments, all that remained was a small, brightly glowing flame the size of a fist, which travelled the life-web towards Sonel, gathering it's energy as she went. The impact was gentle, the carress of a warm pool on tired muscles. Brinn's love for her creator sunk through his very being, finding his core spark quickly. The forest god slipped through, finding the scenery....different.
An inky blackness had transposed itself on colorful whirls and brilliant patterns, smothering the childish side of Sonel's soul. She had no idea what it was, precisely, but she could feel the intense heat of Zo-Att's destruction marking him. Looking around, she marveled at the art within momentarily. There were things there she could put no name to, giant wheels of gleaming, solid earth spinning in opposite directions, pulling each other along in an endless loop. Tubes and loops spiraled in seemingly random directions as far as the eye could see, and a myriad of other contraptions vied for the space of Sonel's corrupted soul. The most important thing, though, was the building below; as complex as anything she could imagine, black spires twisted in on each other in impossible forms, as dulled streaks of red, yellow, and purple raced in circles around it. The complex was walled, with the spires, platforms, and random contraptions seeming more like fungal growth than a part of the building itself.
Stopping for a moment to concentrate, she could feel the faint pulsing of Sonel's orange spark through the life-web, and within moments her own golden-brown raced down towards a gaping hole in the wall. Even if she had not meant for the life-web to serve this purpose, or even to remain past the time Khitis's growth had taken, she was glad for the natural energy the web offered. Her own power coiled downward like ivy, crashing through the inky blackness guarding the door. She felt panicked- suddenly she could feel nothing, but icy daggers clenching in all around her! Struggling with all her divine might, she felt a slight give, and collapsed to the floor just inside. Staring at herself, she had taken the form of something entirely new. Her previous earthly form was nowhere to be seen- instead, she had taken a more violent appearance- her face was much like Ankirega's, though slightly shorter, and what was more surprising, she stood on only two legs. Taking a precious minute to examine herself, she found that she might have been a copy of Ankirega, but for her upright posture and curiously digited fingers. Was this some effect of the older Sonel's creativity, or of the darkness that smothered everything it touched? She was nude, but had no worry- it was perhaps better to say that 'she' was a neuter, not that these terms meant anything to her.
Shaking off her confusion, Brinn took a few tenative steps in her new body, feeling the rough pads of her feet on the damp stone floor. The walls around seemed slanted inwards and around, and in front of her curved another wall. From this wall she could see many more paths branching in every direction imagine. Reaching into nothingness for the life-web, all she found was the tiniest gossamer, little more than a thread of aether left of the vibrant life energy. Had the darkness done this? No wonder Sonel had suffered so.. Setting herself grimly, she set out in a random direction, at a loss without the help of her guide. It seemed she ran down the halls for hours, and had she been down this same dank hall before? The dark stone ran on forever, blending in seamlessly with itself in endless loops. This couldn't be a creation of Sonel's spark- the god was too simple and chaotic. Even the once-beautiful creations outside were more of a child's design than this....and that meant one thing. The darkness was trying to stop her from reclaiming her friend.
Opening her unfamiliar mouth, she tried calling for Sonel, but the oppressive blanket around her consumed her words before they left her. Gagging, she grimly looked around for any sign. With no light and no break in the pitch-blackness, she couldn't see anything. She had to have another option... collapsing, she knelt on the ground and closed her eyes, searching within herself and Sonel's soul for the light.
here....
Her eyes flew open as she dashed towards the sound of the voice. Right...left...left again; the sound of the voice carried her on as she searched for her beloved creator.
brinn...
She tried calling again, to the same lack of effect; with no other option, she pressed on, trusting her instincts and the faint call to guide her. And all of a sudden, she found herself in the center of the maze. A pulsating mass of blackness surrounded a still form- one she could only presume to be Sonel. "SONEL!," she shouted, a sudden and vibrant purple light blazing forth in fear. The darkness cringed back, then leapt at her. Backing off in surprise, she unleashed a glowing bolt of green energy which struck the glob to no effect; as soon as it left her hand it grew immediately duller, losing it's force. The glop leapt again, pinning her the ground as she screamed silently in agony. The daggers crept up her leg, ripping into her mercilessly. "No! NO!," she screamed, determination flooding her. The light from before grew, shoving the dark mass off of her as she ran to Sonel's still form and scooped him up. Looking around her, she saw four identical exits... and a shadow blob ready to attack again.
here....brinn...
The wall behind her glowed red for a moment, and she was sucked through, back into the 'outside' of Sonel's soul. The god lay collapsed next to her; she felt little better than him at that moment. Around her, the darkness began to drip off the surrounding area, leaving gray smears amongst the colorful whorls. The original designs began to show again, scarred by the experience but slowly repairing themselves. Behind them lay a cord of the life-web, sheared by the dark portal Brinn had went through, yet vibrant beyond. Grasping it, she slowly pulled them to the material plane, where she could vaguely here the voice of her new son.
Suddenly, a bright amber glow left Sonel, passing briefly through Khitis before landing behind him. From the glow stood Brinn, blinking in disorientation at the abrupt change. Turning quickly around, she saw Sonel and Khitis. Sonel was blinking sleepily, and she raced up to embrace him. "Friend Sonel! I'm so glad I found you again!"
Share Domain: Love
Claim Domain: Healing (2 PP)
PP Remaining: 4/7
"Cousin, I will shirk what ever tasks I wish. I am not bound to duty as you are. However, if you'd like to tamper and experiment with what I create this day, do so. I could not care less."
"We are all bound by that which defines us, Creation... you can run from it, but it will find you in the end.
I will lend you my power, Lohak. When you do create this new place, please keep in mind my request when you are placing everything in its place."
Grawlf reached within and pulled out a shard of power, pushing it gently towards the other god.
1 PP given to Lohak
1/7 PP.
Sorstal listened to the exchange between the Giver and the Wise One. It appears there is much... history here that I am missing, thought the god. No matter. Sorstal floated forward.
"I have been waiting to see this Potential realized. I shall gladly contribute to the Giver's designs."
Focusing his will, Sorstal formed a shard of stone, deep silver in color. The stone hovered a few feet away from him. Gazing into the essence of the rock, Sorstal imbued a tiny fragment of his might. A wisp of opal mist formed around the stone, and it pulsed once before dimming.
"Lohak, please accept this fragment of my powers. Though but a fraction of my strength, I hope it is enough to suit your needs."
The stone, pulsing twice more on its journey over to Lohak, came to rest within the other god's reach.
*1 PP Transferred to Lohak (The physical form it takes is merely a channel through which Lohak can absorb Sorstal's energy)*
RPP: [3/7]
Hrinori hung in the void.
I have rested enough. Now you may have a sliver of my power.
[PP Expenditure]
+1 new day
-1 given to Lohak
[0/7]
Kouru had remained there to listen to the discussion that was taking place, his blue gaze resting upon everyone from start to conclusion. His pale form then moved forward and he would offer forth some energy as well to Lohak's project that he spoke of. "I simply wish to see what Truths come of your project."
His blue gaze would turn to look over Sorstal and then Hrinori where his gaze stopped. She had asked who he was and so he would answer her now. "I am Kouru, Truth-Seeker..or at least that is the title that Grawlf gave me. I will now depart, if you wish to speak to me more then you are free to come with me. Though I believe someone is coming to find me, and I don't want to disturb Lohak's project." his voice vibrating thru space as he spoke and he would begin to float away from the gathering and back towards the Moon that circled the Forest World.
It was there that he would wait to see who would come with him for one reason or another, waiting for The Silent One.
-PP Expenditures-
+1 from New Day
-1 given to Lohak
4/7 PP Total
Maibe stared at Lohak, her face had grown cold and her posture stale and unnatural.
" You burned me, Lohak. By killing my creation you injured me...I demand an apology for what you did! No...truth to be told that apology would have no meaning to me as it would come from a fool! You destroyed my child because it irritated you! The mere nerve in those words..."
The golden wyrm roared in anger, shook her head, turned her back on Lohak, her father and the others and flew away. Her heart was cold, her front-paws were clenched and trembling and tears slowly made their way down her cheeks.
Her child was dead and he treated the whole situation as if he had swatted an irritating bug. He had destroyed a being she had loved and cared for, one she had poured her very essence in. This sin would not be left forgiven, this sin would call for revenge later on, a revenge the Golden Wyrm looked forward to with a cold smile playing upon her lips.
*
When the poisonous stones began to get closer to her beloved world, a lone Goddess appeared to stop them. She was surrounded with a golden gloria of fire and light as she swept forth against the oncoming barrage of stone, ice and poison. Anger filled her as thoughts of ignorance and murder filled her heart, her eyes shone brighter then ever before, her wings spread out and she prepared herself for what to come. Her jaws spread open and divine fire flowed forth, consuming stone, ice and poison and reduced Hrinori´s filth to nothing but dust. Once more someone tried to destroy what she had created, once more one of the other gods tried to rip her beloved creations apart.
" No..no...no...I don´t want anything more of this. "
She mumbled hoarsly, turned her back on the universe and flew against her beloved world.
Eshcal was tired, he travelled the scarred world for a while, waiting for the gods to finish their conversations, he visited the poisoned forests. watched corruption run unecheked, he spotted the birth of life, Eshcal was impressed by all of that. As he got ready to meet the others of his kind he grew distracted he lost his focus and form, for the first time he fell asleep, his essence dispersed over the broken, but now flourishing world, shrouding it into a gentle embrace, the wind flowed between the growing plants and the beasts spawned to protect it could smell the presence surrounding their world.
As the god slept his mind drifted beyond eternity, watching memories of things of the past, things that will happen and others that will never be, was all of this just a product of his mind? Or maybe something else...
During his sleep he catched glimpses of the conversations above, without being able to fully understand it, he tought that he might help with that, but... later... the dreams was so enticing... Briefly he woke up when the sun goodess came and than went away, her essence was familiar too, maybe a sister... Eshcal sensed briefly her anger and at the same time the gentle winds of her golden realm, perhps they might help her...
PP (4/7)
+1 PP (New day)
1 PP Mold Land (superior) - Create an atmosphere around the forested world as a side effect it works like a "protective" bouble around the planet.
"I'll help too. It certainly seems the popular thing to do."
+1 PP new day
1 PP given to Lohak
5/7
He felt something clasped around him, jarring him awake. What had happened? All he could remember were bits and pieces and fleeting images. Colorful things of wondrous proportion and hue, massive workings and a smooth oppressive obelisk which pulsed to a disturbing rhythm. Had Brinn gone inside of him? Inside of his mind? Was that even possible?
He could remember things now. The way things were in the beginning, how he'd run and laugh and create with reckless abandon. The founding of the forest, his creation of Cragnas, and most wonderful of all Brinn's creation. How he had loved her, his daughter and his friend. He felt the love growing inside him now as he felt her embrace wrapped around him. He felt... he felt healed! The god did a quick once over, not detecting any damage whatsoever. Somehow, his daughter had healed him.
The outside of the Revita-Core split, and Sonel emerged looking a little ragged but altogether fine, Zo-Att's venom finally purged from his system. He looked down upon the beautiful goddess who had dared to enter his darkened mind and pull him from it's depths. This creature who had healed him of his affliction and only wanted love in return. Love which he would give readily, which filled him the more he looked at her. Now she clung to him as tightly as she could, as if she were...?
Sonel laughed to himself. She had fallen unconscious holding on to him, poor girl. It must have taken a lot out of her to do whatever it was she did. They both needed rest. With the remainder of his power Sonel did two things. He animated the Revita-Core, making it into something akin to Ankirega. He directed this new servant, which he named Gierce, to seek Grawlf and tell him where he was. As he watched the metallic sphere speed off into the distance he gathered the remainder of his power and whisked Brinn and himself somewhere else, somewhere they could rest and talk. But mostly rest...
Expenditure
3PP Ascend Exarch - Gierce, the Revita-Core animated and given sentience. Provides Modify PP.
2PP Create Plane (Lesser) - The Retreat, a small demi-plane within one of the moons of Verda. It's interior functions as a scrying device which allows those inside to view specific locations.
0/7PP
Ankirega smiled a wolfen smile, watching his friends Sonel and Brinn dissapear into another plane. He was glad for her and her accomplishment; even if he hadn't known Sonel himself, he'd trusted Brinn to know him. And it seemed her gamble had payed off... and what was more, he it felt like an invisible dam had burst inside of him. Pure energy swirled around in him as Brinn's power was transferred to the great wolf. Inside him, something else grew, a happy feeling for his dear friend. Without thinking about it, he threw his head up and howled long and loud, a clear note of joy.
Ankirega gets god-powers!
+1 PP for a new day: 5/7
After Maibe spoke and left, Grawlf waited for a long moment.
"I think I too will take my leave to let you work, Lohak. Please remember my request."
Grawlf bowed slightly to the gathered others, then sped off into the blackness, travelling aimlessly.
((OOC: Come find me if you want me))
+1 PP for 2/7 PP
"Mother? Grandfather?" Khitis was confused, as Brinn and Sonel simply vanished before his eyes. The godling was confused, wondering where they'd disappeared to, and why they'd left him behind.
For the moment, he decided to remain behind on this world, looking after it while his mother was away. As he continued to explore his home, he came across an expanse of devastated land, where it looked like two great creatures had battled, leaving nothing but charred earth and broken vegetation.
"No. No place is beyond redemption," Khitis whispered to himself, as he focused his divine will on the place. Grass began to sprout up, as nature rushed in to fill the void at the life god's command.
+1 PP (New Day)
1 PP Expended - Nourish Lands: The area devastated by Raithon has now become a Savannah of sorts
1/7 PP Remaining
He felt a distant voice within the dreamscape, a familiar one... he wished to stay but he does not want to break a promise, the first one he made when he come into existence, the one to help his maker... "not this early at least" he tought with a wicked smile forming in his plumed face as his form easily emerged from the newly created atmosphere. He looked briefly at the globe of air that surrounded the forest world "Not bad considered that I have made it by falling asleep... I guess. However it still requires a lot of refinement..." Eshcal tought, then he called for some seven among his most favoured sons, already attracted by the the new air shell these creatures was waiting for the master to wake up...
He spoke to the strongest among them, a large spirit, named Fos'zen, the being took the form of a large misty dragon and bowed to his master "You and your bretrhen shall stay here, to guard over the dome that I have cast around this world and to fix it and guide it, protect its essence... And at the same time observe from the sky the land below, seek its children for me and bring me back the tales of this part of creation..." The spritit smiled to Eshcal and without another tought he begun to work with the other winds to perfect their master creation...
Then Eshcal ascended to the sky, where the gods was assebled, shaping a gift to the maker with his will, at a first glimpse it looked like a large egg-shaped gem, but made of many small intricate pattern of wind and solid air. Within its complex partterns of power he placed a small amount of divine will, so that everything created by it will be subtly reflect the touch of the wind god personality.
He looked at the assembled gods present there and he spoke with the voice of the wind...
"Some of you I already know, the others I have never met, a few I feel share a common maker. For those I have never met I think I will not be educate if I don't proceed to a presentation. I'm Eschal, son of Lohak, master of air and shepard of winds.
I came here to bring a gift of power to my father as he requested.
But I would love to make aquaintances with the others, among you, I presume, are the creators of this world that I visited and I was intrigued by..."
Then he took the egg filled with his power and he threw that at his father, "Catch it father" he told while the orb increased in speed in its flight toward Lohak.
PP (3/7)
1 PP - to help Lohak with his project.
He was getting closer. He could feel it. Closer and closer, and closer again to those horrible blue eyes that made him feel so much hatred, so much fear, so much desire to force those eyes to close forever. Alas, if only it were that simple... odds were they were equals, and the Silent One had no interest in fighting a battle he wasn't completely guaranteed to win. Patience was a virtue... but he must meet this god of truth before he could even begin to try and overcome him.
Finding the moon on which Kouru currently occupied, the Silent One descended onto the barren surface, naked to the void. Looking about him, he saw nothing, and so floated along the surface, until... his enemy was there before him, on the other side of a ridge he'd just floated over.
Deciding that blatancy did have it's purposes sometimes, the god 'swam' swiftly, landing in front of the blue eyed truth seeker. "So, here we are," he began. "An odd place for such a meeting, but I have to say I approve... this would be awkward in front of the other gods. Sorry for being late, I had some things to take care of."
Up until now the Silent One had seemed quite pleasant, and spoke as though this weren't there first meeting. But now that the pleasantries were out of the way, his voice without voice took on a more accusatory tone. "So. You're the one who's been sending visions of blinding blue eyes into my mind. You're the one who was created purely to cancel out my work. A mere reflection of myself inverted, how very original."
[4/7]
Kouru was not surprised, and wouldn't have been even if The Silent One had tried to sneak up on him. He had after all known that someone was seeking him however and had assumed it to be the one that now stood before him. His blue eyes continued to go as he looks upon the one that was opposite him in some ways, letting him speak for as long as he wished to before replying to just what he had said.
"I am simply Kouru, the Truth-Seeker. I have no hostile intentions against him for while I oppose part of you, I am also very much the same as you in some ways. Tell me, Secrets can hold the Truth can they not?" Kouru's voice would seem to vibrate thru space even though there was no atmosphere. "I shed light on the Secrets so that even those secrets are known to more then just one. For what would happen if you were the only one to know something and you vanish? That Knowledge and the Truth it holds to this reality would vanish as well."
The Silent One's eye narrowed. "Then so be it. A secret that is spread too wide is no longer a secret, it is merely a fact. The very nature of a secret is that it lies on the precipice between truth and oblivion... to go either way is to destroy it's very nature. I would rather it disappear forever than become another mere fact to add to the pile."
Turning his back to the god, the Voice Without Sound gathered his thoughts before continuing. "There are many gods of opposites in this universe, my copy. Destruction and Creation. Life and Death. But they are different in one critical means... they can actually work together. You can destroy in order to create, and create in order to destroy. If life didn't die, it would run rampant and be agony for all living things, whilst if all died death would have no purpose. But we... we're different. You cannot lie to tell a truth, or tell a truth in order to lie. You cannot gain insight into a secret and keep it a secret, nor can you create a secret in order to gain insight. We are, and probably always will be, at cross purposes."
Turning back around to look at the god, the Silent One continued. "You are... strong. I know this. I won't destroy you, because you're too powerful to destroy without risk to myself. But mark my words, you do NOT want to get in my way."
Kouru just watches The Silent One as he responds to what he had said. "If you believe we are that opposed then it is you that have decided that. For as I said, I have nothing against Secrets since they keep Knowledge and Truths from some or most. The fact that the Truths continue to exist however is my only focus however. There will always be Secrets until The End"
Kouru's voice then took on a slightly deeper tone. "But your talk of lies and deception, that however is something I am opposed to. Deliberate attempts on ones not to block the seeking of the Truth but to try and delude another into another course. Secrets can be kept with or without Deception. With that said, that is what we'll be opposing each other over."
As Khitis suddenly left, Ankirega realized that in his excitement, he'd forgotten all about Brinn's child- in a sense his own brother. Dashing through the now-sparse trees, Ankirega found himself staring at a field of lush grasses, unlike the pure forest that Brinn had favored. Walking up behind the god of life, Ankirega noded to him when he noticed. "A nice job, brother. I do not believe we've been introduced- I am Ankirega, a part of Brinn and one of her friends. Much like you, Khitis.," he said, smiling.
The Silent One merely laughs. "If you believe that secrets can be truly kept without deception in order to keep them so, then you truly are young. However... I admit I am relieved you do not oppose my secrets. It will be a great relief not to jump through hoops in order to keep my precious secrets away from the eyes of those that are not meant to see them."
The god hesitated for a moment in thought. This seeker of truth would not interfere with his secrets, because he believed that they did not counteract his purposes. So, if he could convince him that lieing had it's merits... he'd be completely in the clear. "My copy, perhaps you would bless me with a small shard of your essence so that I may make a point?" The Voice Without Sound implored. "It need not be a literal embodiment of your power... even a mere echo of truth that I might use so that my creation is not completely tainted with deception would serve my purpose."
As Fos'zen, Eschal appointed overseer to the winds in the living world, was navigating the forest, gently guiding the flows of his chosen wind he sensed another presence there, living, yet divine, its essence was stronger than the spirit one, much more akin to the one held by his lord Eshcal. A massive beast was there, it felt like the essence of the whole forest was focused on the creature. Thrilled he called the other winds there, the invisible spirits made a large circe around the creature. Then Fos'zen moved in, calling on his essence he formed a shape for himself, one of a misty dragon and moved to see Ankirega and allowed the beast god to see him...
Where Fos'zen flew, the seeds of the flowers and trees followed, littering the ground with new life-potential. Immediately they took route and began growing. Ankirega looked up to see the misty dragon. Was this some creation of Hrinori or Maibe, the serpentine sisters? Or someone new? "Hello, oh creature of the sky. Were you looking for me?"
"I was just exploring this place, my friend and I sensend that you are a being of some importance for this forest, its like a portion of it flows into you... I'm Fos'Zen, Duke of the northern wind..."
Ankirega smiled at Fos'zen. "Greetings then, if you bring no harm. I am Ankirega, a part of Brinn, god of the forest, and one of her friends. She is currently with Sonel in another plane, and until then I act as this forest's warden."
"For sure I meant no harm, I was sent to protect and to perfect, I feel that there might be something true in your world as this place resonate with your essence... I don't know who these gods might be, perhaps my master Eshcal does... but he is not here right now.. What can you tell me abou them?"
He replied, meanwhile the other 6 spirits closed by, still invisible, but they could not avoid to disturb the peace of air and create a powerful breeze among the thress.
The continued breezes caused new life to spring up everywhere as Brinn's seeds finally spread. Given a short time, they would all grow to become duplicates of the plants they came from. Noticing this, Ankirega became excited. "What is it that you are doing? The flowers and trees move, yet nothing touches them?"
"They are my brothers and sisters, here with my same purpose, my lord Eshcal created a dome to cover this world, a shield of air might not be as protective as a barrier of stone, but it'll still help preserving and fueling the beauty of this place..." he paused brìefly "Maybe my master and yours can end up becoming allies somehow, as they share similar motivations, for this place at least. Tell me more of Brinn so that I can report him when I get back..."
Ankirega nodded, glad that someone harbored no grudges or ill intent for Brinn. "As I said, Brinn is my creator, or at least I am a part of her. She was created by Sonel to protect and nourish these forests around us, and made me to help her. We fought off Raithon, a monster created by Zo-Att, and then Sku'byss, a corruptive god. Sonel stopped her from destroying him, however, and....I'm not entirely sure what happened. Brinn dissapeared, and then re-appeared moments later. She embraced Sonel, who acted much more like his old self, and then fell asleep. Strangely, she seems to be taking a new form now... somewhat as myself, but with two legs instead of four. While she rests, I will guard these forests and caretake her power."
"Well I have a little proposition that will help us both in our work, as it seems we are both tasked with a similar purpose, what if we help each other in our missions, you can show us the wonders of this world and help us should an enemy of this place approach and we will do the same, granting you a vision from the highest spheres of the world and brining life to the far corners of it... as I have to admit, we have done by mistake, buy I guess you can teach us better..."
"So similar to the master" commented Vestriss, another of the winds, taking care not to be heard by the stronger spirits and Ankirega "finding a way to ease his work "sharing" with others..."
The wolf that Khitis had seen moving through the woods was apparently another child of Brinn's, although the godling had not realized its power until it spoke to him. "Well met, brother Ankirega."
Before he could continue to speak, another came to see the forests, introducing himself as Fos'zen. The two conversed for a while, until Khitis decided to speak up.
"Greetings, Fos'zen. I am Khitis, son of Brinn, the keeper and protector of life."
The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was her. Her body so close to his, her head laying on his chest was warm and...
Chest? Body? Sonel quickly sat up, amazed at his new form. His head, which had a layer of short brown hair on top of it, these mechanical things that felt like gears protruding from the sides of his head, rotating slowly. He could feel them click together inside of his head. It felt pretty good actually, and the click-clack noise they made was like a metronome he could hear in his head. Almost soothing, in a way. He looked at his body, which was a hazy greytone at the moment, and then his hands. He looked at Brinn's body as well, noting the similarities between the two. The hands, both with five digits, the torso had similar musculature, legs, arms, neck, for the most part their anatomy was almost identical. Save for Brinn's head, which was quite different from his own. He ran his fingers through her hair and a burst of emotion flowed through him. It was the love he had for her come flooding over him again. He felt the gears spinning faster in his head, a warm feeling flowing through his new form. His body even changed color, going from that smoky grey color to a deep orange red. He continued stroking her hair, or fur? It didn't matter. He lay next to his beautiful goddess and waited for her to awaken.
--
The newly-made exarch whizzed through space, looking for this Grawlf fellow his master had sent him to locate. He happened across a different god first. One of purple skin and yellow eyes. He called out to the deity questioningly.
"Hello? Have you seen a "Grawlf" anywhere?"
Brinn moaned from next to Sonel. She felt utterly weary, as if all her strength had flooded out of her. Her new arms and legs felt heavy somehow, and were hot and shaking. And yet there was a brilliant warmth shining down on her. One that she could feel soothing her tired body. Strange... that she should consider her physical appearance such a part of her. She was vaguely aware of another form beside her, but she couldn't yet move.
"Sonel...?"
"Here my love, my beautiful goddess. Sonel is here with you."
He takes her hand in his, fingers interlaced between each other.
Brinn tried opening her eyes, but found that her new form could not readily adjust to the change from dark to bright white. "Sonel, I'm so glad...you're back." Suddenly, a streak of wetness fell from her eyes and made a wet path down her face. Reaching up in surprise, she wiped it off. What was this body?
The sudden influx of power overwhelmed Lohak, his form twisting and distorting as it struggled to burst free. His eyes widened, then his physical form exploded, molten rock and metal washing outwards.
In the center of the explosion, the powers he had recieved, aspects of water, earth, fire, and air melded together into a sphere, united in a single place at a swingle moment, each in perfect balance with the other. Such an anomaly could not be maintained for long though, and the sphere burned a hiole through existence, forming it's own seperate existence about it.
Within it's own world, the sphere continued to quiver and shake as the perfect balance it had held twisted and bent around itself, disrupting and swcattering across the plane. The four elements, in constant turmoil, struggled for domination over this new world, stretching endless into the horizons, locked in eternal battle. This was an infinite place, where creation struggled withitself, changing and altering itself, where the elements battled and vied for dominance over the others. This, was the Elemental Chaos.
And within the center of this endless stretch, the middle of eternity, Lohak reformed, returning to his senses, holding within two hands a large hammer and within another a large orb that seemed to flicker with inner light.
Stepping between the cracks of existence, he returned to the assembled gods. "It is done. A realm filled with an infinite source of creation, reforming itself in an infinite number of ways at all times. Draw upon it for your creations, taking from it's infinite supply of the basic building blocks behind all things.
PP Expenditures
4 PP - Create Plane - Elemental Chaos
2 PP - Create Artifact (Moderate) - Valimandar (Combat)
3 PP - Create Artifact (Greater) - Primordial Eye (Mold PP)
3/7 PP
Sku'Byss turned to look at the one who had disturbed his solitude. He was rather surprised by the thing's appearance. It looked and sounded just like Sonel, but apparently did not recognize Sku'Byss and felt... well, off. So, he asked, "Sonel? Is that you?"
Gierce looked at the young god with some confusion, although it had no real means to show it. The boy had mistook him for his own creator. Maybe I could have some fun with this, Gierce thought to itself.
"Yes, my boy. I am Sonel. Would you like to travel with me to find a Grawlf?"
-
With his free hand Sonel wiped the liquid from the goddess' eyes. These form were truly astonishing, he thought to himself. He placed his head upon Brinn's chest, feeling the warmth she generated as she lay next to him. Clasping her other hand in his he lay there like that, feeling her breath in her chest heaving up and down. It was almost like a lullaby...
Sku'Byss looked at 'Sonel' and said, "You can't be Sonel... I think I would be able to recognize my own creator, but your similarity to my creator is uncanny."
"Alright youngling, you've figured me out. I am Gierce, a servant of Sonel. My creator has been repaired beyond his need of me, but rather then discard the Revita-Core he gave it life. And thus I came into this world. The last direction Sonel gave me was to find something called Grawlf. Do you know where I can find one?"
Hrinori watched Lohak emerge from the rift.
Lohak, I've seen you twice now use that strange, shimmering stone in your work. First Sonel's body, and now part of this plane. Grawlf has such shimmering stone things as well. Pray tell, what is this shiny stone, and why do you use it?
Kouru would watch The Silent One for a moment as he asked for energy for some purpose and cause of this he was silent for a time as he thought. "While I would not consider it a shard of myself, you can consider it having some echo of me lingering on it." With those words he would hold out his hand to offer some of his divine energy to The Silent One and while aware of possible deception, he was also curious as to just what creation had come to the front of The Silent One's mind after their conversation.
-PP Expenditure-
-1 PP that is offered to The Silent One
New Total: 3/7 PP
The Silent One took the offered power, holding it in one tentacle. "Thank you for the gift, my copy. I did not expect you to contribute much more than a symbol, so I am glad to see your eagerness... or curiosity."
Reaching into the moon, the Silent One drew forth a single, large stone... before slicing it precisely down the middle. The two half stone were then molded under his power, twisting and reforming into two identical stone statues that somewhat resembled his amoeboids on the toxic world, albeit standing more stern and tall, and looking hewn of rough stone with no trace of tentacles.
"Behold: brothers. The one on the right shall be known as Rodix, and shall tell naught but truth. The one on the left shall be known as Xidor, and shall tell naught but lies. Now, you may wonder why I created such creatures... the answer is simple. I want us to... play a game. Yes, that's as ample term as any."
Turning to look at the god who was his equal and opposite, the Silent One smiled as wicked grin as well as he could without a mouth. "I shall use these brothers to convince you that lieing is superior- that is, equally as important to truth. And you shall do the same. If either of us managed to convince the other, that other shall avoid interfering with the victors works even when they directly conflict with their derogative. If however it's a tie... well let's agree to be polite on those few issues where we quarrel, hm?"
PP Expenditure
3PP (1PP from ArenTrel) - Ascend Exarch - Create the Brothers, a pair of living stone constructs. One cannot lie, and one cannot speak the truth. They also provide mould PP.
[2/7]
As Grawlf traveled through the heavens, eventually he came upon a very odd place... A world, venting death and decay in the form of noxious fumes. Curious, Grawlf floated closer and down into the core of the planet. "ICE!" he shouted, surprised. That was the last thing he had expected to find underneath the toxic fumes.
Grawlf continued to float, following deep passages into and through the icy core and through to the other side of the planet. There, he stopped suddenly. Two forms floated not far away. One resonated with the power of a god... the other was... different, somehow. Not as strong as a god, far more powerful than a vokdara... Grawlf moved until the others noticed him.
"Hail. What brings you to this place of noxiousness?"
+1 PP (3/7 PP)
Gierce flew over to the god who called out to him and the purple child-god. He bobbed up and down and flew around the god, excitedly asking, "Do you know where I can find a Grawlf?"
Upon further inspection... Grawlf recognized the thing floating about him... it was that thing that Lohak had given Sonel. what was it doing floating about?
"I am a Grawlf, strange one. What... are you?"
'A ha! So you are the Grawlf I was sent to find!", the exarch burbled joyously. "I am Gierce, humble servant of the god of creation. You may recognize me as what I once was, the Revita-Core. Master gifted me with this sentience before he went away with his lover. Or daughter? I can't quite recall correctly. But he told me to find you and tell you what has become of him."
Gierce paused for a moment before continuing, looking around the planetoid. "What is this strange place we meet upon? It's not similar to the green one I came from?"
"We... can do that and not give those we create full godhood? Facinating. I will have to try that out at some point. So... what is this that is happening with my Son? Lover? I am confused by your words... what is a... Lover?
As for this planet... I think the Corrupter might be able to tell us more about that... this seems his sort of place. Well, child? Where do we find ourselves? Does it have a name?"
Sku'Byss interrupted and said, "This place, my friend, is nothing short of a paradise, Look at it as it kills life that approaches it... this poison sphere is much more to my liking than that weak, green place. I do not know its name, or of its creation, but whoever created this sphere... I would like to meet him."
"Yes I don't quite understand myself, but from the state of mind he was in when he made me I can tell you this much. The goddess of the forest and Sonel are in love. 'Love' seems to be an affinity for a being taken to the extreme, an almost vital need for someone. It doesn't make sense to me, but that's what it is to the best of my knowledge. He and the goddess have gone to a demiplane of Sonel's creation for... some reason I can't quite fathom. But he sent me to tell you this:"
The exarch pauses again and then recits the programmed message for Grawlf in Sonel's own voice.
"Grawlf, maker, I am fine. Brinn has healed me of my affliction caused by Zo-Att and we are now in The Retreat, a safe haven where we can rest and recover from this ordeal. Do not try to look for us, we are fine. We are in love. If you need me for anything, Gierce shall act in my place."
Gierce floated in place a moment more before returning to normal. "There's the message, Grawlf. Would you like to hear it again?"
"No, Gierce... that is okay. If Sonel wants some peace and quiet, then that is what I will give him. Clearly he must be at least mostly better if you are here. Do you mind?" Grawlf floated forward and lifted his arms, holding them a few inches from Gierce's body and twitching them back and forth.
"Ah. Okay... Oh, thats clever. Ah. I see how he did it. How very creative of him... although, I should not be surprised. It is his duty, after all. So, Gierce, what are you to do after you have found me? Surely Sonel has other plans for you."
"An interesting question. He didn't tell me anything else. So I don't really know what to do until he returns. He was invention, so until he comes back I guess I'll fill in for him. Do you have any ideas?"
The Golden wyrm roared as she flew over the verdant fields of her world. She smiled as she flew faster and faster for each passing moment. Oceans, mountains, forests, deserts, swamps, everything passed by under her. She a whole world to herself...one untouched by the others, one free of fickle and cruel Gods that destroyed with no reason other then strenthening their own egos.
Maibe suddenly stopped in mid-air, standing in the air hundreds of feet above a vast forest that consisted of enormous trees, with black bark, white needles and a very perticular smell.
" I enjoy my world. I enjoy the lonliness and the peace it brings...but truth to be told, I wouldn´t mind some company...but who of the Gods would be mature enough to help me with my treasure? "
The golden Goddess shook her head, closed her eyes and thought for a couple of moments.
" Grawlf, beloved father. Sonel, sparkling cousin and Kouro, brother with all-seeing eyes. I invite all of thee to my beloved world and beseech thee to add something to it. I...miss you...please come to me and at least for a moment hold me company. "
She whispered and her whispers travelled far and wide across the universe until they found those she had intended them for.
Grawlf opened his mouth to speak when suddenly he heard another message coming from the heavens, this one from his daughter. He listened, then turned to the exarch.
"Gierce, there is one calling both your master and myself. If you have naught to do at the moment, then come with me in answering her summons.
As for you," Grawlf turned to Sku'byss. "I take offense at your words, corrupter. It is not your duty to revel in the deaths of others. It is your job to taint, to mutate, to alter, not to mindlessly destroy. Keep your duty in mind, child, lest I find myself forced to make you follow it. Come, Gierce, we go."
Grawlf sped off towards Maibe, arriving before her world in short order. He floated over the surface for a long while, contemplating.
"What to make..." he mused to himself.
Maibe´s world was a blue world covered with vast seas. The only major landmass was a lone, vaguely spirally formed continent covered with vast amounts of snow-white vegitation. From the sky grey mountainchains were visible, thread-thin rivers, tiny dotted lakes and vast forests that covered the northern parts of the world. The south mainly consisted of plainlands, minor deserts and a few minor swamps.
Other then the plants there was nothing else that was alive. No insects, no algae, no animals of any sort...the world was empty and silent.
Maibe appeared at her father´s side. Her eyes were solemn and serious as she gave him a faint smile.
" Welcome father.."
Kouru's glowing blue gaze would rest upon what was being produced by The Silent One before him. The two stone constructs were somewhat similar to him, though alittle rougher and not his pure white color, and as they were given names his eyes would glow briefly before returning to their normal level of light as they look back to The Silent One. "A game? Well what shall be the goal of this game then? Along with any other parameters for this" asked Kouru in his usual vibrating voice, not agreeing to anything so easily.
He would then hear the message that had been sent to him from Maibe and listens to it. Hearing the others that had been also asked to come and just gives a nod of his head. Looking back to The Silent One to await his reply now about the game and to see when he shall go respond to the message.
+1 PP, Total: 4/7 PP
The Silent One explained. "Simply put, we will each have three chances to prove that deception or truth is superior, using the good Brothers here to demonstrate our point. The first god to not have a suitable retort to the others argument loses. Obviously we cannot truly judge the merits of each others arguments, so we shall simply agree that a suitable retort must consist of more meaningful substance than 'nuh huh!'. To demonstrate, I will go first."
Reaching a tentacle onto the ground, the Silent One scoops up a small, gray colored rock, before showing it to the twins. "Now tell me, twins, what color is this rock?"
Needless to say Rodix replied gray... but Xidor lied, claiming it was blue. The god asked the same question half a dozen times, and each time Rodix replied gray... but Xidor replied blue, red, purple, magneta, teal with specks of yellow and most magnificently royal purple, with stripes of red and green and amber running along it's surface in a delicate display of color.
"I have used the Brothers, now to make my point... Truth is a chain, that binds people to a single way to see and describe things. Isn't Xidor's descriptions so much more wonderful, so much more imaginative? But Rodix is damned to merely reply gray, gray with a side of gray and a pale gray sheen. Doesn't the fact that lieing allows one to create a more exciting vision of reality a fair point?"
Gierce whizzed through space behind Grawlf, looking all around at the creations of others. Amoeba, clouds of algae, orbs of flame, stars, meteors, a strange oozy-looking green thing. There was so much out there, and it was all wonderful and different. He hummed happily to himself and abruptly Grawlf stopped, landing upon this new place.
"Hiya!" he said to Maibe when she appeared next to Grawlf. "Wow, you're pretty!"
Brinn felt happy for even the lightest touch, as long as it was her Friend Sonel. She would go through any number of trials to bring him back, if need be. But for now...it was warm, it was comfortable, and she had her friend. Within moments, she'd fallen asleep again.
PP: 6/7
"Very well, and here is my response then. As it can be seen, the stone is indeed grey as it was told by Rodix. Since you can see the stone we know what the Truth is and what is the Lie. There is no Deception here with the Lie that is being spoken and in so saying I will state again that it is Deception that I am against. It is clear that while Lies might not be the Truth, they do not always support Deception. As for your final point of the shades of gray, perhaps it is simply because Rodix simply does not have the personality to view it as such, he is an automaton." Kouru would speak his side of things in response, waiting to see just who this first question when in favor of.
"But for me." Kouru glides over to the Stone Brothers and would address them. "Rodix and Xidor. I come up to you to ask you where the four of us are currently located, what sphere are we standing on?" After stating his question he would let the two brothers reply, with Rodix stating the truth that they were on the surface of a moon, while Xidor would state that they were on the surface of the sun instead.
"Now tell me Silent One, say I was a young godling who does not know this reality, and that this moon being as visable as it is makes it certainly not a secret. What purpose would this Lie have other then to deceive the godling?"
As the other god approached the wind spirit could sense its power, the same that was imbued in the seeds and that flowed trought the woods. The misty dragon bowed to Khitis in sign of respect.
"I'm honored of your coming great one... How can un humble servant help both of you?" replied Fos'Zen looking toward both gods
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Meanwhile Eshcal watched his Lohak display of power, "well his display of our power I guess..." he tought. The new plane looked wonderful, filled with potential unbound, "I should send some of my winds there too and maybe this could be the right place to settle one day..." However there was something more he was thinking about his mind still drifted back to his dreams, a place that he found much more attractive even in confront of Lohak new plane. "I must find a way to understand it, maybe I'll have to seek the creature that briefly appeared in my dreams..."
PP 4/7 (or less there might be some correction to past expenses)
+1 pp new day.
"I confess that your counterpoint is... adequate. Lieing and deception are indeed separate, and so my first point is mute."
The Silent One thought for a moment, before replying to his opponents point. "A far better question would be, why not deceive the godling? Them believing this moon is the sun poses no harm, and might actually create some amusement from the misunderstandings it brings. Humor after all is largely based in deception. And how is telling them that this is indeed the moon help them any more than telling them this is the sun? They can see what this rock is, so is not the name a purely optional element? A flower by any other name is just as sweet, after all."
Floating back over to the Brothers, the Silent One thought for a few more moments before whispering something in each of the Brothers ears. Then, he floated back over to his opponent, looked at the Brothers, and asked Xidor. "Now tell me, Xidor, what secret did I whisper into you ear?"
Needless to say Xidor lied, stating that he'd whispered something about Cragnas really being Grawlf's step cousin. Turning to Rodix, the Silent One then asked. "And you, Rodix?" The construct seemed hesitant to answer. "You are compelled to answer." Finally, the construct reluctantly stated that the amoeba had been a creation of the Silent One, crafted to be a creation that destroyed.
"Do you see?" the Silent One asked, turning to look at his foe. "Only through deception can a secret be kept. And through your own admission, secrets are not a bad thing, for they contain the truth. If everyone spoke naught but the truth, how could they keep a secret? What's more, before you argue about only telling a part of the truth, is that not in turn, even if it isn't a lie, a sort of deception?"
"As long as you add to the the forest in a way that will do it no harm, that will be enough," Khitis answered to Fos'zen. He then looked towards the heavens, seeing many bodies floating in the space above the green world. An idea came to his head, and Khitis left the world he had been born on for the first time.
After reaching the asteroid, the god of life began his work. He pointed at one of the asteroids and focused his divine will, and at amazing speed, an enormous green stalk sprouted from it, growing towards another of the large asteroids until it reached there. Its top then sprouted roots, rooting the stalk into the second asteroid. Khitis then willed another stalk to grow from that asteroid towards another, and repeated it for some time.
At last, most of the asteroids were linked together by enormous green, natural bridges. "This place has been barren for so long. I believe it is time for me to change that." Khitis murmured to himself.
"I shall refer to this place as the Isles of Wonder," the god decided after thinking for a while. He remained with them for a while longer, looking over places that he could improve.
1 PP gained (new day)
2 PP Spent - Mold Land (Greater): Khitis has connected all of the major asteroids of the destroyed sphere with Bridge Stalks. It is also now referred to as the Isles of Wonder.
0/7 PP remaining
Ankirega looked aside, past the misty dragon, into the forest. The rapidly growing plant-life was glowing green before his divine eyes, and if he focused he could see faint connections between each. This, then, was the Life-Web, the inadvertent creation of Brinn when she created Khitis. The hint of a plan was forming in his mind...
"I believe I know what I shall do next....however, I feel there is something else that I must do first. This planet has no name, yet a name has great power. I believe that it should have a name before I act.," Ankirega said, as much to himself as to the others.
Searching within himself for the appropriate name, Brinn felt the divine sparks within him acutely. They felt like Brinn's...yet they were somehow different. Perhaps his channeling them affected the flow of power? At any rate, that was a question for later.
"Verda. I shall name this planet Verda, for it is truely rich in life."
Verda....a beatiful name for Brinn's beatiful world. Even now it was recovering from it's own downfall, as grasses sprung up around the energized Ankirega and the seeds approached full growth. Yet there was much yet to be done. Having thought about what Brinn desired, he knew that she had loved the few rivers Hrinori had placed, and the great mountain that even now towered overhead. He could feel it within him...he had the power to create whatever he chose. Dashing suddenly away towards the center of the forest, he revelled in the feeling of the breezes against his fur. This 'air' was truly a creation to complement Brinn's own.
Reaching the center of the forest, where Khitis had been born. Ankirega sat thoughtfully in the clearing. He could just barely make out the Life-Web pulsing in front of him, linked indelibly to the life of everything in this forest- even himself. Reaching inside himself for the power Brinn had given him, he took hold like a potter and shaped it to his will. Without concious thought, he howled again; this was no simple howl, however. Those who listened could truly hear words in it's cadence.
Through, o'er the forest,
Sing and play your song!
Across death's test,
Lay the life anew!
From nought came us all,
Formed from void and life,
Feeling nature and it's call.
Dance, Life, grow!
W'thout your song,
The forests grow barren,
Sing you now along
The tune Brinn began!
Suddenly, an onrush of power shot out from Brinn, striking the glowing web and dashing off in all directions. Pure white light blazed around the forest, striking the trees in relief as the sparks flew along invisible threads. Ankirega staggered as his power shot out of him, stunned as his fur suddenly bleached out into a pure white as the power sought escape. In a burst of light, the Life-Web shownclear; yet untangible but quite real.
PP Expenditure: 4 PP
1 PP: Claim Song (Lesser) Domain for Ankirega
3 PP: Create Greater Artifact: The Life-Web (Grants spawn PP)
Remaining PP: 3/7 (Going through PP Expenditures, I found I shorted myself a day's PP earlier)
Sonel awoke once more and stood up, looking at Brinn as she lay asleep on a bed of soft leaves. He looked around the plane itself, its stark walls, floor and ceiling. He desired to see something more interesting than this. With a wave of his hand the ceiling became a view of Verda from above, the walls and floor reflecting the starry visage of space. He went back to Brinn, and tried to wake her.
"Brinn, my love. Look!"
Blinking, Brinn came to at Sonel's words. "Wha...Sonel?" Sitting up, she marvelled at how fast she was regaining her energy, though she realized that the divine spark had diminished somewhat. "What is it, love?"
"We can see your beautiful forests from here. It feels like we're adrift in space even though we're not. Our feet are firmly planted on the surface of this little plane of existence while we can watch the land. It's exhilarating!"
He ran over to Brinn, lifting her into his arms like a groom carrying his bride. As he looked into her eyes, a strange feeling came over him. An urge to... press his lips against hers. It sounded strange, but the more he thought about it the more entrancing the notion became. He could feel her warmth against his body, he could see the love, the passion in her eyes that mirrored his own. He was unable to hold back any longer. Sonel leaned in closer and presses his mouth against hers, and a wonderful feeling spread through him. It was as if the love they both shared was running between them like electricity through a completed circuit.
"Hello Maibe. This is a wonderful world. I think I will contribute something to it that reminds me of the origin of this world, back within your first sun, and also as a tribute to you, my daughter."
Grawlf stretched out one of his arms over the sandy desert he had been floating over. Deep within the earth, what once had been a starbeast, he felt something answer his call, twisting and breaking free from the rock. It was soon joined by others beneath the earth until the earth shook with the force of their approach.
Then, beneath the gathered gods and exarch, the sand liquified and a large mouth erupted from the now molten sand. The mouth sat on the end of a long, long shape, wreathed in flames and easily 100 feet long as the Sun Worm's body turned and began falling back to earth, its mouth opening and a blast of superhot energy melting the sand just before it hit, allowing the form to slide into the sand as if it were an ocean. More and more worms burst from the ground, roaring their first primal cries and pockmarking the desert surface with glass.
Grawlf watched as his creations moved through the desert, watching them under the sand as they slowly turned more of it to glass. Eventually, he hoped that others would find a use for the stuff, although they would have to contend with some rather fearsome guardians.
"And now, daughter Maibe and exarch Gierce, I have a request. I wish to create some place for gods to come together to discuss important matters... a court, a forum, whatever you might wish to call it. I have also been inspired by Lohak that having a location where we gods can experiment to our hearts content. I wish to make a place outside of the universe where we can go to do both of these things, and I wish to know whether you two will help me in this venture?"
Expenditures:
2 PP: Spawn Creature (Greater): Sun Worms. Worms of intense flames and heat that reside in the deserts of Yrie.
1/7 PP
Surprised but pleased by Sonel's sudden embrace, Brinn laughed as he spun her around. It felt good, this love. Then they kissed...sparks leapt through her like wildfire, searing every nerve in divine ecstasy. Neither of them might know why they had their new bodies, or why they acted so oddly, but the pleasure of this kiss sent her reeling.
"Sonel, thank you.," she said, smiling, a few minutes after the exeperience. She smiled, too, at the forest below, and Ankirega's song. She was glad that her wolf friend had found something he loved to do as well. Let this song be his own gift, and this love be hers. With Sonel, she felt she'd never need more.
He looked ar Hrinori, sighing in exhaustion. "It is metal, a material of my own creation. Harder and stronger than stone, yet more pliable and shapable. It has its uses."
He turned his gaze over the nearby area, wondering where all the gods had vanished to.
4/7
Hrinori looked at him quizzically.
I have my own project, you see. I've the feeling that my ice alone is not up to the task. Though I would not ask your power for it with you in your current state, would you at least grant me the knowledge of this "metal" so that I may experiment with it?
One corner of the goddess' concious was dimly aware that the first of her ice-spores were entering Maibe's world. Hrinori felt the fist sized chunks of ice shatter against the surface of the world, releasing their venomous seeds and saplings. The latent divine energy they had been so carefully set forth with ignited, causing a vegetative bloom. Hrinori laughed softly to herself. She hoped that Maibe wouldn't mind.
PP Expenditure
+1 new day
-0 mold [pp spent earlier] -- seed the deserts of Yrie with hardy, toxic plantlife. The toxins are contained in the plants themselves, and the only creatures in the desert, the sun worms, are hardy enough to resist all but the most insane quantities of their poison.
[1/7]
"These forms are strange. They react to external stimuli in in expected ways. Strange but wonderful feelings, and the urge to experience said feelings, seems to be the primary motivation for it's actions. This act of... a 'kiss' was one of the more vivid feelings I've experienced so far, and it was enjoyable. It was wonderful, enthralling joy unparalleled by anything I've felt in my life."
He kissed Brinn again, and again felt the same rush of love and joy course through his being. He began pondering what other wondrous sensations these forms could provoke within him, and was struck by a bolt of inspiration. An image flashed in his mind, two distinct forms of being and a way for them to interact in such a manner as to invent something completely new! And why not make this process as wonderful as a kiss. No! Make it better. Was that possible? Of course it is. I'm the father of all invention, creativity incarnate. I'm sure I could devise some way to do it. He drew a shroud over the demiplane, cloaking it in darkness as he thought and discussed with Brinn these new and exciting ideas.
"The chaos is full of material, my child. If I give you what you seek, you will never fully understand or appreciate it. Better that you take metal from the chaos, and learn to use it yourself."
Darkness descends over the demiplane as both Sonel and Brinn talk rapidly of this new concept,
the creation of new life between two entities. Shortly the darkness clears, leaving behind the two
lovers, their forms now anatomically distinct from each other. Brinn looked down at herself,
wondering if this body was now permanent. After her time with Sonel, she had certainly grown to
appreciate it and it's pleasurable oddities, but she felt soft and vulnerable and....solid. Trying to
change her body, she was disappointed that it didn't immediately react. Focusing harder, her arm
began to morph into the earthy sphere she'd been prior, followed by the rest of her body. But this
form no longer felt right, either... Sighing, Brinn returned to her new form. "What will we do, Sonel?
What comes next?," she said, staring upwards at the forest below. Ankirega lay panting next to the
Life-Web, as divine energy sparked out from him, causing the plants to flourish with new growth.
Hrinori suppressed an angry tic.
Fair enough, I suppose, but I can't help but note the hypocrisy. What if, mere moments ago, I had told you to seek out water on your own to form your "chaos". Are you truly so self-righteous that you scorn those from whom you sought help so quickly?
Very well, "father".
Hrinori vehemently spat the word.
I shall do as you suggest. But be not surprised if you find me less inclined to aid or support you in the future.
Hrinori spun around in the void, heading for the radiant sphere now known as Yrie. She would have words with Maibe, perhaps the other serpent would be able to provide assistance.
His voice followed her, "The two are very different, daughter. I sought the power of water, not it's knowledge. I used your power, but do not understand it any more than I did when I first brought you to life. Knowledge, as Grawlf might tell you, is something that must be earned, not given. If you asked me for power to give metal to something, I would aid you, but knowledge is not mine to give."
"I have told you where you might find endless amounts of metal. Experiment and uncover the knowledge you seek."
Hrinori did not bother to turn around, but her voice carried back to Lohak regardless.
It was not a matter of power or knowledge. I respect your decision, but, then again, we make our own beds to lie in, don't we?
The small ice serpent whriled around to face Lohak as Hrinori departed.
You have upset my missstress. Why?
He shrugged, nodding to the serpent. "No idea. I find I rarely understand what my 'peers' or children are thinking. Perhaps I should spend more time with them, and invest power and effort into figuring it out. But then, I have things to create and things to do."
The tiny serpent wriggled back and forth, spinning and darting all around Lohak.
What is there to understand? She wanted something, and you did not could not would not give give give. She hates you now you know. Hates, hates, hates.
She feels she was wronged. Perhaps she was. Perhaps she wasn't. She is very much emotions. Yes emotions do things to her -- color her desires, fill her thoughts.
Did you know she seeks to please Zo-Att? And the quiet god-in-the-darkness? Why does she feel kin to them? Water, is neither creation or destruction. Ice is creation. Poison is destruction. She was on the edge. Did you push her?
What are you creating planning doing?
He grunted. "She sought knowledge, something of Grawlfs, about something of mine. How can I give that which I do not have? How irritating."
He looked into the void, seeing the stars in the distance. "I was thinking a stone sphere of my own, with creations of mine living upon them. Pulled forth from the elemental chaos to represent my will in this world. I learned much about myself when I formed the chaos, in that speck of time when I ceased to exist. The nature of fire, earth, and metal. Ways to work them, glimpses into the future, and the uses they shall be put to."
Seeming to remember the statement. "The quiet god in the darkness? I do not know him. But Zo--att, my sister, she seeks to please? Perhaps I should seek my sister. She may be able to explain me to her."
PP Expenditures
1 PP - Claim Domain (Lesser) - Metalworking
3/7
The unnamed exarch whizzed around the elder god's head.
Creation seeks to create? That is the right of things. A world of your own. Do you know my mistresss has two? One is filled with poison, toxins, venom. The other lies barren. She creates, builds, fabricates, but only for death, sluaghter, doom.
I fear anger consumes her. Recent anger at you, latent anger about impotence, powerlessness, the fuility of thingsss. Her creations destroy, all of them. I destroy.
The serpent reared back, maw opened, as if to strike Lohak, but stopped short.
But I know my place. I am hers, and her will is to have nothing more to do with you. She does not know what she wants, what she shoulds, what she wills. She is rash, and will do something rash.
Tell me, creation, can a god cease to exist by pure effort alone? Deny that power which was given to her and choose to live alone and without it? Feebly residing in what power they have gained on their own strength, their own force, their own power?
If you wish to remain allied to her, and she knows you want to remain allies, she will unally with you. If you say it should be hot, she would say it shall be cold. She is contrary, opposite, argumentative, and I fear she will do something rash, unstable, unguided.
But you are not the one to calm, to tame, to pacify her. Who can do that? Take me with you to this destroyer, unmaker, obliterator, I would plead on my mistress' behalf for help, aid, assistance. Take me please, I ask you, I beg you, I demand you.
He smiled to himself, before giving the exarch a withering glare. "I shall ask my sister to come here. And thank you for your insight, little one, but be careful of making demands."
He raised his hand, towards his sister, who was still in attendance. "Zo-Att, if you don't mind, this creature wishes to speak to you . . as do I."
Kouru remains silent for a time as he listens and considers the best way to phrase how he wanted to reply to the latest question. But finally he would speak out towards The Silent One and the point he had stated. "I do believe that you are not quiet understanding some of what we are talking about and discussing. Speaking the Truth and Knowing the Truth are different things. You can know the Truth of a Secret and not speak of that Secret. For who would be asking of the Secret and the Truth behind it if they did not know about the Secret as well. Truths are always best discovered when they are learned on your own rather then simply told." For the moment his explanation would do just fine since there were after all no one else other then the Gods.
Kouru would smile lightly and glances at the two stone Brothers briefly before then gazing back to The Silent One. "Go ahead and move onto your third. For I have nothing else to prove thru the Brothers, since it is you that set this up. You are the one that wishes to convince me, not so much the other way around. I oppose Deception but I have never said I wish for Deception to not exist."
+1 PP from New Day. 5/7 PP Total
The Silent One frowned in thought. This was... unexpected. Having an extra turn whilst his opponent refused to even fight made it far easier to have his chance at victory. However... he had been enjoying the chase. The game. The feeling of trying to lure your foe into a deadly web, and trying avoid the other gods own pit falls. Now it seemed simply like business.
A little sore at the truths god's choice, the Silent One none the less decided to present his third point. After all, for all he knew the truth god could simply be refusing to play to get the Silent One to refuse to play, and then pose another question when he least expected it. Unless... what if he expected the god to think like that, and wanted the Silent One to ask the question, believing that he would ask the question because he though- come on, this was the god of TRUTH! Such machinations was beyond him. Unless that's what he wanted him to think...
Ah to the void with it, it's not like pointing out the subjective nature of truth would so any good. Best to keep that little revelation an ace in his sleeve in case he ever needed to get his copy off guard. "I am not a sore sport. If you no longer wish to play, I will not force you to defend yourself against my philosophical attacks. Let me just say however that you were worthy opponent for what it was worth, though if you truly wish to defend your truth from deception you will need to develop a more... how shall I say it, sinister mind? It takes a deceitful mind to recognize deceit, after all."
Turning to the Brothers, the Silent One sighed. "It seems as though the Brothers have fulfilled the purpose they were originally made for... and I have no other purpose for them in mind. I will no doubt find one for them later, but for now they shall remain here on this barren husk until I have a use for them."
Gierce was awed by these glowing things that the Grawlf made. They turned the stuff they came out of into different stuff when they went back into it. Not that was amazing! And now the Grawlf wanted him to help him make something? He wanted his help? The little ball of metal and thought bobbed up and down, flying in wild arcs and loops through the air with glee.
"Sure sure sure I'll help you make something! It'll be great! You've got all that power and talent and I've..." Gierce paused for a moment, wondering just what it was that he had.
"Hmm... I've got... What do I have? I've got access to the powers of Sonel! That's what I have! I can invent and I can manipulate gravity at-will! I'm doing right now by floating here! I'd love to help you create something!" the easily excited servant bubbled.
Eshcal kept wandering the cosmo, seeking for the goddess that he has seen during his dreams, at first he went to the sun, but could not find the divine being, his mind, however, could not remain focused, maybe he was to weak due to the energy infused in his winds, or the one given to Lohak, or there was flaws in the process of his own creation, he kept feeling the lure of dreams and slowly he was not able anymore to deny their call and he felt uncontious again.
He faced a place born from his own immagination, not one shaped by his will with divine power, but one deep within his own being there he faced fears of things that are, was, will be and others that will never exist. He explored the depths of his mind watched his own ambition and desires unfold, his purpose briefly shown to him, too fast to be remembered, but at the same time enough to fill the god with a sense of accomplishment. Other things he saw or met there, that he could not explain, nor clearly remember. Finally he was pulled back in creation a new determination filled his mind a drive to explore, to create, to control and an even stronger drive to seek others of his own kind, to seek companions for his existance as for the first time after being created he felt loneliness.
But he was not the only being to come back from the dreaming, there was something else, something made of pure potential, of power, dreams and ambitions materialized, but yet formless and without purpose. Eshcal felt this essence came into being "I could not left this alone" he tought, calling for the same power he used to create his winds and created a complex pattern of divine essence around the newborn entity. Slowly a new conciousnes begun to form among the floating energies, still immature, waiting to fully develop.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Eshcal looked over that essence for a while waiting for the new being to emerge, but he grew bored after a short while. Taking with him the unborn form of the dream being, keeping it safe within his mind, he begun anew to look for the sun wyrm. In the distance he saw many lights, but only one attracted his interest, it was weaker, but at the same time more peaceful "this is not coming from a star or the sun I bet..."
Approaching to the peaceful planet, blessed by the sun, he sensed that other gods was there, the Sun Wyrm was silent at the moment, listening to the worlds of a strange being, Grawlf.
Eshcal, approached the two gods saluting them with respect.
"I'm Eshcal, son of Lohak, I have seen you once, lady of the sun, in my dreams, I felt that you was sad, somehow and irate and I was wondering if there is some way I could do to make you feel better..." then he turned toward Grawlf "And who might you be my friend?"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
PP (3/7)
+1 PP New Day,
-2 PP Ascend Domain: Dreams. (the domain will be up to be taken when a moderator posts about that in OOC or send a broadcast as usual so it might be a lot of time after this post)
Maibe gave the Exarch a slightly odd but suprisingly delighted look, smiled at him and answered.
" Well...thank you, Young one. I appreciate your kind words. "
The golden Goddess turned to her Father ang gave him a suprised look.
" Father..do you truly believe that is a good idea? The Gods are broken up in different camps based on domain, personal opinion and so forth...how could one place change our very essences? I will help you though, Father and borrow you a bit of my power if that is what you desire. Your gift to Yrie deserved as much..."
A faint smile appeared upon Maibe´s lips as she gazed down at Yrie´s deserts. She could see the worms from here...but also the new plants that spread over the deserts creating an entirely new sort of flora. Feisty, poisonous plants they were...but their form, poison and strength pleased her. As long as they kept to the deserts Hrinoiri´s plants would be left alone.
Another being appeared, one of wind, wings and scales appeared in front of her, greeting her and asking questions in a most odd manner. The Goddess smiled though and answered his questions calmly.
" I gree thee, Wind God. I am Maibe, Goddess of the Sun and the never-ending light and warmth it gives this world. I am also the warden of this fair world, the distant Star-beasts and proud daughter of Grawlf. May I ask of thee what your errand to this corner of the world is? Have you come to bless my world, perhaps? Or do you wish to exchange words with me or my father? "
Gierce piped up after hearing her agree to help them. "Hooray! Now we have the smart Grawlf and the pretty Maibe! We can definitely get things done now!"
-
Sonel pondered the question. He'd had a number of plans tucked away in his head, and shuffled through them trying to decide which one he wanted to try next.
"I've had an idea for a race of servitors, beings which can perform like living things but aren't. Sort of like Cragnas but on a lesser scale, and not really environmental either. They'd serve the whims of their creator unwaveringly. I was thinking of calling them golems..."
"I came seeking you, lady of the sun, I had a brief vision of your presence in my dreams and that was enough to send me in a quest to find you, I have seen this beautiful world from the distance felt its gentle breeze and now I can see how wonderful it is. However it pales in confront of your own glory and beauty..."
"I do not dare to touch this perfection without your consent, however on a distant world I have seen the creation of life and the result was spectacular indeed, may I borrow just a small portion of your light to forge creatures of sun and wind to inhabit your golden realm?"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Back on Verda, the winds listened to Ankirega song in awe, some of them joined the divine beast, allowing the currents to carry the voice trough the lush forests.
"Unintelligent, then? It certainly sounds like they would know their purpose, but...," Brinn trailed off, looking thoughtful. "Is there value in knowing your purpose if you cannot enjoy it?"
"Is there any real reason for something only partially alive to 'feel' at all? If it is a being that is only designed to complete tasks set before it does it have to feel any semblance of anything? I think it would be much simpler for them if they didn't have to feel. It would just allow them to focus on the task at hand without distraction."
"Little more than tools, then, that you may forge new life. I regret that they make mimic life, but their purpose is clear. You always think of strange things, my friend Sonel.," Brinn said, smiling.
"My dear don't think of them as mimics or mockeries of life. They are precursors to true life, a prototype for future projects. Though subservient, they don't feel any negative emotions about what they do either. They are perfectly content to work for whomever controls them. Wouldn't such a thing be quite useful, love?"
Maibe gav the Wind God an odd look, smiled slightly and shook her head from side to side.
" You speak in fair words, God of winds...and i agree to your deal. You may borrow of the power of the Sun to do what you seem fit with my world. "
A golden aura surrounded the Goddess as a spark of pure energy appeared in front of the sweet-talking Wing God. The Goddes gave the Exarch a slight smile once more and turned her gaze towards the distant stars.
Gives 1 PP to Nerdzul.
4/7
"Of course they would be useful," Brinn replied, "but what will you be using them for, my dear? Tools are not in themselves beautiful creations, after all- you must have life to create something truly unique." Brinn smiled 'up' at Ankirega on Verda below, her own favorite creation. "As for myself, I wish to create new life on Verda, and other worlds- more intelligent beings, such as Ankirega. Ones that think, feel, and live for themselves."
"Why can't a tool be a beautiful thing? Something cannot be functional and pleasing to the eye? I plan to create life as well, my love. And let us not forget our own creation of life we have set in motion together." he said, placing a hand upon the goddess' abdomen. "It is every god's desire to create life, even the goddess of destruction has made some form of it. I'm not the type to litter existence with emotionless tools. I also want to make a being that can feel and think and ultimately love as the gods themselves. But we can only walk forward one step at a time."
Brinn laughed. "Of course they can be both. I never said they couldn't, just that they were made as a tool alone. We should come up with ideas for the future, and maybe all of us can contribute to a grand new set of life, spanning all creation. Can you imagine? Creatures in the air, the sea, the mountains? Great pinnacles of life everywhere? That's my dream. Life for the sake of it's own beauty, and the peace to enjoy it."
PP: 4/7
"A beautiful dream indeed. It would be a grand to see this emptiness, this void filled with such variety of fauna and flora, living beings thriving in every corner of existence. But you know that for every tranquil thought out there is an equally volatile one. Such a widespread peace and harmony is nearly impossible to achieve with so many beings out there with the power to interfere with it. If it were just us two 'twould be a different story, but sadly that is not the case. The most any of us can hope for is to find a little corner of the world and try to keep it peaceful."
Brinn nodded sadly, remembering Zo-Att and Sku'byss all too well. "You're right, of course. Should we perhaps make ourselves another plane, such as this? A grander scope, of coures, but the same idea."
"No, my sweet. Creating an alternate reality just so we could live and create in peace is a nice thought, but altogether unfulfilling. We'd have peace, but only due to lack of conflict. Tranquility, but only because there'd be no others like ourselves contributing to the world. Life is supposed to be surprising, illogical, and even unstable at times. If everything was peaceful forever, where would be the fun? Risks need to be taken for any sort of life to be fulfilling at all. I would love to run away with you to our own little world, much as we have done here already, but to do so on such a grand scale would seem impractical, maybe even cowardly. The best peace is earned, not given."
"You're right, of course..," Brinn replied, sighing. "If we weren't there, then there would be no life outside of our little plane. At least, not life for the sake of life. Are we to keep struggling against Zo-Att and Sku'byss for all time, then? I can't believe that. There has to be some way to let life be itself, in the form it chooses. As for myself, though, I will continue to create and nurture everything I can, with Ankirega's help....and with yours." She smiled at Sonel.
"Ah, perhaps I misspoke. I do not wish to create a place to change our very natures... As you are no doubt aware, I am a firm believer in duty, and I would find such a place abhorrent. No, what I wish to create is a place of meeting, a palace in the nothingness beyond this reality, where each room is another god's change to explore and experiment with their powers without risking adverse effects to the universe we all co-inhabit. Somewhere where the great meetings of our kind can take place in regal style, unlike our earlier hasty gathering floating in the cold nothingness between the worlds."
Grawlf turned to Eshcal
"Hello. I remember seeing you earlier... back when I met with Lohak. I am Grawlf... Knowledge. Tell me, do you know if your father has finished his creation yet?"
PP:
+1 for 2/7.
Sonel smiles back at her, feeling the familiar stirrings within himself as he looked into her eyes. As he was about to respond, however, he abruptly falls asleep landing face-first on the bed of leaves he had made for them. It seems he was much more exhausted than he had let on.
Smiling gently, Brinn held Sonel's hand in her own and sat awake for awhile, thinking about the future. Soon enough, though, she too fell asleep.
Kouru watched The Silent One as he seemed to not want to play the game without the opposition that he believed to have been there. Had his statement that he did not want to remove Deception from reality been enough? He would have time to think about it however but he had other places to go now that this game seemed to be over. But before he goes he would speak once again to The Silent One "I do not see that I need to decend to any sort of deception, my Truth remains intact as do your Secrets and your Deception. Truth is not static, as we discussed things many new things have taken place and each has changed that Truth. The Brothers can remain here, I believe we might need them the next time we meet and continue our game." Kouru's voice would vibrate.
Kouru then floats up alittle and gazes around from the moon he had been on for some time, he could see just how things had been changing around this Reality. "Do not fear my blue gaze Silent One, and do not hate that I exist for as I said, we are indeed the same in some ways, but different in many others. That means we are not copies." With his final words spoken, he would propel himself away from the moon to head towards the message he got earlier, specifically he would go to where Grawlf was.
Noticing Grawlf Eshca turned toward him. "Nice to meet you again, lord of knowledge, I'm sorry if I have overheard your conversation with lady Maibe, however I find your plan quite wise and I'll be glad to help should you ask"
"About my father work, I think its done... "then he paused for a second "however I have something to do myself now..."
Then he looked at the goddess
"Thank you Maibe" he told smiling, feigning that he had not noticed the goddess odd look "I'll do my best with your precious gift."
He took the spark of pure light into his own hands and with a gentle breath he infused within it a portion of his own power, slowly he begun to mold the divine substance like clay in the hand of a skilled craftsman sculpting a creature of sun and wind. The god watched Maibe, studying her reptilian features and mixing them with his own, slowly a large beast begun to took shape, falcon like, it has impressive wings and a fierce eyes, Eshcal sculpted personally every plume, imbuing each one with a tiny spark of the sun energy, so that they reflected or fainltly radiate light by themselves, Eshcal granted the creature with a powerful beak and mighty claws so that it could hunt and defend itself against the dangers of the cosmo.
The hardest part was giving it life, as Escal has only seen the threes and flowers, never he had observed a real living creature, for that he took inspiration from the winds, the goddes and himself. "Maybe not the best possible resoult" he tought "the creature might be a little more a spirit that a real living being, but that should work... I guess I'll have to ask how to craft life to the forest god one day..."
Finally the greature was ready but as soon as the god of Air left it free from his hands it begun to fall down, as it has not yet learned how to fly.
Eshcal smiled as his sons and daughter, hidden among the planed winds swarmed to catch the poor creature and teaching it how ride the sky. Having the winds themselves as teachers the beast learned fast how to navigate the currents, mastering this new element. The creature looked back at his creator and at the goddes whose essence given it life with joy in its eyes and screeched in triunph to the sky.
"It looks like he is enjoing it..." told Eshcal smiling to the beast and looking at the goddess
"I should make more, he will feel lone, like I did in the void, with no companions to play, or hunt..." he tought. "This should be easier than making the first..."
"He ordered the winds to gather the clouds nearby and sculpted them with his will, when the sunlight shined on their cloudy wings the vapor turned into flesh and plumes as many more creatures appeared. The first one looked at his new brothers and sisters and flew to greet them...
"How should we name them?"he asked to Maibe...
PP: 2/7
2 PP (1 from Maibe) Superior Spawn, yet unnamed sun falcons.
The Sisters stared into the Space.
Pasha spoke first.
"Should I do it?"
Para answered.
"No Sister, I think not."
Then Panna spoke.
"It should be me."
Pasha replied.
"No."
Then Para.
"It should be all of us."
They breathed deeply, steadied themselves.
And did nothing.
Grawlf's voice warmed as the wind god offered his aid. How unexpected and how lovely!
"Truly, your help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you."
One of the Falcons landed at her spine and as she turned around to face her child, the Falcon remained steady meeting the divine Serpent´s otherwordly gaze with stone hard defiance. The Golden serpent looked at the bird with pure amazement and then began to laugh.
" These are proud and grand beings, Wind God... and as such they deserve a grand name. What about...the Herrim? Or the Ruling Birds as it would be in your tongue.."
The Goddess asked as she took a closer look at the bird that gave it´s mother a final cold stare and flew away to join its people.
The Silent One frowned at his rebuttal. "I did not say you needed to descend to deception, merely to understand it. Only then can you predict it, and foresee it when it is too twisted for a mere beacon of light to illuminate the truth. As much as I despise it, I understand the truth... I suggest you learn to do the same with deception."
The god said nothing as his rival departed, though his words... troubled him. The same but different... it was true, they were more than merely reflections of each other, inverted to love what the other hated and hate what the other loved. So did that mean that... no, no he was his copy. He had to be, he refused to acknowledge a god that had been created purely to limit his power as anything. He was a smart copy, and one with his own thoughts and feelings, but a copy none the less.
Shaking what passed for his head in his current form, the Silent One slinked off into the void, traveling in no direction in particular. Although eventually, he saw something that made him stop in his tracks. A void amoeba... sort of. It was some kind of incorporeal essence of one of the creatures, that seemed almost child like as opposed to the ever hungering monstrosities he'd created. Curious, the Silent One followed the spirit, until eventually he came across a whole swarm of the things, surrounding the Sisters he'd met not long ago.
"Hail, keepers of time," the dark god greeted them, looking amongst the dancing souls. "What manner of creations are there? They are our creations... yet not our creations."
To the Secret-Keeper, Para spoke.
"These are the dead, you see."
And Pasha spoke.
"The dead we saved."
Then Panna.
"From pain and suffering."
And Para once more.
"So yes, they are your children."
And Panna.
"Only different."
Pasha spoke up next.
"We seek to give them a home."
And finally together.
"Will you help?"
The dead? What a novel concept... it was like his kraaj, only all the way on the other side of life instead of half way between life and nothingness. No... it was a quarter of the way between life and nothingness. These dead were the ones who were truly in between the two. Although he wondered if there was the potential for anything closer to nothingness than even these dead...
"These dead are indeed interesting... and have a lot of potential I must say." The Silent One twitched a tentacle in thought. "A home for the dead hm... I can see who simply allowing the living and the dead to mix as they please would be troublesome. As such, it would be best if the dead were kept someplace that was... secret."
Secret... this could not have worked out any better! "I do have a world that lies between reality and the void," he explained. "A world of darkness, and secrets, and death. A world hidden from all but those that know of it. It seems the perfect place to put these souls, at least until a more fitting end can be determined depending on their calibar."
[4/7, sorry forgot to make a note of PP gain yesterday ^_^; ]
The blue glow would signal everyone before Kouru arrived there at the world that he had been called to by Maibe and hopefully where Grawlf still was as well. He approaches Maibe first since she was the one that had sent him the message a time ago. "I have come as you asked me to, I would have come sooner but I was in discussion with The Silent One. But that is over now and I am here to let my gaze shine over this world you have created." Kouru speaks with his usual vibrating voice.
Zo-Att looked at Lohak and the interesting serpent with curiosity. She responded, "Of course, brother, what do you need?"
[7/7]
" Thank you, Brother. I appreciate your arrival...may I ask something of you? Please look out over my world with you eyes. Tell me what it misses. I have given it light and water in multitude and my father and cousin has given it life. But...yet there must be something it lacks...would you me willing to help me to erase that flaw? "
Maibe said nervously to her brother, she liked him, that she did...but those eyes of him they seemed to look right through her. Gaze at the very core of what she was and that was a most uncomfortable feeling.
" In exchange for this service, Brother, I pledge myself to be of help if such help that I can offer would be needed in the future. "
*
" A meeting place, Father? What difference would that make for those Gods that care about nothing about themselves? Your words...seems cryptic to me...what do you mean with unleashing potential? "
"The serpent here wishes to speak to you. And I have a request, along with a gift my sister. Speak to my dauighter, and convince her not to harden her heart against me. As payment and git, I infivte you to the elemental chaos, where you may destroy as much and as often as you'd like, and there will always be infinite more destruction awaiting your touch."
"That gift sounds delightful, brother," she said, her voice almost having a purring quality, "but you do not need to offer gifts, I enjoy being helpful. Well, to some at least, to others not so much." Zo-Att's gaze then shifted from the Creator to the serpent, "And what do you want?"
Mistress did as you bid. Sown the light-planet with poison, venom, toxins. Just for you. But now mistress is unhappy with herself, angry, hurtful, spiteful. She will destroy herself, unmake that which is her. No longer does she want to be Lohak's daughter. She hates the concept of family, wants beholden to no one! And now she would herself unbeholden herself. Strife she has now, and strife never leads to goodness, haleness, fullness. One way or the other, push her over the brink or return her to it, but these wild swings, these emotions, these feelings run rampant, chaotic, uncontrolled. One way or the other, she must come to terms or she will unamke and remake herself.
"So... the same thing? Wonderful. I will speak to her then, but do keep in mind that I am not a counselor. My advice doesn't always have the tendency to be the soundest." Zo-Att thought back to her influence on Sonel. "But I shall be back."
Zo-Att left the two, and sought out her niece.
Wait, wait, let me help you! I am Hrinori--
The ice serpent zoomed away, interrupting itself mid-sentence. Those who had been watching the exarch would have noticed that it was not zooming in the traditional sense, but rather was leading its movement with the middle of its back, both head and tail gaily trailing and swaying in time with the movement. It was as if an invisible leash had just been tightened and shortened, one end attached to the exarch and the other -- well, one's guess was as good as another.
-------------------------------------------
Hrinori simmered through the void, lashing out at the errant rock shards still drifting away from Zo-Att's original destruction, and at massive ice crystals of her own making, created for exactly this purpose.
She didn't even know why she was angry. But the thought that her anger might be irrational just made her more angry. When she discovered that her exarch had disappeared, her mood (if such a distinction would even matter at this point is questionable) worsened. A single thought tightened her control over her creation, forcing him to return to her. Some time later, the small form came arrowing towards her.
Letting maliciousness overtake her, Hrinori moved upwards through the void. The poor exarch, driven by its momentum as it was, could not stop, and arched up after her in a slow turn at the end of her psychic leash.
Of course, Hrinori had moved upwards for the sole reason that such a ciruitous path would lead her exarch into one of the unshattered ice blocks.
Exarch met ice in a mighty crash, the pieces shooting into the void at a truly cosmic rate. The best thing that could be said was the impact had the benefit of opposing the Exarch's momentum, leaving it to flow limply in the void.
Now just where have you been, I wonder?
Hrinori's eyes narrowed as the shadow of Zo-Att appeared in the distance. What could she want.
After shaping the Isles of Wonder, Khitis was unsure of what he should do next. Turning to look at the void, the Life God could feel the presence of other gods, as well as numerous other life forms inhabiting worlds beyond the forests of Verda, or his own Islands.
"I suppose I should introduce myself," the god mused, and he left his islands for now. Soon he would return, after seeing the creations of the other gods for himself, to populate the isles. Soon.
After traveling for some time, he came upon a world of light, and could feel new life taking form, in the shape of a magnificent bird, as he arrived. He could see two presences (Kouru and Maibe), although he did not know there names.
"Greetings, elders. I am Khitis, the Keeper of Life and its protector. I have come to see the wonders of this world we inhabit, as I have not seen all yet. May I know your names?"
+ 1 PP (new day)
1/7 PP total
"Ah, but there is more to changing someone's mind than a well placed argument. Imagine walking into a large chamber, octagonal in shape yet seemingly limitless in height, ceiling pushing upwards to be lost in the distance. Pillars of a multitude of beautiful marbles, inlaid with precious stones will ring the outside edges, holding up a low roof while the center is illuminated with golden light from above. And, from the right place in the room, one may stand and have their voice amplified and strengthened, able to cow and override anyone who was not allowed to speak. The presence of the room itself will shake confidences and open people to new ideas.
From such a place, we can enforce everyone to do their duty, and work to counteract those whose actions only benefit themselves. From there, imagine corridors beginning on every other wall snaking out to a multitude of other rooms, where gods could make homes for themselves and explore their potential within the spaces, which will be fully malleable to their will. You could light your room with a thousand tiny suns, I could cover my walls with a miniature version of the stars that wheel above. This is what I wish to create, Maibe."
As Grawlf finished, he noticed Kouru and Khitis approaching.
"Greetings, Kouru, Khitis." He nodded to Kouru in greeting and turned to Khitis.
"I am Grawlf. Knowledge. I detect a hint of Brinn about you... would I be right in assuming you are her child?"
Grawlf turned back to Kouru.
"Already you have sought after the Secret-Keeper? That occured much sooner than I had anticipated, although it is for the best that the two of you meet at some point. Tell me, how did your meeting go? I am grateful that it appears it did not come to blows."
Opening his arms, Grawlf gestured to everyone gathered over Yrie.
"So, you have all heard my proposal. Will you help me to bring this Palace of the Gods into existence?"
+1 PP (3/7)
"That is correct, Elder Grawlf, I am the son of Brinn, although she has left Verda, and I know not where to find her," Khitis responded. He didn't mention how much Brinn's departure, without saying a word to her son, had really hurt him. But still, he had to press on. He had to admit that the idea of a meeting place for gods was intriguing.
"A meeting place? I think that that is an excellent idea. Certainly, it would allow me to get to know all of the other gods much more quickly that just trying to locate them at random in the void," the Life God responded.
Kouru gives a nod to Maibe as he was greeted but then would tilt his head slightly as he was asked to contribute something to the world. His blue eyes looking over the land and oceans, over the various forms of life that now lived on the world. "What I see may not be something that you would wish to hear Maibe. You seem afraid that your work is flawed, but it is only that way cause you are concerned with the flaws, if you are happy with it then be happy with it. I will of course tell you just what I see should you want the hard answer" Kouru's voice would speak out to her, letting her know what he thought.
Blue gaze then turns to Khitis who had arrived and gives him a slight smile, this is the deity he had watched first being born, an act he was urged to watch by his Insight. "Greetings Khitis. I am Kouru, The Truth-Seeker as some have called me." His voice vibrating once again before giving a glance over at Grawlf as way of showing just who had titled him the Truth-Seeker.
Speaking of Grawlf, it was his Maker's turn to feel the blue gaze looking at him. "It was not I that sought out this meeting. I sensed he was seeking me out the last time we were together when Lohak was taking energy for his project. He for some reason was almost angry at me, he called me his copy and in the end he was trying to get me to accept Deception. We parted peacefully however." Kouru's voice would vibrate as usual as he spoke to Grawlf. "As for your idea of a Meeting Place. An agreement would be necessary to keep such a place safe."
+1 PP for New Day. 6/7 Total PP
"He views you as a threat to everything which he is, which is true. You are meant to represent opposing interests, and in your debate, come to a more perfect balance than either of you could on your own. As for such a protective agreement... I doubt that even Lohak and I working together could determine a way to weave that agreement into the walls of the palace. Instead, I propose that the central chamber be regarded as a safe space. Any god attacked there will be aided by any other god there present. Would that be acceptable?"
Laughing, he turned to the god of life.
"Another fine reason for building such a place. One I had not thought of before. New gods could be brought there and introduced in an ordered way rather than just having to hunt the void."
" I wished your opinion Truth, otherwide I wouldn´t have asked. "
Maibe told her brother and gave him a slightly irritated gaze.
" In my eyes this will be nothing more then a place of splendour and waste. Why can´t we simply create a cave for ourselves and call that out meeting place? Or rise an island from the oceans of the "Green World". Or maybe even use the mountain Earth-Brother made? "
Maibe sighed heavily, shook her head and continued.
" I owe you though, Father. So you will have my support in this endavour. "
A portion of her power appeared in front of the God of Knowledge. A lone pearl made out of pure light that glowed as a minature sun.
" Here...take this and make your palace. "
1PP to Grawlf
4/7
Dreams...
Dreams of gods, creating and destroying...
Dreams of their creations...
Dreams of those who had, who are, who will touch the fabric of time...
Dreams of existence.
All found their way to the immature god. They found it, and absorbed themselves into it. Like an egg opening, it awoke.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Existence suddenly imposed itself. Awake, the new god jumped. Many beings surounded it. They all glowed, glowed with energy. He could also feel,...something. Looking at them, he could almost feel something, glowing from them as well. Looking at himself, he saw that he was the glow. A strange puzzle for a strange being. Looking around he spoke to the others, not in words, but in the language of dreams, a deeper speech that came to him naturally.
"Hello. Who are you?"
[6/7 PP]
Ankirega sat next the Life-Web, gathering his power and working to control it as he considered what he might do next. It would make Brinn happy to see more life when she returned, and so that was what he would do. Around him, the trres and flowers shot up as he lingered, towering above the others as the hours passed. Above him, their limbs came close to each other, as flowers and hanging plants crawled up their trunks.
PP: 5/7
"Herrim, it seems that they like that and its fitting... so Herrim it is..." Eshcal replied to Maibe, smiling and than giving a final look to the Herrims flying free...
As the two gods approached Eschal turned toward them.
"Greetings Kouru and Khitis, I'm Eshcal, son of Lohak and master of winds, I'm honored to meet you" then turning toward Khitis, "I have felt your presence on the green world, is it called Verda now? I didn't know that it has a name, I admired life there and just a short while ago I was thinking about it, I attempted to replicate its miracle, I hope I got it right... Would you mind teaching me a little in the future? If it is not a burden for you of course"
"Lord Grawlf, should we seek the others of our kind before to ask them what they think about your plans and to convince them of its wisdom before beginning with its construction?"
Finally he felt the energies that was roaming in his mind has finally emerged and being granted conciousnes, Eshcal was curious to meet the new being, he turned toward the newborn god.
"Hello, my son, I'm Eshcal and from my dreams you have born, to share the gift and misteries of the dreaming to us all, you managed to led me here, to meet lady Maibe even before being born..."
"These great beings here are gods, like you and me, Maibe, the sun wyrm and mistress of this place, Grawlf, lord of knowlegde, Khitis, the life shaper and Kouru, the truth seeker....
I think you should choose a name for yourself, it helped me a lot in defining my own essence and I will allow us to address you easily...."
PP: 3/7
"Hello great ones! It is good to see you."
"My name? I need one? Really? Hmm.."
Dreams...
Dreams have names
As do the ones in the Dreams
As do the ones who are Dreaming
One bubbles up
"Shry! Shry is my name"
Shry looked worridly up at Eshcal.
"Is it all right?"
"No."
The answer was swift, decisive, final.
Panna spoke up.
"We have a place in mind. A place of shining light, a fruitful paradise, but also of endless darkness, a shattered wasteland. A place all can go and be happy before they go..."
"On."
The last was spoken together, in perfect unison.
5/7 PP
Needless to say the Silent One was a little miffed at the flat our refusal of using his world as the resting place of souls. But since his suggestion had been almost entirely to further his own ends, he couldn't blame her for trying to reach a more... objective end for the dead.
"A place of both light and darkness you say? Well, it is better than one or the other... objectively speaking of course," he added. "I'd rather darkness rise up and completely consume the light, but I am not so self involved that I do not know that others feel differently."
The Silent One's tentacles twitched in thought. Without the dead going to his Shadowfell, there was little use he could make of them and thus precious little purpose to him aiding the Makers of Makers in their endeavor... aside from being intrigued with these souls of course. Unless... even though the souls wouldn't be going to his Shadowfell directly, he could still do this... and that... he already had the... so it would be easy to...
Grinning as well as an eye in a fleshy sack with tentacles could, the Silent One 'spoke'. "Very well, sisters of time, you have convinced me that your purpose is necessary, and I am more than willing to do what I can to help. Here," he added, condensing his power into the physical form of an orb swirling with darkness. "Do what you will with this power, whether it be to create you shining paradise or dark wasteland. I realize that both are necessary, and both should be made by the same hand lest they conflict more than necessary."
PP Expenditure
The Silent One gives 2PP to the Sisters for their afterlife project
[3/7]
"I would be happy to show you what I know, Eshcal, though I am not sure how much I can teach you that you do not already know," Khitis responded to the Wind God.
"I would also ask a favor of you. You see, I have formed a world of sorts of my own out of the many fragments of stone that are near Verda, and have taken to calling it the Isles of Wonder. I was wondering if you could command the air to flow around my Isles. Many times on Verda, I noticed that the life there was only enhanced by the winds on that world, and I believe that it would only be to the Isles' benefits if wind was to flow there too."
Khitis then turned to Shry. "Greetings, dreamer. I am Khitis. If there is anything you wish to ask of me, do not hesitate to let me know."
Finally, the Life God addressed Grawlf. "Excuse me, Elder, for I have not had a chance to share my power yet." Some of the insects that made up his swarm then flew over towards Grawlf, and flew close together, forming a ball of divine power. "I believe that is how it is done, yes? This is my contribution to create the Divine Meeting Place that you talked about."
+ 1 PP (New Day)
1 PP donated to Grawlf
1/7 PP Remaining
Kouru gazes over the slowly growing gathering of deities, but his gaze would focus on Grawlf to reply to him once again. "Perhaps he does view me as a threat, though without reason to. Maybe he will relax in time, we shall have to wait and see. I shall also not press him to much, unless things soon begin to change and I need to let my light shine thru reality like it has before."
His gaze then looks to Maibe and gives a light smile at the irritated look she had given him. "I was just making sure. The world that you have created Maibe is as perfect as you wish it to be, but in the end it is your world and is what you make of it. That is the flaw, no one else that comes here will quiet feel the same way you do about your world. It is a problem that many feel about their creations..." Kouru's voice trails off as he seems to fall into deep thought. The Oculus Verumi that was carried would begin to glow, a pale blue light coming from it to shine in the direction of each of the worlds that had been created, each being studied as Kouru thinks.
Zo-Att saw Hrinori's actions and decided to step in before she did something she regretted. She lashed her wispy tail out, and grabbed the ice serpent, bringing it behind her, and spoke to the Water Goddess,
"Now what's all this about, I thought you had some sense?"
***
The Raithon plague was slowly growing in the forest. It wasn't expanding very fast and it wasn't the quickest killer, but any plant-life that housed the virus would slowly die, loosing its structure, and turning into a dark red liquid. It was worse in the death place of Raithon. The ground there was sickly, the flowers (the few that existed at that spot) were drenched in the red liquid, and the same liquid copiously fell from the tallest trees, which then seeped into the ground which now glowed rosy red.
All three moons happened to be visible one night. Their eerie glow shone on a scar in the ground. The precise spot where Raithon fell. Suddenly, all of the red liquid burst forth through the ground. The liquid was held free-form in the air, oddly defying the gravity that had existed there. It formed into vaguely humainoid shapes, and the first Blood Demons were born.
They were creatures of congealed blood, some having specks of earth or plantlife in their forms, and reached around 10 feet of height. They looked to the moons and floated off into space. The place where Raithon had died continued to produce Blood Demons each night. It would later be called, by Zo-Att, the spawning grounds. Some stayed in the forest, and others searched for new grounds in space, but for some odd reason, none had attacked any plant life.
PP Use
+0 PP New day (reached cap)
1 PP [+1 Raithon] - Spawn Creature (Epic) - Blood Demons
[6/7]
Hrinori's voice was sickly sweet.
Forgive me, Zo-Att, but I only recently discovered this one had gone behind my back. I know not what it did, but would very much so like to find out.
Hrinori's form was physically smaller than Zo-Att's, but her demeanor combined with the timbre of her voice made her seem nearly double.
It is my Exarch, and my buisness. Did you have something more meaningful to say? Or is the Destructor so successful in her works that lately she can simply patrol the void, looking for arguments to settle herself?
PP Expenditure
+1 new day
[2/7]
By now, Ankirega had fallen asleep. The growth of the life around him had continued, gradually growing ever faster. Above, the trees' branches had interlocked, blocking most of the direct sunlight. Trunks formed a circle around the Life-Web hub, giving the area the feel of a temple or holy place. Even now, many of the trunks seemed to be fusing together into a solid whole, gleaming off a polished surface.
Suddenly, Ankirega woke with a start, feeling like something had touched him. Looking around, he was briefly stunned by the changes around him, but then searched the forestlife for what could have awoken him. Through the Life-Web, he could sense a growing darkness of decay where Raithon had been destroyed. Had Sku'byss returned? Racing back outside, Ankirega returned to the scene and stood dumbstruck. How had he not noticed this before?! These hideous creatures hadn't destroyed the forest...was the death too slow to be easily recognizable? But still, the presence of these beasts..
They weren't attacking the forest, though. Did they fear Cragnas? Ankirega growled and backed up a few steps. In that case, he needed to make sure the forest was healed immediately. The Life-Web connected to anything in the forest with life; maybe he could use that connection to bolster them and lock away the corruptive poison. Shaking in fury, Ankirega returned to the area contained the Life-Web. The trees had pratically merged into a single form now, and their towering trunks gave the place a grand air. That didn't matter at the moment, however; just the defense of the forest concerned the white wolf now.
Without hestitation, he reached inside himself for the divine powers, seizing them fearlessly. The unused power remainined quiescent this time under his determined thoughts. The power would go two-fold; a barrier to hold the demons in place, and power to destroy the corruption before it spread forward. Standing resolute before the glowing artifact, Ankirega began to sing his will into being, his voice commanding:
See the foe before you;
Hold them back and fight
For the forest and Brinn too,
A wall of power to hold them!
Feel the darkness spread,
Purge it from the life we hold dear,
Chase it to it's source so dead
And give the life anew!
Again Ankirega's power spiked out, striking the Life-Web and flowing through it. The ground in front of him lurched upwards, spreading around the glowing core of life like a bird's talons. Each took on a silvery sheen, reflecting in the light of the web it contained. Divine power surged out from the new artifact, sweeping through the forest like a wildfire and consuming all sources of the corruptive disease; trees, flowers, and ground alike. The immediate area of the demons' birth became a gaping hole, bruise on the land's otherwise pristine face. Behind came a gleaming barrier, which disentegrated any of the demons in the forest itself. The giant hole was quickly enclosed, leaving the remaining demons entrapped on all sides but up. The corruscating barrier quickly became invisible, melded with the life of the forest.
Ankirega sagged as more of the divine power flew from him, but managed a grin. Confident that the demons were now trapped in their hell-hole, he could soon destroy them. Let it be a lesson to those who would attempt the destruction of the forest! Looking around him, Ankirega knew this place would be of utmost importance until the demonic threat was chased out, and perhaps another god would attempt to use the Life-Web to their own gain, without Brinn's knowledge. Sitting himself down in front of the pair of artifacts, Ankirega stared out at his forest home, now marred with the presence of destroyers. He and Brinn would require help to keep their home safe... perhaps he would soon create protectors for the forest other than himself. Against an army of the evil creatures, the forces of life could not help but respond in kind. This place around him would be the start of it all... yes, and he would call it the Grotto. A place of life and birth.
1 PP: Create Artifact (Lesser): Talon Barrier - an artifact capable of restricting the demons spawned from Raithon to a relatively small area.
1 PP: Nourish Land: Remove Raithon's corruptive poison from the land.
PP Remaining: 3/7
"Eschal, your words are wise, yet... I am already in the presence of six others of our kind. Seven, now with the birth of Shry. Greetings, Dreamer."
Grawlf bowed slightly to the new god and continued.
"I am reluctant to go out seeking more concesus than what we already have here. Destruction will not jump for joy at this plan, and Creation, forgive me, is too enraptured in his own work to budge to help or even acknowledge this work. Your siblings might be receptive, its true, but in the end, if this place is deemed wanting, then it will be superceded.
Kouru, you appear to have some doubts as to my plans. Do you have any other ideas?"
"I do not know if they are doubts, but I can not help but thinking that the idea you suggested is alittle to small in scale. For if you make this gathering place, why would other gods come to gather there unless they were already nearby." Kouru's voice would vibrate thru the area as usual, but as he looks up from his thoughts, his blue gaze seemed more vibrant. "But ideas have come to me, ideas that would help all the Gods, and will help this Reality return to it's purpose rather then simply being a playground for us. It will be here where we will perform our duties to Reality."
Kouru's eyes seemed to shine alittle brighter, and a smile was on his face as the thoughts and ideas were running thru him. His divine energy was ready to get gathered but he was holding it back alittle, since he wanted to know what Grawlf would say in reply.
"Well, being separate from this universe, it would be both near and far from everywhere, but I see your point. Perhaps my thinking was too limited. I could see my plan expanding... A palace floating in a limitless sea of potentiality, where we gods could create whole realms that would represent our ideal creations.
Something like that, Kouru?"
"This notion of a divine assembly would be something Sonel would have wanted to be a part of! I'll help you make it too!"
Gierce mustered some power from the pool of divine essence within him, and before him there hovered a small glowing cogwheel that seemed to hum in the air. It guided it to the grip of Grawlf so that he may use it to help build the ideal meeting place for the gods.
Expenditure
1PP Given to Grawlf
"Yes, close to this world bu seperate, in the same way as that dark reflection called the Shadowfell is and Lohak's Elemental Chaos. A sea...though not of water exactly where all gods can go and make themself a realm there." Kouru's voice ripples out with some excitement. "You can create your palace there, I will make the sea itself." All he waited for was Grawlf's agreement and he would be ready to begin with the idea there firmly inside his mind.
"Very well. Please begin and I will follow you there to build our meeting grounds."
That was all that Kouru needed to begin his work. Those watching would see blue divine energy roll along his white stone form before with a lift of his hand he would produce a brilliant blue flash of light that spread out in a sphere very quickly to spread thru the area before growing dim as it continued it expansion. The Gods in the area could clearly feel the plane being created and being shifted slightly away from Reality so that the plane was close to Reality but not intersecting it.
With this act of divine power, Kouru would fade from view as he traveled effortlessly into this new Plane he had created and now floated over the vast pale blue sea. The water not seeming to be real water however was it seemed to have little substance other then a very faint blue tint to it. Beneath the water was all manner of earth, stone, metal, plant, and numerous other materials all of which were waiting for a God to call them forth as the foundation of realm on this plane.
PP Expenditure:
4 PP for Create Plane (Greater) - The Astral Sea. A vast etheral sea that resides close to Reality but slightly away from it. Fashioned for all Gods to be able to make a realm of their own on it's waters so that Reality itself might be shaped for it's true purpose instead of being the playground of the Gods, that is what this Plane was for.
New PP Total: 1/7 PP
Grawlf followed Kouru through to the newly formed plane. He had to admit, he was taken aback by the younger god's willingness to help out far above and beyond the level Grawlf had expected. Floating over the pale sea, he looked over at the God of Truth.
"Very impressive, Kouru. Now... let me get started."
Reaching into his being, he fished out the power that had come from Sonel and Maibe. He weaved the power of the sun into the creative potential provided by Sonel and began mixing, reserving a certain portion of Maibe's power to remain undiluted. He mixed and mixed until the two powers were wholly integrated into one another, then, taking his arms, he squeezed the resulting mixture together until it ceased being immaterial energy but instead took on the consistency of clay. Using his hands, he quickly began shaping the clay into a building. First, he fashioned the base and entrance to the palace, high walls of red stone, streaked with long branching lines of black and white imperfections that artistically decorated the outer walls, forming images of Lohak, Grawlf and Zo-Att while the Sisters hovered above. Set at the base of the wall, a gate rose up. The stone that made up the archway seemed to change colors based on the angle you were examining it from, running from purest alabaster to darkest ebony. Set into the gate were names, the names of all of the gods in existence, changing each time a new god came into being. Once through the gate, a long hallway, blank now, but waiting for inspiration, led to a large open space. Grawlf paused. He'd get to that in a little while. Next, Grawlf built a tall wall around the central space, and from that tall wall, he built eight towers, arcing out over the palace below and giving the distinct impression of a flowerbud straining to open at the first hint of sunlight.
Grawlf paused, looking over his creation. Within the walls of the palace, the rooms he had created hummed with potential, waiting for the touch of a god to spring into action and be made however the god wished. Grawlf raised an arm at one of the eight towers, and felt his power resonate with the creative energy mixed into the potential by Sonel's contribution. He saw, felt and heard as the entire tower became filled with rooms of his own making... his home, filled with places to store knowledge and a sizable workshop for himself... not to mention other rooms relevant for receiving visitors. As his concentration faded, he felt deep within himself the energy in that tower attach to himself, and knew that it would not respond to any other God's whims. He knew that the same principle would hold for any other god who created a room in the palace as well. Satisfied, he reached out to the fragment of Maibe's power that he had not used, and went to work on the central courtyard.
Easily several hundred meters across once he expanded it to its full size, unlike the rest of the palace, this place was built with no variability in mind. No, this place would be a place of permenance. Octogonal in shape, a low ceiling supported by a ring of pillars extended out, covering up roughly 20% of the rooms total diameter. Beyond, a shaft of light from above lit the central area, where many seats stood awaiting gods to fill them, extending most of the way to the center of the room before stopping, leaving a large open circle in the middle of the room. In the very center of that circle, Grawlf placed a special spot, from which anyone could speak and be heard by the entire hall. He decided to tackle the issue of what to actually put there later.
There. The meeting place was finished. Yet the other god's concerns continued to run through his mind. They were right. Without some way to discourage physical confrontations, this layout could just as easily become an arena as a court. Reaching within to Khitis' energy, he mixed its love of life with some of his own foresight and touched each of the eight pillars holding up the low ceiling. Immediately, each hummed with power, energy seeping into their cores where it became dormant. Grawlf fiddled with the magic that he had infused the pillars with. They would only attack another god in the case that that god attacked another in this court, purple lightning lashing out from each pillar to strike the god and discourage any future aggressive actions.
Satisfied, Grawlf looked at the tiny palace he had created, then, after checking it for any imperfections, he let go of it and let it fall to the sea below. As it fell, it grew in size, until by the time it landed softly on the water, its walls extended upwards by over fifty meters while the towers loomed high above those.
"There, it is done. The Court of the First Ones."
PP:
2 PP (Sonel and Maibe): Create Plane(lesser): The Court of the First Ones. Demiplane floating in the Astral Sea. Centered around a grand octogonal hall, the building has rooms for each god who desires to stay in its walls. There are some changes to the normal rules for planes that are in effect. 1. I rescind my claim over an attack bonus from my plane save within my own personal chambers. 2. Each god, upon arriving, can claim a number of rooms (lets say a max of 5... lets not go crazy). Within these rooms, and these rooms alone, they have free mold actions (basically their 'plane'). This does not extend to the central courtyard or other god's rooms. 3. I do retain the ability to lock and bar the gates and not allow gods into the demiplane.
2 PP (Khitis and 1 from Me): Create Artifact (Moderate): Pillars of Retribution. A series of pillars ringing the central plaza of the Court. Will automatically act as a combat artifact for any god attacked in the central plaza itself.
+1 PP
3/7 PP.
It had been too long since the Silent One had toyed with the stars... much history had been written, and his name was branded across the sky for any to see. Hold on, did that cluster of stars say something about a realm of the gods? What a wonderful concept, a no mortals allowed plane... but he had his own things to accomplish with the upcoming afterlife before he could visit it.
While waiting for the sisters to get to work, the Silent One took out his black rod and waved it at the sky, making the stars flit about, some shifting shape, others being erased entirely, but the true history always being hidden away behind veils of darkness rather than being destroyed outright. For the fake history, he erased his involvement with the poisoned world entirely, stating Hrinoni did all the work. Normally the Silent One would be against letting another god take credit for his work, but he actually LIKED Hrinoni. The same was done with his Plague Amoeboids. His confrontation with the god of truth was erased almost entirely, the brothers existence justified by the truth seeker wanting to see the true nature of both deception and truth in physical form. Finally, he erased any references to his name and his Shadowfell.
One mention of his name however, proved difficult to erase. Frowning in confusion and frustration, the god tried again and again to erase it, before finally just blasting the entire cluster of stars with a burst of power, causing them to explode.
***
Meanwhile, in the newly created Astral Sea, the Silent One's name on the list of god spontaneously ruptured forth from the wall in an explosion of stone, leaving a vacant space that would be the speculation of many a future visitor to the plane.
Shry grinned at all of the other gods.
"Hi! Nice to meet you to."
He watched as they other gods, Kouru and Grawlf, expended their energy. They both seemed to create a surge of energy like this, and twist it like that,....
Dreams
Expanding outward
Racing to be free
Forming shape, and land
Gaining a home
He felt his suddenly essence spinning outwards, weaving itself into a space that seemed to be mirroring what Kouru had done.
"No, no, no NO! Stop that!"
He pulled back on the power, but that only suceeded in drawing off a bit of it that anchored itself in Reality, a bridge as it were. He entered cautiously, taking a peek. As he entered, he felt the connection to it, the like essence calling to him. He smiled.
"Home."
+1 PP (new day)
-2 PP: Create Plane(lesser): Dreamscape, the demiplane of Dreams. The source of dreams for mortals, and even faint echoes of god's dreams might be seen.
-2 PP: Create Artifact(moderate): Dream Bridge. A metaphysical pathway that people travel when they dream, that leads to Dreamscape. Physical objects cannot tread this path, and must find a different way. Gods, however can trace it to Dreamscape.
[2/7 PP]
At the Knot, the Sisters stared. They watched the intricate work of the Weavers tracing silvery strands across the vast maw. They looked past the Weavers, into the darkness Beyond. There they would make their paradise. There they would make their hell.
They pulled a strand of power and weaved it through the Knot: a river, wending its way through the twists and turns. Grasping hands, into the river the Sisters stepped. It carried them along, towards the darkness.
Then, all of a sudden, the dull, blank walls of the Knot began to change, began to twist. No longer smooth walls that curved upwards, meeting at the top. They became black, twisted rock, broken jagged cliffs that reached up high, not quite touching at their peak. A small **** of ash-grey sky was visible. On the river flowed.
Soon the cliffs gave way to a jagged, but rather more open landscape. Twisted rock formations curled almost beseechingly up at the dead sky above. Vast chasms split the ground, and violent mountains pierced it. On the river flowed.
Soon the sky began to lighten. The dangerous landscape became a desert of charcoal-grey sand. Hardy grey plants dotted the landscape in a rather irregular fashion. But even this bleak land would lighten. The grey sky slowly became a pale, and then piercing blue, and the sand became lighter and lighter, brighter and brighter. And the further along they went, the more this phenomenon increased. Now, bright green cacti could be seen quite regularly, decorated with gaudy flowers that shone in the sunlight. On the river flowed.
Finally, they reached the final leg of the journey. Vegetation was appearing with more and more frequency. Soon, they were in the midst of a full-blown rain-forest, complete with vibrant colours and trees that stretched to the canopy high above.
At last they reached their destination. The trees parted to reveal a large basin of crystal clear water. It was peaceful, calm here. Water bubbled over rocks, and sun dappled the green fronds of the plants that reached down towards the water, as if to drink from its cool waters. Here, they released the dead. They burst outwards, dancing among the trees, reveling in the light. Here, all could be their true selves, become childlike, and corporeal. Some stayed in this paradise, but some followed the river as it continued, followed the river . . . on.
The Sisters were alright with this, enjoyed even, but they could not follow. Some day, when they were ready, when they were finished with this world, they would follow the river. But today was not that day.
They turned, and returned to the world.
PP Expenditure
4 PP Create Plane (Greater) World on the River - This is a place where everything goes when they die. They become childlike as they wait to move on. (2 PP is taken from the Voice Without Sound)
4/7 PP
The Silent One was... hesitant, to follow into the world the Sisters had made. He needed to enter it, both to see their work and to put his plan into action. But fear was in his essence, and there as nothing an immortal, ageless being feared more than death. Mustering his courage... well, lessening his fear would be a more appropriate term, the god would prefer to think he lacked such 'noble' qualities... the tentacled diety floated into the rift, floating high and looking at the work.
It seemed as though the river started promising, but became more and more disgusting as it moved on into the beyond. Fine by him, just another reason to stay as far away from the end of that river as possible. Though he couldn't help but wonder what was at it's end... he was the god of secrets, he was supposed to know these things. But it seemed there was now even a secret from secrets. This rankled him... not enough to try and go down the river and see for himself, but rankled him none the less.
Thrusting his irritation to the side, the Silent One 'smiled' cordially as the Sisters approached from the pool for further down. "I see you have succeeded in giving the souls a fine resting place, though I wonder at the wisdom of letting soulds move on whenever they feel like it as opposed to keeping them for our personal use. But I am probably in the minority on that account."
[3/7]
"Perhaps I am, but right now I am here by request of your father. He is worried about you, and I can see why. Come, tell your aunt what is on your mind."
She let go of the ice serpent and waited for her response.
***
One of the moons orbiting Verda had suddenly stopped its course. It slowly lowered to the ground, stopping some hundred meters from the surface. Many of the blood demons floated upward to the moon, and once the majority of them had enterred, the moon repelled from the surface of Verda. It started floating away, slowly approaching the newly formed planet of Yrie.
PP Use
+1 PP new day
1PP - Modify land - One moon no longer orbits Verda, but travels on a circuit from Yrie to Verda
6/7
Khitis took some time to explore the interior of the meeting grounds that Grawlf had created. It was a wondrous place altogether, and the Life God marveled at this structure that he had contributed to. "I am impressed, Elder Grawlf. Truly impressed," were his words to the place's creator.
He then turned to the other gods. "It has been a pleasure to meet you all. I still have not seen all I wish to see, so I shall depart now." Before leaving, he said to Eshcal "Think about my request, please. I will be returning to my Isles later, so you can give me your answer there." The Life God then departed from the world of light, to go explore the cosmos.
The next world that Khitis can across was much different than any he'd seen before. Covered in toxic gasses, it seemed to exude the corrupted essence of Sku'byss. And yet, the Life God descended to the world's surface anyway, where to his surprise, he found life not just surviving, but thriving.
"So life can indeed survive on a world as poisonous as this..." Khitis murmured to himself, truly impressed with the resilience that the plants and amoebas that made up the poisoned world's life forms possessed.
+ 1 PP (New Day)
2/7 PP total
Brinn slowly awoke, feeling completely refreshed after her stay in The Retreat. Next to her lay Sonel, and she gently reached over and shook him awake. "Have a good nap, sleepyhead?," she joked, laughing. The pair had recovered from their ordeal, and Brinn felt the divine energy in her stirring. Looking 'up' at the view of Verda 'below', she saw Ankirega, resting in a strange new place, with twin pulses of power behind him. He looked to be on guard for something, though she knew not what. The image panned around the forest, and she gasped as she saw the new and lush growth throughout the forest. The seeds she had created had certainly done their job; either that or Khitis had been busy. The thought sobered her for a moment. Khitis...she had left him almost immediately after his creation, and dissapeared without a word. Ashamed, she looked down at the forest....and saw something that should not be there.
Though invisible, she could sense the Talon Barrier's presence, and more acutely the demonic creatures littering the area. And what was more...they seem to be growing further away. How was that possible? With a mental command, the view changed to the entrance to the demi-plane; a moon that was now travelling away from the planet at a rapid pace. "Sonel! Something's happened; Zo-Att may have returned while we were away."
PP: 4/7
Father? Aunt? What meaning do these terms even have?
Flecks of ice and poison roiled forth as Hrinori went through several convulsions, eventually stopping. Within moments, her aqeuous form had hardened, turning to ice. Her eyes glemed veridian, and a sphere of pure, roiling water was clasped in the great eel's mouth.
This water, it is the only thing that links me to Lohak. He gave it to me, but I existed long before he exerted his will. We all did. This reawakening into active existence? Ha! I'm sure he'd love to claim credit for that. You're a fool to think anything can truly be created or destroyed! Everything is simply a change of state, from the one to the other. What catalyzes such reactions, or causes the changes is irrelevant. In our cores, we are all the same!
Perhaps the only creatures free of this are the algae, the ameoba, the plants, the flowers--
Hrinori's face temporarily softened, and she drifted listlessly in space. The moment passed, and the goddess returned to her rant as if it had been interrupted,
, the trees! Gods are eternal, reprsented by these domains we hold!
You are no different, destroyer. Nothing you bring to ruin stays such forever -- the waters covering Verda tell me as much; already your demon's taint is halted, thwarted from spreading death and corruption, your demon itself killed.
PP Expenditure
+1 new day
[3/7]
There were strange objects with porous surfaces, small beings flicking in and out of them while making this sing-song chirping noise. He was an unidentifiable creature with an amorphous form and a hunger for these furry things. He oozed and glopped his way over to the towers they were inside of and began engulfing the wntire thing, devouring these strange creatures en masse. He could feel them as they wriggled and struggled, and suddenly he was one of the things instead of the one eating them. He felt an awful stinging pain all over his being, and he was shaking violently until...
"BWAH!" Brinn had shaken him awake and he practically jumped out of surprise. What a horribly vivid dream... He stared off into space for a memont, wondering about it until he heard Brinn mention Zo-Att.
"What? Zo-Att? What do you-" he stopped midsentence and began looking around frantically. "We're moving?! Why are we moving? What is moving us?" He waved his hands and a view of the exterior of The Retreat showed the moon crawling with eery red creatures, all writhing on top of each other. Off in the distance he could see another planet, and it's size was increasing at an alarming rate. "We're headed for that planet. And what are those strange beings outside? They seem similar to that other creature, the one Zo-Att created. They have the same taint, the same innate corruption."
Sonel looked to Brinn before nidding to himself. "We need to go and take care of this. If those demons get to that planet we're heading toward it would be disastrous."
Brinn nodded soberly. "I agree. Once we leave this plane, I can call Ankirega to help us. Let's go." Looking around briefly, Brinn took a step out and appeared on the surface of the moon, Sonel following after her. All around them teamed masses of the demons, who noticed them as Brinn sent out a mental summons for her friend. Ankirega immediately appeared next to them, grim. "So they've already escaped.." The god looked curiously at Ankirega. "You know them?" "Yes.. they spawned from a plague left by Raithon. Now's not the time to talk, though!," Ankirega cried, leaping forward at the nearest demon. His sharp claws tore it from shoulder to thigh, as he leapt off it's corpse to the next.
Brinn quickly exercised her own might, waves of force hurling the demons into each other with enough force to splatter their own ichor over the moon's surface. That is, until she had a better idea... a large number of close demons found themselves entrapped by invisible chords of energy, as natural life energy flowed into them, destroying them en-masse as the their corrupt essence was scoured away.
Grawlf looked on with some amusement as Voiceless' name exploded, marring the stone archway. For a moment, he considered replacing it, but decided not to push his son too far. Concentrating, he willed himself back into the main universe, materializing not far from Lizt.
"Hello, Chaos. How go your ventures?"
As she blasted the demons away Sonel worked feverishly on a weapon to keep the demons back indefinitely. As she'd bash them and deflect their advances they'd just re-form and attack anew.
"Brinn, try and hold them off. I've got an idea."
Extending both arms forward, he mustered a massive amount of energy and concentrated it in the palms of his hands. The points of dense energy hummed violently before expanding outward covering his hands and spreading slowly up his arms before stopping at his shoulder. With a flare of energy, the force that now covered his arms became substantial. Gloves. Thick, sturdy and heavily stitched, with the head of a screw emblazoned on the back of each hand. He could feel the power within them, and it was his to command. He extended the palm of his left hand and with the merest focus of his will a brilliant orange-white pulse of energy flashed out and engulfed one of the demons, arcs of the same strange force flicking across it's body until it went POOF! There was nothing left of it. He shot off another from his right and a whip of raw black crackling energy blasted another which exploded violently before jumping to the nearest adjacent demon and blowing it apart. Amazing, Sonel thought, such power in these objects... He quickly fired off two more pulses, amazed at how quickly and efficiently these new tools performed.
Expenditures
2PP Create Artifact (moderate) - Grasp of Dawn and Dusklash.
- Grasp of Dawn is a glove for the left hand which fires forth a unique type of discordant energy which quickly self-magnifies until the affected individual is simply removed from the fabric of reality.
- Dusklash is worn over the right hand and conjures unstable bolts of gravitational force which affect every cell of the targeted creature, altering them so that they repel each other in a violent fashion.
Sorstal stared at the roiling elements in front of it. It could not believe the Potential that Lohak had instilled in this chaos. There is much to be done, but I must remain patient. Priorities count.
Sorstal concentrated on the spirit of Earth. It felt its fragments shudder in delight, and pulled the might of stone into existence. A tribute to Earth and Rock. A foundation for my future endeavors.
Slowly, Sorstal plucked the strings of Creation, and it watched, or rather, felt, its creation take form, a form which Sorstal alone could appreciate. The fabric of reality shifted, accepting this new addition to Existence. Sorstal stood at the threshold of this new reality, and allowed itself to slip inside. What it saw next delighted him, for this new place held stone and earth, filling the horizon. Mountains, both large and small, dominated the landscape. Every so often, Sorstal spied a canyon, and explored it. The god felt delighted at this new place.
"Though there are no others to behold my craft, I take pleasure in what I have wrought. The plane of Kurshek shall be my private sanctum."
PP Expenditure:
+4 PP for 4 New Days in Which Sorstal Has Rested: [7/7]
2PP : Create Plane (Lesser) - Sorstal has created Kurshek, the Bastion of Stone. Inside this demiplane resides only Sorstal at the moment, though it intends to create more, using Kurshek as a laboratory of sorts, in addition to a home. Kurshek is a massive expanse of land, dominated by mountains and canyons. The sky is filled with floating pillars and shards of stone, so numerous that Sorstal itself has not bothered to count them. There is light in the demiplane, which originates not from a sun, but merely Sorstal's will. The plane seems in a state of eternal noon.
RPP: [5/7]
Kouru had rested for a time after his work of creating the plane, just floating at peace above the Astral Sea. But he knew now it was time to return to Reality and so he did so, his pale stone form appearing around Yrie in the same place he had left. He was sure things had transpired while he was busy and then resting so he lifted up the Oculus Verumi, letting his blue gaze shine into the artifact which would then cast for his focused gaze thru the rest of Reality to see just what had changed and what he had missed.
+2 PP for Two New Days. Total PP: 3/7
Eshcal watched Shry work proud of his son progress,
"You are quite fast in learning son, creating a whole realm for you... I'm impressed... I should visit some time, after all your dreams already inspired me once I bet that I could use some more of their power... "
"Anyway so much to visi is out there and not enough time to handle it all...I should go and see Khtis islands, I'm intrigued of the things he could teach me and the possibilties of his new domain, would you like to go with me Shry?"
"First anyway I'll have to salute my brothers and sisters... Lord Grawlf I think you did a great job with your newest creation the gods needs a meeting place, now we should work to disperse Maibe doubts and make it useful for us... Also I think we should need some keepers to protect it against those who might wish to destroy the unity that it will represent... Should you need assinstance in any of these tasks feel free to ask me and I'll help you ..."
"And finally lady Maibe, I'd hate to lose your company, my exploration of the cosmo will be much more pleasant with your light guiding my steps, may I dare to ask you to join me in my wandering? "
PP (5/7)
+2 PP 2 days off
Shry grinned up at Eshcal.
"Sure Father! I'd love to come with you. Dreams are everywhere and I want to find more, even if I already know them."
(Will follow Eshcal wherever he goes)
+1 PP for new day
[3/7 PP]
"Guardians may be a good idea, although if it is to withstand a god, it must be of supremely impressive power. Do you have any ideas?"
[+1 PP for 4/7 PP]
"Yes they will need to, maybe channelling the energies of the chamber I don't know... I have never faced something that could scare a god during my life, but you embody knowledge don't you? Do you know of any beast or creature that could match divine power in combat?"
Lohak floated around, bored.
7/7PP
"Channeling the chamber's energies would be an option, yes. We could create some form of life that would be tied to those energies and therefore not be able to venture far from the walls of the Court. Yet... it cannot simply attack anyone who comes near... we must determine some way to ensure that it will protect the building from harm, not destroy peaceful visitors. It is such a shame that our creations do not listen to our wishes and attempt to follow them with anything beyond an instinctual urge. I fear that such a complex command could be lost on a simple mind."
Grawlf pondered, floating with Eschcal in front of the gates of the court.
"Ah, how about this. Instead of channeling the chamber's energy, let us form the beast out of the energy itself, tied to the court, it will only appear when that power source that it its own being is harmed. Here... let us begin."
Grawlf reached forward and grabbed ahold of the energy within the central courtyard, amplifying it and expanding it a thousandfold until it hummed throughout the entire structure.
"There, it is ready for you."
PP:
1 PP given to Eschcal in the form of energizing the Court of the First Ones.
3/7 PP left.
" I am sorry, Cousin...but I that for now at least there are other more pressing matters for me to attend to. You see..there is a moon heading in our direction and if I don´t do anything about that I don´t think Yrië would be in good shape when I returned. "
The Goddess closed her eyes and began to hiss. Hissings that grew louder and louder for each passing moment until they reached an unbearable chorus. Oddly enough each hiss had a meaning, it was a language formed and shaped in the Golden Wyrm´s mind during her self-proclaimed years as a hermit during the creation of Yrië. It was a language that fitted her jaws and throat much more then the divine tongue most other Gods´ spoke.
The words made things happen. Newborn energies twisted and stirred as the Golden Wyrm proceeded to bind the Moon to Yrie´s gravitational field with the power of words and the power of her very mind. She made the moon her own and proceeded to make it rotate around her world and as she did so the Golden Wyrm changed. Her scales grew visibly paler as arcane energies flowed throughout her flesh. Her wings grew larger, wider, thicker and black feathers began to appear on it´s otherwise bare surface. Her body grew wider and was now more then it had been. It consisted out of torso, neck, legs and tail. Maibe looked like a Dragon now more then ever before.
Yrie had a moon and Maibe...had done something with those words of her. She had given birth to what would become Magic in the hands of mortals. The art of summoning innate powers through word, concentration and symbolism.
The heart began to beat.
Modify land 1PP: Force the moon to rotate around Yrie.
Claim Doman 3PP: Magic
3/7
"I can understand you Maibe, even if your decision make me a little sad, it is still be pleasant to know that when I'll grow tired of my travelling I could go back to a place where I could find peace... Anyway I wish you good luck in you task my lady and I look forward to the moment when I'll be able to see you again" He told leaving the sunny world for the stars, but before getting to the Islands of Wonders he had to do something...
Then he went to the hall of the Court, he was still thinking about the pulling of the moon, such a way the sun lady had for mustering the forces of creation with precision and skill, something that he has attempted too while creating, useful to make things of beauty or glory, however this time he wanted to try something else, a defender, but at the same time a weapon, something capable of wounding or even killing those who who wishes to hurt it no finery involved, Eshcal wanted raw power...
Into the hall he felt the power left by Grawlf, strong, but still unfocused, with a purpose, but not yet a will, it was time to awake it, with the fury of the winds he touched the columns, as the god power crushed against the marble walls a burst of lightning emerged from the hall, aimed at Eshcal, ready to defend the temple, the god felt the pain induced by the wrathful energy, but he endured it, channelling more of his essence against it, the lighting being kept growing and the god let it do that, absorbing every drop of pain and power, letting that incredible force coil around his form. Eshcal could feel the fury of the primal being that raged at him with all its strenght, to defend the stones that it called home, he begun to tap on that hunger for more power, begun riding it... rage and pain... He almost get lost into that feeling, but he did not allow to those sensations tp overwhelm him, he dug into the depths of that being searching for more and finally he found that, one of Grawlf defining aspects was buried within his creation, duty....
Armed with pain, rage, lighting and duty now all briefly at his comand Eshcal shaped the unbound essence into sentient being, the newly gained serpentine form of the creature coiled around the young god, striking for the kill, gifted with strength and purpose it was now unstoppable, then Eshcal surrendered to it, allowing the creature to sense his real motivation the beast suddenly interrupted its attack. Before dissolving again to rest among the columns of the Court the new being looked toward Grwlf and Eshcal in its watchful eyes they could both see gratitude for being given birth and at the same time the silent warning that even they would not be allowed to distrupt the Court that it was tasked to protect. Nor the halls of stone neither their purpose could be harmed without facing the guardian wrath.
Tired due to the effort, Eshcal was looking forward to see the Islands of Wonders and the god of life, Khitis... the golden world and its lovable mistress, the wise Grawlf and his just call for union, the birth of his son from a thing such aethereal as a dream... all these memories Eshcal will always carry from this part of his never ending wandering across creation... "but it is time to live more stories worth of being rememberd" he tought...
"I hope that the new guardian satisfy you, lord Grawlf and I hope I'll be able to see you again and listen to your wisdom, among these walls maybe... or somewhere else... Should you ever need my aid again I'll be ready to answer your call.. Goodbye..."
"Let's go now son, new wonders are waiting for us..." he told Shry while leaving.
PP (4/7)
2 (1 from Grawlf) - Superior Spawn, The Guardian of the Court (the name is work in progress I'm quite bad with names hehe... I'll make a wiki page about that and came up with a decent name tomorrow)
Zo-Att looked back at Hrinori with an odd look on her face.
"I fail to see the point in your speech, Hrinori. I understand that nothing is permament; who else to know other than the one who has power over chaos, no? And everytime someone tries to halt my progress, I shall bring destruction back. It is not that difficult to understand. I wish to know why this makes you upset however. As to your point about family, yes, I understand, the terms are quite meaningless. One's relation to yourself should not affect your judgement, but let us look at this with a more practical viewpoint, yes? Lohak is a powerful god, one of the oldest. Having an alliance with him would be useful in the time to come, but being sheltered and possibly his enemy could bring problems in the future."
Zo-Att looked over her side to see that her moon was changed from her original plans. She would have to fix that.
"But I dislike such lengthy discussions. Make up your mind, and speak with your father"
The blood demons on the moon noticed the change in course, and looked back to the direction of their original planet. The moon then absorbed many of the demons into its surface, creating a blotch of crimson. More demons would be created. Only this time closer to their target. Perhaps this new development wasn't so bad after all...
PP Use
+1 new day
1 PP - Create Artifact - The Crimson Pool, basically just a pool of blood on the moon that spawns blood demons.
[6/7]
No matter how many of the demons he or Brinn destroyed, they inevitably recombined. The only thing that seemed to be working was the banishing power of the Grasp of Dawn. As the demons closed in on the three, Sonel summoned as much power as the gloves could handle and clapped them together.
There was a period of silence. Everything was still, frozen in position like a painting. Then came the sound. A horrific rumbling, churning noise like a tornado full of faulty engines and rusty mufflers. Banging clanging peals of thunder were followed by white-hot bursts of crackling light which punctuated the darkness within the storm of roiling, unbridled energy. The demons were engulfed. Brinn turned and looked at Sonel a final time before she too was engulfed. Ankirega's howl of mourning was lost in the tide of violent winds before he was sucked into the vortex. All that remained was the storm and it's creator. What have I d-
Sonel didn't even have time to finish his thought before the ghastly cyclone drew him in as well. All he could see, hear, feel was the awful discordant noise and furious scalding lashes of force that clattered about within. He closed his eyes tight and hoped that it would all end soon.
And then it did.
After being unconscious for some time, the god of invention awoke to find himself someplace he wouldn't have even dreamed existed. The elements in their rawest forms colliding and combining in a thousand different ways every second. The god stood in place, awestruck by the display of power. After what seemed like days of observation, Sonel made an interesting note about it. This plane, while being unpredictably volatile, was in harmony with itself. It may have looked random, but there was a certain type of rhythm and order to this place.
Intriguing...
So be it, aunt-no-longer.
Hrinori reared back, taking a deep breath. As what passed for her lungs exhaled, the domain of water, personified by the orb in her mouth shuddered, flickered, and danced, silver lightnings crackling across the surface. Ever so slowly, like when draws a boot out of thick mud, the orb was pushed away from her frothing maw. Seconds passed, and still she continued to exhale. The orb eventually started to pick up speed, and with an explosive jerk, finally flew free of the goddess. flying into the void to simply drift, glowing and inviting.
For her part, Hrinori's body danced with the silver lightnings for several moments before finally subsiding. Shaking, the ice dragon turned in fury towards Zo-Att.
There. I have given up Water. Let some other being carry out Lohak's will in that regard. From now on, I forge my own path. I will be bound by no one.
PP Expenditure
+1 new day
Suppress Domain:Water -- the domain of Water lies dormant in the void. Hrinori may not use it while it lies dormant.
4/7
Brinn was considering making her own weapons as the demons refused to stay dead. As easily as they squished, they came back together.. And then Sonel clapped. The entire world stood still, and Brinn felt a painful disharmony as the world shuddered. It felt like it was being ripped apart...and then she was sucked in by the wave of disharmonic energy created from the blast. She didn't even have a chance to reach for Sonel before she found herself engulfed...and somewhere different. The world around her was a milky gray, with vague shapes forming around her, then dissapearing moments later. Noises cried out; loud, soft, and in-between. This realm seemed safe, and yet so very strange. She looked around, focusing on one area that seemed more solid than the others. Strange shapes moved around, some seeming akin to Ankirega, others like her and yet more seeming to propel themselves through the air.
Enraptured, Brinn stared at the images of animals that she'd never dreamed of...or had she? For she was in the Dreamscape, and these images from her subconcious had come from somewhere. Brinn tenatively reached out, her hand passing through the image as it dispelled like smoke in a breeze. Shortly after, it reformed further down, continuing as if nothing had happened.
"They're so beautiful...," she said softly, enraptured.
- - - - -
Ankirega suddenly came to in The Grotto. Shaking himself in confusion, he looked around wildy. Why was he here? This was undoubtedly the Grotto he had helped to create, with the Life-Web carressing his soul with it's many. He could feel Brinn far away, and Sonel fainter still, so he held no fear for them. They were alive, there was no question of it... yet they weren't here.
The great white wolf took up silent vigil at the door, staring into the sky waiting for his friends to return.
PP: 6/7
Wandering through the void, bereft of any current goal, Lohak growled and turned, irritated. In his mind, he could feel the chaos de-stabilizing as water receded, fire dominating the planescape. Growling in frustration at his daughters ignorance of her duty, he stepped into the plane, watching the fires rage across it, destroying even the earth and air all about. He focused his will, diminishing the fires, but in his mind, he knew such a measure was temporary at best. He couldn't remain focused on this task forever.
Noticing another nearby, he couldn't even spare the time to greet him.
Mechanics
3 PP - Claim Domain (Greater) - Water
4/7
Khitis remained a while on the corrupted world, before deciding to once again leave to go wandering through the cosmos once more. As he traveled, the Life God thought on the information he had gleaned. Sure, he had been created by Brinn to watch over the life on Verda. But was the really all he was meant for?
"No... My duties extend to even that poisonous world. So long as there is life somewhere, so there shall be a need for me to guard it," Khitis decided.
He eventually came to a place where he could feel the faint emanations of life. For some odd reason though, he could not find the world on which this life existed. It seemed... hidden, as it some veil was muting the signal that all life sent to him. Khitis suddenly thought to the name that had been erased from the wall that Grawlf had created in the Meeting Place. Were the two connected?
"Hello!?" Khitis called uncertainly to the master of the Hidden Plane (the Silent One).
+ 1 PP (New Day)
3/7 PP Total
The Silent One heard... something. A sound, so close to his Shadowfell that it resonated in his very essence. Wait, did this mean that he was inexplicably linked to his world? How vulgar to be tied to something so... undivine.
"Sisters, it has been enjoyable aiding you in creating a world for the dead, but for now I must depart..." "At least, until I have enough power to put my plan into action.' Disappearing in a shroud of shadow, the Silent One reappeared just outside his Shadowfell, to see a rather unfamiliar god.
"You had best be careful who you call out to, young one," the Silent One spoke without speaking. "Those who answer your summons may not always be benevolent... but that's hardly the proper tone for introductions is it? I am the Silent One, master of fear, deception, and that which is meant to be kept hidden. And who would you be?"
Eshcal felt the delicate balance of the plane briefly shift, the elemental chaos was facing some weird upheaval at first the forces of chaos ruled as fire burned unopposed, fueled by wind and not counterbalanced by water it was beginning to turn elemental realm into a charred hell.
"I think, my son, that the islands might have to wait a short while... However we can use this occasion to visit a place shaped with my power and the one of my brothers. You may even get to know your grandfather..." he told and he willed himself and the dream god to the elemental realm seeking Lohak.
PP: 5/7
+1 PP New day.
OOC: ff6shadow\Lohak, is it oke for you if I help Lohak and claim water for Eshcal? Or may I help you in ascending a new god for that element?
Maibe was there now. Flying high over the moon with her eyes focused upon what happend down there. Two gods one fought with odd beings...one of those gods she knew, one she didn´t she pondered this. When lighting struck and a torrent of light, darkness, heat and cold swallowed the two deities whole. Maibe simply smiled, shook her head and swept down to to the surface.
The Demons were still there though. They were unpure beasts that survived on spreading suffering and disease. Beasts whose mere prescence made her want to shudder even if she were this far away. It made her hurt paw burn as fire, the wound wanted to open anew to feed blood to the ever-hungering monsters.
Maibe grabbed the Spawning pits, ripped them out of the ground and threw them away against the Secret Keepers world. A monster such as he would after all not mind a new couple of friends. In a mere matters of minutes the Pits fell from the skies and smashed among the hills and mountains of Shadowfell.
Modify Artifact 1PP: Changes the location of the artifacts from the surface of the moon to the surface of the Shadowfell.
The forest goddess had sat and watched the dreams for a long time, but she didn't even know where she was. Though she could feel the hand of a god on this place, she did not recognize it. Floating aimlessly through the milky dreamland, Brinn eventually found a place where the plane felt more...real. Curious, she examined the area and found a bridge. Not a physical one, but perhaps it was on the other side. With no better idea, she followed it, feeling the shift when she left the plane and returned to the prime material.
Brinn laughed, thinking about how long she'd been gone. "Frist inside Sonel, then The Retreat, and now this new plane. I've been gone such a long time, I....Khitis. I must apologize to him." Searching for him proved simple, as he was intricately linked to her forest home as she was. She soon found him, apparently floating in a vast expanse...and talking to another deity. Coming close to him, she said "Khitis...I am sorry. Do you even recognize me anymore, I wonder?"
PP: 7/7
"Greetings, Silent One. I am Khitis, life and protection. I am here because I felt... something. I felt the essence of life here... But knowing now that you are secrets, I guess that explains why I cannot find the life forms that are radiating that essence."
Khitis then contemplated for a bit. "Interesting... In a way, the goals of you and I can converge. A duty that I have assumed in this universe is that of the protector. And in a way, hiding something away is a way of protecting it. In fact, having no knowledge of a thing that should be protected is, in fact, the greatest form of protection there is."
After thinking to himself, Khitis turned back to the Silent One. "I am merely here to understand this world in which we create. And though I cannot see them, I can feel that the life on your hidden world has adapted, and that it has come to no harm. My one request to you is that you keep it that way, elder. Farewell."
At last, the life god decided to return to the world that he had adopted, his wondrous islands. Before he went far, though, he was intercepted by Brinn. "Of course I recognize you, Mother. But I must know... What happened? Why did you and Grandfather (Sonel) suddenly disappear?"
+1 PP (New Day)
4/7 PP Total
Shry watched as Eshcal created the guardians to protect the Court. However, he felt a stir of power, a disturbance in his Dreamscape. Traveling to it, he arrived just in time to see a god leave by the bridge he had forged on accident. He followed this god out, to the material. She, for it was a she, left, and he followed, curious. She eventually met up with three others that he did not know. Approaching, he greeted them.
"Hello. Who are you?"
Brinn looked sad. "I'm sorry, son. If I'd known any of this would happen, I would have told you. But Sonel, he used to be much more enthusiastic and happy than you'd see him, and he would never have been a part of the destructive acts he's now done. That was before Zo-Att attacked him. Another god, named Lohak, managed to heal him, but it left a darkness in him that we hadn't noticed. It had grown within him, corrupted him." The forest god looked away, thinking about the past, before continuing.
"You were born under his eye, and that of Sku'byss, that evil god you saw then. I saw immediately Sonel's change- I was furious at Sku'byss, and at Sonel, for their destruction. Then.. I reached something inside him with my words. I truly could not tell you how I did it, but I followed the Life-Web into his very inner being. It was a strange place, full of fantastic creations. Yet it was covered by a strange shadowy venom. Following the Life-Web's thread, I came to the dwelling place of his soul, his mind... and found a vast labyrinth of darkness, hiding away his light. I can't imagine what it was like for him. I found myself like this, and he... he was covered in the shadows. I managed to save him, though, and escaped."
"I'd ran out of energy though...he tells me that I fainted soon after healing him and emerging from his soul. He created a demiplane, and took me there so we could both heal. I'm sorry for leaving you, Khitis. I hope you can forgive me...," Brinn said, on the verge of tears. Then, of course, Shry came up.
"I am Brinn, patron goddess of the forests, and this is my son Khitis, god of life. You're.." Brinn looked closely at Shry, feeling the similarity between the god and the plane she had just left. "You made that strange plane, didn't you? I much enjoyed it, thank you.," Brinn said, offering a small smile.
PP: 7/7
Eschal finally found Lohak
"What is going on father? I have sensed some great upheaval in the elemental chaos and I came as soon as I could..."
"Hello again, Shry. We met before, though perhaps you don't remember. I guess I wasn't around long enough to make a strong impression," Khitis responded to the dream god. He then turned to Brinn.
"Do not cry, Mother. I forgive you. Perhaps, in the future, it might be wise to develop some way to communicate long distances so that if we are separated abruptly like before, we can let the other know where we are. Anyways, there's something wondrous I have to show you!"
Khitis then made his way back to his own adopted world, the Isles of Wonder. "I found these asteroids here, and connected them. They were lifeless before... But I intend to change that."
4/7 PP
Straining under the pressure, Lohak none the less nodded. "Greetings Eschal. It seems your sister Hrinori has revoked her birth right, destroying the balance that allowed this place toi exist properly."
"What may I do father to help you? Ask and I'll do my best, this place is too precious to sacrifice for my sister whims..."
Sorstal floated around his new world, reveling in its craft. The Beacon whirred around its master, a signal of Sorstal's contentment. A pulse of some strange, uneasy feeling coursed through Sorstal, suddenly. The god halted, unsure of what that sensation had been. Something seemed.... off. Not here, but back in the primary Existence. Sorstal weighed curiosity with comfort, and the former won out. Almost sighing with the regret of leaving its demiplane so soon, Sorstal passed back into the other realm.
It spied the Giver speaking with Brother Air. Sorstal could not tell what they were saying, but it floated near, curious to see if either of the two had felt the same strange sensation it had, and if one had an answer as to the cause.
+1 for New Day
RPP: [6/7]
His physical form started to collapse under the pressure. This place has been made to be balanced between four sparks, not three, and despite his efforts, he coulden't maintain it forever. Spying Sorstal approaching, he nodded. "Yes child, you and your brother can be of assistance. Lend e your strength, that we might restore the stability here."
Brinn followed Khitis back to Verda's asteroids, feeling a great relief at Khitis's forgiveness. "Thank you, son...you're right, we should make some way of communicating. Even now, Sonel is...somewhere else. I can't tell where, only that he is quite safe, and even happy. It seems that as soon as we come together, we must part again. These are the Isles of Wonder, you say? What ideas do you have, perhaps I can help you?"
"You seem tired, I don't think power is the solution this time, as you will lack control busy as you are with fighting the tide of chaos, send me an image of your plans and I shall help you realizing it..."
"We need to create a new god to serve as a pillar of support for the chaos, to watch over one of it's components and keep it in balance."
Sorstal listened to the Creator and the Beacon dipped in its orbit, like a nod of agreement.
"Very well. Whatever service or power I can provide, I will gladly offer. How shall we bring about this new deity?"
"The isles will be a place dedicated to life... All life. I spent some time looking over the cosmos, Mother. There are many more forms of life than I thought there would be. Even on a world shrouded in poison, that would kill most others. On a world shrouded in shadows. Even within the void, life persists in the form of algae, amoebas that feed on the algae, and amoebas that feed on other amoebas. All these life forms are under my ward..."
Khitis then began gesturing at the islands. "Some of these isles will be home to forests, like our home Verda. Others will be home to the poison gasses, and the creatures that live there. Some will be shrouded in shadow, as there is life that cannot stand the light. And some will live permanently in the light, as some life cannot abide shadow. Deserts, oceans, grasslands, volcanoes... Life can abide in all of these locations, and thus all of these locations have a place in these Isles."
The life god knew that this was a bold ambition that he had laid forth. But he had all the time in world to gather enough divine strength to see the task through.
"So it is balance that we seek... I think I can try to find some, try to keep the chaos on hold for a short time, while then me and Sorstal will bring a new equilibrium to this place, as after all you have made me to counterbalance him I think that we might be able to create what you need father..."
"Shall we do this brother?"
Grawlf was pleased with the new guardian of the Court. Content, he left the Astral Sea, reappearing near the Isles of Wonder, where Khitis and Brinn were just arriving. Grawlf floated over to them.
"Brinn, Khitis. It is good to see both of you. Khitis, if you were wondering, I've completed the Court. Have you seen it yet?"
Grawlf sighed.
"The Universe feels... empty, my children. Do you feel this as well? I feel there should be... more... more life. but... better. I don't know."
Brinn nodded to Grawlf in greeting, and answered, "Yes, I feel it too. However, I believe Ankirega and I have both come up with ways to help change that. I recently spent some time in an odd plane created by Shry, and it gave me some ideas. We can also model some new creatures after dear Ankirega- he could well be the first-born of this new, lesser creatures. Creatures of passion and instinct, without so much concern of the world beyond. They would live in peaceful harmony with each other. Perhaps we can create these together soon?"
"Khitis, let me be the first to bring new life to your grand dreams. It is the least I can do." Floating over to one of the central asteroids, Brinn blew upon it, a multitude of sparkles following the expelled air. These sparkles sank into the earth, and immediately new life began. Giant, twisted stems spiraled higher and higher into the air, ones that would be familiar to those who had visited Verda. A long, long way into the void above, the stem wound around each other, forming a circle, and vivid blue petals began to form in it's folds. In the center of the flower lay another of Brinn's seeds, and brilliant silver sparkles crowned the flower. Below, the stalk was highlighted in smaller, bright red roses climbing into the heavens above.
"The Cyan Star, I shall name it. Let it be a reminder of your beatiful dreams, my son.," Brinn said, smiling at Khitis.
Nourish Land: 1 PP: Create the Cyan Star, a giant flower, on one of the asteroids.
PP Remaining: 6/7
Sorstal floated next to its brother.
"Indeed, with our talents combined, Eschal, we should be able to create a mighty god indeed. But what spawn of Earth and Air would serve as a source of order? What essence would give this god purpose?"
"Thank you, Mother. It is a fine contribution. And I agree, Elder Grawlf. The cosmos do seem... empty, even with the amoebas in the void. Now, I shall do my part to alleviate this emptiness..."
The life god then concentrated, and at his command, trees began to grow of 4 of the larger islands. The insects that made up Khitis's form swarmed around those islands, helping the trees to stand tall.
At last, his work was done. "Behold... The Forested Isles!" Khitis said, some pride in his voice. But this was only the beginning.
1 PP - Nourish Land: (Khitis causes forests to grow on 4 of the isles.)
3/7 PP
Brinn clapped happily. "Such beautiful forests, my son! I can but hope to see the Isles in their full splendor!"
"I think that a mere healing of the damages will not work as new ones problems will come in the future anyway... Balance should be preserved by someone dedicated to it, not me or you, neither father Lohak, a focused mind focused only on that purpose might work... a new being that whos power will be enough to preserve the equilibrium of forces..."
"Well, then, I hope you feel more stable in your newest form."
Zo-Att looked over the ice goddess, studying her new form, one without warmth or visible emotion.
"Curious, how is it that you still exist? You are Hrinori, are you not? But... Hrinori is water, and water you are not. What exactly does that make you?
Sorstal listened to its brother's words.
"Indeed. For this Existence, I shall give this new entity the fortitude and reliability of the Earth. The Balance of All shall be preserved. Chaos, though fundamental, must not rage out of control, lest all that has been achieved be spoiled."
Sorstal concentrated its will. It needed to channel its abilities in a strikingly different way than before. A pulse echoed forth from the Beacon. This Creation would be quite interesting.
1 PP Contributed to: Ascend God - "Balance"
RPP: [5/7]
"And so let balance be and restore what our sister has broken, I shall grant it the adaptability and drive that i represent as a gift. Lets pray that both our boons will be enough for the task that the new being will have to face..."
PP (4/7)
1 PP (+1 from Sorstal) Ascend domain: Balance.
I...
It took all of Hrinori's -- no, that could be her name no longer -- energy simply to remain shaking in the void; it had become a monstrous effort to maintain corporality, to not simply disperse into a thousand, thousand fragments of isolated conciousness. The goddess felt hollow inside.
I feel as if that was a mistake.
Her voice was different now; it was still distinctly feminine, but was atonal and without life.
And to answer your question, I do not know.
The icy scales of the dragon eel began to crumble as she fought to maintain stability. Within moments, her once monstrous form was gone, replaced by a vortex of pale green ice crystals.
I would guess that something within water itself was warped. Water was intricately involved with the creation of...
The storm of ice crystals whirled faster as it sought to remember.
Lor'quhan. Something changed on that world. Allowed something into me, into Water. Watch -- even now it spins within the sphere.
The whirling ice drifted closer to the globe of pure water.
Allow me to magnify this for you.
The spinning of the ice shards slowed, several of the larger pieces interposing themselves between Zo-Att and Water. The reflection loomed large on the fractured corpse of Hrinori, but a small, squirming...thing... of purplish-black was cleanly visible.
Obviously, Water needs to have this... other... excised.
PP Expenditure
+1 new day
5/7
"My pleasure."
The chunks of ice arranged themselves in the form of a shaft. The edge broadened, and the pieces attached to eachother, forming a spear of pure Ice. She then thrusted the spear right to where the corpse lay. As soon as the spear made contact, the water and Hrinori had all but vanished. There was no trace left; they were utterly destroyed.
But... it was still there, somewhere. Had someone taken water into their own hands?
PP Use
2 PP - Create Artifact - Empty, the Ice Spear
+1 PP new day
[6/7]
She-who-had-been-Hrinori felt a strange release of pressure as Water disappeared from the vicinity.
The swarm of ice stabilized, but did not reform into a definite form. Instead, tendrils curled down, enveloping the small shard of... other...
The goddess cast out the splinter into the void, sending an echo of her remaining power with it.
From that which drove me to madness, I shall create one to govern such maladies, so that no god, save this one, shall needlessly lose themselves ever again!
[PP Expenditure]
-2 Ascend God: Madness
[3/7]
"This emptiness I feel is not one of number, but one of... I guess the word would be quality. We have filled parts of this great void with beacons of green and white and black and purple, yet... they do not sing."
Grawlf's eye scrunched in displeasure.
"No. No... Sing is not right... although it is sort of right. Their minds... their minds do not sing. I look into the eyes of the life we have created and... it looks back not knowing what I am or what to do with my power, and especially my gifts. It just frustrates me that I cannot speak to them and tell them what I wish them to know."
Grawlf shook his eye back and forth.
"Oh... ignore me. I just wish I knew a solution." he said.
Grawlf pulled out a small bit of his essence and began to toy with it. He began with an eye, much like his own, pulling it larger and larger. But merely an eye would not work. Reaching into the world before him, he pulled out rock and squeezed it with his mind, flattening it and transforming it into a dark, iridescent metal. these he wrapped around the back of the eye, giving it protection. He also fashioned a number of metal articulated tubes, reaching out from the main body. Into these he fed lines of power... power to fight, but more importantly, power to create, just as he could create. Finally, he fed in more and more power, recalling what Sonel had done earlier.
"Arise, Samtaana."
The eye blinked then focused.
"Hello"
PP:
3 PP: Ascend Exarch: Ascend Samtaana, who appears to be an eternal tyrant shell for all intents and purposes. Provides create PP.
+1 PP (1/7)
Khitis thought for a moment. "I think I understand what you mean, Elder Grawlf. You wish to see life... like us, but at the same time, not like us. Beings that understand what we have gifted them with... And who could, perhaps, use those gifts to greater effect than the beings that already roam the cosmos."
The life god had to admit that Grawlf's idea excited him. Life with a mind of its own... the wonders that could come from that!
The blue glow from the Oculus would fade now and Kouru's gaze turned away from it with a thoughtful look as he considers just what his gaze had seen. His pale form floating thru space and towards where Grawlf currently was located, all the while thinking over things, trying to figure out just what he was suppose to do now since the Astral Sea was complete now. It was had to say if the balance in this reality were tipping to one side or the other, and that is where the majority of his thoughts were as he arrives at the gathering of gods.
+2 PP for New Days. Total PP: 5/7
Sonel stared in awe of the tumultuous chaos that he was surrounded with. So much so that he didn't notice Lohak until he had practically walked into him.
"Oh, hello Lohak. It's so good to see a friendly face here. I've been wandering through this place for some time now. It's amazing. Plentiful amounts of raw materials..." the god trails off, realizing that Lohak's attention is focused elsewhere. He noticed the earthen god and a new one he hadn't met channeling their power together to create something... It felt like they were making a new god.
"Interesting, another one of us being born. I'll watch."
Flying.. ripping... swirling... Somewhere, in the great flux of elemental force known as The Chaos, a spark was ignited; a spark of consciousness... twisting... falling.. tearing...
And then a voice, booming and gravelly, "Indeed. For this Existence, I shall give this new entity
the fortitude and reliability of the Earth. The Balance of All shall be preserved. Chaos, though fundamental, must not rage out of control, lest all that has been achieved be spoiled."
"Wh.. what? What was that sound...? And why have I awoken to this terrible
pain? But.. oh! So much power!" The new consciousness reflected back on the words it
just heard, "The Balance of All shall be preserved. Chaos, though fundamental,
must not rage out of control"
"Is that what this is? Is this what that voice was speaking of? Is this... Chaos? All this power..? If it were to all come together as one... that would be balance?" Upon thinking that, the conciousness extended its awareness to the chaos of the warring elements swirling around it.
"Yes, balance. Thats this place needs. Perfect balance."
Through some force unknown to itself, it started feeling all the different
aspects of power that its awareness touched.. and started pulling parts of that
power into itself, all coming together in one sphere of light and darkness.
"Listen to me strange power. If you wish to end this suffering, if you wish
to reach your full potential, come together and work as one! Not one of you will
ever be able to surpass any other one of you.. this war is futile!"
The elements heard and understood. If they came together in union, not only
would it bring a halt to Chaos, but perhaps they could even give each other
power! One by one all the elements gave some of their power to the one who
spoke. The element known as fire lent the being its burning passion. The
element known as air lent the being its soaring freedom. The element known as
earth lent the being its unshakable resolve. And the element known as water lent
the being its pure serenity.
The being felt the elemental power come into him, and with each moment that
passed, things grew more stable in this realm, while the being felt like he was
being made whole. "At last, the conflict is over! No more wearing and tearing! But is this
all I was created for, to bring this madness to an order? I feel content but it feels as if
something's missing." As if responding to his thoughts, the tides of chaos receded, and there
came forth a new element, previously hidden amidst the chaos. This was the fifth
element, known as Ki, the living energy of the universe.
A profound force entered the mind of this being. It said unto him
"You have my thanks for quelling the imbalance that was ravaging this land."
"What is this, are you another element?" the being asked.
"Oh, I am nothing. Nothing and everything. I have two gifts for you. One... is a name.
A name is power, identity, and will. You shall be known as Avalokama, bringer of balance. As for the next gift, I bestow upon you this five-pointed star, representive of the art of balance you have performed here today and will grant you great power, when the time is right"
The five pointed star then came to rest within the center of Avalokama's sphere form, shining brightly with the colors of the elements. "My name is Avalokama," the newborn god repeated, "and I am the bringer of balance. The disruptor of chaos, The holder of the sigil of the star, and the God that will bring Balance to all realms."
3 pp- Create greater artifact: Sigil of The Star
3/7 pp
Shry watched as this god, Brinn and Khitis, as well as Grawlf discussed life, and how to make it, how it should be formed. He saw the life, flowering and blossoming in the rocks that were connected by the strange bridges. He thought for a moment, and then reached out his power, reaching inside himself. He brought forth the essence of dreams, and then began to pull strings of life from the plants inside. He melded it with the dreams, soldifying it. He then placed it on one of the rocks. It formed itself, twisting and shifting into a form that it seemed to like. He smiled.
+3 PP: three days
2 PP: Spawn Beast(Greater): Dream Beast
[3/7 PP]
Sonel looked on as the new godling awoke unto the Chaos, and was amazed when it momentarily brought peace to the place, balancing it out. Calming the elements from overrunning each other and restoring a modicum of lost order. Impressive abilities this new god had...
"Salutations, cousin. I am Sonel and I bid you welcome to this realm! How is it that you brought equilibrium to the Chaos? I noticed the water receding and the elements overtaking one another, but you managed to stop them yourself. How?"
Grunting with effort again, Lohak placed part of the burden he was carrying onto the new godling.
Relieved of the burden, he turned to Sonel. "Child, good to se you. How have you been?"
Mechanics
Share Water domain to the new god.
Then he turned toward his Sorstal and Lohak.
"Shall we do something about our sister that abandoned her duty?"
The Silent One watched the life god go... well, silently. He was glad that the god responsible for protecting and fostering life in this universe looked so kindly on the creations of his Shadowfell... if he hadn't, things would likely be a lot harder.
Speaking of his Shadowfell, the Silent One sensed... something... was amiss with it. This new link he'd discovered between himself and the world gave him the sense of some kind of parasitic presence spread across the planet, like some kind of sore or corruption. Curious more than anxious, the Silent One floated through the planes protective barrier, and looked down upon his world.
What he saw surprised him. Fiendish creatures that seemed to encapsulate the essence of blood were everywhere, not attacking anything but just... there. It was sort of like having an amoeba in the room that just sat there, doing nothing, but you could tell that once whatever stupor had been raised over it faded it would attempt to devour you whole. Still, perhaps he could make some use of these creatures before he sent them away...
Grabbing up one of the demons, the Silent One took forth the slab of Failure's flesh from the place gods kept that which they didn't keep on hand. The last time he'd used it, he'd twisted himself... if he had a target for the fell magics, perhaps he would only twist that? Channeling his power through the flesh, making sure to not hold onto to it for overlong, the god channeled the power directly into the demon, making it twist in pain as it was... destroyed!? That was not his intent! The god made the bolt of power divide into many smaller bolts, striking down many demons in an attempt to lessen the flow of power to each individual one. But the attempt failed, and soon the demons collapsed onto the ground stone dead, their flesh rotted away.
Sighing, the Silent One returned the slab of flesh from where it had come. It seemed that he'd need to experiment more with the void between life and death before he could use it's power so... wait! The demons, they were dead, yet they still rose to their feet, rotted flesh bubbling, wings devoid of anything more than scraps of decay spreading out behind them! It seemed he'd succeeded when he had failed... a fitting result for using the power of a being called Failure.
He now knew how to reliable toy with the energy between life and death... soon, he'd be able to put his own designs for the after life into play.
PP Expenditure
+2 for two new days
1PP - Modify Epic Spawn - Blood Demons to Rot Harbingers - The Silent One uses the power of Failure to transform a small segment of blood demons into rot harbingers.
[4/7]
It was rapidly darting back and forth across the expanse, peering into each of her component shards. If she concentrated enough, she could even hear it thinking, a rapid, panicky fear for its "mistress."
Be at peace, my exarch. I am healed, and furthermore now know what to do with you. What I was once I can be no longer, but memory of that need not die.
Sparks of light danced amidst the ice as the divine essence, now whole once more, retreated from them.
You shall endure as a testament to my madness, to the dangers of corruption unchecked and unwatched -- Hrinori. Now go, little one, to the green world of Verda and retrieve my Crystal Lotus for me.
The small Exarch -- newly christened -- bowed once in acknowledgement before winnowing off into the distance.
And in the shadow of the Destroyer, a cloud of deific ice crystals circled idly, immobile and lonely.
PP Expenditure
+1 new day
4/7
"Hello, Truth-Seeker and Dream-Tender. Shry, tell me. What do the creatures of the universe dream about?"
He vanished from the chaos, returning to the world, seeking out his cousin Grawlf.
The the wind god willed himself to the flying island seeking the god of life...
PP (5/7)
+1 PP - New day.
"Lohak! What a surprise, brother. What brings you from your latest project to come find us?"
"Abandoned her birthright? Water has shirked her duty? Do you know why, Brother?"
"As for myself... I have just finished the construction of a gathering place for the gods in the newly forged 'Astral Sea' and now... now I feel somewhat lost, to be honest. I feel that the universe is missing something. Something big and important and yet... I do not know what it is. I guess... these animals we have created seem... stupid, unappreciative of our gifts or both."
Grawlf shook his head again.
"But I do not know what to do about that, so we need not worry about it. This business with Water concerns me. Tell me more."
He nodded in agreement. "Yes, the world is missing something, but what, I do not know yet."
Not waiting for an answer, Grawlf moved away into the darkness, calling out for Hrinori.
"Water-born, Hrinori, I must speak with you."
Here... I am.. here...
The crystals whirled idly.
I am immobile, and injured, but here all the same.
She-who-had-been-Hrinori watched as the gods of Creation and Knowledge approached.
Greetings, Patriarchs.
"Water-born, what has happened to you?"
This?
The ice shards shivered, producing a sound not unlike a sigh.
It was the work of Madness. It appears that when I created Lor'quhan with the help of The Dark One, I bound myself a little too tightly to my work. Corruption created a great artefact upon that noxious surface, and as Lor'quhan nurtured that foul creation to fruitition, so too di the domain of water itself aquire a parasite.
I was infected with Madness, though with the help of The Destroyer, it has been excised and dealt with.
But the process nearly cost my existence. I am no longer Hrinori, but something else. Perhaps something more. My exarch has taken that name, and even now brings me the sole vessel of power I have left. It is my hope that with it I can resubstantiate myself.
"Thou art a fool, dead one."
Para held her sister back.
"But we should deal with it wisely, 'else we become sadists ourselves."
The Sisters nodded in agreement. They grasped the struggling, spitting, biting thing in their combined grip. Their carried it up, up, up. Over the trees they soared, out to the deserts, out to the wastelands. Once there, they stopped. As the thing screamed and twisted, they tightened their grip. Beneath the force, it seemed to crumble, turn to dust, turn to sand in their hands. It struggled to keep its shape, but could not. To the dull ground below they cast the punished thing. There it slunk, miserable and hateful. Among the rocks it crept, lurking in their shadows. It hated the Sisters for what they did to it, and in the rocks it sulked. Over time it gathered sand to itself, growing, expanding its form. After a time, the miserable dust-thing was a tall, impressive creature that still could not hold itself together.
From the stone it fashioned a home, for itself, and for others soon to come. For it knew that before long, others would displease the Sisters. Then, he, the Sandman, would have them. He would be powerful, he would be strong, and stand tall and unafraid to cast down the Sisters.
In times to come, stories would be told, rumours whispered, of a man made of sand who lurked in shadows and dark closets. Upon the foul dregs of society they said he preyed. Parents warned their naughty children that he would get them if they did wrong, and when one had a nightmare, they said the Sandman had payed you a visit. And if you died in your sleep, it was his doing. Terror of the dark and the night, the Sandman, they said, will get you sooner or later.
PP Expenditure
3 PP Ascend Exarch - The Sandman - He is a combat exarch.
Avatars of might,
grow from these seeds,
fight for the forest
that spawned you!
At Ankirega's brief line of song, the life outside The Grotto began to shift into new, massive forms. A small copse of trees came together into four distinct trees, stout and far thicker. These new trees grew arms capable of squashing any of the demons that had come before, and their glassy wood protected them from external poison and corruption. Each stared at Ankirega, awaiting their orders.
"You will fight alongside myself and the Creator, Brinn, to protect the forest from any who threaten it. Until we call, you will wait here at the Grotto and keep it safe." The giant tree guardians nodded and took up places around the Grotto.
2 PP (1 from Life-Web): Spawn Superior: Rockwood Elementals
PP Remaining: 6/7
Deciding to answer the question later, Khitis turned back to the forested isles, having finally gathered enough power to accomplish what he wanted to. He focused his divine will, shaping two varieties of creatures that would be the primary inhabitants of the forests on his islands.
The first creatures were reptilian, and stood on four legs. They were covered in greenish scales, with a thick tail and a head shaped like a broad shield, with three horns protruding from the head which would allow it to root for food and fight. Twenty of these creatures appeared all over the four forested islands, and began to spread out, looking for various plants to eat.
The other creatures were also reptiles, but were bipedal instead. Their tails were long and whiplike, with arms ending in claws and a maw full of sharp teeth. Like the others, they were covered in green scale. Three came into existence, and they began to search for food like the others had.
Finally finished, Khitis sat back and watched the creatures for a bit, proud of his achievement. "Both creatures I shall call drakes. The former are Horned Drakes, and their duty shall be to clear out old, dying, and dead vegetation to make way for new seeds to grow. The latter are Fang Drakes, and they shall feed upon to Horned Drakes, so that way the Horned Drakes will never eat in excess of what the forest can provide. It is these tiny balances that will allow nature to exist without the need to look out for every single minute detail."
+ 1 PP (New Day)
2 PP - Spawn Beast (Greater) - Horned Drakes: Giant, plant-eating lizards who mainly feed on dying and dead foliage. They resort to eating newer plants if no dead plant matter can be found.
2 PP - Spawn Beast (Greater) - Fang Drakes: Giant, meat-eating lizards whose main diet consists of Horned Drakes. They serve to keep the Horned Drake population in check, and will likely remain on the top of the food chain for some time.
0/7 PP Remaining
"Former-Water-Born, your actions caused the unbalancing of much of creation. You should have..."
Grawlf trailed off. A corruption to the water domain would have also resulted in Hrinori's duty being left unfulfilled and compromised. Either way... the former water-goddess had had few options.
"I do not know what you should have done. Perhaps... Perhaps you did what was best at the time to preserve the purity of water, and yourself. Is there anything we can do to help you?"
The newly born Avalokama did then spread the tendrils of its awareness out in all directions... With them it felt several presences, all aware of its birthing. At first, it did not know what to make of these other beings.
The first thing noticed by Avalokama was an oddly shaped creature watching him.. Something spoke within it, and he knew that this was the deity known as Sonel.
"Hello Sonel. I.. I am not quite sure how I brought about this balance. Its almost as subtle as a breathe.. it was purely reflexive, I guess you could say.. its what I was created for."
Then its awareness picked up on two others.. deep inside it knew these three to be somewhat like him, as if they were created from the same force. He felt another weight added to his balance... the weight of the element, Water, was given to him by a being he knew to be Lohak.
Speaking to all of them: "I am truly thankful you have such faith in me, my friends.. But it seems that now, even with me being the one to rule over this balance, have became close to becoming unbalanced myself..."
Avalokama knew that there was something still missing.. not only from itself, but from the others, as well as this world around them. Maybe he would go to this "Flying Island" the one known as Eschal spoke of. Maybe it could seek out other experiences there, possibly discovering some yet unknown imbalance.. That could be the only explanation for this feeling.
Avalokama used its force of will, and stretched its awareness out to follow Eschal to the flying islands.
No wondering words about who or what he was, weather because of his essence or because he had fragmented from another god. The newborn instinctively knew his place.
I am Ninneve, I am the Prophet. I must lead the peoples of this world down the righteous path. I must lead them unto glory.
But first, I shall take my true form.
The shard, sickly glistening, shattered. A multitude of echoes of its form exploded outwards, blasting randomly, influenced by no natural law. In it's place stood an eight foot tall god, hacked from blackest iron. A fierce head, that of a jackal, if such a thing existed yet, tong lolling out and fiery drool sliding in long strings from the mouth.
A human torso and legs, still cut from iron, clad only in a loincloth formed of the same substance. Muscles, caught in an unsettling parody of life, trapped forever in a living rigor mortis, bulged across the torso and calves.
The face of the jackal, more vicious than a normal beast, or more than the mortal creature was destined to be, loomed out of the darkness. It lacked, however, eyes. In the crude sockets where they intended to reside, only pus and dark ichor oozed. Slowly trickling down the iron face of the Ninneve. The vicious fluid stained the iron down the mighty chest, leaving tracks across the mighty mass of dark iron.
Howling his jackal's cry to the emptiness, the god heaved, and wings sprouted from his back. Born aloft on those monstrous creations, Ninneve drove himself, wing beat by wing beat, deeper into the void.
I shall birth a world out amongst the nothingness, and in it I shall lay the foundation for my future return, my glorious ascension above gods and men.
The cloud of ice shuddered.
Answer me this: Am I still Water? Should I be so again if I am not?
The various fragments of her from became deathly still for a moment, a pulse of power sending a goodly portion of them flying away.
As my power yet ebbs from me I am compelled to create, to alter, to mold. My end, if it comes, will merely be a new beginning for something other. Indeed, Hark, for it seems Madness has come to the void.
+1 PP from New Day
-1 PP transfered to Hrinori thru the question.
Total PP: 5/7 PP
Black curls of finest hair fell down from her head. Her eyes glowed with the light of suns, her scales were smooth to the touch and golden in colour. Her neck was as one of a swan, her wings were black as obsidian, her legs were well-shaped, her claws were sharp and her smile was mesmerizing.
Surely she was the fariest of all the gods? And yet...
With a frown she turned her back on the pond. Yet...she was alone. Her creations were wonderful in every way...but lacked intelligence. The Sun Worms, the Herrim even her beloved Star-Beasts only lived for the moment. What she wanted...no...what she needed was someone to talk to. Another God with other words. Yet the only wat for her to get other Gods to come to her was to beg. What she needed was someone that would be with her, work with her, speak with her and create with her. She didn´t need an Exarch, she needed an equal with other words another God...
The golden Wyrm rose high above the trees on might wings, her eyes remained at the bond where she was nothing but a black dot now. A black dot surrounded by the whitest of light, she turned around and what she saw struck her with awe....she saw the Moon. A round orb, white as snow, a twin to her Sun. It was beautiful...
" Live..."
She whispered. Her eyes glittering in the moonlight.
" Be mine..."
She said as her hair blew in the wind.
" Arise! "
She shouted as her form changed anew. Something within her had awakend, something that made wings turn in to ash, something that made golden scales fall, something that made golden light break free from mortal shell and reform itself as something new. Black hair blew in the wind. White skin, plump lips, smooth hands, pointy ears, long legs, firm bossom and eyes that looked as if they were made of purest gold.
" LIVE! "
She roared and with that roar the Divine spark within her began to burn. An aura of golden light flowed out of the Goddess and raced against the full Moon and struck it with a sound of thunder. Divine essence poured through the moon, shaping and forming what would be the Sun Goddess first true child.
Ascend God 2PP: The Moon of Yrië
3/7
1 PP: Create Artifact (Lesser): Chord Amulets
PP Remaining: 6/7
That is the first thought that entered the godling's mind.
I am Ymalos, I am the Moon, I am the Sun's Mirror.
The bright godling turned to the god next to him and said
"You are my mother, are you not? Why did you make me? Are you not bright enough already? Why do you need someone to reflect your light?"
She hovered in mid-air, feeling the planet with her senses. It felt... green. Green, with a small bit of white (recently) with fading overlays of black and teal.
The Exarch's face pulled into a snarl, and she cast out her senses further -- there, beyond the well of green, a small pocket of steel-blue. That had to be the mistress' work.
The exarch whizzed through the air once more, skimming the tops of regular trees and swevering to the right as she passed a massive, interconnected grove. Not very far from that place, Hrinori settled into the river, guiding the small crystal flower she found there onto her head.
She rose up, and started headings towards the grove, seeking the open void beyond.
Smell of Hrinori? I am Hrinori. Do you know my mistress? I am on an errand for her, she is dying and needs my help. If you want to continue this conversation, you must follow me, for I cannot waste time.
--------------------------------------------
The vortex of ice clinked idly in the void.
I was born of your will perhaps, Lohak, but I am no longer your child. I am something else entirely -- something new. Since it is needed, yes I shall remain the goddess of water. But I, who have risen up from the ashes of Hrinori, represent something unheard of in these cosmos. I was lost, but I have since found myself again. I am... renewal.
PP Expenditure
+1 new day
+1 God of Truth
-1 Claim Domain Lesser: Renewal
5/7
"I suppose I should wait to accumulate more divine energy before I attempt to shape more of the islands. That last act was rather taxing on me," the life god murmured, contenting himself to look upon the drakes that he had created. Already, some had paired up and laid eggs, the next generation already on its way. Khitis could also faintly feel the creation of new gods in other areas of the cosmos, but he did not bother himself with that for now.
Instead, he turned to Shry. "So tell me, Lord of Dreams, what environment do you feel would best suit your newest creation?"
+ 1 PP (New Day)
1/7 PP Total
He turned away, thinking to himself. "It has been too long since I created. Grawlf, will you accompany me whi8lew I think?"
Not waiting for a response, he began to drift off.
7/7+1/1
Raising his fist, iron flexing in an strange parody of life, Nenneve compacted nothingness. He clenched his fist tighter and tighter, driving all of his divine strength and astral will to the task. For an eon or an instant, silence reigned. Then Nothing compacted, and birthed Something. Rocked by the titanic explosion of force, the god crashed against it, engulfing the explosion in a wave of crystalline force.
For a moment, his own will, bound inextricably with his work, seemed about to shatter, if that were possible. Then he mastered the explosion, and it shrank back within itself. The iron jackal head, trickling fluids, delicately tested the vast crystal lattice. Slowly, the blind god realized what he had wrought.
A sphere of crystal hung in space, vast and monumental beyond the ken of any save the gods. Yet the sphere hung hollow in space, its core destroyed by the explosion. In the center of this sphere, a small worldlet hung, fiery and molten, naked of greenery or other life.
As the light of the explosion died, darkness, first oozing, then rushing like a river swollen by glacial melt, returned.
Light.
At this thought, not yet voiced, the sphere began to give off a soft blue glow. Bit by bit, the fires on the worldlet died, and within a few centuries, a steady, unchanging twilight, tinged blue, covered its surface.
Here shall I conceive my armies, here shall be the seed of rebirth, once I have cleansed this universe of the Madness that grips it.
His wings, clenched in an arthritic posture against his back, unfolded, and Nenneve lofted through the Void again. This time retracing his steps, returning to the realms of the gods.
I must see the works of the other gods, dimly remembered before my expulsion. One must know what one is to hate.
PP
2PP Mold Land, Greater- Crystal Sphere
2PP Mold Land, Greater- World
His work with the blood demons complete, the Silent One now had to contemplate what to do with them... there was simply no way he could allow them to reside on his Shadowfell. The mere presence of them nagged at his mind, making him itch with their every step and wince at their every call. This link was becoming more and more bothersome... once more taking up one of the demons, the dark god attempted to read it's essence to divine from whence it had came. Hmm, it seems it came from... Verda? No, one of it's moons... no, first one, then the other. He wasn't sure to which he should send the rapidly growing demonic populace and the artifact from whence they were spawned... he supposed that the best option would be the moon. That bothersome forest god would be pulling his tentacles in a death grip if she found out he'd intentionally sent such a menace into her little pet project.
Gathering his power, the Silent One sent the demons and their cesspool of creation back to the moon from whence they had came. Now that that was taken care of, he could examine this new link in more detail.
PP Expenditure
1PP - Create Artifact (Modify) - Send the blood demons and the artifact that spawns them back to the moon from where they had originated.
[4/7]
"I feel that they will be good on their own, right here. Still, there is more that can be made with life."
He reached out, and began to reshape one of the Dream Beasts. He molded it, forming a much more pliable form. He change the essence of dream in it, making it less of a physical being, and more of a spirit. As a result, it body was morphic, and could change its form. Another couldn't change its form, but had wings, which it could use to ride the air in the Isles. He smiled, as dreams and ideas for more creatures filled his mind. He could spend a long time forming them.
2 PP: Claim Domain(Moderate): Imagination
1 PP: Modify Action on the Dream Beasts. Make some into Dream Shifters
1 PP: Modify Action on the Dream Beasts. Make some into Dream Flyers
+1 PP: New Day
[0/7 PP]
At his touch, however, the demons seemed to crumble and turned to sand. He placed them in the wastes near his home. The pools of blood now bubbled away like black ichor heated to boiling He placed these in pits set in the floors of caverns all about the wastes. He flowed back and admired his handiwork. Now great beasts composed of sand prowled the wastes, and more were spawned in the bowels of the earth by the blood pools. He nodded in satisfaction.
PP Expenditures
1 PP Modify Beasts (Greater) Make Waste Demons out of Blood Demons.
4/7 PP
The broken Goddess watched as Hrinori approached. Without the need for words, the exarch hurled the artifact into the center of the rimestorm.
Finally, the divine energy within her had a new anchor. A lithe, imperceptible (but still somehow obviously female), silhouette emerged from the gelid shards
The shadow stretched, as if to ease long-unused joints, before retrieving the Crystal Lotus from within the cloud. This it hung within its breast, giving a pale, faint, blue aura to the shape.
Kouru, seeker, I tell you now with confidence that I still am who I am. This artifact was created when both Water and Ice combined, and it has reignited my desire for its governance. Ah, but look at this mess that my Madness has wrought. From nothing to something -- that is the essence of renewal.
Shadowy hands collected the dancing crystals, forming, squeezing, pushing, rolling, the recalictrant ice into a singular shape.
The goddess suddenly cast out her hands, and from them sprang an immense bird, radiant and silver, trailing sparkles of light.
I am Renewal! I shall take the ashes of that which was and from them revive that which will be! I am the Sculptor, and all the void shall benefit for it.
The Sculptor sent a mental call out to Lohak as the god departed --
Kin Lohak -- I will go now to your plane of rampant creation to learn as you suggested I should, once, long ago. If I am successful, know that I shall come to you soon again -- you are not the only one in search of projects.
The shadow of The Sculptor began to fade from the void.
Hrinori -- guard well the void in my absence, daughter.
PP Expenditure
-2 Spawn (Superior) -- Gaerth, The Silver Phoenix
[3/7]
" I am your mother, my Child. Your purpose is your own to decide...but the reason to why I created you is simpler. I...wanted someone by my side. Someone tied to this world..."
She pointed in Yrië´s direction. Yrië was a beautiful world with it´s vast, blue oceans and lone snow-white continent.
" Also...I wanted a child. Someone to care for and help. "
The Goddess of light added and looked away from her child.
"Yes, Creator? You wished to speak with me?"
+1 PP (2/7)
Grawlf sighed.
"And yet... I still do not have any real ideas about that. Perhaps that is something we could do together, Creation... create something that has the ability to know us, and to learn from our knowledge, and create things of their own."
Right now, she had an agent living within Verda. Raithon lay dormant in its core, ready to corrupt its forests and create more of his offspring, the demons. The Blood Demons were scattered, but it seemed her son was taking care of them for her. It seemed like she would never take Yrie at this rate. Thinking hard, Zo-Att formulated an idea to which she could spread destruction to the cleanest of planets.
Zo-Att lifted up her tail, and moved it close to her mouth. Opening wide, she placed the tail in her maw and bit hard. Black ichor spilled from the wound, and the tip of her tail fell to the planet below. It dug under the earth of Yrie, and managed to burrow all the way to its center. There the tail re-grew into a fearsome form. It did not become the same shape as Zo-Att, but rather slowly evolved into a quadrepedal creature. It grew a carapace with sharp spikes and teeth to fill its gargantuan maw in multiple layers. The four feet grew claws, and its tail glowed black and wispy, much like Zo-Att's own tail.
It was a force of great destruction, but for now, it remained dormant. Its potential was great, but Zo-Att wanted her creation to be a surprise. Not a very pleasant one, however.
+2 PP new day
-2PP - Spawn creature (superior) - The Elder Tarrasque
5/7
Why wouldn't this accursed link die! He hadn't created it, there was nothing in the creation of the Shadowfell that would bind him to it, so why did he even possess the damned thing! Being so linked to something so mortal, even if it was gloriously dark and secret, was almost more than the Silent One could bear. Creations and their gods should not be so linked when one was so obviously superior! It would be like that large algae spewing beast feeling every bite it took into it's food as though it were digging into itself. He had no intention of devouring his Shadowfell, but the point still stood...
Perhaps... he had gained mastery over fear, and freed himself of it by assuming it into his very essence. If he were to do the same with the darkness that his world comprised of... no, ALL darkness, everywhere, whether of Shadowfell or the afterlife or the void or night or even the shade cast by light... perhaps he'd be free of this accursed empathy as well? Gathering his might, the Silent One shimmered for a moment, before large quantities of darkness simply SURGED into his being, causing him to scream from the pain of having something so powerful and fundamental added to his body. Eventually however the darkness subsided, leaving the god to pant with exertion.
He'd done it. He could feel the darkness within him, screaming out to spread it, to block out the light and leave everything to fester in it's cool embrace. And in the process, he had... wait... the link was still there?! If the darkness wasn't it, what in the universe could possible be tethering him to this damned-
And suddenly, he knew.
PP Expenditure
3 PP - Claim Domain (Greater) - The Silent One claims the domain of Darkness
[1/7]
My Creator is cured, and all is well once more. Did you have more questions for me? Something else I can do to assist you?
Glancing around, he sighed. "This place is so empty."
"Long ago, I came to you asking your help in the creation of more planets to fill the void of space. Let us together work to create a new world where we can experiment, you and I."
With that the young god zoomed of to his moon and began making changes.
First it needed an atmosphere so that things could live in it. So he blew onto the moon and made the air grow around it and stay there. Once that was done, the godling had to make something to live on his world. He created giant beasts called lunar striders with tree trunk like legs, long tails and longer necks. Soon after he made them, he noticed that they were dying for seemingly no reason. Then Ymalos saw that he had not given them anything opon which to feed. So he made huge forests with trees for the giant beasts to graze. Now all was well with his world, and Ymalos could rest for a while.
PP:
2 PP Superior Mold Land: Create an atmosphere for Yrie's moon.
2 PP Greater Spawn Beast: Create lunar striders.
1 PP Nourish Land: Create a huge forest that covers the moon.
1/7 PP
They say there is a Knot in the sky. A tiny Knot from down here, but up there, it stretches wider than any sun or moon. There are spiders, they say, that work endlessly to stitch up the Knot. Back and forth they go, toiling away. And down below them, they say, there is a river. This isn't just any ordinary river. If you marched up to the edge of it and peered into it, it wouldn't be rocks that you'd glimpse at the bottom. There be spirits in that river, old spirits, young spirits, and in between spirits. I don't think any living person has ever seen the river.
If you follow the river, a strange land awaits you. This is the land beyond time, beyond space, so it doesn't follow the rules we have around here. There are deserts that stretch as far as the eye can see where monsters made of sand prowl, searching for blood to ease their terrible thirst. Here the Sandman sits in his stony prison, waiting, and conspiring. There is a forest, they say, along the river, where the spirits of the dead come out to play.They become children then, and they dance about the boughs of the trees, waiting until they are ready to go down the river. But the most fantastic thing is yet to come.
There is a tower, they say, along the river. A tall, smooth, stone tower. There is no door to this tower, no window. No apparent way in or out at all, in fact. But within, a world of wonder awaits, for here, the Sisters toil away. Here, the joyous Pasha sings songs of endless beauty as she tends to plants taller than you or I. Here, mysterious Panna picks apart still-wet corpses, finding arcane meanings in the bloody entrails, the still-beating heart, the ropy intestines. Here, Para sits and scribbles away at her desk, recording anything anyone has ever said. In fact, at this very moment, she is probably still there, scribbling out this very story.
This world, this fantastic world-beyond-the-Knot, that is where all of us, someday, will go. And if we're brave enough, we might just head down the river, and see what happens next.
Lohak grinned and lifted his hammer with two of his arms, brining it arcing around to shatter a hole into the Chaos. through the breach the raw material of creation poured through as Lohak's other two arms steetched out, shaping and molding is as it flowed past.
As his hammer withdrew, the breach slowly closed, the flow of material came to a halt, but he was not finished. He walked into the middle of it all, a small bit of elemental chaos loose in existence, already touched by his power, moving into place where he commanded.
At the center of it all, in the middle of the area, surrounded in stone, shielded by metal, protected with all his power was a small artifact, bringing order and stability to the masses of floating islands and the air around them.
Mechanics
1 PP (Artifact) - Mold Land (Superior) - A large mass of foating islands
1 PP - Mold Land (Superior) - Add water and copius quantities of air into the area
3 PP - Create Artifact (Greater) - The Stabilizer (Nourish)
The stabilizer brings order to this planet/area. The air cannot escape it's field of effect, the floating islands move in a standardized orbit around the central island that holds the stabilizer. The stablizer will also enforce a weather effect as necessary once weather exists. In effect, this is a planet without a solid center.Finally, within the radius of the stabilizer, gravtiy is always pulling in a single direction. The stabilizer can only nourish within it's radius.
3/7 PP + 0/1 PP
"Yes, I think this will suit our needs perfectly. Let us make it a bit more... welcoming."
Grawlf began to spin around his eye, arms moving so fast that they blurred. Suddenly, a stream of seeds flew from his body, falling onto the rock below, where they took root and began to grow with great vigor. Soon the planetoids were covered with a variety of different habitats.
"Now, what shall we call this place?"
PP:
1 PP: Nourish Land: The planetoids are covered in plants.
+1 2/7 PP.
Floating up respectfully behind them, Brinn said "Hello, Lohak, Grawlf. It's been too long since I've seen you, I hope you haven't forgotten me.," she said, smiling.
- - -- -
Ankirega nodded to the new Hrinori. "Yes, if you wouldn't mind. Am I correct in believing that your creator was the original Hrinori? What happened to her?"
PP: 7/7
"Mother, I need your help. My lunar striders are overrunning my moon: there are so many, I don't no what to do with them"
PP:
New day +1 PP
2/7 PP
"Hello Brinn, it is good to see you again. Do you recall the dilemma I was talking to you about earlier? Lohak and I are going to work together to try and solve it, for he too has been feeling the same unfulfillment as I have. What do you think of our new place of experimentation?"
Turning to Brinn, he frowned. "You sem vaguely familiar, but I can't say I know you."
Finally, he turned back to the new world, lifting his hammer. "UNless you have business with one of us, please stay out of our way."
PP: 7/7
He suddenly reached out, grasping Brinn in a hug. Stepping back to his work, he frowned. "Welcome to the family, grandaughter. Yes, I think I'm going to have to have a talk with Sonel. One shouldn't hide famlily members away."
"As for help, there is something I could think of. Guardians for this world, to keepo away others would would meddle and interfere."
Now she is healed and known as The Sculptor. I have her old name, for remembrance of times past.
She has been wanting to make something big for a while now, but I'm not sure what it is. I know she seeks stronger building materials than just ice.
Hrinori perked up.
You are of the Forests, right? Maybe, when the time comes, you can lend your wood to the task as well!
PP Expenditure
+1 new day
4/7
- - -- -
"I have plenty of energy to spare, yet the question is what to do with it..." Brinn looked out the starry void, Verda just barely visible from this distance. She thought of the air Eschal and brought, and her ideas made manifest in the Dreamscape. Creatures who would sore the void and sky above, as well as the ground below.. She thought of something, curious. "When I came here, I saw you use your hammer to get energy from...somewhere. What did you do?"
" I will help you, child. In exchange for a simple service. Your forests...are green, spoling the surface of an otherwise white world. Would you be kind enough if you made your forest white? "
A slight smile touched Maibe´s lips and she laughed.
" Nah, my Child, I will help you no matter the colour of your forests. Though...yet...it looks odd.."
The goddess of Light shook her head and smiled anew at her blessed child.
"Hm . . the creature will need the ability to soar through air and void, yet be powerful enough to defend this place and take the powerful hits that will doubtlessly be directed at it. Armored by the hardest of metals yet able to bring forth the purest and hottest of flames as its weapon."
She could be heard on occasion, murmuring softly to herself:
Ah, so it's stronger than that, but when you, aha interesting. But this one -- I see, I see.
Lohak had been right -- it was better to experiment for yourself. It was not mastery over just any metal her art required, but a specific one. Some were too brittle, some radiated violent energies, some were incredibly hard to work with, and some were incredibly hard to find.
At last she made her decision -- a plain-colored metal that was both relatively lightweight and strong. Furthermore, it could be purified with enough heat (something the Chaos had quite enough of) to make it stronger and more resilient.
But perhaps what interested her most is how it reacted with her Water -- flaking and decaying, deteriorating bit by bit, and turning a reddish-orange. Sure, there were other, shinier, stronger metals in the chaos, but this one's connection to Water -- that had sealed the deal for her.
The Sculptor concentrated for but a moment, feeling her way up through Lohak, through the sisters, down through Grawlf, through Sonel, until she found Brinn.
Kin Brinn, I am coming to visit you. It has been quite some time since last we met, and things have changed -- do not be alarmed at my appearance.
The Sculptor concentrated again and stepped away from the Chaos, back into the Void.
Taking a moment, she gathered her bearings. She noticed Lohak and Grawlf hard at work with their new construction, and then Brinn before her.
Hm. It appears I am not the only one to have changed. Greetings, kin.
PP Expenditure
-1 claim domain (lesser): Steel
3/7
"Mother? Where have you gone this time?"
+ 1 PP (New Day)
2/7 PP Total
As it just so happens, Brinn, I have discovered a particular metal with properties quite pleasing to me. I would be happy to provide knoweldge of its workings for your guardian.
The Sculptor waved her hands, as if pulling something from an invisible pocket. Newly crafted Steel, flowing languidly, red-hot, poured out of the Nothing to pool serenly in front of the forest god.
PP Expenditures
-1 PP given to Brinn
2/7
This creature would be able to intimidate just by existing. A creature of truly large scale... instead of the short neck Ankirega had, she wrung it out like a breadstick, rolling it into a longer form, and gave the creature an awe-inspiring face- backswept nubs of bone, and a large maw below intelligent eyes. It would need a longer tail, too, allowing it to turn easier in midair, and to protect itself from behind. The fur would not protect it from the vicious attacks the evil gods might throw at it, however.. for this, she took Lohak's idea and Hrinori's will, unconciously forming interlocking sheets of metal scales, to protect the creature's soft hide. Though she was not a metalworker herself, Hrinori could easily work with and through her. Lohak then shaped the scales in as fine of armor as could be made, each covering the other in an impentrable defense. This fine creature would be the first of many, she suspected- a perfect melding of the many elements.
"I shall name you Visarga, Dragon Patriarch."
PP Spent: 1 (+1 from Hrinori) Spawn Creature Superior: Visarga, Dragon Patriarch.
PP Remaining: 6/7
Kin, I am impressed.
The Sculptor drifeted in orbit about the great beast.
I am envious of the design, indeed. Perhaps I shall make an exarch similar to this one in the future.
He placed his four hands together into a sphere, the existence between them seeming to boil as he gathered his power. His first hand pulled away, drawing air from with the sphere, Then the second, eliminating fire and heat. The third stripped anything of the earth. And when his final hand withdrew, water was annihilated within the sphere.
Where once there was existence, waiting to be created, there now stood a hovering black sphere where nothing existed. A place where creation had been withdrawn, surrended, and eliminated. All that remained was the void, nonexistence. This sphere, this anti-thesis to his own creation, Lohak reached out and grabbed with his four hands, smoke risaing from them as it tyore at him. He took this power, and made it his own, bending it to his will.
Placing his hands on the dragon, he gave over this power to it, the power of non-existence, letting it channel small portions of it as a weapon against any who would challenge it.
Torn from within by the power he had taken on, Lohak looked at the three assembled gods, he passed out.
PP Expenditures
3 PP - Claim Domain (Greater) - Void
0/7
Moving forward, he picked up Lohak in his arms, swiveling his eye out so that Lohak was now being carried on Grawlf's 'back'. He looked to the other gods.
"Come, he cannot stay here. Let us move him somewhere more comfortable."
Grawlf concentrated and felt his body begin to fade as he made his way to the Court of the First Ones. Once there, he made his way to his chambers and laid Lohak on the ground, summoning up a soft essence to rest the god on top of.
That finished, Grawlf began to examine Lohak, trying to think of what he could do to help. Turning to Samtaana, who had been waiting for him in these rooms, he said.
"Get me Gierce, Sonel's Exarch. I fear we may have need of him."
"Curious..."
He then noticed that Lohak had just fainted. As Grawlf moved him to the Court, he followed, examining the god. Moving closer, he touched the unconsious god, reaching into his dreams. He recoiled in horror at the energies that were roiling there. Made of nothing, they ravanged the god, physically and mentally. He steeled himself for his task. Then he channeled his power and spoke, almost yelled in Lohak unconscious dreams.
"Lord of Creation, wake up! You are being torn apart by the energies. Wake, and help us to cleanse it from you, or to control it. We can do that, but do us a favor and WAKE UP!"
+1 PP: New day
[1/7 PP]
The life god was enraptured by this new creature. It bore some similarity to the Fang Drakes he had created, and also to the form that the master of the World of Light bore. And yet it was clear that this was an entirely different caliber of creature that he was witnessing.
"This is magnificent, Mother..." Khitis murmured. He was already wondering if more of these creatures should be created. If so, they could prove a mighty boon to the job that Khitis had taken upon himself; safeguarding the sanctity of life.
My greetings to you, brothers and sisters. I am Nenneve, The Weeping Prophet. I have heard your words, vibrant with power, echoing through the Void. I hear that you seek to create new creatures, creatures who shall know us and understand us. I am uneasy at the prospect. Perhaps you could explain it to me?
He begun looking for the god...
PP (7/7)
OOC
Btw I have no idea about who is currently at the islands of wonders, if anyone is still here I'd enjoy a talk :p
"Ah, granddaughter. I'm glad you are here. Can you do anything? You were there to help Sonel when his psyche was fragmenting."
Shry felt the energies attacking his essence. He began to try to fight the Void Spark, not with his dreams, for he was trying to prevent them from being perverted, but with his sheer divine will. The concentrated, blindly focused on pushing the Void out of him. As he did so, his mind, at war with itself, left his body, which then collapsed onto the floor of the Court.
+1 PP:New Day
[2/7 PP]
Eshcal begun walking around the forests of the islands of wonders, seeking the creatures that inhabited the place... they were so different from each other and yet so similar they inspired him somehow... He called the essence of the wind and begun shaping them, this time also taking some water from the one that dotted the flying islands, slowly some of the islands begun to be covered with a gentle mantle of mists, others where clear and sunny while a few has giant white cloud fluctuating over and under them.
Occasionally some time Eshcal constructs of air could not hold the water anymore and they begun to collapse, letting the imprisoned substance back on earth with rain.
As soon as Eshcal begun to sense the wonders of weather in his vast domain the calmness of air and the lone fury of winds shifted, reshaping itself to form new patterns of air and water...
PP 5/7
2 PP - Claim, weather Domain.
"Hurry, Brinn. Think of something, and quickly! your patients have just doubled in number!'
Maibe gave the moon a critical look.
" I will help you, child. In exchange for a simple service. Your forests...are green, spoling the surface of an otherwise white world. Would you be kind enough if you made your forest white? "
A slight smile touched Maibe´s lips and she laughed.
" Nah, my Child, I will help you no matter the colour of your forests. Though...yet...it looks odd.."
The goddess of Light shook her head and smiled anew at her blessed child.
"Well Mother, if it pleases I shall gladly change the color of my world."
Ymalos waved his hand and the everything on the moon turned bright white.
"I agree it is much better this way mother. Now you said you could help me so show me how to restore balance to my beautiful moon."
PP:
+1 (new day)
2PP (total) Modify: Everything on Yrie's moon is now white.
1/7
Sorstal felt itself shift, and after a second it stared not at the Elemental Chaos, but at the mountains and floating stones of the Bastion. Sorstal felt a sensation like a sigh of relief pass through its form. There was something beyond comfort here. There was a sense of rightness to this plane; it pleased Sorstal, and made it feel happy. It was a happiness that the god had not found in creating Agon, or the Beacon, or Mt. Sonnarian, or the god of Balance. True, those things had all made it happy, but this realm was a special kind of joy. It wasn't just creating life; it was encouraging the potential for life.
Sorstal floated there, in that eternal noon. I can create not only Being, but Being that encourages further Existence. I can do so much more.
2 PP: Claim Domain (Moderate) - Nature
+4 New Days in which Sorstal has rested
RPP: [7/7]
The Silent One oozed through the stone, making his way deeper and deeper into the crust of the Shadowfell. The underground caverns of the Shadowfell were the darkest of the dark, not merely a place where the light was absent but with a dark pall so deep that you could practically breathe it. Not that any creature not specifically designed to could breathe such perfect darkness for long... but he was not here to admire the subtleties of his dark world. No, he was here to confirm his suspicions.
Eventually, the Voice Without Sound found his way into the hollow in the center of the world... a stinking hollow, filled with the odd moan and wail of it's inhabitant. Failure. There were many secrets in the universe, but it was perhaps the only physical one that remained so even from the majority of gods. As far as he knew, only the creatures creator and he himself knew of it... and that was exactly how the god wanted it to remain. Normally he wouldn't even pay the creature a visit lest unseen eyes follow him to it's location, but he needed to know for sure.
Reaching out a tentacle, the Silent One placed it gently on what passed for the undead monstrosities forehead, concentrating deeply... before drawing back with a hiss. Drawing forth the piece of Failure's flesh he had been carrying in the pocket beyond existence for some time, the dark god looked at it in thought. So, the link wasn't with his Shadowfell at all, but rather Failure itself... no doubt a byproduct of the massive amount of energy that had twisted him into this vile corporeal form. And since Failure lay at the very heart of the Shadowfell, it could feel everything that went on in the world, as if the stone and creatures on it were extensions of itself. And from his minor probings, the Silent One found that the only way he could truly sever this link would be to kill Failure itself... which, due to the nature of their link, may very well kill the god in the process. And so the dark god uttered the universes first curse word in frustration.
But wait... perhaps there was a way he could turn this curse into a boon? He had an incredibly powerful creature inexplicably linked to him, a creature who's intellect was so undeveloped it was little more than an animals in fact. If the link could go both ways... then he could control Failure as though it were little more than a puppet! No different to the rest of creation besides the gods themselves true, but he found it significant none the less. But having even such a mighty beast at his disposal would do little good if he were to ever get into conflict with another god... he needed to give it more power.
Sending forth waves of darkness into Failure, the creature twisted and moaned for a moment, before it became somehow... more complete. Well, it's right arm anyway: while the rest of the beast still seemed incomplete and hazy, the monsters right arm was a fearsome looking appendage of bone with the odd scrap of flesh that looked as though it could squeeze the life out of Cragnas itself. The Silent One's tentacles twitched in excitement. Yes, this could prove very useful indeed... a weapon that no god would know of, and he hadn't even had to go out of his way to hide it as someone else had already done all the work for him.
PP Expenditure
2PP - Create Artifact (moderate) - Right Arm of Failure, which provides a +1 Combat Bonus.
[1/7]
Maibe mumbled and sat down at a soft piece of void. Her arms crossed in front of her as she looked down at the moon with a thoughtfull expression resting upon her beautiful face.
" Lets see here...if we take an ounce of purest light light, fire from the heart of the sun and merge itself with the shackles of mortatlity also known as flesh. "
As she spoke her words became reality.
"Black mane to adorn a noble skull, white fur to hide, long legs to run with, golden eyes to watch with, sharp claws to rip with, long teeth to eat with. nimble body to live in and a noble demanour that would awe even the sharpest of Gods. "
An enormous lion the size of an African elephant appeared in front of the Illustrious Goddess. She blinked and the lion was no longer alone. Twenty white-furred lions stood in front of her, each one of them with their Golden eyes focused upon their mother.
She pointed at the Moon and ordered them to do the following.
" Eat, live, laugh and die. Live your lives as hunters, as predators and balance-keepers of Maibe, the golden Goddess "
And so the white lions fell from the skies as golden lighting bolts and began to live their lives as the lone predators of the moon.
It began shortly after the birth of their new province, the fabled World on the River. Away from their own dominion the Sisters travelled, heading off in search of their children. They had begun to notice a strange occurrance among the dead that were coming their way. Perhaps through the unconcious will of their creators, the dead were becoming more and more aware, more and more proactive. They were starting to plan things, explore places. This was not the behaviour of mortals, thought the Triplet Goddesses, this behaviour was more akin to that of the Gods. And in their opinion, this was not right. So into the world they ventured. They searched for the god who, in their experience, was most capable of such perversions: the Voice Without Sound.
They sought out his world, the one that, so long ago, he had secreted away from them. Through the veil they passed, into the world of twisted darkness. It was like descending into dark, cold water. It inhibited the senses, slowed breathing in this bleak landscape They searched through the darkness, straining their godly senses. It was as though the place itself was fighting to keep the secrets it held from prying eyes. But when they finally found him, they addressed him thusly:
"We wish to discuss with you, oh Secret Keeper."
Their gaze then travelled to something, something that curdled their blood and sent shivers through their beings: Failure. They gazed upon the mangled, twisted thing, and were disgusted. This was terrible, far beyond anything they had ever experienced. They railed at the Silent One in horrid agony.
"What have you done?"
" Balance...you say...if you want balance you will need something that will keep your striders in check."
Maibe mumbled and sat down at a soft piece of void. Her arms crossed in front of her as she looked down at the moon with a thoughtfull expression resting upon her beautiful face.
" Lets see her...if we take an ounce of purest light light, fire from the heart of the sun and merge itself with the shackles of mortatlity also known as flesh. "
As she spoke her words became reality.
"Black mane to adorn a noble skull, white fur to hide, long legs to run with, golden eyes to watch with, sharp claws to rip with, long teeth to eat with. nimble body to live in and a noble demanour that would awe even the sharpest of Gods. "
An enormous lion the size of an African elephant appeared in front of the Illustrious Goddess. She blinked and the lion was no longer alone. Twenty white-furred lions stood in front of her, each one of them with their Golden eyes focused upon their mother.
She pointed at the Moon and ordered them to do the following.
" Eat, live, laugh and die. Live your lives as hunters, as predators and balance-keepers of Maibe, the golden Goddess "
And so the white lions fell from the skies as golden lighting bolts and began to live their lives as the lone predators of the moon.
Shape Greater Creature 2PP: The Aurrim, powerful lion spirits acting as Maibe´s chief enforcers.
"Thank you so much mother" said Ymalos "They are so graceful and beautiful. But Mother, I have a question for you. Are there other creators like us or are we alone in the world?"
Maibe shook her head.
" You are more then free to leave and explore the universe as long as you remember where your duties are, Child. "
The Goddess smiled faintly at her child and got up.
" I have some things to take care of my self after all, I discovered something rather interesting recently..something later projects will benifit greatly from. "
And with that the godling flew off into the void.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
The first place he visited was the sun. Ymalos did not like it at all. It was much to hot and there was no one there anyway. The next place he found was a beautiful green planet. Ymalos liked this one much more than the sun and he decided to stay there for a time. He flew down into the forest to explore and found that it was as beautiful on the surface as it was from space. The godling played in the forest for some time until he decided to go and see if there were any other gods here. He flew back up into orbit and almost crashed into a giant wolf that was talking to a huge blue serpent. "Oh i'm sorry." Said Ymalos "are you creators too?"
Reaching out with bands of power, she poured herself into the hole, clasping it with her will. She could not fill nothingness, but she could remove it to where it would do no harm. The void energies crystallized in her hand, suspended in a matrix of divine power that halted it's hunger. She then did the same for Shry, healing him completely of the void. The void remained in Lohak, though, despite her efforts. Panting heavily, and surprised at her body's strange new behavior anew, she stood up shakily.
"They should be safe, now... though I fear Lohak has too much Void in him to fully extract.
- -- - -- -
Ankirega looked over to the new god, squinting at the light. "Hello, young god. Yes, we are both possessed of the power to create, though neither of us is truly a god ourselves. My name is Ankirega, yours?"
3 PP: Create Artifact: Void Matrix: A large pitch-black gem with purple swirls inside. Immense power is stored within this, as it was the void taken from Lohak to save him. (Provides Create PP)
PP Remaining: 4/7
The Secret One nearly jumped out of his skin when he was addressed in what was arguably the most hidden place in the universe. He KNEW he should have been more careful! This would take some swift talking to get out of... fortunately as the god of deception this was far within his abilities.
"Ah! So good to see you all," the Silent One composed himself. "Though it's a little rude to come in like this with no warning. But to answer your question, I have done nothing. This... thing was hidden here by another who was ashamed of his work, who for their sake I will refrain from naming. Since then I've been furiously wracking my mind for some way to help alleviate the poor creatures pain barring it's destruction, for I doubt this creature is even capable of death. As you can see, I eventually decided to help give it a less abominable form piece by piece, beginning with it's right arm. You'll no doubt sense my power there."
Of course, the Silent One didn't mention that he'd been experimenting with the creature's strength for his own ends, or that Failure's more complete state was merely a side effect of converting it into a tool for his own ends. The god wasn't stupid, after all.
But their fury would not be sated so quickly. Like a great black storm they roiled and thundered above the Silent One.
"We demand that you reveal the identity of this vile creature immediately, do so, or feel our wrath."
They were positively frightening, consumed as they were by their rage. Darkness seemed to swirl and caper about them, becoming one with them. Their anger was palpable in the rush of wind, the roar of their voices, and the thyundering of their beating Hearts.
"You do not need us as your enemy, oh foolish one, our patience is not to be tested."
Their voices were like a primal, deadly thing, like a force of nature come to smite the transgressors. This was not a fury to be eased by simple words and assurances. Actions would be needed to halt this onslaught.
As the two powerful spirits begun to fight for their quite unique sense of honor and right, the clouds turned into a darker color and soon the land was engulfed in a hell of wind and lightings, many of the trees was smashed by the storm and the same happened to a few creatures that was walking the forest below, struck by lightings or carried away by the powerful wind. Eshcal could sense them, their pain and fear, he was ashamed and horrified by that, he could have stopped the fury of the storm with just an act of will, but somehow he was entranced by it, fascinated by ths sublime power that was unleashed by the winds.
After a few hours of fighting the spirits finally settled their dispute with diplomacy as they were made equal by Eshcal and none could prevail against the other with power alone, they were both unhappy with the solution anyway and for sure they will fight again...
With the storm fury gone Eshcal was not entranced anymore and he moved to the forest to check the damges infliced by the winds, a few creatures has being killed by the lightings and the god found a batch of abandoned eggs, as they hatched in front of him Eshcal watched for the first time the act of birth of a living being. The now orphaned lizard watched toward the god, looking expectantly at him... The windlord soon discovered that he could not abandon these beings to their detiny, to be eaten by others of their kind or killed by the storms that will probably be unleashed again on the islands. The god took one of the creature with his hand, the beast growled gleafully after the god touch...
"You are so small" tought the god "the other bigger ones will crush you before you became strong enough to hunt and defend yourself... I need to fix that..."
The god channeled a little of his power into the creature taking a energy that was left from the storm, trying not to hurt the drake, soon it begun to grow, still it was much smaller than a fully grown up lizard, but its muscle was extremely strong, its reflexes more refined and the claws and fangs as sharp as daggers. When the creature landed again and learned fast how to walk it was gifted with an otherwordly grace. Pleased with his work the god did the same with the others... "Well I still don't really know how to make a new life, but changing an existing one is much easier I guess... "
However he did not felt like leaving the creatures alone... And a weird ideas emerged in Eshcal mind. To better understand living cretures what better way than becoming one of them. Calling for the small particles that was flowing among the winds and the cosmo the god crafted from himself a new shell, that of a massive lizard, not that different from his new creatures and landed among them. He buried his divine mind under a shell of instinct, but left his memory intact so that he could remember what happened after his time as a mortal beast...
PP (5/7)
+1 PP: New Day
-1 PP: Modify creature, Drake, create storm drakes (name is a work in progress I'll make a page at the wiki when I find a decent one...).
I was born of Ice, wolf, not water! And even my mistress was not born from Water -- she was born from Fire; a balance. You act as if you knew more than you do. I find that unredeeming.
She turned to the godling, and bowed.
Well met, I am Hrinori, exarch of The Sculptor.
PP
+1 new day
3/7
The Sister certainly had a temper, and in other circumstances the Silent One would no doubt have caved into their demands. But oddly enough, the god simply stared them down... and laughed. A mirthful, side splitting laugh that echoed inside the chamber. Tears welled up in the gods eyes, and he could barely breathe for laughing. Not that as a god he needed too.
After his laughter had subsided somewhat, the Silent One replied. "Demand? You're in no position to demand anything! I know you're used to other gods mewling and bowing at your heels because you were first, but I... I'm an equal opportunist. Emphasis on the opportunist. You may well be superior in the void, but you are LITERALLY in the heart of my very source of power! Here, I am nearly TWICE as powerful as all three of you combined, who are you to DEMAND ANYTHING?!"
As he spoke, the Silent One's 'voice' grew louder, and more angry, until finally his tentacles shot powerfully into the ground, before surrounding the Sisters in cage that could tighten around them and attempt to crush them at any moment. "I could kill you right now," he said calmly, as though doing so would give him as much emotion as squashing a bug. "But like I said, I'm an opportunist. And you three, though irritating, may still be useful in the future."
With that his tentacles snaked away back into the ground, recoiling until they were back to their normal length and place. "Now, Sisters, what were you saying?"
She is not my mother, and she did not create the water. That was Lohak, lord of elements. The Sculptor was called forth to govern water, nothing more, nothing less.
The goddesses boiled and rippled outwards.
"Do not test us."
She turned to the godling, and bowed.
Well met, I am Hrinori, exarch of The Sculptor.
PP
+1 new day
3/7
"Hello Hrinori. You say you are the servant of a god of water. Would you do me a favor. This is what I ask. Will you make water for my moon, or at least show me how to do so myself?"
what exactly do you do, anyway?
"My my, I do remember saying an awful lot, but not once did I say that I'd actually let anyone else know if I killed you," the Silent One teased. "I AM the god of secrets, after all. I'm sure I could hide three measly bodies. Or one bloody mess, either way."
The Silent One's single eye frowned before he went on. "Listen here, time and death, I don't go messing around turning time back and forth like a yo-yo, so I expect you to pay some respect to my domain in return. You are NOT as right as you think you are, so how about I keep my lips shield, and you go ahead and take your best shot and see how many of the other gods REALLY think they're mother is always right regardless of the circumstances."
"Oh, is that what you think, is it? Well, let's just see..."
Simultaneously, the Sisters clutched their chests. A smile appeared upon their faces, even as something dark spread across their chests. It took the god a second to realize that it was blood. It dripped out between their fingers and fell upon the floor. Where they hit, a spot of brilliant light appeared. It spread, as more drops fell, and the light grew brighter. As one, the Sisters fell to their knees, and identical smiles still upon their faces, they fell. Around them, the pool of light was spreading as the blood poured from the wounds on their chests. Across the floor it spread, and up the walls. Through the ground the light spread, up to the surface, pervading and illuminating all. The Silent One had to shield his eyes from the brilliance.
Up to the ground above the light spread, in spots that spread outwards, that grew till they touched. Light poured into the sky, and testament to the fallen goddesses below. Across this stolen sphere the light spread till it was a brilliant beacon in the sky to rival the sun itself. To the stars the light reached, illuminating all, the secrets hidden away up there were laid out starkly for all to read. And right there in the centre of it all, written in the language of the gods, were ten words.
"The Sisters are dead. The Silent One did the deed."
And down below, in the very centre of the spreading brilliance, beneath the surface of the bright planet, lay the bodies of three goddesses, spent from their final act. And from them a final thought lanced through the Silent God, a thought so true, so pure, even he couldn't suppress it. It pierced into the centre of his being, and though he would fight to keep it out, it had become an irrevocable part of him, like a bright little tumour by his heart. A small reminder of the Sisters, and small reminder of that day.
And thus the Three met their end...
PP Expenditure
2 PP Create Plane (Lesser) The Lightfell
1 PP Modify Artifact (Lesser) The Secrets in the Stars are Illuminated for all to see.
1 PP Create Artifact (Lesser) The words listed above appear in the stars.
2 PP Claim Domain (Moderate) Truth - Given to the Silent One
Needless to say, the Silent One was angry. VERY angry. Who would have imagined the Sisters would go so far just to spite him?! Screaming in rage at their acts as much as the pain of the horrid new truth in him and the light that had bathed him in pain, the god quickly took up his black rod, wiping it across the sky in a vain attempt to erase what was effectively a giant 'kill me' sign on his back. And he did manage to erase the details of the event, even mention of Failure... but those words wouldn't come off!
Screaming with rage, the Silent One toppled stalagmites and stalactites for what seemed like hours before coming to his senses, breathing heavily with exertion. Those damned sisters... they all knew they were dead. And they all thought- THOUGHT, the Silent One knew he was not responsible for the mother of gods being mentally unstable- that he had done the deed. So what could he do? ...nothing. There was nothing he could do. As long as he drew breath, the other gods would-
As long as he drew breath... AS LONG AS HE DREW BREATH!
Moving quickly, before he was discovered, the Silent One gathered up the corpses of the Sisters and teleported into the void, dumping them unceremoniously somewhere near Verda. Then, he gathered his might, and created... himself. Or a copy of himself, black ichor oozing from a fatal wound, not drawing breath. In other words, he created his own corpse. Arranging the carcasses so that it looked like they had destroyed each other, the Silent One spared a single moment to look over the scene in satisfaction... before erasing his workings from the stars and floating off into the furthest reaches of the void as fast as he could go.
PP Expenditure
1PP - Create Artifact (Minor) - False Corpse of the Silent One - This is effectively a perfect duplicate of the Silent One, with the obvious difference being it's a copy of what he'd be like once dead.
[0/7]
Panna, Seer of the End.
Perhaps not the most elaborate way to mark her in the universe, but it would do.
2 PP - Create Artifact, Cloak of Stars
+2 PP new days
[5/7]
Unwilling to fight an unnecessary battle (with everyone else gone, there was no need to linger in Lohak's Isles), The Sculptor retreated back to Verda, where she floated among the Isles of Wonder, noting how what was once an steroid field was now a partially connected belt.
The void is becoming quite filled -- and yet, there is no easy way to get from one location to another. How nice it would be if my ferns could spread from Yrie to Verda, or Brinn's flowers to spread from Verda to Lor'quhan.
The Sculptor played with the thick growth connecting the Isles of Wonder, her idle hands stretching, shaping, sculpting the wood. And it gave her an idea.
As Water existed throughout the void, so too did The Sculptor. It required a monumental effort, but she organized the scattered drops, creating thin tendrils of water that spanned the void. One strand each led to Verda, Yrie, Lor'quhan, The Silent One's sort-of-hidden Shadowfell, every mass of planetary size in the void had such a strand pointing from it to the Isles of Wonder.
Another thought, and the strands hardened, becoming thread thing rods of ice. Opening portals to the chaos in distant locations proved harder yet, but The Sculptor perservered, supplementing the ice-strands with stronger lines of steel, providing a steady anchor for the construction.
A third deific thought brought Lor'quhan's unnamed sister planet drifting towards the Isles. The Sculptor intercepted it before it had crossed half the distance and eased the frosteel web up into the icy core, placing the linked strands deep within the planet's center.
That done, The Sculptor cast out her senses, seeking Sonel, and Brinn.
Comrade Sonel -- lend me your power! I have need of your gravity!
Kin Brinn -- lend me your power! I have need of your wood!
Kin Maibe -- lend me your power! I have need of your light!
Broadcasts sent, The Sculptor settled down, fully expecting to wait a while. It was then that the sky flashed white, the stars scattering.
Momentarily blinded, The Sculptor saw stars -- The Sisters are dead. The Silent One did the deed.
Who? Sisters?
The Sculptor turned, and became aghast. There, nearer to Verda but still frightfully near, stood the... corpses of four gods? Was that even possible?
She flew closer-- no! One of them was The Silent One himself!
The Sculptor drew closer, clutching the corpse fitfully. Steel blue tears slid down her shadowed face as she ran her hands over the corpse.
The stars are wrong, The Sisters killed you first, Comrade.......friend....
PP Expenditures
+1 new day
-3 Create Artifact (Greater): The Susurrus -- currently incomplete, this massive construction links all bodies in the Void (of planet sized mass) with a frosteel spike about 6 inches in diameter.
1/7
"The Sisters are dead. The Silent One did the deed."
Grawlf blinked furiously. There was no way that was correct. Grawlf sped off towards the Shadowfell to find his child and figure out what was going on. He sped through the barriers he had put up around the forgotten planet and stopped.
It shone. Shone with the light of a thousand suns. Or, rather... a portion of it did. As the radiance had spread out from the sister's bodies, the inherent nature of the shadowfell had fought back against it, restricting it to the northern pole of the planet. It was there that Grawlf sped, to the crust and beyond, finally coming to a rest deep in the center of the planet, where he had hidden Failure.
Something had happened here. A battle or something. Grawlf could sense it in the thrashings of his failed creation. And this light... it was not natural. But... no one was here. There was a ripple in reality, though... Grawlf grabbed ahold of this ripple and pulled, and found himself following the path that The Silent One had taken not long earlier.
And there it was that he found the bodies of they who had brought him to life and he whom he had brought into creation. Grawlf fell from Dvrgr, and the eye moved forward on its own to come to a stop before Para. He barely noticed The Sculptor's presence, hovering over The Silent One's body.
"No. No, nononono." Dvrgr said aloud, over and over again. This couldn't possibly be happening. Reaching into his core, The Eye pulled out several small pieces of his essence, fashioning them into balls and affixing each of them with a message.
"A terrible tragedy has occurred. Time is dead, the Secret-Keeper is dead. Hurry. My essence will lead you back to me, here above Verda."
the message complete, The Eye sent the message out to Lohak, Brinn, Zo-Att and Maibe.
+1 PP (4/7 PP + 1 Create PP)
Khitis arrived some time later, just in time to see Eshcal tamper with one of his Fang Drakes, imbuing it with thunder and lightning. He also noticed some drake corpses, killed by extreme heat: such heat did not exist anywhere on his isles.
"What happened to them?" the life god asked.
+ 1 PP (New Day)
3/7 PP Total
" Annoa Maibe Aorrim edu Aover. Mitr uru ove Eimer edu Arcan enoiver sethar draacon..."
And as she sung her words took shape. Blue symbols made out of solidified light began to appear forming a tight circle in front of the Illustrious Goddess. The symbols began to glow with the very intensity of the very Sun!
In the middle of the circle a heart appeared, a mortal heart that had once rested deep within Maibe´s old Draconic shape. A living, beating heart that in the matter of moments began to produce and endless torrent of blue blood. Blood that flowed, blood that fell, blood that evaporated in to a thin mist due to the heat of the Sun. Pure unrefined "Mana" the very essence of what would be magic turned in to magical, invisible mist, merged with the sun and began to spread across the world.
Everywhere the Sun´s light touched "Mana" came with it and stuck itself to plants, stone, living beings and even the very Gods themselves.
At every corner of the world a lone, thundreous sound was heard. Arcan Edu: The Arcane heart had begun it´s endless beat.
Create Artifact ( Greater ) 3 PP: The Arcane heart: An artifact that makes magic possible to be practiced by non-divine beings. It produced Mana, a substance few can see and even fewer use but those that can will be able to be classic DnD Wizards.
"Welcome back to your realm Khitis... Well, a few of them got burned by lightnings, terrible storm rises these days don't they? Anyway I found out that a few eggs was left alone and I did not want to see them eaten or killed by their strongest and older parents so I have given them my blessing..."
"I was ready to have a little experiment with these creatures, unlike you I really don't understand how life works and I was going to force me to experience that by taking the shape of one of these creatures..."
Then Eshcal looked at the sky, a proclamation has being issued, a murder among the gods maybe or other beings so powerful to write what happened among the stars anyway... but the names of the two beings that participated the act was unknown to the wind lord...
PP (6/7)
+1 PP new day.
- - - -
Brinn had left the Court shortly after healing Shry, and found herself blinded by the light as well. She vaguely felt The Sculptor's mind calling to her, but it was overridden by another call, from Grawlf this time. Following it and the gods, she soon found herself over Verda, where many gods were gathered. There she found Ankirega already nearby. "Hello, my friend.," Brinn said to Ankirega, before studying the scene in front of her. Ankirega looked up at lapped at Brinn's cheek. "I am glad you have returned, Brinn."
PP: 5/7 (I had to take back the second artifact I'd created)
+1PP new day
[6/7]
I may be an exarch of the goddess of water, but I am her exarch of Ice. I have no more control over water than Ankirega has over... over...
what exactly do you do, anyway?
"Could you tell me where I could find this water goddess?"
PP:
+1 PP (new day)
2/7
I would head... *that* way. In that direction lies both Lor'quhan and Verda. I suspect my mistress will be near one of the two.
Now, if you'll excuse me...
Hrinori concentrated, and faded into the Elemental Chaos.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Soon he came upon a great gathering of gods. Addressing them he said "Hello, I am Ymalos. I was told that I could find a goddess of water here"
"Tragedy, is it not? Our progenitors lie dead, our children lie dead. I would have thought it impossible to kill one such as ourselves, and yet I was clearly mistaken." Grawlf said, looking on the dead goddesses. Already, he could feel time itself slipping, see the great Divine Clock tilting on its axis, precessing about and sending waves of time distortions throughout the universe. Without its master, the clock would continue to rock, slowly destabilizing all of creation.
"Time's death has affected the universe we live in. Look! The dead pile up at the Knot, for their way is blocked, the great clock that directs time and the universe has begun to falter. We must do something."
Grawlf's gaze met with Zo-Att.
"Zo-Att, Death and Time are both Destroyers, for Death destroys life, and time will eventually see the destruction of all that was ever created. Perhaps you should take on the mantle of one of our Mother's domains. Then we can determine what should be done about the other. Brinn, do you know if Lohak will be joining us? I wish to consult with him, you and anyone else who might desire to listen about creating some sort of monument to our fallen."
Grawlf's gaze turned back to fall on the Sisters... and he hung there in silence, waiting for a response.
4/7 PP + 1/1 Create.
The Silent One was unsure how long he'd been waiting in the void. Without the Sisters, what felt like an age could be a second, and what felt like a second could well have been an age. Shadowfell, it could have been both at the same time for all he knew. For now though, all he could do was wait in the nothingness. Plotting. Scheming. Planning. The only company he had for even a moment was a small bubble of water drifting into the deep darkness of eternity, and when he saw how the Sisters light had scorched his skin and how the truth they had thrust inside of him had scarred him, he obliterate it in a fit of rage. He really needed to get that temper under control, or else it would one day be the end of him.
Finally, after seconds/millenia of thinking, the Silent One knew what he had to do. He didn't like it. In fact, he hated the very idea of it. But he was a player of great games, and with no pieces to move around the board he was in an eternal stalemate. He needed to sacrifice a few pieces to progress the game. Even if those pieces were the very reason he got into the game in the first place...
But he'd need help. Fortunately, he had two very willing helpers he could summon at a moments thought...
***
The thing with being stuck on a moon for who knows how long, is that it's boring. Really boring. You'd think that having someone with you would make it easier, and it probably would... if one of you couldn't lie and one of you couldn't tell the truth.
"Nice day today," Xidor commented.
"No it isn't, it's absolutely miserable like it is every day here," Rodix replied.
"But the sun, the breeze, isn't it all so cheery?"
"There is no sun, there is no breeze, and this barren rock is absolutely miserable."
"There is so sun and breeze."
"Is not."
"Is so."
"Is not."
"Is so."
"Is not."
"Is so."
That back and forth went on for... well, mortals wouldn't be able to conceptualize it. Eventually however their argument was interrupted by a portal of shadow appearing beneath their feet, teleporting them to the Silent One in exile.
"Rodrix! Xidor! I have need of your assistance," the Silent One stated.
"Your will is our command, sir," Rodrix replied.
"I won't do a thing you tell me," Xidor replied also. "And might I add you look absolutely stunning today, exactly the same as you did before. Not mutilated at all."
"Xidor... I hate you."
"I love you too brother."
[1/7, 1/1 Mould]
Zo-Att closed her eyes, feeling the distorted waves of time. The concept still existed, but it was unstable, and all of them could easily be caught in statis if left unchecked. It would be an end to them, that was sure, but it would not entail any destruction. It would not be a glorius finish; just an end. She took the time and separated it from the single point that it was converging to. She took all of the events that had alread occured, and placed them behind the point. All the uncertainties, and possibilities yet to come she put vaguely in front of the point, not as structured as the past since it had not occured.
"There, happy?"
-3 PP claim domain: Time
[3/7]
When he witnessed death before he has always seen tiny sparks of power leaving, souls maybe, or just lost essence, guided by an unseen hand they went away toward the sky, so sure of their final destination, however the victims of the storm did not manage to find their way, like sheeps without a shepherd to lead them.
"So that was the cost of that sublime storm, death, loss... I already did what I could for the surving creatures, but apparently that was not enough... To understand life I fear I'll have to know death first..."
Eshcal mind followed the sparks and took them one by one, there were much more around however that he could personally catch, their number was limitless, each time he god one of the dying spirits he could felt the moment of their death, horrifying but at the same time the sensation was as similar to the one induced by the storm.
Finally the god found a river, one where the souls could find a gentle repose in a place far from creation, unknown, Eshcal felt its call, a place unknown and unexplorer, maybe he should go there himself to see what was on the other side, but for the first time the god experienced fear and was unable to cross that waters.
There he begun weaving the wind again, not one of air this time, but made by something else, pure death maybe... the wind begun guiding the souls back to the river... "I hope that one day one of you will come back, told Eshcal to the tiny sparks of life... And tell me what it is on the other side... so maybe I could find courage for a visit..."
Then taking a last look at the souls he went back to the islands of wonders he did not want to have Khitis too much, maybe he can also help him understanding death better...
PP 3/7
3 PP Claim Greater Domain: death.
HIs four hands flexed to a close as he frowned. He called, and Valimandar answered, rising to it's place in his clenched fist as the stones all around cracked and splinttered, shaking with contained force. Shaking with his own fury, his other three hands unclenched, unleashing an undulating void, blacker than the blackest night, a force which sucked the veary heat and light from the room, leaving only a frigid darkness in it's wake. The energy raked around the court, slicing cleanly through stone as it toppled pillars, walls, and even brought down a tower. Pleased with his displaqy, he vanished in a torrent of twisted forces, flames scorching the nearby stone.
Appearing before Grawlf, he appeared relaxed, too calm, too smooth. "Grawlf, you will tell me everything you know about he who killed my mother."
"Are you well? I am glad to see you are awake. It would appear that the Secret-Keeper, sometimes called Voiceless or The Silent One has done the unthinkable and murdered our mother. Although, it would appear as if he, too paid the ultimate price."
The Silent One ignored the prattling of his exarchs... or exarch, they were both two and one at the same time. How confusing... but in any case, he had other business to attend to. Creating a shimmering illusion in the void, the Silent One sent a trickle of his power probing through the known existence. He needed a new form, but his experiences had actually been quite limited since he had so often be caught up in his own machinations. The Sisters would make a good base for the vague shape, after all no-one would expect their 'murderer' to take such a form. Though he would make his new body more masculine than feminine... but he needed something. A symbol. An insignia, if you will. A motif that was noble enough to be the perfect surprise, but deadly enough wearing it didn't cause complete disgust. Something like...
THAT. Some kind of powerful, clawed creature with fur and hair that just screamed nobility and honor, while still being a deadly predator. His mind searched for their name, and eventually came back with the word... lion. They even had lie in their name, how perfect!
Mustering his powers of the dark, the Silent One began to craft a large suit of black armor, not unlike that which a knight might wear. Albeit a knight obsessed with lions. It had lion head shoulder plates, a lion emblazoned on the front, even a lion head helmet. Nobody would ever connect this god with the tentacled creature without a voice.
Turning to his stone bodied exarchs, the Silent One looked them over for a moment before raising his tentacles. "Don't move," was all the warning he gave them, before slashing them again and again with his limbs, slicing away stone to reveal identical black suits of armor. Albeit armor far smaller and less decorated than his own, with but a single lion insignia on the front.
"Ow,"Rodix said simply.
"Oh, you'll live," the Silent One dismissed, taking off the chest plate and beginning to crawl into his new body.
Grawlf gestured off into the void towards the shadowfell.
"As for his creations... not even I know their number. But Lohak, rage will not bring our mothers back to us, and the doer of these deeds is dead. We must look forward."
In a flash of flame, he vanishes. With Grawlf's directions, he was able to find the shadowfell. Staring ast it's shimmering black outeredges he contemplated the below silently. Precautions needed to be made, to prevent the worst. He gathered his power, castinhg it forth, brining forth a new god, one to rule over thye dominion of fire.
WHile he waited for his new child to awaken, he unleashed a ferocious blast of blame into the barrier below.
Mechanics
2 PP - Ascend God - Fire
Like a burning comet, a meteor of hate and rage she rocketed about the assembled gods, her heat and her anger like a living thing, moaning, roaring, screaming for release, for vengeance. She was the thundering hooves, the biting claws, the stinging flames. Like an animal she coursed ever onwards. From the flames of her being, animals of righteous fury burst, adding their dreadful chorus to her own. She was ready to bite, ready to tear, ready to bite. She required only a target, a victim for this deadly and neverending rage. She would taste blood, she would not rest till her hunger was sated, and her victim was thrashing in pain at her feet, blood bubbling up from their throat, and her laughter signalling their terrible end.
PP Expenditure
2 PP Given to Lohak
She turned her head to the heavens, but the stars themselves were dark. Nothing indicated any conflict, meeting, or other engagement between the four gods. The Sculptor ran her hands over the corpse once more.
Those stars murmur unfathomably bright, my comrade. If you had truly done such a thing and murdered these gods, would you not remove such mention of it with your rod of darkness? Lohak and Grawlf are blinded with grief over their "mothers". The bonds of 'family' have driven them mad with rage. They seek to undo your work, without seeking to assert your blame. You are--were-- living proof that even the stars themselves can be made to lie.
The Corpse of the Silent One said nothing.
The Sculptor formed an icosohedron of ice around the dead god's corpse, hands shaking in fury as she did so.
No. I refuse to believe that it was you who did this. I will find they who perpetrated these events, and I shall make them suffer.
The sculptor turned towards one of the few gods remaning.
I know why you've come, moonchild -- my exarch has told me as much. My answer is that Water already exists in your moon -- deep within the ground, or frozen near the cores. You do not need my permission to call, shape, or modify that water as you see fit. Now if you'll excuse me...
The Sculptor turned and sped towards Lor'quhan. For some reason, the journey seemed to take longer than normal.
[PP Expenditure]
-1 Claim Domain (lesser): Vengeance
0/7
He arrived, noticing the gods bickering among themselves. He went and appeared in front of Eshcal, whom he could feel had taken on the domain of death.
"Eshcal... I have request. Could you bequeath upon me the domain of death? I believe... as the one who claims life and protection as my duties, that I should be looking after the souls of the departed."
+ 1 PP (New Day)
4/7 PP Total
He had a vested interest in that planet that Lohak was raging against. Failure, for all that it was a failed creation, was still Grawlf's first true work, and Grawlf wanted it safe and, to be honest, secret. It would raise far too many questions to have such a being see the light of the world beyond the Shadowfell's core.
Grawlf sent a messenger to Zo-Att, setting it to travel through the void in the hopes that someone else might hear it too, such as Scu'byss or Lizt or even Eshcal, whom he barely knew.
"Lohak has gone mad with rage and is moving to destroy the Silent One's planet and works. Come and help me talk some sense into him."
That done, Grawlf moved forward, allowing the cloak of darkness to fall from him.
"Stop!" his voice boomed out as he moved closer. "Lohak, I cannot allow you to do this. Your duty is to Create, not destroy. Work with me to build something to remember our mothers, but cease your bombardment, for it is not in your true core nature. This will accomplish absolutely nothing."
"Hello. Hello. Hi, nice to meet you. For honour! Thou shalt not cross me, lest thou taste the bite of my dark- bleh, I think I threw up in my mouth a little bit."
The Silent One flexed his new 'hands' as he practiced the mannerisms of his knew persona. One would expect he'd transfer his essence into the metal, but that was far from the case. The dark god had been twisted too many times to change his shape in such a fashion. In truth, the gods tentacles permeated the metal casing until the Silent One's body was as bones, muscles, tendon, sinew and all the other nitty gritty parts of the humanoid anatomy rolled into one. He even vibrate the 'throat' of the armor to create the sound the god lacked the ability to make. It was quite an ingenious mechanism really, the only flaw was that he lacked the ability to feel anything through the armor. Effectively he was giving up a sense, but it was well worth the price of living.
His work almost over, the Silent One sighed. This was the part he had been dreading... the part he'd left until last.
"Rodix, Xidor," the armored god spoke. He might as well get used to it... "That is, Honor and Chivalry, as you shall be known as for now. I require you to use your power over the shape of earth and stone to construct two halves of a planet sized sphere, made of an impenetrable mineral... let us call this mineral adamantine, shall we? I also wish you to construct a small hollow in the very center of each of the halves, that meet when they are joined. The rest of the spheres shall be solid admantine. Quickly!"
The two armored brothers bowed in ascent, before each began to construct their respective half spheres. Breathing out in an attempt to bolster his nerves, the dark got opened his chest plate, and thought carefully.
His plan hinged on the fact that no-one knew he had taken Darkness into himself. Oh sure, he had been as dark as they came, but literal darkness was beyond him until recently. Recently enough that the only gods to have seen him after he had taken them were the Sisters themselves. By embracing that aspect of himself, instead of the secrets and lies he had flaunted before, he would effectively be another god... and since the Sisters had so cursed him with truth, he would bring that scathing wound to the forefront to and act as though he actually gave a damn about it. How fitting that such a bane would turn out to be a blessing? The thought of the Sisters gnashing their teeth at it brought a smile to his.... whatever. And fear... only one he trusted and one he didn't had even seen him after he had embraced fear, aside again from the Sisters who now lay dead. He trusted Hrinoni implicitly, a concept almost alien to him, but the Truth God... that was another matter entirely. Still, the fact there was another god of truth should be enough to assuage him, after all if two gods of truth why not two gods of fear?
But secrets and lies.... they defined him. No not him, the Silent One, the one they sought to kill. As long as he bore their mark, any god would sense his nature and strike him down. And so... for a little while... hopefully not forever...
Reaching a metal fist into his chest, the new god dug his fingers into his own flesh, ripping out a shard of his very essence. Screaming in sheer agony, the god gritted his teeth and continued, slowly, agonizingly bringing forth a small sphere of power from his very being. Panting with exertion after what felt like ages of torment, the dark god looked at the sphere in his hand, that seemed to whisper every lie ever told, and that ever would be told.
"I am sorry... but I must live. I will carry on your domain even without your literal power... and I will return for you some day... but for now we must part."
Placing the sphere to the side, the dark god grimaced. That... had been the easy part. Now lay the far more difficult shred of his being... he had CHOSEN lies, how much worse would it be to tear out the very domain that had given him life?
The answer, it seemed, was very.
This scream made the former scream seem like a mere whisper. Raw anguish, going on for ages or seconds, minutes or millennium he had no idea. All he knew was the pain, the agony, the torment, the feeling of his very soul being ripped out through his nose with a hook covered in acid and razorblades, except ten times worse. And then... nothing. Barely able to catch his breath, the dark god weakly raised the second sphere to his eyes. A sphere that seemed to whisper every secret in existence, and every secret beyond it. Words of failure. Words of 'Grawlfs' true name. And words... of him. What he could do. What he WOULD do.
"You are... the reason... I came into this universe," he panted. "That first secret... so long ago... such childish thoughts of an invisible universe... the first lie... the concealing dark... it was all you, my very essence... but you know I must live to let you grow. And you know... to live... I must lay you to rest. But mark my words... once I can reveal myself... or dupe the others... or just kill anyone who gives a damn what I supposedly did... you will be a part of me again."
Looking behind him to see the brothers had completed their work, the Silent- no, the god with no name took up the spheres and placed them in the void. "Seal it." He said simply, and so the brothers obeyed, closing the two halves of the spheres together to protect their masters heart.
Steadying himself, the new god turned to look in the direction of creation. His next destination.
"Rodix. Xidor. Honor. Chivalry. You shalt not from this day forth know thee as the Silent One. Nay, from this day forth, until mine heart is returnedeth from thy sphere, you shalt know me as Dharrox, the Just Blade of the Dark. A noble knight whom's only mission is to prove to those who doubt him that mine dark is as much a tool for goodness as it is evil. It is not a lie, as mine days as the Silent One be over for now. Nor is it truth, for mine essence is not wholly dispelled. As such, mine noble knights, you may both speaketh of me in this guise. Now hurry, my companions!" He cried, posing dramatically and pointing in the direction they would go. "Yonder universe runneth dry of the dark, and needeth our assistance! Away!"
PP Expenditure
1PP - Supress Domain (Deception) - The Secret One temporarily surrenders the Deception domain
1PP - Supress Domain (Secrets) - The Secret One temporarily surrenders the Secrets domain
1 Mould PP from Brothers - Mould Land (Superior) - Create an adamantine sphere to securely hold the Secret One's power while he masquerades as Dharrox.
[0/7]
"I'm sorry brother, but I'll not... This is my burden now, one I wish to carry alone... However do not feel afraid for those that leaves your embrace, I'll see that they could reach the end of their last travel in safety, with a little envy maybe, for what they would see on the other part of the veil, something denied to me and you I fear..."
"Should I feel that something threatens their path, mortal or divine" he told, his eyes watching Khitis with a cold light within them"... living or not, they will have to face my wrath. And if it will not be enough, I'll not let my pride cause the dead to suffer and I'll call for your assistance..."
"Now, if we can solve this peacefully wich I hope we will, as I admire your wisdom and skill... I feel that something around us is changing as we speak, one of us whose nature is unknown to me, but yet strangely familiar, is no more, do you have any knowledge of these facts?"
PP (4/7)
+1 PP - New Day.
So dedicated was she to puzzling this through, she did not even notice her Exarch return from the Chaos, who anxiously flitted around in front of her for years, before finally settling down next to her mistress to wait as well.
As Lor'quhan was making it's hundred hundreth rotation, the Crystal Lotus pulsed once, briefly. The Sculptor's eyes flew open, and then immediately narrowed.
Grawlf
The goddess stood up, limbs tense with icy fury.
GRAWLF!
The very rock and ice of Lor'quhan shook with the resonance of her voice. Plague Amoeboids cowered in fear (though they knew not from what) at the primal power in her voice.
GRAWLF!
The Sculptor rocketed away from the planet, casting out her senses for Lohak, lord of creation. She must -- no... she would intercept him before he did something needlessly foolish. Unless he had already? How long had she sat pondering, anyway? It was no matter -- whether late, early, or just in time, the Dark Angel of Vengeance arrowed into the dark, seeking the god who had called her into this world.
PP Expenditure
+1 new day
1/7
PP
+1 (new day)
3/7
"True, things are changing. The Silent One no longer lurks near his hidden world, or so I think. I have also felt three great presences disappear entirely. I cannot say if these are the causes of what has been going on or merely symptoms. Perhaps it would be best for us to seek out other gods, and try to learn what we can from them."
The life god then focused on his amulet, sending his voice to Brinn. "Mother... This multiverse of ours is changing, and I no naught if it is for the better. Do you know what the root of it all is?"
+ 1 PP (New Day)
5/7 PP Total
Eshcal than paused briefly... He heard a distant call from Grawlf, the one that he has promised to help...
"Have you heard that Khitis? I think that lord Grawlf is somehow in danger or at least really upset, maybe it is related to the divine murder written in the stars... I think I should go are you coming with me?"
OOC
That call from Grawlf, was from a post before Khitis addressed Eshcal but hehe I discovered that a few sec ago... ups... I guess that the time instability is effecting us somehow :p
Grawlf stood his ground, flexing his arms out to their fullest extent and setting them spinning.
He threw his hammer at Grawlf watching is barely miss the main body, before it reutnred to him. "I've had enougb of you and your duty, Grawlf. Creation or not, I will hunt down and destroy every last thing touched by that murderer, no matter how long it takes."
After rewriting the stars to erase his acts from their memory, and instead writing a complete fabrication of Dharrox being created from a great shard of the Silent One's and the Sisters conflict, that spiraled into the void before drawing on the power of darkness there to take divine form. This divinity, sensing a great upheaval in the universe, then decides it is his task to use the dark to bring it back into balance, and so creates a pair of squires to help him bring this about.
The Silen- sorry, Dharrox had traveled a great way since then. He knew he needed to introduce himself to a large gathering of gods fairly soon, in order to establish his new persona. Although it wouldn't hurt him to swing by his Shadowfell first and make sure everything was... what's this? A gathering of gods at the gate of his home? And a... rather psychotic looking god throwing a hammer around and threatening to destroy all his hard work! As the Silent One, he was tempted to stand back and see how things panned out... but as Dharrox...
"Hold vile villain!" the black armored god called, literally leaping into the center of the assembly. "Thou shalt not lay a finger on what thy may call abomination, but which abomination itself considereth sacred! Wouldst though allow who had met this... whover haveth created this place but not met thy Mother to run rampant overeth her works? Nay! You wouldst defend her workeths as this floating ball doth defend whoevereth... okay, mine mind sayeth I really needeth to get some names here to be more dramaticeth. But that is not my foci at this moment! For now, I say lay down your foul hammer, lest mine blade and those of mine squires be forced to aid yonder ball spider in forcing you to!"
Comrade Lohak. It wasn't The Silent One... it was him.
The Sculptor turned to glare at Grawlf.
I'd say there is some evening of the score we can yet do.
"There is no balance, Lohak. No fairness. I can only wish there was. Two of our number are dead, and the questions are many. The last thing our Mothers said to me was that I needed to learn to do my duty on my own, without her holding my hand anymore. Perhaps they would have had the same message for you. Our grief knows no end, yet there is another reason why you should stop, Lohak..."
Grawlf finished tugging, and the weave hiding the shadowfell fell away, revealing the black planet with the large patch of blinding radiance covering much of the northern hemisphere. Keeping hold of the thread he had been pulling out, his arms began to pull and prod it into a new shape...
"There. Do you see that? I believe our Mothers did that. Would you destroy our mother's last creation, her last act?"
At this, a newcomer appeared, speaking in flowery language and, it would appear trying to support him in his venture. He nodded his thanks. As this happened, he finally finished his project, an expandable shield that would serve a similar purpose to the shield that had hidden the shadowfell. Once activated, Lohak and any other agressor would have a much harder time of actually hitting him. His arm fit the newly formed metal sphere into a slot on his main body.
"Grawlf is my name, newcomer. Lohak. I know you grieve. I grieve as well. I lost my Mother and my Son today when they killed one another, and -"
Grawlf cut off, seeing the rage reach new levels in Lohak's eyes. Oops.
PP:
2 PP: Create Artifact (Moderate): Shield of the Shadowfell: Artifact that allows the user to become mostly invisible (active camo for comparison)
+1 PP 3/7 PP +1/1 Create.
Dharrox gave off a boisterous laugh. "Oh contrare my hammered friend, this doth be mine business. For you see..." The god prepared to get into a dramatic pose.
"Please don't make us do this," the brothers said simultaneously.
Dharrox stopped mid pose, before turning to his squires and whispering. "Come on, guys, we rehearsed this."
"I don't care, it's stupid."
"It's genius."
"See, he agrees with me!"
"That's because he lies. A lot."
"Oh yeah... look, just do it, okay?"
"*sigh* Fine..."
Coughing and returning to face the other gods once more, Dharrox again went into the pose. "For you see... I am the darkness that conceals the hand of justice until it is right on the villains shoulder. I am the truth that doth illuminate the lies and scandal of true evil. I am the fear that be strikethed into the heart of those who do wrong. I am, Dharrox! Dark Blade of the Just!"
"He's the dark blade of the just!" the squires called, as if back up singing. Before slouching. "I need a shower," Honor murmured to himself.
After his rather melodramatic introduction, Dharrox nodded thanks to the eyed ball- Grawlf, it seemed- at his introductions. "A pleasure to meet you, Grawlf, though I doth feel kinder circumstances wouldth be more congenial. Especially when yonder... frosty thing doth accuse you of murder."
"Liessss...."
It was a statement, bold and clear.
"Why whouldsssst thou defend thisssss foul vermin?" asked the creature in a mocking imitation of the armoured one's odd manner of speaing, "Unlesssss thou sssstandeth with him..."
A like a spit it hurled these last words at the two.
"And thosssse who ssstandeth with him, ssssshall fall with him asssss well..."
And like a snake of fire, it coiled, about and about, circling its prey.
She leaned in, whispering in Lohak's ear.
How did we first learn of this travesty? It was written in the stars. But did you not look around that event, Comrade? No mention of the surrounding events at all. And Consider the phrase that torments you so: It stands bright amongst the rest of the starscape.
With The Silent One dead, who among us could shroud the stars in darkness but the creator of the stars himself? With Sonel not seen in centuries, who among us could light the stars from within but the same?
"I defendeth this vile- and dead, I mighteth add- vermin because it be mine duty to defend the weaketh and innocent. This plane, though wrought by foul hands be a mere bystander to whatever hath been occuring, and destroying it merely because of the handeth who wrought it... well, one might as well killeth his father and mother for conceiving him, and the void itself for givingeth birth to their creators."
Dharrox didn't know what to say to Hrinoni's... was it Hrinoni? She seemed so different... comments. Honestly, he was thrilled, he hadn't even though of how his erasure of the stars might be interpreted and having someone else take the fall- especially someone he had so much leverage with he'd still be bound as his ally despite it- was excellent. But he'd already thrown his lot in with Grawlf... "A fine point, fair ice maiden," he admitted. "Though I do not knoweth what stars hath to do with anything. Mayhaps there be more here than mine and others eyes do percieve"
"Who art thou to be making demandssss, oh foolisssssh one?" spat the creature at the eye-god.
It began to roar and thrash about in outrage, its passage through the assembly of gods becoming more and more erratic. Sparks flew from its thrashing form.
"You art already under ssssussspicion for defending the traitor, do not make thingssss worsssse for yourssssself...."
The fire seemed to go out of Lohak as he lowered his hammer. "I see."
For several seconds he stood, unmoving. As Hrinori's words sank into his mind, he opened his eyes again. "Yes . . .
With no other warning, Lohak exploded towards Grawlf, shouldering the new arrival aside as his hammer led the way in a mighty blow that sent three of the mechanical arms flying to the side, bent and ruined. As the other two scratched and clawed at him, his free hands grasped them tightly, jerke4d Grawlf's mainbody towards his incoming second swing. With a resounding clash, hammer and shell met, rending and taring open the ancient cased, sending his cousin's true form flying free.
Grunting, he pulled, tearing the two arms he held free, tossing the shell aside. Without hesitation, he stepped towardas Grawlf again, "Yes, let them all see your true form, cousin. Now I said LEAVE!!"
He brought his hammer around again, connecting a solid blow on Grawlf, sending him flying freely into the void towards Yrie.
Still heated by his anger, he roared in fury, looking at his new born child and Hrinori as he vanished. "I go the chaos for now. Follow me if you will."
Dharrox scratched his head (or helm rather), acting as though he were thoroughly confused. "Dear flame, I must asketh, is not this traitor you speak of dead? Unless you be suggesting that this world itself slew the one you seeketh vengence for. Which be laughable, what manner of world could do such a thing?"
"Yessss father, yessss! Good, good!"
A the snake thing crackled merrily along after Lohak.
Sensing his conciousness beginning to fade into sleep, The Eye, unable to stop himself from spinning or slow his progress, let out a single gasping call for help, reaching to the far corners of the universe before falling into unconciousness.
The Silent One inwardly winced (literally, he is encased in armor) at the savage assault. Dharrox would not doubt charge to his aid... but that would put him in a precarious position. He already had Grawlf's loyalty, so it was best if he attempted to add the strings to a few more puppets rather than make sure one of his old ones wasn't damaged. The only question was, should he follow the creation god into the Chaos, whatever that was, or stay and mingle with the forest and flame gods? ...well, considering that he still wasn't sure if this Lohak intended to mess with his Shadowfell or not, he thought it best to teleport after him. How ironic that the very god he sought to kill followed at his heels...
"I will goeth with you... though our causes were split but moments ago, if yonder eye was truly guilty, and this innocent plane now be spared, then mine cause lies with you," Dharrox uttered a little reluctantly when he reappeared next to the creation god. "Though mine eyes do see that you are on a precipice, and if thou shalt fall from the edge, expecteth to meet mine blade at the bottom."
Dreams of Destruction
Dreams of Death
Dreams of Darkness
Dreams of Lies
Dreams of the Lost
Dreams of the Forgotten
Nightmare....
Shry woke with a start. He was lying on the floor of the Court, which seemed to be in worse condition than when he had last seen it. He lay still for a moment, the aftereffects of the Void coming back, as well as having his memory return. Suddenly he stood up almost instantaneously. He reached inside and peered at the dreams that had been corrupted by Void. They were still corrupted. He poked at them, but they stayed the same. He suddenly was filled with rage.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
As he did so, some of the nightmares moved up onto his arms, forming a casing, in the appearance of black gauntlets. They grew spiked, and jagged, wicked to look at. Shry stopped screaming a while later, and peered at the Gauntlets. He nodded, for they were a definitely dagerous creation. Nodding happily, he stepped out into the planes. He reappeared in a place of raging elements, not far from another god. Moving closer, he saw that it was Lohak, accompanied by another who he did not know.
"Hello Lohak. Have you recovered well?
+2 PP: Two days
-2 PP: Create Artifact(Intermediate): Gloves of Nightmare, a +2 combat artifact
-2 PP: Claim Domain(Intermediate): Nightmare
[0/7 PP]
"Well, brother, you simply can't leave me alone can you?"
She looked at his torn form without surprise, and asked another question,
"I take it diplomacy did not work too well?"
+1 new day [4/7]
"I think we should go brother and fast, follow me if you can..."
Then Eshcal flew toward the sky, following the waning voice of the god of knowledge and found him unconcious floating in the void...
"What happened here" he tought, rushing to the unconscious god side... Then he stopped the god fall toward the sun with his hand... "Maybe Maibe could help him, or Khitis if he comes with us..."
She turned to the newcomer.
"I know not. It seems he angered his brother. Now where is he...?"
Zo-Att took a quick look at the surrounding area. Her search told her that Lohak wasn't in the immediate vicinity, but it didn't seem likely that he would move far. So where could he be? Thinking about her last encounter with him, she remembered a place he mentioned called the Elemental Chaos. Seeing as she had done what he had asked, it would be much of an intrusion for her to enter. Concentrating on the elements that Lohak had created, she feels for their presence beyond the visible world. She felt a quick tug of power in some alternate space, and decided to get lost in the elemental current.
When she opened her eyes she was among a field of the elements. Fire clashed with earth, while air and water mixed freely. It was the perfect combination of chaos and destruction, but none of that mattered now. She searched for her Lohak expecting her idea of diplomacy to go much better than Grawlf's.
In the back of his mind, he notted thje approach of Zo-Att as well.
The Goddess shook herself out of her stupor and turned to Brinn, who had remained silent during the confrontation.
Before this nonsense began, I begged your aid for a project of mine, kin. I ask you again -- would you lend me your forests to aid my constructions?
Dharrox bristled at being so casually dismissed. "I wonder, why art though so respectful of this as thy domain, whilst not respecting that of others, especially those who art deceased? Never the less, it is not honorable to intrude in ones home without an invitation, and so I must make haste and departeth. Farewell, hammered villain, and may thy never plunge far enough that mine blade must be thrust into thy throat."
Teleporting away, the black knight reappeared at the spot he had vacated not long ago, back with the forest god and the others. "That brigand is rude to say the least of his many faulteths," he growled. "Never the less, his dissmissance hath given mine mouth a chance to converse with such beautious maidens, so mine heart cannot fault him overly. May I asketh of you, who's fair ears to my chivalrous notes echo in?"
First -- I don't like your manner of speaking. I find it obnoxious, overly pretentious, and grating "on mine ears".
Secondly -- Those who couch all their word in flattery are, on the whole, imbeciles. Cries of "beautious this, and magnificent that, and lovely ladies" are more likely to illicit the same manner of response that Comrade Lohak dealt to the-twitching-eye, only from "mineself, to thy".
Thirdly -- who the hell are you?
The Crystal Lotus in her breast pulsed angrily.
"Ankirega." The wolf looked over at her, concerned by her tone. "Yes, Brinn? What is it?" The goddess sighed, looking out at the expanse, and waving her arm to encompass it all. "They're all attacking each other. Each of us fights for our own creations, and none of us are willing to work as a group. We need someone to heal the whole... and that will be me. Ankirega, I want you to find anyone who we can trust. I need to know who our enemies will be...and who will stand united. I'm sorry that I have to leave again....but I must look after Grawlf. Of any of us, he is perhaps the wisest..." With those words, Brinn vanished along with Grawlf, speeding off a distance so nobody would find them. Ankirega stood lonely in the void, his friend gone...again.
When Brinn stopped moving, she wasn't as far away as she thought she'd be. Unconcerned, she grasped the edges of the void around her, folding them inwards upon themselves and creating a new plane away from the eyes of the other gods as the Void Matrix flared darkly. Stepping inside the rift, she and Grawlf dissapeared, before the entrance slammed shut, appearing as nothing more than the empty void.
They re-appeared near a sparkling lake surrounded by mountains, as evergreens and conifers snaked their way up the mountainsides. Beyond and above lay blue sky. This was a realm of peace and healing, created by Brinn's dreams. Gently carrying Grawlf to the lake, she placed him in it and sat on the shore. The healing powers of the lake would soon bring Grawlf to full health, and then...she might enlist his help. Touching the amulet on her neck absently, she realized she had the means to contact Ankirega, and to help him on his search.
- - - - - -
Ankirega remained near the Shadowfell, thinking about Brinn's words to him, when a trio of amulets appeared next to him, and instructions for their use. Ankirega knew that Khitis would be willing to help towards a unified front, but the first he would visit was Eschal of the winds. He was a friendly and helpful god, and perhaps he would be willing to join Brinn. He sent out a message to him, calling him telepathically to please come.
4 PP (1 from Void Matrix): Create Plane: Rennissa, a plane of healing and life.
PP Remaining: 3/7 and 1 from Life-Web.
It was strange, but the Silent One was actually... hurt. Hrinoni was the only god he considered a friend, so of course she'd hate his very opposite. Still, to have her hurl such hurtful words his way, even though they weren't really directed at 'him', made him feel... sad? How very strange.
But Dharrox wouldn't respond by being sullen. No, instead he straightened himself and replied. "If though dost not like the way mine lips speaketh, then perhaps thou shouldst just get used to it. Secondly, I doth doubt all ladies respondeth the way you threaten, so I shall merely refrain from referencing thou's own beauty, especially since it doth seem to have ugliness within. And thirdly..."
Dharrox struck a dramatic pose. "I am the darkness that hides the hand of justice until it rests on the villains shoulder. I am the truth that illuminates the true foulness of staunch villains of justice. I am the fear struck into mine enemies heart as I charge into the fray. I am Dharrox! Dark Blade of the Just!"
He paused for a moment as if expecting something, before frowning to himself. "Where the devil be my squires? Ah well, it matters not."
You emerge from the void with no knowledge of who or what you are interfering with.
The Sculptor made a vague gesture with a hand.
That was once a realm of secrets, kept safe by my Comrade, the-walker-in-darkness, who the stars decry as a murderer.
But again -- what does any of this matter to you? Who cares for a dead god of secrets? It appears I am the only one.
Then he heard Ankirega message, "Things are getting weirder every moment that pass" he told to Khitis " Would you mind to keep following me?"
Then he willed himself to Ankirega position. He has already felt its essence once, near Verda, the beast held a strong power, weaker than a god maybe, but similar in nature.
"Have you called me Ankirega? Do you know what happened to Grawlf?"
The black knight sighed. "Alas, it is a tale as old as the universe itself... a loner, or perhaps one who hast fear of company, falls, and only his truteth friend mourns his passing. The others, like vile villains, celebrate his passing, or feeleth it was deserved... I knew not this lord of secrets, but I knoweth this: if eveneth one person, such as yourself cares for yonder gods passing, he could not be as vile as that hammered brigand makes out."
He wanted to tell her. So badly. And he would... in time. But doing so in the open could cost him his life, and he needed to organize a few things first... "Hark, I do believe I mayeth know some small piece of import about this fallen god," he added. "But as was he, it musteth remain secret to but you and one other... I shall send word wheneth I can tell you and this other, and where thou shalt meet me to hear it's import. If however though werest to find the eyeball god, it wouldeth make it a much simpler task to inform."
"Brinn?" he called out weakly. "Where am I?"
You just stumbled upon a gathering of gods, knew none of us, and known to none of us, and suddenly you realize not only who it was we fight over, but claim to know the secret keeper's own secrets?
The Sculptor found her eyes narrowing.
And you'll share these secrets with me if I were to bring Grawlf to you?
Unlike you, I was not born yesterday. Now, what say you just tell me now, dark one, lest I find myself needing to rip the secrets from your dead flesh -- afterall, we've just established that gods can die.
Hrinori!
The exarch faded into from the Elemental Chaos, teeth bared and ready for a fight.
"Child, thank you. I can feel this place working to heal me, and for that I am very grateful. Why do you cry? Is it because of what Lohak has done to me? I am going to be fine, and I do not hold his actions against him. Lohak's temper is... I feel it will become legendary... and his grief is strong. I will seek him out later and we will discuss our fight like... civilized gods."
"While I don't consider the act of fighting a sin by itself, this... the things that are happening now just feels so wrong, confusing at least..."
"Tell Brinn that he will have my support... Others too will be with him I think, Khitis I presume and Grawlf's daughter Maibe, as far as I know, they might become allies in this quest... My sons too, I should seek them maybe..."
"However I'm still so confused, may I see lord Grawlf so that I can understand what happened? I heard that this time one of us was killed..."
"Lohak, I know that you do not know me. I'm know that I forgot to introduce myself. I am Shry the Dreamer, sone of Eshcal. When you fell under the Void that you summoned, I tried to call you back, to find you in your dreams. For my pains, I was touched by the Void. It left me like this. I know that is has many afteraffects that may still be affecting you. Still, there is not reason for you to be so threatning to me at first true meeting. I have done nothing against you. Why should you hold a grudge against me?"
In Renissa, Brinn looked back at the god of knowledge, and shook her head. "I don't know why Lohak has grown so angry. I've met so few of the gods. I just...can't bear to see us attacking each other. I know you're a wise god, and I think you can help us bring a little harmony into this universe. I've asked Ankirega to find other gods we can trust, but I'm...afraid. What if this will continue forever?" Moments later, Brinn recieved a 'call' from her Chord Amulet, and listened in surprise as Ankirega told her Eschal had readily agreed, and wished to come to Renissa. Brinn gave her assent, and the pair soon appeared in Renissa.
"Hello.. you are the god who made the winds on Verda, right? It's good to see you again.," Brinn said, offering a smile.
With his statement coimlete, he moved away from Shry, leaving walls of stone, wind, fire, and water blocking any attempt to follow. "Why are you here Zo-Att? And do you see my new daughter, here? I suspect sahe and you will get along well."
Standing there, in the midst of the roil and rumble of the plane, the goddess was enraptured. She could not pull her gaze from the relentless flow and battle. She watched the intricate ebb and flow of it all, and found that, with every single fibre of her being, she hated it, hated this chaos, this lack of reason, lack of purpose.
So in direct opposition to the chaos, her form stablilized. If she was to be effective in her pursuits, she needed to be a deadly weapon, honed, perfected, and delicately balanced. All at once her own shifting form calmed. Where once an evershifting mass stood, now existed something completely different.
She was a small girl, her skin crimson in hue, with hair black as the void falling lazily about her thin shoulders. Her eyes were twin pits of black that drew in the eye and held the stare for unnaturally long. From her brow stretched two horns, also of deepest black. They curved back towards the back of her head, delicate and strangely powerful at the same time. Her body was smooth and rather beautiful. She was also naked. She spread her arms wide and addressed her father, smiling.
"Do you like?"
Then she spotted the approaching Zo-Att, and a strange expression came over her face. This one here was kin. The young goddess liked this one. And with delighted interest she asked the newcomer a question.
"And who are you?"
"Ankirega explained me your plan and I have to agree with that...
"However he also told me something I find hard to understand... Lohak, my father, attacked Grawlf? I know that his temper is a little harsh but not enough to attack a friend unprovoked.. And these dead sisters... were they the cause of this somehow?"
She wouldn't be Hrinoni, or whoever she was now if she didn't have a good ruthless streak to her. Looking about to ensure they were alone, Dharrox chuckled sinisterly before clicking gauntleted fingers. A portal of darkness opened up, before a massive, undead arm issued out, back handing the exarch of ice as though it were a mere bug and sending it flying into the void.
"Oh look, I have a pet too... except I infused mine with a shard of my own essence. As such, this creature has the power of a god, at least in battle... ironic that I should come across the idea from a link I tried desperately to get rid of." There were no thees, no thous, merely a soft, cocky tone that seemed to convey the sinister spirit of the one within the armor.
"But you do have spunk, my comrade, after all that is why I consider you one of my few allies," he went on. "I wouldn't be talking like this if you were anything else... so sorry for the vulgar talk earlier, unfortunately it's a necessary part of my disguise. If anyone were to know I wasn't truly dead, they would most likely try to remedy this fact." He smiled wickedly. "Plus you know me, I can never resist a good secret."
"That was nice."
He returned to the Material plane, where he returned to the Isles of Wonder, to see how his Dream Creatures were getiing on.
So what shall we do now?"
The Sculptor closed her eyes completely, taking a calming breath.
I respond to coercion the same way I respond to flattery, darkwalker. Why needlessly endanger your, admittedly few, allies with a foolish display of force?
A blast of light shot out from The Crystal Lotus, grazing The Silent One's armor before dissipating into the void -- causing no damage, but sending the god into a dizzying spin.
I have shards of my own power with me as well, and since your "squires" are missing, I see the advantage as mine.
The goddess laughed coldly, gesturing at the Shadowfell, now plain for all to see, and the encroaching presence of the Lighthallow.
You cannot be nearly as combat-ready as you think you are. If you did slay The Sisters, surely they would not have departed without a fight.
Now tell me, foolish one, why you would risk the trust of this one by attacking my exarch? You act brash and untouchable because you do not want to admit to yourself that you are in a very precarious position.
Now, do you want to tell me the meaning of all this? Or should I go find Lohak, and tell him that I was wrong, and his anger was misplaced.
Threats, beget threats, comrade.
The Silent One chuckled.. after the dizziness had subsided of course. "I swear, we are two cut of the same cloth... I hit your exarch for three reasons. One, that threatening hissing was irritating. Two, just because I can trust you does not mean I can trust it. And three... I wanted to show off a little. The downside to keeping things secret is it's awfully hard to brag about your work."
The dark god thought for a moment before continuing. "Perhaps you are right... I am in a dangerous position. If even one wrong god were to find out I lived, my life is forfeit. And this disguise is... DISGUSTING! It's no wonder I felt the urge for a spontaneous show of force after being forced to be so pleasant." He sighed. "The irony is, I didn't even kill them... they came across a secret of another, I refused to tell them who that other was, they got angry, I pointed out they were as mere insects in the heart of my home... and then the b****s self destructed just to screw me over!" he shouted, punching a nearby stray piece of stone into oblivion. "They burned me with light, they scarred me with truth, they marked me for death, who'd have though they'd kill themselves to do all that just because I wouldn't tell them something?!"
Breathing deeply, the Silent One calmed himself. "So, I do seem to be in a bad position at the moment yes. Hopefully this entire thing will blow over... or I can kill whoever wants to kill me until the only ones left are indifferent or allied with me. Until then though, I am bound in this wretched guise, with only you to trust. And Grawlf, but the basis of that trust lies in blackmail, which is hardly true trust at all."
He was in for a shock when he saw Grawlf's injuries. "Elder! What happened!?" the life god gasped. He was not sure who among the gods he had met so far would go as far as to attack another like this. Perhaps it was Zo-att? After all, she had attacked his grandfather Sonel long ago... "There are too many questions, and not enough answers," Khitis sighed.
He decided that instead of moaning about things, he should try to help, and Brinn's explanation about Lohak and The Sisters indeed helped to clarify things a little. Khitis then spoke up, saying "Mother, I have a few ideas. The first would be Shry, the dream god. My islands are home to his creatures, and I believe that he does not want conflict. Maibe might also be someone to ask. She is the ruler of the World of Light, correct? I've met her but once, but she might side with us if asked."
He stretched his four arms out, pulling power to himself. "I go to complete my task. Willy ou assist me?"
Zo-Att glared at Lohak, possibly the first time her face went from impassive to angry.
"I think you should reconsider your actions."
As it turned out, his first guess had been correct, as he noticed Shry silently watching the dream beasts moving around the islands. Interestingly enough, it appeared that some of the beasts had met with some of the Horned Drakes that Khitis had created, although both varieties of creature were unsure of how to interact with each other.
"Hello, Shry. I have a request: could you come with me to Verda. My mother and several others wish to discuss how best to continue on in the multiverse after what has happened," the life god asked.
"Ah, Zo-Att, what a delightful name..."
Her voice was low and sensual, akin to the purring of a cat. It was hard to say whether she was gazing at the goddess with lust in her eyes, or hunger. She trailed a wayward finger across the other goddess' body, feeling the way the other goddess felt against her own cool skin. She was very close now, almost pressed up against Zo-Att. She seemed completely oblivious that they were not alone.
"You see, I don't have a name..."
Then she leaned so close, the other goddess could feel her breath upon her neck. She leaned in, and whispered in Zo-Att's ear.
"Why don't you give me one?"
"Eshcal, Khitis. It is good to see you both. Before I begin, I feel I must tell you something. I suspect that there is more going on at the moment than we know about. I could not hear Water-Born's words, but you, Wind-keeper repeated them loud enough for me to hear. It is true that the stars should have recorded more about the deed. The fact that they did not means that someone still holds the Obsidian rod that I created to control the stars, the rod I gave to the Secret-Keeper and no other. As far as I know, there is no other way to control the stars beyond that rod and the one that Sonel holds. This means that someone erased information about the deed after it was done, which means that either one of the parties is not dead, or there was a third party that killed both gods, neither of which is a comforting thought."
Dvrgr paused for a moment. He was still not fully recovered and his vision was blurry. Blinking a few more times, he continued.
"I hope it does not come down to choosing sides." he sighed, looking at Khitis.
"No, we must hope for unity among our number. We four are the beginning. I would suggest that we seek out Truth, whom I know well and Balance, whom I have not met but who is newly added to our number. They will be valuable allies. Then, in strength, we approach the other gods and work together to put an end to senseless violence. Brinn, I assume you have sent for Sonel already, yes?"
The Eye continued to grow stronger, his vision clearing and the bruise dissapearing.
Ankirega was as surprised at Ymalos's presence as the other god was at his. "I...had not meant to come here, actually." Ankirega's mind raced quickly, trying to think of what to say to the other god.
"Oh, well feel free to stay here if you want to." Said the moon god "I suppose you may stay here for as long as you need to. If that's alright with you, Mother."
"You are Bel! Now bother me later, I must stop him!"
"Hmm, quite interesting..."
She looked back at her aunt and smiled a devilish smile, showing pearly white teeth sharpened to unnatural points. Where she had bitten, Zo-Att had a small mark, two crescent shapes, forever indented there. A bite mark, forever preserved.
"I thank you for this experience, auntie dearest, and for all the ones I'm sure you will provide in the future, now I must be off."
Again she smiled her impish smile.
"Daddy is waiting..."
And with that, she skipped off after her father.
He turned to her, placing two hands on her shoulders. "You will help me, won't you?"
"Anything for you, oh darlingest father of mine..."
She let the fires of the maelstrom whip about her body, forming long, artistically drawn burns all about her body, forming beautiful shapes and designs with her pain.
"What do you have in mind?"
"But father, if we leave no trace, how will people be reminded never to defy you again?"
She gazed into the fury of the maelstrom, as if remembering fondly her own rages of not long ago. All the while her index finger traced her mouth, feeling the spot where her lips touched Zo-Att.
"Perhaps we make an example of it? Transform in into a testament to your power, so that all will behold it, and know to fear the great Lohak."
She smiled again.
"Or, whatever you want daddy..."
Again, the little girl nodded.
"As I said, your choice daddy."
And with a flick of her delicate tail, a hole seemed to be ripped out of the plane in a spot right near them, a portal seeming to emerge from the whorls and ripples of the plane itself.
"So, shall we go now?"
With quick hammer blow, he ripped a hoel through existence, leading them to the area above the shadowfell, not far from where he had been before. "There it is. Show me your heritage, young one."
Her mouth clamped down over the twin planes. She stuffed them into her maw, like a mad, ravenous thing she ate. Down her gullet the twin planes flew, shrinking smaller, smaller, smaller in this reality, but still just as huge in their own. In her stomach, should one chance to tear the tiny goddess open, one would find a pair of teeth, one black, and one white. And if one had the magical wherewithal to penetrate the magic surrounding these curious artifacts, one would find an entire world within each of them.
Then, cracking her jaw absently, the tiny goddess flowed back through the portal, the flames behind her roaring into non-existence.
"There father, the home of your foe is gone, you can finally rest easy."
PP Expenditures
2 PP Create Artifact (Lesser) The Black Tooth - This tiny baby tooth sits in Bel's stomach, and holds the Shadowfell within its bounds.
2 PP Create Artifact (Lesser) The White Tooth - This tiny tooth also sits in Bel's stomach, but this one holds the Lightfell.
The Sculptor drifted forward, wrapping the armored Knight in a cautious embrace. They made a strange tableau -- A Knight of Darkness and an Angel of Shadow, both illuminated by the pale blue light of the Crystal Lotus.
After several moments (centuries, millenia) The Sculptor lay her head on Dharrox's armored shoulder, leaning in towards the knight's ear.
If you hurt something of mine again, I will kill you.
The words were spoken softly, without tone. It was not a demand, it was not a challenge. It was stated as simple fact. Vengeance was like that.
The Sculptor maintained the embrace a moment (a minute, an enternity) longer, and then turned sharply away, drifting off a ways back into the void.
This changes everything, you realize. I had thought Sonel... but The Sisters? What Madness took their minds, I wonder. I would advice not broaching this with Grawlf. He would not believe your truth, I think, and I doubt that whatever secret you hold is enough to keep him blackmailed.
I know not how you could ever reveal yourself to Lohak. He is too stubborn to listen to your tale, much less believe it. Brinn I have not spoken to since the start of this incident, I have not seen Sorstal in eons (ages, seconds), nor Maibe, and Sonel is, as I told Lohak, missing. We are short of allies, my...
The word was slow to come, but it eventually did.
...friend.
Obviously, if we had more gods aligned with us -- that is to say, those who disbelieve the stars, or find the event itself irrelevant -- we'd be in a better spot, but I say again I know not who. Zo-Att seems not to care, but she is ever fickle, and would be no true ally... for long, at any rate.
The Sculptor rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand.
I don't know of any other gods who would believe, or at least not care about, your innocence.
What if... what if we made a host of creatures, like your Plague Amoeboids, but on a grander scale. More regal -- like our exarchs, but also numerous -- like... your... Amoeboids...
The Sculptor trailed off to watch with astonished eyes as the Shadowfell (and the Lighthallow) were both consumed by the god of fire.
We might have bigger problems.
The life god focused on his amulet, sending a message to Brinn. "Mother, I think something bad has happened to the Shadow World that the Silent One created. I can't feel life coming from it anymore. I no not if this has anything to do with the one who attacked Elder Grawlf, but this is still serious."
The embrace... surprised the Silent One to say the least. And suddenly, he was very regretful his armor lacked the ability to feel. He could feel some small amount of her warmth- or her chill, it was an odd mix of the two, appropriate for such an ambivalent goddess- through it, but that wasn't the same as feeling it first hand. Of course, that raised the question of why he even wanted to feel it in the first place... but despite the fact it didn't further his own ends, he wasn't darkness, or a deception, or even a secret really, the dark god had to admit, it was... nice.
When she whispered her promise of retribution, he couldn't fault her... she wouldn't be so interesting if she wasn't dangerous. Though he had to say he was a little reluctant to let go of her as she moved away. Looking back, that was actually the first time he'd touched another god... period, let alone with some measure of affection.
The Silent One nodded his helm in thought as the Sculptor voice her concerns. "Hm, perhaps you are right about not alerting Grawlf... I sometimes over estimate the power secrets hold. And we are precious few in allies... friend. So few I would suggest creating a new god purely to bolster our numbers, if not for the fact there would be no guarantee a new godling would follow our vision regardless of the domain we crafted for them. My views differ quite differently from both of my parents, for instance... it seems for now we're alone, comrade, though hopefully this wretched status quo will be broken as new godlings breach the surface of reality."
As his companion began to regale him of a vision of creatures numerous, but with a will, the Silent One could not help but be impressed with her vision. "That is a good idea, my friend, but such has not been done before... it would be difficult to-" Realizing she was looking over his shoulder, the Silent One turned to see.... nothing. Nothing at all. Not even the pretend nothing his Shadowfell generated, just an empty void where it once stood, and the distant speck of a pair of gods where it's far side once stood.
"Wh... wh... what the hells happened here! My Shadowfell, it's... it's... wait, it's not gone. I can still feel it..." the Silent One mentally followed his link to the place back, back to it's source. Which was... inside the new flame god?! That was... perfect!
The Silent One chuckled to himself. "Fear not, friend. It is in... how shall I put this, a safe place? And with the power of the hand I used against your exarch- sorry about that, by the way- I can retrieve it with but a moments though. This is acutally an ideal situation: the light and dark are seperate once more, and the Shadowfell is safe from the madness of Lohak."
The Sculptor arrowed off through the void, arriving at The Susurrus. The Frosteel spikes still extended out, piercing the cosmos.
After glancing around, to make sure they were alone, The Sculptor turned to the lion-knight.
This was once Lor'quhan's sister. I have hollowed out the interior. Notice how the spikes go off in all directions? Each one links a sphere. This one goes to Verda, this to Yrie, this to Lor'quhan, this to one of Lohak's unnamed worlds.
The Sculptor paused.
This one used to go to The Shadowfell. The line must have been broken. I think the new god of fire would have noticed a frosteel spike such as this stuck in her mouth.
My plan was to make travel through the void easier. Not for us gods, but for the creatures inhabiting the spheres.
The Sculptor laughed.
Oh, what I wouldn't give to see your Plague Ameboids invade Yrie, or Brinn's flowers to spread to Lor'quhan.
But, it lies incomplete. It is simple enough for creatures to travel through the spikes themselves -- they too are hollow -- but I can't help but feel that the spikes themselves are too fragile. All it would take would be a single errant act of destruction, like what befell your Shadowfell, to sever the link entirely.
I ask you for suggestions, Sir Knight. You are good at hiding things -- how would one go about hiding the middle part of these spikes, to make them safe from gods and beasts alike?
The Sculptor broke off to mumble to herself for a time.
Unless there's some way to hide the distance of the spikes themselves? Imagine that! Going in to one spike on the Isles of Wonder, only to be transported within The Susurrus with the next step!
PP Expenditure
+1 new day
2/7
Dharrox followed the Sculptor through the void, merely listening without interruption as she regaled him with the purpose of her construct. Looking over it thoughtfully, he nodded in approval. "You have been busy, Hrinoni... if that is still what you are called, I heard you call your snake of ice by the same name. And might I say that it is an absolutely ingenious system! Being able to flit from place to place easily, secretly and swiftly... a noble endeavor if I ever saw one."
Looking over the sphere some more, the Silent One began to think aloud. "Let's see... the Shadowfell lay hidden well enough for a time, so maybe merely draping them in darkness would be enough... but the amoeba sometimes crashed into it, and that wouldn't be good for such a fragile work... Grawlf performed some kind of compulsion to get creatures to avoid it... but that might well extend to the base and make things not want to enter... they could merely be fortified with adamantine, but that's not very subtle. But perhaps..."
Turning to his companion, the dark god spoke to her. "If we were to condense these tubes to be instead a more... metaphisical connection, they would be unbreakable except by the strongest of magics. It would also allow things to traverse the distance from the entry point in a mere instant, as they would have no physical distance to travel. And we could have more connections, connecting to numerous places on numerous worlds, turning this ice sphere into a... city of doors is an apt a term as any."
Illustious Maibe turned her gaze towards her Sun, looking out at the star´s and cosmos itself with everseeing eyes.
" The Stars says that four Gods are dead. That is a lie, everything the Stars tells us is nothing but lies. One of them was my grandmother, two her sisters and one a lier. The Stars as always speaks in lies...for that is what they are and forever will be. As the eons has passed the stars has changed in favour of the God of Lies. Every word, every sentence, every mere mention of his name or his deed has faded or been hidden away...The God of Lies pollutes everything around him as the rottening carcass he is. The Stars were meant to withold truth, to withold the very history of this world..but as his pollution touches the very stars I have no trust in the words of others. "
The Golden Goddess shook her head at the thoughts that flowed through her mind.
" The world...is moving so quickly, My Son. Gods die and Gods lie in an never-ending circle of pain and conflict. A circle I will probably get dragged in as well when this Age ends if the Gods will be able to make things as they want them do be..."
Maibe shook her head once more and looked out at the cosmos with nothing but disgust.
" I have no intention to be a part of this circle. If others come looking for me intending to make me fight in their wars inform them that the Goddess of Light has no intention to be a part of their petty squabbles. "
Maibe faded and reappeared close to the Heart. She sat down, surrounded by the raging inferno that was her Sun. The Golden Goddess than shut her eyes, smiled and waited for those that would sooner or later come.
" The Lier is alive. Lies will never die..."
PP
+1 (new day)
-2PP Greater mold land: Create oceans on Yrie's moon.
-2PP Greater mold land: Create rivers and lakes on Yrie's moon.
0/7 PP
Shry smiled. These creatures of his were excellent, and were doing fine. He felt happy for these creatures. But, Verda...where was it? He felt out in his dreams, searching for that name. After a moment, he found the correct dreams. He closed his eyes, and let it guide him onward.
Partway through his journey, he felt the sudden disappearance of two sets of dreams, one light, and one dark. Troubled, he continued, and opened his eyes to find himself at a sphere covered in green life. He looked on in awe, at the life that was here.
She giggled softly to herself before continuing.
"Don't wait up father darling."
And without another word, the little girl was out of the Elemental Chaos, and into the cold darkness of the material plane. Here she lounged upon a cloud composed of fire, and watched the stars twinkling high above, whispering to herself all the while.
"So pretty, so very pretty..."
Then she felt a sharp pain into her lower abdomen. She looked down, and gasped. Upon her lower belly was forming an odd little yellowish discoloration, it looked somewhat like a fresh bruise. As she watched, the colour seemed to darken ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly, so that the centre of the mark was tinged towards a sickly green, and the outer part was an ugly yellow colour.
"Weird..."
"Before we can begin, I must retrieve my body. This does not feel natural to me anymore."
Dvrgr disappeared, reappearing near the Shadowfell... or at least where the Shadowfell had once been.
"What did he do?" The Eye said, looking around for remnants of the planet. There were none, yet... The Eye could still sense that Failure was alive. The Eye tried to think of what this could mean, but... found himself coming up woefully blank. At least Grawlf was still floating nearby, damaged, yes... but not irrevocably. The Eye hurried over to the machine and began reassembling it, affixing the arms back in place, repairing the central mechanism that housed his form.
"It looks like Sonel and Lohak have rubbed off on me" he muttered to himself as he put the last arm into place and floated into the central housing.
"There. Home Sweet Home." Grawlf said, flexing his arms experimentally. "Nothing seems broken now... but I am going to need to do something about this form's... limitations."
So engrossed in his work was Grawlf that he did not notice that he had an audience until he was finished. When he was finally done, he looked up to see a small child looking at him.
"Umm... Hello there. Who are you?"
"I'm Bel silly, and who are you?"
The Eye looked oddly familiar, with his weird mechanical body. But still, she found that she liked him. She floated closer to him to get a better look.
"You're funny mister eye man."
She laughed again, and did a little flip in the air, completely amused with herself. She stopped once more in front of the eye god, and gazed at him, lying on her stomach upon the cloud, her head supported by one hand.
Grawlf paused for a moment, glancing about to make sure that the shadowfell was truly gone. As he was not sure of this new god's intentions, he chose his next words carefully.
"Bel... I was told there was a secret planet here, and I very much wished to see it. Do you know where it has gone? I have looked but I do not see it anywhere."
"Well, you see..."
The little goddess flipped onto her back, revealing the now even larger greenish-yellowish bruise. Her stomach even seemed to be swelling somewhat.
"I ate it."
With these words, her stomach gave an unnaturally loud rumble.
'But I don't think it agrees with me."
Then she burped. She grinned at herself. Then she placed a hand upon her stomach, right over the bruise. She let out a squeak of pain and her eyes began to water.
"That hurts..."
Grawlf looked at Bel with alarm. How had such a small girl eaten an entire planet? No wonder it didn't agree with her.
"No wonder you have a stomach ache. A planet might be a little bit too large for one as small as you are. Would you like me to ask a friend to look at your stomach? They might be able to help."
She jiggled her stomach as if to indicate there was still room in there, but winced when her hand brushed the green mark.
"I wish I knew what this was for, or why my stomach has gotten all swollen."
She fixed the eye god with a rather intense stare.
"You look smart, mister eye man, do you know what this could be?"
That Bel had turned the planet into a tooth was alarming, but plausible. Grawlf had seen stranger things, and as gods, he imagined all things were possible.
"I may be smart, Bel, but I am not that smart when it comes to ailments. Let me bring a friend to take a look at it for you."
Turning into the void, Grawlf's arms began tearing at a portion of reality, opening a tiny hole, just large enough to allow his voice to pass through back to the lake of healing.
"Brinn, are you still there? I have found a god who appears to be in need of your help."
"Wasn't... that... sharp..."
She clutched at her stomach, which seemed to quaver under her fingers.
"Bel, this is my friend Brinn. Would you like us to try and get the tooth out for you?"
"No... I believe... it has passed... for now..."
But when they looked at her face, they could see how tired she looked, how sallow her complexion. Still, she sat up and fixed Brinn with the brightest smile possible in these circumstances.
"Hello... lady..."
More than just a city, comrade. A world of portals, entrances, and gates. While the outside looks rocky and barren, it is my hope that I might borrow some of Maibe's Sun to light the hollow core. It will be a world hidden within a world... I thought you would like that with the whole... you know... that thing you do.
And I do agree with you. But I know not how such a thing might be possible. Or even where to start...
The Silent One grinned. "I like the way you think... I truly was thinking too small. An entire world that is little more than a pathway to every other world in existence... a universal hub of secrets and deceit! And love and harmony and all that other jazz too I suppose," he added, waving his hand as if it were unimportant.
When his companion pointed out that she had no idea how to start, the Silent One frowned in concern. Experimentally, he created a portal of darkness, and put his hand through, it reappearing in other portal of darkness just behind the first. "Bah, it will never work," he admitted reluctantly, with drawing his hand and dispelling the portal. "Only creatures of pure dark could use such a portal without being torn apart. Besides, such portals link through my Shadowfell, even bound as it is, and I don't like the idea of travelers gallivanting through it all day long, even if it is for a mere few seconds on their way elsewhere."
The dark got rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "No, we need someone who specializes in such ventures... but I do not know of any god that encompasses travel. Though perhaps... we could make one to aid us in the task? Who knows, they may even turn out to be a staunch ally."
"Oh, haha, you see, um..."
The tiny goddess chuckled to herself and shook her head.
"I kind of bit her..."
She grins sheepishly up at Brinn.
"Please don't think any less of me... please..."
She then trails off and laughs, somewhat nervously.
She seemed to relax, now that it was clear she would get no harsh criticisms from this one, and even found herself returning the hug. And when they hugged, she felt something funny in her chest. She wondered for a moment if it had something to do with the bruise, or the teeth, but then realized that it actually was quite pleasant. What she felt was her heart warming.
"It's nice to have... um... a... friend..."
The last word came out almost as a whisper, but it became quite clear that this one was not made purely for rage and destruction. There was true compassion there, and a capacity for friendship she never knew she possessed.
"I like you Brinn, you are very kind."
And this time when she smiled, there was no mischief, only pure, happy sincerity.
Zo-Att was confused at the sudden actions of Bel. The pain was... foreign to her. She felt a mix of pain and euphoria, a form of destruction sending mixed signals through her feelings. After the pain had subsided, and her strange feelings of joy vanished, Zo-Att considered a course of action. She had no idea where Lohak had went, but she felt Bel's mark upon her flesh. She gnashed her teeth and let out a roar that echoed throughout the Elemental Chaos. She turned around, and traversed back to the Prime Plane, where she had originated. She could spot Grawlf, Brinn, and... her.
"I would expect you of all people to know," Zo-Att said in an oddly calm voice (considering that flames were being released from her body, and her teeth were barred.) "that if you play with fire, you might get burnt."
Zo-Att suddenly charged forward toward Bel, her mouth wide open displaying her long, sharp teeth.
She paused, drifting slightly in the void.
Though your experiment with the Shadowfell has given me insight on how to better modify The Susurrus to suit our ends.
She paused again, before summoning a twelve-edged spike of blue steel from the void.
Here, let it not be said that The Noble Knight of Darkness has no creations to call his own.
PP expenditure
"Hmm, interesting..."
Then she brandished the arm as one would a club in the direction of Zo-Att.
"Begone, foul mistress of Destruction, you are not wanted here."
She then waved the arm another couple of times for added measure and barred her teeth at the other goddess.
(In case you haven't realized, she just pulled the Right Arm of Failure out of her own stomach, though she isn't quite sure what it is.)
As Zo-Att rended the flesh of her face, blood and gore covered her face. The movement of her mouth was a blur as she went back and forth trying to bite as much as she could. Blood streamed past her fangs down the side of her mouth, an eye was impaled on one of her large teeth. She had truly gone mad with rage.
1 PP - Claim Domain, Sadomas- Pain
+1 New day
[4/7]
She let out another sound, this one even more pitiful than the last.
Then it was over. Zo-Att was gone. Bel's heart was pounding in her ears, her rage steadily subsiding. Blood stained her face, and as she rushed to wipe it away, she became painfully aware of her nakedness. She awkwardly tried to cover herself up, shaking ever so slightly.
"It's so.... cold...."
--------------------
When Zo-Att was finally aware of her surroundings once more, all she saw was white. All around her, perfect, blissful white light stretching as far as the eye could see. No black speck or discolouration marred this perfect scene. Then a voice, cold and sickly, rasping and tired, was heard from behind her.
"Hello... mother..."
PP: 4/7 + 1 from Life-Web
"What... Bel, that was my sister! Spit her back out!"
"What nonsense is this? My children are gone or dead."
The little girl was grasping around in the air, as if searching for something to hold onto. Her face around her eyes was all mangled and bloodied, and her eyes themselves looked completely useless.
"I... I don't think I can mister eye man..."
And she sounded genuinely saddened by this fact.
"I... I'm sorry..."
------------------------
When the goddess turned, her eyes fell upon an ungodly sight. Floating there in front of her, floating in its placenta, was an unborn fetus. It looked disgusting and diseased, as though a debilitating cancer had taken hold of it even so early in its life. It was green and sickly looking, and it was hard to believe that the thing was alive, let alone talking. Zo-Att felt repulsed by it, and yet at the same time drawn to it, felt a certain kinship in it.
"Think, mother, think back to what has happened..."
"Child, over here." he said, floating towards Bel and grabbing hold of one of her hands. "It will be okay. We will figure out a way to fix your eyes. Tell me, is Zo-Att still alive within you?"
So he sped off into the Chaos. He wandered the ever changing landscape until he found a suitable location. He held up the heart, and threw it into the ground. Slowly, but surely, the ground began to change, slowly corrupting to the dark designs of the Heart and its master.
1+1 PP (from the Heart of Corruption): The Elemental Chaos slowly begins to corrupt.
"Here... hold on to my hand. I will bring you someplace safe."
Concentrating, Grawlf pulled himself and Bel through to the Astral Sea and the Court of the First Ones.
"Oh no. Could this millennia get any worse?"
The Court lay in ruins, bricks blasted away, murals shattered and one of the towers broken into pieces.
"Excuse me, Bel. There is something I need to do... the place I was bringing you appears to have been damaged."
Grawlf put his hand on one of the stones and before him the Guardian arose out of the rubble. It hissed angrily at Grawlf, but the god ignored it.
"Help me Fix this."
The beast nodded once and began channeling its force into the structure, realigning pillars and repairing broken walls. Grawlf reached out, grabbing the pieces of tower... His tower, he noted with some annoyance, and rebuilding it. Soon, the court stood once more, shining in splendor. The last to be repaired was the entry hallway, lined with the names of the Gods. Grawlf stood there, watching as the names began to appear, twisting around the crater where The Silent One's name had been. Grawlf turned to get Bel when suddenly he froze. At the end of the list was Bel, who he had just met, but no Dharrox. Something was not right.
"Come Child, come with me to my chambers."
Grawlf led Bel to his rooms, where recently Lohak had stayed, and sat her down on a chair.
"Samtaana, are you here?"
The beholder floats forward.
"Watch after this one here, and get her whatever she needs. You know how to get ahold of me if she asks. Bel, this is my helper, Samtaana. He'll watch you while I go find some answers and hopefully figure out how to fix your eyes.
Samtaana, I want to you do something for me as well."
The beholder nods, waiting.
"I wish for you to make me a book, a great book to write down some ideas that I have been having on how to create the next type of life. If you could have that done by the time I get back..."
Samtaana nodded again, and his eyestalks began waving as bits and pieces of the room around him lifted from their places and moved towards him.
"I will return as soon as I can."
Grawlf dissapeared from the Court and reappeared in Space.
"The One called Dharrox. I must speak with you." he said, casting out into the void and beginning to move to where he had last sensed the God's presence.
PP:
-3 PP (one from Samtaana): Create Artifact (Greater): The Codex of Intelligent Thought. Book that contains the secrets to creating intelligent populaces (or will, once its finished). Provides Shape PP (no, really)
+1 PP 2/7 PP +0/1
The Silent One's brow twitched as he heard his father's voice in his mind. What had he done so far in his alter ego that he would be worthy of attention? Perhaps a thank you for standing in defense of his Shadowfell, or an admonishing for not rushing to his side when injured? Well whatever the case, he had best heed the call...
"My friend, I must depart for now... but I will return as quickly as possible. Here," he added, drawing forth an orb of pure darkness and handing it to her. "Whether to ascend a new godling, or to aid in creating this world of doors, I lend you some power to aid you. Now I must be going... wait a moment, one more thing," he added.
***
Meanwhile, stranded about half way between the Chaos and the Material world by their Master's thoughtless teleportation, the Brothers conversed. Sort of.
"We're white."
"We're black."
"We're white."
"We're black."
"We're white."
"We're- moving!" It was true, they were slowly edging towards a yawning black hole of darkness.
"No we're not."
"Shadowfell damn it..."
Soon enough, the Brothers had fallen through the portal, and were lieing at the Silent One's feet. "Where in the Shadowfell were you two?" he asked.
"Nowhere," replied Honor. "Everywhere," replied Chivalry.
"Well, no matter, we have some business to attend to..." And with that the three vanished from sight...
***
Only to reappear in front of Grawlf moments later.
"Ah, yonder eyeball!" Dharrox greeted fondly. "Mine ears doth detect your summons, so myself and mine squired did make haste to respondeth to your call to arms! What foul villain doth torment you so that you would calleth for the black hand of justice?"
PP Expenditure
1 PP Given to the Sculptoy
[1/7]
Deep within the Chaos, Lohak felt the taint infecting his plane, but this was his land, his home, and within it, he was unmatched . As easily as he might move an arm, the source of it was brought to him, and he cleansed the taint, removing all traces it had ever existed. Holding the heart of corruption in his hands, he looked it over carefully. A creation of an unknown god. He winced to himself as he realized what he had to do.
Leaving his hammer in safely sealed away in the depths of the chaos, he returned to the main world, bearing the heart of corruption, keeping it at arms length, seeking Grawlf.
PP Expenditures
0 PP - Mold Land (Superior) - Remove the corruption from the elemtenal chaos (it is still within my free mold duration)
Khitis could feel it, even from here. That dread feeling that he had felt when Sku'byss had descended upon Verda. Corruption was the only word he could think of.
The life god went towards the feeling, and noticed it coming from a strange object held by a god he didn't recognize (Lohak). "Excuse me. I must know... what are you doing with that tainted object?" Khitis asked, wary. If this god was carrying out the machinations of his corrupt uncle, then he would have to intervene.
+1 PP (New Day)
6/7 PP
"Dharrox, yes. I am Grawlf. I wished to thank you for your help... or at least your attempted help earlier. As you can see, I am thankfully intact after that whole ordeal. You do present an enigma to me, however. My home records the names of each god that comes into existence, serving as an immortal list of we, the Lords of Creation. Yet... I do not find your name on that list, and I am wondering if there was some special circumstance to your birth that would have caused my devices to malfunction. If I may ask... what is your parentage?"
As he finished, he saw Lohak approaching. Grawlf turned on his shield and spun to face the approaching god.
"Lohak."
Grawlf said, his voice gone somewhat cold. He knew that the other god was suffering, but getting hit across the universe wasn't something he could forget and forgive that quickly.
"What do you want, brother?"
Dharrox looked rather distraught that the universe had chosen to ignore his creation, turning his back on the eye and holding his arm to his eyes melodramatically. "Alas, you speaketh too true, knowledgable sage. For mine creation wath not the same as those others writteneth in yonder stars. Mine birth wath not intentional, nay, if thine universe had hath it's way mine birth mayst well nary have occuredeth at all! You pereciveth, mine body was born of conflict, conflict between yonder divine forces that perished in yonder conflict. Thou's companions glorious battle gave birth to forces nary beyond mine and thou's compression, forces which made haste into yonder void. There, they congealed into mine own image, and so I have nary a mother nor father, lest you consider the fallen gods who's struggle gaveth mine life to be so."
Sighing, Dharrox turned to continue.. before seeing Grawlf and Lohak having a staring match. Oh thank god, I don't know how much longer I could have put up spouting that drivel, the Silent One though to himself.
"Avack! Foes at the gate!" Dharrox cried, preparing to reach for his blade. If he'd had one...
"You are correct. That is quite a different creation from every god who has come before. Those that died were both my mother and my son, and I miss both of them dearly. If you have been borne from their conflict, then... I feel that I must welcome you as kin. I will see to it that your name is added to the roster as soon as possible.
A question, though. Have you seen a long obsidian rod at any point? It belonged to the Secret-Keeper and has been used since his death. I would very much like to find that rod."
with that, Grawlf's eye turned to look once more at Lohak.
The project in question was a leather bound tome written with the blood of a Goddess. A tome whose lone purpose was to gather the verses or spells she had invented throughout the years. Spells to summon, spells to force, spells to ward, spells to strengthen, spells to weaken, spells to enlighten and spells to trick. Line after line of blood-red letters on page after page was combined with beautiful illustrations of the effects, requirements and necessties to make imagination to reality.
Within the book were spells that in theory were powerful enough to sink continents, burn forests and kill the very Gods. Every spell was written in her own tongue, the language she had playfully chosen to call " Then Enlightend Tongue "
Create Greater Artifact 3 PP: The Book of the Sun: A book that holds the ability to transfer the basics of Wizardry on capable mortal on a mere touch. The book is tied to the very concept of Magic and every spell that is invented and used is automatically added to the book. It also grants Maibe 1 PP for Shaping Actions.
1/7
Dharrox (supposedly) fought back tears, clapping Grawlf roughly on what passed for his shoulder. "'tis good to meet you... kinsman. Mine heart rejoices at thine acceptance of mine birth to meaneth mine self art a part of your noble house."
Thinking carefully, as though trying to remember if he had seen the rod at some point, the Silent One tried to think of the best way to get the god off his back about the rod. He supposed he could merely relinquish the rod, claiming he found it, but it held too much power for him to do so willingly. "A rod, you speaketh? Hm, mine eyes doth not remebereth such an object... nay, mine memory doth seem to remebereth odd flashes... of fighting, and tentacles, and three maidens. Alas, this black rod doth not appear in these flashes... mayhaps it's bearer passed it on before doing battle? Or mayhaps it merely made haste into the void, I know not."
Sku’Byss sensed that his Heart of Corruption had been removed from its location in the Elemental Chaos. This somewhat disturbed him. It was HIS creation, HIS toy, and someone had taken it. He was only going to leave it in the Chaos for a little while, but now it was gone. And he wanted it back. So, as swiftly as possible, he began his search for his Heart of Corruption.
Quickly, deftly, she worked, hands...well, sculpting a new god from the raw power they held.
(more will be added when the ascended god posts physical description, etc. in the OOC thread)
PP Expenditure
+2 two new days
-2 Ascend God: Travel
2/7
I need to strengthen myself, lest I or my friends be attacked again.. the powers I control are not meant for fighting. Or...wait. Can I?.... Carefully drawing part of the void essence from her Void Matrix artifact, she formed a weapon from it's dark power. Bowing to her life energy's will, it would be able to take any form she desired, as well as containing the destructive power she needed to protect her friends. She took it in hand, appearing as an obsidian knife, and stared at it sadly; she wished that fighting was never necessary.
2 PP: Create Artifact (Moderate): Morph Void
PP Remaining: 3/7 + Life-Web
"You are Brinn, yes? I am Samtaana."
Grawlf's exarch floats into view.
"Welcome to the court. Please, make yourself welcome here. You may claim a few rooms for yourself if you so desire. Before you go... could you do me a favor? Grawlf has asked me to create a book for him to write in, and I would like to test it before I give it to him. Would you mind putting a few words into it regarding life and the creation and nurturing of intelligence? Something... I don't know... something you think might be a possible way to nurture mortal intelligence to a point where it can understand the awesome power of the gods. Just... speak, and I think the words will appear."
~~~~~~~~~~
Grawlf looked at Lohak for a long moment.
"You'll have to excuse me for being a little reluctant to go off alone with you given our most recent encounter. Perhaps, if you would allow me..."
Grawlf fiddled with the Shield for a moment, modifying it slightly and expanding it to cover both himself and Lohak.
OOC: Everything said between Lohak and I until I drop the shield is SECRET. Please respect that, everyone
"Yes, Lohak? What is it?"
+1 3/7PP
Grawlf waggled one of his arms, which let out a loud scream of metal grinding against metal.
"But I imagine I'll get those figured out shortly enough. How about you? Does your heart still cry out for vengance? I imagine it will take all of us a long, long time before we return back to normal."
"I'm here for another issue though." He held out the Heart of Corruption. "Do you know who this creation belongs to? It was having a particuarly nasty effect on the Chaos"
"I would like that. And I feel we may not know everything that has gone on, Lohak. It has to do with the stars I made..."
Grawlf related the functioning of the stars and the existance of the two rods...
"... and so you see, without the obsidian rod, one cannot destroy or hide information in the stars. I had given the rod to the Secret-Keeper, but it was not on his body when I arrived. I imagine once we find out whoever has that rod, we will learn more about what actually happened."
"As for that..." Grawlf gave the Heart a glance and frowned. "I cannot say I have ever seen it before, but it reminds me strongly of a godling I met not too long ago. Sku'Byss... the Corruptor. What are you doing with it?"
Pondering over the story, he frowned. "I suspect that giving this rod to the deciver may have been a mistake, but it's abscense worries me. Are we sure that he is dead? We saw the body, but the shield that concealed the dark world proves that vision can be decieved. And you yourself hide your true form within a shell of metal, intereacting as other than you truly are. Could it be that the Secret-Keeper has pulled the ultimate deception, and convinced us all he is dead when it is not true?"
Khitis was rather angry that Lohak had deigned to ignore him entirely, but as he had gone off to speak with Grawlf, there wasn't much he could do about it. Instead, he went over towards Brinn, and asked "Mother... The artifact that that Lohak was carrying... could you feel Sku'byss's taint from that as well as I could?"
+1 PP (New Day)
7/7 PP Total
Grawlf considered Lohak's words regarding the mystery surrounding The Silent One's death.
"Perhaps, Lohak... but it is far harder to make nothingness appear real in every way than it is to make the a real object seem to vanish. And beyond that, whether clothed in metal, rock, light or darkness, I would be able to sense my son's unique signature. I suspected Dharrox, the one behind us for a while of being... not what he appears, but he cannot be my son, for I do not detect the duty of secrets with him. I will say I would like to get to the bottom of all of this, for it seems the more we prod at the facts, the more holes and false walls we find."
"Oh... yes." Grawlf said, fixing Lohak once more with his gaze. "I fixed the Court... I imagine all of that was the result of the Orb you injested? I do hope that my current patient isn't destroying the place. She might want to meet you, Creator... she might have need of your talents if I cannot determine another solution."
"I believe it will be hard for mortals not to know us, but they might choose not to align with us. That is their choice, or so I feel; we gods should not force ourselves on our children, but only guide them towards their purposes. If we lead them by the neck, and tell them what they will do, then what use is it? They will only rebel. However, if we take them hand-in-hand, as equals and friends, then they can decide, for themselves, to worship us gods for what we represent. We may also directly help them, in time, but we must beware of being viewed as a tool. Intelligent races must make their own destiny."
Brinn nodded to Khitis, who had come up during her short speech. "Yes...it worries me as well. I don't know where he's been, but he will not find me giving mercy, should he destroy again."
PP: 4/7
Grawlf hesitated for a moment. Lohak brought up many good points, and Dharrox was somewhat suspicious. However, he had to play the voice of caution, for who knew what justification Lohak would latch onto in his grief-stricken state to cause damage to those who might be innocent bystanders and might, in fact, be kin?
"Dharrox is a curious god, yes... what with his odd manner of speaking and those two servants of his... but I do not want to jump to any conclusions. Imagine if he IS a new god... our relationships with him would be ruined forever by such accusations."
He lifted the heart again. "Sky'byss. I shall remember the name should he come seekiong his toy."
Another thought passed his mind. "There is a great deal of unknown surroundsing all of this. Where is the Secret-keepers body? Perhaps a closwer examination might reveal something more."
" Child-Slayer, you are skilled in the art of killing, yes? "
" Your mind killed my child at a mere thought...and at the death of your Mothers your mind probably sought to slay yet another being of Divine blood, yes? I have a deal...or a proposal of sort for you if you are willing to listen. "
With a flash of flame, he vanished, reappering high above Verda, where only three of corpses still waited. Cleching his fist for a moment, he grasped Pasha's, then looked around. Where was the other he sought?
Seeing the Sculptor in the distance, he considered heading that wqay, but instead continued his search. Finally, he noticed a large block of ice. Moving closer, he caught a slight glimpse of what was inside. Odd, he thought, why would she do this. Getting a firm grip on the ice as well, he sent both into a protected area iof the Chaos, where, for now, only he could go.
As he heard the whispering voice coming to him. "If you wish to speak, mysterious one, then come before me. I don't appreciate your mental tricks."
Finished with that he moved towards his daughter. "Greetings, daughter. Why have you encased the secret-keeper in ice?"
Come forth! One who will guide others and mark their passage! I name you Hulzeddim! Come forth!
PP Expenditure
+1 New Day
3/7
I told you before, comrade Lohak. Something does not add up. I do not think The Silent One is as guilty as you believe, and likewise thought it an indignity to have one's corpse drift idly through the void. A frost tomb might be a meager substitute, but it is better than nothing.
"I also agree about the void. I've whisked my mother away to prepare something grander for her."
The Silent One looked on impassively at the conversation excluding him. Dharrox wouldn't care, he had enough faith in the honor of others to allow them their privacy. The Silent One, on the other hand, was irritated by the display. If there was a secret, he should know it! Wait, he had thrown aside secrets for now... even without the domain, he still found his very essence screaming to perform the duties and tasks involved with it. That raised an interesting question... were the gods merely slaves to their essences? The fact he could part with his would say otherwise, but he still had several other domains to further. What would a god be like with no domain? No purpose? Would they be free of the limitations imposed on those that did, or would they simply be returned to the void the moment they were created? He really must further this line of thought some day...
"Hey, boss, why are we just waiting around here?" Honor asked. At least, he thought it was Honor, it was hard to tell when one wasn't blatantly lieing.
"Why mine noblest of companions, it wouldst be rudeth of us to depart from mine new companion beforeth saying farewell, or dealingeth with the very cause he asked us to make haste here too. But thou mayest depart into yonder void if thou wisheth it, mine hand will summoneth you here post-haste shouldeth you be requiredeth."
It took about ten seconds for all the flowery speech to sink in, before the two brothers shrugged, wandering off into the void.
[2/7]
The Sculptor waved a hand at the Stars, and with the slightest dribblings of power, rearranged the stars once more to read:
Lohak, Lord of Creation is Dead. The Sculptor Did the Deed.
They remained for only a minute before slowly drifting back to their former positions.
The stars are imperfect, subject to the same fallacies of our own, limited perception. Admit it, it irks you to not know the circumstances of The Sisters' Deaths. It irks you to know that you may never know. I warn you now, Comrade, if you attempt to satisfy your thirst for vengeance without confirmation of guilt, I will stop you. By force, if necessary.
"MOMMY!"
And then he realized exactly how much momentum he had. He couldn't slow down or stop. Fearing streaking out into the void, he tried changing directions. That seemed to work pretty well. So he decided to stay close to his mother, circling around her in a misshapen orbit.
"Mommy!Mommy!Mommy!HiMommy!HeyMommy,DoYouNeedMeToDoSomethingForYouMommy?"
And then he saw a six-armed thing made of molten rock. Naturally curious, Hulzeddim changed course and started orbiting around it.
"HeyMommyWhatIsThisThing?ItLooksAwesome!IsItSafe?CanITouchIt?"
And then he realized there were a few things he hadn't asked. And so, like any child, he asked his mom.
"Mommy,WhatAreWe?WhereAreWe?WhereDidWeComeFrom?Oh,AndMommy,I'mBored.WhereAreTheToysInThisPlace?
Comrade Lohak, meet Hulzeddim. Dhavoxx and I created him to help us with a pet project.
The Sculptor's brow creased.
But maybe I did not spend enough time perfecting its form. Tell me little one, can you calm down? Or is this going to be "normal" for you?
The godling twisted the knot of lines that comprised its form and deftly escaped his mother's constraints. He then continued his dance around the older gods.
"Mommy,What'sALowHackAndADadBox?IHeardYouTalkingAboutThemEarlier.TellMe,Mommy,Pleae,Please,Pleeeeease!"
As to your other questions, this one here before you is Lohak. "Dadbox" is he who assited me in bringing you forth from the void. There are many more of us in the cosmos, and each of us were called forth to fulfill a specific goal. You, little one, were called to ease passage through the void, to catalyze travel for the non-gods who can travel only very shortly, comparatively.
Inwardly, The Sculptor repressed a sigh. It seems that The Silent One's influence had resulted in this...deviant style of speaking. She fervantly hoped it wasn't to become the norm.
Grawlf let the shield drop, and turned back to Dhavvox.
"Sorry about that. Lohak wanted to talk to me about how he beat me up earlier and how he was sorry. I wish you much luck in your endeavors, friend. Where did your two helpers go? I find them quite amusing..."
The message he sent to his artifact was, "Um, hello. Excuse me, but the crystal thing you are holding is my Heart of Corruption... can you please return it?"
Then, he waited, hoping it worked.
He went back to the prime and begun looking at the worlds, all so enticing, he briefly visited the icy realm of Lor'quhan the he has never seen, a poisonous hell of ice, there he painted the sky with powerful storm and lightings and watched in delight the ice and rock below shatterd and the creatures there cowering in fear. So enticing, deadly but at the same time beatiful, the god then left that realm, inspired...
His brothers experimented with life already, he still needed to master it, but he can't manage to have Khitis teach him, he has tasted the fear of death, the aerie beauty of the dreams, but he did not really felt already the thrill of creation, lifeless matter static, not flowing as himself that he has never tested...
He called for the small fragments of matter dispersed in the cosmo, reshaping the currents of gravity to pull them in a single point, slowly a new massive orb begun to take shape. Unlike the other worlds it was not formed by a solid substance, but by dense air. Most of its surface was as soft as cloud, but deeper the pressure grew so strong that it could easily crush a behemoth or a stone, in its heart was an hellish core of superheated gases and of molten metal, not as strong as the sun of course, but still powerful enough to melt vaporize anything but the strongest supernatural mineral. Many gasses was used to shape this new sphere, many time larger then Verda or Lor'quhan but much less solid, many designed by Eshcal so that they could capture the light of the sun and twist it into countless shades of red and white.
Eshcal admired the planet for a while, however he soon found out that it was not suited to support life, at least as Eshcal has seen before, many of the 1001 winds settled there ruling the countless currents that was on the planet surface and in this depth, but there was not many tales to tell about that world, no one else who could see it.
"Maybe I shall found someone to witness this creation" he tought "maybe gods but I think that living beings might appreciate this more..."
Then he musterd all his strenght, he went back to the Isles of Wonder and slowly he begun to move them, watching carefully not to damage any of the Bridge Stalks.
Watching from afar the isles formed a vast irregular ring around the red sphere.
Knowing tha probably Khitis or the other gods that worked on the island would have liked an explanation for this movement Eshcal waited there, playfully altering the pattern of the new world currents to entertain himself.
PP (5/7)
+2 PP (New Days)
- 1 PP Superior Mold Create a Jovian planet of red and white gasses (name coming soon)
- 1 PP Superior Mold - Move the Isles of Wonder around the new planet.
For instance, Lohak can travel in between his Elemental Chaos and the void as he pleases. I wonder, could you do a similar thing?
I have a challenge for you, little one. Do you see that orb, way off in the distance? It's known as Yrie. How fast can you get there and back?
And so he rushed to Yrie at faster than light speed. The result was a portal that led to Yrie to the Chaos. He noted the beauty of the place. Ah well. No time to waste. he thought. he rushed back through the portal and said, "HowWasThatSculptorLady?"
PP
6/7 (starting god)
-1 for portal from the void between Verda and Lor'quhan to Yrie.
5/7 left
We were right...
Oh, yes. That was quite impressive. You know? I hear there's another new god who is a lot like you. He lives on Yrie's moon and his name is Ymalos. Why don't you go find him? I think the two of you might become great firends.
And he opened another portal, this time to Yrie's moon. He saw a tall figure that looked kind of like Lohak, but less firey with 2 arms and pointed ears. "AreYouYmalos?MyNameIsHulzeddim.It'sNiceToMeetYou!TheSculptorToldMeToComeHearToMeetYou.IKnowWe'reGoingToBeGreatFriends!"
PP
5/7
-1 for the portal from the void between Verda and Lor'quhan to Yrie's moon.
4/7 left
[6/7]
He located the Isles of Wonder now encircling a large, red, gaseous world, with Eshcal making slight changes to the Islands' formations, although to his credit he was doing so in such a way that the Bridge Stalks remained unharmed. Before doing anything else, Khitis used some excess divine power that he had to raise large grassy fields on several of the islands, and on some of the more lumpy, jagged islands, he created hearty, mountian-dwelling plants.
Khitis then finally addressed Eshcal. "Eshcal, my friend, why are my islands now here?"
+1 PP (New Day)
1 PP Expended - Nourish Land: There are now 5 large savannah islands in the Isles of Wonder.
1 PP Expended - Nourish Land: 4 of the more mountainous islands have shrubs, grasses, and trees growing on them.
6/7 PP Total
He ignored the rapid talking of the young god, keeping his attention focused on the Sculptor. "That display was hardly necessary. I've already learned from Grawlf that he created a rod which can hide things in the stars. That is why the secret-keeper appears no where within them. That is why the events surrounding my mothers death are shrouded in mystery. I intend to seek the truth in this matter. My anger in under control again, daughter. Anyways, I must go . . . there are things I must attend to."
Hearing the message cming through the hert, he winced at the corruption it conveyed, and offered a simple return message. "You left it in my home, corrupting it. I'll not return it. Next time, maybe you'll think twice before recklessly fooling with anothers work."
Lohak stepped back into the chaos, appearing at it's heart, where the elemnts battled and fought their fiercest. Amid it all, he claimed it's core for himself, a place where he would retain ultimate power to decide it's shape and form. Here, in the heart of the elemntal chaos, he would call it home.
PP Expenditures
2 PP - Create Plane (Lesser) - The Heart of Chaos
5/7 + 1/1
I don't think the truth is uncoverable, truly. Not unless one is able to go back and witness such events for oneself.
The Sculptor sighed. She had failed in creating a new ally -- Surely The Silent One would find the infantile Hulzeddim just as big a disapointment just as she did. She bore the new god no malice, but he was not what she had been expecting -- or hoping for.
Time, time, time. Its always in the iteration that things happen. Too much of one, too little of another. Too little for Madness, much too much for Travel. One would think that my next attempt should be a pleasant medium.
Looking up, through the void, The Sculptor saw the great bands of the Eternal Clock pulsing erratically.
Restlessly, the sihloutte addressed the ever-present Hrinori.
I think The Sisters made that, didn't they? Suppose to help them maintain their domain. Well, Zo-Att's now, I suppose. I wonder if Lohak could use it to peer into the past. Why don't you tell him that?
Hrinori bowed once and departed, attempting to follow Creation through his home.
I think I should visit kin Brinn. I've been meaning to speak with her, but things keep happening.
The Sculptor shook herself from her daze and soared off, spotting the goddess, Grawlf, and one of Zo-Att's demons floating together.
Greetings, Kin, Comrade.
--------------------
Through the blistering firestorms of the Chaos, Hrinori darted about, seeking Creation incarnate.
You left my mistress before she had the chance to explain herself completely. In the interim she thought of a new solution to your quest. Simply put, did not The Sisters control time? My Mistress thinks that it would be childsplay for one such as yourself to modify The Great Clock to see a brief snippet into the past.
"Hello!" the exarch chirped, greeting coming out as a high pitched squeak and crunching of metal.
"I'm doing a project for Grawlf where i am asking anyone I come upon to speak words of wisdom about the difficulties and promise of creating intelligent and worshiping life, as well as any ideas of how to actually do it. Would you say a few words so I can write them down in this book?"
+1 PP: 4/7 +0/1.
The faint voice seemed to frown.
" So..now when I have presented myself are you now willing to hear my plea? "
Maibe smiled slightly where she sat at a cliffside looking out over the white deserts of Yrie. Kind winds made her pitch-black hair fly, her eyes glew, her hands were pressed tightly together as if she prayed.
" I assure you it will probably be benifical for us both. "
PP Remaining: 5/7
Eshcal greeted Khitis into the islands he was expecting him, after all moving all that land could not be unnoticed he guessed...
"Hello lord Khitis, I'm sorry that I have not asked you before doing this little "change of scenery" to the islands, however I was too inspired to stop... I hope that I have caused no damage to your vision of these Isles, as my action was only to increase their greatness, I took care that nothing recieved serious damages from that anyway..."
"Do you like the new sphere?" he told, pointing at the rolling cluds of the jovian planet below "The sight is quite impressive, however I fear that living beings will find existance there quite hard and I did not want to leave this place alone in the darkness between the stars".
"Anyway I was thinking of giving a boon to this floating savage lands, before beginning a little experiment of my own, do you have any suggestion my friend? Maybe a new life form, one that could easily cross the gaps between the islands without need from the brigdes and that maybe could visit the planet below some time.... But to be honest I'm open to any kind of suggestion..."
PP 6/7
+1 PP (New Day)
The voice grew silent for a couple of moments.
" Do we have a deal, Uncle? "
There is something missing from our world.
But what?
It is missing... followers.
Followers?
Yes.
The gods have allies among themselves but it is not enough.
We need... worship.
We need to be revered by lessers.
Not exarches.
Mortals.
PP:
+1 (new day)
+1 (new day)
+1 (new day)
3/7
"This is a Chord Amulet. It will allow us to speak to each other, even when separated by any distance. It should also allow you to contact Mother... that is, Brinn," Khitis explained, before he thought a bit.
"As to your question... I'd say that the best thing to do would be to make a creature that flies, like the hawks on Yrie. But there must also be plant life on this new sphere, otherwise the creatures that live there will starve. I'd say the first thing would be to create plants can survive there, and then the creatures will come. It's not enough to create life, as our divine powers allows us to do this with but a thought. Creating a place where life can survive and thrive; that is the true challenge presented before us, and the reason why I exist. For if there is no place where life can survive, then nothing shall come of it."
+1 PP (New Day)
2 PP - Modify Artifact (Chord Amulets): Khitis has duplicated his Chord Amulet and given the copy to Eshcal.
5/7 PP
" As you can see, Uncle dear...I have changed. "
She said as she stretched out her arms and twirled around. She was dressed in black robes that covered both flesh and skin. A crown rested upon her noble head and two braclets adorned her pale arms.
" I want a weapon that fits in these hands.."
She said and streched out two pale limps against him, brandishing ten fingers in front of the ancient god.
" I want a long weapon, one that will reach those that I desire to hurt. One that will cut and stab with equal mind but at the same time cuts more then flesh. A weapon that burns the very essence of the being it cuts, one that burns darkness, stain and corruption away. A weapon made with matter but that harbors an essence of purest light. "
Maibe stretched out a pale hand and gave her Uncle a handfull of white fire that contained the very essence of her power.
Gives 2 PP to Lohak.
1/7
He called to the chaos, drawing forth the elements of creation he needed, the strongest of metals, forming them to his will as he lended his own strength to the shaft.
At the end, he formed a weapon of the white fire she had supplied him, shaping and curving it into a wicked blade that radiated brilliant light, and would cut to the very soul of those struck. Capturing the remaining peices of the white fire, he preserved them, storing them away for later.
Holding out the haft of the glaive, he issued the mental command, nodding as the blade flickered to life, illuminating the area. Holding it tightly with two hands, he placed the blade on the stone beneath them, before using his other hands to wield Valmandar, hammering the flames.
When he was finally finished, he held it up to examine it again, smiling in pleasure at the success. Commanding the blade to disperse and vanish, he held what appeared to be a simple metal rod to her.
"Here is Amu-Rasui. Use it wisely, Maibe, that your beauty, and the suns, remain brilliant."
PP Expenditures
2 PP - Create Artifact (Moderate) - Amu-Rasui
6/7 + 1/1
" You have made a fine job, Uncle dear. Amu-Rasui will be a much appropriate ally in the struggles that will come. This age...is coming to an end, Uncle...I can feel it in the air. Things are changing both with the world and us. We are becoming more and more...natural as our bonds to this world grow stronger and stronger. "
A faint smile touched the Goddess´s lips.
" Fair things will happen soon, Uncle Dear...I can feel it. "
The fetus seemed to twist in its sac, its tiny limbs seeming to writhe with startling frailty.
"But you will see, eventually. For now, walk with me."
And the sac holding the bruised and diseased fetus began to float away, borne upon some unseen wind.
((Deleted due to various complaints, lack of justification, and a few... insistent... people))
Zo-Att wordlessly followed the... thing, wherever it was going.
[7/7]
As Samtaana waited for The Sculptor to respond, it floated over to Ankriega.
"So... you're like me, right? What is it that you do for Brinn?"
PP: 5/7
"I do not know if Grawlf views me as a friend. To be honest, I don't know in the slightest what he thinks of me. He's been so busy lately. He seems to trust me to make things for him, at least, which is something. I want to make this book as exciting as possible for him when he returns. Oh, that gives me an idea!"
Samtaana floated a little ways away and began fashioning a long rod of stone, similar in appearance to the stones that made up the central courtyard of the Court of the First Ones. Taller and taller it rose until it was roughly ten feet in height with a small protrusion sticking out of it about 3/4 of the way up.
"There. The Peh'Ay. I'll put this in a better place later, but for now..."
Samtaana put his mouth before the bump on the rod and spoke.
"Um... Hello? Testing? Hi. I'm Samtaana, one of Grawlf's creations. I've been tasked with creating a book full of ideas on the nature of intelligence and worship, and how we can bestow these qualities onto mortals. If anyone wants to come write in it, come to the Court, and speak your mind. Thank you!"
The rod began pulsing with a white light that ran up the rod from base to tapered tip. Faster and brighter the rod pulsed until a shaft of radiance lanced out from the tip. The message, conveyed in an etherial voice, would reach every god in existence that wished to hear it.
Samtaana placed the rod aside and floated back to the others.
"Hopefully that will work."
~~~~~~~~~
Still waiting for Dhavvox's reply, Grawlf heard the message and smiled. Samtaana was proving to be quite creative.
1 PP: Create Artifact (lesser): The Peh'Ay. Part of the Court, located in the central courtyard, the beacon allows anyone to speak into it to send a message to every god in creation.
3/7 PP +0/1 PP.
"Well, I really like these sorta... big, singular projects. Like the Peh'Ay or this book. But... oh, there is so much to do! Grawlf told me of this planet called Yrie, and some beings he made that are turning its sands into something wonderous. I want to make something out of that stuff. I think he called it... glass."
Samtaana quivered with excitement.
"What about you? What are you going to make?"
2 PP - Spawn Thorn Demons
[5/7]
- - - - -
Back on Verda....
Cragnas and the Rockwood Elementals proceeded to make minced thorn demon pie.
Yes, I think I would, actually: We are all equals. It matters not how one comes from the void void; one's origin should not be something that causes you to place more or less importance upon others. Judge by merits, not by some familial connection or assumption of divine right.
The Sculptor turned to Brinn.
I wanted to apologize to you for setting Lohak against Grawlf. I said what I believed true at the time, and now I believe differently. It seems to me as if the others are dumping their troubles on you, and you cleaning up after them.
That said, I would ask the blessings of your forests upon a world of my creation. Ice and Steel would be stronger yet when supplemented by Wood. I mean to use Light as well, but I have not yet spoken to Maibe. I called to her earlier, but she did not respond. Perhaps I will take a small piece of her sun for myself.
PP Expenditure
+2 new days
5/7
"Hi!MyNameIsHulzeddim.WhatAreYourNames?WhatIsThisPlace?ItLooksAwesome!"
PP
5/7
-1 for a portal connecting Yrie's moon to the Astral Sea
+2 for two days
6/7
Her wolf friend nodded to the god of travel, understanding his thoughts. “Yes, I thought so too, at first. My first creation was too much power for me to handle, and slipped out of my hands. Yet, with practice and will, you can do anything. Do not be afraid to create on your own, my friend. Now, if you will excuse me, I have things I must attend to. Brinn, I am returning to Verda, let me know if you need my help again.” The forest god smiled. “Of course, my friend. Though you should do what you wish as well.” Ankirega nodded, and dissapeared from the Court. "You are free to follow me, if you wish.," the wolf exarch said to Helziddim as he left.
PP:
+1 (new day)
4/7 PP
The Sculptor rubbed her chin.
Though that brings up another good point -- I'm going to need something to maintain this world, aren't I?
The Sculptor cocked her head to the side, deep in thought.
Perhaps something modled after my exarch -- she has been exceedingly loyal despite that which has happened to her.
- - - - -
Back on Verda, Ankirega returned to the Grotto. He and Brinn would be creating much life in the future, he knew, and the Life-Web alone would not suffice for the intelligent life Brinn so desired. While he preferred more bestial, instinctive creations, she wanted true life and purpose. Both were fine with the exarch, and he would do his part to assist Brinn in whatever she chose. Touching one wall with his paw, he scratched the hardened wood- now like rock! - with a claw, and considered the etching before him. Yes, this would do- while Grawlf and Samtaana may prefer their book, he would carve into the very walls of life itself the origin of intelligent beings. Taking a few steps back, he stared at the wall, willing the divine spark within him to come to his aid. The familiar fire flowed through him, coming out in the form of song, as it had three times before. Behind him, the Life-Web flared in intensity, though Ankirega's song made no use of it.
Herald of life anew
stretching for all time
Telling the story so true
Of life's new beginnings!
For all time hold the truth,
in walls unchanging
despite claw or tooth,
keep life's path forever.
Watch all life,
keep it forever safe,
free of strife,
lest it all fail!
Safe from foes around,
forever etched in stone.
The truth of origins abound
In timeless manner unfold!
As he sang, bright green light surrounded the Grotto's walls, stretching out in lines and art, trailing green sparks filling the natural crevices in the petrified wood. Temporarily blinded by the light, Ankirega kept his eyes open and unblinking, watching the creation of another great power source that would keep the story of life neverending. Both history and creator, the Wall of Origins spanned the considerable length of the Grotto, for now empty but for the amoebas and those natural creations of the other gods, such as the drakes Eschal and Khitis played parts in.
Strangely, in the whorls of green lay a distortion, seeming almost like a life struggling to emerge from the tree. Ankirega stared at it curiously, not knowing what might come of it. Life so strong that it created itself. However, his musings were cut short as the Life-Web behind him pulsed anew with energy, the force so strong that he staggered to his knees. Unbridled power surged through him as the Life-Web pulsed ever stronger, and he howled in a strange mingling of pain and ecstasy. He needed an outlet for the powers, but..what?! His mind was like a cleaned slate under the onrush of divine power behind him. One word struggled to the top of his mind:
Brinn....!
- - - - -
Back at the Court of the First Ones, Brinn felt a sudden and desperate grab at her mind. She recoiled instinctively, before feeling it's familiar presence...though it felt harsh and somewhat blurry.
"Ankirega...?," she asked, before opening herself to the invading presence. It seemed a beastial fury, grabbing ahold of her thoughts and memories like a lifeline. Confused and a little worried, she traced back the connection to Ankirega, who she thought stood in a sea of life energy, in which he was drowning.
"I...forgive me, I must go!," Brinn suddenly stammered, before vanishing from the pure courtyard. She reappeared moments later near Ankirega, though she could not tell it from the insistent pulsing of the Life-Web; bright light shone all around her, and her senses were dulled from the pure onrush of power than threatened to consume them. We have to...use it! Quickly!, she thought, instinctively summoning her most recent creation to mind- Visarga, the first dragon. She felt a desperate tug from Ankirega, as the thought begun to take form in the sea of power.
A ghostly image of Visarga appeared, though it did not hold fast. The combined subconcious efforts of Brinn and Ankirega twisted it's metallic form, stretching it out further and further, it's scales refusing the metallic luster Visarga had taken, and instead using the strength of the forest to bolster itself. It instead took the glassy texture of the petrified wood around them, something Brinn knew nothing of but Ankirega was all too familiar with. It's wings grew ever larger, as they would require even more power to propel such a tremendously long body through the air. The horns of the original dragon moved down and backwards, jutting along it's spine from it's jawbones. The top of the dragon took a dark brown color, that of the wood around, while the bottom scales- no less powerful than Visarga's own, took an alabaster hue that briefly flashed through the forest god's mind.
At last the energy surrounding them flew into the image, leaving Brinn and Ankirega collapsed on the ground, gasping for air. Above them flew the new progenitor wyrm, supreme in it's powers of life. It seemed a fitting counterpart for Visarga, bearing powers of life instead of it's brothers' darker abilities. The pair of divinities came to groggily notice that the Grotto had expanded immensely, stretching in all directions to accomodate the new dragon. Or was it just more space than it appeared before?
The grand new dragon stared down at the two gasping creators, and then turned it's scaled and sinous form to regard the Life-Web below, now quiescent.
"I am Orine. I thank you for letting me into this world, Brinn and Ankirega." With those words, it suddenly vanished from the Grotto, leaving a sparkling diamond-dust trail that soon dissapeared itself.
"Orine..?," Brinn asked, and looked at Ankirega. What had they just created? The white wolf lay panting on the ground near her, and looked at her with an expression just as confused as she was.
PP Expenditures:
3 PP: Create Artifact (Greater): The Wall of Origins. Provides Shape PP.
2 PP (1 from Life-Web): Spawn Superior: Orine, the Alabaster Dragon.
PP Remaining: 2/7
"Something is not right with the Clock."
It was true, though it was not plain how she sensed this disturbance. Perhaps it was this state of enhanced sensitivity that tuned her in to the faint ebb and flow and rush of Time, washing over her like the gentle sea. It seemed to her, however, that the movements were faint no longer, but the crashing waves, the endless roar of the storm. Mistress Time, Custodian of the Natural Flow, was dead, and her charge was in an uproar. A daughter, tempestuous and dark, had taken up the reins, but was not possessed of the delicate touch her mother commanded. Something must be done to rectify this terror before all must crumble.
"Hi! I'm Samtaana... I'm one of Grawlf's helpers. Did you hear my message and come to write in my book?"
~~~~~~~~~
Grawlf watched Dhavvox for some time... the other god had grown very silent.
"Very well. Clearly you have much on your mind. If you ever have need of me, just call."
Grawlf cast out into the void with his mind, seeking Lohak. Not finding him in the current world, he pulled open a rift to the Elemental Chaos and stepped through, soon finding Lohak and Maibe.
"Ah, Lohak, Maibe. I'm glad I could find you. I was wondering if I could ask you both a question."
PP: +1 4/7 +0/1 PP.
A whisper was heard in The Sculptor´mind.
" Before madness cracked you...or at least that is what the Stars whisper with spitefull voices. "
A sigh was heard in the dephs of The Sculptor´s mind.
" I am Maibe, Rose. You have searched for me and now I am here. "
Samtaana looked up to see another god approaching. This one looking... quite odd.
"Are you here to write in the book?"
"I think I can help you get out of here, oh mother of mine."
And though she wasn't sure, but Zo-Att could have sworn she saw the fetus give a mischievous little grin.
"Of course, I would need some recompense, which I am sure you can easily give me."
Depressed, The Sculptor drifted slowly back to The Susurrus. Why did she feel as if some great thing was ending? She looked up, at the spiraling bands of The Eternal Clock -- now tarnished, and pulsating oddly.
As Hrinori faded in from visting Lohak, The Sculptor sighed, letting the anger drain out of her.
We've changed, Hrinori, and all the void along with it. We gpds are no longer content to experiment with our powers. We are all developing goals, agendas. How soon before we devolve into outright fighting once more?
Hrinori sent her troubled conciousness into the void, until she found the Avian mind she sought.
Phoenixborn. Are you ready to accept the task for which you were created?
Gaerth's mind was utterly alien to her own -- The Sculptor felt herself tear up with irrational awe as its psyche caressed her own in response to her mental summons. It took only moments for the great wingbeats of the Silver Phoenix to reach its creator, but those moments were all The Sculptor had need to prepare.
The Susurrus' surface had roughened, with great spires of iron and ice reaching out in a haphazard fashion. It was upon two of these spikes that the phoenix landed upon, only to take off immediately again as The Sculptor sent him away.
But the grip of The Susurrus was strong, and as the mighty Gaerth flew through the void, The Susurrus followed, gripped tightly between the phoenix's claws. An eliptical orbit, encompassing the width and breadth of the known void.
Hrinori watched as Gaerth came and went before turning to The Sculptor.
Why would you let him carry off your world like that?
He isn't carrying anything off -- he goes with my blessing. Now, the secrets of The Susurrus will be safe from curious gods. Let them think it is naught but a comet.
And your power?
I, at least, can harness its energies no matter where it is. Be at ease, exarch, it is for the best.
PP Expenditure
-2 Modify Artifact: The Susurrus becomes a demi-plane, inaccessible fom the rest of the void except by portals.
3/7
Samtaana looked up to see this new god approaching.
"Hi! I'm Samtaana... I'm one of Grawlf's helpers. Did you hear my message and come to write in my book?"
"No. I came to apoligize to Hulzeddim. He visited me when I was deep in thought. I regret to say that I did not notice him. Well I must be going now. I do have a moon to run." With that, Ymalos flew back through the portal to Yrie's Moon.
7/7 +1/1
He wondered what they had spoken of... hopefully not of himself. Well of course of himself, he was a new god and that was always news. But he hoped they didn't suspect anything... Grawlf's interest in the rod that even now was secreted away for when he needed it showed that he'd been too careless. He should have simply rewritten the conflict, or change it's place and outcome rather than erased it entirely... but he'd been in such a panic! Those damn emotions of his were going to be hid downfall one day he swore... he could hardly help the occasional bout of fear, it was his essence after all. But he'd been intoxicated by rage, and if he was that careless again in his new guise his life might very well be forfeit.
Wait, hadn't Grawlf asked something about his squires? Where had they gone anyway? "I'm sorry for the delayeth, mine companion, but- oh you're gone... well that makes things a lot easier." Hadn't he received a message about some book that would define creation? How curious... perhaps he should take a visit and make a few suggestions. Once he'd had time to twist things to his advantage...
***
"Shadowfell damn you, Chivalry, you led us right back to that damned moon!"
"No I didn't, this is Lorquan."
"Do you see gas? Do you see plague amoeboids? Do you see anything but barren rock?" Chivalry was about to answer when Honor merely waved his hands to cut him off. "Forget I asked, I don't want to hear whatever tripe you babble as a response."
Grumbling to himself, Honor looked up at the looming image of Verda in the sky. "You know, we spent who knows how long just standing here, and never visited that world. Seems a little silly, in retrospect, but we were a little less... evolved, back then."
"I disagree entirely, brother." Chivalry replied. "But it's too late now. We're now even more shackled than we were before. And there's no way we could pay it a visit right now."
"You know brother," Honor replied a little warmly. "Once you get used to just flipping everything you say onto your head, you're not as loathsome company as you first seem."
"Opposite to you brother," Chivalry replied in the same tone. "Opposite to you."
It was at that moment that a blinding flash lit up part of the surface of Verda, and a large flying lizard was seen for a few moments, before vanishing off into nowhere.
"HOLY SHADOWFELL DID YOU SEE THAT?!" Honor asked.
"No," Chivalry replied unemotionally.
"Right, of course you didn't... well what do you say, should we check it out?"
"Definitely, it wouldn't be dangerous at all now and nothing would please me more."
"Glad to hear it," Honor replied, not even remembering his companions nature for a moment and grabbing onto his arm. "Let's go!"
"Gahhhh! No, wait, I totally meant to say that! And am not afraid at all!" Chivalry complained, attempting to wrest free of Honor's pull.
A short time later, the two knights landed in a clearing that seemed as though an entire life full of universe was pumped through there in the last few seconds. And in that clearing where what looked to be the god they had seen earlier when the Silent One had introduced his new guise, and a-
"Lion!" Chivalry cried gleefully.
"What? No, it's some kind of... furry... fanged... thing,' Honor replied. "Not a lion though, that's for sure."
"Is so!"
"Is not!"
"Is so!"
"Is- oh by the way, I'm Honor and this is Chivalry, we've already met but I thought I'd introduce each other again in case you'd forgotten and for the animals benefit. Now where was I... Is not!"
"Is so!"
+2 PP for 2 days
4/7
"I need your help, father, I sense Time... unravelling..."
And then from the air she drew a band of material, silky black in hue. Around her head she wound it, over her eyes, tying it behind her head. Then from the air she drew a dress, simple and black, which she stepped into. She felt an uncomfortable snugness about her belly and made a quick adjustment. Then she felt her way through the spaces between spaces, towards the centre of the disturbance. And before long, she stood, or rather floated, just in from of the glowing bands of the Eternal Clock. She floated, and waited.
Stepping out of the chaos, he found himself in a new area of the world, one he had never visited before. "You called, daughter?"
His eyes lowered as he looked at the clock, a failing device without the sisters watching over it, though Zo-Att now held dominion over it. The grief still struck deep as he looked at Bel, his tone more muted then usual. "Why have you brought me here?"
"I sense terrible things may come, father, if this situation is not corrected."
She indicated the Clock, whose bands rotated in a rather irregular manner.
"I ask if you would help me to repair, or even to replace this now broken Clock."
The corner of her mouth seemed to twist upwards.
"As for why I turn to you for help, well, I would have thought that would be obvious, I need something built, and of all that I know, I trust none more with this task than you yourself."
"Now father, I need you to provide your magic, imbue this place with the solid hold of your metal."
PP Expenditures
1 PP - Given to Bel
It was a veritable masterpiece, a chaotic mass of metal parts, all whirring and working to keep time stable. It was made of thousands of parts: gears, pistons, belts, all working in perfect unison. But the beauty was in the fluidity of it all, the ingenuity, the intricate nature of it all. Inside, there were uncountable individual chambers, all filled with moving parts. She turned to face her father once more.
"I will watch over this place, father, if it pains you so to be here. Be at ease, it is in your daughter's able hands."
She smiled, and moved towards the new Clock.
PP Expenditures
2 PP Create Plane (Lesser) The Clockworks - This mechanical clock is the same size as the Eternal Clock, and incorporates it into its form.
5/7PP
Grawlf roused himself and went to follow Lohak, coming upon him and Bel.
"Bel! It is good to see you up and about once more."
"Lohak. Do you remember that which I spoke to you of before? The creation of and meaningfulness of intelligent life that will worship us? I seek to try to create such life, and soon. Do you, Creator, have any suggestions or thoughts on the how of such an act... or, I guess, what it would mean? I am eager to hear your thoughts as well, Bel."
He closed his eyes, remembering something almost forgotten. Quietly, he stepped into the newly forged plane, moving among the spinning gears quietly and efficiently until he found it's center. Here, in the core of it's power, he called forth a sheet of purest metal, it's surface reflecting his image, Tapping into the ancient matrix of the clock, linking it to his metal mirror, he finished the work.
At the base of this new contrustion there was a small hole that awaited the proper key.
PP Expenditures
1 PP - Modify Artifact - The Eternal Clock can show images from the past, if one has the proper key to activate it.
5/7 PP + 1/1
Grawlf repeated his request.
He shook his head. "I have brought many children into this world, and witnessed the birth of even more. The mind and the spark are most definitly two seperate entities. Soon, I intend to being work on just such a creature. . . . something that embodies fire, but oes not have the park of creation that we possess."
PP Expenditures
1 PP (Artifact) - Mold Land (Superior) - An asteroid field around the world created by Lohak and Grawld.
5/7 + 0/1
Such a thing would certainly be a marvelous innovation for us, though how would we do it? Would it be similar to birthing a god? Or more akin to the beasts that already walk the land? I suppose one would have to experiment, I suppose. But if such a thing were achieved, just think of the possibilities. We could have servants, and workers, builders to create a new world all their own. They should be numerous, but not as powerful as us gods, for that much power would be dangerous when combined with their intelligence and numbers.
Is this what you wanted to hear, Mister Eye Man?"
Grawlf nodded. It was time. Around him, he could feel the influence of the new housing of the Eternal Clock pulling and twisting his powers. Now was a time of refinement, it seemed to say. The bulk of the universe is done, go to the planets and flourish there.
Grawlf was doing just that, flying to Yrie and hovering over its deserts. Here, in the boundless wastes, laced with the molten passings of his sun worms, he would begin. He waved an arm in a complex motion, summoning forth the Codex, and began to read the assembled knowledge, letting his mind absorb the thoughts of his peers, and focusing it through his own mind.
Brinn had spoken of the finesse of duty and free will given to their creations. This was an excellent point. If Grawlf was going to do it correctly, he would need to spend careful attention to the mind of the being he was creating. Not too much devotion, for then it would be useless and single-minded in purpose, yet not too little, or it would be no different from the other beasts that had been created before.
The Sculptor had spoken of equality, of how each creation had to be viewed in its own right as a potential inheritor of a world. How very true. Grawlf knew that he would have to think very carefully about that.
Lohak had perhaps been the most helpful, in a practical sense, suggesting that he work to create a being with the mind of a god, but the soul of a mortal.
And finally, Bel had suggested number, so they could converse with one another and not be limited to monolithic entities such as the ones that dominated the universe up until now.
Finally, Grawlf thought he knew what he should do, and he opened the book to one of the pages he had worked on in secret earlier. The page was filled with what looked to be instructions, written in a messily scrawled hand. Reading them over one more time to make sure he had it right, and keeping in mind the lessons and thoughts of his fellow gods, Grawlf reached down and touched one of the glass veins running through the desert. He felt the heat still present deep within the glass, a memory of the passing of a sun worm not too long ago. Then, he pulled back his arm and with all his might, drove it into the glass, shattering it and releasing that inner heat and pulling up the still liquid glass so it rose, bubbling and spitting in the hot arid air before him. His arms flew into the glass, moving quickly, but with purpose. Every once in a while, Grawlf would glance back down at the book, usually plunging the mass back into the molten core of the glass vein beneath him. Around him, he could feel the Sun Worms congregating, churning beneath him and turning the entire patch of desert molten.
Grawlf's arms retracted briefly, then plunged back in, this time working delicately, moving just a hairs breadth left or right, up or down, in or out. As he worked, he thought of the careful balance he must maintain, and he hoped that such things would grow easier for him with time. Finally, it was finished. The orb of molten glass rotated before him, and with a shout, Grawlf sent the Sun Worms scattering away before throwing the orb down into the churning pit beneath him.
Almost immediately, things began to happen. All across the pit, bubbles of glass began to form, gathering more and more of the molten sand to itself as they rose higher and higher. Grawlf watched as one of the bubbles grew before him rising up to where he waited, many feet above the desert floor. The bubble reached him, and suddenly it seemed to pop, molten glass sloughing off of the form within it, falling down to the pit below, where it immediately began combining into another bubble. All around the pit, these bubbles were forming, and when they reached the right height, revealing the tall, glassy form within. Grawlf looked at the titanic, yet humanoid form and was amazed when the glassy eyes met his gaze and spoke in a voice that shook the ground far below.
"Thank you, Creator, for the gift of life. We honor and respect you, All-Seeing Eye."
Grawlf blinked. He had done it!
"You are welcome. I greet you, Kartheon, first lord of the Glass Titans."
The titan smiled.
"Thank you. I will lead my people in worship of you for all eternity."
As the titan spoke, Grawlf felt a thrill of power pass through him, and knew that it was the fledgling worship of the titans around him. The power grew and grew and grew, swelling through him. It was beautiful! But... he did not know if he could hold it all in. His arms twitched, and he cried out as a rainbow of colors shot from his arms, converging in the center of the titans, where the light hovered, pulsing slowly. Within, Grawlf was amazed to feel a presence growing, one much like himself. Grawlf watched and waited, eager to see what would appear. At the same time, he called out to the rest of the universe, telling the other Lords of Creation the secrets to creating beings such as the ones he just made.
AGE 2 IS BEGUN Shape away!
2 PP: Ascend God: Worship
2 PP (1 from the Codex): Shape Populace: Glass Titans.
+1 PP 2/7 +1/2 PP (Create)
The fetus stopped its movement abruptly, and turned to face Zo-Att.
"Let your power flow through this place, and fill it. Let it carry you where it will. You will find the way will open up to you, and the secret will be revealed to you. Your own power will show you the way to control this body, to control Bel. Then you will be able to search for a more permanent form of freedom."
It was done. The Silent One grinned wickedly looking over the pages in his hands, almost quivering with excitement. This would be the dawning of a whole new age of secrets and deception, of lies and murder and schemes within schemes! How appropriate such a great opportunity should come when the clock signaled the coming of a new age.
Closing his eyes, Dharrox concentrated on finding this book the message spoke of. It had said to go to the hall of the gods, but he was loathe to go there unless absolutely necessary... who knew what truth such sacred stones might illuminate? Fortunately, he sensed it near a planet he was unfamiliar with, and so teleported there... before wincing. What was this world? It made Verda look like an oasis of darkness! What vile, despicable... he had to control himself. If he couldn't control his emotions when conversing with Grawlf, he was done for. Speaking of which, the eyeball wasn't too far from where he'd appeared, and was holding the book conversing with what seemed to be the results of it's first use.
"Bravo! Bravo, mine friend!" Dharrox congratulated the god, walking over to him and peering over his work. "If mine eyes doth not decieveth me, you hath done what many of our kin have spoketh of for many a time, but you hath been the first to suceedeth! However, mine heart doth cry out at a minor problem with your work... It is not your influence mine kin," he hastily added. "But rather that of yonder book you hold in thou's hands. It speaketh of life, but it speaketh not of... justice, truth, goodness, morality. If thou wouldst allow me, place these in thou's book," he finished, drawing forth a handful of pages. "This will endow a code of conduct in all that thinkeths, so that all may knoweth, even if ignoreth, right from wrong."
And it was absolutely true. The pages contained simple things like 'stealing is bad' and 'killing is wrong', as well as more complicated issues such as the conflict of charity and providing happiness for yourself and kin, and about three pages alone devoted to the nuances of honor. INSIDE the pages, however, cleverly concealed from both touch, sight and sense were far more sinister pages. Pages that would place the heart of evil in all that were created from the book. Pages infusing life with greed, lust, gluttony, desire for power, and all that would conquerer the goodness in a man and make him do what he knows is wrong, but does so anyway simply because he no longer cares in the face of dark desire. And, infused with his essence as they were, if he were ever to be discovered...
Dharrox smile genuinely. "So, mine kinsman, what say you?"
PP Expenditure
1PP - Create Artifact (Minor) - Pages of Virtue, these pages once added to the book will bestow the basics of morality on sentient creatures. They also serve to conceal the Pages of Sin
1PP - Create Artifact (Minor) - Pages of Sin, these pages once added to the book will bestow dark temptation and evil on sentient creatures. They are hidden cleverly and undetectable inside each of the pages of virtue themselves, like a letter and envelope.
[3/7]
Had her hand grown more indistinct just now? The Sculptor suppressed the thought, instead turning to the amulet in her hand.
Kindred Brinn -- do you feel it? What has --
She broke off mid-thought as Grawlf's joyous exultations reverberated throughout the cosmos. Immediately, formulae, schematics, and calculations scrambled themselves within her mind; The Sculptor gasped as she realized the possible ramifications of Grawlf's experimentations.
The Sculptor felt her body curl into a fetal position as more and more of the information flooded into and through her.
The Sculptor could feel the worship -- could identify the minute differences in Grawlf's power as his... (what had he named them? Glass titans?) creatures expressed their devotion to him.
If this be the future of our Void, I'll have none of it. This... worship... leads to emotions; oh how strong these emotions run. I'll not have it. I am an experimenter, a dabbler, not a leader!
And yet -- The Sculptor could not deny the effects of both the clock and Grawlf's Titans. If the one had vastly reduced the power of them all, the second existed as the only apparent means to correct the deficit. To not attract these... "worshipers" meant powerlessness, and an eventual fading away. Ah, blasted change!
Are you all right, Mistress?
The Sculptor turned to her Exarch, and pursed her lips.
I am unsure. I know which course I ought to take, but have no desire to take it for my---
The Sculptor broke off once more, eyeing her Exarch. A smile crept over her face; It was slow at first, gradually increasing in speed until the goddess herself was consumed with the energy. The Sculptor spun in space, whirling, spinning, nearly intoxicated with her laughter.
I now know what to do. Go -- find Dhavoxx. The time of servants has come.
As Hrinori sped off, confused, but obediant, The Sculptor recovered her composure and stilled her body, once more hanging softly in the Void.
She thought of The Silent One, of the Fury she had felt at his "death", his unhappy blaming, and the spite that had forced his hand in the first place. The Sculptor clenched her fists, causing dark shadow to spread from her palms -- dribbling into the void, forming a cloud.
The Sculptor concentrated on that cold fury, the retaliatory anger of Ankirega -- what a force of nature when the forest was injured! He had sought and claimed vindication as it pleased him. What has Brinn called it? A Wolf. Yes.... a wolf would do nicely.
The black cloud of vengeance quickly bent under The Sculptor's deft hands, forming the same fangs, claws, and fierce, thick shock of fur. But it was never in The Sculptor to simply copy. Always adapt, manipulate, to suit ones own ends. Vengeance deserved something more intimidating. When she had finished, she had crafted a wolf yes, but more fearsome than Brinn's exarch in form, thought, and demeanour. Broad shoulders and massive forearms made the exarch physically larger, and the emerald eyes shone with piercing contrast against his charcoal-colored fur.
The wolf growled, a deep fearsome sound, almost as gravelly as Sorstal's voice.
I name myself Fulrit, Exarch of Vengeance.
The chord amulet, forgotten in the palm of The Sculptor's hand, had transmitted it all.
PP Expenditure
+1 new day
-3 ascend Exarch -- Fulrit - Provides Shape PP.
1/7
(Not Dhavoxx... perhaps my mistress is having a hard time keeping that one's identities clear and separate?)
The Exarch first toured Lor'quhan and Verda, being the closest. Finding no trace of the dark god, she traveled through the Isles of Wonder and their new planet [OOC: Arcadia!]. She skirted Lohak's unnamed planet, narrowly evading the Dragon Patriarch as she did so. (What is Lohak doing with those rocks? Irrelevant. The Dark One is not here)
With nowhere left to go, Hrinori approached Yrie. It was there, above the venomous glass deserts, that she found Darkness who was quite busy speaking with Grawlf.
As was her nature, Hrinori politely waited off to the side for them to finish their conversation.
"These are perfect! I will add them straightaway."
And so he did, placing them in the Codex and binding it together into a whole.
"Oh, hello Hrinori-the-lesser. What brings you here?"
I am here only to fetch Dharrox back to my mistress. This... changing of ages... has brought forth new possibilities, has it not? I believe my mistress would relive past discussions in light of these new options.
Needless to say, it was your triumph here that brought such things to our attention in the first place, Grawlf.
As Grawlf looked away to bind the tome, the Silent One grinned wickedly. Just as planned... though it pained him to introduce such goodness to the intelligent races, it was a necessity, and not just because it concealed the wickedness of his sin pages. Without conflict between two sides, good and evil in this case, deception and secrets would be far less important than they otherwise would be. This way, subterfuge would become a natural part of all sentient life, and so add to his power. He wiped the smile off his face well before the eye turned back to him though, changing it into a far more warm one. "I am joyous thou findst my ideas so worthy, mine friend," Dharrox intone emotionally.
Hrinoni... well, the exarch now known as Hrinoni to the god formerly known as Hrinoni, but anyway it's summons worried him. He wondered why the Sculptor wished to speak with him? Perhaps something had gone wrong in their schemes... or they'd made a breakthrough, that was an exciting thought. "Alas, I had hoped to shareth this moment a time longer with mine companion, but if thy's mistress doth summon me hither with such haste I must depart." Turning back to Grawlf, the black knight bowed. "Farewell, entrepreneur among gods. I mayst have to visit soon to seek inspiration for when mine own hands look to maketh such creatures."
Teleporting through the darkness, the Silent One reappeared in front of Hrinoni... not bringing the exarch in tow. He had a bad habit of not doing that. "Well, your exarch is polite enough not to mess with my plans at least. A little less civility could have been the end of an eternity of strife however. I take it you have something important to talk about?"
Please... excuse me -- you caught me by surprise.
The Sculptor rushed forwards, gripping Dharrox by his ebony shoulders.
Have you seen what Grawlf has done? Do you know what this means? It means we no longer need gods to guard our own. The Susurrus no longer needs an abberant god of Travel to protect its machinations! We wanted servants, comrade, and Grawlf has paved the way for us to create them!
The Sculptor piroutted away, deciding it did not matter if she showed her emotions so openly around The Silent One.
She grinned fiercly, savagely.
And Worship! Can you not feel it through your connection to Grawlf? How even now his power grows under the care of his Titans?
The Sculptor hugged herself giddily, found she was still holding the Chord Amulet, and finally stopped the sending.
Dark One -- a realm of possibilities has opened up for us both! But I know not how to start! Oh, I have a few ideas, but some of them require Hrinori -- I'm afraid you outpaced her.
Fulrit looked between the two gods and then chuffed.
I don't trust him.
It seemed the Silent One had caught the Sculptor off guard... good. It was always good to see what both allies and enemies felt when they were caught unaware. She seemed joyous for some reason, and when she went into detail on what she thought of the new developments, he couldn't blame her. He'd been too focused on the long term, and laying the seeds to corrupt others work... the thought of actually being able to create their own servants, who were intelligent enough to do their bidding but obedient enough that they would never be betrayed by them was...
Dharrox laughed at the Sculptors joy, and at the possibilities that lay before them. "Always the maker, thinking of what we can create instead of what we can subvert. Perhaps that is why we make such a good team. But I must say that the thought of finally having some servants to call our own is... intoxicating. Servants that possess far more potential than those simple glass titans. Between your skill at crafting the physical, and my ability to manipulate the hearts and minds of all that lives, we can create all manner of useful creations for our cause!"
When the wold... hold on, a wolf? He would have to ask about that. But in any case, when the wolf said he didn't trust him, the Silent One simply grinned wickedly. "And well you shouldn't. My very essence is full of the elements that prompt betrayal and mistrust. I do not see any situation now or in the future where I would move against your mistress, or she me, but rest assured that if we do not mistrust and constantly look out for the worse, you WILL be caught by surprise and destroyed in an instant. Believe me," he added, his hand unconsciously going to the place where his scar would be if it wasn't covered in armor.
Shaping matter as he had learned from creating worlds and giving life he forged from himslef an armor made of flash and bones, a large stromfang behemoth, within the creature brain he forged a casing of wind that will protect his memory so that he could rememeber all the experiment, but hide his mind even from himself, so that he could experience life from the perspective of a living being then he accepted the embrace of instinct and abandoned reason...
Until the end of the age he experienced life, exploring its meaning.
At first he felt the embrace of the wind, so different from the time he was air, familiar and yet somehow foreign, he walked the forests of the Isles for a while, without purpose, exploring them with the eyes of a beast...
The first unfamiliar sensation he felt was hunger, as his massive body required a lot of food,
Looking for something to east he finally a large clearing where a a pair of horned drakes was peacefully eating, a stormfang behemoth could have never defeated the two beast alone, but Eshcal form was stronger and faster, the battle was fierce, but the god guided by predator instincts finally prevailed. His claws and fangs finally found the soft skin beneath the scaly armors of his opponents and they lied dead on the blood soaked grass.
When the effect of adrenaline wore off, a few second after the fight was over Eshcal experienced pain for the first time, the creature horns has pierced his amored skin, it was a sharp sensation, unpleasant, but at the same time it made him feel even more alive.
For a few month he walked the forests alone, his wounds slowly recovered and his hunting tecniques becaming more complex and refined. However soon he begun to crive for the company of others among his kind, he had experienced a similar desire as god, but this time it felt different, it was not mere loneliness, it was something beyond reason a powerful urge, the beast Eshcal did not merely seek company he wanted to mate...
After a while he found a small pack of stormfangs, at first the beast greeted him with misstrust, hissing menacingly, he was an outsider of their pack and the males did not want any competitor around. However the god-beast proved himself worthy by easily dispatching the current alpha.
"yes that was cheating" he will think in the future while remembering his time as a beast...
After joining the pack he hunted with them for a while, when finally the mating season came he fought with many among the other males for the right of being chosen as a partner by the pack females. Again his superior form granted him the edge over his opponents.
Wounded but still filled with energy he presented himself to the strongest female of the pack, the creature, not impressed enough for his victory against the other males, challenged Eshcal to a fight, Stormfang females was a little stronger and faster than males and quite more aggressive, the creature bested the god, but then allowed him to mate.
Eshcal will treasure the memory of the moment when as a beast of flesh he mated for the first time, as a seeker of sublime sensation he was extremely satisfied...
Tired by the act he went seeking for a place to rest, finding it on a large clearing and falling asleep... visiting again his son domain of dreams, but with a much different mind...
While he slept another storm ravaged the floating island, it is unknown if the winds causing it did that on purpose or it was just a random fight between two opposing wills.
Even the rage of thunder and lighting could not really wake up Eshcal, stormfang find that noise pleasant and sothing and even the direct hit of a lightning is just refreshing for these beings, however, other creatures was scared by the rage of the sky. A large pack of horned drakes begun running for their lives, after a short while they all arrived at the god beast resting place. When Eshcal woke up it was already too late, he tried to escape but was still too tired and dazed from the sudden appearance of the creatures. They trampled the stormfang drake, shattering his bones tearing his flesh and crushing life away from him.
Pain again, much stronger this time... And fear, extreme fear... death came really fast, the creature brain was unable to fully comprehend it, but Eshcal deep mind could register the very moment when life left his body.
For a short while he felt the pull of the world on the river, however again his essence was not allowed to cross it. The other spirits drifted around Eshcal watching the being with extreme curiosity, they have felt his guidance in finding this place of delight. The primitive spirits could understand that the being did not belong to the river and slowly helped him out. Eshcal mind was still confused, the experience of death was unsetting for him.
Then he felt the sound of the clock, ringing the beginning of another age, and Grawlf proclamation... That was enough to break the last of his mental blocks and allow him to recover his mind.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Still thinking about the experiment with life and the new understanding that he has gained Eshcal willed himself at the Hall of the gods, watching the book and vaguely remembering the call of the creature for help he tought that he will need to contribute too.
So he begun writing, creating a new page, filled with instincts and passion, a page made so that living sentient creatures did not forget what they are and were, so that their lives will not only be ruled by reason...
"Hello Lord Gralf, I have heard your call but my mind was roaming too far for properly answer... However I have learned something from a recent experiment of mine and I'd like to add it to the book, a reminder of the time when living beings had no reason....Will you accept it?"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Back on the Isles after a few month an egg hatched, but it was not like the others, the mother was a mortal beast, but the father was an incarnated god. The creatures that emerged from there was quite different from their parents in appearance and mind. Two beings, twins, was born from the egg, their form gifted with arms and legs, from his father most common shape, but their skin was protected by a scaled armor like their partents.
When the twins, a male and famale, first opened their eyes, the first thing they could see was an extremely puzzled mother.
The winds felt the presence of their master offsprings and rushed there to see them, felling the somehow familiar touch of the currents the two newborn creatures stopped crying...
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
PP (0/7)
The exarch twins:
For now they are powerless, I'll make some fluff about their lives before sunday (then I plan to use their points when they somehow discover their partially divine nature and Eshcal find them).
3 PP - Ascend Exarch, Sarris, the female, she will provide a +1 shape PP bonus.
3 PP Ascend Exarch, Evshan, the male, he will provide a + 1 Pp guide bonus.
1 Pp Create, the Page of Instinct (given to Grawlf for the book)
"Thank you, Eshcal. I will of course add it to the book."
And so it was done.
As the titan spoke, Grawlf felt a thrill of power pass through him, and knew that it was the fledgling worship of the titans around him. The power grew and grew and grew, swelling through him. It was beautiful! But... he did not know if he could hold it all in. His arms twitched, and he cried out as a rainbow of colors shot from his arms, converging in the center of the titans, where the light hovered, pulsing slowly. Within, Grawlf was amazed to feel a presence growing, one much like himself. Grawlf watched and waited, eager to see what would appear. At the same time, he called out to the rest of the universe, telling the other Lords of Creation the secrets to creating beings such as the ones he just made.
The light whirled, but becoming ever, ever smaller. To the Titan, it would form arms, legs, a structure not too dissimilar to his own, but withered, worn, broken... How the titan might look in the autmn of its years... To the God? A wizened, bloodshot, old, worn, eye.
The creature muttered some words under his breath. "Nonono... This won't do at all..." A quill and parchment burst from the gradually dissipating rainbow, hastily scratching sentences, paragraphs, pages... The parchment seemed to ever extend as the quill needed more, though presented the illusion of never once growing or diminishing in size. Merely a continuous rolling, over and over... The God looked up from the paper, glanced at the surroundings, the elder God before him, and inclined his head upwards in recognition.... before returning to the parchment, muttering...
"Belief... Codified... Structured... Belief... Most important thing of all to us. Worship. But it has to be done through all the right channels... Really..."
And not once did he again ever look up from his parchment.
"Mister eye man, I need you."
Then she turned her head in the direction of where she supposed the other gods floated along in the void and offered them a bright smile. When she was pretty sure she knew where her Uncle was, she approached him, and placed a hand upon his metal framework. She could feel the power of the book pulsating in his grip.
"So another sun is set, a new dawn is upon us, I suppose, Mister Eye Man."
She reached out and placed a hand upon the Book. Immediately, because they resonated so strongly with her and her own ideals, she sensed the pages the God of Lies had placed therein. She did not breath a word of it, merely allowing the corner of her mouth to twist upwards. She would not betray whomever had placed those pages there, not for as long as she lived. Instead, she drew from them power; power of Darkness and Sin and the all-consuming Evil. These words spread up her arms, dancing too quick to be seen. Then she let go, and stepped back.
"I - I must go Uncle, see - I mean talk to you soon."
And she moved away, letting the currents of Time carry her to the Clock, her vast new home. Into it she soared, into its delicate and intricate interior. She moved through it for hours, possibly days, and all the while, all around her there was movement. Gears in the wall spun away, pistons pumping, clouds of steam erupting at random. The sights were magical, fantastical. She floated by a room that was impossibly tall, and set all along its height were mechanical bridges that were in constant motion, up, down, side-to-side. There was a room where the floor itself was composed of massive spinning gears, and between the cracks, one could see a pit of boiling oil that flowed beneath the gears, off to keep some other part of the Clock running smoothly. At last she came to her destination, right in the centre of the Clock. It was a vast chamber, larger, perhaps, than many of the asteroids that littered the void outside. The walls were in constant motion: gears spinning, panels rotating and sliding. In the centre of the room was a chair, a throne to be precise, placed upon a spire composed of parts that all rotated at once, in all manner of directions. The throne itself was framed by a fan of pistons that rose like a fan behind it. There was even a mechanical arm jutting from the back of the chair that held a sheet of metal in front of whomever sat there. Upon its surface danced images of the past. Bel, of course, saw none of this. She stopped in front of the throne, and turned around to face the room at large. From her hands flowed the words, word of Evil and of Contempt. They swirled about her, about the room. And to the words she spoke.
"Arise my children, your time is upon us. Come killers, rulers, deceivers all, I beseech you. Into the world you are born, into this weak, tiny world. Arise, my children, and we shall see this world burn."
And from her tiny form, fire, white hot and furious, poured outwards, dancing over the words that still floated upon the still air. From the words and fire, they were culled: glorious Pit Fiends, tall and proud, manifold Legion Devils, endless in their advance, and the Malebranche, fierce and perfectly deadly. Throughout the room, their cry resounded, deafening. They filled it, crawled over the walls, and spread, into the Clock like some virus, or contagion.
"Go my children, and make this world your own!"
PP Expenditure
2 PP Shape Populace (Greater) Pit Fiend
2 PP Shape Populace (Greater) Legion Devils
2 PP Shape Populace (Greater) War Devils
0/7 PP
The Sculptor stroked Fulrit's dark fur.
I have it all planned out, you see. One of my exarchs provides the form, the other the fury. I don't normally approve of single-mindedness or zealotry, but in this case I'm willing to make an exception.
I dare not create these creatures by myself.
Spread her way of thought to others and through that show siblings, cousins and uncles the truth how things actually were.
She appeared on a rocky shore on Yrie, looked up against the sky and gazed against the distant stars. She rose her hand, concentrated and suddenly one of the stars simply faded.
" Everything has a centre "
The Goddess mumbled as she looked down at the glittering star that now rested in her hand. It was as large as a pebble, had a smooth, warm surface and gave away a beautiful light that made the Mother Goddess smile. She bent down, touched the star softly with a pale hand and whispered with a hushed voice.
" And you...my little child will be the centre of a very special breed of life. One that one day will shine more gloriously then you ever did even at your peak. Before Uncle..."
The Goddess sighed, closer her eyes shut, bent down on her knees and pushed the tiny star down in the solid rock, she cupped her hands above it and began to sing a sweet, slow and beautiful song.
Arise evening star
The sun has risen
A new age has dawned
Evening star, oh evening star I promise thee..."
a blessed life.
I promise thee limbs, fair and strong.
Hair spun out of silverthread.
I promise thee eyes, sharp and clear.
A heart of gold
I bless thee with a golden soul, glowing strongly in strongest storm.
I vow to hold you close when the monsters come.
I grant you mind grand and wise.
Fair in stature and beautiful."
" Awake, oh evening star! "
Another flower appeared on the rocky shore and then yet another pushed its way through merciless and dead rock.
The flowers grew and grew and as they grew in stature, leaves became thicker, changed colour and were reshaped in to arms, leg and tail. The flower itself was pressed together and was reformed in to a beautiful, pale face. Long, silvery hair fell down on dozens of shoulders and then the Sun arose.
The suns beams fell down on fifty mortals. Fifty mortals with golden eyes, skin white as marble, hair made out of spun silver, ears that were round like moons, long hairless tails and beautiful hands with long, nimble fingers. Half of them were male, they were taller then the females, had broader shoulders and their eyes shone brightly. The other half were females, they were gracefully built, had longer tails and wild, unkempt hair that stood out in all directions.
To these beings Maibe gave concience, intellect, a will strong and bright and a name. These beings would simply be known as the Dhorem or the Golden lords.
Fifty mortals stood on their knees on a distant shore. Their hands held together in prayer, their eyes closed and their mouths praising their mother.
Maibe smiled.
Shape populace ( Moderate ) 2pp + 1 PP from the Book of the Sun: Dhorem
2/7
And yet....he had just stood by and done nothing. Ankirega knew that he was Brinn's guardian, not the other way around. Perhaps he should in time create a weapon befitting of him. One that would help him protect Brinn...and the other gods. He felt so useless, like the business of gods was above him; yet was he not himself a god? A demi-god, at the least? He carried Brinn's spark within him, and she viewed him as her equal and friend. Yet it wasn't good enough. Brinn suffered too much for him to be content with that life. The great white wolf resolved to decide upon the best course of action...soon.
Brinn smiled at Ankirega, aware of his tension, before turning back to the brightly-glowing artifacts around her- The Life-Web, created along with Khitis and empowered by Ankirega, it would seem. A strange artifact she didn't recognize, clutched in the talons above the Life-Web. She felt a strong sense of protection from it, however; maybe it was related to the demon creatures they had fought off. And the third, the Wall of Origins. The word came unbidden to her mind, though she had played no direct part in it's creation. Strange..
From beyond the Grotto she felt a great surge of energy, though she knew not it's source, and not long after felt the Chord Amulet she wore. The Sculptor had started to greet her just before the energy surge... she felt confusion through the amulet, then anger before words and concious thought reached her. A new exarch, modeled after Ankirega? She felt somewhat angry briefly as she thought it an imitation of her friend, but knew that it was more likely a tribute inspired by her friend. Yet...an exarch of vengeance? Why would she...? The dark thoughts spun through Brinn's head for a moment before she dismissed them. It did not matter, and she had far greater things to accomplish with her friend.
Nodding in turn to Honor and Chivalry, Brinn said to each of them, “We will be working together to create new and abundant life. If you would, please do not disturb us as we work.” With that, she turned towards the Life-Web, Ankirega pacing around to the other side as they submerged themselves in the life powers around them. Their two minds worked in unison to control the powers of the artifacts between and behind them, as each sought to do with the other's help what they had planned for so long. Ankirega's will took forefront, blending it's own ideas of instinctive creatures with the models and dreams Brinn had developed and taken. Each predator would need it's prey. All around the pair glimmered ghostly images of animals, coming in any number of forms, as the combined wills of the creators worked in harmony to finesse their creations. Small versions of Ankirega, in all shades of brown, gray, and black. Those with large and furry tails, with a cunning look in their eye, stalked by huge feline creatures with tufts of hair surrounding their necks.
These creatures floated around them in a panoply of light and power, quickly joined by multitudes of their kind and smaller, less aggressive animals that would instead thrive on the plants that sprawled Verda's surface. Some would be large, larger even than a wolf, yet eat grasses and run like the wind. Others would be little more than balls of meat and fur. In variety came life, purpose, and beauty, thought one of them. The other agreed, though neither could tell the difference in the dance they took. To each they assigned names, to each of the land-dwelling animals they could possibly design, as motes of energy from the Life-Web took hold of the ghostly images, lending them strength and substance. Each, too, was given the genders of Sonel and Brinn, allowing them to repopulate endlessly. These wild creatures, these “animals”, would be one of the greatest works of the pair. Around them, the forms flew through the wall, some in pairs, some alone, according to their nature. Each touched down beyond, and knew their purpose in life- to thrive and survive. Plans for the future were nil, compared to the life of today- after all, they had all just been born, and they were all hungry. Beyond the walls of the Grotto ran deer and wolves intermingled, as the creatures sought protection in, around, and under the trees and bushes that Verda had for so long kept empty.
The pair grasped again, this time the goddess Brinn taking forefront. Now would come creatures as much of the forces of life and nature as they themselves. Protectors, nourishers, growers, these would be creatures of will and intelligence, formed from the burgeoning life around them. They would have no need to reproduce, as the creation of life itself did that for them. These were no mindless animals; they far more resembled the gods themselves, creatures of their domains that served it and themselves. In one was the other. Nor was this even the likes of Ankirega's elementals; though those were made of the trees around them, and protected the forest that spawned them, these were a multitude, intelligent and capable of emotion.
Around them the Wall of Origins sparkled, trails of light dancing around them as their ideas etched the wall in turn. Here a mountain, there a sea- from each trailed more divine energy, forming instead pools of natural energy. The entire Grotto glowed in a spectrum of color and power, as spirits of power and majesty took form from their respective elements. From the mountains, rivers, trees, flowers, animals...from the very foundations of life itself came these new creatures; strong in spirit yet lacking physical form. These would be the ties of life and harmony.
Firstborn of the new creations was from a surprising source, and the two united divinities again found the Life-Web working beyond their power or knowledge. A ghostly form rose up from the wall, where the strange presence had been before. It took the rough form of Ankirega, though as pale and transparent as the rest of the spirits rising behind her. The Life-Web curled around it, seeming to accept it as it's daughter...or perhaps it's avatar? She stared at her living counterpart with a smile on her face, and licked Ankirega on the nose. Despite having no physical form, he nonetheless felt it. “Hello, Ankirega. It has been a long time coming that we can finally meet face to face.,” she said to him, the first words of the new race. Ankirega and Brinn looked at her curiously, and Brinn turned to regard Ankirega, wondering if he had meant this to happen. He shook his head at the continued unpreditability of the Life-Web, and the new spirit chuckled. “You two are truly wonderful, and I praise you for your wisdom, oh gods.” She knelt and bowed her head for a moment, before looking again at the pair. The two divities felt power surging through them, a window opening in their mind's eye, in which they could see, hear, feel the new spirits emerging around them. The power reminded them both of that which the Life-Web had consumed them both in, though tamer and directed. Was this the power of worship? Of races venerating their gods?
Brinn reached out, placing her hand on the new spirit's neck, who turned to face her. “Thank you, o spirit. Do you have a name for yourself?” “I do, though it is not mine to give. Ankirega, creator of my soul, do you know it?” Ankirega stood still for a few moments, sorting through the new feelings that coursed through him. He could feel now a connection to the Life-Web, as thick and strong as any metal Lohak might create. He and his creation were linked in a way they had never considered; was this the source of this spirit's, and perhaps even Orine's, knowledge? Were they part of him, or he part of his creations? “You are....Araiyo?,” he said, feeling that it was somehow right. She nodded, smiling widly, and broke out into clear laughter. Around her the other spirits moved in, laughing themselves with the shared joy of friendship. Brinn and Ankirega looked confused for a moment, but soon joined in as well, caught up in the infectous fun.
“Yes, I am, Ankirega, my friend and father. We have been connected for a long time, though you did not know it. With my creation you were bleached white, and learned the creative potential of song and joy. And with you...,” she smiled. “Let us not spend forever in this reunion! I am but one of the many the two of you, revered gods, have created.” The spirits around them parted; most had no form, and were little more than feelings in the air, but amongst them stood several others. Avatars of the strongest of natural orders, who held naturally more strength and longevity than those of a particular flower, or tree.
Four came to the front, standing or floating side by side. First stood a blue god of ever-shifting waters, that twisted and turned upon themselves, yet never came to and end or beginning. “I am the Flowing Current, Flowing, it is good to meet you, meet you!” she said, her soft voice echoing in the giant Grotto. The next came up, taking the form of one of the animals they had just created- a badger, a caring parent who fought like an apex predator when it's fury was aroused. “Rootmother, I am.,” she said as the hard ground below her grew upward in peaks. The third had no visible form, but any could sense and feel the hard-flowing air around them. “I am the Great Zephyr, traveler and seeker of knowledge!,” he said before leaving the Grotto, impatient to be on with his journey. The fourth remained still, though his eyes flickered around the room- he took the form of a fox, constantly vigilant. “My name doesn't matter,” he said quietly, though the arrival of a fifth spirit sent him backing up. The last one took the form of a panther, whose muscles were bunched to spring at any moment. “I am Wildfather, gods. Beware, lest you arouse my anger.”
Brinn and Ankirega nodded and said welcomes to each of the spirits in turn, awed by the number and power of those around them. Brinn spoke first after the spirits' introductions. “It is good to meet you all, and I have no intention of forcing myself upon any of you. My friend Ankirega and I both share the desire for free creatures, and I wish no more of you than friendship.” The various spirits replied in their own ways, most expressing positive feels towards the pair. Ankirega spoke next. “You are avatars and caretakers of your own domains. Attacks on them are attacks on yourself, though you might choose to sacrifice parts of yourself for your own choices. Above all be fruitful.,” he said simply.
The new spirits around them dissapeared into their respective areas, save for Araiyo. “My job is here,” she said simply, and I wish for the same things as you do. As most of us do. All of creation rejoices when new life is made, and you do great things for us all. Thank you, wise ones.,” she said, bowing again before backing into the Life-Web and dissapearing.
1 PP (From Life-Web): Spawn Creatures (Lesser): A variety of predators.
1 PP: Spawn Creatures (Lesser): A variety of prey.
2 PP (1 From Wall of Origins): Shape Populace (Greater): Primal Spirits
PP: 1/7 + 0/2
The pair sprang out from the mountains in different directions, the white mist around them dispelling to form vast oceans. They flew around the world, taking the time to create beatiful mountains, lakes, forests, and plains. Though the world yet remained empty, it held the foundation for the future. Once the pair regained their energy, they would work next to populate Renissa, the plane of life. In time, it would take the beatiful shape of Brinn's fondest dreams.
Once they had finished, they returned to the Grotto, exhausted and content to rest for a time.
PP Spent: None. Lots of free mold actions, though. Free molding ends in 8 hours.
PP:
+1 (new day)
1PP De-nourish populace: The dhorem.
2PP Claim domain: Slaughter
2PP Greater shape populace: Blood trolls (I will post stats on the wiki ASAP)
0/7 PP
With her here, we can begin. Dark One, when The Sisters launched their attack, it surely must have scarred anything living within the Shadwofell. Please, retrieve these tortured souls for me so that I may change their sufferings into a weapon of war instead.
The Silent One chuckled. "I'm all for zealotry personally.. as long as the zealot can still be controlled and isn't so consumed and blind that they're incapable of subtlety. But in any case, it is an honor to meet you, Fulfrit. I now have a face to go with the vengeance that subsumes my companions soul."
Thinking to himself, the Silent One rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "A fine idea, my companion... it is about time I returned the Shadowfell to it's rightful place anyway. If I had actually had anything on the world I cared about except the darkness of it itself, I'd be rather irritated at the damage it's no doubt sustained... in the mean time, if it is tortured souls you which, perhaps you might pay the world of the dead for inspiration? I myself contributed to it's creation, so it is no doubt at least somewhat corrupted by my touch."
Concentrating, the god tapped into his innate link with Failure, and followed the signal he gave off even through the tooth to... the clock? Which seemed somehow different. How peculiar. Creeping into the artifact (he didn't want to be discovered after all, Bel and himself were not exactly on good terms and he didn't want anyone to raise the question why the new god was interested in the Silent One's work), Dharrox soon saw a massive war between oddly similar looking combatants. He wondered what in the universe they were fighting about...
Wait! There she was, looking on at the conflict like a child enraptured by a colorful movie featuring animated cacti with whacky accents. Now the only question was, how to get to the teeth inside of her? His first instinct was to just charge her, rip her limp from limb and grab the teeth from her torn apart entrails, but without Failure he was at a distinct disadvantage. He needed something a little more... subtle
Mustering his power, the Silent One whispered a lie into the palm of his hands, before grabbing onto the energy it produced and stretching it out, until it was about half a foot in length. Breathing life into the string of energy, it quivered for a moment, before solidifying into a disgusting looking little parasite. Rather like what you'd get if you crossed a centipede, leech, and beetle all together into one unwholesome package.
"Arise, Sassriss, exarch of deceit and lies," he whispered to the tiny creature.
Yawning, the little abomination stretched it's small but long form, testing new joints. "I am arisssen, my ssssilent lord," the exarch replied in a small voice. "Ssssay your bidding, and I will obey."
"That god has something of mine. Two somethings, in fact," he added. Best to get the Lightfell while there as well. "I need you to infiltrate her stomach, and retrieve the two teeth from it for me."
"Her ssssstomach?" Sassriss asked, cocking her head. "How odd. Doessss sssshe usually keep thingssss there? You know what, forget I assssked, I don't want to know."
"A wise choice, my exarch," the Silent One replied. "Now, get to work."
"Yesss your ssssilence," Sassriss replied, before promptly hopping down onto the cool floor of the clock and scampering towards her target.
Eventually, the new exarch found her target, and scampered up the goddesses leg as undetectably as she could. Reaching the side of her stomach, Sassriss smacked her lips before placing her mouth onto her skin, her numbing venom masking the pain as she began to bore a hole for herself with her razor sharp teeth.
***
"Well, that was certainly rude of them," Honor stated, a little peeved. "At least the gave us a show I suppose."
"And now we're totally and utterly alone," Chivalry added, looking a little warily at the large amount of primal spirits around them.
"Indeed brother," Honor replied, his voice going up several octaves as he realized the danger they could be in. "Er, I don't suppose any of you want to convert to Dharrox, the dark hand of justice?" he asked optimistically.
"Heeeee's the darrrr-"
"Not now!"
PP Expenditure
3PP - Create Exarch - Sassriss, a parasite that feeds off of secrets and deception. She also has the ability to bore into people heads to suck up any secrets and knowledge they might have. She provides Guide PP
[0/7]
Monsters then came. Beasts that ate Dhorem and raped the very land the Dhorem called home. Maibe fought back though, stabbing beasts on her glaive, burning them with her fire and driving them of with her powers...but yet many of her children fell.
So the Goddess rose her hands against the sky and screamed.
" Father! Siblings! Relatives! My son has gone mad and is destroying whats hold me dear. Please help me! Give me power! Help me to fend him off and I promise thee that you will gain my favour! "
Her voice was heard in the very mind of those that cared for her.
"Ah, Bel. It is good to see you. I-"'
And then Bel was off.
"Bye!" he called out after her.
It was then that he heard his daughter's voice calling out to him, and calling from just the other side of the planet, no less. She spoke of an attack on herself by her son. Pointing to Karhedron and two other titans, he said.
"You Three. Come with me."
The titans looked at him, and for a moment, Grawlf worried that they might refuse, but instead they nodded and began running in the direction he had pointed, feet leaving large indentations in the dunes as they went. Soon they passed out of the desert, heading north and plunging into a deep ocean. The fact that they were traveling at the bottom of the ocean seemed to be of no consequence to the Titans, but eventually Karhedron called out for Grawlf to stop.
"Lord, we cannot continue like this. Our molten cores are being permeated with the chill of the water, and if we do not turn back, we will surely perish."
Grawlf considered the titans for a moment, then reached out to each of them and tapped them on the shoulder. Immediately, they began moving with greater vigor.
"Our blood is reheated! Thank you!"
Grawlf looked at them. "This will not last forever. In fact, it will likely only last for as long as it takes to help my daughter."
The titans nodded, and Karhedron spoke.
"We understand, but thank you regardless for this boon."
Soon, Grawlf and the titans arrived in the lands of the Dhorem, and the four of them came to a half before Maibe.
"Maibe, you have called and we have answered. What has happened here? Please, use these titans however you can, but know that their ability to stay in this cold land is very limited."
1 PP given to Maibe (in the form of the titans)
1/7 +1/2 (create) PP.
He found his way to Yrie, the planet was somehow in tumuril, monstrous beast hunted for Maibe children and divine wrath scorched its surface. Many souls was fleeing the sphere, when they sensed Eshcal presence all flew to him, seeking protection from the slaughter below...
Still surrounded by frigthened spirts Eshcal approached Maibe.
"I have heard your call, my lady and I see the slaughter caused by your son, I'm here to help as much as I could..." the god voice sounded incredibly tired however, drained...
OOC
I'd like to help but I'm going to be off for a while
see you in a few days.The life god then traveled to Yrie, appearing in front of Maibe, the insects of his swarm shaping into a humanoid form. The form had grayish skin, was bald, and was armored in black, chitinous scale mail. Gripped in his right hand was Verdent, its appearance belying its power. "How can I help you, Lady of Light?" Khitis asked.
+2 PP (New days)
2 PP Expended - Create Artifact: Khitis has created Verdent, a powerful Bastard Sword enfused with the very essence of life. It contributes to battle PP.
5/7 PP
"Very well, then."
A small dark tendril arose from Zo-Att's form. It slowly extended toward the edges of the White. Another tendril soon followed, and another. Within a small amount of time, thousands of tendrils reached out from Zo-Att all clawing toward the edge of the White, creating a dark web-like complex with Zo-Att being the hungry spider in the middle. As the tendrils reached further, they managed to rip through the bounderies of the White, and reach the edges of Bel's stomach. They attached to her, and Zo-Att's will slowly crept into her body.
And then everything was black
Zo-Att immediately started to panic. She saw nothing. Did her power fail? Was she... dead?
After a moment of thought Zo-Att calmed down. No, she could still feel a body; one that wasn't hers. It means that her effort to exert control was successfull. After thinking back, Zo-Att remembered that she tore out the eye's of Bel. It would explain why she could not see anything. She would have to get used to this...
Experimenting with her new powers over fire, Bel's hands reached out and sent a spout of flame onto the ground. Zo-Att did not know where she was, but it did not matter, she needed to see what this power could do. The flame hit the ground, and when the smoke cleared, powerful figures remained. Children of fire destruction and chaos. The demons, as Zo-Att called them, were filled with hatred, and immediately attacked the creatures closest to them. The first Blood War began.
PP
2 PP x3 - Shape Populace (Greater) - Balors, Glabzerus, and Mariliths. They immediately attack the devils.
[1/7]
So The Silent One had no scourged souls handy, but had a plane for the dead, did he? She would just have to find some sub--
Eshcal's winds whistled through the void, bearring a tumult of souls... elsewhere. Hrinori, quickest of the three, spat harpoons of ice, neatly retrieving the struggling souls.
The Sculptor floated closer, curious.
They were white-skinned, silver-haired, and golden-eyed. They would have stood tall and majestic, tails giving them firm stability and balance, had they not been screaming in pain, covered in bloody wounds.
Eshcal's breeze whirled through the void once more, attempting to return the beleagured souls to its master, but Hrinori knew here element well, and the strands did not break.
Hush... hush... I will ease your torment.
The Sculptor pulled the souls free, one-by-one, Renewing their tortured forms and calming their piteous cries.
Fulrit, nearby was nearly shuddering with power.
These souls -- I can feel their pain. Their sense of injustice. Their laments of an uncaring universe. We can not simply let things stand like this!
The Sculptor nodded.
Assist me, Exarchs. Together we shall craft these poor souls into something befitting of the vengeance they crave.
Fulrit exhaled, a dark smoggy cloud that enveloped the nascent dead. The souls of the dead Dhorem screeched in anger as it washed over them like a tide of ash, their cries for vengeance redoubled.
The Sculptor's hands deftly spun the cloud of Vengeance through the souls, integrating them into their essence, Between them both darted Hrinori, leaving a wake of hoarfrost and rime upon the "skin" of the souls.
In short order, the seventeen souls were souls no longer -- reforged in Vengeance and Ice
They stood tall -- perhaps an average of 9 feet -- and though they counted both males and females among their number, their was no obvious difference in height or musculature between them. They had lost their tails, somwhere in the creation, and retained none of the color. Their skin was the same charcoal dark as Fulrit's, with no hair to speak of. Their four-fingered hands and three-toed feet both ended in sharp nails. They were clothed simply in unmelting ice, more for decoration than anything else -- their steel-like skin would have made proper armor a hindrance.
But The Sculptor held back from completing her creations.
They need a name... one befitting their nature...
Slowly, a word formed inside her head.
Arise, Malevolants! Spread! Go forth! And seek dark Vengeance upon that which sent you on this torturous journey to me!
The Seventeen turned towards Fulrit, becoming animate for the first time. They howled, their fierce cries both calling out for blood, and praising he who had made this vengeance possible. Like dark arrows of vengeance, the group was launched head first back towards where they had come from, where they would eventually land on Yrie, dazed, but alive.
Fulrit turned in shock to The Sculptor as they left.
Mistress, I -- I didn't mean-- something-- I can feel their worship and--
Peace, Fulrit, and fear not. I spoke with your voice. All is as it should be.
PP Expenditure
+1 new day
-2 Shape Populace (Superior) -- The (Rimeshadow) Malevolants. Other varieties may develop over time, but they are a single species (Like genasi)
0/7 + 0/1
" Wind Wyrm and Protector if you wish to give me help...please hunt down my son and talk to him, attack him or do whatever you please with him. But please make him understand what he has done. He has killed innocents due to something that in my eyes is nothing more then plain madness! Make him understand that the age of reckless destruction is over. That I no longer will let the death of my children go unpunished as I did in ages past. "
*
The three Titans stood in a circle around the Goddess of Light at the shore where the Dhorem had first been created years ago.. It was night and the full moon glew high up in the sky. At Maibe´s command the Titans stretched out their hands and touched her carefully with glassy fingertips.
Maibe raised two pale hans against the pitch-dark sky, opened her eyes and looked at the moon.
It was still as beautiful as it had even been.
It pained her that she needed to do this...but the screams of her children pained her even more. They prayed for help, they prayed for mercy, they didn´t understand what they had done to deserve a god´s wrath.
" Moon, I gave you life because I saw beauty within you. I gave you life to let you spread that beauty. Instead you have decided to hurt me and my children. Here is my answer. "
A beam of pure light poured out of the Goddess finger tips. Pure light that envolped the Moon. Light that burned, light that blinded, light that made the very rock of the moon boil and melt. Her power merged together with the power of the Titans was a horrible sight to behold. Slowly, slowly the moon itseld began to melt and fall apart. Life suffered, plants died and the universe itself cried out in pain as the Golden Goddess took her revenge.
Seventeen of her children had been slained. Each of them had a name, a family, a life, memories, thoughts and dreams. She had known them all, she had loved them, cherished them, kissed theri cheeks and held them close when times were hard. She had lived amongst them, led them and learnt them what it was to live on Yrie.
"Adaen with the eternal grin, Maeve who climbed faster then anyone else, Ara that knew the name of every herb, Iuav who ran the quickest, Aaeve who loved his child, Oewe who watched the stars, Wier who kissed men, Lieverin who had a child, Diael who whispered stories, Haever who had swam all the way to the isles, Uviel who dance in the moon´s light, Araviel who was stressfull, Aldii who dreamt of love, Quarii who struggled with shame, Nemmi that had planted a seed, Thoebel that travelled the forests alone, Uviah who sat still and Mae, dear Mae that once kisses me on the lips. "
"Each and everyone of them were my children. I knew them! I loved them! AND YOU KILLED THEM! "
The Goddess roared in anger and as she roared the Moon broke in half. As she screamed the halves broke in smaller parts and she whimpered near the end the moon was gone. Replaced with a vast belt of asteroids.
" Why...?"
Modify land ( Greater ) 2PP + 1PP from Grawlf: Maibe melt and destroys Yrie´s Moon.
1/7
As Maibe cried out to the other Gods, Draemus merely scratched on parchment... Fewer names... so many fewer names...
"Nonono... This won't do. Won't do at all..."
Draemus gazed around him, at the land where he had taken form, and he stepped out, and back, back, away from the world. A new plane, a plane where he heard the wails of those in pain, of those in torture, sickness, worry. The world was so young and yet... so many of them... So reliant on their Gods...
So reliant on him.
The old man sat, a chair briefly appearing before him, and he sobbed... The parchment scratched on and on and on, removing names, adding pleas....
"STOP!"
The flat, earthy ground of his new Demi-Plane rose high up into the nothingness that surrounded it. The walls closed over themselves, becoming ceiling. The Walls broke out of themselves, stone morphing to wood, solid blocks of wood morphing to shelves, shelves morphing to closed books.
The cries were replaced by scratching. The neutral, continuous scratching of quill on paper, ink on parchment. Draemus sighed... Peace, again...
A hall of letters... A hall of petitions. It would need to be accessible to all Gods... Fighting could not be permitted... The people must be listened to no matter whom they worshipped... And the others.... It must be kept secret from the others whom they worshipped... This was important... So many important things...
7/7 PP expenditure
Create Plane (Lesser) -2PP: The Hall of Petitions. The Hall of petitions is a demi-plane of the God of Worship, Draemus. A massive building, accompanied by the constant scratching of quill on paper, it records and codifies all prayers made to all Gods in the Universe. A room is devoted to each God, and each room can only be opened by that God's Divine Spark(A kind of key, if you will). While Draemus knows the location of each and every room, he is only able to open his own. Entry points to the Plane, for immortals, are simple. While the main entrance (And the one Draemus would MUCH prefer you to use) is in his room at the Court, any God can will himself into the library provided he concentrates enough (And so is considered somewhat impossible in times of combat, etc.)
Claim Domain(Lesser): Bureaucrats -1 PP Draemus has just created the first bureaucratic system, and penpushers and civil servants in times to come will revere him for such an astounding display of forethought.
3/7 PP remaining
+1 PP (New Day)
6/7 PP
New dreams
Dreams of life
Dreams of emotion
Dreams of things unseen
Dreams of lower creatures lives
Dreams of those who are mortal
Shry let himself wash with the wave after a while. He let these new dreams thake him where they would, washing over him with their scenes. He watched and saw many things. Large objects filled with creatures moved through the void. More of these creatures fought other creatures, wielding the energy of the gods themselves in the conflict. Others crafted objects that could let the user reshape reality to their whim. He watched these images and more.
Soon he began to gather his divine energies and force the dreams to let him go. He grabbed dreams and pushed them back, his power forming a shield that would let him push them away until he could control these new dreams.
When he woke up, he found his body floating around Verda. In his hand, he found a staff, made from the pure dream essence and bound by dream energy. he picked it up and examined it. exerting a little of him evergy, he found that he could use it to fine-tune his control of the dream essence. He smiled, knowing, somehow, that this fine control would be needed.
He moved to the Isles of Wonder which he was only partly suprised to see now rotated around a new large planet, made of various types of gases. He smiled to see that the Islands now had a terrain, which his Dream Creatures were doing well in. He smiled at them fondly, but to work...
He pointed the new staff at one of the planets and began to gather his energy into a ball at the tip. He drew upon the new dreamstuff that he had just seen, the structure of the Dream Wraiths, Flyers, and Beasts, the ongoing force from Dreamscape, and just a tiny spark of his divinity. He blasted the energy down on to the planet and waited.
The energy began to coalesce into a physical form. When Shry felt the creature dream, with intelligence he similed and moved off toward the largest gathering of gods, which, curiously, was around a different planet with its own asteroid belt.
+7 PP: 7 Days
-2 PP: Claim Domain(Intermediate): Prophecy
-2 PP: Create Artifact(Intermediate): Staff of Dreams. No mechanical powers for now, will agument it later.
-2 PP: Shape Populace(Greater): Quori, the Dream Lords
He lowered his gaze again and vanished, returning to the clock. Holding his hammer, he placed the base of the handle into the inprint, activaitng the artifact. Gazing into it's polished reflection, he sought the images of the past, rewinding the clock. Gazing into the images, he frowned in dissapointment. Without time's blessing, it didn't work correctly, only showing flashes and short snippets of information. Still, he saw enough to know the stars were wrong. The sisters had died on their own. Sighing, he withdrew his hammer, and vanished into the chaos to consider things.
7/7 + 1/1
"Maibe! NO! This was not what I had in mind!" he shouted as he watched the moon begin to disintegrate and break into smaller pieces.
"I thought... I thought you were going to use it to fight off the invaders, not... not... that. Daughter... that was too strong of a response."
Gesturing to the titans, Grawlf and the others set off for the deserts once more. Grawlf could almost feel a heavy weight of grief and guilt weighing down on his back as he went. The boon he had granted the titans lasted until they returned home. Once they did, Karhedron turned to address Grawlf
"Lord, what shall we do now?"
Grawlf sighed.
"Whatever it is you wish to do, Karhedron, from now until the end of your days. I may come by from time to time with suggestions and requests, but you have a people to watch over. Please, keep them safe."
The titan nodded, and Grawlf left him to start organizing his people. Soon, he came upon a strange rift in space, and following it, appeared before the hall of Petitions.
"Um... hello?"
+1 PP: 2/7 +1/2 (create)
Maibe whispered.
" He is no longer my child. I have destroyed the very thing that linked us together as a family. He is motherless now "
Maibe´s eyes began to burn brightly as she spoke.
" I loved them, Father and he took them away from me. He took away their words, their kisses and their company. He killed them, Father! "
"Very well, Maibe. I shall do what I can," Khitis answered, moving towards where Yrie's moon had once been. The life god made no effort to conceal his presence, and roared "Ymalos! Come and face me!"
+1 PP (New Day)
6/7 PP
But Ymalos was not there. When Yrie's moon exploded, Ymalos was thrown violently at Yrie. He landed close to where his trolls had set up camp. He quickly changed his form to that of a twenty foot tall blood troll and walked off towards the troll village.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
And then he realized what had just happened- by drawing off his own momentum, he enabled himself to slow down. I wonder... He tried dragging his roads on the ground and, finally, brought himself to a stop. "Woo hoo!" he exclaimed. Now he would control where he went, when he went and how fast he went. No one would bind the god of travel. "Freedom!" he exclaimed, relishing the thought.
PP
5/7
+2 for 2 new days
-3 for The Key of Space (provides 1 create PP a week.)
-2 Claim Moderate Domain: Freedom
2/7 left
Within the Heart of Chaos, Lohak labored away, bringing forth a massive structure that would serve his purpose. A whispering maze of tunnels and trials, puzzles and traps. A grand sturcture, with soaring architecture, grand urals, and beautiful decorations.
He used all varieties of materials, from the whitest marbles to the blackest obsidian. From the shiniest mithril to the hardest adamantine. All intermingled and united in a purpose backed by his will, to form the building hidden within his imagination.
When it was finally finished, it lay at the heart of the chaos, a monument to those fallen and those gone, a temple to those who's time had passed on into the mists. Within this building he lay Pasha to rest, carving her name on the stone of the door that seal he within. As he turned to leave, he raised his head, the grief and sorrow within sloughing off like a second skin. Within the tomb with his mother, he left behind his emotions, promising himself that he would return reguarly, and never forget.
Within the atrium, as he moved to leave, he spotted the block of ice containing the Silent One's remains. Wrapping the demiplane around it, he sealed it away until he had more time to deal with it. Other than a small flicker of anger, he felt nothing as he watched it fade from view.
Satisfied with his work, he stpped back into the world and made his way through the void.
7/7 +1/1
"Hello, my name is Grawlf, lord of knowledge, and I found this place. What is it? Please, touch this beacon and it will convey your message back to me."
With that, he returned to Yrie. Looking up, he saw Lohak passing by, and followed him, finally meeting him near the planet they had created together.
"Hello, Creator. How go your works this day?"
2/7+1/2 (create) PP
Lohak looked out over the world he had helped to create. A barren land, covered only by plants, Visarga flying alone among the lands. Noting him dimly in the back of his mind as he passed, he smiled to himself at the idea.
He gathered his power, recalling memories of watching Hrinori and Brinn working, using their actions as guidance as he brought forth new life, neither god nor beast, but a creature like he had described to Grawl, a beast with the mind of a god, with the power of flame at it's core. When his work was finished, he cast out his four arms, releasing them out into the world.
Frowning to himself, he thought to himself that the creatures would need food, something they could feed upon. Simple plants and stone would not suffice for them. So he called forth several varieties of creatures, creatures with sharp hearing and swift legs that they might try to flee from his dragons, forcing them to hunt for their food, to keep them occupied for now.
Looking up from his work, he smiled. "Excellent Grawlf. And your own?"
PP Expenditures
2 PP - Shape Populace (Greater) - Red Dragons
1 PP - Nourish Land - Add several species of deer and elk to this world.
4/7 PP + 1/1
Grawlf glanced down towards the planet and spotted a dragon stalking some elk.
"I see we both have been successful in our desire to create a new form of life. What do you call those?"
+1 3/7 +1/2 (create) PP
"I should show you the titans I created. They too hold fire deep within their beings. Getting them from there to here would be quite a feat, so the next time you are near Yrie, I will show them to you."
Grawlf paused, remembering something.
"Did you ever get that machine you had created in the heart of the Clockworks to work? What did it reveal to you?"
He looked out at the stars. "Your stars are wothlss for their task, cousin, They are too easily changed and modified to suit ones wishes. Hrinori showed me this, though I didn't want to beleive it at first, the Eternal Clock has shown it to me. The stars may lie, but time itself does not."
"This... is disturbing news, Brother. If The Sisters killed themselves, why did we find Voiceless' body as well? Did another god stumble upon him and jump to conclusions? Did the Sisters' death kill him with the release of power?"
Grawlf went silent. He had a piece of this puzzle as well, the knowledge that the place where the bodies had been found was not where the battle had taken place.
"I... have something to share on that front. My first instinct upon looking at that horrible message in the stars was to look for the Secret-Keeper at his Shadowfell. He was not there, but there were signs of some sort of battle. Or at least some form of damage. Whatever happened, those bodies we found had been moved."
"As for the stars..." Grawlf sighed. "Yes, they have not turned out to be as... impartial as I had hoped. Hopefully I will be able to recover both of the rods and make them right once more, although... perhaps another solution is needed. Some sort of hidden record, as opposed to this gaudy display thrown across the heavens."
As he looked at the stars, suddenly his gaze narrowed.
"What is that? You are not dead. Who put that up there?"
His eyes widened. "What do you mean, both rods? I was told there was one, the concealing rod possessed by the secret-keeper."
He shook his head. "Nevermind, they are irrelevant for the moment. As I said, the artifact could not show the truth clearly without the blessing of time, and with the sisters dead, that will not be possible at the moment."
He looked back at his dragons, watching them hunt. "Anyways, I've put it behind me for now. I've placed my mother away safely in a tomb, that she might lie in a place f honor for all eternity rather than float among the void."
"Can I see this resting place, Lohak? I would like to pay my respects"
Around the glade where she worked the few remaining Dhorem had gathred. They were fourty of them left. About thirty adults and ten children, most of them to small to walk on their own. They were dressed in rags and were gathered around small fires. No one spoke, all that they did was staring at the fires and a little now and then throw a glance at the Goddess.
" This is my world... "
The Goddess whispered as she drew the last line on the complex pentagram she had drawn upon the ground. In the middle of the circle a lifeless husk lay. A long, golden, serpentine body with feathered wings. It was the remains of one of her older forms, one that now would be used for the greater good.
" I call upon the very essence of the Sun! I call upon the very element of fire! I call upon the eternal hope of endless peace! I summon thee and promise you life! I promise you a golden body! I promise you a long life! Power beyond that of anyone else! And most important of all a noble, loyal heart that would rather die then betray those that it has sworn itself to! "
The husk began to shake violently. Golden eyes were opened and slowly the very first of the Gold Dragons arose on the fields of Yrie. Soon nineteen more of its kind appeared, all of them bowing deeply to their Golden Mistress!
" You, my friends will protect this world from danger! You will love my children just as much as I my self love them and you will abhor all of the creations of the God of Lies and the God of Carnage! "
To finish it of and to give both her Dragons and the Dhorem a food source she added a final verse to the spell and mumbled it silently for herself. Life began to appear in the forests of Yrie. Silvery foxes that were able to run on mist, white deers that ran quicker then the wind itself, mighty elks with horns as hard as steel and crafty wolves that howled against the shimmering remains of the moon.
PP:
+1 (new day)
2 PP Lesser guide populace: The trolls attack the dhorem. PR 4+1d6
0/7
OOC & EDIT: I couldn't get it to post a like but my invisable castle roll was 6
Maibe herself stood in front of her people. Around her a burning aura glew, an aura that glew brighter then the very sun. It blinded trolls and burnt Troll flesh. In her hand her glaive Amu-Rasui rested. It burnt brighter then even her and time efter time it fell and ended yet another troll life.
The Goddess of Light was angered.
" This is my world! GET OUT OF HERE! "
Maibe was wrath incarnate. Her eyes glew, her hair whipped in the find, her face was pale in anger and her face was disfigured by a horrible grin as she time after time whipped out with her glaive.
PR 2 + 1d6 From the Dhorem
Touching the light, and receiving its message, he smiled, gently, his old form crinkling... To Grawlf, this would appear as an eye, turning at the edges...
"Why, good sir, this is the House of Petitions... Like it or not, you brought creatures into this world, and they chose to revere you for it. This house is flooding with unread petitions already! Some of us might be able to go off galavanting on adventures all day, but normal people, with normal lives, more often than not have normal wishes that need to be granted... really..."
The God, old beyond his years, sighed slightly...
"Still, I understand that it might be too difficult... I suppose..."
"People need a correct way to go about these things... really... Gods can't be expected to deal with every mishap that comes around... Can we? If we could solve some at once.... then maybe..."
From these first thoughts, a race came into being. Formless wisps of divine power, the Watchers. They would look over the petitions of the powerless, the mortals. Trapped within their rooms, Draemus would never see his first creations, except for his own... But they organised the prayers of the faithful. Different categories for prayers of desperation, greed, power, and so many other mortal wants and needs, transient or not...
Shape Populace (Epic): The Watchers Essentially interstellar book-keepers, one exists in each room in the Hall of petitions, to sort through each God's prayers. They have no ability to communicate, and so can never tell any of what they have read, seen, or heard...
2/7 PP
PP Remaining: 3/7
Needless to say Chivalry quickly clasped his hand around Honor's mouth to stop him from speaking further. "Of course we respect nature, we love it!" he replied. "It's so warm, and welcoming, and we absolutely love the color. A much better thing to look at than the darkness of the void I can assure you."
Fighting free of the grip, Honor frowned at his brother before looking around the clearing and the spirits once more. "So this is Verda then," he uttered. "Looks a lot different when you're not staring at it from a moon. But as enjoyable as it was we have business... hm, actually, come to think of it, we don't have any standing orders do we?" he asked Chivalry, frowning in thought.
"Yes we do," he replied.
"Right, that's what I thought," Honor added unperturbed. "Hey, Brinn I believe?" Honor asked the goddess. "Do you have any idea what your divine servants do in their spare time?"
***
Not receiving any opposition, Sassriss continued to bore into the goddess' stomach, finally making it's way inside. Unperturbed by the stomach acid, as it merely washed off harmlessly off of her hard exoskeleton, the parasite wormed her way through the organ until... there! Two teeth, one white, and one black. Fairly large though... she'd have to grow somewhat to accommodate them both. Growing as little as it could for the task ahead, Sassriss swallowed first the black tooth of the Shadowfell, before swallowing the white tooth of the Lightfell.
There. Mission completed. Her task done, Sassriss wormed her way out the hole she'd tunneled, dropped onto the ground, and began to skitter her way back over to the Silent One.
[2/7, 1/1 Mold]
The Dhorem moved quickly, throwing a torrent of spears and stones against the attacking Trolls. Spears passed through skulls, spears ripped limbs apart, stones crushed bones and stones crushed skulls. The Trolls fled...at least for the moment.
+ 1 PP (New Day)
7/7 PP
Honor frowned in thought. That wasn't their relationship to the Silent One at all... they'd been created as mere pieces in a game, given a single purpose then discarded until they were needed once more. As such, they didn't have this same... spark the wolf seemed to possess. The wolf had been created to be it's own creature, but the Brothers had been crafted to be naught but tools.
"Yes but... how does he KNOW what he wants to do?" Honor asked, genuinely seeking an answer. "Is it like the gods, how most of their actions are made to further the domains they're made of? Or is it like... an artifact, given one purpose and fulfilling it. If so, what happens once an exarch's purpose beyond 'serve your god' is gone? What do they do without anyone governing their actions?"
Chivalry said nothing... he too wanted to know, but he knew that his lieing tongue would not contribute much to the debate.
"Sure we do," Chivalry replied.
"You're not helping," Honor shot back.
"Well, asking all these questions are very helpful," Chivalry argued.
"Well what do you suggest then, Chivalry Contrary?" Honor asked heatedly.
"Certainly not actually looking for something we enjoy doing, that's for sure," Chivalry replied.
There was a few seconds silence before Honor replied. "I hate it when you're right."
"So do I, brother, so do I," Chivalry replied.
"But where to begin?" Honor asked, as much to himself as Chivalry or Brinn.
He lifted a hand, tearing open a rift to the chaos before passing through, expecting Grawlf to follow.
He appeared in the depths of the chos, surprised at his surroundings. All around were creatures made of stone and metal, each one waiting for the spawk of life to be imbued within them. Amid their enter stood Sonel, and Lohak finall recalled the last time he has seen him. "Of course . . . I should tell Brinn when I've finished."
He slipped among them, coming uo behind Sonel. "Greetings son. When did you plan on telling me I had a grandaughter?"
"You can have this body for now, dear Zo-Att..."
She slid off of the girl's body, and fell to the floor. There she wiggled her form. She slithered, snake-like, away, and through a side tunnel. She made her way through the Clockworks, wriggling between the gears and metal protrusions. Off into the Void. Off to find her master...
He was done.
He turned with a flourish to the one who had tried to talk to him while he was working, and knew that he had recognized the voice correctly. Throwing his hammer into the vast sea of fire with a grunt, he began shouting excitedly. "Look upon my works Lohak! Look what all I have created here! Beings of stone, wood, and metal! Of earth! Of solid water, fire, and air! I've worked on their design so long I've forgotten how long it's been since I started. And with this last one complete, I can awaken them. I call them golems, father, and with them I shall make existence marginally easier for those with the power to control them."
With an overly extravagant gesture and a burst of gleeful, frenzied laughter the god sent a single bolt of lifegiving energy into a random golem which then spread like chain lightning to all of the others. In perfect unison they stood straight and raised their arms, lowered them, raised and lowered them a second time and then took a step forward. They then stood looking at their creator, waiting for a command.
Sonel stood a moment looking over them when his mind finally transferred Lohak's inquiry to realization. He regarded the god with confusion. "You mean Brinn, father? I guess I hadn't gotten around to it, a lot happened very quickly not long after I left the Revita-Core. Did you know you not only have a granddaughter but a grandson as well? Did you also know that it won't be long before you are in fact a great-grandfather? Brinn and I have made a child together through a most ingenious process, and soon she shall bear our child into the world. How is she doing, by the way? How are you doing, father? I've missed so much in my absence. I hope Brinn's not cross with me for being gone..."
---
Expenditures
2PP Spawn Creature (moderate) - Golems
3PP Spawn Creature (greater) - Elemental Golems
PP Remaining - 2/7
Finally! Sassriss had taken too long... hold on, did something seem odd about her? Her legs seemed to move a little strangely, as though she wasn't used to her own body. Dharrox supposed it might just be because she seemed to have grown so she could swallow the teeth... well, he had no time to consider it. His companion needed the Shadowfell to make her... whatever she wanted to do, so he had to recreate it as quickly as possible.
Grabbing up his new exarch as she approached, the Silent One petted her soothingly on the head. "Good work, my exarch. Now, show me the prizes you have claimed." Roughly holding his exarch by the tail, the Silent One shook her roughly about, attempting to get her to cough up the teeth into his hand. He'd normally treat his followers a little more respectfully, but like he said, he was in a rush.
***
Honor scratched his head thoughtfully. "Well, maybe, our boss can get a little uppity about that sort of thing... he has a very specific taste in creations. Still, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try and do out own thing... not sure what exactly we like to do though."
"We hated building that planet, remember?" Chivalry pointed out helpfully. "It was absolutely boring."
"Hm, might have a point there Chivalry," Honor replied, looking about him. "But things are... different now. We can't just make as much adamantine as we want and hammer it into a sphere anymore. Our powers are more... limited."
"Yes, completely limited," Chivalry replied. "It's not like making little things are a lot easier now anyway, right?"
"Right you are, again," Honor answered. "So what little thing should we make... I suppose we could make some kind of monument, or obelisk. We have a lot of wood around, so maybe we could do something with-" suddenly remembering his present company, the exarch rapidly changed the direction of his sentence. "Or stone, stone is good, I like stone."
"Alright, want to make some plans? I hate the idea of making them. Doesn't excite me at all," Chivalry commented.
"Yes, let's," Honor added, pulling a blank blueprint from out of nowhere and laying it down on the grassy floor.
The next couple of minutes (or hours, or days, immortals had an odd measure of reckoning time), the brothers squatted down over the plans, drawing lines, arguing venomously over little details and explaining their own visions to each other. Eventually, they seemed to come to an arrangement, getting up from the ground and shaking hands over a job well done.
Rolling up the blueprint, Chivalry pocketed it away and bid farewell to their companions. "It hasn't been fun, but we need to stay now. Thank you for not helping us, and we totally won't show what we work on to you. Goodbye."
With that, the brothers walked off into the forest, looking for a good source of stone to start their work.
So it was this one who sought the teeth? Well, he certainly had secrets to hide, interesting, something to take note of. Attacking would be the first and most obvious option, leaping from here, and burrowing into his neck, entering in through the jugular. Following the artery to the heart and attacking there, tearing through the pumping organ, killing him instantly, would be the most obvious method, but too blunt, too barbaric for her tastes, and frankly, that wouldn't be any fun. She preferred to play with her food before eating it. Attacking the nerves would certainly serve to do that...
No! She would not resort to violence. She would watch, listen, and wait. He would slip up eventually, and then she would have her answers. Then she would take back her teeth, and destroy this fool...
But none of this registered on the creature's face. It just stared blankly at its master.
The Silent One grinned as the teeth clattered onto the ground. "Good work, my servant," the dark god complimented his new exarch, crouching down and grabbing up the teeth. The shadowfell he merely placed in the world where gods kept that which they didn't want to keep with them, but the Lightfell... he had to keep that close. One day someone might be able to access his little hidden stash, but he didn't want them to get that tooth. He'd work out a more permanent arrangement later, for now he simply pocketed the tooth.
"Well my exarch, where do you think we should begin our work?" he asked, looking at the parasite. Before frowning in punishment. There was something so odd about her, but he couldn't put his finger on it. "Sassriss, speak."
Grawlf passed through in time to see Sonel give life to his golems.
"Sonel, these are wonderful! You have surely been quite busy!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Karhedron stood at the edge of the great pit from where his people had arisen. Even now, the pit glistened, still coated with a fine layer of glass. With him stood many of the other Titans.
"Brothers! Sisters! People of the Desert Sands! The time has come for us to look ahead to the future of our people and of the world, Yrie!"
Karhedron knelt down to pick up a huge handful of sand and held it up to let the others see.
"We have been blessed with the ability to eat this stuff, this most basic of things, sand." He cast his hands out to the horizon. "And we have been given a paradise full of it!"
Several of the other titans cheered at this, but Karhedron was not finished.
"But, my people, it is not enough. Yes, this sand will last us for a long, long while, but it will not last us forever. I have explored beyond the borders of this, our home, and the world is vast, yet it is inhospitible to us. There is no food to eat, and it is cold, so cold that without divine aid, me and my two companions would surely have perished. So yes, we are safe here, but we must prepare, we must be ready. Friends, we must join together to form Casaka, nation of Glass!'
The titans cheered, and there on that day, the nation of Casaka was born.
PP:
1PP: Nourish Populace: The titans form the nation of Casaka.
2/7 +1/2 PP (create)
The dark soul of Yrie, the elder Tarrasque felt the destruction on the surface, and it's eyes finally opened. Emitting a loud roar that could be heard from all inhabitants of the planet, the Beast of Annihilation quickly started digging toward the surface of the planet. When the Beast reached the surface, it let out a terrifying shriek and charged toward the first living creatures it could find, rending them with its powerful claws and teeth.
Zo-Att was not content though. One creature would have a hard time destroying so much by itself. Bel's hand reached for an asteroid. When she held it in the palm of her hand it immolated, sending out a pulse of heat. Smiling, Zo-Att commanded the body to lift up the former moon, light in on fire, and the hurl it toward Yrie.
She couldn't help but smile.
+3 PP new days
-2 PP de-mold (moderate) - Zo-Att sends firey meteors toward Yrie causing large sections to be destroyed.
[2/7]
"They are indeed a grand creation, my son. You should see the dragons I have brought ino being some time. And I forgive you for concealing my granddaughter from me. I must admit though, I did not come seeking you, but instead was travelling to show grawlf one of my recent contructions."
"My children, you are going to embark on a wonderful mission! You are destined to help others throughout all of creation! I command you to obey the first creature that comes into contact with you and follow their orders without question, all orders save for the taking of life and the destruction of others of your kind. Also regardless of your previous orders, all are overwritten if you recieve a direct order from me, Sonel, your creator. Do you all understand?!"
There came no response from the spheres, nonetheless the god cackled happily. "Good good good! Now I'm sending half of you off with Grawlf here, and the other half of you are with me. And if Lohak wants to help I'll send a half with him as well. Let's get going!"
The god paused for a moment before adding another statement. "If either of you want a few of these help yourself. They're programmed to aid you in whatever task you need their help doing. I'm not sure what task a god can't do by himself but you're welcome to take a few regardless."
He focused his divine power, shaping creatures that had the general shape of the dragon. He gave them his own personal touches, though. They had reddish, shining scales and large wings. Their primary weapon, influenced by Khitis's life domain, was a serpent of acid that took on a spark of life when it was breathed out.
5 of these creatures appeared, mere wyrmlings, upon the grassy plains. "Greetings, my children. I am Khitis, and I have given you life. I leave you now to explore your home, but should you require anything, just call for me."
Before leaving, Khitis also populated the grassy fields with various herbivores, such as rabbits and deer, both to keep the plains plants in check and to provide a source of food to the new wyrmlings. "Live well, my Orium children. I shall see you again soon."
2 PP Spent - Shape Populace (Greater): Orium Dragons.
1 PP Spent - Claim Domain (Lesser): Orium Dragons.
1 PP Spent - Spawn Creatures (Lesser): Various grassland herbavores.
Eventually, the Brothers stumbled across the perfect area for their little project: a sheer cliff face, with plenty of stone down below it. It was hardly monolithic, but with a few towing around the odd wall plate of rock or so it should be more than adequate.
"Alright, I say we start here," Honor said finally, pointing at a seemingly random part of the cliff face.
"I agree, there is a much better place to begin than here," Chivalry replied, pointing at a different area.
"Look, that area is wayyyy too unstable, we have to start somewhere solid."
"We couldn't use pillars to prop open the opening, and if we don't start somewhere too solid it'll take weeks to make a dent in it, and we will have a steady supply of strong stone if we need it."
"Pillars won't help if the entire thing collapses on us Chivalry, we need to start somewhere sturdy."
"Somewhere sturdy will certainly help when we run out of good stone when we really need it."
"Oh you are the worse stone worker ever! Which isn't saying much, since I think the two of us are the first stone workers ever, but still."
"Brother, did I ever tell you you're NOT a total pain in the-"
***
Later on, once the Brothers had managed to tunnel a fair way into the cliff face.
"Left!"
"Left!"
"Left!"
"Left!"
"Left!" Honor shouted with finality, jamming a pick into the left side of the passage.
"Left!" Chivalry shouted right back, jamming his pick into the right wall.
"Wait wait... why not both?" Honor suggested.
"Both? But wouldn't that not double our workload and not turn this entire place into some kind of labyrinth?" Chivalry replied.
"So?"
"...touche. So we'll start on the left tunnel first?"
"Nah, let's do the left one shall we?"
"No no no, I'd say left is far more appealing."
"Well I disagree brother, let's start with the left."
"Left!"
"Left!"
***
"WHY do we need an orchid again?" Honor asked in frustration.
"Things will never live down here, so we don't need to bother with food," Chivalry replied.
"Fair enough fair enough... but how are we going to get light and water down here for the plants?"
"Not dam a river and divert it's flow through some stone pipes, the not carve a chunk of the roof away to let the sun in," Chivalry replied.
"The dam I get, but if we carve in the roof why would anyone go through the front door? That's sort of cheating to go in through a crack in the roof isn't it?" Honor asked.
"Not fine, not fine, what isn't your suggestion then?"
"Well, get this idea... mirrors!"
"...what?"
"We carve a small hole somewhere a ways away, then get a whole bunch of mirrors to reflect the light through a system and spill light into the chamber!"
"...that is. The smartest idea. I have ever heard. Mirrors don't break at all, after all."
"It could work!"
"It'd work better than anything else in existence!"
"Oh you are such a-"
***
The two brothers had finally finished the main structure, and smoothing down the walls of their little project. Now they had time to go back and decorate the walls with delicate symbols, craft beauteous statues for open spaces, and generally make the place look fancy. Unfortunately, since their primary influence was the Silent One, they had an odd view of 'beauty'. Sure they managed to carve the odd beautiful woman or trees that seemed to blow in invisible trees, but they were punctured with eyes that seemed to stare into your soul and see the darkness there, figures twisted in agony and monstrous creatures conjured forth from the darkest imaginings.
"Look," Honor admonished his brother. "You gave that thing WAY too many tentacles. Keep it simple, brother."
"I have never seen an amoeba before brother," Chivalry replied. "I have no idea how many tentacles it's supposed to have."
"It doesn't matter how many tentacles it has in real life, you need to simplify when carving. Otherwise you'll end up making it look like a big mess."
"Your face isn't a mess."
"Oh real mature Xidor! Real mature!"
***
The inner most chamber of the labyrinth was a large, LARGE room, heavily decorated with all manner of carvings on the wall. Pillars shot up into the sky, and statues abounded. In the very back of the room, so massive it dominated all attention, was a statue of an armored knight. Except the brothers had thought carving something so similar to themselves would be a little narcissistic, so the had decided to give it an animalistic head. Sort of like what a deer would look like it it was meaner and shaggier, with curved horns and a ring through it's nose.
"Well, are you ready for the last step brother?" Honor asked.
"I won't be when you are," Chivalry replied.
"Okay then... 1... 2... 3... shoot!"
And shoot they did. From the brothers hands gold, gems, and all manner of precious materials piled onto the center of the rooms floor, forming a dazzling pile of riches beyond most mortals dreams.
"The color really goes with the room, don't you think?" Honor asked.
"No," Chivalry replied simply.
Smiling, Honor wrapped his arm around his brother. "It was really fun working on this with you, you know? When I wasn't tempted to rip your head off and shove it down your throat anyway."
"I feel the exact opposite way Rodix," Chivalry replied, wrapping his arm around his brother in turn.
"Come on Chivalry, we need to show someone all the work we did," Honor replied with a smile. "I bet both the boss and Brinn would love this place."
PP Expenditure
1 Mold PP from Brothers - Mold Land (Lesser) - Create the Labyrinth, a seemingly endless collection of tunnels and chambers richly decorated and confusingly laid out. At the very bottom of the labyrinth is a wealth of gold and gems: the Brothers basically made the universes first dungeon. Edit: Seems shadow beat me to the punch
[3/7]
The Dhorem lived in closely a knit communites consisting of several smaller clans all ruled by a matriarch. At her side her husband took the role as the clan priest, wise man and healer. Under them in rank were the hunters, the gatherers, the children and then at the very bottom the old. The Dhorem had a lax view on leadership and generally considered females to be better fitted as leaders for communites while males were better when action was needed in everything from building to hunting. But it wasn´t all that rare with a male chief or a female priest.
A female Dhorem got about two to three childreen from each childbirth. Though it was a rare thing that all of the children survived. Many were stillborn, other died due to illness, accident or got killed or eaten my wild animals.
Nourish populace 1PP: The Dhorem increase in numbers and slowly begin to develop a culture of their own. There are about twohundred of them by now.
"Very well, Sonel. I can definitely take some of these with me. But first..."
Grawlf touched a few of the golems and sent them to the Court to serve as servitors and guardians.
"So, I'll start on Yrie, you want to start on Vedra? I'm sure Brinn would love to see you."
3/7 +1/2 PP.
It was different now though. Sonel's creations had given him a new inspiration. He had created creatures not only of fire, but of water and earth as well. Whyile Lohak knew he should allow his children their respective elements, the general concept was still there. Creatures similar to each other, yet still different ion their own way.
He watched a flight of red dragons winging between two islands as he considered it, calling forth dozens of bodies of the same basic design as the red dragons, figuring that if using this worlds protector as a base for them had been effective, then using them as a base for this would work perfectly. Fire was an effective enough weapon, so in the first effort, Lohak tried it's opposite, giving the beast control of the frigid biting cold, whith brilliant white scales shining in the light.
For the second creature, he drew upon memories of the past, when he had seen Hrinori and she had been in the grasp of madness. He had seen the foul essence deep within her, the poison which turned her against him aqnd stole her reasoning. A brutal weapon, capable of corrupting body and mind. Within his second creation, poison served as fuel, defense, and weapon. He watched for a moment in worry as the poison seeped throughout the beast, shading it and it's scales green, but he could feel that the mind remained free and served his desires.
For his third, he called on memories of the elemental chaos, of fire and wind mixing to bring devastation to the earth and water. Lightning, he had called this phenomen as he had rested and observed the chaos. Like all things connected with fire, it served to create as well as destroy, intrisnically link him and his cousin in a bond. He instilled that essence into the final batch of new children, leting it's power crackle and channel through it, the scales shifting into a shimmering azure color as he brought them to life.
As the new dragonsburst free from his power and scattered into the world, he lowered his shoulders in exhaustion as he chanhneled even more power, brining more life to the world to feed his children.
PP Expenditures
1 PP - Modify Shape Populace - Using Red Dragons as base material, bring forth white dragons
1 PP - Modify Shape Populace - Using Red Dragons as base material, bring forth green dragons
1 PP - Modify Shape Populace - Using Red Dragons as base material, bring forth blue dragons
1 PP - Claim Domain (Lesser) - Chromatifc dragons
1 PP - Nourish Land - Add more natural wildlife to this world (More small game (squirells, rabbits, game birds, and a few larger specimen (buffalo and such)
1/7 + 1/1
PP:
+1 (new day)
1/7
The god nodded in affirmation while chuckling at Lohak's comments about his golems. "That sounds like a wonderful plan, father. I'll go drop some golems on Verda to help Brinn out and stay for a while before continuing on. I can't help but wonder how she and our child is doing. I'm going on ahead, Grawlf, and I'll meet you afterwards okay?" Without waiting for a response he took off through the Chaos and made his way out. He looked in awe at creation, and how it had changed in his absence.
"Surely I have been gone too long..."
---
He arrived on Verda and immediately began scattering his golems all about, littering the forests with their spherical dormant forms where they would wait until activation. He then noticed Brinn, standing in a grove talking to two figures he hadn't encountered before. He crept up behind his mate and swept her off of her feet without warning.
"Hello lover. I'm back."
PP Remaining: 4/7
He stood up, still holding her in his arms and walked over to one of the dormant golems. Placing Brinn on her feet he went and stood next to it.
"Love, I want to show you something. Place your hand on this object."
"What do you wish of me, master?" it croaked in a metallic yet also gravelly voice, "I am at your beck and call."
The Malevolants had been created to seek Vengeance, and they had found it, killing trolls when they could, and fiercly driving lesser forest predators away. They hated for those who could not hate -- avenging themselves on whatever they perceived as "evil". It was, of course, all a matter of perspective. The Sculptor had no doubt that if the Dhorem ever came into conflict with, the roles would be reversed -- Hunting Dhorem when they could, and watching trolls during the night.
My... people... do not belong here.
The Sculptor nodded accordance.
The sun is too bright, the world too pure. I fear these wayward souls will only bring conflict to Yrie, one way or another.
Fulrit, Hrinori -- go to The Susurrus. Use our power to mold it into a twilight realm more befitting of these beings. An amythyst-emerald sun, blue-black rock, and foliage of darkest green. I will find a way to bring the Malevolants back there.
The two exarchs looked at one another, Fulrit chuffing and Hrinori bowing, before dissapearing into The Space Between Worlds, en route to The Susurrus.
The Sculptor, her silhoutte massive and billowing, circled the planet, looking for the best place to begin her newest work.
PP Expenditure
+2 new days
2/7 + 0/1
You Got: +1 Gardener!
He gave Brinn a lengthy kiss that was full of longing and a final hug before departing.
"I love you..."
" Welcome to my, World. Goddess of frozen flowers. What has earned me the honour of your prescence? Have you come to take your children back? They have been quite useful..but some of my children feels threatend by their prescence. There are whispers about ghosts of long lost ancestors haunting the settlements.."
When my exarchs and I made use of them, we had no idea the origins of those fallen souls. If I had known that I would be sending them to Yrie, perhaps we would have crafted something less dark.
You are right, I see the need to move them elsewhere just the same. I fear some petty conflict shall incite conflict between our peoples, and that could not end well for anyone. No, Maibe, I am here to take them back before such times. I have two worlds of my own, you know -- even know my Exarchs are shaping one of them to better suit these dark ones.
But tell me, kin -- why did I stumble upon such a rush of souls in the first place?
PP Expenditure
Free Molding within The Susurrus
2/7 + 0/1
The Goddess said coldly.
" A mad child that fell down from the skies, killing many of my people before he summoned the Blood Trolls to finish them of. Many of the Dhorem died...and it´s probably their souls you have used. May I ask something about...your creations, kin?"
The plains were open fields of grass. It was here that the wyrmlings that Khitis had granted sentience to were already maturing into adults. The young Orium Dragons, the first of their kind, were working together for now to insure that they would survive, but the life god could already see that when they got old enough, that they would likely go their separate ways. Their living breath weapons had already turned out to be an invaluable resource for hunting the rabbits, gophers, and antelopes that made their home on these islands.
There were also the mountainous islands, with large spikely protrusions rising up thousands of feet from the ground. Here small antelopes had already begun to adapt to life, and Khitis noticed that one of Shry's Dream Beasts had made its home in a rather large cave not too far from a bridge stalk. Still, compared to the other two locations, it seemed a little lifeless.
This lead Khitis to observe a few of the isles that he hadn't modified at all, that remained but a lump of rock. Nonetheless, life flourished here, as it was the location where most of the Dream Beasts lived. To Khitis's great surprise, some of the plant life from the mountains and plains had traveled here on the winds that Eshcal had gifted the islands with, and it appeared that these plants proved a valuable food source to the Beasts.
One more important location for him to look over remained: the island that was home to the Cyan Star, the enormous flower that Brinn had gifted his islands with. When looking at it, Khitis noticed something unusual: at the base of the flower was a small pile of animal bonus, carefully arranged and surrounded by a circle of tree bark. Khitis was puzzled by this, until one of the dragons he had created, already growing bigger, came by to add more bones to the pile. Noticing the god, the dragon bowed.
"What are you doing here, my son?" the life god asked, curious.
"Father Khitis, while exploring our home, my siblings and I came upon this flower. We felt within it a presence much like yours, and so we have taken to leaving the remains of our hunts here as an offering to you, to let you know that we honor the lives that we take in our need to feed."
The insects of Khitis's swarm assumed the form of an Orium Dragon, and in this shape, he smiled upon the young dragon. "What is your name, my child?"
"Orixalcon, Father," the dragon replied.
"Very well. Orixalcon, if you wouldn't mind, I would like you to continue to do so. Honoring these sacrifices is indeed an action I would like you to continue doing, for indeed life is sacred. I would like you to oversee my worship by your fellows as well. If you need to ask me something, just call for me by this flower."
"I would be honored, father," the Orium Dragon responded. Khitis nodded once more before heading off.
+ 1 PP (New Day)
4/7 PP Total
It had been some little time since the Brothers had finished their work, and yet they still lingered in the massive inner most chamber of their labyrinth. Chivalry contented himself clinking gold through his fingers, whilst Honor was preoccupied frowning in thought over in the corner. Sighing, Honor summarized their position.
"So, if we go to the boss first, we could interrupt whatever scheme he has cooking 'just so we can shoe him a useless warren of tunnels'," Honor spoke. "And Brinn seemed preoccupied last time we saw her... and I don't think the wold likes us very much, does he?"
"He loves us I'm sure," Chivalry replied absently.
"That's what I thought... so I guess we'll just wait a while then go to Brinn. She's the only god other than the boss we've really traded words with. Except that truth fellow who helped make us, but I think the boss wants us to avoid him."
"Like glue," Chivalry added helpfully.
"Yes, yes," Honor agreed. "Besides, it seems as though something is... missing, you know? Like the tunnels aren't quite complete."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Chivalry answered.
Sighing once more, Honor continued to look about the chamber boredly, trying to put his finger on what might be missing... before he looked up at the colossal statue of the bull knight.
"Heyyyy... I think I might have an idea," Honor said.
"Keep it to yourself," Chivalry replied.
"Well, the tunnels are empty at the moment right? Why don't we fill them? With those," he gestured to the huge statue. "Brinn said the wolf can make things like a god can, why can't we?"
"He wasn't made specifically for the task?" Chivalry pointed out.
"Well true, but come on, we won't know if we don't try!" Honor attempted to rally his brother to the idea. "What's the worst that could happen?"
"We don't die agonizing deaths as the universe retaliates at being misused by those who don't understand it?"
"...aside from that."
"We end up creating horrific monstrosities that devour us and-"
"Look, do you want the bull men or not?"
"No, no, just be reckless brother."
"I will. Now come on."
Taking a deep breath, the two brothers clasped hands, before raising their arms above their heads. Mustering the divine spark within them, they thought of what they wanted to achieve, before forcing the power to do their will, swirling before them before exploding in a bright flash of light. ((Wonder twins power activate! ))
When the light subsided, a small group of what looked like the bull headed knight were lieing dazed on the floor... sort of. They looked more like what you'd get if you crossed a minotaur with a woolly mammoth: a lot shaggier, with huge curving horns on their heads. And bigger, much bigger, giant or even titan sized. It was a good thing a large number of the labyrinths corridors had been designed for such sized creatures, though many more were much smaller than that.
"Brother..." Honor said in awe. "We did it..."
"We didn't do!" Chivalry replied excitably.
"We did it! We didn't! We did it! We didn't!" The two brothers chanted happily, practically jumping up and down.
PP Expenditure
2PP - Shape Epic Populace - Gigotaurs, larger, shaggier and more heavily horned precursors to minotaurs make their home in the Labyrinth
[1/7]
I know what you mean about mad children.
The Sculptor broke away, once again gliding over Yrie.
Go ahead and ask your question -- I'm looking for a suitable site for my project, and your company would be nice, I think.
It seemed the Gigotaurs had arisen from their daze, and as all creations do, began to question just how they had gotten there, and what their purpose was. One gigotaur, larger than his fellows, walked over to the Brothers and began to speak. "Excuse me, armored ones, doth thou hast any ideas what we are and why we art here? Art thou mine and mine fellows creators?"
'Oh god, we have an entire race that talk like that now,' Honor thought to himself. "Well, actually we-"
Chivalry covered his brothers mouth and pulled him back, before smiling at the gigotaur. "Nay, we art but servants to the one that hath created you. Our Master carved you in an image similar to his own self, but hath important business elsewhere, and so gave us the sacred duty to instruct thy brothers and thou self."
"What are you doing?" Honor asked, looking edgewise at the enraptured gigotaur.
"Do you not want to be the one to explain to the Silent One why the first race created with his power worships his exarchs and not him?" Chivalry asked in reply.
"Ah... thanks for the save," Honor whispered back, before smiling and addressing the gigotaur.
"Indeed, you have been created thanks to the power of Dharrox, Just Hand of the Dark," Honor intoned dramatically.
"The Just Hand of the Dark... that dost sound like the kind of god that mine soul wouldst cometh from the mind of," the gigotaur admitted. "What doth our sovereign wish of us?"
"He wishes you to.. follow his precepts, and live with honor and chivalry," Chivalry replied.
"And to receive your worship," Honor added. Technically he didn't know for sure if the Silent One wanted the worship, but it was a safe enough guess that calling it a lie would be completely inaccurate.
"Yes, he hath crafted the Labyrinth thou doth stand in to be your sacred site of birth, and be a testament forevereth of thou's people's spirit: strong, unyielding, unafraid to use less than honorable tactics to win, but always forgiving to those thou knoweth, and to always giveth friend and foe alike a chance," Chivalry went on.
"Indeed, I caneth feel yonder spirit of mine god infusing me with sucheth character!" the gigotaur admitted happily. "What art mine gods precepts?"
"The... precepts?" Honor asked. "Well, um-"
"He hath prepared the precepts all about you, mine brother!" Chivalry interrupted. "These carving, if they be translated, containeth every nuance of honor, truth, chivalry, and strength thy people containeth! But he doth not yet wisheth to translate them for your use, thou must first prove thyselves as worthy of his blessing."
"Ah, I see thy point. Such a noble god woulst not bestow his code upon any cretin," the gigotaur said thoughtfully. "Then what must mine people doeth to be worthy?"
"Well, a good start if you want to be honorable and chivalrous would be to establish yourselves in the Labyrinth," Honor suggested. "Make it your home as well as birthplace. Then perhaps you could venture into the world outside a little, broach new horizons. That's always healthy."
The gigotaur seemed a little off put by Honors choice of words, and thouless dialect. None the less, he simply shook it off before smiling at the exarchs. "Well, thy words ring true mine brothers. I must noweth bestow the wisdom you have sharethed with mine self with mine fellows. Fare well, honorable knights." With a deep bow, the shaggy bull man returned to his other titan sized fellows, and shared what the exarchs had told him.
Deciding it was best to just leave them for now, the Brothers began to make their way back out to the Verdan surface through the Labyrinth they had so recently built.
"Do you at all feel a little jealous giving the boss all the credit for our work? Least with the gigotaurs anyway," Honor asked.
"Doesn't beat getting our heads ripped off," Chivalry replied simply.
"Right, that's true enough," Honor replied needlessly.
[2/7]
Landing softly on the sands, she reduced her form to that of a Dhorem or Malevolant, and crested a ridge, viewing a... city? Colossal beings strode to and fro, going about their day to day buisness.
The Sculptor threw away any pretext of mortality and glid into the center of the city. She tapped the tallest Glass Titan she could find on the shoulder.
Excuse me, are you familiar with the surrounding desert? Or know someone who is?
"My lady, welcome to Casaka. Are you known to The Great Eye? I am Karhedron, the leader of my people... and yes, you could say I know the surrounding desert quite well."
Karhedron's eyes glinted in the sun as he watched the god before him. So, there was more than one of them... he thought to himself.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Grawlf took the Golems and seeded them on Yrie, consciously providing the southern portion of the continent with the majority of the dropped golemns before speeding off to the Isles of Wonder and then to meet up with Lohak at their place of experimentation.
"Lohak, I am here, and I desire to see what you offered to show me before. And after that... I have a job for you, if you are interested."
+1 PP 4/7 +1/2 (create) PP.
Grawlf followed Lohak through the portal, eager to see what would appear next.
The poisonous plants that adorn this sandy place are my own, and each has a minute shred of my power within it. Are you aware of any large collection of these plants? Perhaps nestled about a large rock or some such thing? That would be ideal.
PP Expenditure
+1 new day
3/7 + 0/7
"Oh, so those are your plants. To be honest, we don't pay much attention to them. Here, I can show you the largest grouping of plants in the nearby desert. As for a boulder... that might be a little harder to come upon. You might try to the north... I saw many rocks of great size when I traveled to the other races on this planet."
Karhedron led the Sculptor to a nearby patch of thickly tangled plants stretching for several hundred meters in every direction.
"Will this do?"
~~~~~~~~`
Grawlf examined the structure, soaring through its many galleries. And then he noticed something... something that made him upset.
"Lohak. I see One of our mothers here. Where are the other two?"
The Hall of Petitions could not be left, no, too much important work to do. But if the civilisations could hear the word... well... worship would have to be organised, certainly...
Gold whisps coelesced into a constantly smiling face. Bells tinkled from his wrists and ankles, and a mask, it seemed, was the source of this grin...
All in all, it rather disturbed Draemus as he felt the power surge from him into... this. He was rather odd. The mask merely giggled.
"Call me Lipsis... I've been up here for a while, heehee!"
A coat, all the colours of the rainbow, shone from his body... If Draemus focused, he could see... himself? The Hall?
"Its the mask, Draemus... Lipsis' mask... My eyes, are yours... sire..." There was almost a mocking tone as the Exarch danced out the hall, giggling and ringing all the way...
Ascend Exarch 3PP: Lipsis, an exarch, travels among the mortal kingdoms, and guides them as per the commands of Lipsis' mask.
Create Artifact (Lesser)1PP: Lipsis' Mask. Lipsis' Mask grants Draemus sight through it... And the bearer of the mask can hear the commands of Draemus if ever he chooses to make them. He's normally too busy, mind...
Muttering to himself, Grawlf dissapeared into the Void, picked up the other two sisters and returned them to the Tomb. Placing them in places of honor, he returned to Lohak.
"Just because we might have other plans eventually doesn't mean we can't give them the honor they deserve now. This place looks lovely. I would like to put Para here, and I will tell Zo-Att where he can find his mother. What of the Secret-Keeper? I did not see his body there... did you do something... rash to it?"
He smirked. "Not I. Hrinori froze it solid, but I have it hidden away for your examination. When you have the time, simply call for it fro here, and it shall come forth."
" Do they still remember me? Those of my people you saved and turned to you people? Do they remember me? Do they remember their lives?"
Her fists were clenched, her eyes shut and her lips pushed together to form a thin line. As if she actually didn´t want to know.
They might remember flashes from their life, I think -- but if they were to remember everything, they would only relive their brutal deaths again and again. It was merciful to take that memory, at least, away from them, I think.
She turned towards Karhedron.
Thank you, sir -- this will do just fine.
The goddess touched her hands to the stony cliff, sending a trickle of power into the cool stone. The plants shivered, suddenly erupting in flowers. The Sculptor paid no heed to this, simply tracing the outline of a door against the rock.
A bright flash, and suddenly the cliff face lead to... elsewhere. A purple-green sun beat down upon azure rocks, and no matter where you turned, everything seemed to be uphill. It lead inside the Susurrus.
The Sculptor turned, looking back at both Karhedron and Maibe.
If you would be so kind as to lead us back to your city, there is something else I would like to discuss.
PP Expenditure
-2 Create Artifact (moderate): The Whispergate. An artifact-portal that leads to an area of The Susurrus known as Crossroads. It takes the appearance of a small hill, covered in plants, with a doorway on one side. These features adapt to take on characteristics of whatever world the whispergate is located upon. Only those beings with The Sculptor's blessing (or that of her exarchs) may make use of the portal, and The Sculptor may move or disable the whispergate whenever she wants.
1/7 + 0/1
Karhedron nodded.
"Yes, come with me." And led them back to Casaka.
~~~~~~~~~
"Hmm... Yes, it might be for the best to look at him. Bring him out. Also, Lohak, I have a request. Our... disagreement, shall we call it, has revealed to me certain limitations to this form."
Grawlf raised the arm that was still malfunctioning slightly from Lohak's attack.
"In the future, I'd enjoy the ability to protect myself a little bit more strenuously than I did at that time. Would you make me a strong body capable of such a task?"
"There it is. As for your proposition, yes, I beleive I could do such a thing. There are plenty of excellent materials to work with here."
The trolls that were recuperating from the attack noticed a bright light in the sky. One that was getting larger. An asteroid cloaked in fire quickly approached the assembled trolls. It hit with such an impact that many trolls far away from the impact site were knocked onto their backs. The ones that were closer were crushed under its massive weight, and others immolated in the flames. Charred corpses were scattered around the impact site, making a hellish scene.
+2 PP new days [4/7]
(I already spent PP for the exploderoids, but no one seemed to notice... so, yeah...)
"Massssster... what issss it that you wissssh from Ssssasssrisssss?"
She bowed her head reverently.
"Sssassrissss livessss only to ssssserve..."
Dharrox frowned. "I didn't ask you to serve, I asked your opinion... forget it, you don't know enough of this universe to help anyway."
Sighing to himself, the Silent One thought of where he should place his Shadowfell... where it had been was too obvious. Perhaps he should just try and find a nice isolated part of the void? Not too isolated, he wanted his Shadowfell to be undetected, not removed from the universe. So where-
Suddenly, a wave of power of flooded through the god. He could FEEL reverence pulsing through him, infusing him with divine strength and power. "What... is this? Is this that worship the other gods mentioned? But I haven't made anything capable of worship... come Sassriss," he spoke, grabbing onto the parasite. "We have investigating to do."
***
"I say we look for him right of Verda!" Honor shouted in front of the Labyrinth.
"And I don't say we look for him right of Verda!" Chivalry replied.
"Wait, is the you not saying it the lie, or the right the lie?" Honor asked. "That's kind of a double negative."
"Your face is a double negative!" Chivalry shot back.
"Gods you can be such an idiot sometimes," Honor sighed.
"Your face can't be such an idiot sometimes!" Chivalry shot back once more.
Before the enlightening conversation could continue, the Silent One teleported directly in front of the labyrinth, Sassriss in tow. "So this is the place that the power is coming from," he mused. "Xidor! Rodix! What is the meaning of this?" he asked, seeing the Brothers nearby.
"First, why do we always get left behind when you teleport yet you take that thing with you?" Honor asked, gesturing to Sassriss.
"Because you don't fit in the palm of my hand. Now, answer!"
Needless to say Honor and Chivalry spilled everything they'd done since they'd wandered off into the void. Meeting Brinn, building the labyrinth, and creating the gigotaurs.
"Interesting..." the Silent One said finally. "I should be mad at you for taking such important matters into your own hands, but the results are desirable enough that I'll let it slide... this time. Now, all we need to do is pay a visit to these gigotaurs, and create a code for them to live by. One that appeals to this sense of honor and chivalry, but still contains the ruthlessness and deception inherent in my ideal worship..."
"Well, good luck with that," Honor replied. "We're just going to go somewhere and make another dungeon so if you'd just-"
"The shadowfell you are! You made the bull men, you can help create the code. Now come, we can decide the little nuances of this scripture on the way to the inner most chamber you described."
The brothers sighed. "Sure thing boss," they replied simultaneously.
She fixed the two brothers with a penetrating gaze.
"Gigotaurssss? A rather uninsssspired name if you asssssk Sssassssrisssss..."
When the stones fell the war had been over for years and the Dhorem themself were not touched by the searing hot rocks. The land though wasn´t as lucky. Vast forests were burn to sinders and craters the size of smaller nations covered the continent.
The Dhorem lived their lives as they had for years on their distant peninsula.
*
" Much has been destroyed, Sculptor...my world needs me. Would you be kind enough to excuse me for a little while. Someone decided to throw stones at my world...and there is some serious repair work to do. Forests have been burnt, land has been ripped apart..luckily enough the Dhorem and the northern parts of the world has been spared. Titan, would you be kind enough to inform your creator about the current situation? I would appreciate it if he could come here...I think we need to have a little talk. "
( If you want to hurt the Dhorem, use disnourish, discuss it with me or describe the direct results of what the stones do already at the start before they fall down. I thought they simple fell down in the ocean and created what would be the Underdark or something )
"I don't recall giving you such a difficult attitude," the Silent One scolded, flicking the parasite on the head for good measure. "I care not whether you think your brothers are impressive, or if you think gigotaurs is an ample name or not. Either way, you're stuck with both, so stop complaining."
The brothers, a little weirded out by the 'exarchs' gaze, decided to simply stay quiet and look away. Until the Silent One snapped his fingers and walked into the Labyrinth of course, indicating that they should follow. "Now, we need those scriptures... let's see, suppose we should start off with something 'good', like respecting your kinsman or some defecation."
"That sounds good to me," Honor replied. "Remember to spruce the scriptures up with the odd labyrinth metaphor though, we kind of hammered that home with them already."
"Thank you for the advice, Rodix. Now, onto honor... I don't want them to have to bow to each person they brain, so maybe honor in life, necessity in battle? The ends justifies the means so to speak. It probably isn't completely in character for what we want to achieve, but if I have to deal with prayers and such on a regular basis I don't want every one to be 'bless Mommy, and Daddy, and..."
Grawlf lifted the body up and held it before him, rotating it slowly before him. Grawlf eyed the form for a long, long while, then with a violent thrust, pushed his arm deep into the Silent One's chest. Once there, he said a single word.
"Dvrgr."
There was no discernable change to the body, but Grawlf immediately pulled out his arm and spun to face Lohak.
"Lohak. This is NOT the Secret-Keeper's body. It is fake. I fear yet again another layer to this mystery has been uncovered."
Dhavvox. I must speak to Dhavvox.
"Oh? Do tell, Creator. What have you come up with? Although before we do anything... I do wish to upgrade this body."
Using two arms, Grawlf opened up a small portal to the Court.
"Samtaana, come here. I have need of you."
Moments later, his exarch appeared at the portal and floated through, regarding the situation with some uncertainty.
"Lohak, may I introduce Samtaana, my helper. If it will help, I would offer him to you to help you create my new form."
"As for the plan, well . . . "
And in a lightning-fast flurry of movement, before the Silent One could react, Sassriss was gone, skittering rapidly away. Through the Void she slithered, away, away, away. Eventually, she came upon the green world of Verda. She slithered down and settled among the strange plants of the Forests of Pasha. Then, from Sassriss' various orifices began to stream copious amounts of thick black smoke. It seemed unlikely that a thing so small could contain so much. Soon, a great black cloud hovered over the chittering thing, which hissed at it. Then a child's voice, sweet and singsong, issued from the smoke.
"Oh, shut up you!"
It seemed to swivel about in the air, as if taking in its surroundings. The smoke billowed and rippled like a living thing, always in motion, yet never leaving that one spot. Eventually a low sigh issued forth.
"I need a body."
It was a stated fact that echoed about the trees. It was true. There was no way she could approach Zo-Att while she controlled her body, just as she could not approach any other gods. None would believe that it was she, Bel, when Zo-Att was prancing around in her body for all to see. Sure the stars or that odd mirror thing could back up her story, but all it would show is that Bel apparently placed a bug against her neck, and then Sassriss slithered away. Nothing would point to who was actually possessing each body at the time. She could have stayed with that Dharrox fellow, but he seemed to be getting suspicious. Besides, he didn't seem to be a particularly trustworthy person. So she needed a new body, and a new identity. So she crafted for herself a body. Not young and bold like her previous, but mature, and perfect. She drew inspiration from this natural place for her work. From the silvery light of the moon, she formed orbs of moonshine that served as eyes. Perfectly smooth rocks nearby lent her inspiration for the alabaster skin, and the water that flowed over the rocks became flowing strands of pearlescent hair that shone with a delicate, silvery glow. From the leaves and plants about her, she made garments of such beauty and softness, that mortals would weep when they set eyes upon her. And then, in through the mouth, the eyes, and the nostrils Bel went, filling up this vessel. She opened her jewel-bright eyes and smiled her moonshine smile.
"This is going to be fun..."
And Serine, a being of such beauty and grace that it seemed to radiate from her, even painting the world about her in more vibrant colours, was borne into the world. Her pale feet whispered over the leaves upon the forest floor, sending them dancing and spiralling about her. The branches of the trees seemed to reach towards her in an almost longing fashion, as moonlight filtered down and sent a cascade of brilliance pouring down about her. When she smiled, her lips, the colour of fragrant lavender parted delicately to reveal rows of dazzling teeth. In her left hand, she grasped the desperately struggling Sassriss. She examined it with eyes that seemed to shine with an inner light.
And as she moved along, her movements so fluid they seemed like dancing, strange beings began to dance about her. Serine felt at one with these beautiful folk, clever and capricious, and accepted them into her heart. In return, they offered her their worship.
PP Expenditure
1 PP Claim Domain (Lesser) Beauty
1 PP Claim Domain (Lesser) Fey
2 PP Shape Populace (Greater) Noble Eladrin
The Sculptor broke off as she felt the ground tremble beneath her. She watched with a mixture of surprise and awe as the massive, horned head of the Tarrasque crested the horizon. The Dhorem migration to their distant penninsula had left it bereft of its favored food source, and trees and bushes could only sustain such a massive beast for so long. It roared, charging towards the village.
Karhedron -- call your people to arms! Hrinori, Fulrit! Use the Whispergate and return to Yrie at once!
The Tarrasque had already reached the outermost limits of the city, and was wasting no time. Buildings, Glass Titans, even enormous quantities of sand disappeared down its gullet.
As her Exarchs arrived through her newly christened artifact, The Sculptor lead the Titans in a counter-attack. A quick, 3 minute skirmish ensued, but when all was said and done, it was the Tarrasque that left the field -- heading southwards in search of less aggressive prey.
The Sculptor looked around the battlefield in horror. Some twelve of the glass titans lay nearly dead or dying, twitching oddly in the last throes of life. Fulrit was limping, one forearm crushed by the Tarrasque's massive bulk. Hrinori was covered head to tail with gouges from the beast's claws. Even The Sculptor herself had been wounded, but the only visual indication was the pale blue light of the Crystal Lotus lengthening into a murky green.
The Sculptor looked among the fallen, and turned to Karhedron, miraculously still alive.
You live on a harsh world, titan.
The Silent One shuddered. He had no idea why, but it just felt as though someone had walked over his grave... before he could examine the feeling further however, Sassriss began to babble about business before disappearing. That was the final straw for the dark god: something was wrong with Sassriss. Firstly, the exarch would NEVER be so presumptuous to call him father. And secondly, she would never just wander off, especially to do business when she'd been in the universe such a short time time there was no way she could even know ABOUT business, let alone find some to keep her occupied.
"I am going to have to look into this... after we address the gigotaurs," he added reluctantly. "There's so much to do, releasing the Shadowfell, checking up on Sassriss, adressing the bull men, working on Failure, sometimes I wish I had competent servants to carry out my wishes for me."
"Right here boss," Honor replied. "Right here."
"I should certainly hope so," Dharrox commented. "You two may be a little unreliable and presumptuous, but at least I can trust you. Now, how about we twist this sense of honor so that base vengeance is consider not only good, but those that don't seek it are disobeying the knights code? It will raise all sort of political games, and it'd be a fine gift for the Sculptor. Though I suppose I'm already letting her use my Shadowfell for her little games, I don't want to indulge her too much or she might consider me a lackey more than a partner... and I'd hate to kill her over something so trivial as that..."
***
Sassriss's head hurt... she felt like she'd just tried to absorb the mind of something with the rough IQ of a rock or something. But she saw vague flashes... the goddess taking over her mind... spying on her Master... then the sudden release, and her dazed eyes taking in the smoke and the crafting of the horribly beautiful pointy eared folk. How disgusting, they didn't even have an exoskeleton!
Deciding it would be best for now to simply lay low, the parasite crept away, peering through the pushes to see the goddesses actions. A goddess... what a glorious feast of memories and secrets she must have! But the last time she had attempted to mess with her, she had ended up possessed... perhaps it was best to leave well enough alone for now.
One of the downsides to being six inches long on a planet full of wildlife is that you never quite know what to expect. Especially when you're too distracted by the actions of a goddess to pay attention to the little insect eating mammal coming up behind you.
"What? Hey! Put me down you insssssssufferable beassssst!" Sassriss cried futily as the critter picked her up in it's jaws, shaking it's head back and forth rapidly to quickly kill it's prey. Deciding the parasite seemed a little hardy to it's vague attempt at murder, the animal instead contented to try and swallow her whole.
"Oh don't you dare ssssssswallow me you inssssssect! I'm going to rip open your sssssstomach, drink your blood, and eat all the ssssssoft tisssssssue in that fragile little head of yours! Don't you dare, DON'T YOU-"
It dared. Soon, the exarch was part of the animals daily calorie count, and it scrabbled away in search of more nutrition.
And so she strode through the Forests of Pasha, and her gaze fell upon her newest creations. They were beautiful, though certainly not as beautiful as she, and they were intelligent, though again, not as intelligent as she. Each and every one of them exemplified something different. Some were the autumn winds, others the winter chill. Some were purely joyful and still others thought only of love.. Serine blessed them with a glowing smile, and thought of how they were merely pawns in her grand plan. For now, she must merely wait, and watch.
"Come. We must restore our fallen."
The fallen Titans were broken into several pieces each, their wounds too great and their internal core cooled beyond the ability to move their bodies. The Titans picked them up and dragged them beyond the edge of town, lying them all in the sand in a large pile. Then, opening their mouths, they began to sing a haunting melody, echoing across the desert sands. Soon, a response was heard as the ground began to rumble and soon several sun worms appeared, churning the sand around the fallen Titans and liquifying it. The dead Titans melted into the pool, and within minutes, new pods of glass had appeared, stretching to the heavens.
It was then that the rocks from the heavens fell, one landing squarely in the middle of the churning glass. The Titans looked on with horror as the rock melted into the molten sand and was integrated into the growing Titans, taking over from the lighter glass until twelve tall beings made of glass and meteor-rock stood before their glassy cousins.
1 PP: modify Populace: Meteoric Titans emerge from the Glass Titans.
Fulrit joined her in the space-between-the-worlds, and while The Sculptor maintained a passive interest in the Titans, her exarchs once more shrouded the souls with vengeance. These Malevolants were taller and broader, and had clothing made from flowing sand.
Come -- you do not belong on this world. Follow me to The Susurrus, your true home.
As Fulrit lead the new Malevolants away, Hrinori reappeared behind the Sculptor.
Fetch the Rimeshadows, and take them through the Whispergate.
Hrinori bowed, leaving The Sculptor alone with the titans.
She watched, curious, as the meteor slammed into the Glass Titan ritual.
She drifted over to Karhedron.
That looks... does that happen every time ‽
PP Expenditure
+1 new day
-1 Nourish Populace: Malevolants -- the Malevolant race expands to include Sandshroud Malevolants.
1/7 + 0/1
PP
+1 (new day)
+1 (new day)
2 PP moderate create artifact: As of now unnamed spear which provides a +2 combat bonus.
1/7
Karhedron watched the new titans march off to find a home for themselves.
"No... certainly not."
Noble Karhedron, As you are Grawfl's people, my exarchs too have a people on this world. Hrinori, the serent, will soon be brining them through here and onwards towards the whispergate. I only ask that you help them leave this world if they require assistance. That... beast, these meteors... something is going very wrong with this world.
The Sculptor rocketed upwards, once more beginning to orbit the planet, but her final words carried to Karhedron clearly all the same.
I aim to set it back to right.
1 PP: Create Artifact (lesser): Karhedron's Rage: Piercing sword for a titan-sized creature.
2/7 PP +0/2 PP.
Maibe calmly answered.
" There are gods out there that thrive on destruction..such as you, the Silent one and Zo-Att the Goddess of Destruction. I am not one of them "
Maibe looked out over the devasted landscape that was Yrie.
" There is much to do, Child. This world is in dire need of some healing. If there wasn´t anything else...would you be kind enough to leave me to what is needed to be done? "
The burnt lands that Zo-Att´s metors had shaped suddenly experienced an intense change. Trees, plants and so forth appeared everywhere and in the matter of days a vast rain forest stood where Zo-Att had spread her destruction. The craters were still there though...
A smile touched the Godesses´s lips. Truth to be told she liked them...they gave the landscape a certain charm.
Nourish Land 1PP- Plantlife in the form of vast rainforests covers now the lands burnt to sinders by Zo-Att´s meteors.
The destruction had stopped for a time, and Zo-Att was interested in the power that fire had contained. Experimenting, she took a handfull of pure flame and wrapped it around Empty, her spear. Her weapon now contained the power of two elements. She had not created fire nor ice, but she would be a fool not to consider their power.
+1 PP new day
-2 PP - Create Artifact, The Sheath of Flames (combat)
[3/7]
Dharrox entered the large chamber with the Brothers at his heels, having to suppress any awe he had at his exarch's work. He had to admit, despite how childish and idiotic they could be, they could certainly carve a good chamber. Within the chamber, many minotaurs sat about, not really sure what to do. A few were trying to decipher the carvings on the wall to discover this code the Brothers had spoken of... a futile effort, the carving were merely decorative. They didn't have to know that, however.
"Good gigotaurs," Honor intoned. "Your god hath arrived!"
Needless to say that caused quite a stir. However... "Why doth he be a cat insteadeth of one of our kin?" a gigotaur asked.
"I'll take this one," Dharrox interrupted Chivalry, walking towards the statue and stopping directly in front of it, before turning to his new people.
"Gigotaurs! Though hath now breathen of lifeth, but thou still lacketh a purpose. I hath come to correcteth that lack! As for whyeth I am not of thine kin... well, that be very simple. I am of fury, of honor, of that which is beyondeth the mortal ken to trulyeth obtain! But I dare noteth maketh you the same, for you are reliable, strong willed, and do noteth burneth quickly. You are of stone, whereth I be of flame, and I haveth forged you to protecteth both this Labyrinth, and thou's own honor!"
This seemed to move the gigotaurs. The Silent One, knowing he had them right where he wanted them, walked towards a random piece of wall before thunking his gauntlet against the symbols on it. "Behold! The code of honor! Listeneth well mine kin, foreth these words shalt guide you forevereth more!"
loclightvoid.wikia.com/wiki/Dharrox%27s_...
"Now mine people, I musteth take my leave, for honor and chivalry doth be required in places more than just this. But you shalt be in my heart forevereth more. I ask of you my kinsman, live with honor, establish your race in this Labyrinth and the world outside of it, and serve both mine self and the honor and chivalry I knoweth rests in all your hearts!"
Dharrox left with thunderous applause at his back. He could FEEL their worship grow, adding to his own power. Perhaps he should be less focused on the other gods, and try to focus more on establishing his own worship and power... but he didn't have time or energy to make too many intelligent races! Unless... he had used the work of another to establish his Shadowfell. He had turned the work of another to craft himself a weapon. Perhaps the same concept would apply too...
A wicked grin touched the god's lips.
***
Meanwhile, some ways away, a little furry animal lay dead. It's stomach had been burst open from the inside, it's blood looked as though it had been sucked up, and it's skull was cracked open, though no trace of brain was evident. Sassriss slurped up the last of the slimy flesh, before giving the creature one more whack with her tail for good measure. "Told you ssssssso," she taunted, before crawling off into the forest.
She had to find her Master... he had to be nearby. Even possessed, the exarch could remember enough to know he'd been messing around in that Labyrinth when that cursed Bel (or was she Serine now?) forced her to up and abandon him. The nerve, she'd NEVER just leave like that! Her Master was her mind and heart, and to just be forced to leave him so suddenly like that was almost painful. She had to find her as soon as...
Wait. She smelled something. Something old. Knowledgeable. Tasty. Sneaking as silently as possible, Sassriss peered through some nearby bushes.. to see what looked like a large fox. And old, intelligent fox... imagine what sustenance she'd get latched onto his head for even a few moments! Her target set, Sassriss began crawling through the underbrush, intent on crawling up the fox's back and latching herself onto it's skull.
[3/7]
"This is only a taste of what is to come! Your children shall be set aflame in a storm of fiery wrath, while being torn apart by the claws of a fearsome beast! Their pain shall be so great that they will carry it beyond death!"
If this didn't attract anyone, then nothing would.
She rose up from the planet like a shooting star, trailing shimmering crystals of ice. She looked upon "Bel", confused.
I do not know you, kin -- why do you hold a grudge against Maibe, her world, and her children?
"My issue is that Maibe is weak, and her people do not deserve to live on this planet. They should be wiped out before my own creations can inhabit it. The others who live here are weak as well. Do you challenge this?"
Bel held out Empty (which the Sculptor most likely recognizes) sheathed in fire, and pointed toward the Sculptor.
In her hand she held her weapon in a firm grip. In her eyes there was a cold flame burning. There was something odd with her. The way she moved and the way she looked at the other Goddess. There was a senseless hatred resting within those golden eyes of her.
" Greetings Aunt..."
She whispered coldly.
Bel's face smiled again as she shifted the spear from pointing to the Sculptor to Maibe.
"How nice of you to come and face me yourself. It's a shame about your children, really. Although I'd have to say that the biggest shame is that they haven't all died. That will be remedied, do not worry."
The Sculptor crossed her arms in front of the smaller diety.
You are like no God I've seen before. Scarred and wounded with naught for eyes? And look! It holds Zo-Att's spear.
I think this one more bark than bite. Perhaps narrowly escaped from Zo-Att herself? Did she put you up to this then? "Defeat one of my enemies and I shall forgive your transgressions"?
Such senseless violence. All three of you should be ashamed.
But there was something more... Eshcal felt that something went missing, some soul has being somehow stolen, taken away from the natural cycle of life and death... Deprived of the bliss in the afterlife and sent back to life. The god could not locate these souls, not alone at least...
"Maybe it was some missguided brother of mine, after all death is so scary that he or she might have tough that denying the afterlife was a gift not a curse" he tought... "Good intentions or not I can't allow anyone to steal these beings destiny..."
The god stood into the emptyness of the void for a while, so many things has happened while he was asleep, too many... he could not be everywhere in creation, but still he could not abandon the beings that he had sworn to guide and protect...
After a while something came to disturb him, the first of the 1001 winds a spirit named Fourus, the spirit of Yirie southern winds, he had many tales to tell Eshcal about his long life, too many, the god first greeted his servant with happyness, but soon he grew bored of the mindless repetition... The winds could only do what he has ordered them to ages ago...
"I should fix that" he tought, taking inspiration from the creatures that he has seen on Maibe realm he begun weaving a complex spell, one designed to grant the winds a mind of their own, not unlike the Dorhen... When he finished with the spell the wind spirit was still eager to tell the god his discoveries, things that any mortal or other divinity will probably find to be minor, but that intrigued the lord of Wind much, however this time the creature also listened to his master and was capable of much more complex reasoning...
Finally Eshcal smiled, "As I have created the 1001 winds to help me overseing the currents I can try to shape beings to guide and protect the dying souls... I will need something that can understand death... Mortals will do the trick, I think at least..."
Eshcal went back to the World on the River and begun addressing the souls of the dead, looking for a few who was willing to delay their passage trough the river for a short while in order to help their brother and sister fullfy their last journey. At first he did not found many volunteers, most of the souls has already forgotten life, lost in the in the pleasant existance that the goddess of death has created from them long ago. However a few still remembered being lost and lone in the void, with only feeble winds to guide them... In the end a small army of spirits assembled in front of Eshcal.
The god allowed the souls to join him, however he did not force any spirit, he explained that their future will not be easy, that they had chosen an long existence of sacrifice, but also that he was proud of them all... Each spirt sworn an unbreakable oath, to serve for 1111 years, seeking the souls of the recently deceased and bringing them to the World on the River, fighting those who wants to deny this souls their rightful final rest and finally helping the missguided mortals who due to fear, attempt to elude death in accepting their fate.
Drawing on his power and the one of the river, the god reshaped these souls, granting them vast powers and the ability to see the currents of death... He forged for them new forms to be used in their quest... Sot he Tos'Arai, Wardens in ther language, was born.
PP 2/7
2 PP Shape Populace (greater) - The 1001 winds are now a sentient race (fluffwise they are the old winds made sentient, but mechanically they are like any other race).
2 PP Shape Populace (greater): Tos'Arai, Wardens, tasked with guiding the souls to the afterlife
(wiki page coming tomorrow)
She had difficulty containing her apprehension. Her plan seemed to be working so far...
Bel could feel, more than see, The Sculptor's silhouette raise an eyebrow.
By what?
The Sculptor indicated the surrounding gods.
Surely, we have no quarrel with you, Bel. I dare say that these two would gladly ally themselves with the slayer of Zo-Att. I must confess, I remember you as a more capricious and fiery thing, that--
The Sculptor broke off, the even tone suddenly dropping, replaced by one of anger.
I may not posess Grawlf's ultimate sense of Duty, but the Water raging within me finds no matching Fire in yours! You are not Fire! You are not Bel! Are you The Silent One then? Madness? Some new god of Spite?
The Sculptor glanced at her fellow gods.
I say we capture it alive and take it to Lohak for questioning. He will want to know of his daughter's fate.
For the longest moment, he stared at the humanoid form, wondering if it was really complete, truly a combat device. He heft his hammer and unleashed a mighty blow, watching it slam backwards, a deep bell sound echoing as it held against his strike, remaining in one peice.
He indicated it with a hand, watching it float back into a standing position. "I give you your combat form, Dvrgr. I call it, Ravnos."
He lowered his voice once more.
"Lohak! That name is secret! Please... keep it so. But this Ravnos... I must say, I am impressed."
Dvrgr detached from Grawlf and made his way over to the new form, floating into the protected socket located in the torso of the vaguely humanoid shape. As he attached, the eyes of the artifact began to shine a deep ochre, which quickly spread to every connection as talons sprang forth from his new hands.
"Yes... yes, this is perfect. Thank you, Lohak." Ravnos said, shifting back and forth while he tried to get used to his new body. "I just hope that we do not end up on the opposite sides of a conflict again. Now, I must go and do my part to prepare for our trap. I will go and begin to plant the seeds within our target's mind while you prepare the grand reveal. Good luck to us both, Brother."
Ravnos opened a tunnel back to the Court and sent Grawlf and Samtaana back through before stepping back to the Prime.
Oh, how wonderful this body felt! It nearly hummed with power and Ravnos itched to try out its power on someone. He sped off to find the one called Dhavvox.
+1 PP (3/7 +0/2 PP)
" Sculptor, this one is nothing but a pathetic parasiste, that gives nothing but pain and suffering and desires nothing but taking away that others create. I have no desire to speak with it, nor to negotiate with it or to take it to my Uncle. The only thing I desire of it is it´s death. In whatever name or whatever form she has taken for the moment, the core of the Parasite yet remains. She is Zo-Att! The parasite! The one to weak-minded to do anything on her own! The one that only destroys what other treasures as she lacks the will to do anything on her own! "
" I want nothing but death for her and all other Gods of her kind! "
Maibe took a tighter grip of her glaive and prepared herself for what would come. Her eyes began to burn and dark thought slowly began to appear in her mind.
" But..Sculptor..you are kin...and related to my Uncle that I owe much. If you truly desire that this pathetic excuse of a proper god should be left alive I will stay my blade.."
PP
+1 (new day)
1 PP attack god: Ymalos attacks Zo-Att. I rolled a 34: invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2336885/
1/7
PP Remaining: 5/7
1 PP: Spawn (Lesser): Predators
1 PP: Nourish (Lesser): Prey
"I must leave you for a time, my fair sons and daughters, but I shall return, when the moonlight's grace abides it."
The children were sad, but they let their mother go, and upon the fragrant air she vanished. In the Void she flew, intent upon her distant goal, the Clock. Into one of the openings she soared, and felt a certain wrongness in this place. It was so jarringly different from whence she came that for a moment she could only stop and gasp. Devils and demons, grotesque one and all, crawled over every inch of the place, locked in their endless struggle. Serine flew high above them, but was hard-pressed not to be shaken by their savagery.
Into the centre of the place she went, into the chamber where Zo-Att had taken her true body. She gazed upon the high-backed throne, and the mirror-like piece of steel that reflected naught but the past. She smiled, and went forward. She began to pick up speed as she neared the throne, her arm drawing back. Goddess hit mirror with resounding force, and the mirror cracked, becoming quite useless. She drew back and gazed upon her handiwork. She grabbed a jagged piece of the mirror in her hand, and held it close, feeling the pulse of Lohak's power still within it. Then, once more, she vanished.
Now through the void she flew, using the mirror-fragment as her guide, searching for her father. He would not recognize her now, but that did not matter. She had a story to tell. Whether that story was true remained to be seen. For now, she merely searched.
PP Expenditures
2 PP De-Create Artifact (Moderate) The Past-Viewer
Standing outside the Labyrinth, Dharrox looked up at the sky in contemplation, idly eliminating some recounts of the past he found decremental to his goals. The gigotaurs being created by the Brothers and not him for example, and the very existence of Sassriss let alone that she burrowed herself into Bel to get his teeth back. That done, he returned the rod to the place between worlds all gods kept their items (he really needed to name that.. mayhaps hammer space after the hammer Lohak no doubt kept there? A thought for another time) and returned to his train of thought.
He needed worshipers, and he needed them spread out throughout the universe. After all, what was the point of having obedient servants on Verda if he needed mortals on Lorquan? But he couldn't create mortals for every world, that would simply be counter productive. What he really needed to do was persuade some of the other god's mortals onto his side, offering them power and privilege if they did his bidding. Or merely corrupted their very souls so they'd be compelled to worship him, it mattered not which way he went about it.
But he was getting off track. First things first, he needed to find a new place for his Shadowfell. Which would hopefully remain a better secret now than it did last time... his task was soon interrupted however by the his spying the distant figure of... some god, they looked unfamiliar... floating towards him, no doubt on some errand or another.
'Not enough years in the century,' the Silent One thought to himself, before teleporting over to meet the god on his approach towards his general location. "What ho, fellow god!" He greeted warmly. "Doth thou verily be looking for mine own self, or mayhaps for the goddess who doth usually liveth in this place? Hold, Grawlf? Thou doth looketh different, but thou's essence doth remained unchanged. And a god cannoteth change their essence, after all. What business doth thou hast that you cameth here?"
Ravnos looked at the god before him and idly flexed his arms.
"Call me Ravnos now. Grawlf is dormant and I remain Dvrgr forever, but in this body, I am Ravnos."
Ravnos gave his son a significant glance as he said his true name.
"Son, I know it is you. There is no other explanation that matches the facts that Lohak and I have uncovered. I come to warn you, however. Lohak plans a trap for you, and when it is sprung I do not know his intentions. Deny who you are to me if you wish, but know that this is coming and know that I am happy you are alive."
Ravnos waited for his son... Voiceless, Dharrox, it did not matter the name, to answer him.
Where had he gone wrong? He'd been so careful.. he'd adopted an entirely new persona, an entirely new look, had erased all the information he could from the stars, put in there a false birth... who was he kidding? He'd been sailing this long on sheer luck. Grawlf- no, Ravnos had said something about names in stone that he had had no idea of and so couldn't alter, he'd made it clear that someone was still using his rod, frankly he was surprised he'd made it this long. Still, even if you knew how you got there, knowing you're about to die is never easy.
Dharrox sighed. "I see... I had intended to tell you that I lived, but a third party who shall remain nameless advised against it. Besides which, the Sister's were your mother too, so it would no doubt be odd welcoming their supposed murderer back into the midsts of the gods. I swear, those damned Sisters..." His fist clenched. "Sorry to say bad things about your maker, but what kind of god kills themselves just to mutilate, burn, spite and frame someone who's protecting anothers secret? YOUR secret I might add," he added for good measure. "The one you left in the very heart of my Shadowfell."
Rubbing his hand over his eyes, Dharrox attempted to think. "It seems I may have to return to the edges of the void... last I saw Lohak, he did not seem the type to listen to my side of the story."
[4/7]
"Lohak has seen the moment through means I do not know, and he was the one who told me that you are innocent in the killing of Time, and my examination of your body revealed that you were not actually dead... the cells of your body should respond to my name, for that is at the core of their being, yet upon saying it, the body remained as limp as it had been since we recovered it from the void."
Ravnos looked at Dharrox and shook his head.
"It just pains me that you did not trust me to listen to you earlier, and I must admit I feel a great deal of frustration with you for not helping me when Lohak assaulted me. But at the same time, I am grateful for your diligent protection of my secret. I can only imagine that the conflicting nature of the Sisters were the reason why they ended up acting so... unstable."
"For now, though... we must talk. What are we going to do now? Lohak suspects you, and many other gods still belive wholly the story plastered throughout the stars. I assume you *do* still have the obsidian rod with you? And do you have any allies that might be willing to help you if things go badly?"
"Innocence is not always protection again 'justice'," the Silent One noted bitterly. "Still, that is a good sign... though it seems I should have attempted to craft a more convincing corpse. Or at least made it look like I was vaporized..."
At his makers next comments the Silent One merely shrugged. "As I said, I had intended to trust you but I was convinced otherwise... besides which, I admit a little frustration that it was your secret that led to the event. I suppose I considered the small amount of damage you taken a small amount of karma. Not that I blame you for the occurrence," he added hastily. "The Sisters alone bear that responsibility." 'And perhaps myself for provoking them,' he thought in the depths of his mind.
Dharrox drew forth the black rod for a moment, before tossing it back into nowhere and everywhere. "But of course, Maker. I have several exarchs, though that is no doubt not what you meant. I also have an ally in a god, who I'll refrain from naming until I can get their opinion on whether they wish to be so named. No doubt they would help me if things got too rough. As for what we are to do... well, I suppose the best course of action would be to walk blindly into Lohak's trap." He knew it sounded insane, so he attempted to explain the reasoning behind such an act. "See, Lohak expects me to not know about the trap, so me walking into the trap knowing about it is actually a trap for him, especially if I take a form that isn't Dharrox's so I can keep their true nature as myself concealed. Mayhaps I could even frame another god for being me... has anybody in particular been annoying lately?" he asked.
It was obvious. The farther he got from Verda the slower he traveled. He didn't even want to sow the rest of his golems right now. But he had to. If only there was another who-
Sonel took one of his golems and quickly modified it into something akin to his first exarch. His first exarch who has been wandering unattended in his absence... Where was that thing anyway? Oh well, no time to worry about it now. The new servant was more modern in form, having four limbs and a head and all that other good stuff that a being needed. He quickly imbued it with life, and sentience, and it's first goal was finishing his work with the golems. Now all it needed was a name. "Tomett". That will suffice. Sonel looked at his new servant, watching as it sped off with it's golems toward the Isles of Wonder. WIth a nod he then returned to Verda and scooped up Brinn a second time.
"Surprise!"
Expenditure
3PP Ascend Exarch - Tomett the Proto-Golem. Exarch provides a combat bonus.
"Thank you, good man! You have freed me that jailor. She did such awful things... is there any way I can repay you for this?"
The words sounded slightly odd from her mouth. Almost as if they came from her son...
Bel's body slowly floated away from the present gods, with no eyes and a gaping hole in the stomach. It had certainly seen better days.
Her voice, when it came, was hollow and low.
I said take her alive.... damnit...
PP Expenditure
+1 new day
2/7 + 0/1
"I do not know what happened to them," she said sadly of the last, "but Grawlf planned to look further into it. Here, though, let me show you something else." She gave Sonel a Chord Amulet, and clasped his hands in her own furry ones, the amulet between them. Pulling him through the barriers between planes, she appeared above Renissa, looking down on the clear mountain lake she had healed Grawlf in. Ankirega stood below, and barked a greeting to Sonel.
"Welcome to Renissa, friend Sonel!," he cried out warmly.
PP Remaining: 5/7 + 0/2
Brinn... Brinn... is Lohak with you? He needs... I don't want to be the one to tell him, but he must know eventually. I don't... I don't know what else to do...
---
As Tomett flew toward the Isles, he awakened a select few golems to serve as his heralds. Altering them so that they were more powerful and intelligent, he divided the portion of the dormant golems between them and sent them to the surface of the Isles, observing them as they went about their task of spreading them across the land.
"Why-should-I-have-to-work-when-I-can-make-others-to-perform-in-my-stead? Sonel-never-said-I-had-to-carry-out-his-orders-myself. As-long-as-the-mission-is-complete-the-specifics-shouldn't-matter."
Before long the protogolems returned to Tomett and he began to make his way to Lor'quhan, still thinking over this new philosophy of his.
---
Gierce had been wandering for some time now by itself, watching the universe as it slowly filled with variety and life. It flew through space aimlessly and wasn't paying attention to it's course when it crashed into something. The body of Bel. It became tangled in the corpse's insidy parts and was slightly annoyed by this when suddenly the body began to knit itself shut around it! Gierce struggled to get free before it was consumed by the thing, but it's efforts were in vain. Before long the body had sealed the exarch inside. It floated for a time and then it began to convulse. It twitched and jumped and even made noises as it's appearance began metamorhpose into something new.
Finally it lay still. It was healed and where it's eyes had been were two iridescent blur orbs. It's skin took on a pale sheen and in it's stomach a round, blue glass chamber had appeared, a dark purple flame flickering within. The slain body of Bel had fused with Gierce, integrating the exarch's appearance with it's own. This being was something entirely new, different from it's components. It's mind was the exarch's, but it's form and power was the previous god's. It could feel the power this new body had, it's dominion over flame. It easily conjured globes of fire, and with the exarch's inventive mentality it could alter the fire's fundamental properties making it vary in hue, intensity, temperature, and even change what gas it gave off when it burned.
Truly this new creature was a powerful force, and although the exarch's mind still felt allegiance to it's creator it also began to hatch plans of it's own that it would begin working on. The being regarded the one known as The Sculptor with some curiosity before speeding off towards an isolated corner of space, leaving a trail of strange chromatic fire in its wake.
Expenditure
1PP Modify Spawn - Change ten golems into protogolems.
Remaining PP - 3/7, 0/1
Ever since the day her first child had died. Something ugly had began to grow within the Golden Goddess. An obsession or possibly a madness that surrounded her children and right in front of her was the perfect goal of all of her frustration.
The Goddess of Destruction. It just felt so easy to make her take the blame for it all. The Sun´s destruction, Ymalos´s madness, the troll wars and all of those of her children that had died during those horrible years. It was especially her children that made her do what she now did. Her memories of them were still there, she still felt their warm hands in hers, she still remembered their smiles, their laughter and their songs. She remembered their death at the hands of monsters, she remembered how she had destroyed the moon...she remembed how her people had fought and how many had died and behind all of that pain she saw one person.
Zo-Att.
Everything had to be Zo-Att´s fault! She destroyed! She was a parasite! She was evil incarnate! She was a monster and deserved nothing but spite, hatred and death!
And so the Goddess gathered all of her power behind her thrust. Closed her eyes and prepared herself for what would come. Zo-Att had to die.
Attack God 1PP ( She uses her Glaive to do this, it counts as a combat artifact. )
After following both is dreams and his instinct as well as the thought that it was a fairly likely place to look, he emerged in the Chaos. Looking around, he saw a sort of tomb nearby. Whether or not Lohak was in there, he was curious, and tried to enter it.
+6 PP: 6 days
-2 PP: Guide Populace(Lesser): Quori form a nomadic/tribal/something society. Basically they will stay apart until they form alliances for some reason, which never last long. Each Quori controls some area of land, which they want to expand, but without coming into contact with other Quori.
-3 PP: Guide Populace(Greater): Quori learn to tame the Dream Creatures and use them for fighting and gaurding the lands that individual Quori control.
-1 PP: Nourish Populace: Quori start to expand over the Isles. Currently a good chunk of the Dreamer's Isles have Quori on them.
[1/7 PP]
"Looohak! Heeeelllllooooo!"
"Well, Lohak is, of course, pushing buttons. But he won't be a good target. Ah, there is one. I've only met him once, but he is the god of Travel. Huzzedeim, I believe is his name... unholy terror, I call him."
~~~~~~~~
On Yrie, the fledgling nation of Casaka was growing, using the sand of the Great Desert to breed new titans and more buildings. Eventually, Karhedron and a band of Titans headed north, skirting the bay and coming to the edge of the land of the Blood Trolls.
"Hail! We come to parlay, Trolls!" Karhedron cried out, voice booming across the land.
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Casaka flourishes and makes more titans
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Casaka flourishes and expands its capital city.
2/7 +2/2 (create, shape) PP.
PP
+1 (new day)
2/7
The god of travel? Wasn't he his son? From a purely precursor/descendant point of view, the Silent One found such relationships trivial at best. Still, it wouldn't do to frame the god he had created without even having met them yet... he really had to get around to doing that soon.
"I wouldn't feel comfortable framing a god I haven't even met," the Silent One admitted. "And I can't think of anyone else off the top of my head it would serve to frame... barring perhaps Bel, but since Lohak himself created her that would be difficult to say the least. Perhaps it is best if I simply come forth in a different guise and claim to have been hiding out in the void all this time."
As if to illustrate his point, tentacles flowed out from within the Silent One's armor, wrapping itself around the metal in a grisly sort of decoration. The metallic armor changed from a deep black to a tainted looking purple, and the lion heads bubbled away to reform into large yellow eyes. Literal large yellow eyes, that darted to and through looking about as they came into being, occasionally blinking in the bright light of Verda. Finally, Dharrox's helm dissolved completely, revealing a pale white head with veins of purple clearly visible beneath translucent skin. The eyes were small, black pits, and it possessed neither nose, mouth or ears.
"Ah, much better to be able to feel the wind against my tentacles, even if my body at large still rests inside the armor," the Silent One 'spoke' in his classical use of the silence between words. "This should be enough to convince Lohak that I am not Dharrox, whilst allowing me to change between my alter egos swiftly... and without having to uproot years of careful growth to actually allow this shell to operate like a body without the need for an animating enchantment or construct."
[5/7]
"Ah, my lord. Forgive me, I did not mean to bother one as powerful as yourself. We come from the south and wish to learn more about these people, whom I must assume are your creation. What motivates them? For what do they live? What are their plans for the future? Lord of the heavens, we humble supplicants ask you these things."
Nourish populace 1PP: The Dhorem increase in numbers. There are about four thousand of them. All of them live along the shores of the river Tara in smaller villages.
As Bel's "corpse" slithered away, The Sculptor shuddered. Clutching herself tightly, she fell back towards the deserts of Yrie. Her Exarchs were waiting there, besides the Whispergate.
What next, mistress?
All living Malevolants accounted for and colonizing The Susurrus!
The Sculptor ignored both, passing through the Whispergate herself. Her exarchs followed, giving her concerned looks. In the purple-green sunlight of the hollow planet, The Sculptor's Sihloutte should have been ebon-black. Instead she stood a pale green-gray.
A small gesture sent the eddies within the Whispergate swirling, and the deserts of Yrie faded into the noxious tundra of Lor'quhan.
Go... create life -- perhaps for Hrinori this time, since Fulrit already has the Malevolants. I... I need to rest, and think.
The Sculptor floated towards the inner sun of The Susurrus, eventually entering it entirely, becoming a dull, barely discernable shadow to her exarchs outside.
The two traded concerned looks once more, but given that there was nothing they seemed able to do, both Fulrit and Hrinori found themselves stepping onto Lor'quhan in short order.
PP Expenditure
+1 new day (+1 Exarch reset)
3/7 + 1/1
Sassriss continued to creep behind the fox primal spirit, finally reaching the creature before crawling up it's leg. The beast didn't even have elbows that twisted the right way, even if it did detect her presence she doubted it would be able to do much about it.
A quick note should be made about how Sassriss feeds. Contrary to what one would think, the parasite did not 'drain' anything in her work. Rather, she simply sucked out the impression of the knowledge and memories, gaining their benefit, but leaving the hosts mind entirely intact (that is, if she wants them to be). It was rather like sucking up the sweet steam that flows out from a hot bowl of soup, except roughly as sustaining as the soup itself. The reason this is relevant was because the parasitic exarch had managed to find it's way up to the fox's neck, smacked her lips, and planted her mouth full of razor sharp teeth into his skull, her numbing toxin shielding the fox from the pain her intrusion would otherwise cause. With that... she began to feed.
***
"What ho comrades, 'tis this not a merry day?" Narill asked, the gigotaur taking a deep breath through the nose to savor the scent of the outdoors.
"Verily, mine kinsman," Gharin replied in response, looking about the beauty of the world illuminated by the sun instead of the numerous torches of the Labyrinth.
"What ho kinsman, art we not traveling yonder on mine and thou's sacred quest bestowedeth upon us by our most sacredeth of seers?" Jed pointed out, moving up behind the other two gigotaurs, hefting his stone axe over his shoulder.
"Nay mine friend, thou's reminder be not necessary for mine ears to heareth," Narill replied. "But if we be outside our most sacredeth of birth places, might we not savor the difference?"
"I see not a quarrel with doing so mine comrade in arms," Jed profused. "So long as our band of knight's noble questeth be not forgotten in the mists of thou's mind."
Their 'sacred quest' was quite simple: find more room for the gigotaur race to flourish. The Labyrinth was ample space for the gigotaur's originally, but their population had shot up since their conception of the hand of Dharrox, he who laid out the knights code and bestowed upon them the moral righteousness that was Honor and Chivalry, and gave them form from his own organs. Things were getting tense, as those who argued that the Labyrinth was a sacred place and shouldn't be defiled were forced to defile a few sacred places when they felt their bowls move since all the non-sacred places were taken up with living quarters and such. So the elder gigotaurs had decided to send out a few young knights, to find a place to build a grand place to live outside of the Labyrinth, so that it could be converted to being merely a holy site and place of pilgrimage.
Finding a nice stream, with lots of light filtering through the trees and a large supply of rock nearby, Gharin stopped. "Mine comrades, be not this be the most perfecteth of placereth for our new settlementeth?" he mused.
"Thou's tongue bequeeth showing off even by mine race's standards," Jed joked. "None the less, thou speak true. Let us begin clearingeth the land to make room for our new bastion!"
"Here here!" the other gigotaurs intoned, before they all grabbed up a stone axe and began chopping into the huge trees that lettered the place.
PP Expenditure
1PP - Nourish Populace - The gigotaurs grown greatly in number, and begin to explore outside the Labyrinth.
[5/7]
He danced among them, bells tinkling and voice laughing, high in spirits and great in wisdom. He told of many things, of the pantheon of Gods beyond the creator and the destroyer. Of wars among them, and times of peace too. Of brothers, sisters, husbands, wives... Of how, not as singular they should be revered, though one may be placed higher than the others, but of how they were all beings of great divine might.
He taught the men and women of the fledgling civilisations structure, and order to their worship. He taught them to gather, and work together when they prayed. He made priests, and clerics, men to spread the faith, and to be responsible for it within the community.
And when, in the end, they asked the name of the Laughing figure... He replied with but one word, split into two.
Draemus/Lipsis The name seemed to fall in an echo over both... A dual name, impossible to replicate through a single mortal... Services, from time to time across the year, might be dedicated to the Laughing Man's name, where groups of the faithful would chant both at the same time, desperate to evoke the same feeling obtained on that first day...
4/7 PP, four new days!
1PP +1PP(Second age) Guide: The Glass Titans are given structure to their worship. They gather together to praise Grawlf, and acknowledge the Pantheon as a whole.They are aware of the existence of the Great Court, and of some of the interplay between the Gods that have affected them.
1PP +1PP(Second age) Guide: As above, for the Dhorem.
0/7PP remaining
"Of course! What did you have in mind?" "As of yet, the other worlds beyond this one have no spirits of their own. I thought we might gift them with your kind as well.," the exarch replied. Nodding eagerly, Araiyo came with Ankirega, racing across the starry void in search of their first planet to colonize. Along behind them came numerous other spirits, thick as the life in which they inhabited. Ankirega was surprised to see so many- certainly, there were more below and more coming. The land itself had awoken under their care, it seemed. Of them, he recognized Flowing Current, Great Zephyr, and Wildfather, the last of which was of particular interest to the exarch. Noting his gaze, the panther spirit came to their side, pacing them in their journey to the Isles of Wonder.
"We go to populate the other worlds, then.," Wildfather 'asked', hardly a question at all. Araiyo grinned at him and gave him a playful swat, to which the other spirit growled and pounced at her. The two tumbled in the void, Wildfather seeming to be truly aggressive while Araiyo just laughed and dodged the furiously swiping paws. Ankirega paused and hesistated to jump in, but the two quickly seperated, looking at each other in mutual respect. Ankirega laughed and continued on, and the two soon followed.
Their first stop was the Isles of Wonder, created and populated by Khitis and Eschal, both friends of Ankirega and Brinn. He knew they would appreciate the spirits' presence, even though he saw them nowhere around. He and Araiyo raced through the skys, dodging flying beasts as they went. Sparks of purple light descended, striking various life, which trembled as new spirits were born and joined the multitude around them. Continuing on in their journey, the great host of Verdan spirits continued towards Yrie, some of them staying among the Isles as well as their new indigenous spirits.
Their next stop was Yrie, which Ankirega vaguely recognized and remembered from his battle with Brinn and Sonel on the moon. Ankirega found that the planet was much like Verda, rich in life. However, he could feel other god's presences not too far away, and resolved to not stay long. Other gods had been known to be destroyers, and while Ankirega was not afraid he did not wish to start a conflict either. As they travelled, new spirits rose in the seas and plains below them, before they came to a strange sight- towering titans of some reflective substance, like the wood in The Grotto. Ankirega bade the spirits to stay back from the area, and he and Araiyo went forward to greet the titans. Each took an appropriate size, slightly smaller than the titans themselves.
"Hail! I am Ankirega, who are you?," he said, curious about this race of tremendous creatures.
1 PP: Nourish Populace- Awaken primal spirits on the Isles of Wonde.
1 PP: Nourish Populace- Awaken primal spirits on Yrie.
PP Remaining: 5/7 + 2/2
"Our leader, Karhedron, is gone to the north, but we are the nation of Casaka, the nation of glass. Hail, Ankriega. If I may ask... what are you?"
The titan led the visitors through the city, still mostly large sand and stone domes, but here and there the beginnings of true artistic expression were appearing with glass being worked subtly into the doorways and windows of the domes and the beginnings of experimentations with soaring spires could be seen.
The titan looked with longing at the biggest example of a spire, still ugly by any objective standard, but showing great promise.
"We feel the desire to build towers to the heavens, yet... we are not yet ready. Soon you will have to return back to see Casaka in its full splendor."
The wolf then paused, realizing something about what the titan had just said. "Wait, other peoples? Do you mean that you are not alone on Yrie?"
The titan nodded at the exarch's next question.
"Correct. We know of at least two other races that occupy this world. The Trolls just north of the borders of the desert, to whom our leader is even now speaking with, and the Dhoram, a mysterious race that only our leader and two other titans, both sadly killed in an attack have seen, far to the north, beyond the frigid waters and past where our bodies could normally travel had it not been for Grawlf's protection. Unfortunately, that is all I can tell you about both races, although hopefully soon we will learn more about the trolls."
*
It was told that one day the Goddess came to her people dressed in the oddest of clothes. She wore a wide-brimmed hatt woven from the finest of straw , a linen shirt and linen pants. On her shoulder she wore a scythe and on her lips she wore a smile. With her she brought a new knowledge that would change the way the Dhorem lived their lives.
The stories tell of how the Goddess took out a man and a woman in the forest and showed them a bush of berries. The man´s name was Ourie and the woman´s name was Eviie. The couple began to eat and continued to do so until their bellies were full. As they sat their licking their lips the Goddess asked.
" Would you like to be able to do this tomorrow as well? And the day after tomorrow? And next year? "
The couple nodded and looked at their Goddess with curious eyes as the Goddess smiled.
" Well then, my children...then I will tell you of the art of planting, tending and harvesting. "
The couple returned to the village with their hands filled with berries the day after, but instead of eating them, they instead dug them down in the ground next to a small stream, watered them and tended them for weeks. Soon several bushes filled with finest of berries had grown up from the blessed earth and now the whole village could feast on berries.
It was so the blessed one brought Agriculture to the Dhorem.
Teach Populace 3 PP: Agriculture
"Yes. I have not met any other deities, but our leader Karhedron has met several, and he cautions us to view all such entities warily. Surely you have seen the remnants of the moon circling the planet, yes? Karhedron says that that was the doings of a terrible goddess who looks over the Dhorem and fiercely guards them from any foe. Personally, I am glad that our habitats do not coexist, for I, and many others fear that if our races were to come into contact, it might end in our detriment, for Grawlf, while benevolent to us, does not protect us with nearly the same vigor."
Ankirega thought that perhaps a gift to the glass titans would be a good idea, and thought about it while Araiyo replied. They had impressed him, though they were so different. Was it not the duty of the peaceful peoples to stand together?
The gigotaurs had made great progress since they first set their sights on the unspoiled piece of wilderness. Getting some help from a few of the gigotaurs that had remained in the labyrinth, Narill, Gharin and Jed had successfully converted several hectares of forest into an equal amount of flat ground. It would be unmarked too, if they didn't have to rip the tree trunks out of the ground with their horns to make room to build. That tended to leave a few scars on the land...
The gigotaurs had other things to consider though than a few grass blades dieing and the odd homeless badger. They had cleared the land to build, but... they'd spent their whole lives in an already constructed building. How on Verda were they supposed to build a town, a city even, without having the faintest idea how to go about it?
"I supposeth... we starteth by using wood?" Gharin hazzarded.
"How? Howeth art we supposed to use yonder wood?" Jed asked.
Gharin thought for a moment before answering. "Maybe yonder wood will start building with it's own self if we be giving it mine and thou's instruction?"
The other two gigotaurs just put their heads in their hands.
When gods roam the lands freely, it's hard to determine just what is a religious event, and what's just a bored exarch or god trying to fill in the time. It really is just a matter of perspective. For Honor and Chivalry, wandering few the forest with again nothing to do, stumbling across the gigotaurs was a coincidence, albeit a happy one since they were eager to see how the gigotaurs were doing. For the gigotaurs, this day would always be spoken about, the day that the very incarnations of Honor and Chivalry taught them how to thrive away from home, and show off their inner spirits with outer works.
"What ho, gentlemen?" Honor asked, walking into the clearing with Chivalry in toe.
Now, to understand the gigotaurs reaction, you have to remember that these are the beings that guided them at their ancestor's birth. These are the beings that constructed their home. And the gigotaurs here, being of a younger generation, had never met the exarchs.
So it was understandable when they all promptly tossed their tools aside and bowed down low on the ground, practically eating dirt.
"O...kay?" Honor commented, looking over the bowing group of bull-folk.
"I don't like this at all," Chivalry beamed, basking in the glow of the image of a squad of gigotaurs paying them fealty.
"Oh great Honor and Chivalry!" Narill intone, getting up from the bow to address them on his knees. "Thou payest us a great honor! And noteth just your own self," he half-joked nervously. "What, praytell, doth thou wisheth of us?"
"Not twenty or so virgins," Chivalry attempted to take advantage of the situation.
Needless to say Honor clapped him one behind the ears. "Excuse my brother, he's an idiot. As for why we're here... well we just thought we'd catch up on our favorite worshipers. So, how's it going?"
"In truth, oh great divines, not so good," Jed answered, getting onto his knees as well. "Though we hath cut down yonder trees in our sacred quest to expand, we hath no idea how to begin craftineth a new home for mine self, yonder kinsman, and our kinsman in yonder Labyrinth."
'Why did we make them all talk like this again?' Honor had to think to himself. "Not a problem, we'll just teach you!" he replied out loud, actually excited by the thought.
***
"No no no no no! Do NOT! Put a big stone! On top of a smaller one! Gravity man, gravity!"
"Don't use the chisel to cut that stone into a cube. Don't! I said don't! That doesn't mean do! Oh for the Shadowfell's- Brother! Mind not coming over here and not informing everyone of my little speech impediment?"
"See, if you want it to look like a Labyrinth, you can't think 'straight' or even 'convenient'. Look! Right there, it's a perfect place for an off shooting street. Where does it go to? Nowhere! Wouldn't be a Labyrinth without a few dead ends."
"See, if we don't block off this little bit of the stream, we can't make a little watering hole for everyone. Block off. Yes, we can block off the entire stream, it's not like it'll flood the whole place. Oh SHADOWFELL DAMNIT! I thought Honor didn't explain my whole thing to you! You're not new? Well guess what, you're not fired either! You're not volunteering? Well then don't stop volunteering!"
***
After several months instruction, the gigotaurs had learned the art the Brothers had been hell bent on imparting to them. That is, engineering and stone working. Soon, the gigotaurs had built a grand city, which though completely impractical for anyone without a natural understanding of which way to go in a Labyrinth would serve as a home away from home for the gigotaur people.
"Thou hast helpeth us doeth the impossible!" Gharin thanked the Brothers profusely. "Truly this be the greatest day in the history of mine people sinceth they were created so long ago!"
"Ah shucks, it was nothing," Honor replied.
"It was nothing. No thanks needed. No virgins either," Chivalry added.
"Okay, we better be going before my Brother causes you to lose any and all respect for us," Honor said pensively. "Come on Xidor, I'm feeling antsy to take on a solo-project. I'm thinking a tower, that reaches into the heavens."
"A great idea! I think we shouldn't make a REVERSE tower, that doesn't go into the ground."
"That's a pit, you moron. I am not making a pit."
"And I'm making some cliche tower."
"Oh you are such a-"
And so the Brothers walked off into the forest, leaving behind a people that were now fully equipped to build grand cities in the unspoiled wilderness of Verda. Well, unspoiled beside from the whole man-eating trees and everything of course.
PP Expenditure
3PP - Guide Populace - The gigotaurs learn the art of stone working, especially in regards to architecture.
[2/7]
Karhedron was surprised to see yet ANOTHER god appear before him. He bowed low.
"Ah, my lord. Forgive me, I did not mean to bother one as powerful as yourself. We come from the south and wish to learn more about these people, whom I must assume are your creation. What motivates them? For what do they live? What are their plans for the future? Lord of the heavens, we humble supplicants ask you these things."
Suddenly an idea popped into Ymalos's head. "Hello" said Ymalos in a much more freindly tone. "I am sorry if I sounded rude before. We are suspicious of outsiders. You see, there is another race of humanoids living here and they are foul and savage, constantly raiding our already meager resources. My trolls are not strong enough to fight them off and I am too weak. Would you help us?"
PP:
+1 (new day)
3/7
"Yes, friendship sounds lovely. We cannot travel the stars, nor, truth be told can we explore the whole of our own world, but anything we can offer, we will give to help your people get started here."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Karhedron looked at the god and his eyes narrowed slightly.
"You speak of the Dhorem, do you not? While I do not care for their patron's tactics, I have no quarrel with them. In fact, even if I had the inclination to help you, I could not, for our bodies lose their ability to function that close to the pole. I am sorry that they are vexing you. Perhaps we could help defend your homeland."
Creations of earth and fire,
those of sand and stone,
intelligent races Grawlf did sire,
will one day roam this world.
Race into the heavens above,
run into the lands below!
Discover what you really love,
and find the place you desire!
The spirits the twin wolves had left behind approached, sensing Ankirega and Araiyo working at some form of creation. They hovered behind them for a few moments, and then, inexplicably, they began to sing; some with the voices of birds, some animals, and some no more than wind and rain. The chorus of nature reinforced their song, as Araiyo tapped the Life-Web she was, feeding it's own power into the song.
New creatures will fill the sky,
flaming, soaring, everburning,
keep your hopes forever high,
for you are not alone!
Go, find your place!
Fear not the cold,
and the fire embrace,
as the skies fill with fire!
The divine and natural power of the Life-Web flowed through Araiyo, giving strength to the song as they gave it form. All around them came numerous flying creatures, essentially flying bladders. They drank of the gasses in the air and expelled the waste as fire, that mixed with the fuel within. These new creatures - Saukhya.
0 PP (+1 from Life-Web/Araiyo): Spawn (Lesser): Saukhya, flaming blimp creatures.
3 PP: Teach Populace: Music (O_O)
PP Remaining: 2/7 + 1/2
Leaving his creations for a moment, Khitis decided to modify more islands next. Choosing some suitable asteroids, he called life into being on them, creating a swampy environment. He then called up several creatures to live there: fish that swam in the waters, crocodiles, reminiscent of the drakes, that ate the fish, and an assortment of bugs. He was content for now, but was curious. Just how much time had passed since he had last made contact. He decided to find out, focusing on his amulet.
"Mother? It's me, Khitis," the life god said, sending a message to Brinn.
+ Enough PP to bring me to 7
1 PP - Nourish Land: Khitis creates the Swampy Islands on the Isles of Wonder.
2 PP - Spawn Moderate: Khitis creates several swamp creatures.
4/7 PP Remaining
Tired, Lohak looked out at the world, watching the wing off to join their kin in the hunt. Still so much to do.
PP Expenditures
1 PP - Modify Populace - Change a handful of dragons into Black Dragons
6/7 + 1/1
Sassriss was full for the first time since her creation. So much knowledge! The life web, the nature of Verda, the goddess and exarchs that had spawned these primal spirits... all whirled around in her head. Content, the leech slid off the fox, who... seemed to be curled up and trembling, as though it had some kind of illness. How peculiar, her sucking of its memories shouldn't have caused any damage, nor should have her venom. It was merely a pain killer, after all... although from what she had gathered, these primal spirits were pure representatives of the beauty of nature. Perhaps the foreign and admittedly foul nature of her toxin... no, it couldn't be. Likely it was merely the first primal spirit to contract a cold. Shaking her head, the parasite slivered away into the forest, attempting to find her Master. She had much to tell him.
The fox, once Sassriss had left her perch, lurched woozily to it's feet, still shaking and looking awfully pale. My, how horrible he felt compared to when he'd run through the flowers of Verda on a whim, and chase squirrels for harmless fun! Now he just felt like... felt like he had to... oh Brinn. Wobbling to a nearby creek, the spirit threw up into the river, it's vomit seeming black and foul in nature. The cloud of puke immersed several fish, which writhed in pain before twisting into odd, hunched humanoids of scale and brittle claws, many of which pulled themselves up onto land and breathed the air... before they dried up and had to re-wet themselves of course.
Startled by the nature of his vomit and the foul looking things it had spawned, the fox spirit woozily wandered into the forest, as though putting distance behind him could help him out run whatever foul thing had gotten into his system.
PP Expenditure
1 Spawn PP from Sassriss - Spawn Lesser - The grindylow, fish like amphibious humanoids with claws of bone arise. They are sentient, but they lack the mental cognition to do much more than make crude villages and form loose clans, possibly worshiping the odd mud idol of nothing in particular though the nature of their intelligence makes such worship about as useful as a dirty toothpick.
[3/7, 1/1 Mold]
The titans watched the new animals float across the desert, and in their minds, they began to plan...
Over the next few years, the glass spires were perfected, and the city of Casaka transformed into a shining gem, refracting the light from the sun to be seen across the whole of the southern portion of the continent. From space, through the ring now forming from the remaining rocks of the moon, the city glinted, drawing any visitor towards it like a moth to a flame.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Well, I will leave you to plan, Secret-Keeper. Call on me if you need help."
Ravnos nodded to the other god and sped off in the direction of the isles of wonder, alighting on one of the unpopulated planetoids. At his side, the Codex hummed with potential, nearly shaking free from his hand. He arrived, and snapped his fingers.
Samtaana appeared before him, covered in soot and floating a hammer in front of him.
"Samtaana?"
"Oh, Hi. You fill that new body in really nicely."
"And what are you up to?"
"Oh, this and that. Nothing much... just practicing."
"Um... okay. Hold still. I'm using you as a template. No... stop moving that."
Samtaana froze.
"Thank you."
Ravnos began working quickly, holding the book out before him and calling out words from it, forming them along with his own power into flesh. He began by copying Samtaana's form, large central mass, spindly appendeges. Then, he covered it with flesh. Soon, the great central eye blinked, and in concert, a dozen spindly eyes also blinked, spraying out energies of all sorts left and right. Where those blasts hit, more forms appeared, they in turn spewing out energies which crossed beams with one another forming different varieties of creature. Soon, a host of fleshy Samtaanas floated before Ravnos, and the god continued to read to them from the book, the secreted away pages of good and evil flowing into the conciousnesses of the Beholders before him, making them far less... virtuous than the first-born of the book, the Glass Titans.
"Arise, Beholders, and colonize this land. Multiply and explore." Ravnos said before pointing to the first beholder he had created.
"You, I name Edresti, lead your people to greatness."
3 PP: Guide Populace: Casaka learns the principles of architecture and uses it to build grand glass spires.
2 PP (1 from Codex): Shape Populace(greater): Form Beholders, in all their glory on the Isles of wonder.
(0/7 +1/2 (create) PP
- - - -
The pair of divine wolves nodded and said their goodbyes, wishing the titans the best of luck. Ankirega paused, not far away, to consider his next stop. He knew of Lohak and Grawlf's worlds, though he did not know if they could support the spirits. However, he had neglected one important area thus far. A shimmering silver portal opened in front of him, and he led the spirits through, appearing again on Renissa.
"Go, and populate this plane. Keep it pure and spotless, that all might marvel at it's majesty.," he said, as new spirits even now appeared around them. The sheer abundance of natural energy made Ankirega giddy, and he suddenly broke out into laughter.
"How far have we come since I first was born!," he said, laughing, before leading the Verdan spirits back to their own forest home. The Isles, Yrie, and Renissa were all now seeded with spirits, and barring Lohak's world, that covered everywhere that he knew of. Returning to The Grotto, the multitude of spirits, Araiyo, and Ankirega began singing, simply enjoying life.
The Grotto would become home and haven for many of the Verdan spirits, and within it's deceptively large interior could be held a vast host. The Grotto would become a place of music and beauty surpassing anything elsewhere, with the sheer power of nature all around as the Life-Web watched over all. Araiyo smiled at Ankirega as they pranced about, and the pair laughed anew.
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Awaken Primal Spirits on Renissa.
1 PP: Nourish Populace: The Spirits of Verda claim The Grotto as their 'nation' and gathering grounds.
PP Remaining: 1/7 + 1/2 (Create or Shape)
Khitis was not sure how to feel about the beholders which were currently on one of the barren islands. They were life, true, but they seemed different than anything that had appeared before. Khitis decided that the only thing to do would be to watch the beholders for now, to see what kind of temperament they had.
+ 1 PP (New Day)
5/7 PP Remaining
Heavy panting echoed through the clearing as the fox leaned against the tree. It looked terrible, it's previously glorious red fur fading into a pale greenish white, it's once round and cute frame wasting away into gauntness. It didn't feel good... it felt- a cough wracked the creatures frame, causing a few bits of black bile to jump from it's mouth onto the ground, sizzling away the grass it landed on. Tears of pain appeared in it's eyes at the coughing fit, which when concluded caused him to simply curl up into a ball and shiver with pain and fear. What... was happening to him?!
The truth was, primal spirits were not of flesh and blood in the traditional sense. They were as the wild itself, and responded as such. So, when Sassriss injected her toxin into the poor fox's system, even though it would be completely harmless to an ANIMAL, throwing buckets of the poison around in the forest would have another result entirely. Grass would shrivel and die, trees would stunt and become twisted, animals who drank of it would become addicted, mad, or sick. And as a primal spirit, the fox's body became effected in the same way, twisting, weakening, being sickened. But unlike the wild, the fox had a mind of it's own. It could envy the stronger trees around it. It could want to spread it's misery. It could hate the companions that hadn't been there for it, it could hate the god that had made him in such a way that this was even possible, he could hate the world that rested beneath his feet but did nothing, he could hate... everything...
Screaming with both pain and rage, the fox got to it's feet, feeling the last of it's color fade into the sickly white, feel it's expression turning from a permanent smile to a permanent snarl that if you saw in an alley you'd run the other way, feel it's fat melt away until he was almost as gaunt as a skeleton. And it could feel it's tail ripping itself apart painfully, dividing into six full, white, twisted tails that churned in the moonlight. And he could feel the toxin erase the last bit of his mind that was truly good, turning him into a new being entirely. He was... complete. At last. But he was alone. And alone, he had no chance of spreading his misery to nature.
Walking into the center of the clearing, the fox shouted out into the sky. "Arise, blighted spirits! Arise, the darkest natures has to offer! Those that corrupt, poison, afflict, those who destroy and make mad! Arise, my dark companions, and state your names so the universe may weep at their sound!"
Nearby, there were a copse of blighted trees, their branches drooping from sickness and their leaves falling as they slowly died from the disease. Suddenly, all their leaves suddenly turned to insects, that circled around the tree rapidly, accelerating the process until they were nothing but bark mush. The insects then raced towards the clearing, forming together to form a single, sickening yet oddly seductive monstrosity that twitched it's mandibles as it spoke. "Malady!"
A nearby stream suddenly stopped. Dead still. The water began to stagnate, turning from a life giving liquid to a toxic, deadly line of swamp. Fish began to rise to the surface, stone dead, no longer able to pry precious oxygen from the stilled and stagnant water. From these dead fish arose a spirit that took the skeleton of one as it's form, which swam through the air to the clearing to join it's companions. "Stagnate!"
A group of mushrooms grew on a tree nearby. Deadly mushrooms, all that had taken so much as a nibble ended up spasming in their death throes in mere seconds. What's more, the weight of the mushrooms were beginning to kill the tree, as they leeched off their host for water and form. Suddenly however, the mushrooms simply got up off the tree, and merged together to form... a wolverine? Albeit one that stood on it's hind legs, and had mushrooms for a head and hands. And was somewhat plump... bounding into the clearing, the spirit proclaimed it's name proudly. "Toadstool, boomo!"
The gigotaurs had once cleared a small patch of land to build another settlement, but it turned out the area was too dangerous to support them. However, the ash of their fires still stained the ground, and the earth remained barren and torn up. From this destruction arose a bird, a glowing red-yellow bird that spewed smoke from it's wings as it flew, and who's call seemed to be as the roaring flames and thudding axe all in one. "Cinder!"
Finally, a nearby predator stalked it's prey. But it was not hungry. It had long ago learned the joy that came from the hunt, and now did so all the time for the pleasure of killing, often leaving the meat of it's kill behind to rot while it stalked another target. From this savage madness came forth a spirit of an equally savage looking bear, blood staining it's claws. It's roar as it entered the clearing made all predators within hearing range go mad and lash out at all around with raw fury, and seemed to be composed of all the primal things men feared. "Bloodfrenzy!"
"And from this day forth, I shall be the wild heart of freedom that embodies every living thing. The guiding hand that leads a dog faithful for decades to suddenly rip out it's masters throat. I shall now be called... Twist," the fox spoke. "Now, my blighted spirits... my spirits of all that is terrible in nature, or leads to it's destruction... we have a lot of work ahead of us! This world is pure and green, which should not be! Brothers and sisters, let us let this world know that we are no longer content to live with it, but are now intent to make it in our own image!"
The blighted spirits cheered. And Verda wept.
PP Expenditure
1PP - Modify Epic Populace - Modify the Primal Spirits into Blighted Spirits, spirits that embody the absolute worst of nature and all of it's banes.
- - - - -
Back in the Grotto, Araiyo lifted her head as she felt trees outside being slowly snuffed out. It did not feel like an attack, it was precise. Looking to Ankirega, the pair left suddenly, appearing just outside the clearing the gigotaurs were cutting. Looking beyond, Ankirega saw the entrance to an underground area, and remembered the twin exarchs having came this way. Had they created life themselves?
The two towered over the trees, as tall as any of the gigotaurs as they approached, Ankirega growling. "For what purpose are you killing the forest?!," he demanded.
- - - - -
Meanwhile, the Blighter Spirits found the natural, healthy spirits of Verda rising up against their corruptive creation, and the abominations that they were. Foremost among them were Rootmother and Wildfather, the latter immediately lunging for Malady, his paw glowing purple as it vaporized a large number of the insects. He fought like a creature possessed, tearing Malady apart. Rootmother lumbered in behind Twist, then suddenly re-appeared in a cloud of flying dirt near Stagnant as she too went psychotic on the blighter spirits.
All around, the endless host of primal spirits lashed out with their own powers; bolts of fire and waves of ice, storms of rock and spears of pure life energy. Though many fell to the corrupt spirits, they came on in a constant flood, pressing them endlessly.
It was then that an odd sensation began to spread across her forehead. She reached up, and with a gasp of surprise, felt two tiny nubs there. She drew her hand down, and for a second, blinked at it, as if trying to clear something from her eye. She strained to focus upon her hand, which was sliding in and out of an odd blurriness. And then she gasped once more. A terrible force seemed to rip across her belly. She pulled aside her garments and found there an odd swelling. And right in the centre of her belly, there was an odd, greenish-yellow bruise. She let the material fall back down, and groaned, placing her hand upon her face. She pulled it down quickly when she felt the nubs. Then she gazed into the shard of the Past-Viewer, and pondered the terrible portents now swirling about her.
Then she noticed something flicker upon the mirror, something relfecting over her shoulder. She spun around and saw it. A tiny tear in the sky, no more than a finger's breath in length. She moved slowly over, and peered at it. It burned brightly like a dancing flame, but when she touched it, she felt no pain. She felt, then, for the edges of the tear, and began to pull. Wider and wider it got, until she could fit and arm, her head, her torso, and finally her whole body through. Then it snapped shut, and she gazed around, and familiar feeling settling around her swollen navel. Fire and wind and water danced in an endless frenzy about her, Chaos incarnate. She smiled, and went forth, searching for her father's dominion in this crazy swirl of colours and lashing elements.
"You are so hard to get some time to talk to, you know that?"
+2 PP: 2 Days
-3 PP: Staff of Dreams. It now provides +1 Guide PP.
[0/7 PP]
The gigotaurs ceased working, raising their heads at the approach of... wolves? But humongous, gigantic wolves! Although somehow, they seemed... safe. Not safe as in 'not going to eat us' but more safe as in 'won't eat us if we don't do anything worth being eaten for'.
Deciding to speak for all, a single gigotaur placed down the trunk of a cut down tree and walked towards the wolves, bowing in greeting. "Hail, wolves. I know now what be your nature, or whethereth you be comrade or villain, but I welcome you to our home regardless. So long as you obey the code layeth forth by the great Dharrox, of course. As for whateth mine kinsman and mine self be doing, we are clearing this place of trees so that we may buildeth ourselves a home where they stood before."
***
"Damnit, they got Malady!" Twist cried, lashing out at a bunch of the enemy with his tale and evaporating the lesser spirits in one blow. "This cursed world has more sentinels than I remember!"
"Boomo! We have to keep fighting, boomo!" Toadstool called back. "If we don't, nature will win, boomo! And if nature wins, blight goes away, boomo!" He let loose a punch with his oddly fist like fungal hands, knocking a spirit aside.
"This situation seems unsalvageable," Cinder noted calmly, blowing a pillar of fire at a group of the spirits, incinerating them and several acres of forest.
"Come on, take it like a man and just slaughter the punks!" Bloodfrenzy roared, swiping his claws at one of the greater spirits, which unfortunately dodged, though he sliced through several lesser ones for his trouble.
"Calm down, we can handle this. We just need to keep calm, and analyze the situation for a solution," Stagnate added his thoughts, entrapping a wide sweep of spirits in toxic bubbles that bled away their essence as they were cut off from air and earth.
"Right, everyone, just... keep fighting," Twist ordered, flipping around to take a bite out of Wildfather before leaping back before the counter attack. "As long as this is all they're throwing at us, we can still-"
A nearby roar indicated the cavalry had arrived for Verda.
"What now, boomo?!" Toad stool asked in a panic.
"How the hell should I- okay, just... run! Run for your lives! Into the void my siblings!" the fox called, before taking it's own advice and disappearing in a smog that smelt of rotted vegetation. The other spirits stood stunned for a few moments that they had been so thoroughly thrashed so early in their creation, before disappearing after their creator.
"Oh Grandfather, a terrible tragedy has occured!"
- - - - -
The spirit's numbers were quickly depleted on the battlefield, but with the upcoming arrival of Cragnas and the rockwood elementals, the blighters realized their position and turned to flee. Snarling, Wildfather leapt after them, grabbing hold of Twist's back paw and following him through the portal, biting hard.
The other spirits stood behind, less inclined to chase the fleeing destroyers.
These beasts seemed to have some recall of his god... how interesting. Maybe they lived by the code as well? They seemed upstanding enough, so they must. "Mine name be Moriz," the gigotaur introduced himself. "So wouldst thou be members of another kin that doth inhabit this world? We be the only race we hath encounter so far, me and mine kinsman that is."
***
Oh dear Brinn, that bite hurt! Having reappeared above Verda in the void, the fox kicked hard at the panthers face, managing to dislodge him from Twist's paw. "Damn insufferable spirit, you're going to pay for that!"
Whipping around his tails like a whip, Twist hit Wildfather firmly on the jaw, knocking him on a route to Toadstool. Toadstool then whacked him firmly with both arms, knocking the primal spirit on a collision course with the planet below.
"Do you think he'll live, boomo?" Toadstool asked.
"Who cares. Come on, we need to find a new place to reside. Preferably one where the entire planet doesn't mobilize against you the moment you knock down a few trees," Twist replied bitterly, floating off into the void with his companions in his wake.
- - - - -
Wildfather plummeted to the ground, snarling even while mostly unconcious. He twisted back and forth as if trying to tear Twist's leg off before slamming into the ground. His physical form dispersed upon impact, and he blacked out. Rootmother looked around at the damaged forest, and marshalled the other spirits to begin repairs. Those blighted spirits would likely return some day, she knew. Brinn must be warned.
PP Remaining: 1/7 + 1/2
Moriz rubbed his shaggy chin thoughtfully. "Mayhaps 'twould be good to get along with thine neighbors, so to speaketh. If thy people art of the forest, than we art intruding in your house. It 'twould not be following the code if we were to not follow thy's rules. Wait, thy art an exarch? Like the sacred Brothers who doth teached us how to worketh stone? Then it is a great honoreth to meet thou!" Moriz ended, bowing down low on the ground. A liiiiittle less deeply than the gigotaurs had done for the Brothers some time ago, but still low enough they could graze while doing it if they wanted.
***
The Silent One, absent of company for the moment, decides to take this rare opportunity to vanish into the void, choosing a remote place that was still close enough to the majority of creation for his purpose. Bringing out the black tooth, the Silent One toyed with it in his fingers, wondering how he was to get his world out.
Zo-Att breathed into the air, and a black smoke came out. The last time she did this, it formed Raithon, who was promptly eaten. Instead, the smoke branched out into 13 different paths, and formed indentical figures (even if smaller) as Zo-Att. The only difference is that rather than a monochrome black, these creatures had a sparkling array of red scales. When they were completed, the creatures spread off to bring misery to anything that angered them for whatever reason. All they knew was how to eat, mate, and destroy.
+4 PP new days
-2 PP shape populace - Wrath Dragons
[5/7]
Need not bow? What madness was this! But if a divine ordered it, then he had to obey, right? When the female wolf mentioned the code though, he stood tall and proud, even puffing his chest out. "The code is the moral backbone of our kin, the silver sword that doth descendeth from the heavens for the destined knight, honor and chivalry given simple words to liveth by. It iseth the very essence of our being! Those who doth not follow the code art aberrants, and to be abhorred! Those that follow doth be exalted! It is written thusly." The gigotaur then recited the code, word for word, in a tone that suggested he had done it many times before.
Finished, Moriz sighed in contentment, before smiling with an almost spiritual smile at the wolves. "Thus do our people liveth, and thus do we thrive. Doth this forest have a different code to the one we doth live by?"
Araiyo laughed at his discomfort. "Let us teach these people something of our ways, brother!" Laughing the two launched into a duet in perfect harmony.
Welcome, friends from below!
We welcome you, are glad to see
noble kin, to hear your mighty bellow!
Hold to your principles, mighty kin!
The ways of the forest and those of yours,
are similar, that is most sure!
Build your halls, build your people's core,
and know that friends stand near.
The two wolves grinned at each other before launching into the third verse.
Thy goeth with mine fulleth approval,
with thine hands buildeth works of wonder,
and goeth in peace amongeth thine world full,
striketh with truth in thine mighty blades!
Of our kin, we giveth you song!
Of your kin, you giveth us hope!
With our noble kin in harmony along,
forever thine and mine be friends!
The entire gigotaur encampment stopped and stared a the wolves as they sang, feeling the notes pull at their very soul. "That be... very incarnation of mine and mine kins chivalry!" Moriz shouted with glee. "Thy song, it pulls as mine essence, it maketh me want to... maketh me want to...
"Thanketh you for thine own gift,
Of beautyeth and song,
Now we hath naught a rift,
An' can easily get along,
We doth be creatures of honor strong,
Of chivalry and pride,
But now we hath the gift of song,
To accompaneth the code we do abide!
So thanketh thee for thou's own muse,
For teaching us how to express,
How with honor we shalt never lose,
And always do our best!"
The gigotaur made a gracious bow, both in thanks and as a punctuation to the end of his... slightly mooed song.
((The Gigotaurs have learned to sing through cultural exchange))
Spirits of earth, river, fire, wind suffer!
The forest trembles under their touch,
the destroyers who currupt everything!
We pray for the help of those above,
and hope for the healing of the forest,
help us, Ankirega and Araiyo!
Confused, the two looked at each other. Was this a song or a message? If the forest had been attacked, shouldn't Araiyo have noticed earlier? She looked to the minotaurs. "I'm sorry, but something has happened. We will return when we can." The two wolves then raced off after some of the spirits, as the others remained near the gigotaur encampment. They soon found the blasted battleground, and Rootmother standing in the middle of it, coaxing life out of the earth. She looked up as the exarch and spirit approached, and nodded to them. "Spirits corrupted. Many lost, Wildfather wounded." She gestured towards the void above, though neither of the wolves saw anything. They looked at each other, truly confused. "Corrupted spirits...?" Araiyo whispered.
Quickly Sonel conjured up a comfortable bed for Brinn to lie on and prepared a small bed for the child that hung in the air near the edge of the bed. He wasn't sure how this process would be carried out, but was sure that the delivery would go off without a hitch. He placed his hand on Brinn's belly as she reclind and felt it kick a second time. And then a third. And then two kicks at once. ?! There was more than one child in there...
"Brinn it seems we might be having two children instead of one. Hang in there."
This posted has been editted for content to protect the eyes of the innocent. Have a nice muffin day.
Turning to the other, he frowned. "I don't know you. I suggest you leave before either I get angry, or this land's guardian shows up. He is a vicious beast, and will unleash the void of existence itself upon you."
"Oh, please listen, what I must announce is of terrible import, and 'twould be an awful tragedy were you not to hear it."
Sha paused for a second, suddenly choked up.
"It is m-mother, Bel, she-she..."
But it seemed she could not continue. Tears were flowing rapidly down her cheeks, and she was wiping her eyes repeatedly with her sleeve. Harsh sobs wracked her whole body."
"Zo-Att, terrible Zo-Att... k-killed her..."
The last came out almost a whisper, but still it proved the catalyst for her breakdown, and she succumbed to the tears and the sorrow. In between the sobs, she managed to eke out a few words.
"S-she b-broke the mirror s-so y-you c-couldn't see... a-and... she ch-changed the stars... I witnessed it a-all, s-so she kn-knew... she w-wanted to d-discredit me..."
She looked up at Lohak with sad eyes.
"P-please h-help m-me, for m-mother's s-sake..."
His pointed skyward. "If you intend to stay, feel free. I would like to see just how effective Visgara is against other gods, and you will serve well enough as any."
"My mother thought you loved her, I suppose you don't, I suppose she was all alone in the world."
She gazed defiantly at Lohak.
"She told me of your great fatherly instinct, your desire to protect family at any costs. It seems she was mistaken. A true father would come running at even the slightest word. My mother... w-would h-have come r-running.."
And once more she burst into tears, with a defiant look up at Lohak, she spat right in his face. Then, with wild abandon, she fled, sadness making her gait uneven.
His gaze narrowed s she turned to flee. "If your mother needed help, she'd have called me herself. We share fire, and nothing I know of could prevent her calls from reaching me."
"And what makes you think I'd even go to you for help, daddy dearest?"
As she prowled forward, her beauty, her clothes, her body, sloughed off, revealing crimson skin beneath. Her nubs had grown to form full horns, and her belly was more swollen than ever. Bel stepped forward, eyes burning bright, essence shining forth, unmistakeably identifying her as none other than her father's daughter.
"Obviously you don't care a damn about me, you probably won't even believe it's me here, talking to you.
She stopped, fury burning in her eyes.
"But you know what? I don't care, because you aren't my father, you never really were, you are a coward and a filthy liar, and I hate you."
She spat the last words at him, fury and revulsion etched in every line of her young face.
She crossed her arms angrily.
"But if you must know, it was that Zo-Att, she stole my body. That's why I wasn't sure who I could trust, who would believe me."
She cast a scathing look at Lohak at this. She pondered for a moment whether or not she should reveal what she knew about Dharrox. She decided against it and instead glared at Lohak.
"So if you're done pissing me off, I have more important things to do."
Growling, he vanished with a blast of flame, seeking Zo-Att's presence.
"We are the creations of Ravnos, great one."
Karhedron looked at the god and his eyes narrowed slightly.
"You speak of the Dhorem, do you not? While I do not care for their patron's tactics, I have no quarrel with them. In fact, even if I had the inclination to help you, I could not, for our bodies lose their ability to function that close to the pole. I am sorry that they are vexing you. Perhaps we could help defend your homeland."
Ymalos's mood swung yet again. "Fine then." He shouted are Karhedron "If you will not help us then begone from here!" And with that, Ymalos stalked off, motioning his trolls to follow him.
________________________________________________________________________________
Ymalos was in a terrible mood. His attempt to gain power over the strange beings had failed terribly. His influence was still stuck on the northern continent of Yrie. He needed a race that could travel the cosmos. Then he had an idea. He turned to the nearest troll and told him to go get him a live dhorem. When it arrived, Ymalos waved his hand and the struggling dhorem froze in place. Then Ymalos started to change the dhorem. First he touched her arms and huge musles began to appear wear weak flesh had been. Then he changed her hair to black and made her teeth razor sharp. Finally, he linked her mind with his. Then he snapped his fingers and a hundred of the appeared. Ymalos called out to them and said "I name you the maenads. You are my closest worshippers and you will spread slaughter and carnage through out the universe. You will be there wherever there is death! Now go out and kill!" Then he snapped his fingers again and thousands more appeared. The newly made dhorem stumbled around for a little while then one by one, vanished into the universe.
PP:
+1 (new day)
+1 (new day)
2PP Greater shape populace: Maenads (divine servants)
3PP Nourish populace x3: Maenads.
0/7
PP Expenditure
+3 new days
6/7 + 1/1
"I merely wanted to greet you, and see who you are when you are not angry and murderous. You certaintly are hard to keep up with."
He then turned, and returned the the Isles of Wonder, intending to see how the Quori were getting on.
+1 PP: New day
[1/7 PP + Guide]
The Silent One sighed. Screw it, he couldn't think of a better option than this one, and it SHOULD work... if not, he'd just hunt down and kill Bel for making him do it, then create a new Shadowfell. Though to be frank he was half tempted to hunt down and kill Bel on general principal, she'd been nothing but a thorn in his side since she was created. Admittedly they hadn't exchanged more than a few words, but she'd swallowed his entire world, he was justified in being a little... the Silent One suddenly realized he'd have to be the first entity in creation to use the word 'stabby' as an emotion.
Tightening his grip on the tooth, the Silent One tossed it into the void, before unleashing a crippling blast of dark energy at it, shattering it in midair and releasing... nothing. Or so it seemed. As it always seemed when looking at the Shadowfell, but he could feel it calling to his soul, resonating with his very essence. Ah, to think he once tried to eliminate this link, now it was as comforting and desirable as watching two gigotaurs attempt to kill each other over a stolen stick. Vanishing through the protective veil, the Silent One looked about him. Everything seemed to be the same... thankfully. Any intelligent races on the world would probably have been driven mad if they realized what had happened to them, but fortunately the Shadowfell had been barren of any such-
Oh. Shadow. Fell. Damn. It! Vanishing into the heart of the world, the Silent One looked down on a simpering and whimpering Failure, that seemed to not respond to any stimuli he sent down the link they shared. It seemed his little project had a hit a dead end... or had it? Even Failure itself was worthless, maybe... just maybe...
PP Expenditure
2PP - Decreate Artifact - The Shadowfell is reclaimed from the black tooth.
[1/7, 1/1 Mold]
She then felt a divine presense approaching her. She turned around expecting Ymalos, Maibe, or perhaps even Bel, but it was her brother that she saw instead. Her mouth formed into a toothy grin as she said,
"Why, hello there brother. To what do I owe this pleasure?"
Now the Iron Lord, the Sorrowing Prophet looked down upon his world. Vast forests, hundreds of meters high stood, stock still. Grass did not wave, and not a ripple marred the surface of his lakes and exposed aquifers. A soft twilight glow bathed it all.
Shaking his head, Nenneve wept more tears of blood and mucus, sliding down to stain his iron torso. His world did not rival that of the other gods. In what way his land, Ninevah, as he chose to call it, less beautiful, less majestic that their lands? Ah, perhaps it lacked wind and weather, the rain of water that beget all life.
Nenneve slowly stroked the world, brushing its atmosphere into motion. Soon vast storms of wind arose, leaving the once perfect sphere blotchy and strange. Slowly, slowly, the wind storms died down, the forest recovered from the root shaking winds and the savannas shed the deluge of water. Ninevah shone now, full of riotous growth and life.
This was a paradise, and from his template of Ninevah, his first world, the Sorrowing Prophet would remake the universe in its image.
PP
Nourish Land- 3PP
The place radiated a sort of unnatural calm, pleasant and soothing to the mind, a sensation that grew stronger when the god moved closer to his mortal skeletons, apparenlty the bones has retained some connection with his own power and mortal beasts was attracted to them when they felt that their death was near.
Many of the Tos'Arai was there, leading hundred of souls to the World on the River. Too many tought Eshcal, he did not want his wardens to be evident to mortal eyes, "I'll need something to conceal them"... he tought, taking inspiration from the winged forms of his wardens he created a new race of small flying creatures, Crows, Vultures and other carrion flyers, as the Tos'Arai will carry the soul away the carrions will devour the bodies, allowing to the Tos'Arai to hide among them using their shapeshifting abilities.
Satisfied by his new creations Eshcal stood in the vast clearing, watching the souls depart with their winged caretakers...
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Meanwhile, not far from the god, in the forest the Twins was hiding, while the wind spirits, sensing their link with Eshcal was gentle and caring toward them their mortal cousins, the stormfang behemoths, only view them as potential preys or competitor for the island hunting grounds.
A few month after their birth they had grown up at an extremely quick rate, turning into a couple of strong and slender reptilian humanoids, with a long tail, that they both used to achieve an almost perfect balance, their dark blue scales was extremely flexible but strong enough to resist against the horns or fangs of the greater predators. At first their mother pack have greeted them, however soon the harsh rules of life among the stormfang behemoth proved to be too dangerous for the two young sons of Eshcal, without the strenght of their "cousins" they could not be good hunters and they "smelled differently" to their pack...
The twins lived together, alone for a long time, surviving the harsh isles of wonder with just the other as companionship, Evshan, who had a more wishfull and contemplative mind than Sarriss and wanted more company, after a few years asked his sister to help him stealing the eggs of their mother, that never hatched, in order to bring to life other of their kind.
At first she rejected the idea, she was a little jelous of her brother and did not really want to share him with others, her more practical mind also made her fear that a larger group will attract the attention of more stormfangs and make their lives harder.
However after a while Evshan managed to convince his sister...
During the dark of night, when a powerful storm was again raging in the sky, lulling the behemoths with its screaming wind and lightnings and giving to the twins the courage they needed to attempt the theft. The nest was almost abandoned but the mother always slept nearby, even if no egg hatched she still somehow hoped for her sons to be born, Sarris and Evshan sneaked among the sleaping lizards, their hart racing, as even the slightiest mistake could wake the beasts and cause a swift death for them... Many times they was almost discoverd by the lizards, or one that movement in the sleaping form of a behemoth filled them with fear, however in the end they was successfull, the two twins recovered the eggs.
For many days and night they tried to have them hatch, however every time they failed, frustration begun to take hold in Evshan mind, while his sister still tried he was faster to despair and change his mind about the eggs. For a while they even tought of mating to produce offsprings and to fulfill their common attraction, however something in the back of their mind made they think that there was something wrong with that kind of toughts...
Meanwhile their mother had found out the theft and, with her pack, begun looking for the twins scent, guided by her powerful instinct and desire to have her offspring back...
It was a cloudy day when the pack found the hidehout of the twins, Sarris spotted them when they was still far, they could still escape, however not carrying the weight of the eggs. While Evshan has almost lost interest in them, finding the idea of mating more attractive now, she has taken care of the eggs and did not want to abandon them...
She told her brother that she was going to stay there, Evshan however will not allow his sister to stay and face the behemoth alone, unable to convince her with words, he tried to force Sarris to follow...
Unable to strike at her brother, knowing that he was acting only to protect her, she did not resist him, however looking one last time at the eggs before leaving she attempted something desperate.
She simply asked, to any superior power that was listening to help them, the first real prayer that Ehscal has ever recieved, the 1001 winds and Tos'Arai were made of his own essence and while their faithful loyalty empowered him it was much weaker than that simple call... "Help us" he heard, he could not locate the origin of that simple request, nor he knew how he could help, however he could somehow feel how important was that "help" for the praying creature...
He chanelled a little of his power toward the unknown being, Eshcal found out that it was extremely easy, as his own blood flowed in Sarris and her brother.
In front of the astonished twins the eggs begun to hatch en masse, giving birth to many new creatures, while their mother pack reached the hidehout, Evshan and Sarriss was too entranced to care, however the beast could see what was happening too, or maybe she sensed Eshcal presence among the eggs, deciding to leave the twins and their younger brothers and sisters alone and unharmed...
PP (3/7) +0 Shape +1 Guide.
1 PP Mold Land, the Plain of Bones, a large boneyard created around Eshcal mortal body.
1 PP Create Artifact, God Bones, Eshcal mortal form remnants they have some connection with death and wind, as no mortal nor god has yet wielded them their power is unknown...
1 PP Spawn, Heroic Carrion flying creatures (Vultures and Ravens mostly)
2 (1 from Sarris) Shape Populace (superior) - Aszhari, Eshcal semi divine sons and nephew, they are a reptilian race of extremely arrogant hunters that recharge their own internal heat and supernatural power by absorbing lightnings (wiki page with more info and If I have time a few posts coming tomorrow)
+1 PP (New Day)
6/7 PP Remaining
There had been life. There had also been death, and even war. All three of these aspects could very well be corrupted. Life could be twisted, war could be incited, and even death could be manipulated. However, before he set out into the world, he would need something to help him. His heart was gone, stolen. But, he needed something to manipulate life. Thus, he created a whole new gem, very similar to the Heart of Corruption, but was instead red, and had a different purpose. Rather than corrupt the land, this would corrupt the very minds of living creatures. It was... the Mind of Corruption.
Now, it was time for action. He went to a small, blue planet, which he didn't know at the time was called Yrie. He knew there had been bloodshed here, and death, within the past 200 years. Sure, the corpses would be rotted and mostly gone by now, but what was left would suffice. Drawing the pure corruption within him, he was able to pull a mostly skeletal body from below the earth. It was an interesting specimen. He had never seen anything like it, and little did he know he was using the corpse of a Dhormen, and little did he know that he risked enraging other gods. But even if he did know, he wouldn't of cared.
And so, using the corruption within him, he transformed the skeletal body into something living, but a mockery of life. It was a hideous, unthinking thing, but Sku'Byss thought it was beautiful, and knew its potential. But for now, he would have to think as to what exactly to do with his newest 'creation'.
3 PP Create Artifact: The Mind of Corruption, which provides 1 Guide PP.
1 PP Spawn Beast: Create a skeleton.
[4/7 PP]
Zo-Att looked a bit confused. For some reason this conversation seemed so familiar. She remembered when she attacked Sonel, this is what Grawlf looked like when he questioned her. Perhaps a logical explanation would serve just as well for this.
"If you weren't aware, dear brother, Bel ate me. I actually enjoy being free, so I did whatever I could to escape. And it just so happened to be that the easiest way to escape was taking control of her. Unfortunately, her body is gone. Ymalos tore it open. So I can't help you there."
Zo-Att glided toward the surface of Yrie trying very hard not to grin.
Arise, Leviathans! Look upon your creators!
Dozens of finned heads suddenly broke the surface of the toxic water -- well, toxic to others anyway. Hrinori had ensured that her creations could stand the deadly poison as a lesser animal might comfortably withstand a warm breeze.
They were humanoid, perhaps 8 feet in height, though there existed no obvious physical or sexual differentiation between them. Their bodies were sleek and hydrodynamic, though only the long fin on their head, coming down nearly to their waists, was webbed; their hands and feet were fully opposable, the one for grasping and holding tools, the other to ensure the ability to walk normally on land. Their skin was a bright blue, with swatches of white around their midruff, shoulders and thighs.
They begain to call out in gurgling voices at the Exarch. Hrinori smiled, pleased.
You I name Thetis -- lead your people to prosperity. Go forth and prosper, my creations.
PP Expenditure.
-2 Spawn Populace (epic) -- Fulrit creates the Leviathans (1 from Fulrit)
-2 Guide Populace -- Hrinori compels the Leviathans to form a the nation of Symmos, led by a Leviathan named Thetis.
+1 new day
5/7 + 0/1
They began to win ground.
+2 new days
-3 create artifact - The Demon Forge (nourish PP)
-1 nourish populace - The Demons increase in number.
[3/7]
The Silent One looked over the new construction, idley wiping a finger across the glass. The Brothers had done a good job on the thing... where before the center of the Shadowfell was completely empty but for Failure, now the creature was connected through wires to an odd, glass thing, reinforced with adamantine braces and shutters. Inside the glass was a pale green liquid, clear enough to see the right arm of Failure bubbling inside of it. Needless to say this meant that Failure was now an arm short, causing a pale puss to bubble out from the empty socket and splatter onto the earth every now and again.
" I must hand it to you, despite your occasional childishness you two truly are talented builders," the Silent One complimented his exarchs. "With this, even with Failure incapacitated, I can continue the anti-god weapon as planned. Even better than I'd originally planned, in fact."
"We don't need your compliments," Chivalry replied.
"Thanks so much boss," Honor added.
"Yes yes... now, I've had a burst of inspiration regarding one of the worlds we've worked on before, but in order to fulfill the idea we need to find Sassriss. Honor, Chivalry, if you wouldn't mind would you look for her? I have to inform the Sculptor that the Shadowfell has been recreated."
"Boss yes boss!" The Brothers replied in unison... well, obviously Chivalry put a no instead of a yes, but you get the idea.
Teleporting out of the Shadowfell, the Silent One looked around it with it's several eyes and realized that he couldn't sense where the Sculptor was. How peculiar... she must be in some kind of demi-plane or something, or perhaps was simply concealing her power so she wouldn't be found. Whatever the case, he decided he would merely wander the void for a time, hoping to bump into her, before continuing on one of his many schemes.
PP Expenditure
1 Mold PP from Brothers - The Glass Womb - The Brothers create a glass construct for the Silent One's new anti-god weapon project
[2/7]
A stray sight caught the Silent One's eyes, causing them to frown in thought. A godling... one he wasn't familiar with if he recalled correctly. Though he confessed the agony of ripping his own soul apart made his memory a little splotchy in places... the gods essence seemed dark however. Very dark, almost as dark as his own. That was hardly an indication of the character of the god, after all the Sculptor was his strongest ally yet had little her essence that was overtly dark. But the Silent One figured that as long as his cover was blown, he might as well chat to the god in his own guise. Besides which, it would add credence to the fact that he and Dharrox were two separate entities... always have an alibi.
Teleporting suddenly to the god's side (he had no idea why so many gods insisted on floating everywhere...), the Silent One looked him over from about seven different eyeballs before speaking. "Greetings godling. I don't believe we've met, though your essence seems somewhat familiar... ah yes, I sensed some of your work on Verda. I admit, you did a good job corrupting some of its essence."
Lohak stopped in his tracks, recalling his fight with Dvrgr. TGhat could easily occur to him if he wasn't cautious. He thought of it again and nodded. Of course. Tapping into the core of his being, he drew forth a new form of metal, harder than anything that hard previously existed, the physical manifestation of his own will, surrounding and protecting him in a metal shell that conformed to his body.
Armed and armored now, Lohak called out. "Ymalo, shop yourself!"
PP Expenditures
2 PP - Create Artifact (Moderate) - Combat artifact to be named later
I should go check on them... see what Karhedron is up to, He thought to himself. He had meant to return there earlier, but had gotten distracted. His next stop, he resolved, would be to return there.
But for now... he reached out with his arms and grasped the beholder and... squeezed, molding the beast like some form of flesh-colored clay. The eyestalks disappeared, replaced with strong arms and legs of the same mottled grey, while the single central eye shrunk and moved upwards into a proper head, followed by the mouth, which also shrunk considerably. With a wave of his hand, the form was doubled, then doubled again, then doubled a third and fourth time. Soon, a new race stood before him.
The Cyclopsi.
Ravnos looked up as he felt something stir within him. Something was going to happen... and soon.
He left the Isles of wonder and began moving towards Yrie.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Samtaana had arrived on Yrie to help the Casakans build their city. Casaka rose up to the heavens, a gem of glass and sandstone spires. The Titans had learned how to mix certain other items into the glass to color it, and the city seemed perpetually bathed in patterns of red and golden light filtering through the glass. In the center of the city, a great pyramidal structure was being created, made of fused bricks of Sandstone and coated with a shimmering rainbow of colored glass. At its top, Samtaana was working on a gigantic glass lens, easily fifty feet across, and worked in such a way that it could catch light at any angle and direct it in the direction the lens was pointing. He was not certain, but he saw no reason why it could not direct the energy of the desert heat anywhere on the planet, or likely beyond, bathing the area in either the destructive power of the desert inferno or providing just enough extra energy to allow the land to flourish under the gentle beams of a second sun.
1 PP: Modify Populace: Beholders give rise to the race of the cyclops!
3 PP (1 from Samtaana): The Lens of Casaka: Gigantic Lens that focuses the power of the sun to do the Casakan's bidding. Too slow to use in combat, it provides nourish/denourish PP.
0/7 PP +0/2 PP
The Silent One chuckled to himself. Another god who shared his vision, at last in part... so precious few these days. Or any days, light always seemed to overwhelm shadow in this accursed universe. "I'd be more than happy to give you some advice. I'm no stranger of walking the precipice between life and death. You could say it's a hobby of mine..." Behind idly plotting for a universe seeped in darkness and thinking up ways to kill those who crossed him. Have to keep busy when you're immortal, after all.
Assuming Sku'Byss takes the Silent One to see the skeletons, the Silent One chuckles once more. "I'm sorry, Sky'Byss, but I've beaten you to the punch on these creatures that walk the line between life and death. I created the first undead before you were even created, and have made another variety after that. Though I confess that chronologically speaking the first undead predated even my efforts... none the less, coming across the idea independently is something to be proud of."
Rubbing his chin, the Silent One thought of what they could do with these creatures... no, with all undead. "Hm, perhaps we should find a way to link these undead together, so they are no longer merely shambling corpses. A leader, so to speak, to give them purpose, and to spread their ilk. Mayhaps... a new god?"
PP
+1 (new day)
+1 (new day)
2/7
He carried with him a book, that seemed to not need his mouth to speak, but addressed the crowd itself, its words floating in the air as it spoke. Though the Dhorem and the Titans knew not the nature of the book, they listened to its instruction...
+4PP for new days!
-3PP, Greater Artifact: Book of the Ways. A book of how to correctly worship the pantheon, and tales of the Gods. The Glass Titans and teh Dhorem have copies of the book, but they possess no magical power beyond that which a simple holy symbol might. The Book of the Ways provides a PP for guide.
1/7PP remaining
As the god appeared, Lohak snatched out with two hands, grasping Ymalso by the throat. Struggling to maintain his grasp in the god, he felt a spear strikie him three times, peircing his armor before he hefted his hammer, smashing it into Ymalos's gut, before lifting it up for a second strike, catching him across the brow.
Lifting up the almost unconcious god, he stared into his face. "You damaged my daughters body. Where is it?"
Listening about how a strange object had come and dragged it away, Lohak nodded and cast Ymalos towards Yrie. "In the future, think twice about attacking someone you don't know."
Moving away from Yrie, he doubled over. "Zo'Att. It seems I wasn't careful enough. Could you help me into the chaos."
Zo-Att wrapped around her brother and transported the two of them into the Elemental Chaos.
"Huh. I had the strangest feeling I was needed..."
looking around, he did not spot anyone, so instead, he went to Vedra. Perhaps Brinn would be around to say hello to.
Truth to be told the Goddess of Light used the book to track it´s owner down. She appeared in front of him with the book held in a tight grip.
" Good day, Sire...I don´t think I have had the pleasure of meeting you yet, My name is Maibe...and I have notice that you have been poking around in my lands. I would prefer that you stopped with that. "
Her tone was cold but polite enough.
Sku'Byss closed his eyes, willing some of his power to leave his body. The power materialized as a small, dark purple orb. He gave his power to the Silent One.
1 PP Given to the Silent One.
The Silent One took the proffered power, looking at it carefully while jiggling it in one hand. "Interesting texture," he noted idly, before absorbing the power into his own being, thinking of what he needed to do.
He had to be fairly quick. If his mishap with Failure had taught him anything, it was not to hold a foreign power for too long. He'd never actually made a god before, he'd offered power to the Sculptor to do so but had never personally crafted one. He didn't know where to begin.... if only he had some kind of template. Wait, he DID have one! The Silent One took out the small slab of Failure's flesh, feeling the undead texture and force of the negative energy within it. If he unleashed the power to create a god into an ordinary undead, it would merely be destroyed. But with a powerful entity like Failure as a base...
The Silent One threw the slab of undead flesh into the Void above the skeletons, blasting it with the power of corruption and darkness. The two intertwined with the undead flesh, bubbling and seething as it stretched out and began to form something entirely different. He grinned sinisterly: this could very well make some of his schemes a whole lot easier.
PP Expenditure
2PP - Ascend God (Undeath) - The Silent One, with the aid of Sku'Byss, ascends the god of undeath
Now, as to the race itself. Who and what deserved the honor of being his first children, the most blessed of his races? Seeking the answer, the Sorrowing Prophet looked upon the stars, striving to comprehend their story without eyes. Slowly, slowly, the words carved with celestial brialliance seeped into his tortured mind; speaking of war, violence, and the glory of all that had been stolen from him. Well, now he would steel something back.
A giggle somehow escaped from the metallic face, bizzare, the expression of joy warped into a awful sound of misery. Slipping through the Void, Nenneve's form appeared above a tribe of Blood Trolls. Shrouded by his power, the Sorrowing Prophet smiled, contorting his jackal head hideously. These would do perfectly. Siezing one hundred blood trolls, Ninneve wrapped them in threads of shifting power, oily and vaporous yet harder than steel. Shifting back to a few hundred kilometers from the crystal shell, the mad god began to play a game.
One troll, two troll, three troll, four troll. Again a sickening giggle bubbled up from his organs, slipping from his lips as effluvia seeped from his eyesockets. Grabbing each troll, he forced power into them until they began to literally burst at the seams and then hurled them towards the crystal sphere. Each troll struck and splatterd, flesh and organs blasted away, their souls consumed by Ninneve's power. Blood rolled through space in great sheets, forming a curtain of droplets big as eyeballs, partially veiling the sphere in a curtain of gore.
The trolls skeletons, however, hung suspended, driven twenty meters or more into the once pristine crystal, spreading webworks of cracks. Yet there's was not to rest in death. The corpses, blasted clean of all flesh, rose, clawing their way barck through the crystal tunnels their creation had formed. Hulking creatures now still, though deprived of the softer elements, these new beasts emerged from their birthing tunnels and unleashed screams, high pitched and keening, wailing a hunger for the souls of the living out into the feelingless Void. Pleasure, twisted pleasure, filled Nenneve. This new race were suitable servants, their insatiable hunger would keep them sharp, and their hatred of the living would ensure no creature of the gods ever set foot on Ninevah, his chosen land.
PP
2PP-Shape Populous (Greater)- Soulspike Devourers
((Sorry about the awful spelling, my browser isn't letting me spellcheck for some reason.))
(OOC: Hunter, you describe the other child.)
---
Tomett flew on with his cadre of protogolems seeding the planets with it's master's creations. Well, his footmen were doing the work anyway. Tomett himself was content to supervise and delegate. He floated by Kandras and had one of his men drop a few golems towards it. No reason to go and check what the surface was like, golems can exist in any environment. He then made his way to Lor'quhan and deposited a number of golems there as well, following the pattern of dispersal he'd figured out that made the job go by quicker. A few golems here and there and he'd be done! Tomett then found something he hadn't planned on.
One of his men had crashed into something that they couldn't see. He'd heard the impact and the golem's distress call, but the end was in sight so Tomett left him behind to go and report back to Sonel that his job had been completed. What was a few dozen golems lost in the grand scheme of things?
---
It hurtled through space, this awful shard of an extremely dense material that was comprised of equal parts metal, stone, and solid black fire. The thing that once was two beings flew alongside it, guiding it by some acute and incomprehensible force towards a distant green planet that had a faint trace of it's creator emanating from it. The being halted but the spire continued forth, eventually landing with a terrific splash and spurt of steam.
It stuck upright in the sea a thousand feet high, and the sea itself could not engulf it it was so hot. It was held back by this scorching aura so that it made a literal wall around it, much like a crater on land. You could look over this cliff of ocean and see the spire buried deeply in the earth below, stabbing the timeless stone this world was comprised of.
It sat, waiting for it's purpose to be realized.
Expenditure:
2PP Ascend God (when she grows a little)
2PP Claim Domain (Moderate) - Luck
3PP Create Artifact (Greater) - The Steaming Spire (nourish PP)
PP Remaining - 0/7 0/1
"Sonel! When did these children get here?"
PP Expenditures
1 PP Claim Domain (Lesser) Insects
5/7 PP
Turning back to the Silent One, Sku'Byss said, "Well then, Silent One, would it be safe to say that this is the beginning of an alliance?"
An alliance? Well, he did need allies, after all. At this time he only had the Sculptor on his side. And Grawlf, perhaps, but the Silent One doubted his loyalty. It seemed the eyeball operated on his own agenda, or 'morals' as those of kinder hearts would call it. Those morals thankfully included standing up for your kin, but the Voice Without Sound had no illusions that the god wouldn't hesitate to attack him if he grossly went against what the god of knowledge stood for. Wait, it was Ravnos now wasn't it... it mattered not in the end when he knew the true name of his Maker, but one had to keep up with these sorts of things.
"But of course, my friend," the Silent One replied. Friend... if he wasn't the former god of deception he wouldn't have been able to bark that out without laughing. But he was a useful tool for now. Whether he would remain so had yet to be seen.
***
"Okay, so what do we know about Sassriss?" Honor asked, brushing aside a pair of bushes as they hunted Verda for their itty bitty sister.
"She's big," Chivalry replied, overturning a rock. "She's pretty, and she's a complete symbiote."
"That's not very.. hold on, wouldn't host be the opposite of parasite?" Honor asked curiously.
"A truth is a truth whether is black or dark gray," Chivalry replied philosophically.
"Well that's true enough. Well, no, it's a complete lie, but you know what I mean."
"No I don't, bro- oh my Shadowfell a tiny squirrel isn't coming up behind you!"
"When you say it's coming up behind me, do you mean there's nothing there, or there is something there but it isn't a-"
A loud buzzing sound from behind Honor answered his question for him. Turning around slowly, the knight peered into the slavering mandiblors of a hideous insect... which seemed to have a divine spark to it. A god level spark... was this a new god, or an old god that had taken a new form, or an old god they just hadn't met yet? It was hard to keep track sometimes.
"Ah, excuse me miss... monsterous insect," Honor asked, cursing the fact he couldn't lie and call her pretty or anything but hideous. "But you wouldn't have seen a little parasite around here would you? Around six inches long, looks like a beetle and a leech had an affair, ran away together and had a little monstrosity which was consequently fused with a centipede in a bizarre magical experiment? Has a lisp?"
[3/7]
- - - - - -
Ankirega paced fitfully around on Verda, unaware that Brinn had given birth on Renissa. The portents were dire, but they could not afford to sit and wait.
2 PP: Ascend God: Peace
PP Remaining: 3/7 and 1/2
"You...are....creator?," said the first of the new dragons. Sap Dragons, he would call them- as ancient and telling as the tree's life-blood, yet slow of action and word. Their minds, however, would be their greatest strength, sharp and clear as they pondered life. Ankirega nodded to him. "You will be Gastu, first of your kind. Lead your people well." The amber-colored dragon solemnly nodded his head and left, his fellows following after.
2 PP: (1 from Wall of Origins): Shape Populace: Sap Dragons
PP Remaining: 2/7 + 0/2
PP
+1 (new day)
1PP Attack god: Nenneve
2PP Create artifact: As of now unnamed shield that provides a +2 combat bonus.
0/7
Speaking of the undead god, Sku'Byss returned his gaze to the rapidly forming god.
Ravnos looked at Brinn, debating within himself what to say to her. He glanced quickly at the two children, who did not appear to have the ability to understand him yet, and followed up by looking around all of Renissia, only spotting Sonel.
"Please, Brinn. Call me Ravnos when I appear like this. It is not my name, but then again, neither is Grawlf my true name."
The Eye floated out from Ravnos, who went dormant and shut down, the blue fire dimming in its eyes.
"This, myself is called Dvrgr, but that knowledge is truly a secret known to few other gods, and I would prefer it remain so... there is great power in that name, and were it ever to fall into mortal hands... irregardless, I only reveal it to those I trust... and Zo-Att... who I revealed it to before I knew what was to come."
Dvrgr floated back into Ravnos, who returned to animation, and looked at the two children.
"What Lovely names. It is always lovely to welcome new gods into our midst."
"I have business with your master."
It narrowed its eyes at the two and spoke again.
"Direct me to him at once."
"Oh, sure, don't introduce yourself, or answer us," Honor mumbled. "Not like we're busy or anything, after all." Louder, and in a more friendly tone, the exarch continued. "I'm sorry, our boss is rather busy at the moment, and if we were to pack up and try and find him without our sister he'd rip both of each of our arms off and use them to hit us over the head."
"He's a very kind boss, with no anger issues what so ever," Chivalry added helpfully.
"Plus I don't think he'd like it if we just guided a nameless bug goddess to him," Honor added. "I mean, the boss isn't too fond of some of the gods and goddesses floating around. Lohak for instance, the boss sees him as a hammer wielding mad man."
"Bro, keep talking, your not saying too much," Chivalry interjected.
"Ah. Right. Sorry Xidar. Anyway, who exactly are we talking to? You seem to have us at a disadvantage."
This strange being dissapears and reappears with an appearance of a skeleton of a bear held together by fire with darkness filling in his eyes saying, "master how may i fulfill your biddings."
I had 7/7 PP
2 PP: create moderate artifact create full set of armor
I now have 5/7 PP
While Evshan immersed himself in training his younger brother and sister with entusiasm, Sarris was still intrigued by the miralce, she loved the new Aszhari, maybe even more as his brothers but she grew distant, trying again to communicate with wathever power managed to have the eggs hatch.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Meanwhile Eshcal was flying to the sky of Kandras, the red word below the isles, he was always fascinated by the act of creation, the other gods created realms of solid stone, or of supernatural power, while emulating them the god of wind shaped a world made of solid wind and burning clouds. While watching at the whirlwinds and currents of his realm was beautiful and entrancing it still felt void, silent.... Even the red hell of Kandras will require some kind of life... The first few experiments of the god was unsuccessful, the living beings he has seen or created during his wandering of creation simply died there in mere seconds, burned by the heat or killed by the pressure or lack of it... The god was disappointed by that, he also felt unfocused, there was something speaking in the back of his mind, something familiar but yet distracting.
Watching at the world gaseous mass with frustration he found out that a few of the clouds begun to look like creatures that he has seen on Verda, living beasts, of course it was only the god imagination, however they gave him an idea. He let a little of his power flow into the clouds, shaping new beings with his hands. This was easier than shaping life or death, easier then the Herrim, as winds was Eshcal birthright, so the god decided to try something different, a greater complexity of forms, even with the distracting faint voice talking to him it was still extremenly natural to the god...
After a while he finished his new creation, a large jellifish composed of gaseous substance lied before him, the new beaing begun communicating with the god, but as it could not really talk it just begun changing his own coloration. That being was extremely curious, not unlike its father and begun questioning the god about many matters, soon overwhelmed with an endless stream of "Why?, What? Who?" the creature had fun for a while talking, well actually communciating silently with the new creature. After a while the creature pointed out one last question "Why are you not listening to that prayer"
"What prayer?" replied Eshcal.
"The voice that you keep hearding, you know father, I can't produce sounds, however I can hear..."
Eshcal rememberd about the voice he kept hearding while creating that new being... He listened to that voice, he could not get the words yet, however he felt some urgency in the tone...
"Well I guess I'll have to go and see what was going on... however I think you will die out of boredom here..." he told to the creature, pouring more of his power into the sky of Kandras, more and more of the jellifish like creature appeared. Being distracted however this time and while most of the power went to replicate the greature a few was wasted into other beings, smaller, unintelligent, more chaotic these new specie of beast appeared too in the skies of the red planet.
PP 1/7 +0 Shape +0 Guide
3 PP guide (1 from Evshan) - the Azhari learns hunting.
2 Pp Shape epic populace - yet unnamed jellyfish sentient inhabitants of Kandras.
1 PP Spawn Kandras Aether beasts.
Names are subject to change as usual :p I'll make an entry on the wiki about the new stuff soon :p
"I apologize, I wished merely to converse with your master. I too have had ill dealings with the one called Lohak, and heard that your master may be of some aid."
Her lips twisted into a delicate smile, and she continued.
"And I apologize as well for not introducing myself sooner. My name is Mdulu, the Chittering Lady."
Chivalry had to admit, this form was a lot easier to talk to... but he of all people knew that lies were second nature to anything with enough intelligence to think of them. Still, there was no harm in leading her to their boss he was sure... worse case scenario he'd have to kill her and get angry at them, but he knew how much his boss needed allies at the moment.
"Nice to meet you Mdulu, but I'm sorry. Just because-" Honor began.
"We'd be sad to not bring you to the boss," Chivalry interrupted.
"We would?" Honor asked confused. "Um, Chivalry, are you sure that's a good idea?"
"We can trust her," Chivalry replied in explanation. "But even so, it's better to pass over an opportunity than take a minor risk."
"Huh... well you know this politics mumbo jumbo better than I do," Honor replied, trusting his brother. Turning back to the goddess, Honor spoke. "I suppose we'll lead you to the boss then... Sassriss is an exarch, albeit a small one, she's not in any real danger anywhere, let alone on Verda. I'm sure the boss will only be mildly infuriated we're bothering him when we haven't found her yet."
The stillness of the world-plane was abruptly borken as a chunk of of sparking purple steel fell from the sun. All the malevolants in The Susurrus, both Rimeshadow and Sandshroud, set out to investigate. They found the steel spear piercing deep, up towards the planet's crust. A crack split the spike mostly in half, and the resultant maw of the shard was filled with inviting darkness. The Whispergate loomed nearby.
A curious creature sat atop the edifice. It stood on clawed legs like the Malevolants, but its hands -- no, claws -- and, indeed, the entirety of its body was covered in steely scales. A reptillian snout, bulky stretched leather wings, and a lashing tail combined to give the appearnce of an entity not unlike Lohak's guardian, Visagara, or one of the multitude of dragon types scattered over both The Isles and Lohak's world. But this creature was smaller, stouter, and its body proportions were different, walking on two massive hind legs while its sinnous neck arched forward, held nearly level with the top of its torso.
The proto-dragon shook itself when it felt that enough Malevolants had arrived.
I am Orimoth, kin to Fulrit, your creator, and his sister, Hrinori. These are The Tombs of Remembrance. That which is lost may be found here. Those that will never be reside here. It is a place of forgotten things.
The steely dragon raked its gaze over the crowd.
Claim it with our blessing.
PP Expenditure
+2 new days
-3 Ascend Exarch[Steel] - Orimoth, a combat exarch.
-3 Create Artifact (Greater) -- The Tombs of Remembrance. Within this ever changing labyrinth of steel passages and chambers, many things can be found -- animals, treasures, even members of sentient races. Because of the multitude of things it can spontaneously generate, it provides nourish/denourish PP.
1/7 + 0/2
"Thank you for your kind aid, sir knights, it seems it is quite fortuitous that we should meet."
She paused for a moment as she considered the two before her. They were quite an odd due, with their quirky attitudes. She laughed internally at the mention of Sassriss. So the infuriating little snake was still trapped upon Verda? And it didn't seem as though she was having a good time of it. She smiled again, and addressed the two before her.
"Shall we depart, fair gentles?"
The Brothers winced inwardly as she curtsied and addressed them in something approaching high speak. Well, vaguely anyway... they may have spawned the universes most knightly knight race with the highest high speak, but that didn't mean they had to like it themselves.
"Of course," Honor replied cheerfully. "Just give me one moment to send word of our arrival."
With that, Honor wandered off into the bushes, before taking out... an orb of flame?? It seemed the Silent One had discovered their ability to be used across great distances as a communication device. "Boss, we have a god that wants to meet you. We're breaking off our search for now, and coming your way, so don't be surprised. Honor out."
Tucking the orb back away into his armor, Honor walked back into the clearing to see Chivalry conversing with the goddess.
"You have a very beautiful carapace, did you know that?" he complimented her. "And your eyes are like a silvery moon over a field.."
"Cut it out rocks for brains," Honor interrupted. "I've given the boss the heads up, so let's go."
***
"Damn," the Silent One whispered to himself, tucking away his own orb of flame. He'd hoped to be able to induct the new god without interruptions, but if someone was coming he'd need to adopt his alter ego... he refused to go elsewhere however. He'd missed out on inducting his last god, and he had yet to even meet the deity. He refused to do the same again and miss out on a potential pawn- he meant ally.
Closing his eyes (all of them), the Silent One concentrated. Soon, his tentacles shot back into his armor, the eyes converted back into lion decorations, his armor went from purple to black once more, and his lion head helm rematerialized around his head.
"Not a word," he threatened his new 'ally', before turning in the direction the Brothers approached from, smiling as they rounded a piece of void debri and came into sight with the insect goddess behind.
"Ah! My comrades! Mine hear soreth wist thou approach! And what be this?" he asked curiously, floating a little closer until the two parties met. "My, a fair maiden! A very faireth maiden if I mayest say so," he added, taking the goddesses hand and kissing it gently.
***
Sassriss saw the Brothers float through the sky, with... her?! She looked different, but the parasite had had the goddess inside her for some time, she'd recognize her anywhere. Hissing with anger, the parasite abandoned her half eaten wolf pack and began slithering through the sky after them. Unfortunately, being so small, she was a fair bit slower and soon lost sight of the group. But she could sense them now, and she intended to inform her Master of all she'd learned.
***
"I had no idea such a place existed..." Twist murmured to his comrades, awestruck at the sight before him.
"It does seem a wise decision to stay here," Stagnate commented.
"Boomo, this place is great! Boomo!" Toadstool chipped in.
"A savage place, of death and strife... I like it," Bloodfrenzy added.
"Pah! There is little trees felled, or burned by the hands of man," Cinder complained. "But... I suppose I could work on it."
"Then it's settled," Twist declared. "This shall be our new home."
The blighted spirits looked out onto the wastes of Lor'quhan, with it's twisted trees, plagued land and the poison vents bellowing up toxic smog from the planets core, and were content. But now they had free reign, away from those oppressive spirits of primal might, they had not the numbers to truly embrace this land in the bliss that was the destruction of nature.
And so, Twist breather life into the toxic gas that killed that which live. He breathed life into the barren soil, and the green sky. The acid rain and the ice which billowed out the toxic smog. The plagued animals that wandered the land, and the instincts that drove those same animals mad. Spirits of all arose, and Twist was content.
PP Expenditure
1PP - Nourish Populace - The blighted spirits move to Lor'quhan, and bolster their number with many lesser spirits.
[2/7]
The group moved slowly, unnused to land as they were; All Thirteen of them carried dark stone sticks to help them walk, culled from the ocean depths.
The Leviathans adopted a wide formation as they approached the Spirits' Grove. Tethis rose its hand in greeting.
"Welcome to our world, group-of-others. Where do you come from? Do you also serve the Ice Goddess Hrinori?"
What unusual people... so unlike what you'd find on sacred Verda. Well, he supposed they were SOMEWHAT similar to the grindylow, but since they were a result of his own toxic vomit he didn't think they counted. Still, with the major intelligent race being water dwelling, Stagnate would be happy at the very least...
The twisted fox strode forth proudly, swishing it's tails as it did so. "Serve the ice goddess? Hardly. I suppose you could say we are of Brinn, albeit her darkest incarnation and twisted beyond even that. Whatever the case, we care not for any god in particular, and make our own way. Which is what led us to your world in fact," he added, taking a deep sniff of toxic fumes and savoring it as though it were sweet perfume. "As the very representatives of nature's corruption, we felt this world in the void. And now that we're actually here, it... sings to us."
- - - -
Brinn looked puzzled at the name-that was not the name-that was not his name, but nodded anyway. She knew Grawlf..no, Ravnos to be knowledgeable, and would trust him that what he said was true. "Thank you, Ravnos, on both counts. I hope that these new children will help keep the universe at peace, though I haven't actually had anyone come to Verda with bad intent for... a very long time. Since Sku'byss, in fact."
- - - -
Back on Verda, the primal spirits there had transformed The Grotto into something even more beatiful. The sunlight above shone directly through the wood in the open third, as if it was stained glass, reflecting in beatiful patterns. Spirits flocked to the Grotto in greater numbers, ever singing.
1 PP: Nourish Populace/Nation: The Grotto flourishes with the work of the Spirits.
PP Remaining: 1/7 + 0/2
It clutched its black walking stick and considered, knocked it upon the ground a few times, and then looked back up at the strange fox.
"By your appearance and demeanour, I ammend my statement. Surely you follow Fulrit, dark god of vengeance."
A strange chuffling sound emerged from within the Leviathan's throat.
"One does not 'serve' gods."
Tethis pointed to the twelve Leviathans behind it.
"We are here of our own design. Were we created by gods? Yes. Have we been bound to serve those gods? No."
Tethis stomped his staff into the ground once more.
"You are of your own free will, I agree. Are not the others of your kind as well? Why do they follow you? What have you done that is worthy of leading?"
-----
Among the far flung world, riddled with dragons and their caves, life of all forms flourished and spread from landmass to landmass.
PP Expenditures
1 PP - Nourish Land
1 PP - Mold Land (Lesser) - Form a a bunch of caves in various mountains.
6/7 + 0/1
Twist merely shrugged. "So you have some slack to your leash, but one pull from this ice goddess and I can assure you, you'll do what she asks without thinking. That's slavery, whatever the slave's opinion on the matter."
The fox's tails intertwined idley as the he replied. "Creation. I was the first of our kind, and as my first act I spawned forth others to join me. But they are indeed of their own will, each has their own way to bring destruction to nature. And no," he added before they could bring the point up. "I did not compel them to bring destruction. It is merely their... instincts."
I imagine that if you were found doing something reprehensible, your kin would desert you in a heartbeat. So it is too for us. We follow the Ice goddess because she is a decent enough sort, and her agendas do not conflict with our own. Were she to turn on us, we would not lay down and die."
Nodding to Sonel, Ravnos concentrated and leaped back to a random location in the universe.
+ 2 PP 2/7 + 2/2 (nourish, create, shape) PP.
(Anybody feel like talking?)
New Turn. Artifacts/Exarchs are Replenished!
Twist hesitated a moment, his tails ceasing their eternal twisting as he thought. Should he let the true story of his creation be widespread, or should he craft a more grand beginning? He supposed it didn't really matter... he didn't give a damn what anyone else thought, so why should he go to the trouble of lieing?
"I was created by the forest goddess Brinn," he began, his tails beginning twisting once more. "Though back then I was a part of nature instead of blight. However, I was... ignored. Where as others grew closer to Mother, and became more powerful and loved, I was always in the background. When some kind of toxin was introduced to my system, it magnified the loneliness and hatred of being neglected, and twisted me into the being you see before you. After that, I took onto myself to create others of my kind to bring blight to Verda. In retrospect, it was done in reckless anger,, and to spite Mother and my former kin. But now I see it was a necessity... this universe thrives on balance, and there was nothing to keep the forest from recklessly growing out of control and consuming all.
"In any case, my fellow primal spirits- former fellow primal spirits didn't exactly see it that way, and so the whole planet mobilized against six individuals with no god like powers what so ever. Needless to say it was one sided, and one of our number fell. After that, we retreated into the void, and eventually stumbled across this paradise." Twist looked about him. "Verda can overgrow and strangle itself for all I care, a world of nature and world of blight is balance enough."
[3/7]
"Then good welcome to Lor'quhan indeed."
The Leviathan sniffed the air once more and looked around the landscape. Dark ferns glistened in the twilight of the dawn. Small scurrying things darted to and from between the ice and rocks.
"But I do not understand why you consider this land blighted. How is this any different from your Verda?"
[PP Exp. Dec 6th]
+1 new day
+2/2 new week
2/7 + 2/2
"I suppose it is... a matter of perspective," Twist explained. "Though these trees look fine to you, compared to Verda they are plagued and corrupted beyond redemption. And yet, they live on... it's fascinating to say the least." As if to test for himself, the fox rubbed a tail along the bark of one of the trees, feeling the corruption in it's core that it lived not only despite, but BECAUSE of.
"We don't desire a world without nature," he continued. "Except perhaps Cinder, but she'll have to make do with what little the intelligent races clear and burn. We desire a world... where blight and nature are intertwined. Where blight doesn't necessarily mean death, and nature doesn't necessarily mean life. This world reflects that wish well. Though we're going to need to make a few changes obviously," he added. "More predators for instance, I don't think Bloodfrenzy would be content making the odd plague amoeboid go crazy."
"If you say so Twist. If it truly is a matter of perspective, any opinion I might have is irrelevant without having seen the other."
The Leviathan paused.
"Though perhaps there is a way... There exists on this planet a place of power known as The Whispergate. Perhaps that is a passage back to your Verda?"
A passage back to Verda?? It figured, the moment he found a place he could settle down and try and forget his former life, a portal to his former home had to be on it. Well, the leviathan did say it MIGHT be a passage back to Verda... and it could prove useful if the primal spirits ever attempted to continue their conflict.
"Perhaps, though I doubt it," Twist replied. "Still, it might be worth checking out... although I see that you are already fish out of water," he noted. "Trekking to a gate inland would probably be beyond you..."
"We don't mind. And it is not that bad. It is good to experience new things. I have only seen the place once, when I was first created. The youngest of those with me have never seen it at all. It will be a good experience, I think."
---------------------------------------------
They are heading for The Whispergate. Should we stop them?
Do we have reason to? The Sculptor has given us nothing else to do. We may as well faithfully observe what we have wrought.
Perhaps we should remain out of sight though.
...Agreed.
----------------------------------------------
True to its word, The Leviathans were able to keep up with the primal spirits as they led them across the surface of Lor'quhan. Things went even faster when Thetis lead them to a bit of coast where they were able to swim fully, guiding the spirits on the nearby shore.
They finally reached the gate -- it was, as always, unassuming. It looked like the stump of one of Lor'quhan's trees, only much larger. A large cleft in the bottom of the tree opened into unnatural darkness, swallowing any nearby light. It was an interesting phenomena to observe, at any rate, and while Thetis simply tapped its staff against the ground, the younger Leviathans make noises of approval.
Other blight spirits didn't have such an objective attitude.
Bloodfrenzy whistled appreciatively. "That's one impressive looking hole. A den fit for the darkest bear in existence!"
"Boomo! I wonder what makes it so dark?" Toadstool queried.
"Magic," Twist replied simply. "As most things in this universe. So," he addressed the leviathan. "Should we just walk down, or is there some kind of flesh dissolving enchantment or some other trick we should be aware of?"
"Fascinating..."
But down to business. He pointed his staff at the Isles below, and exercised his will through it. In each of the Quori he placed a little seed, a small piece of himself in them. As they searched their dreams, they would find it, and trace it back to him, the Dreamer. From this, they might in time be able to find more conduits for the Dream, through him. He also placed a desire in their Dreams, to seek out other living beings and to try to ally with them for the moment...
He then closed his eyes, and moved through the void, letting himself be guided by instinct, until he felt that he had arrived where he should be. He opened them and found himself seeing another god materialize in front of him. He did not recognize this one, but instead reached out through the Dream to see if he could discover anything. All he recieved was a sense of familiarity, but he ahd no idea who it was that came from it. He asked the god:
"Who are you?"
+4 PP: 4 days
-2 PP: Quide Populace(Lesser): Quori worship Shry and gain increased Dream abilities as a result (Since I am informed that a race I create worships me automatically, I will so something else with the PP, and that fits thematically(or something))
-2 PP: Claim Domain(intermediate): Shry claims to domain of Psionics
-2 PP: Guide Populace(Artifact)(Lesser): The Quori seek out other living beings by exploring beyond their Isles. Anyone with a populace on the Isles can respond to this, I'm not picky.
On the Isles of Wonder, the Azhari quickly found themselves to not be alone. Primal spirits had grown and flourished all over the isles, and some of them had been keeping watch over the tribes in curiousity. One day, a spirit with the form of flowing earth came to them. "Greetings, Azhari warriors!"
The pack leader Asar Valesh, was quite young, he had just formed his pack a couple of years before, mostly out of his brothers and sisters, and has moved only recently to this part of the forest. He have never heard of creatures like the one in front of him even if it was not unlike the powerful wind spirits that protected the Blessed Ones in the stories... Asar was curious, but also he has no trust for the strange being, pretty much every creature that he has ever met was a predator or a pray, these being wanted to talk?...
"Hello, creature, I'm Azar Valesh, this is my family..."
he told pointing at his brothers and sisters, gesturing an order to them to surround the creature, Azar tough that it might be friendly, but that it was better to be safe than sorry dealing with the powerful beasts that inhabited the forest.
"...and this is our land, the one where I hunt and where my sons will..."
"And who are you?"
PP 2/7 +1 Shape +1 Guide
+1 PP new day.
PP Remaining: 2/7 +2/2
"Listen here, I know who you are, and it won't be long until you figure out who I am. I know our interests have thus far been opposed, but it would help us both greatly if we were to form a sort of alliance. There are far too few evil gods in this world, and if I'm to take Lohak down, I'll need all the help I can get."
With that, she leaned back out. She caught sight of Sku'byss over Dharrox's shoulder, and waved daintily at him.
"Hello there!"
PP:
+1 (new day)
0PP Lesser guide (divine servants): The Maenads attack the soulspike devourers.
1/7
Dharrox sighed, before speaking openly. "So you know who I am then? I sometimes think if I had come back with nothing but some kind of hat it would be a better disguise than this has turned out to be."
With that, the Silent One resumed his new appearance, tentacles creeping along his armor, lions melting away into eyes, the armor changing to purple in color, and his helm melting away to reveal his pale and mouth-less face. "Don't worry about him," the Silent One added for good measure, jerking his head in the general direction of the god of corruption. "He came to me in much the same way you now come to me... it seems I'm something of an lightening rod for evil. I must admit as tiring as it is having my identity become wide spread, it's definitely useful to have some additional allies." He chuckled. "At this rate, we may well have the beginnings of a pantheon to match that tiresome elemental one of Lohak's."
Turning his back on the goddess to look upon the still unformed god of undeath, the Silent One continued. "So, you have a bone to pick with Lohak? I can't blame you, that god has been a thorn in my side for some time. I am curious though as to who you are... we must have been at ends before by your speak, but your appearance is completely new to me."
"Hello again, Shry. We met once long ago above Yrie. I was Grawlf then, the creative side of knowledge. Now, in this form I am Ravnos, the result of the destructive power of invention and learning. How goes the Dreaming?"
Meanwhile, on the isles of wonder, a wandering Quori is greeted by a large beholder as it arrives on the rocky planetoid that the beholder-kin call home.
"Greetings, wandering one. I am Edresti, and this is the land of the Eye. Who and what are you, and do you come with good intentions?"
2/7 + 2/2 (create, shape, nourish) PP.
[6/7]
"To be honest, we know not. We have never tried, nor have we had reason to try. We are happy in these seas. But I would assume there is not -- after all, Hrinori and Fulrit once passed through here, and you have just as much power as them."
The Leviathan pounded its staff against the ground a final time before turning back to the violet waters. Despite its facing, its voice still rang out clearly:
"Good luck in your endevaours, friend. I hope you shall soon learn to be not so cynical"
With that, Thetis dissapeared below the waves.
Closer to the primal spirits, The Whispergate pulsed invitingly.
Twist scoffed. "I wish... if I had that much power I doubt we'd have been routed so easily from Verda. In truth, I am probably little more powerful than your people." Bidding the leviathans goodbye before they disappeared into the waves, the fox's brow creased into a frown. A cynic? He just wanted to keep his freedom. If that meant he seemed cynical to those who served anything but number one, then they could go choke on a rabbit.
"Boomo, boss, we're not going down there are we?" Toadstool asked, eying the portal warily.
"No. If we all went, and it really does lead to Verda, we'd be like a beacon telling the spirits exactly where the portal is," Twist explained. "So I'll go alone... of us, my essence is the least likely to be noted, since there are few creatures that bow to men on Verda."
"But... but... forest. Burning. Cut down. Must." Cinder attempted to articulate.
"Oh control your urges for Brinn's sake," Twist snarled. With that, the fox padded forward, and with a moments hesitation disappeared into the dark.
"Oh darling, I would have thought that was obvious."
And as she spoke, two somethings sprouted from her forehead, growing into a pair of sweeping black horns. A long tail escaped the fold of her dress, and her stomach began to swell beneath her fingers. Though her form did not change completely, it soon became quite clear that Mdulu was actually none other than Bel.
"I just hope this won't get in the way of our budding friendship."
The Silent One's eyes narrowed at the change. "You'd think it would be, but I honestly didn't consider that you would approach me... you seemed content enough to be Lohak's lap dog the last time I saw you. Well, the last time I saw you I was ripping a hole in your stomach," he corrected bemused. "But we didn't really exchange pleasantries then."
The dark god was tempted, oh so tempted to just blow her offer of allegiance back into her fact, possibly with his fist attached to it. But he was letting his emotions cloud his judgment... Bel had shown herself to be quite useful. He shouldn't let little matters like who swallowed who's world get in the way. Besides, it'd be much easier to stab her in her back if he had a reason for being right beind her on a number of issues...
"Of course not. I'm not one to hold a grudge... we must look to the future, instead of senselessly wallowing in past wrongs." The Silent One rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I must wonder though, why exactly are you turning on Lohak and coming to me? Last I checked you were on good terms."
Bel merely sniffed and raised her chin. She was allying with this one, but that by no means meant she was going to trust him implicitly, let alone allow him to see her in her moment of weakness. No, she was going to play it col, pass it off as something small. Yes, that would work. Now to make sure her words wouldn't get jumbled on the long and circuitous path from her brain to her mouth. She turned to him, and smiled.
"I'd rather not speak of it, it is in the past, and I would not like to bring it up."
But then she relaxed her tone. She may not be completely in love with this new acquaintance, but she might as well be casual with him, if only to make this relationship at least somewhat bearable.
"But let us not talk about him. I'd much rather talk about you, is there anything I could help you with in order to cement this new-found alliance?"
Brinn... I have never heard that name, however I know of one god, I have being told that the father of my father's father was a god too..." he told proudly, meanwhile he begun studying the strange creature, to understand if it could be dangerous for himself and his pack.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Meanwhile Eshcal left Kandras and begun looking for the source of the prayers, on the top of a large peak he found Sarriss, she was leading a group fo Aszhari priests in their call to him.
Evshan was not that convinced about her attempt to contact the presence that helped them giving life to the Aszhari, but she insisted and he did not want to leave here alone deep in the stormfang hunting grounds... So he was there watching with a couple of his hunters, two would be packmaster had to serve a period with the Blessed One before being allowed to take a territory for themselves so that Evshan could teach them the secrets of hunting. The two was much more curious and hopeful than Evshan. However he was even more astonished of them when Eshcal manifested.
The god came with a thunderstorm, the lightnings rained on the few Aszhari, attracted by their blood and half divine souls, refreshing and granting them more strenght.
"Finally you have come..." told Sarriss to the god, her brother, usually the one who loves doing the talk was too scared or in awe at the same time...
"I have waited for you to show up" she told to a puzzled, yes positively impressed god "You are our father right? I can sense it... Why have you left us alone?"
For a while Eshcal could not reply to Sarriss, he felt that her words was true, she was his daughter, all these creatures was, even if not every Aszhari pulsed with the same divine power as the twins...
PP 2/7 +1 shape +1 guide
A single path extended out from the Whispergate's Rock; the only other feature in this strange realm scintilated strangely, as if the path had been a prism, lit from within.
It was quite obvious that this was an intermediary place -- the stillness and static nature of the place seemed something unnatainable in the world at large: Twist's footsteps upon the ground could not even leave footprints.
In the far distance along the crystal highway, a smudge existed, flickering -- the only movement in this strangled world.
Thus, he entered the thoughts of some of the Glass Titans. He told them, directly into their minds, of the power they could wield, if only they worshiped and served him. For many, the sway of Sku'Byss's power was to great, and they became his worshipers, while others resisted or never even received the message. However, Sku'Byss had corrupted enough of the creatures for his worship to be something of note.
2 PP Guide: A small portion of the Glass Titans now worship Sku'Byss.
[5/7 PP]
What was this? A hint of emotion? If he were not a master of deception he would likely have missed it through Bel's attempts to conceal it... so, it was a matter of feeling as opposed to logic or ambition that drove her to him. Interesting... he didn't know whether this would mean she would be easier to manipulate, or merely a loose cannon. Still, even a loose cannon could be useful if pointed in the right direction...
"You need not commit yourself to show your loyalty," the Silent One began. "The mere fact you're here despite... actually, there IS one thing you could do," he realized, the cogs in his brain turning as it realized the potential there was in having the aid of an elemental god. "There is much life in this universe, however I find myself limited to what essences I can control. Since I am working on... something... that requires the essence of all, needless to say I find myself at an impasse. You however, have control over the elements, and so elemental life. If you were to surrender a mere shard of this power, I would be very grateful. And I can assure you," he added, his eyes creasing into a wicked smile. "If anything is to be the end of Lohak, it's this."
***
Twist sniffed the air in the unnaturally still place. Nothing. It seemed the place was still, smells remained stationary at their sources. It was incredibly disturbing for a creature that craved the smell of rot and feel of rancid wind on his fur. Still, he had come this far... to turn back now would be cowardice, and he was no coward.
Padding along the hallway, then beginning to sprint to put the still place behind him and to feel some semblance of wind against his face despite the static nature of the hole, the fox went down the hallway towards the smudge.
Zo-Att looked at what honored her mother. Or was it mothers? She wasn't exactly sure whether they were the same person or not. But it did not matter, they were honored all the same. Was this what caused everything involving Bel? Zo-Att would not have attacked Bel if she were not searching for Lohak. But... this was he was doing. Nothing sinister as Zo-Att had thought. She felt like such a fool.
"I need to be honest with you, brother. I tried to kill Bel. Twice, actually."
It was a silhoutte, and as Twist approached, he found that whatever form it had had before had already reshaped into a dark likeness of his own.
A pale blue light lit the silhoutte, giving it depth and illuminating its eyes.
I greet you, traveller. Who are you, and why do you seek to cross between the worlds?
"She bit me."
Zo-Att shuddered involuntarily.
Twist growled involuntarily. He supposed it was natural that if this smudge could change shape for it to change into whatever race approached it, but seeing a shadowy duplicate of himself was... disturbing. Especially when it smelt not of blight or nature.
"I am Twist, formerly Brushwit. Once the least revered of the primal spirits, now most revered of the blighted spirits," he introduced himself. "As for why I am here... I suppose the best answer I could give was I heard of this place, and felt like coming." Swishing his tails, the spirits continued. "But, if you wanted a better reason, my kind is at war with the primal spirits. We are at a stalemate at the moment, and I'm content to leave them be for now, but if they ever make a move against us having direct access to their home would be a great weapon."
Great clouds of beaded blood drifted, joined now by organs, shriveled and stripped of moisture. Sparkling shards of glassy crystal drifted amongst the slaughter, strange in their beauty amongst the devastation. In the myriad tunnels beneath the now imperfect surface of the sphere, new, writhing, abominations, belied by the outward serenity, spawned.
---------------
Retracting his finger glaves slowly, Ninneve savored the scraping sound they made, or would have made if he hung not in the Void. The divine blood of the god whom he had savagly beaten trickled across his hands; burning with power to bright for the Void to suppress. Raising his fist, the Sorrowing Prophet dripped rivulets of golden blood into his ghastly eye sockets. Something almost like a sigh gurgled up from within his torso as the divine gore mixed with his effluvia. Unclenching and lowering his fist, the god slipped off through the darkness, seeking the source of reverberations he had felt, the emergence of a new god into the world; a Lord of Undeath.
PP
Nourish Populous-2PP Soulspike Devourers
PP Remaining: 2/7
PP:
+1 (new day)
2 PP Nourish populace x2: The Maenads. Their PR is now 13 + 1d6 (don't forget, they have my combat arifacts).
"That is why you are familiar. Your the same god, but a diferent aspect, a new meaning. I see. How are you?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Quori reached with a tentacle and touched the beholder above its mouth and below the central eye. The beholder felt a presence tickle in its mind for a moment, before the tentacle was removed. It then felt a voice speak into its mind,...or what qualified as a mind.
"I am Ky'swe. I come from another rocky sphere entirely, and I come because the Dream tells me to. What are you and what can I learn from you?"
However, like their maker, the new race came out... perverted, and very much corrupt. Many members of the race looked different than one another, some big, some small, even some with four arms, but all shared a common hideousness and a common corruption. Yet, to Sku'Byss's eyes, they were beautiful creatures rather than the monstrosities they truly were.
After thinking briefly, Sku'Byss thought of a name for his new race. Smiling, he said, "They are the Foulspawn."
3 PP Shape Populace (Paragon): The Foulspawn are created.
[3/7 PP]
"I am well, although I feel somewhat harried at the moment. There is always so much to do! I think I need to create somewhere where I can plan and organize my thoughts... whenever I am out in the universe, I keep getting distracted. How about you? Do you also have impossible visions of future creations running through your head?"
~~~~~~~
Edresti looked down at Ky'swe and considered for a moment before speaking.
"We are the people of the Eye... we behold all that others do, and we..."
Edresti paused, uncertain of exactly what they would do after that.
"... We act on what we see. As for what you can learn from us... I am uncertain. I am sure we can determine something of worth to share with you if we learn more about one another. What is this Dream you speak of? It is a new word to me."
"I think I might be able to help you with that."
He opened a door, leading from the world into Dreamscape.
"This is my home, the Dreamscape. If we could modify part of it a little, we could create a place where you would create visuals and models of your ideas and study them, perfect them ahead of time, before actually making them. Perhaps attaching it to the Court to make it easier for others to find. What would you say? A place to expore your creativity, your ideas and inventions?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ky'swe responded to Edresti:
"So you have no purpose. Hmmm. The Dream is the place where we go when we rest, where we draw upon for our strength, and where we came from when we were made. Our creator comes from there as well, and we draw upon the Dream through him as well as through ourselves."
"Yes, I think this would work quite well. Thank you for the suggestion, Shry. With your permission I will begin work shortly."
~~~~~~~~
"It is not that we have no purpose... it is that our purpose is unfulfilled. We know the first part, but until we meet more people not like us, I fear our purpose in the universe will remain cloudy.
This Dream is interesting. Would it be possible for one such as myself to visit?"
"Alright, but you'll need a little of my power to make the Dreamscape easily pliable to your wishes."
He reached into Dreamscape and pulled power out, forming it into a long ropy uneven string, whic he handed to Ravnos.
"Here you go."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ky'swe looked at Edresti.
"The Dream is not a place where we go, but is still a source. Every time you have a desire, or rest and dream, you are there. However, I might be able to devise a way to more fully enter you into the Dream. Would you help me in this, for it would be easier together, and would give an advantage against..others to both of us?
+1 PP: new day
-1 PP: given to Ravnos
[0/7 PP]
But why are you here? What did you hope to accomplish by entering this place? What will you hope to have accomplished when you leave?
PP Expenditure [Dec 7th]
+1 new day
3/7 + 2/2
The Foulspawn eventually became unsatisfied with their mountain home. Thus, a few groups of Foulspawn left their mountain homes and expanded northward, into the western half of the desert. They spread like a wildfire in the desert, though they did not expand beyond the river in the western half of the desert.
2 PP Guide Populace: Foulspawn expand into the desert.
1 PP Nourish: The Foulspawn grow in numbers.
___
The demons continued their onslaught against the devils, gaining even more ground in the war.
+1 new day
-3, Nourish Populace x3 - 1 to each demon type (marilith, glabzeur, balors)
4/7
"So indeed you are many... And what are your plans for this land, for our land..."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Meanwhile Eshcal finally has found his lost daugther and son, the god was gleeful about the discovery, the two Aszhari was at the same time happy and resentful of meeting him.
"Why have you left us alone?" told Sarris again, backed up by her brother...
"I have sensed your presence only a short while ago my daughter." replied Eshcal.
"But aren't gods omniscent, how can you fail to sense your offsprings call..."
"While I know much about creation, more than any mortal can even dream about, I'm far from omniscent, you were my firstborn among the living, blessed by my blood, but not made of my very essence like my other creations, I was blind to your existance before your call..." then he briefly paused.
"However I'll not allow your kind to be left alone, I swear that I'll not be deaf anymore to your prayers, I'll take a few of you, train them to serve me as priests, teach them how to commune with me should your kind needs that... And the first of course, will be you my chilren" he told.
Then Eshcal willed a fragment of his power into the two brothers, awakening the divine spark inside them, so that they will always be able to sense each other and their father. Soon he found out that he could not do that with the others among the Aszhari, puzzled by the discovery Eshcal decided to bring a few of them with him in order to investigate about that matter...
PP (3/7) +1 shape +1 guide
+1 PP - New Day,
Gleeful as a kid in a candy shop, Ninneve slammed the cold meter of iron into the nearest troll, a hulking brute whose mind was slowly pondering the merits of a particularly slim female from another village. Blood spurted from the wounds, and innards slithered across the ground as steam poured from what had been the Troll's stomach. The creature screamed, writhing on the earth as blood gurgled in its throat. I can see why they call you Blood Trolls, you certainty do bleed a lot! So pretty... for a damned creation of mine enemy! Feel the divine vengeance of thou Lord's finest enemy and know thy doom!
A hard and bestial look crossed his face, now one of regal fury, now a terrible gore splashed smile, iron grating and contorting in its effort to accede to divine will. Ninneve tore the innards out of five more trolls, the biggest males he could find. Surviving trolls ran in fear, inchoherent, overwhelmed by the invisible slaughterer. The god, all gravity deserting him, dipped his fingers in the still crying and gibbering trolls beneath him and began to paint. Strange sigils hung in air and dripped from doors, crazed whorls and letters scribed in runes flowed across the place, weaving a tapestry of gory horror.
Finally, as the creatures beneath him at last began to die, anguished groans growing quieter as more and more life blood oozed from their cooling bodies, Ninneve descended to earth once again. The middle glave sliding from the finger of each gore covered hand, the Sorrowing Prophet rapidly hacked the spines from each of the five corpses, tearing them from in showers of awful effluvia. Gathering the morbid bundle of bone, fragments of flesh still hanging from it, Ninneve vanished once again.
The blighted spirits grinned. "Oh? And why are you here? What do you hope to accomplish by questioning me? What will you hope to have accomplished when I answer you?"
He chuckled at his own turning of the tables, before answering. "I am here because I felt like it. I hope to learn about this place and discover some way to use that knowledge for my own ends. See answer number two for the answer to question 3."
[4/7]
"And what exactly would you need this power for darling?"
Her words cooed slightly, greatly downplaying her interest. She wanted to know, but she certainly wasn't going to let him know exactly how much.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And in the Eternal Clock, the Blood War was raging. It was a terrible, chaotic thing, with tides of battles ebbing and flowing, multiple lines of attack opening up all about. The Devils knew that, if they were to win, they would need to impose some order upon this. And so the Devils all formed an alliance, and banded together against their foes. It wasn't long until the battle began to stabilize.
PP Expenditures
1 PP Nourish Populace (Lesser) Pit Fiends join the Eternal Consortium (subject to name change)
1 PP Nourish Populace (Lesser) Malebranches join the Eternal Consortium (subject to name change)
1 PP Nourish Populace (Lesser) Legion Devils join the Eternal Consortium (subject to name change)
4/7 PP
The Silent One merely chuckled. "Of course, I wouldn't dream of keeping a secret for someone who's been so honest about- oh wait, you refuse to tell me why you and Lohak had a falling out." The dark god mocked an expressing of inner turmoil. "Hmm, decisions decisions... should I tell you? Shouldn't I? Woe is me, how difficult a decision! I have no idea how I'll- I'm not going to tell you," he finished.
Turning his back to the goddess, he replied a little less sarcastically. "But if your require some knowledge of what I'm working on, suffice to say it is a weapon. What kind of weapon isn't important, what is important is that if this weapon is completed, it could squash Lohak even with his cursed hammer like a bug. No offence," he added.
Me? I'm a shadow of she who created this place. I had hoped to find out what kind of being you were. After all, without my favor, you'd be hard pressed to travel through here to anywhere in particular. Annoy me enough, and you may even find it impossible to leave.
The comment wasn't a threat, simply a stated fact. The shadow bobbed slightly in the air.
Also, I am curious. You are the first creature not of her make to travel through The Whispergate.
PP Expenditure [December 8th]
+1 new day
4/7+2/2
"No, this won't do... I need..."
Turning, he reached into the space behind the universe and, pulling, pulled forth the eight-legged form of Grawlf before detaching from Ravnos and moving over to enter his vaguely more familiar form. He stretched his arms out, pleased to note that Samtaana had managed to fix the broken arm, and regrasped the Dreamthread.
"Now then..." Grawlf said, stuffing the dormant Ravnos away.
He began by grasping the thread of dreamstuff and pulling it into a large circle, delineating this portion of creation from the rest of the plane. Fastening the thread to itself, he spread his arms and thousands of gossamer strands fell from all around the circle, arcing in iridescent colors to all meet in the center, forming a bowl of slowly changing light. Grawlf pointed, and around the edge of this bowl, seats of fine carved woods began to appear, going back in three rows all along the edge. Beneath the seats and behind them, stone of the same multicolored-hue as the Court of the First Ones appeared, encircling the forming arena and formally separating the inside from the Dream without. Within, a thin layer of mist appeared over the surface of the smooth bowl, obscuring the colored radiance beneath aside from rare flashes of reds and blues that flashed from beneath as the mist ebbed and flowed. Curious as to whether it had worked, Grawlf moved forward into the bowl.
Immediately, a massive form broke free of the ground to his right, a mechanical beetle nearly a mile in length with a tower of some dark metal jutting from its back. Within, Grawlf could see thousands upon thousands of books, but, as he watched, the form dissolved into the mists once more.
To his left appeared Ravnos, who spoke with a voice that was not Grawlf's, although the words were impossible to make out. Grawlf turned towards him, but he was gone into the mist once more.
Before him now was a man who was suddenly run through with a sword, only to be reborn as a golden bird, his knowledge preserved. The bird grew old and went to nest, spontaneously bursting into flames, and as the flames died, a baby's cry was heard coming from the embers and soon another man was standing before him before vanishing.
It seemed to work. Grawlf turned and pointed one leg towards one of the two entrances to this place, connecting it to one of the doors off of the main plaza of the Court. The other he left open and free, allowing anyone who ventured the dream to enter... even mortals who were asleep to visit and see the future plans of the gods for their worlds and lives.
"I call it the Potentium" he said, and thus it was done.
~~~~
"That sounds wonderful. One moment. Allow me to prepare myself."
The beholder opened himself up to the Quori's touch, and waited. As he did so, he felt himself somehow changing... being filled with almost magical potential. Not one to question a good thing, he merely waited.
2 PP (1 PP from Shry): Create Plane (lesser): to create the Potentium. In the Potentium, future plans of the gods appear for fleeting moments if the visiting god is not careful to concentrate on one particular aspect of his future plans he wishes to work on. The more concentration, the more permanence the object can obtain. Without concentration, the scenes fade back into mist after a few moments. With enough concentration (read PP), the objects can attain actual permanence and leave the bowl and venture out into the rest of the universe.
2 PP: Claim Domain (moderate): Prophesy
1 PP given to Shry to create the Dream-touched Template.
0/7 +2/2 (shape, create, nourish) PP.
Attempting to look cool despite the implied threat that whatever this thing could imprison him forever, Twist began to groom himself, licking his fur to clean it. The fact foxes were far more closer to dogs than cats didn't mean he had to roll around in his feces and not care how clean he was, after all.
"You know what they say, curiosity killed the... thing," Twist replied. "Still, I must say that I can understand you're interest... if I was doomed to guard a place practically no-one visited I'd be bored beyond all belief myself. Some company must be a nice change." Dropping down onto his haunches, the fox began to groom his tails, speaking while doing so. "So, it's safe to say if I'm the first creature not of your Ma- that is, gods making, that nobody has tried to enter from the other direction? If that's even possible, I'm not sure how this magic is supposed to work. Trees grow, then rot, but the nuances of magic that can make it do both at the same time while doing somersaults will always be beyond me."
[5/7]
"However I'd like to know more about your kind, I have never seen something like you or your brothers..."
PP Remaining: 4/7 +2/2
That is, I think, because you fail to grasp the workings of this place. All paths lead to a single focal point. It's the return journey that varies. If you turned back now, who's to say you would return to your beloved toxic world?
The empty seas of Yrie gave birth to life. Small schools of silvery fish swam now along the shores of the northern continent giving a new supply of food for crafy animals and for even craftier members of the Dhoremian tribes.
*
As the years passed the Dhorem grew. As gods squabbled they prospered. As mortals fought they used their time to travel the river Ara in simple skin canoes. As some Gods grew mad and changed their names and formst the canoes that grew and grew as the years passed until small ships trafficked the river. They were simple creations that were able to sail along the coasts on Yrie and along it´s many rivers but they were easily broken and bothersome to travel with.
Nourish land 1PP: Fish begins to appear along the shores of northern Yrie.
Nourish populace 1PP: The Dhoremi increase in numbers and found dozens of villages and now numbers about 20000 in all.
Guide populace 3PP: Simple Ship-building. The Dhoremi are now able to make ships, canoes and so forth that can travel on rivers and along coasts. They are not able to travel the oceans though.
1/7
He vanished, returning to the world, reappearing new hs world, spending a great deal of time simply watching dragons hunt. Finally, he looked up, thinking of other things. There was still of force of creation he didn't fully understand. It was time to remedy that situation. Whispering, he called for his child. "Eschal, please seek me out."
Finally he sent a mental message to Lohak "It is nice to hear about you again father, If you agree I'll meet you at the Isles of Wonder"
"As I have told you I'll explain you the basics of how my essence work, but I'll hardly be able to explain it all, as after all what will be the purpose of me if you had such a knowledge..."
"Apparently we have some other guests here..." he told looking toward the newcomers...
"Hail Dhoremi! Please, come here and speak with me. I am Karhedron, and I have met you and your patroness Maibe before."
~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Dvrgr, having taken back his form as Ravnos, sped towards Yrie. There was something he had been meaning to take care of for a long, long time.
"Moon-Tender! Attend to your Grandfather and answer for your heinous shirking of your primary duty and function!"
Twist actually showed visible discernment at that last comment, looking behind him as though he could will the road to stay put and remain to the same place.
"I admit I have no idea how this place works," Twist replied, turning back to his shadowy clone. "Since you seen to have no idea how my kind or free will in general works, we'll call it a wash. Now, are you going to ask questions of me you can't understand the answer to and spout cryptic comments for the next century? Or can you actually help me understand how this place works so I can use it at a later date and return to my kin?"
***
"Hark! Sons of Melin! Thou shalt fall before mine wrath!" a heavily armed gigotaur called across a field at the opposing mass of the same race.
"Nay! Thou, foul spawn of Malin, shalt be the one to falleth this day!" a gigotaur from the other side of the field called, jeering at the opposing forth.
"For Melin!" the first gigotaur called, charging into the fray.
"For Malin!" the second did the same.
It had been like this for some time. The gigotaurs had grown, and grown, and grown in number, and had spread out through vast swatches of land around the Labyrinth. Soon, the Labyrinth was empty barring the occasional pilgrim and religious gigotaurs that made their home there and took it upon themselves to protect it and be guides to these pilgrims, but the lands about it were littered with stone castles and towns. At first, the gigotaurs were happy to be one people, but soon that changed as well.
The thing with static settlements is that they soon produce a sort of... town pride, that goes beyond even racial pride. Soon, the largest cities became as separate entities, lording over the smaller ones in it's territory. These cities were in turn ruled over by noble families... which changed fairly often as skirmishes between cities made lands assimilate into each other, 'tyrants' were overthrown, and generally upheaval was the gigotaur norm. As such, maps (if they had them) would change daily, as new lines were drawn and names of 'countries' were scratched out and written anew.
Don't get me wrong, the gigotaurs had a strong national pride, and just hearts. But their code made skirmishes and wars frequent over minor insults, and made them feel compelled to attempt to overthrow a family who rules wickedly... even if it was only a minor misdeed and for good reason. Dharrox had written the code well, for strife was now a part of the gigotaur norm. Just, honorable strife as opposed to senseless savage strife such as with the blood trolls, but strife none the less.
PP Expenditure
1PP - Nourish Populace - The gigotaurs grow in number, and create many new cities. Obviously they have to cut more forest down for this, but they keep most of it in tact except for the actual build sites and the roads between towns.
1PP - Nourish Populace - The gigotaurs form the Order of the Labyrinth, a religious order that protects the Labyrinth and consider it holy.
1PP - Nourish Populace - The gigotaurs divide into different kingdoms, each ruled over by a noble house. The noble house in power, size and name of the kingdoms change often as rebellions and skirmishes between countries are common place.
[2/7]
He nodded. "Moments of extreme pressure. That could indeed be a very useful thing to know. Thank you."
"I hope I'll see you again some time after that, maybe we should choose a common ground where our family can some time share experiences and desires, Grwlf court maybe, or the elemental chaos. We could chosse a fixed time for that maybe..."
PP (4/7) + 1 pp guide, +1 pp shape.
Great Zephyr came upon Yrie, one of his favored travel spots. The warm thermals of the desert and sea felt like a hot bath to the wind spirit, and he treasured the warm air. However, this trip was not to be so good as the last; within the desert were a grotesque and abhorrent race, vastly different from the Glass Titans the spirits lived with. Curious, he hoved above them for a moment, wondering what he should do, before lowering to their level and taking a more physical form- a mini-tornado that swept the sand below in all directions.
"What are you, trespassers?," he called out, keeping an eye out for aggression.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Meanwhile on the mountain the young Aszhari was suffering from the cold, their blood needed the heat of the sun or the one of the storms, but the first was not strong enough there and the second was slowly exausting. The older among them, a seasoned hunter, attempted to find a way to move down, however even his powerful legs and claws could find no way to climb down, the rock was too resistant and smooth and the cold was weakening the hunter grasp. The others tried with no avail, under the watchful eye of Nashcal, the baron of the freezing wind, the spirit was quite annoyed by this errand, however he did not dare to disobbey his god...
Brinn sat in peace with her two children, who had as of yet shown no signs of waking. She and Sonel shared no words, just the harmony of the moment, as they sat in that warm field of Renissa. Looking out over the vast planes, seeing the animals at sight's edge, she was reminded of her friend Ankirega. She didn't know what he was doing at the moment, and considered calling him; but no, he did not need her now, and this moment was too serene. She would introduce her friend to the fledling gods when they awoke.
Visions ran through her mind of Ankirega, running across the fields in abandon, flowers making way and stretching up towards the big wolf. He ran with the sun at his back and the open field ahead. Almost in a dream, Brinn reached towards the field, sparks of green light and trails of letters and symbols striking the ground in front of her. On Verda, the Wall of Origins glowed brightly as new truths scrawled themselves against it's surface, the primal spirits in The Grotto watching as a new race was born. On Renissa, the forms twisted around each other, slowly emerging into noble wolfen creatures, greatly resembling Ankirega himself. Brinn awoke as if in a daze, and a word was on her lips.
"Ankir..."
- - - - - -
Back at the Isles, Ankirega gave a short laugh. "Brinn? She's not my master, but my friend. As best I know, she is doing well; Sonel came not long ago, and they left together. I haven't heard from her since, though she can call me if she needs." He gave a short jerk of his head, indicating the Chord Amulet he wore. Araiyo smiled warmly, knowing Eschal as a friend, even if he did not know her. Lohak, their memories were not so sure of, but they both knew him to have healed Sonel from Zo-Att's initial attack. "It's good to meet both of you," she said. "As my brother here said, I am born of the Life-Web he created. It is good to meet the god who gave Verda wind and air; thank you, Eschal of the Winds."
- - - - -
Zephyr whirled faster, kicking up a veritable storm of sand. "I am no sand-thing! I am Great Zephyr, of the primal spirits. What are you doing on Yrie, who made you?"
2 PP: (1 PP from Wall of Origins): Shape Populace (Greater): The Ankir, in epic version.
PP Remaining: 3/7 + 1/2
After a sharp intake of breath, she bellowed,
"STOP!"
Her demons obeyed her command, and it seemed even the devils were a bit unnerved. A small group of demons approached the devils, for once not seeking any destruction.
+1 new day
-1 guide populace (and 1 from Demon Forge) - the demons seek to parley with the devils.
[4/7]
"Fine, as a gesture of kinship, I will provide you with aid."
She then unfolded her arms, and with a snap of her fingers, brought a small, flickering flame to lif upon her fingertips.
"Use it well..."
Then she blew upon the flame, and though it went out, a torrent of smoke issued forth. It spewed towards the Silent One, and for a moment, engulfed him. But then it settled, clinging to his body like a faint mist.
"Now I must be off for now, but call should you ever need anything."
She smiled coyly, and winked, and in a swirl of smoke and black fabric, she had departed.
1 PP Given to the Silent One for his God-Weapon
4/7 PP
PP Expenditures
3 PP - Claim Domain (Greater) - Air
4/7 + 1/1
"Why has the bloodletting stopped?"
The Silent One smiled as Bel departed. Everything was coming along nicely... if this dark pantheon truly took root, and he could use the power of other gods on his project, the time it would take to come to fruition would be halved! Forget the undead child for now, he had bigger fish to fry... he'd come back to put a few chains around their neck later.
Disappearing in a flash (of time, not light, he refused to be so disgustingly flashy), the Silent One reappeared in the center of the Shadowfell, idley noting Failure had healed enough that the gloop was no longer pouring out from the socket it's arm used to be. Opening the top of the tank containing Failure's right arm, the Silent One used the power of fire Bel had gifted him with... as long with every other element he could conceive of an access no he had access to the one. Earth, air, lightening, cold, water, acid, poison, even obscure ones such as bone, metal and slime poured forth into a ball of power. A ball that was fire most of all despite it's essence.
Half-smiling, the Silent One grasped onto this ball, slowly moulding it until it became not a ball at all, but a pair of wings not unlike that of a birds, constructed purely of energy. So, this would be the part of his project that represented life composed of the elemental forces... life that did not exist in the traditional sense, but was power made sentient. In the same way the arm represented the force of the dieing that didn't die, the undead that clung to existence through sheer will. Plunking the wings into the tank, the Silent One covered it once more, floting down off the top of the large structure and watching as the wings naturally took a position that would look perfectly natural on a creatures body... except this creature didn't exist yet. He needed more for that, more power, more forces of life.
Still, he had made great progress... he estimated the creature, even as merely wings and an arm was approximately as strong as Lohak. Maybe slightly weaker, Lohak may have grown since he last saw him. Whatever the case, when it was complete, nobody would be able to beat it. Not Lohak. Not Grawlf. Not Bel, or Brinn, or anyone else.
The Silent One grinned wickedly.
PP Expenditure
2PP (one from Bel) - Wings of Chaos - The Silent One crafts the Wings of Chaos from Bel's power, adding some of his own to the equation. It's a +1 Combat Artifact
[1/7]
- - - - -
The sandstorm suddenly roared forward, the foulspawn who had informed Great Zephyr of their creator being flung far away, crashing into another with a sickening crack. The spirits behind surged forward with the attack, crashing ino the foulspawn group. Screams and howls struggled to pierce the surging sandstorm as the two races clashed over their creator's mutual hatred. The superior numbers of the spirits overcame the foulspawn, despite losses on their side; the remainder of the abhorrent creatures fled, Great Zephyr slowly leaving his rage.
"The Corrupter, here... Brinn most be told." The spirit sped off into the Void as the spirits filtered back to their homes, zooming towards Verda.
"Our Dark Lady wissssshes that we use our talentsss elsssewhere. Thisss battle goesss nowhere, but if we combine forcessss we may be able to bring other racessss down to their knees. What sssay you?"
Upon arrival, things were... disastrous. Foulspawn were being slain and fleeing, and spirits of some sort were doing the killing. Not that Sku'Byss actually cared much for each individual Foulspawn, he new this could be... problematic. So, he launched a beam of pure corruption from within himself, killing the spirits it touched and dispersing the rest.
After the destruction was over and done with, Sku'Byss returned to the mountains, and began wondering who exactly sent the spirits.
The difference between us, is that my lack of knowledge is your opinion, while your lack of knowledge is a fact. You are not worthy to travel these crystal highways! I will let you return to your world if you wish, but you shall not pass into the comet's heart!
Twist scoffed. "I'm not exactly as old or as instinctively invested in knowledge as you are, shadow me. Why else would I wander places just to learn of them? But if you don't want me wandering your damn comet, so be it."
With that, the fox turned around and began walking back up the hallway. Hopefully the spirit of whatever it was would make that way out be the right way...
And so she pulled from the Void power and magic which she shaped and molded to her will. She called to mind an image of a Noble Eladrin child, beautiful and perfectly innocent. An odd contrast to herself. The girl had ebony hair and ivory skin. Her gown was made of white feathers terribly soft and delicate, interwoven with bright red rose petals and soft green plants. Upon her head was a simple crown, a wreath of red roses that sat amidst black curls. From her back stretched a pair of insect wings, yet so fine and delicate and beautiful, and speckled with sparkles. And in her hand she held a long, thin stick, a wand, with a star at the end, glittering in the ambient light. This was by far the most beautiful thing she had yet to create, save Serine of course.
"I shall name you Arabelle, Queen of the Fairies."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sangbrise cocked an interrogatory eyebrow at the marilith.
"And how are my masters to know that this isn't merely a ruse concocted by you demons to lure us into a false sense of security?"
It seemed the captain was much more perceptive than one might give him credit just by looking at him.
PP Expenditures
3 PP Ascend Exarch: Arabelle, Queen of the Fairies. (Provides Guide PP)
--------------
Twist suddenly found himself back on Lor'quhan, at the same rock as before. In fact, it seemed as if he had simply stepped through the veil of darkness to the other side - a naturally shallow depression in the rock. But as sunlight beat down on his back, he came to realize that while he had not moved, the magic of the place had -- the Whispergate was no more, and only rough, bare stone was felt beneath his paws.
--------------
Actions
The Sculptor moves The Whispergate from Lor'quhan to Verda.
After months of travel by foot Maibe reached the city of Casaka. It was made of glass of all things...
Maibe shook her head as she looked out at it from a sanddune. It was a...shiny sight truth to be told with that enormous lens orbiting above it. She stuck out her tongue in disgust and mumbled.
" Father...sometimes you don´t know when to stop...I will probably have to take care of that lens sooner or later. "
With a heavy sigh Maibe began to wander against Casaka. To mortal and divine alike she was nothing more than a simple Dhoremi, a creature never seen before in these parts of the world.
---
Tomett followed behind its creator making a second journey to Yrie. When it finally spotted him, it hailed him and reported accordionly.
---
The one-who-was-two made another spire identical to the first in scale and hurled it toward the surface of one of the Isles of Wonder where it sat and awaited its destiny.
Expenditure
Create Artifact (Greater) - A second Steaming Spire.
"This is it."
It is only inevitable that we will engage in battle at a later date, but for now we must work together. We have nothing to gain by breaking this contract early, we only wish to move on to more powerful prey. Surely you do not deny the chance to bring down the lesser races?
It was a very...odd city. Not something that could be built just like that. A city crafted by heat and the work of skilled artisans. It had a certain majesty...but it lacked the warmth of Dhoremi craftmanship.
It didn´t fit on Yrie. Odd creatures wandered the city´s streets. Animals that eminated light and spoke in odd tongues with each other and the Titans.
What were they? The Goddess thought and grabbed one of the tinier Spirits by the neck, lifted it up and looked at it with cold, uncaring and slightly curious eyes.
" What are you....another of Zo-Att´s wretched fantasies? Or maybe a creation of one of my...partners..?"
The Gods were no longer her family and therefore the golden Goddess felt no mercy with the wretched creature she held in her hand. What was their purpose? Why had this unclean little thing put it´s dirty feet on the surface of her blessed world?
He turned and looked out over Avanii. "They ask for it to prosper, so this I must do. It is simply a matter of how."
- - - - - -
Ankirega nodded. "Perhaps so. Though Brinn and I may call each other equals, she is yet the stronger. I can help you nourish these lands, with the help of the primal spirits I mentioned." He looked at Araiyo, who continued. "We, as the spirits of nature, are bound to it and both bless and are blessed by it. It is Brinn's wish, as well as ours, that we nourish all life that we can."
Maibe mumbled and dropped the spirit at the ground, bent down and place a hand at it´s forehead and led a tiny flow of healing energy through the Spirit´s body. Strong enough to wake it up and make it feel healthier than it had in years. She picked it up once more, this time she held it in the palm of her hand that had grown to fullfill this purpose.
" Who is this Brinn? Is she here in Casaka? Who are you and more importantly what are you? "
The Goddess stared at the spirit silently with a pair of golden eyes.
- - - - -
The spirit looked at Maibe in confusion and fear. The goddess had nearly killed it, and now it healed her to continue the interrogation. It looked around at it's brethren, but they were all avoiding the dangerous woman. Blast.
"Brinn's da life-maker! We're spirits of nature, and what have I done to you?!," cried the small spirit.
"Then will you show me your friends gifts. Mkae this world prosper and grow stronger."
After his foulspawn had been attacked, the realization had come to Sku'Byss that he, surprisingly, had no weapons of his own. That was one thing that needed to change.
First, he took some stone from the mountains where the Foulspawn lived. Already tainted from having Foulspawn dwell upon it, and even more so now that Sku'Byss had a hold of it, Sku'Byss twisted and shaped the rock into a single, straight rod. Then, using his corruptive forces, he turned the rod to a darkish, obsidian color.
Then, Sku'Byss took the Mind of Corruption and removed a portion of the crystal near the tip. Though the portion was small, Sku'Byss enlarged it to about fist-size. Then, he welded the crystal to the tip of the rod.
What had been simple rock now had become a mighty weapon of Corruption. When willed to by its master, a beam of destructive corruption erupted from the crystal on its tip. It was the Rod of Sku'Byss, or simply the Rod of Corruption.
2 PP Create Artifact: The Rod of Sku'Byss, which provides a +1 combat bonus.
She looked at her brother, reveling in the new power that surged through her. This was how he felt...now they could truly be considered brethren. Spirits formed below, taking a multitude of forms in the wash of energy, and absorbing the knowledge Araiyo shared.
"Well, that was....interesting.," she said, laughing.
3 PP: Ascend Exarch: Araiyo (Provides Nourish PP. Or maybe Guide, once I make up my mind.)
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Primal spirits come to Avanii.
PP Remaining: 0/7 + 1/2 (Create or Spawn)
"Of course, there is always more to add to a world. This place has many dragons, and plenty of food for them, but little else. I have a long road ahead of me, it seems, a long road indeed."
"I think we may have come to an agreement. My masters will surely want to discuss this, but I am sure they will accept."
The devil's mouth twisted into a foul mockery of a smile.
"I believe we may have just made history my friend."
He looked down at the world, raising his four hands high, gathering a gigantic ball of flame pulling from deep within him to bring out the purest untouched flames. Panting from the exertion, he threw it downward, letting it shatter into hundred of peices as it descended, scatterng across Avanii. Where each spark of flame landed, a new creature strode from the scorched earth, the Azers.
PP Expenditures
3 PP - Shape Populace (Moderate) - Azers
2/7 + 1/1
He indicated them starting to explore their surroundings. "I think they shall be called Azers. It seems to fit their fiery nature."
He looked thoughtful. "I've not seen Brinn in sometime either. I over reacted out of grief when she was near, and haven't seen her since. As for Grawlf, well, I made something for him some time ago. . . . I could find him through it if necessary."
The golden Goddess mumbled and raised an eye-brow in bewilderment at the little spirit´s outrageous statement.
" What I desire of you, little creature is actually quite simple. You will tell me were i can find this Brinn...or one of your leaders, I have a desire to speak with them. Other than that you hold no interest with me and I probably will let you leave as soon as I am done with you. "
She bent down and placed the spirit on the ground. She looked upon it with cold, joyless eyes and got up once more still looking at the creature.
" When I look at you I remember my child Onnuvieedias, the first star, and what he did for my sake, his brothers and his sisters. He died to give them and me a home and a refuge. One that you and your kind uninvited inhabits as if were your own. "
A faint smile touched the odd Goddess lips as she looked up against the skies.
" He died for this to be..."
Maibe turned in to a flash of lighting and headed out in the void and for the first time in centuries the golden Goddess left Yrie, heading for Verda.
Verda had changed much since Maibe in ancient times had rested on it´s shores. When things had been simpler, when she still had worn the scales of a serpent but things had changed here as everywhere else. Verda was a planet of life! Spirits wandered it´s forests side by side with normal creatures. Gigotarus lived their lives in guarded settlements much like those of the Dhoremi. There was an odd power here...a web of life that flowed throughout the land giving life and nourishment to everything. What gladdend the Goddes the most though was a discovery she had made on this world.
The spirits actually had a purpose here something that gladdend the golden Goddess as the thought of having to exterminate them had bothered her. They were not vile creatures after all...but yet they had nor reason nor purpose to be on Yrie. They were needed on Verda. Yrie had a life of it´s own, one that had no need for spirit nor life-web. A life that eminated out of her dead child and herself.
" So what to do with these wayward spirits? Should I send them back to this fair world? Or perhaps try to find this...Brinn and make a deal with here. One that stops her people from bothering my child with their ropes and chains. He owns himself...no spirit has domain over him..."
A wide grin appeared upon Maibe´s lips and with a loud laugh the golden Goddess transformed in to a flash of light and headed of to Yrie.
Finally one of them decided that merely calling the god would not be enough "Eshcal is not our servant to be called when we wants, he our master who gave life to our people from mindless beasts, we should offer us to him, not ask but give..."
"But what can we offer to a god?" replied one of the hunters.
"He gave us life, the most precious thing we have, that's what we shall give back..." told Darhek, the youngest among them...
The other stared at him with doubt and fear.
"I'll offer to Eshcal my blood and my life should I need that, He will come..."
"What if.."
"He our father and our lord, he will..."
Then the young hunter took a dagger made of sharply cut stone, calling the remnants of his strenght he begun cutting trough his skin and scales, letting his semidine blood flow in the name of his god, as his life force slowly expired the sky begun to darkens. "We are going to be buried under a blanket of snow after all" told one of the hunters.
Meanwhile Darhek was sensing something, the storm in they sky above was nothing compared to the one within his soul, death was coming, however there was something else, pure divine essece flowing trough his blood, he looked at the doutful hunter, his eyes burning with a dark light. "You shall not doubt!" he cried "Not in life, nor in death!" he told before stabbing the other with his stony blade.
A thunderstorm erupted, the lightning begun striking the moutain top, cutting portion of it and throwing the rocks to a fall of thousand of meters, but at the same time refreshing the Aszhari with each strike, meanwhile the blood of the two aszhari was merging with the snow, melting it, forming small rivers that fell down trough the mountain rock, burning it as some kind of acid, or maybe just eroding its surface like the winds does in centuries. The river carved a path among the stones, one that the Aszhari could use to move back to the safety of Isles' forests...
Finally when the storm was showing the peak of its power Eshcal came, he has sensed the voice of his children, their life offered to him, but while a part of his power was for sure responsible of the happenings he also somehow understood that there was something else called that day, maybe it was just the act of giving life for death that called most of the wondrous act or maybe it was Eshcal uncouncious answer to the prayers, he could not be sure of that.
The god managed to use his quite clumpsy knowledge of life to save the dying Darhek, even if he was unable to wake him up, his spirit hanging in balance between life and dead, somehow Eshcal knew that one day his first "prophet" will awake from his near death state, but it will be far in the future.
At first the god was sad of the bloodshed and loss of lives,
"Is this the price to allow my mortal children to commune with me, one of death and blood?" he told
"A price we will gladly pay" replied one of the hunters, bowing in front of the god...
During the next few days Eshcal explored this new form of power, finding out that smaller sacrifices, even if much less effective, still provided some effect, occasionally enough to briefly commune with him, in secret he shaped rules made of divine edicts, social laws and morale teachings, in order to reduce the bloodshed and the cost of life among his people, Evshan, the more manipulative of the twins, helped his father in spreading this new art only among the wisest Aszhari, creating a caste of wise blood priests.
While most of the Aszhari fledging civilization welcomed this form of new magic and the ability to commune somehow with their god, even with such a bloody price, many preferred to keep the old traditions of peaceful prayers, songs, as the spirits has taught them and celebrations to life, creating a small schism in the Aszhari worship of Eshcal.
Finally content that, even if with an extreme cost, he was no more totally disconnected from his firstborn fate he decided to leave the islands, as he wondered what the other gods was doing with the divine power of shaping minds granted by Grawlf knowledge... And so he prepared to depart...
Sarriss and Evshan however did not want to leave their father, "Our brothers and sisters will prosper even without us" told Evshan "For now at least" continued Sarriss "We have being connected with our father too briefly to let him go away so easily"
"Let me go easily?" replied smiling Eshcal.
"Yes you wont, we are coming this time" told Evshan.
The god paused for a second and feigned to have many doubts to tease his children...
"Well I think I can bring you with me this time, my winds can watch on your younger brothers and heirs..."
The Twins, filled with a childish joy, thanked their father and prepared to leave Isles for the stars..
PP (3/7) +1 PP Shape + 0 PP Guide.
3 PP (1 from Evshan) the Aszhari discover divine magic, forming a system of rituals and prayers are fueled by blood and sacrifices and thunders.
1 PP Mold, Oshan Gaars, the First Temple of the Aszhari religion, a large complex made of "semi natural" stone caves cut by the fury of the storm and the power of blood magic at the top of the Isles highest mountain.
The Silent One, done with his weapon for now, teleported back into the void. More specifically, where he had left the Brothers. Perhaps he could convince his new corrupted ally to... but wait, it seemed the god of corruption was gone. Ah well, he had other things to do in any case...
"Boss?" Honor asked from behind the Silent One.
"Yes? What is it?" the Silent One replied, looking at the exarch.
"We found Sassriss," Honor continued, holding up the little parasite to see. "And she has some big news! Apparently, she wouldn't talk to us abo-"
"Of courssssse I didn't, you're bumbling foolsssss!" Sassriss insulted, jumping down from the knights hands as though they were dirty before affectionately crawling up the Silent One and onto his shoulder.
"We are not!" Chivalry shot back.
"...not helping," Honor replied.
"So, my most loyal exarch," the Silent One spoke. "You had better have a good reason for just up and leaving like that."
"Oh, but I do massssster," Sassriss hissed. "You sssssssee, when I went into Bel to retrieve the Sssssssshadowfell..."
And so the parasite recounted how Bel had possessed her, before forcing her to vanish away once they'd reached Verda. How she depossessed her and crafted a new body for herself, before creating the Noble Eladrin. And how Sassriss gained the knowledge of the primal spirit Brushwit.
"Intriguing... so the Bel we just saw, though her mentality, was not in her original body. That could prove useful in future dealings with her... and you say this Araiyo is the 'life web', which is in itself a nexus for all life on Verda? If that's true, a mere shard of her essence would be enough to fill the anti-god weapon with the power of life to join the undead and elemental..." The Silent One smiled. "You've done well, Sassriss... I think a little reward is in order."
"Masssster, to merely ssssserve you is reward enough," Sassriss groveled.
"Boot licker," Honor mumbled to himself.
"Nonsense, it falls in line with my own plans anyway." The Silent One grinned wickedly. "Sassriss, soon you will no longer merely be my vassal... soon, you'll be a god."
[3/7]
_________________________________________________________________________________
With the Devourer War over, Ymalos retrived his weapons and went back to Yrie to answer Grawlf's summons. He appeared next to him in a flash of blood-red light. "Are you the one who called me, Eye-God?" He said to Grawlf.
PP:
+3 PP (3 new days)
2 PP De-nourish populace x2: The soulspike devourers.
0 PP Lesser guide populace x2 (divine servant): The Maenads stop attacking the Devourers and travel home to Yrie.
1/7
He unfolded His Wings and took to the skies, stirring the first winds to life, filling the firmament with life giving rain. In a wing beat, he covered the distance that a man travels in a year, to land on the Sacre Plage. Our Lord formed the first of our kind out of sand of that beach, sand as golden as our skin, for from sand we came and to sand do we return when we die. Then He seized a star, incandescent white, and brought it down to earth from which to weave our hair, spooling threads of quicksilver white. Stretching His blessed fingers unto the aquamarine sea, He raised drops of water for our eyes and sea shells for our teeth and bones. Blood and lips flowed from His own wounds, opened in His courageous battle against a False God.
Yet for all this, our bodies stood still, not a hair moved, not a muscle twitched. Perfection reigned in that moment, a perfection of limb and body as yet unmatched by perfection of mind. We were His chosen, His firstborn. We lacked, however, our own divine spark, our own will to come alive. So in that moment He gifted these once perfect vessels with His own divine spark, spread through His breath to give us breath, His life to give us life. In that breath, that sacrifice, we were cursed. Forever damned by the blessing of Our Lord to have our tongues stilled in prayer, to be prevented from speaking His name because of our imperfection, our inability to bring ourselves alive.
Thus, we strive to regain that lost moment, to ascend once again to those heights of His favor. So it is that we are His finest servants, His blessed warriors who will carry the fire of Jihad to the farthest reaches of the universe to cleanse it of the False Gods, whose names we do not speak lest we sully our very souls. Their followers have no rights, indeed they do not truly live. No atrocity is too cruel for them, and no mercy shall be granted them. On that glorious Day of Ascension, the last mortal formed by a False God shall die by an Angeloi's blade, and by their blood, we shall be redeemed.
Perfection and Failure, Book of Redemption
PP
2PP Shape Populous (Greater)- Angeloi
1PP Nourish Populous- Angeloi
"Corruptor, hello. I was not seeking you out, but if you will wait, I will speak with you as well."
Turning to Ymalaos, Ravnos let his voice harden.
"Moon-Tender, where is your moon? Why do you shame yourself by avoiding your duty and needlessly flitting about? I understand that you are angry at its destruction, but your duty is there."
one of Ravnos' hands shot out towards the few scattered remnants of the moon that remained circling the planet. On it, white trees and animals struggled to survive.
"Restore the moon and defend it with all your might, Grandson. If you require assistance, I will help you to move it from your... tempestuous mother's presence. B ut, it is there that you belong, there is where your duty lies. We each have our own precious reasons for existence. Mine is to gather knowledge and enforce duty... yours is to guard and make the moon flourish."
Ravnos half-turned to Sku'Byss.
"What brings you here, Corruptor? I would not think that Yrie would meet your tastes."
"Corruptor, you of all the gods I have met tackle your duty with a single-mindedness that awes and inspires us all. While Corruption is anathema to knowledge, for false knowledge is the greatest sin of them all, the side of my being that ensures that everything works as it is expected to work is pleased. And yet, you are having troubles here? Why do you find yourself troubled? Can you not corrupt your invaders with a blow? Slip into their minds and lead them astray? From this close distance, I can feel the minds of some of my first-born creations being pulled by your dark and seductive embrace. Do so with your other foes, I would say."
"Or..." Ravnos said, eying the younger god. "Are you proposing some other solution? Speak, I am listening."
PP:
+1 (new day)
2/7
"What do you mean, your home is no more? Look! It still exists, but it is broken and has been crying out for your help for centuries now. Reform it and reclaim your original title, Moon-Tender. Slaughterer you may be, and" the god let out a wry chuckle, "A good job you are doing of that, but we are complete beings, grandson. To neglect a part of ourselves is to eventually let our own spirits and the world whither away and our plans result in naught but a frenzied effort to be even slightly remembered."
The Silent One soon transported he and his exarchs to the surface of Lor'quhan. It had been some time since he had been here... the toxic smog was rather refreshing after so long.
"Sassriss," the Silent One began. "To begin, you must spawn something... appropriate for your character. Something simple and base, most likely with some kind of material to work with..." the Silent One looked around, before pointing at a tree burdened with many vines. "There. I invested in you the power to give birth to monstrosities, use it."
Following her Master's will, the parasite crawled towards the tree, before spitting on it with a large toxic spray of spit that covered the entire thing in sticky, corrosive goo. For a while, nothing happened, except the tree slowly steaming away as the acid ate away at the bark... but then the vines twitched, as though coming to life, and fell from the trees. They became more flesh than plant, than nothing but flesh, growing fangs and scales and tails that twitched with noise.
"Ssssssnakes... vipersssss to be precise," Sassriss hissed. "A very gloriousssss creation for a gloriousssss world."
"I agree, my loyalest exarch," the Silent One replied. "They'll work just fine... now, you two," he added a bit more sternly, turning towards the Brothers.
"Yes boss! Anything you need, we'll do it!" Honor saluted.
"Never happy to help!" Chivalry saluted too.
"Fast as we can, good as we can."
"Not in day, not in night."
"We'll build it, we'll fight it, we'll sniff it or snuff it."
"Never you mind, we really don't luff it."
"If you ever you-"
"WILL YOU TOO SHUT UP SO I CAN ACTUALLY GIVE YOU YOUR INSTRUCTIONS!"
The Brothers winced. "Sorry," Honor apologized.
The Silent One took a deep breath before continuing a little calmer. "Rodix, Xidar, I need you to build something for me. A... cradle, no unlike the gigotaurs labyrinth. But it has to be far less confusing, grander to look upon, and I have a few ideas in mind for the decoration..."
1 Spawn PP from Sassriss - Spawn Heroic Tier Beast - Sassriss Spawns Deathrattle Vipers
[4/7]
2 PP moderate mold land: Ymalos puts Yrie's moon back together. I'm making this a moderate action but if that's wrong, just let me know.
0/7
"Yes, I am quite happy now. Now to try and convince your mother not to do anything rash and blow it up again."
The god smirked at Ymalos and turned back to Sku'byss.
"So you wish to create your own place of corruption? I would have thought that Lor'quhan would have been your ideal world. Did you have somewhere else in mind?"
"Why, hello there brother. I hope I am not interrupting anything."
"Listen, children" she said, "For long we have wandered these ashen forests, seeking a home for our own."
And the crowd of fairies, normally capricous and light, now were frozen with anticipation. They hung onto her every word, and even leaned towards her longingly, their eyes bright with her light.
"I believe I have found this place," she said, smiling broadly, "For over the crest of this valley lies a river. Follow this river, and you will find a place of such delicate and terrible beauty, that you will weep when you see it, and know that it is my gift to you all."
Her shining eyes fell upon each of her subjects in turn. Occasionally, she would bestow a wink upon a lucky eladrin, who would then swoon. Once or twice, she flicked her wand, setting a jet of sparkles showering down upon her subjects. And those that felt the touch of her magic were suddenly transformed. They became light and airy, as well and delicate and oh-so tiny. Miniature people, each aglow with a different coloured light, now flitted about the place on gossamer wings. These were the sprites, Arabelle's newest children.
"Now go, my faithful subjects, go and find the promised land."
She then indicated one sprite in particular with her wand.
"Will'o here will guide you on your way."
And as the Eladrin poured away after Will'o, Arabelle smiled at the sprites who flitted about her still. She had plans for these most blessed of children, so many plans. Then she sighed, and in a shower of light and fairy dust, she was gone, leaving merely echoing laughter in her wake.
3/7 PP
Turning to Zo-Att, Sku'Byss bowed and said, "Hello, mother."
"Hello, oh beautiful ones, beautiful!," she called out happily.
She seemed quite airy, and rather thin, as though a stiff wind would blow her over. She also seemed quite non-plussed that a spirit was talking to her. She also did not seem like the type of person with whom intelligent conversation was possible. In fact, most of the other Noble Eladrin had left her behind in their mad rush to follow the guiding fairy. Only a few remained, though these all seemed about as attentive as Gwenodine.
"Quite nice weather we're having," sighed Gwenodine with all the mental focus of a goldfish.
She straightened up and fixed the spirit with a dreamy gaze, as though her eyes were merely resting upon him, and not actually taking him in at all.
"I'm hungry, do you got any food?"
"Oh, yes, hello. I haven't seen you in a long time... or since you were born, really."
Sku'Byss pointed in the direction of a group of Foulspawn. They appeared smaller from high up here, but no less hideous and corrupt.
The tribal Aszhari and the primal spirits had gotten along well together after their meeting, and they had even intermingled to some small degree. Yet, this newest act was an atrocity to the life-loving spirits. Blood sacrifice? Why would they ever do such a thing? They watched in morbid fascination as a man was slain with chants heavy in the air, calling for their god. In the mood they were in right now, they may well decide a spirit would form a good sacrifice..
Rumbler looked at Featherdown, his mate, if such a thing could be claimed of the spirits. "Why would they sacrifice their own kind? Does it somehow add strength to their prayer?" The spirit next to him took the form of a bird with brilliant plumage; mainly purple, though light refracted with greens and golds. "I want no part of it!," she said firmly. "And they should know it!" Without further delay, the spirit flew towards the encampment. Rumbler yelled after her and followed, tearing the ground beneath him as he went.
Verda, Gigotaur encampments
A trio of spirits stood/floated outside the gigotaur's warzone, watching the back-and-forth curiously. "Hey, Mr. Gigotaur?," one of them asked a nearby cow. "Why's ya fighting?"
Verda, Eladrin Airhead
Flowing Current stared incredulously at the fey. Maybe it'd be better if she just left it alone and went to find the more intelligent of it's kind. If asking around the area proved helpless, she would search with her spirit companions for the rest of the species.
In The Sun
The Alabaster dragon, she'd called herself. Orine had already lived for many hundreds of years, and had done so little. Shaking herself, she forced herself out of her half-slumber and looked around at the empty void beyond the sun. The warmth and light of this great sphere were like a perfect warm bath to the dragoness, and had drawn her like a moth to light when she had seen it. Yet what had she done, what had she learned, while she was gone? NOTHING.
Growling, she left the comforting embrace of the sun, and looked around creation. She knew of Verda, of course, her home planet, but little beyond. She had occasionally been woken by passing or talking gods in the area, but her slumber had gone too long. Deciding to return to Verda and see what had changed, she started in that direction. Her long and sinous white form glistened against the sun's brilliant light, as if urging her to stay.
However, before long she ran into a certain goddess...
"Who are you?," she asked rather rudely, but curious, of Maibe. Something about her felt familiar..
Yrie
Back in Casaka, the small spirit lay crumpled on the ground, sobbing. Some of the other spirits moved to see if it was allright after Maibe's interrogation. On all there minds and lip-analogues was a simple prayer... "What should we do?"
En Route To Yrie
Ankirega and Araiyo were concerned about the spirits, knowing now that Maibe was apparently a psychopath. They raced along through the void back to Yrie, and felt a faint call in the back of their minds. They looked at each other, surprised, then off in the distancw where Yrie would be. "Is that...?," Araiyo began to ask, surprised. "It must be...the prayers that Lohak spoke of. Let's go.," replied Ankirega as they continued on again. Unfortunately... there seemed to be a small gathering of gods. All of which were known to Ankirega, and by extension Araiyo, but all three took a moment of thought. However, when he did, his hackles rose and began growling.
"Sku'byss...!," he hissed. Araiyo took a moment to remember what had happened, then became just as tense as him. "We have to know what is going on...," Ankirega murmered. "Grawlf might need our help." The two wolves came tensely to where the gods had gathered, and simply stood there, looking briefly between each of the gods.
Gwenodine's gaze suddenly focused upon the spirit, and she smiled, all thought of food out of her mind.
"I like you, spirit man," she said peacefully, "I think I want to stay here with you."
She smiled again, and numerous air-headed Eladrin nearby perked up their ears attentively.
"The others of my kind are too.... busy, you know?"
Her words were met by a resounding "Hear, hear!" from the other eladrin, which made her smile widen even further.
"Would you have us, at least for a little while?"
Scowling, Sku'Byss readied his rod, just in case things got... messy.
Brinn had taken, with effort, the form of her new Ankiren people, and had joined them in their hunts and meets. They were a tribal and close-knit group, though at the same time fiercely independent and self-depedent. It was a strange mix, but one she found she enjoyed. She had introduced them to the primal spirits upon Renissa, and the two groups had gotten along great together; the Ankir had taken up music with a passion, much like their namesake, her friend. It touched her to see such beautiful creatures, and wondered what Ankirega would think of her 'gift'.
"Mother Brinn?," asked an Ankir one day. She looked curiously at it. "Yes?," she wondered. "I wondered... you have been to other worlds? You are the goddess of one besides this, yes? Will we see them? Can we talk to you when you're gone?," asked the golden wolf. Brinn thought about it, curious. She could hear the Ankir's worship plain as day on Renissa, it was true. Would it extend outside this plane? She decided that it would be best to ensure that it would. "You're right, I am... and I believe I'll make something to so I can always be there if you need me."
She led a pack of the Ankir along with her on the continent of Saa, looking for the best place for the artifact she even now was designing. Finally she decided upon the lush forests in it's southern lands, the best place for the forest goddess to work. Here, more than anywhere, should provide the power she'd require.
"Each of you, find a rock or stone and place it here, in the center of the clearing.," she said, gathering her energy and reaching out to Verda at the same time. This artifact would be a link between worlds, and a source of power. The golden wolves around her brought stones one by one; some were mere rocks, some glistened in the forest-dampened sun. Once each had came, they stood in a circle around her as she placed her hand on the pile. Power surged out from her, and she tapped the Void Matrix for it's own supply of creative energy as she felt her knees sag slightly. The stones molded into one, growing larger and forming a perfect whole. Inside she placed the same power she'd used for the Chord Amulet, providing a crystal-clear conduit to her. On Verda, the same stone formed suspended just below the ceiling of The Grotto, glowing brightly.
This stone would need something else... a symbol of her presence and love. She gently swirled the middle of the rock with one finger, and it flowed around her until it took the form she wanted; a circle, as would befit an amulet or medallion, with a tree's trunk emblazoned with a wolf's head. Below were flowers, and above the sky. A symbol of nature...and her friend.
Over Yrie
The pair of wolves growled at Sku'byss. "It has been long, but not long enough, Corrupter. Brinn may forgive you for hurting her, but I do not!" He shivered with tension and anger, but held himself in place- Zo-Att and Sku'byss were both a match for either of the exarchs, and who knew what Ymalos might do. He seemed...darker than before. Much darker.
Verda
Flowing Current stopped at the eladrin's call. "Have you? What do you mean, mean? Do you not have family, family?"
3 PP: Create Artifact (Greater): Stones Of The Forest-Mother (name may change), provides Guide PP.
PP Remaining: 1/7 + 0/0
Their were usually about a dozen battles between gigotaurs going on at any one time. Most of these, however, didn't involve actual fighting. Often there 'battles' were simply one army occupying one advantageous position hoping the other army would give up and go away, and the other army trying to starve them out from it before it became too costly forthem. Since gigotaurs horded food for such occassion, these sieges could last for months for hill tops, and years even if they were assaulting a fort. The longest documented siege was the battle of Garot, where the forces of the lord Neer sieged Fort Garot for three decades after the lord Garot did disgrace his name by accidentally shattering an antique stone statue. It wasn't that a gigotaur craved battle and seized on any excuse to do it, they just had a racial talent for blowing things completely out of proportion to idiotic levels in the most dramatic way possible.
On this day, however, battle was in full force. There were occasions in gigotaur warfare where one side would actually have enough of an advantage to attack, felt like making one last charge and so forth, which were grisly times for all involved. Truth be told, the gigotaurs would probably prefer all battle just be sitting around and eventually going home, but they'd never admit it out loud, that would be cowardice and against the code. Malin's and Melin's forces were in the full throws of battle, meaning that most of the gigotaurs couldn't even hear the primal spirits over the noise, let alone talk to them.
One, however, was not as involved in the battle, and happened to be nearby. Wiping his brow, the gigotaur decided now was as good a time as any to take a break, and so sauntered over to the trio of spirits, bloody axe slung over his shoulder.
"Hail, spirits of natureth, it be a fine day for the glory of battle," the gigotaur greeted, plonking down on the grass in front of them. "As for why we be making battle... the lord Malin, some timeth ago, had a glorious feast, from which every noble noble in the land was inviteth. He put forth a fair the likes of which hath never been seen, not since the lasteth grand feast a fortnight before it anyway. All doth enjoy it, and he poredeth his hearteth and his souleth into the food, employing the best chefs in the land that could make such fine food that mine and any other heart would weep at the taste, so divine it would be. But the lord Melin, perhapseth used to a different taste, did whisper to his fellow that the feast be rather plain. Lord Malin overheardeth, and so immediately challenge Melin. But as the way these things doth often go, the battle be fought with their armies insteadeth of their own blades."
Ravnos nodded greetings to all those who had joined him above Yrie. For a personal meeting with another god, the event sure had gotten crowded.
"Hello, Destruction, Song-singer... and one I do not believe I have met before, although I assume you come from Brinn's bountifulness as well. Please, call me Ravnos when I appear as I am now. Some of you may understand this..." His eyes flashed to meet Zo-Att, the first creature whom he had revealed his true name to, "and others will not, but that is how it is. Please, be at peace, all of you. This is a gathering of equals here, and if we must quarrel, let us quarrel with our voices and not with our actions. The Corruptor was just telling me of his desire to create somewhere new, for he feels that this planet is not suited for his people's needs"
Ravnos gestures towards the stars in the heavens, which are at the moment slowly moving to tell the story of Lohak and Ymalos' conflict.
"Not many of you were there, and, in fact... many of you were not even in existence yet, but when I created those points of light, they were made to commemorate a meeting that occurred amongst most of the gods in existence, where we agreed to explore the boundaries of what we could create... from the darkness of the Shadowfell to the bright radiance of Yrie. But, somewhere we got distracted, and our plans did not come out quite as we had hoped. In the spirit of that meeting, I propose we pool our resources together to form one final planet for our universe, a place where light and dark exist together. A place where Brinn's forests and the molten fury of Destruction can exist on the same sphere. A place where my love for knowledge and Sku'Byss love of corruption can live side-by-side... A truly unique place, fueled by all of our potent energies combined. Will you join me in this creative effort?"
~On Yrie itself, City of Casaka~
Karhedron had returned from the coast, annoyed that the Dhorem had ignored his attempts to parley. He returned to discover that their patron goddess had been trampling through the city with little regard for those that lived there, and especially the smallest of them.
Karhedron laid down on the ground, his huge bulk taking up the entirety of the broad street. Even then, he could barely see the tiny form, still sitting on the ground and sobbing.
"Hush, little one. All will be well. If we are not wanted here, then we shall merely go elsewhere and leave this planet to those who resort to such tactics against the smallest of our community. I must ask all of you, though... your people are spread much further than mine are, and, as I understand it, you are not bound by the same laws of gravity that keep my glassy form fixed here on the earth. We Titans require sand, and large quantities of it with which to reproduce. Do you know of any other rocky world where sand is in abundance?"
~On the Dark surface of Vok~
Far from the sun, far from the orbs of flame, hidden, not like that Shadowfell by magical darkness but merely by the sheer distance from the rest of creation, the Vokdara had not been spending the millennia since their creation in idle stupor. Rather, they had been spreading across the surface of the planet, covering its dark surface with their slimy, liquid presence, constantly changing, constantly sorting out, subconciously, their best of each generation. Slowly, painstakingly, something amazing occured. Out of the entirety of the race, suddenly, one Vokdara was altered slightly by some unseen hand and gained the greatest gift of them all: a brain. Where first there was one, by the Vokdaran's internal rhythms, one became two, two became ten, and ten became hundreds, rising to dominance over the rest of their race and, in conversing with one another in the moments between their fightings, they began to call themselves the Vok'Dar, and looked out towards the faint glimmers of the known universe and wondered what resided there. They selected Vokdarans from their un-intelligent brethren and bred them into void-resistant orbs of goo, and sent them out in a burst to travel to the lit worlds, claim whatever prizes they could, and return for inspection.
Yay Sblock!
2 PP: Shape Populace (epic): The Vok'Dar, intelligent form of the Vokdara
1 PP: Spawn Creature (heroic): Vokdaran Hunters, orblike beings that hunt out weak creatures to bring back to Vok for experimentation. Think... alien abductions
2/7 + (2/2 create,shape,nourish)
Turning back to Ravnos, Sku'Byss said, "Now, to the task at hand, I would be more than willing to lend my power to such a project. The concept of radically different forces on one world interests me, and there seems to be much room for Corruption. Thus, I will lend my power, provided that Corruption is allowed to grow, albeit in a controlled manner, on this planet, and provided that, should Brinn decide to help, she will not assault me meaninglessly."
Sku'Byss gave a meaningful glare to Ankriega after finishing his last comment.
The group travelled in land and in the matter of days it reached Casaka. There their leader asked to be given an audience with the settlement´s leader. The negotiator seemed to be a calm, most polite man and prestented himself as Avorou of the Dhoremi.
Dafris Narh Shar, the leading bloodpriest, has just finished performing the sacrifice, his friend and once mentor when Dafris himself learned the way of the hunt, an aged hunter named Jarhak, has offered himself to Eshcal, to offer a new age of prosperity for his people, plagued by a few years of drought, and serve his master in the afterlife. His family was honored about the sacrifice and many partecipated the event, the Greatest Sacrifices was extremely rare and almost always performed out of the temple of Oshan Gaars, but the old hunter would have not being able to ascend the mountain dangerous slope and the bloodpriest has judged his motivation to be worthy and his will true.
As soon as the sacrifice was over, Darfis could feel the essence of his god within him, his own divine blood burning with power, he channelled this essence trough the sky, it was like a milion lightnings was coming from the priest toward the clouds above and soon the sound of thunder begun echoing on the isles, with nourishing rain refreshing the forests above and lightnings falling among the Aszhari, nurturing them with newfold energy.
Meanwhile, unnoticed by mortal eyes, the dead hunter soul, was greeted by one of the Tos'Arai, the death warden gently welcomed him, the two remained for a few moment to watch the the miracles of Eshcal unfold and the joy of the Aszhari below and than departed to the afterlife.
Finally Darfis noticed the coming of a spirit, he has never met one in person, he has being told that rerely those who learn the "Faith" has met one of these old allies of the Aszhari.
The other aszharis let the spirtis pass trough their ranks,
The bloodpriest turned to Featherdown, still covered in blood and yet filled with Eshcal power that still lingered in his blood, making him burn like a small star to the eyes of those who can see using more than the eyes.
"What brings you here, great one, I have never heard of spirits partecipating our cerimonies..." he told.
4/7 +1 Shape + 0 Nourish
+2 PP New day
1 PP Nourish Aszhari, the isles are covered by powerful storms and gentle rains, the aszhari are refreshed and when the lightnings hit their eggs all of them reveal healthy young Aszhari (usually many of the Aszhari eggs does not produce an offsrping due to the lack of divine power)
"A feast?," asked one of the spirits of his companions. "Yeah, you know how deer eat grass? Most things actually have to consume something else to live." "Wow, that's wierd." "Yeah, tell me about it." "So how is it that fighting helps?," one of them asked the gigotaur.
Over Yrie
Ankirega stared coldly at Sku'byss. "Do not dare call yourself her sister, Corrupter. You are of Zo-Att, not Sonel." Turning to Ravnos, he replied, "Though I fail to see the value of corruption in any form, I will trust that you know what you're doing. Destruction and death I see a purpose in, as is necessary. If you wish Brinn's aid in this, Ravnos, you know where to find her. I, however...I will not work with his ilk.," he said, jerking his head towards Sku'byss again. Araiyo sighed and shook her head. The proud wolf was making himself enemies when they did not exist..
"Tell me, Sku'byss, what part does corruption play in life? What purpose do your people hold?"
Casaka
The sprite remained on the ground for a time, before finally regaining some degree of composure. "Yous right, big one! Me check with elders, they know lots. If Yrie not want Little One...Little One not want Yrie!" He huffed in a completely ridiculous manner and headed south into the desert.
"Elder Firebreak, you hears me?," he called out, his tiny voice seeming completely out of place in the vast desert. The hot air in the area intensified as a spirit took form near him and Karhedron, who had followed him there. "Ah, Little One and the titan hero. What is it you ask of me?" Little One explained what had happened to the older spirit, and he did not seem very surprised. "Indeed.. stories tell of a series of planets out in the open void, nurtured by the god of wind. I have not myself been there, however, and know of no way to get you there, honorable titan. As I recall..they were named the Isles of Wonder."
En Route to Yrie
Orine looked at Maibe in a different light at her words. "You? You created this wonderful sun? I am Orine, also known as the Alabaster Dragon. I am strongest of Brinn's creations, but I hold no desire to be a servant, and left once I was born."
The Isles of Wonder
Featherdown looked at the bloodstained priest, and tried to gain some degree of composure. "I am Featherdown of the spirits. For what purpose are you slaying your own people?"
PP Remaining: 1/7 + 0/2
Dafris, paused a second to think what to reply to the spirit, he could understand that only Aszhari could comprehend the nature of the such an act, he could not explain the meaning of the sacrifice in the way he would have done to the young would be priest of Oshan Gaar...
Then he replied.
"I do not consider that act murder, spirit friend, indeed it was a celebration of life in my eyes, I was helping an old hunter and friend to see our father in the afterlife instead of facing the decline of his mind and soul, and help his family... our family... to survive and thrive..."
The Dreamscape
At first Eshcal went to the land of Shyr, bringing with him Sarriss and Evshan, the twins somehow remembered the aerie and beautiful landscape of the realm of dreams and nightmares.
"Father I think I have already being here somehow" told Evshan.
"Indeed you both have already visited this realm, in your sleep the mind drift here, this place flourish with desires and dreams, even I come here to refresh my mind, it is the realm of my first son, one not made of flesh and bones, but of hopes and toughts. I hope that one day you will be able to meet your half brother..."
The twins played a little with the endless dreamstuff, while Eshcal watched in awe, his son domain, however Shyr was not there at the time, he will need to seek him in some other place, as he wanted to show him the Twins...
When the god was ready he called the brothers, before leaving Sarriss decided to take a small part of this realm with her, cutting with her claws a small patch of dreaming essence to bring during their exploration of creation and beyond...
A mercy killing..? Such a thing Featherdown could understand, but... "How does this help your people, though? Killing them? You say it helps your family...how?"
"This was much more than a mere mercy killing as that alone would have being a shame for us, sacrifice without purpose is an act of fear and weakness and this was not... The very power that lies in life and death is unleashed when a willing souls passes to the afterlife, channeled trough me and guided by our father Eshcal, this holy energy now refill our people with strenght and nourish this land. Watch at everything that was accomplished today by Jarhak, my departed friend" he told opening his arms and pointing at the large storm that was still covering the sky of the Isles...
"And you believe this killing brought the storm? I do not understand how that could be... what power does a dead person have?"
"The thing that grant us life, the same holy essence that allows me or you to walk, hunt, talk and think, the one that brings you to the World on the River for your final rest and blissfull journey, the care of the father of us all who watches from the sky and finally the will and faith of the one who dedicates himself to his people.All of this things held power, enough to bring the greatest of miracles."
Featherdown looked up in the sky wherein the birds roamed, the cause of her existence. "Perhaps it is different for you, then. Our essence comes from nature itself; I don't know of anything else. I live as a spirit of birds, Rumbler of the ground. Perhaps for truly mortal beings there is something else. For myself, I wish to simply be caretaker of my responsibilities, as Brinn and Ankirega asked. Do they listen to us? I don't know. I cannot imagine their approval of blood rites, however, for any reason."
"If I may interrupt," Zo-Att said, moving in between Sku'byss and Ankirega, "He is more of Sonel's son than my own. In fact, it was entirely his idea to have a child; I just went along with it. But I am most curious, how is he? I have not seen him for a while, so I would like to know if he is right in the head, again."
Her tail reached for her spear, Empty.
"Although if you aren't going to say anything productive, I suggest you leave."
Ankirega shook his head. "I already told you that I don't consider you my enemy, Zo-Att. Your attack on him corrupted Sonel, making him into something he wasn't. Brinn made him better, but he was scarred nonetheless. He then dissapeared for a long time, and recently returned to Brinn. They then left again, so I don't know his current state."
"I never really wished for it to turn out this way. I..." Zo-Att's white eyes closed for a moment and then opened again. "Tell Brinn I'm sorry; I never meant to do that to her father. Well, when you see her again, that is."
"The beauty of life, my friend, mortal or not, is diversity... Death is a bane and a gift for mortals like us, my kind can live for thousand of years, but still we have to leave this realm, your kind can exist forever, but will never know what lies beyond..."
"Anyway I'll be honored if you join our celebration for the noble choice of my brother and for the new life it is giving to this world, the greatest sacrifice is a rare event indeed, one that requires a proper respect..."
The Elemental Chaos
Leaving the dreamscape Eshcal went to visit the Elemental Chaos, it was a long time that he has not seen the realm of his father, he could still feel the portion of his power that fueled this plane and how easy was to grasp it here. With the slightest effort one could make incredible displays of divine might, even ones that was impossible in reality.
The Twins, stood in awe of this new realm for a while, but then realized that even their own power was magnified there, they begun playing with it, dueling against each other for fun using the elemental energies that saturated the place.
After a while Sarriss went to Eshcal
"I have something to ask you father".
"And I'll answer you my child, speak"
"If this place magnify our power will it be enough for us to do as you did when creating us?"
"To create a new living beings?
"Yes, like you did with us, the winds and many other of your sons and daughters..."
"It should be possible my daughter..."
"So shall we try?"
"Of course, I'll help you with guidance should you need it..."
Sarriss thanked her father and went back to Evshan, helped by her brother hands, she took a little of the dremstuff that she brought from Shyr realm and much of the elemental energies of the chaos and shaped a new being, this proved to be extremely hard for her, however after a while, with a little support of her brothers whose hands was clumsy in shaping life, but dextrous in forging wills she succeeded.
A new massive being appeared, a tall humanoid, made of wind and dreams a seeker of desires, the first Djinn bowed to Sarriss and Evshan telling...
"What do you wish?"
After the twins has toyed a little with this being Eshcal called his power so that more Djinns appeared into the chaotic realm... Pleasd he paused to rest, replenishing his power with the energies of the place...
3/7 +0 Shape +0 Guide
2 PP (1 from Sarris), shape populace - Djinn.
The two wolves looked in surprise at Zo-Att's request. "Of course, Zo-Att.," replied Ankirega. "But tell me, why are you interested in making a new planet? What part does your destruction play in it?"
The Isles of Wonder
A rare event to celebrate the life taken... Featherdown thought about it for a moment, then hesitantly nodded. "We will join you, Rumbler and I. I do not know that I agree with your on your rites, but you are your own people, and we learn much from observing those not of our kind." Rumbler agreed as well.
"What's this about me making a new planet? I never said that I wished to participate, did I?"
"What place does corruption hold in the universe, then, Sku'byss?," asked Araiyo.
The Golden serpent hissed forth and slowly began encircle the Alabaster dragon with her long, serpent body. A faint smile touched her lips as she stared at the Dragon with an odd mixture of pleasure, curiouisty and suspiction.
" But what is that to you? Are you here to hurt him as others has tried before? Or are your reasons to speak with me...peaceful for a change? "
The golden serpent chuckled loudly and bent forward so closely that het pitch-black hair tickled the smaller dragon´s lips. Maibe closed her eye and waited for his answer with a faint, delightful smile playing on her lips.
Ankirega hissed at Sku'byss's mention of Sonel, but Araiyo continued to look at the god of corruption. "The creation of life is good, yes. I do not know what can and cannot be done by a god...but I would hope that you can choose the best uses for your talents. Your tree, the one you changed on Verda. Could it not become a creature of it's own, without destroying swaths of forest in it's hunger? Ankirega has made tree creatures himself, intelligent guardians of Verda. Can you not do the same, or must it be a destroyer?"
The Sun
Orine looked somewhat confused and amused by Maibe's statement. "The sun is a wonderful thing, I would never dream of destroying it. And why should my intentions towards the sun's creator not be peaceful?"
The ancient Drake raised her frontpaw that yet after millennias was charred and burned.
" Only my father and Eschal god of winds has ever come to me with only benign reasons. So why are you here then, Dragon? You say fair words about my creation...but yet it seems odd to me if that was your only goal in speaking with the Goddess of light. Is there possibly something you seek from me? "
The Golden Wyrm shook her head a couple of times and continued.
" If you so desire and if you promise that you will act politely and kindly against my children I will let you come with me to see my home. It´s a fair place and one where much can be seen..."
The ancient Dragon shouted as she once more turned in to a Dhoremi and began to travel against Yrie once more.
Maibe stood still, her eyes burnt as sudden memories flashed in front of her eyes. Enormous Trolls broke out from the forest eating, killing and maiming her people right in front of her eyes. She could hear their screams, see their faces as they were devoured and feel how their existince simply faded. For each Dhoremi that had died during that terrible war...a part of her had died with them. Leaving a hole that yet was not filled.
Her fists were clenched now and her teeth shown of in a horrible grin as she looked at the moon with hatefull eyes.
Maibe´s eyes burn brighter then ever before and the burnmarks that disfigured her left hand shone brightly with a red light.
" My son that was my Moon killed those that I held dear. He ate them and he created children of his own to continue to kill my people! And now what once was his centre of power has been restored! What I tore apart is now back.."
"Did you not protect your people? Surely the firstborn would prove the stronger.," she said, trying not to sound rude towards the goddess. "And can you not reason with him? Remove his people?"
Verda
"What purpose?" the gigotaur asked, idley stepping to the side to avoid a wayward thrown axe. "It doth be the code! If thou art wrong, thou must rectify that wrongeth. The only honorable and braveth way to do so is through the glory that is battle! But, if thou wisheth a more universal answer... it doth employ many a gigotaur as guards so they canneth feed their family, it doth mean that weapon makers hath a steady supplyeth of work, it doth mean that gigotaurs hath a chance to become famous and better themselves ineth battle, and it be something to do if thou doth not like the monotony of day to day lifeth."
Lor'quhan
"*pant* Well boss... we're done..." Honor panted, dropping his chisel from tired fingers.
"Stop pretending to be tired, you don't even have any muscles or lungs," the Silent One admonished.
"Oh yeah," Honor replied.
"Still, it's a fine place, you did good work... everything to my specifications and more."
"We didn't listen to a word you said," Chivalry beamed proudly.
The work the Brothers had done was a pyramid. A step pyramid, not one of those straight sided ones. This pyramid was so decorated with snakes, it went from motif to overboard. Snake heads, snake carvings, even the entrance to the pyramid at the stop of the stairs was contained in a massive stone snake head. In a stroke of brilliance, the Brothers had built the pyramid near a river, and had managed to figure out plumbing well enough to have a stream of foul toxic water spewing out of a snake head along a groove at each of the corners of the place. They thought it was a nice touch. Though they still had no idea what it was for.
"Masssssster, this placcccce isssss wonderful," Sassriss complimented him. "But what doessss this have to do with the ssssssnakes you had me made, and you claiming to be able to make me a god?"
"That, dear Sassriss, is very simple," the Silent One replied. "But first, we have to build off of what you've made."
Taking ahold of one of the snakes by the tail, the snake wiggled and hissed furiously, attempting to escape. But he would have none of it. Infusing the snake with his power, it's twitches soon became more and more sluggish, until it merely dropped limply from his hand, dropping onto the ground and growing and shifting into a snake like humanoid that seemed to be unconscious. Doing so with many more snakes, some turning into scaley men with a snake tail for legs, others possessed normal legs but a snake head, and some with both seemed more monster than man. Eventually however, the Silent One created enough of the yuan-ti for his purposes, nodding in satisfaction before taking up Sassriss and walking up the pyramid.
"Massssster, aren't you going to guide thesssssse new people?" Sassriss asked.
"No. You are. But before that, we need to get into the pyramid. I hope the Brothers made it to my specifications..."
3PP - Form Paragon Populace - The Yuan-ti are created on Lor'quhan
[2/7]
~Over Yrie~
Ravnos nodded.
"Yes, I will seek out Brinn and perhaps a few others to help us in this task. The universe is still young, it can wait a little longer for the fulfillment of that ancient pact."
In the distance, he saw Maibe and a great dragon approaching.
"Ah, Moon-tender, your mother approaches. Now may be a good time to speak with her and determine her intentions... we may need to move this moon of yours to some other location if she will not see reason."
~Casaka~
Karhedron listened to the exchange between the spirits.
"The Isles of Wonder. Yes, I have heard of those from some of you spirits. It would seem to be the best option, although I wonder if we should speak to the Great Eye about our plans... he may have some ideas as to other options for our peoples. For now, let us return to Casaka and begin setting our plans in motion."
They returned to Casaka, but Karhedron stopped abruptly as he saw the band of Dhoremi standing before the gates of the city.
"Who are you to come before us armed with bows and arrows, as if we were your foes." His voice boomed out from the desert, causing their heads to turn and the entire contingent to rearrange itself to face him.
"Speak. I am Karhedron and I am the leader of these people. What brings you to the dry desert now, when my attempts to speak with you have long gone unanswered?"
In the distance, Karhedron could see the Lens moving across a patch of sand beyond the borders of the city. While the old method was still used, the lens allowed for a much faster creation of new titans than summoning Sun Worms and waiting for them to turn the desert sand to molten glass. Faintly, the groan of newborn Titans were heard echoing across the sands.
~The Desert~
Samtaana was hard at work, his eyebeams melting and reforming the desert sands, his other beams holding the molten glass, mixed with other elements to make the resulting solid supremely strong. Slowly but surely, a gigantic hollow shape began to take form, easily able to hold hundreds of Titans. Samtaana paused to look at his work. There was still much to be done.
1 PP (from Lens of Casaka): Nourish Populace: Casakans grow in number.
1 PP (from Samtaana): Create Artifact: Giant shell of hard glass, part of an unfinished project
2/7 +0/2(shape) PP
A marvelous thing was happening. From the skies, drops of water fell, splashing upon the ground and cascading down from trees. It was a beautiful, precious thing, thousands of perfect, round drops falling together. Arabelle gazed up into the sky, and sighed. There was only one thing that could make this moment even better. With a wave of her wand, a jet of light shot forth. She painted the sky with this light, a multicolour ribbon that stretched across the sky.
"Ooh! How delightful!" exclaimed Arabelle, striding forth to behold her creation. Where she stepped, vibrant flowers exploded into life, painting the meadow with their brightness.
In a fit of fancy, she decided to share this wonder with even more creatures. With a swooshing motion, fairy dust shot out of her wand. It swirled about for a time, before settling into a recognizeable form. Now, before the little Arabelle, a small foal now stood, the colour of shimmering silver. A beautiful horn stretched out from its brow, and it turned to face her, eyes wide. Thus the first unicorn was born.
"I shall name you Silver!" cried Arabelle in a sudden burst of non-creativity.
In the Eternal Clock
And so Sangbrise returned to his Pit Fiend masters, and told them of the proposal. Some agreed almost immediately, others were hesitant, and still others fal-out refused.
"It is undoubtedly a trap!" said one.
"But think of the oportunity!" said another.
"Our power would be limitless!" yelled still another.
"But for what purpose?" challenged the first.
"To rule existence, of course," returned the third.
And so it continued for a great while, neither side seeming to lose or gain ground. Eventually, one who had thus far remained silent spoke up.
"Here is what we shall do," said the one in a deep, commanding voice, "We shall accept, but remain wary, keep on our guard, and establish a common enemy, then, while the demons are focused upon this foe, we shall slowly but surely establish ourselves above them in our new social order."
And slowly but surely, the rest agreed. They sent Sangbrise back to deliver the news.
Verda (With the Spirit)
"Family? No, they are gone, gone away," said the Eladrin, but then erupted into giggles at ehr own attempt to mimic the spirit. A few other Eladrin who were paying enough attention giggled slightly too, then lapsed back into dreamy silence.
"Couldn't we just stay here though?" she asked when she had sobered up some.
3/7 PP
The Demons' numbers swell as new creatures from the Demon Gate pour in. They loosely amass, excited for the prospect of having new opponents to battle and conquer.
+4 PP new days
-3 PP Nourish Populace x3 - Demons (All three types)
[4/7]
Ravnos came to a decision. Reaching out with a clawed hand, he focused his power into it, forming a ball of white-hot energy.
"Those of you who wish to contribute, add your power to this ball, and with it, we will create this new world."
~On Yrie~
Karhedron laughed,
"Very well. I can understand your reasoning. We are slightly intimidating beings. Let us talk further somewhere out of the sun."
Karhedron led the Dhoremi delegates into one of the glass spires. Light filtered through the glass, coloring the ground in a multitude of rainbow hues.
Zo-Att touched the orb with the end of her tail. It swirled with black and purple energies.
2PP given to Ravanos for this project.
[3/7]
"Battling for honor, huh?" The spirits talked amongst themselves for a moment, then looked back up at the gigotaur. "Whatcha going to do if nothing happens?"
Verda (Eladrin)
Flowing Current laughed with the eladrin, laughed. "Why go if you need not, not? Where have they gone, they, anyway?
Over Yrie (Maibe)
The alabaster dragon looked thoughtfully at the moon as Maibe spoke. "Yes...I believe it is the same with all creators. They wish for their people to thrive, and when they do not, parts of you may die along with them. Yet is is for the better to forge ahead, is it not? Mourn for those lost...and work for those who will come."
Over Yrie (Others)
Ankirega looked at Ravnos's ball of energy for a long moment, working through his emotions. He knew Brinn would love this effort more than anything, made in harmony. Yet should they have a part in the creation of a world of death and decay? Or should he contribute, and see what came of it? Araiyo shook her head, having no answer but trusting her brother. The wolf finally nodded.
"I will help, and see what comes of this. It is what Brinn would do.," he said, laying a paw on the orb. It flashed red for a moment, whirling with a firey hue inside.
Casaka
Little One and Firebreak followed Karhedron into Casaka, where he met the Dhorem. The two stayed silent behind the massive titan, curiously observing the new race.
1 PP: Given to Grawlf for his project.
PP Remaining: 0/7 + 0/2
The Dhoremians partaked in this game with a passion that was quite suprising due to their earlier stale expressions. Dhoremians roared, laughed and cried as they played their game.
Elder Auvron and his escort were clearly amazed by the intricate and advanced constructions of the Titans but the Elder still managed to get to the point.
" We of the Dhoremi people live in the far north and has long lived there in relative isolation to other tribes and nations. The only people we have truly faced has been those brutes in the south, the Blood Trolls and their brutish ruler Ymalos of the Blood Moon. "
Elder Auvron sighed deeply and continued.
" We are well aware though that you and your kin are not enemies and we are willing to open up ourselves to your nation in exchange for a mutual beneficial alliance. "
Maibe muttered and gave the moon a last longing look.
" You are free do do what you want in my domain...I think I should go and visit my people now...months has gone since I last saw them.."
Verda
"If nothing happens?" the gigotaur seemed genuinely perplex. "Looketh around you, noble spirits. Doth not thy eyes percieve the battle? If one side doth not acquit, that side will no longer stand. It is a sad tragedy when a tyrants pride doth be the end of his people, but it doth not be an unheard of tale. Aye, such tales doth move mine people to tears at many a telling."
***
Lor'quhan
Eventually, the yuan-ti came around from their unconsciousness, finding themselves created, but with no purpose. No recollection of what they were before. No guiding hand to lead them into the new day. Needless to say, this disturbed them... until they saw the grand temple before them, reaching up into the sky. And an almost irresistible compulsion to climb to the top, to enter the hallowed halls and see what lay within. Those with legs walked, those with tails slithered, but all made their way up the steps of the pyramid, and eventually reached the top.
Entering the building, the yuan-ti were blinded by the dark.. until a torches everywhere spontaneously lit into flame, as well as a large brazier that's flame touched the roof itself before subsiding. And illuminated by that flame, was a huge stone serpent, a massive statue that looked like it could strike you at any moment despite being hewn from rock.
"MY SSSSSSONS AND DAUGHTERSSSS!" the statue intoned in a booming voice. "I WELCOME YOU TO EXISSSSSSTANCE!"
Needless to say, the yuan-ti's gut reaction (after relieving themselves) was to get down on the ground and bow as low and humble as they could. One snake man managed enough courage to hesitantly raise his head a little, and speak. "Um, oh great ssssserpant, did you make usssss?"
"I DID," the statue hissed. "I AM YOUR CREATOR... YUAN! SERPENT IN THE OLD TONGUE! AND YOU, YOU SSSSSSHALL BE MY YUAN-TI, MY CHILDREN OF THE SERPENT. YOU SSSSSSHALL WORSHIP ME, AND EVERYTHING YOU DO SSSSSHALL BE IN MY HONOUR, LESSSSST MY FANGSSSSSS TASSSSTE YOUR THROAT!"
"Sssssounds good to me," the yuan-ti replied nervously. Twelve other yuan-ti actually managed enough courage to nod and add their agreement.
"SSSSSSO, NOT ALL MY TI ARE AS SSSSSSPINELESS AS YOU APPEAR," the serpent went on. "YOU DESSSSSERVE A REWARD. AND ARE A PERFECT DEMONSSSSSTRATION OF WHAT YOUR LIVES SSSSSSHALL BE!"
A beam of green light blasted out from the otherwise motionless stone serpent mouth, blasting the thirteen yuan-ti that had spoken. Soon, the yuan-ti grew, and split until they were as a mass of serpents, and were all much more powerful than their fellows.
"THIRTEEN THERE SSSSSSHALL BE, AND THERE SSSSSSSHALL ALWAYSSSSS BE," Yuan spoke. "THIRTEEN WHO RULE OVER THE RESSSSSST OF THEIR KIND WITH POWER BEYOND THEIR KIN! AGELESSSSSSS, WISSSSSSE, AND POWERFUL THEY SSSSSHALL HAVE NO END OF PLEASSSSSURES AND POWER! ONLY WHEN ONE DOESSSSS DIE MAY ANOTHER TRANSSSSSSCEND, AND ONLT ONE WHO BATHESSSSSS IN THE BLOOD OF THE DESSSSSCEASED MAY TAKE THAT POWER!"
"Wait, if their agelessssss," one yuan-ti asked, "how do we wait for them to die?"
"YOU DON'T," Yuan replied. "I NEED NOT WEAKLINGSSSSSS WHO HAVE MERELY INHERITED THEIR SSSSSTRENGTH. I NEED WARRIORSSSS OF CUNNING, AND SSSSSTRENGTH! IF YOU ARE POWERFUL ENOUGH, DETERMINED ENOUGH, AND WISSSSSE ENOUGH TO KILL ONE OF MY ANATHEMA, YOU DESSSSSERVE TO TAKE THEIR PLACE!"
"But they're so powerful! How are we to ever kill one in fair combat?"
"FAIR? FAIR?! FAIRNESSSSS IS FOR THE WEAK!" Yuan raged. "THE WEAK WHO HESSSSITATE TO KILL THEIR RIVALSSSSS AND BETTERSSSSS TO GROW IN POWER DESSSSERVE NO RESSSSSPITE! THE WEAK SSSSHALL DIE! THE SSSSTRONG SSSSHALL LIVE AND PROSSSPER! THE WEAK SSSSSHALL DIE, THE SSSSTRONG SSSSSHALL LIVE AND PROSSSSPER!"
"The weak ssssshall die!" an anathema began to take up the chant. "The sssstrong sssshall live and prossssper! The weak ssssshall die! The sssstrong ssssshall live and prossssper!"
Soon, the entire yuan-ti race had taken up the cry, bearing the truth of it in their souls. If they were weak, and let pity stay their blade, they would be killed. If they embraced themselves in assassination and fights for power, they'd rise above themselves and have everything they'd ever wanted.
The yuan-ti way had been set into stone as solidly as the form of their god.
***
Some time later, Yuan had explained her spirit would not always inhabit the statue, but she would always be able to hear their prayers wherever it went. After some requests to scout out the land about them, and gather plants and animals as sacrifices, the statue was finally alone except for a lone attendant. Who the Silent One easily put to sleep with a simple charm.
"You can come out now," the Silent One called. "They're all gone."
From out of the serpents mouth crawled forth the form of the parasitic exarch, eagerly sliding out of the stone and crawling onto her favorite perch on her Master's shoulder. "Oh Massssster, I mussssst thank you for giving me sssssuch an important tasssssk," Sassriss hissed. "It wassss... fun, to ssssssee them grovel like that."
"Don't get to like it too much," the Silent One half joked. "Otherwise you might try and depose me to get more of it."
"Oh Massssster, I'd never dream of it," Sassriss hissed. "Though it would be nice to be worshipped by my own name... what'sssss the significance of this Yuan and Yuan-ti you've whipped up, oh Masssster?"
"I can't have you worshiped by your own name for the same reason I can't just have them worship me directly. My identity MUST remain a secret from moral eyes, ears and minds. As for Yuan..." The Silent One chuckled. "Just my idea of a private joke. Yuan is of the same language as mine and Grawlf's true names. It loosely translates to 'fake', or more appropriately 'proxy'. Ti, when used as a suffix, actually means 'deceived by', meaning the Yuan-ti are 'deceived by a proxy' to use the literal translation."
"A fitting name indeed, Masssster, but what if they learn of thisssss name?" Sassriss asked.
"The language of gods can't be known by mortals," the Silent One dismissed. "Besides, who'd tell them that they'd actually believe over their own god? Now Sassriss, you need to stay here a while longer, until I need you to suck the knowledge out of someone or help me spawn some monstrosities. Guide the yuan-ti well, my loyalest servant."
"Yesssss Massssster," the parasite hissed, before scrambling back into the serpents mouth.
When the yuan-ti tending the shrine came to, he was as alone as he was when he fell asleep.
1PP - Modify Populace - Some Yuan-ti become Yuan-ti Anathemas. Any Yuan-ti can undergo the same transformation by killing an Anathema and bathing in it's blood, but there can only be 13 Anathema's at any one time.
[2/7]
Phasing back into his crystalline bubble, slipping through hundreds of feet of crystal as light through glass, the jackal-headed god resumed his bloody work. Taking the bundle of troll spines, he opened gashes in the glassy aquamarine and sunk the spines into them. Using the spine as the body, Ninneve began to fashion five standards. A further twist of power, and slick of luminescent crystal flowed up the spines, encasing them in a hard, glass-like coating. The Prophet then extended an iron hand, gore splashed, and with a soundless scream called ten Maenad skulls to him. As each skull touched his fingers, the god coated them in a sickly green crystal. He then socketed two skulls on each of the troll spines, melding the crystal together.
His creations finished, the dark god sought and found five of his most powerful Soulspikes. To each of them, he granted a standard and a name for their standard. Collectively, the artifacts came to be called the Effluvial Standards.
-------------------
Then Angeloi flourished amongst the vast fields and forests of Ninevah, fuffilling their lord's command to go forth and multiply.
PP
3PP- Create Artifact, Major (Nourish) : The Effluvial Standards
1PP- Nourish Populous: Angeloi
"May I join you?," asked Orine. "I would like to know those who may be my neighbors in times to come."
Verda
The spirits seemed confused by the gigotaur's reply. "You would kill your own people over a feast dispute? Do you never agree to disagree? Or change your minds?
PP Remaining: 1/7 + 2/2 (All but Mold)
Verda
"But of course we doth agree to disagree on occasion. Just after a few monthseth or so of warfare be the truth. And we doth not be killing them over the dispute, we be killing them because yonder dispute wouldst lead to the death of our own people if we were not to fight." The gigotaur shrugged. "It mayst sound off for creatures who hath no need for conflict like yourselves, but for others, conflict be not only in their codeth and bloodeth, it be their very nature, in the same way that a wolfeths nature be to run in a pack, and a mantis' nature be to disguise itself and snatcheth insects that doth approach it."
So it was that Ninneve, the Sorrowing Prophet set stalking the stars, seeking out another Lord of Creation.
((So...anyone wanna talk?))
~Over Yrie - To Verda~
"There," Zo-Att said, "that should be sufficient for your purposes. If you'll excuse me I'll be off."
She realized that she hadn't been caught up with Verda. When she travelled to the green planet, she noticed that, for the most part, most of her demons were contained. A shame, but that could easily be remedied. But that wasn't all that changed. There were not only spirits, but a new mortals as well. Following a... fairy? They seemed so excitable and had unique colors and were parading around in jubilence.
It was absolutely nauseating.
Zo-Att whispered to them. Words of a real promised land where they would find power. Where they would be above their lesser kin. Some thought these whipsers were blasphemy, but some heeded the dark words, and slipped away from the rest of the eladrin. They were led to a clearing. It seemed empty at first, and just as the eladrin started to doubt if there was anything special about this location, blood demons came out of the ground and charged for them.
It was a long battle, but eventually the eladrin were victorious.
Zo-Att grinned from above, as she spoke to them again.
Very good. But if you wish to have true power, you must drink the blood of the demons. That will grant you the strength that you crave.
They drank. Their forms remained similar, but their skin had greyed. The women grew taller and the men shrunk. Their minds filled with hatred as they thanked Zo-Att, or the Dark Lady, for their gift.
+1 new day
-2 modify populace - Create drow from eladrin
[2/7]
2 PP Given to Ravnos/Grawlf for his project.
[2/7 PP]
((Chappy, I'm looking at you here.))
"Huh. I wonder if all the other races will be that way? We seem to be the odd ones out!," laughed a spirit.
A long ways away, a low-pitched growling could be heard, vibrating the grass and flowers in the area as a purple mist took shape where once he had fallen. The purple panther staggered on his feet as he finally took form again, and sniffed experimentally. The scent of the blight spirits was long gone... but this was not over. He would chase them alone if he must, those corruptions. Wildfather was back.
Sku'Byss sensed another god seeking him out. Rather than let this god find him, he planned to find this god. To the others, he said, "I shall return briefly... something has come up."
As he sped off, he turned to face Ankriega, waved, and said, "Well, it's been interesting. Send my sister my greetings."
Finally, Sku'Byss intercepted the god that had been seeking him. He said, "Hello there, am I correct in believing you have been seeking me?"
Flying into the void, Ravnos found a good spot and set the orb there before drawing out his own power from the mix of powers. Knowledge was the basis of all things, the framework upon which all else would be created. Holding his power, he set it turning, spinning itfaster and faster and faster. As it spun, the orb expanded, concentrated power dimming to a pale translucent orb... a container for the future.
Ravnos then reached into the orb and pulled out some of Zo-Att's energy and all of Brinn's energy, holding each in a separate hand. He considered the translucent planet before him, wondering if what he was planning to do would end badly. It was possible that combining the power of Brinn's creative fo
All across the rce and Zo-Att's destruction would end badly, with potentially damaging or even deadly side effects for himself.
Grimacing, he took his two arms, each holding an opposite, and smashed them together.
The void should not have a wind, but this day, it did, sweeping over all of the universe and pulling up bits and pieces of creation: Fire from the Sun, Plants and Animals for Verda, Poison from Lor'quhan, sand and water from Yrie and even bits and pieces of the gas giants and fragment-worlds and a fragment of the darkness that shrouded the Shadowfell. Together they all flowed into the nothingness created when the two energies had met, puncturing a hole through existance itself. With his body, Ravnos diverted the flows of the objects approaching the singularity, directing their power instead into the container-world before him. Slowly but surely, a world began to take shape.
The world was certainly unique, appearing to be made from a strange patchwork of different environments laid next to one another. Concentrating, Ravnos directed the flows to divide into twelve different streams of matter, each laying down a layer of material from north to south. The swamps of Avanii lay next to the deserts of Yrie, which bordered the dark plains of the Shadowfell, on and on it went... Forests from Verda next to ice brought from Lor'Quhan, next to the savannahs of the Isles of Wonder. As the world took shape, the hole in reality before him began to close, and as the last ice and grass and water fell into place, the wound sealed up completely.
The world rotated before him... but it was not yet finished. As it was now, the habitats would mix and the world would eventually become homogenous... granted, homogenous with some interesting combinations of features, but still homogenous. To get the desired effect, he would have to corrupt the nature of the world.
Reaching into the orb one more time, he pulled out part of Sku'Byss' contribution and threw it at the planet. Immediately, blue light shone from the boundaries of the domains. From his vantage point, he could see the effects beginning immediately. Each strip gained its own weather and climate. The ice domain grew cold, the fiery domain of the sun grew hotter, yet its heat did not set the swamp to boiling, but stopped all along a visible line of power.
Not yet finished, he snapped his fingers and summoned Samtaana to him, directing the exarch to begin creating a massive metal structure. When it was finished, he took the remaining power in the orb and fed it into the machine, bringing it to life and sending it down to the surface below. The central mass of it, a gigantic structure of red-hot steel, fell into the planet and became its core. From it, thousands of what looked like short posts flew out towards all the boundaries of the regions, sticking out and being very reminiscent of some sort of fence. It took only a moment for the posts to take on the same glowing blueish hue that the borders themselves had. Easily liftable by mortals, the posts would serve as boundary markers between the regions. If a region required more land, they could move the posts to gain more territory, as the boundary, and therefore the region itself would follow the line of posts.
Ravnos watched the world for a moment as the posts aligned themselves, and felt a tickle of some sort of presence in the back of his mind. Curious, he followed it back to its source, and discovered that it was the core of the Artifact, which, through Sku'Byss power had managed to achieve some rudimentary level of sentience, reaching out into the minds of those near the planet. Ravnos wondered what it would end up saying to those who lived on the varied surface.
Done, Ravnos looked at what he had created. Twelve worlds, compressed into a single floating orb, each region able to increase and decrease in size as desired. The end result looked odd, but it did complete the pact that he had been a witness to long ago: A place where life and death, light and dark, could fight for dominance.
"I call you, Kahnda."
4 PP: Mold Land (1 from Zo-Att, 1 from Brinn, 1 from Sku'Byss): Kahnda, a world in conflict. Twelve different habitats, stolen from all across the universe, coexist side by side, boundaries maintained by a mystical barrier (see below)
3 PP: (1 from Zo-Att, 1 from Samtaana, 1 from Sku'Byss: Create Artifact(greater): Heart of Kahnda: Artifact that regulates the domains of Kahnda. Appears on the surface as thousands of short, 5-foot posts that run up and down the borders between the regions of Kahnda. Moving these posts (easily done), moves the very boundary between the regions, allowing for regions to shift in size and shape. While no region can actually be completely destroyed, it can be reduced down to a very small area. Semi-Sentient, the power and balance of the domains on Kahnda. Provides guide PP in the form of subliminal messages to foment conflict between the domains.
1/7 PP +1/2 (shape,nourish)
2 PP Nourish Populace: Foulspawn appear across Kahnda.
[0/7 PP]
The Isles of Wonder, Sacrificial Ground.
After his talk with the spirit Dafris joined the celebration even if the rain and lightnings kept falling their sound soon became overwhelmed by the one of Aszhari chanting in honor of Jarhak.
The hundred Aszhari, all the packs that lived in a vast region, kept dancing and singing until for days, with each stroke of lightning refreshing their strenght.
All fo them payed their respects, with a prayer or a small sacrifice in food or blood, to the burning pyre of Jarhak, lit by a lightning the great fire never stopped burning despite the raging winds and rain.
Featherdown was welcomed to the celebration as an honored guest, the spirit presence was considered a sign of luck by the Aszhari.
Some of the hunters has brought their eggs during the celebration and a few even hatched after being struck by the lightnings. The Ashzari childrens born during that days was baptized in blood, by the priest, in front of a joyful crowd and their birth was considered a gift the god... Little they knew at the time that it was just one of Eshcal blessings...
The Isles of Wonder, Somewhere.
Only a few days have passed after the impressive storm when two young Aszhari had a weird surprise, the couple eggs hatched in front of their loving eyes, they was not expecting all the eggs to produce living children but this time not even one was stillborn, a thing that made the two rejoce for it was an extremely rare fact among the Aszhari. However that was not the greatest miracle of Eshcal, if fact one of the children, a female, was born with a large pair of wings, her parents greeted her as a gift from their god.
That day their pack made a great celebration, sacrificing the best of their preys to Eshcal dancing and singing in the honor of the infant. Even the other packs that lived nearby came to see the miracle of the Blessed ones. Meanwhile similar events was happening across the vast Aszhari domain...
Kandras
On the surface of Kandras, Sarhesh Gain Zhelng, was floating trought the cloudy red sky, the creature was watching at the floating isles above, it has explored a large portion of Kandras during its life, but it has found that quite unsatisfactory, as his world kept shifting with its powerful inner currents to any time that Zhelng went back to a place it has already visited it was changed, making his work futile, while the Isles above in the sky did not... The creature figured out that, while Kandras possessed wonderful locations maybe the isles above have something like that too, something more worthy to visit... Occasionally the planet grew closer to the Isles, not enough to allow the Zang to visit it, but at least he could gain glimpses of it... That day one of the largest rocks was extremely near to Kandras, due to an unexpected current on the planet, while Zhelng could have travelled to the islands, as its kind can navigate the void, it was still cautius about moving... However this time there was something different, a small black mass was falling from the sky toward Kandras surface, the Zhang followed that point with its senses finding quite soon that it was a living creature...
The Elemental Chaos
Pleased by the action of his children Eshcal was getting ready to leave the Elemental Chaos for its next destination, while he slept a few of the wings have come to visit him, the spirits, wanted to tell him the tales of their exploration centuries ago, but did not manage to find the god... After listening to their stories with his children that was in awe of the winds skillfull storytelling and description of far incredible worlds, Eshcal decided that he needed a place for his servants to find safety and confort while waiting for their erratic god, taking energies from both the elemental Chaos and The World Beyond the river the god forged a new home for himself and the spirits.
Massive domes and tower composed of beautiful and yet somehow aethereal marble and crystals appeared from the thin air, beautiful gardens, tendered by the god unseen hands, perfectly organized and showing any form of vegetation ever touched by the winds, impossible bridges of stone and winds, torrent of molten ice, an aerie sky, in some plances serene and cloudy in others... Massive halls, fountains and marble statues of the god and its servants appeared, shaped of pure elemental energies, to mimicry the ones in the court of the gods...
A portion of the River of Souls touched the plane, surrounded by marble argins and with beutiful ornate bridges crossing it, near but at the same time far from the creatures of the river..
The Djinn settled there, as well as any wind that was visiting the demiplane, soon a large court of spirit and supernatural beings begun to inhabit the small plane...
2/7 + 1 Shape +1 Guide
+2 PP New Days
-2 PP Create Demiplane - The Court of Winds
-1 PP Modify - a really small number of Aszhari into blessed ones, a winged variant gifted with a closer link to Eshcal divine powers.
Finally, though, he noticed that the Isles over where the Quori lived were gaining a cloudy aura around them. Exploring it, he noticed that it was Dream-Stuff, come from those creatures that had died. Their essence had simply dissolved and floated away, but was now starting to pile up. He frowned. This would not do. He extended his will over this Dream-Stuff, and pulled it together, layering it onto his Staff. When he was finished, he looked over it. It now hummed with new power, dreams of life. He nodded. That would do.
+7 PP: 7 new days
-3 PP (1 from Grawlf): Create Template(Greater): Dream-Touched, a creature that has a greater connection to the Dreamscape. Has a silvery sheen, and is slightly insubstantial, as well as having an almost unreal look to it. Is never applied to Dream Creatures, or Quori. The Quori that applies it can choose at that time to gain greater influence over the creature to whom it is applied.
-2 PP: 2 Nourish Populaces: Quori expand to cover all of the Barren Isles, as well as one or two of the other Isles. About 1 in 10-20 has a Dream-Touched beholder in its service, as well as the Dream Creatures it has trained to obey it.
-3 PP: Create Artifact(Greater): Staff of Dreams now provides +1 Spawn PP
Lor'quhan
Much had happened since he'd left the Sculptor last... a lot, that he had to tell her. Why he even felt the need to keep her informed was beyond him, but he'd been trying for this long, he might as well try a little longer. The problem was he couldn't sense where the Sculptor was... most likely she'd holed herself up in a demi-plane of some kind, but knowing that didn't make searching for her any easier.
However... he could sense her power all around this place. She'd clearly put a lot of power into Lor'quhan recently, so maybe she was still hanging around... or her exarchs at the very least. Deciding the time for subtlety was over, the Silent One shouted up into the sky without shouting. "Sculptor! Or your divine servants! I have a lot of news, so somebody get over here before I start killing people from the frustration of looking for you and not getting anywhere for what MUST be CENTURIES by now!"
[3/7]
PP Expenditures
2 PP - Nourish Land - Avanii
Over time, the yuan-ti grew in number, as most races do. They had never lived in the temple they'd visited so long ago, doing so would be sacrilege to the great goddess Yuan unless you were performing temple duties or an anathema. However, the crude villages they constructed slowly became bigger, and more widespread, until they occupied a healthy amount of toxic swamp and jungle.
This was almost incidental however compared to the far more important discovery the yuan-ti made. It seemed that due to the nature of Lor'quhan's toxic plant life, approximately 98% of all it's vegetation could be distilled into poisons, remedies or narcotics. Needless to say, the snake folk dove right into researching these plants, attempting to discover what each plant could do and how to most effectively convert it into the product of choice. Testing usually took the form of lacing a rivals meal with the plant of choice and seeing if it killed him, made him high or simply cured his case of scale rot.
Eventually, the yuan-ti learned about most of the plants that grew about them, and how to convert them into poisons of the body or mind. With the addition of poison, yuan-ti politics heated up. Of course the yuan-ti were fairly resistant to the stuff, so much so that mild poison that would kill an eladrin or gigotaur were used as spices in the average snake folk household, but that problem was taken care of simply by upping the dosage. One would suspect that with the addition of narcotics the average yuan-ti would be dependent on the effects, but truth be told they were rarely taken recreationally. Rather, they were used to humiliate rivals or get them addicted so they'd be forced to do their bidding just for another hit.
All in all, Sassriss was incredibly pleased of how the yuan-ti were developing.
1PP - Nourish Populace - The yuan-ti grow in number
3PP - Teach Populace - Herbology. The yuan-ti learn to distill plant life to form various poisons, remedies and drugs.
[0/7. 1/1 mold, 1/1 spawn]
"Who are you?"
+1 PP: New day
[1/7 PP]
Karhedron chuckled.
"An alliance would be of interest to us as well, especially as our attempts to speak with the blood trolls have led to naught but frustration and trickery. I have also seen the fury of your patroness when she is defending her creation. Although her actions terrified me and my two comrades, I must admit that having such protection would certainly help when the night grows cold and strange shapes appear on the horizon. Especially for ones as small as yourselves."
Kneeling down, Karhedron looked the Dhoremi leader in the eye.
"So, what would such an alliance entail? I will warn you that the lands where you typically live are too cold for most of us to reach effectively without significant effort and hardship. At best, we could offer you free passage through the deserts as well as an agreement to attack the blood trolls if they move against yourselves. We cannot hope to move sufficient numbers of our men to defend your ancestral homelands, but we should be able to distract the Trolls with an attack on their own homes if they march towards you."
The Court
Samtaana glanced up from where he had been figiting with the Pey'Ae, trying to coax a bit more power from it.
"Oh, hello. Welcome to the Court of the First Ones. I am Samtaana, Exarch of Grawlf. What brings you here?"
The Foulspawn on Yrie had done little as of yet, other than move a bit north. Now, the Foulspawn expanded once more northward, through the mountains, and into the forest beyond. Little did they know that the Blood Trolls already lived there. When the Foulspawn first entered the Troll's territory, the Foulspawn immediately encountered Trolls, but they simply watched, waited, and observed...
1 PP Nourish Populace: The Foulspawn move north into Blood Troll territory.
[1/7 PP]
The voice began on a sinister, hissing note, then diverged wildly from one octave to the next, sometimes in the midst of words. One breath, or what passed for breath, it rung out high and breathy, the next his words rasped, deep and sullen.
That which I am is The Sorrowing Prophet. Your discharge of power attracted my attention, seeming to be in the same... style as my own. It would appear that our natures are similar, or as similar as ones such as you and I may be. Perhaps we something to gain from one another?
The new world was...strange. Certainly unlike any of the worlds that had come before. With it's varied and intense natural forces, it would be a perfect home to a new crop of spirits. Araiyo sent coursing green energy into the earth, striking trees, plants, mountains, seas. All over the landscape grew new spirits, though the forested section held the most by far.
Araiyo and Ankirega shared a quick and concerned look at Zo-Att's depature, and her course towards Verda. Though the pair shared no words, Araiyo quickly left to follow the goddess of destruction. She held no grudge against Zo-Att...but it was not wise to leave a fire unattended in your home.
Verda
Araiyo looked down at the drow, curious as to the nature of the new creatures. Zo-Att's destructive tendencies shone through as the drow attacked the demons and vice-versa...but were not the demons Zo-Att's own spawn? How strange. "Welcome, Zo-Att. I believe it has been long since you came to Verda last.," said the life-web's spirit from behind the goddess.
1 PP: (From Araiyo): Nourish Primal Spirits: They expand onto Kahnda.
PP Remaining: 4/7, 1/2 (all but nourish and mold.)
The appearance of the spirits did not go unnoticed by the Foulspawn, who, like the spirits, stretched across the planet. In order to counter the spirits, should they show hostility towards them, the Foulspawn created a society of there own. The society was one of loose clans consisting of Foulspawn who had spawned in the same location from the same residual of corruption. They were loosely ruled by the greatest of the Foulspawn who ruled from a great volcano within the hot, mountainous region of Kahnda. This ruler was known as the Tyrant, and was replaced by whomever overthrew him, which occurred often due to the corrupt nature of the Foulspawn.
There was one clan for each region of the Foulspawn, but most Foulspawn lived on there own, meeting yearly in the original spawning ground of the clan. The forest clan of the Foulspawn decided to seek out the Spirits in order to learn of there intentions, and set out deeper into the forest in order to find the spirits...
1 PP Nourish Populace: The Foulspawn form a society of 12 loose clans, one clan for each region of Kahnda.
Maibe took the book her people had gotten from the Laughing God and walked away with it. Where it was, was a secret for mortals and immortals alike. Legends whispered that it was hidden away in the deph of the Sun, others that she had burnt it and a few that it rested in the deepest dephs of the ocean.
Truth to be told the Goddess of Light used the book to track it´s owner down. She appeared in front of him with the book held in a tight grip.
" Good day, Sire...I don´t think I have had the pleasure of meeting you yet, My name is Maibe...and I have notice that you have been poking around in my lands. I would prefer that you stopped with that. "
Her tone was cold but polite enough.
OOC: DARN! I didn't notice this at all... I'm so so so so so so sorry...
The wizened creature.... a figure not too dissimilar from Maibe herself, male, crippled, a stick and parchment at his hand, did not gaze too far up from a quill... In fact, it almost appeared as if it was the quill and ink that were speaking. "My apologies Miss Maibe... Please... My name is Draemus, and I'm... well... I'm the person who organises worship." He smiled briefly and looked up, helping himself along with his stick. "Your people... what were they called now... the Dhorem, was it? Are... Well... Quite the little believers, aren't they?" His tone was almost grandfatherly... That of someone surveying the land from afar...
"I know Lipsis can be quite the uncouth fellow at times... I only see through his eyes... not, I'm afraid, act with his hands... Whatever seems to be the problem?"
7/7 PP
"So your one of Grawlf's....Are you connected in any way to the beholders on the Isles of Wonder? They look like refined, mortal versions of you." He pointed at...whatever it was. "And what is that....thing?"
+1 PP: New Day
[2/7 PP]
"So you know the beholders, do you? Yes, I was their template, although my skills like elsewhere. I was trying to improve an object I created a while back to summon all the gods to the Court... I'm trying to make it act in a more... directed manner, so we can send a message to one god instead of many."
"You are looking better than the last time I saw you, Shry... last I remember, you had tried to help Lohak when he ingested the void and it had gone... poorly. I am glad to see you have recovered."
"I was somewhat foolish in that instance, but I unlocked a part of me that brought a balance that I did not know before. This artifact you speak of...how does it work? I control Dream, perhaps I could give it an enhancement that lets it home in on one gods thoughts, dreams. It might not work, but it most certaintly would increase the chance of getting the right area, although it wouldn't be foolproof. It might work though..."
The exarch floated up and down for a few moments, clearly gathering its thoughts.
"Well, at its core, the system relies on the separate nature of this plane when compared to the Prime plane. As this place is wholly separate from that place, a signal starting here and going there is not given a set route. It could technically appear anywhere in that other plane. What this does is divide up the signal into a million different signals and sends them all to unique points within its core, which acts as a gateway between this plane and the Prime. Each signal is then sent out into normal space, keyed so that only gods can hear it, and in that way the message is spread.
Perhaps you are right. Perhaps if we send it through the Dream, which has a more... intimate connection with the Prime and with individuals, we could make it work in a more direct manner. If you will open up a portal to the Dream, I will conduct that experiment."
Fire, roaring, gasping, tearing, all-consuming fire exploded from her. Through the void it cascaded, tumbling over and upon itelf, exploding inexorably outwards, inexorably towards the nearest object: Verda. It streaked through the sky like a comet, and hit with the force of an immortal hand. Impossibly quickly, the flame latched itself upon the ready fuel all about it. It spread like only an unholy fire could through the forest, razing, destroying, decimating all in its ferocious path. Smoke trailed, like a horrific warning, high above it, daring any to approach this savage force. The flames just leapt across the planet, searing a path of death and destruction across its surface. Thus the Immortal Flame was lit. And no hand, whether natural or otherwise, would ever stay its onslaught, ever quench its fury.
3 PP De-Nourish Land (Lesserx3): Verda is consumed by the Immortal Flame.
Zo-Att sniffed.
Smoke.
An immense fire raged across the surface of Verda, threatening to destroy anything that it made contact with. Even her new race of dark elves. The destruction seemed wonderful, but so... senseless. A bold move really, but it seemed quite obvious who was behind this. It seemed the Lady of Fires managed to escape when Zo-Att possessed her body.
Zo-Att hatched a plan, and turned to Airyo, "Well, this seems rather nasty. We should probably put a stop to it."
+3 new days
[5/7]
A giggle burbles from the Sorrowing Prophet's throat, incongruously.
Our joint endeavors then. Mine essence and yours, yours misunderstood, mine hated, deal in a re-imagining of reality. We shall jointly strive for the propagation and spread of this vision, and the necessary alteration or elimination of those actors upon this stage who might hold out for the old ideas and theories of life. Thus I propose that we select a world, say Verda, to begin our recreation. We must begin subtly of course, but even the slightest rot, given time, my bring down the mightiest fortress. To cement our pact, for how can mere words bind those like you and I, who incarnate the very essence of existence, I propose that we create a new race to seed Verda with, a race that embodies our new vision.
-------------------
Meanwhile, as the words poured from the iron throat of the god, power, raw and unshaped, spilled from his back. The power quickly bled away, only to concentrate again in the skies of Ninevah. There, amongst the cerulean skies the fragment of Ninneve's spark danced as silvery lightning, writhing across skies clear and cloudy.
A group of Angeloi, golden of skin, pale of hair and red of lip and blood, kneel on a vast savanah. A male, pale blue eyes flickering behind blond lashes, stands in the center of the circle. Tall grasses stir around them in the breeze as the central Angeloi leads them in exhortations, blessings upon His name, veritable ecstasies of prayer.
In a flash of light, the breezes still themselves, the prayers of the faithful cease as they gaze in awe at the sight. Their leader, now their king, glories before them. Anointed in holy rays of light, blessed by the power of their Lord and filled with His might, the man seemed to glow, even as the baptismal light faded, his shimmering with an inner fire. So it was that Jezevel, the God-King, was born.
PP
3PP- Ascend Exarch: Jezebel, the God King (Nourish)
4pp create a plane
1pp Created minor domain Writing
Lohak! Please, hurry to Verda!. Araiyo's voice shouted through the Chord Amulet.
Arriving, he looked out at it, wondering why Verda was flame.
Releasing one of his hands for a breif second, he sent a ball of flame searching for the sculptor, seeking the power of water to help him quench the fires.
PP Expenditures
1 PP - Nourish Land - Slow and weaken the fires on Verda
"No way!" Chivalry replied, tossing his own rock onto it.
"We dug the ditch... we made the fords... now all we need... to do... is finish... this damn... rock pile!" Honor commented breathlessly, exhaustedly throwing another rock onto the stack.
"We're not constructs, brother," Chivalry pointed out. "We can get tired."
"...you'd think I'd be able to remember that," Honor replied embarrassedly.
"I'm surprised, you're a real genius."
"Thanks bro, you're a- hey!"
Since they'd finished their job on Lor'quhan, the Brothers had decided to float off before their Master made them build anything else for their spoiled sister. With no place more home than Verda in the universe, except maybe the moon they'd been stranded on for so long, they'd decided to visit the gigotaurs and see how they were doing. But their tour of the new gigotaur lands had been interrupted by a spreading wildfire raging across the planet. Frankly, the Brothers didn't care about the rest of Verda. They knew how nature worked: once something burned down, it grew back even more disgustingly green than before. But they were NOT going to let it torch their gigotaurs.
"Okay, that should about- woah!" Honor shouted, jumping to the side as their labor payed off.
The river the rocks now blocked the path of sought a new route, and so traveled down the slope directly into the large ditch the Brothers had built. This ditch in turn encircled the entirety of the gigotaur kingdom, meaning the fire would have a hard time catching on the other side unless it could swim. The new moat then lead out to a sea, so the gigoatur lands weren't flooded over the next few centuries.
"Good job bro," Honor compliment.
"It was a group endeavor, I played only a small part in it," Chivalry boasted.
"...Silent One I hate you sometimes Xidor."
1 Mold PP from Brothers: Create the Gigas Moat, a ribbon of water that completely encircles the gigotaur lands, cutting them off from Verda at large barring a few rocky fords.
[2/7, 1/1 Spawn]
"Ok, so it sends identical copies of the message to every point in the Prime, which is possible because there are no set paths from here to there. And the messages are keyed so that only gods, or close to gods, can hear them. OK."
He gestured with his staff, creating a temporary diagram in the air from Dreamstuff.
"Dreamscape contains dreams. Dreams of everything that can dream from creatures no bigger than a drop of water to us gods. They are all shown there. So, if you can focus the machine on a specific creatures dream, you could theoretically send only to the immediate vicinity of that creature, and keyed so only it could hear it."
He looked at Samtaana.
"Sound workable?"
+1 PP: New Day
[3/7 PP]
A faint smile touched the Dhoremian priests lips as he looked up at the Titan.
" And in the matter of years...we will have something new, something even more attractive to trade with. Our Goddess has promises to learn us something most useable..."
Brinn, barely concious in the pain that burned her, flew headlong into the fire, crashing into it with an explosion of energy that shoved it back. Ankirega, far more lucid, followed behind her, helping to protect his friend. Around them mobilized Cragnas and the rockwood elementals, who bravely battered the flames with the weapons at their disposal.
The spirits and dragons of Verda fled from the flame, hoping to make a stand at The Grotto, urged by the presence of their mother and protectors.
1 PP: Beat the *BLEEP* out of the Fire
(Dice roll is 2d16+4d8+4d4+2, if an admin would like to roll for me.)
2 PP: Guide Populace: (From the Stones of the Forest-Mother) : Sap Dragons join the nation of The Grotto.
PP Remaining: 4/7 + 0/2
A great phlegmy cough rattled up from the god's broad chest, launching a dark wad of blood and phlegm into the air. The mucal mess halted, stock still, in the Void, back lit by stars. Applying the slightest twist of divine power, the Sorrowing Prophet warped and twisted the amorphous blob, shaping it into a shape vaguely like that of a gigantaur. The shape, however, appeared far slimmer, measuring just under two meters tall. Lithe muscles popped out next, as did strange glands down the spine of their backs. These glands began to secret an ooze of their own, an ooze that quickly hardened into a crude, resinous armor. The face flattened next as all the fur that characterized gigantaurs failed to grow. Finally, changes done rippling across the body, a slim, lithe and undeniably monstrous humanoid hung between the two gods, rotating slowly.
There, my gift to these bastard children shall be form and protection, I suggest that you provide them with the means to walk amongst their enemies unseen. We will call them, Kaorti.
PP
1PP to creation of Kaorti (Epic Populous)
Lending his power, Sku'Byss sent a small ball of corruption spiraling towards the creature. Instantly, it warped and changed, first appearing as a Foulspawn, then a Glass Titan, then even one of Brinn's Spirits. Finally, it rested back to its normal shape.
1 PP Modify Kaorti: The Kaorti can now change shape.
~~~~~
Samtaana listened to Shry's idea and was quite excited.
"That sounds like a great idea. So, if I do... this..." Samtaana leveled a beam into the core of the black cube, duplicating its internal routing and sending this one into the Dreamscape. He then fashioned a large switch out of some leftover potentiality from the creation of the plane.
"I think that should be it... Lets try this out."
Leaning into the machine, Samtaana spoke.
"Eshcal, can you hear me?"
~~~
Karhedron nodded.
"Yes, that sounds like a good idea to me. I eagerly look forward to beginning a trading relationship with your people. One question, though... from what I recall, your people remain fairly nomadic. Where specifically should we send our goods?"
Give 1 PP to Brinn for the taming of the fire beast.
1 PP: Modify Aritfact: The Pey'Ay now can send to individual gods.
(Aldii, don't forget that you need to make a nation before you benefit from the trade system
) 3/7 +1/2 (shape, nourish) PP.
"No, you stupid people! It's so pretty! Why are you killing the pretty thing?" screamed Bel at the planet, where gods, and exarchs and magical beasts galore were swarming to her flame en masse, "That's just rude."
Her eyes flicked to the one leading the charge: Brinn. Bel zoomed to intercept her.
"What do you think you're doing?" cried the little demoness, flabbergasted that Brinn would even consider destroying something so beautiful.
Go now, Sons of Daughters of the Rebirth, go now unto that green land below us and seed it with your progeny. The day of reckoning approaches, and so thus does the ascendancy of the True Gods!
The Kaorti, having replicated a thousand-fold, vanished, leaving behind only a few swirly spheres of resinous mucus. The mass of creatures soon reappeared far below, dotting the fertile lands of Verda. Congregating towards the open plains, the Kaorti began simple lives as athletic hunters and gatherers.
PP Expenditures
1 PP - Given to Brinn for reshapping the flame beast.
The foulspawn met with a cold reception from the spirits, who were far more concerned with the chaotic nature of this world they had just been born to. They explained, however, their nature and inquired as to the foulspawns'...
Verda
On Verda, Brinn paid no attention to Bel, her concious mind completely stripped as she fought like a madwoman to save her forest, her home, her love, her child. With impossible strength she battered the flame, unaware of the forest's other defenders beside her, and heedless to her own peril. The flame blazed just as hot as it had when she began, and surged towards her whenever it had a chance. She would not give in. She would not falter. She would not fail.
THIS WAS HER FOREST!
A blast of energy forced the fire together, all traces of it leaving the branches of her trees, the petals of her flowers, the lushness of her grass. She forced the flames away from her home, throwing them into the sky like a shoveler of manure.
HER HOME!
The flames, encased in the living energies of a dying Verda, transformed into great flaming birds as they streaked across the void and away from her home.
HER LIFE!
Brinn staggered as the flames fled the planet, plummeting rapidly to the ground as she blacked out. With a anguished yell, Ankirega raced to catch her. Below lay nothing but blackened, charred remains of the forest Brinn and her friends held sacred.
Why...?
The goddess of the ruined forest slammed into the ground, her impact leaving a crater as she lay unmoving.
"BRRRIIIINNN!!!!," cried Ankirega in sheer pain as his mother crashed into the unforgiving turf.
3 PP (1 from Toph, 1 from Other-Shadow): Modify Immortal Flame into phoenix...-es? -s? -i? Yeah...
PP Remaining: 3/7 + 0/2
Sku'Byss frowned. The planet was... desolated. Apparently someone has done my job for me... he thought grimly. This wouldn't do... he was very much tempted to go in closer, but decided against it.
((Quick OOC:Angel, i believe an epic populace would cost more than 1 PP))
----------
The Foulspawn regarded the Spirit curiously, and then he responded, in a guttural voice, "We were the first of the creatures to exist in this world, as far as we know. We're not entirely sure how we wound up, but we know one thing; we were put here by the one known as the Lord of Corruption."
The spirits looked coldy at the foulspawn, those creatures clearly not of nature. "We are born to serve the land, that is all. " Meanwhile, a giant flaming bird crashed into the surface of Kahndas and exploded, wiping out a large number of the foulspawn in the volcanic region.
Kahndas
The Foulspawn blinked his huge, hideous eyes and asked, "Is something wrong?"
-----
Over Verda
Sku'Byss frowned to himself once more. Something was definitely wrong... other then the fact Verda was in flames. Heading down to the surface, to the heart of the destruction, Sku'Byss found Ankriega. He was obviously distressed, so Sku'byss remained out of sight. He wondered what was wrong, until he noticed Brinn laying on the ground. He muttered, "Oh..." and remained silent.
The spirit spokesman was quiet for a long moment. "What will you do here?," he finally asked in way of reply.
A few days after crating his palace Eshcal moved to visit the World Beyond the River with his children, there they watched the dead souls slowly forgetting their lives, going younger and enjoing greater and greater bliss until going past the realm of living. To his curious children the god asked not to try and traverse the river as it was not yet their time for the gift of death...
Finally they went at the beginning of the river there the souls of those who had recently died congregated, many was sad and in pain, not yet eased by the waters, other was peaceful having accepted their fate, armies of Tos'Arai was there, many souls managed to find their ways to the river alone, but the Wardens of Death kept watching their journey as they did not want them to lose the way...
Finally they found a dragon soul, the creature kept its majestic appearance even in death the spirit eyes did not betray any fear or dubt when it joined the other souls toward the river. Sarriss was intrigued by that being, she asked her father if she can take this spirit with her, but Eshcal did not want to deprive the creature of its destiny.
With childish determination the female Aszhari attempted to replicate her success with the djinns, taking much of the river essence she begun sculpting it into a new creature, forging flesh out of planar energies however was harder than make spirits, Eshcal secretly channeled a little of his power trough his daughter, using what he has learned himself about creatures of flesh. Evshan wishing to help with that endavour too let her sister use a drop of his own blood to craft the creature, allowing the dragon to harbor a tiny spark of divinity.
The finished creature was quite different from the original even if it held a general draconic shape it was more aethereal than the model used for inspiration, with a slender built and black lucid scales that almost seemed liquid like the river surface to the onlookers, its caws was made of a dark glassy substance and its eyes was filled with an enticing unnatural light, on the head a series of crested bone spikes nearly created a mask on its head. Its inner fournace was unable to produce elemental energies, despite Eshcal power, as the essence of the World Beyond the river had extinguished it, however the beast inherited a portion of Evshan ability to manipulate minds. was capable of calling spirits to himself trough its voice and even ripping them apart from the bodies of mortals with a powerful scream.
Before living the plane, with one of the new Death dragons who was willing to follow the Twins Ehscal watched at the large number of dying spirits that was joining the river, many more than usual and a vast majority coming from Verda. The god rememberd the plane, one that he had visited and where ha has dreamed for the first time, the lord of air wondered what could be causing so many death among that peaceful world inhabitants.
Before he could teleport there, however the god felt the call from the Court. Wondering who was seeking him from the realm created with Grawlf, guessing that it might have being important the god decided to go there.
However as did not wish to leave Verda alone during a massacre, so he asked his sons to undertake their first "mission", sending them with the death dragon to investigate on what was happening to Verda...
Verda
The twins travelled to Verda, with their Death Dragon companion, they watched the majestic phoenix coming to life and the charred surface of the world. finally they found the crater where Brinn was laying, they felt the pull of divine energies coming from there and moved to investigate
Where Samtaana and Shyr are now
Ehscal looked for the source of the voice within his head, Finally he found his son Shyr and the being that has called him, one not unlike the strange creatures that lives on the isles of wonders, the beholders...
5/7 + 1 Guide + 0 Shape
-2 PP (1 from Sarriss), Shape Epic Race, Death Dragons.
+7 (seven new days)
4PP Superior mold: create the Underdark.
2PP Superior shape: Digger trolls.
1PP Lesser spawn: A myriad of small predators that all eat each other and all are eaten by the digger trolls.
0/7
"Well, it seems to work. That was a great idea you had!"
"I assume you heard me calling out to you?" he said, turning back to Eshcal. "How are your creations?"
~Avanii~
One one of the planetoids of Avanii, completely covered in decaying swamp matter, a new being appeared, one that was not much to look at. A ring, a few feet in diameter, pulled itself through the decaying matter, absorbing the matter it as it went along, as it moved, it began to vibrate, and soon it stopped, tentacles reaching upwards towards the heavens as the shaking continued. Soon, it became apparent that within the ring, several changes were taking place as the sides of the ring seemed to pucker inwards. Within the opaque membrane covering the being, dark shapes could be seen moving. Finally, ,with a sound much like a sigh, the original ring burst open, sap-like blood falling to the earth as six smaller rings emerged, moving away in all directions, eating and slowly growing larger.
~Yrie~
The relationship between Casaka and the Grotto had grown to become a strong river of trade, carried across the heavens by the mighty spirits. Both groups benefitted from each other's knowledge and expertise, and soon both nations were flourishing.
1 PP: Spawn Creature: Sap Rings. Scavenger creatures that absorb decaying matter and can also photosynthize resources... although with a much reduced efficiency.
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Casaka- TRADE relationship officially formed, and there is prosperity
1 PP: Nourish Populace: The Grotto- TRADE relationship officially formed, and there is prosperity
2/7 +1/2 PP remaining.
"Ankirega, may I look at her?"
+2 new days
[7/7]
Ravnos looked on with horror as the battle reached its end, the beast destroyed and Brinn badly wounded if not dead, thrown into Verda with great force. Rushing downwards, he arrived moments after Zo-Att.
"Is she dead?" He asked his sister, looking over her at the body.
If she was dead, he didn't know what to do, but if not, he could bring her to Renissa, the place she had brought him long before to heal after Lohak's rage had gotten the better of him. But... only if she lived.
Ravnos nervously shifted his weight back and forth from foot to foot, waiting for Zo-Att to answer.
"Well now that's just overreacting," said Bel, an incredulous look in her eyes, "That certainly didn't call for a fainting spell."
Her eyes flicked up to the wreckage and destruction the fire had caused. Great swaths of the forest had been reduced to blackened and charred stumps. Ashes fell like snow from the baby blue sky.
"It's not like it was hurting you or anything," said Bel rather cluelessly, "In fact, I find your planet looks better now."
She looked back at Brinn, completely forgetting the fact that her conversation partner was passed out and thus not able to hear a word she said.
"You should be thanking me."
Zo-Att hovered over to Brinn's body. There she was, so... vulnerable. It would be so easy just to sink her teeth into flesh and tear away at her body while she couldn't fight back. Zo-Att was about to open her mouth, but for some reason she was having difficulty. Removing Brinn from the world would be such an accomplishment, it would make her task so much easier.
And yet, she couldn't.
Was she just becoming too soft over the years, or was it something else? Zo-Att sighed and rested her head against Brinn's chest. Warmth. That was a good sign, yes? She wasn't at all like Zo-Att's cold disposition... this must mean... she was alive!
"She's... she's fine right now."
***
The drow were shocked by the recent conflagration that emerged on the surface of Yrie. In the aftermath, they realized that life began to grow after such destruction. Trying to mimic this, they created a system where they had food grow from the ground. They grew strange plants with a round top and a skinny stalk, which became their main source of food for a time.
3PP - Guide Populace - Drow - They learn agriculture. In their case, they are growing mushroom plants (yes, plants, not fungi).
1PP (from Demon Forge) - Nourish Land - Verda has an abundance of mushroom plants. Some are poisonous, but the others can be grown and harvested.
[4/7]
"Good to see you again Father. Would it be possible to learn if any other gods were nearby when you heard us, and if they heard as well?"
Turning to Samtaana, he continued:
"Other wise, we will have to try that out, to see if only affects the specific god being called, or if other gods nearby could hear the message."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Quori expanded their territory, moving out slightly. Soon the began to hear word of strange lizard creatures that lived on the Isles as well. They did not come forward to greet them just yet, but waited and watched.
+2 PP: 2 days
-1 PP: Nourish Populace: Quori expand outward in the Isles
-2 PP: Guide Populace(Lesser): Quori discover the Aszhari, but do not contact them.
[2/7 PP]
Sku'Byss left the bush that he was hidden in and revealed himself to Ravnos and Zo-Att and all the rest. He said, "Well, It'd seem that something has happened... to Brinn... hm. I'm not sure how to react to this situation..."
Ravnos turned around to see Sku'byss approaching.
"I don't know what to do either" he said, looking at the wounded goddess.
Rather, he knew what to do, but it involved bringing Brinn to a place he knew she would want neither Zo-Att or Sku'Byss knowing about... he needed to think quickly.
"Sku'Byss. Go and find Sonel and ask for him to lend us his Revita-Core. It will speed the healing process."
"Sister, can you go and follow the flames that burned Brinn? Knowing the nature of the thing that caused the damage may help the Revita-Core heal Brinn's injuries."
Ravnos hoped they'd take the bait and leave...
With that, Sku'Byss left Verda and began a long search...
There. Ravnos breathed a sigh of relief as Sku'Byss dissapeared. Waiting until Zo-Att was busy looking at the ongoing fight, he reached over, picked up Brinn and twisted the universe before him, stepping through to Renissa, placing Brinn in the same pool that she had placed him. He felt more than saw the healing power of the place go to work.
Sitting down by the shore of the lake, he waited for the goddess to regain conciousness. After a few moments, he saw another god... newly born, it would seem... nearby.
"Ah, hello... how did you find this place?"
~Yrie, Casaka~
Karhedron had been left with a truly wonderful gift when Samtaana had left to go back to do the other things that the Great Eye desired: The very book from which the Eye had created his race long, long ago. He stood with ten of his fellow Titans, all volunteers who had been willing to undergo a potentially fatal experiment.
The treaty with the Dhoremi, and for that matter the future of the Empire of Glass itself could not be based on their own fragile forms, unable to travel far from the desert that baked their bodies and kept their internal molten hearts flowing. Even those who had been transformed by the meteor strikes and their projeny found it difficult to move further than the Blood Trolls' land, far from the distance needed to reach the Dhoremi.
And so it had come to this. Karhedron began speaking from the book words of great power, summoning forth what he needed from the earth through anchient words and binding them to the titans before him. As he watched, the glass of one of the titans shattered under the strain, sending molten heart-fire flowing over the ground and splattering across his own form and the patterned rock that was ever more taking over the forms of the other titans.
Another titan shattered, but the remaining eight survived, transformed from clear glass to gloriously patterned marble. Glass still flowed in their cores, but it was now surrounded by an insulative layer of rock, allowing these titans to travel further than their brethren. He immediately sent two to follow the Dhoremi home as an honor guard, and with open arms gathered the other six Marble Titans up and led them back to the city, where they settled and grew in number.
~Avanii~
The Sap rings multiplied, beginning to specialize themselves slightly... some became a little faster, some learned to be clever, and some learned how to share their resources with other rings...
1 PP: from the Codex: Modify Populace: Glass Titans are transformed to marble Titans
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Meteoric Titans join Casaka
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Marble Titans join Casaka
1 PP: Spawn Beast (lesser): Sap Rings multiply in number and varieties.
0/7 + 0/2 (shape, nourish) PP.
Left behind, the newborn exarch unleashed itself on Ankirega, attempting to drive back the attacking wolf while inflicting minimal injury.
PP Expenditures
3 PP - Ascend Exarch - Unamed Phoenix (combat bonus)
"Really, I think you're all just blowing this out of proportion," said Bell in a bored tone, "If someone would please explain to me what is so bad about fire, I'd gladly listen."
Her gaze passed lazily over to where Brinn had so recently lain, passed out, and she sighed in a rather non-chalant sort of way.
"And that Brinn there, I'm having a hard time believeing that that was an appropriate response."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Please be calm, my children, this is nothing to panic about," announced Arabelle in soothing tones from the back of her unicorn steed, "In fact, this is something to celebrate."
She smiled warmly upon the Eladrin, who were gazing with dejected looks out upon the blacked fields that remained in the flames wake. A vast scar of blackness cut between two vast stretches of trees, making a sort of black valley in the middle.
"We must not be sad, we must be joyous, what would splendid Serine think if we marred our beautiful countenances with sorrow?" asked the Queen of the Fairies.
"Golly gee!" sang one of the sprites, a plump little blue one named Dollop, "We must have glee!"
And a chorus of high sprite voices met his words. "Glee! Glee! Glee!" they shouted to the sky. Arabelle clapped her hands in delight.
"Listen to those little sprites, they are ever so adorable," she said, smiling, and the Eladrin must admit. Those sprites were ever so adorable.
"Now go my beautiful children!" she cried above more chants of 'Glee! Glee! Glee,' "Go and seek out the promised land."
And Arabelle and her steed cantered away, leaving Will'o the Sprite to lead the way.
1 PP: Modify Sap Dragons: Blaze Dragons
1 PP: Modify Sap Dragons: Ash Dragons
2 PP: Nourish Populace: Blaze and Ash Dragons
PP Remaining: 1/7 + 0/2
It had been many years waiting, but The Sculptor had been smart in moving The Whispergate to Verda. Orimoth had a message for Lohak, and Lohak was bound to return to one of the planets sooner or later. The exarch had nearly despaired, but in the end, diligence had rewarded him.
Its purpose thus fulfilled, The Whispergate moaned, the magic collapsing in on itself as it transposed itself back to Lor'quhan. Idly, Orimoth wondered if the one called Twitch would notice the reopening of the gate, then decided it didn't matter.
Languidly, like a shimmering, fabrication of one of Lohak's own dragons, the exarch followed -- not able to quite catch up, but hardly left behind.
PP Expenditure
0 - Move Artifact -- The Whispergate returns to Lor'quhan.
+7 too long away.
7/7 + 2/2
Without further ado as well, PP levels, with percentages! In future weeks, this will be limited to active gods, but for this week, I'm just going to put everything out there.
PP Levels:
1.15/day: Lohak (23.3%), Brinn (20.5%), Dvrgr(19.8%),The Silent One (8%),Eshcal(.8%)
1/day: Zo-Att(97.8%),The Sculptor (86%), Maibe (79.2%), Bel(65.8%), Sonel (65%), Khitis(55.6%),Ymalos(55.6%),Shry(53.6%), The Sisters(dead, but 50%), Sku'Byss (46.4%), Nenneve (43%),Sorstal(28%),Draemus(25.6%),Kouru(17%),Lizt(16%),Huzeddim(14%),Spower(10%),Avalokama(9%)
Two notes: 1) For those of you getting more than 1 PP/day, please CLEARLY label the day in which you are taking 2 PP. 2) If you want to know the basics behind the formula, which is much simpler than last LoC and effectively a PP in/ points out system, send me a PM. I won't give you specific numbers, but I'm more than willing to talk about it in general terms.
He'd waited too long. The Sculptor, apparently, had other issues with which she had to attend to. Apparently more important than his message and news... he still considered the Sculptor a friend, but as a piece in the grand game of the gods she was rapidly losing value... already having been downgraded from a queen to a rook, and well on her way to being a mere knight or bishop. He doubted she'd ever be a pawn however...
Sighing to himself, the Silent One vanished in a flash of darkness, reappearing in his Shadowfell. He needed to contribute more to his world of darkness... it had lain barren of life, even the dark life he was so fond of for far, far too long. His time waiting for the Sculptor had given him plenty of time to think of what he REALLY needed from an intelligent race. He needed... a race that was ruthless. Cold. Evil. He needed a race that could suck the secrets right out of their keepers heads, and could chronical and record them. He needed a race that was not afraid to leech off of other races, nay, needed to in order for it's very survival. He needed something that reflected his own image, at least slightly. And this race would be all that and more... he'd even trust them to worship him directly instead of through a disguise or proxy.
Slicing a tentacle off of his armor, the Silent One winced at the pain, using the hand that wasn't holding the severed prize to hold fast the wound. Infusing the tentacle with his power, the Silent One then dropped it onto the dark earth before him, watching as it writhed and convolsed. Soon, the tentacle had formed into a humanoid creature, with a squid like head, then many more of the same humanoid. Soon enough they'd awaken from his slumber, and then... the Silent One grinned wickedly. Then he'd work on accumulating every secret known in the multiverse.
***
Misery. It echoed through the universe. The misery from the burning of Verda felt by the spirits and animals that lived there. The misery of the dead Dhorem slain by the moon god so long ago. The misery of so many gods for so many slights. And each minor pulse of misery echoed within the Shadowfel. Building. Magnifying. Until eventually... it snapped. Reality itself, drenched with misery opened up in mid-air, revealing the darkness of the Shadowfell to the brightness of the other worlds. Of course these... misery portals weren't exactly blatant. They ran seemlessly into the world of darkness, so much so it was possible for a creature to wander through a portal and not realize where it was until a kraaj made it their dinner. But these portals had their own part to play in the future..
3PP - Form Paragon Populace - The mindflayers make their home in the Shadowfell. These are exactly the same as MM mindflayers in terms of mechanics, except that they are Shadow instead of Aberrant.
2PP - Mold Land - Misery Portals appear in areas of great misery, such as ancient tombs and places of great strife. These link the Shadowfell to the other worlds.
[1.15/7, 2/2]
In the temple of Oshan Gaar the high priest Sarkhan Nhar Larshk was chaning in the main ritual hall, outside the storm was raging in the sky, not unlike the night of last Greatest Sacrifice, however this time the birth rate of the Aszhari has moved back to the original two or three at most out of every 10 eggs. The priest was determined to changed that, Sarkhan has many of his followers collect the unhatched eggs from the nearby tribes and has worked for long on a spell designed to bring them to life, without recurring to the last sacrifice.
The lightnings kept hitting the surface of the mountain temple channelled trough its complex structure they went directly to the priest and the eggs... Sarkhan could sense the power flowing into him, but it was not enough. Ten young priests was there, each bound to provide a great sacrifice in blood, one that was not deadly, as the High priest did not want to resort in the Greatest sacrifice every time they need to give new life his people, when their blood mixed with their magic Sarkhan chanted the spell he had researched for nearly a century of his life.
A final thunderstrke completed the ritual and all the Aszhari in the room watched at the cracking eggs "We succeeded" tought Sarkhan "the gift of life that was denied to many among us is now.." however he soon found out that he was mistaken, the creature coming out of the Eggs was not Aszhari, they was smaller, bulkier with albino scales but still they was ealthy and strong, Sarkahn soon found out that they lacked the divine link to Eshcal or to the storms as lightnings could hurt their bodies...
Many priests was disappointed about the experiment resoult, however someone among the ritualists was smiling, Ranjan Dakhan, one of the youngest among the blood cultists a Blessed One, smiled when the first creature emerged from its egg, thinking about what he might be able to do once he could understand more about the power of life... He left the room opening his wings and flying into the storm letting the rain flow on his body refreshing his spirit and filling his mind with dark dreams...
Sarkhan at first was sad about the apparent failure, however in the next few month he learned to appreciate the new creatures, they was much weaker than the Aszhari, but still they were their kindreds, born from the same blood and flesh, the high priest rise them as his sons and soon he found out that their number kept growing even without spells and magics... "Maybe" he tought "I have not learned how to create new godsons, but still I have succeeded in my mission..."
The Court of the Gods
"No son there was no one else of our kind when you called..." Ehscal replied to Shyr "However I was traversing the World on the River, where the souls go for their final rest and I have seen many mortal spirits leaving for the afterlife, more than usual and mostly coming from Verda... I wonder if you know anything..."
PP
6/7 +1 Shape +1 Guide
1 PP Modify - Aszhari, the new race is smaller, bulkier, white-scaled and does not have the half divine nature of their parents.
"No, I know nothing of this. Give me a moment."
He went deep inside the Dream, closing out the world, and finding the dreams of Verda.
Leaping, flying sparks
Flames jumping
Heat, sucking air
Flesh sizzling
Burning death
Sweeping across the life
Leaving destruction in its wake
He jumped out of his trance, shaken by what he had seen.
"Verda! It's-It's burning! So much death..."
+2 PP: 2 Days
Elemental Chaos, Yirie
The Djinns have settled into the elemental Chaos, however after an extensive exploration of that realm they have found nothing but mindless elemental forces or the winds to converse to. Their natural ability in fulfilling desires of other was wasted in that realm. Some had migrated to the palace of Eshcal, residing among its marble spires and enjoying the tranquillity of its gardes, however a few of them managed to find another realm to explore, one where strong wind and even more powerful desires roamed.
It was their Eldes, Fazhal Hakir, the one shaped by Sarriss magic during her last visit who, after centuries of exploration in the chaos and communion with the unbound energies of the place, found out that there was a feeble connection between that plane and every other place in the universe. Well known as a wise one among his brothers and sisters he soon gathered a large crowd of Djinns when he decided to attempt that connection to find another realm to visit and other sentient creatures to talk with. 999 Djins gathered that day and focused their powerful will in the hard task of finding a way out of the plane. After a while they found on a distant realm the powerful touch of magic a place that, unknowingly to them, was created by the goddess of magic herself. While focusing their mind they had visions of endless deserts and powerful winds, towers of glass and thousands of souls... Embracing this visions the Djinns focused the Elemental Chaos energies and managed to teleport to the golden world of Yrie.
There they soon found out that they could not use the same trick to teleport back to their homeland, however most of them was not afraid of being stranded far away from their homeland as after all it was their original desire, but a small group still accused Fazhal of bringing a dark doom against their people.
Soon a struggle ensured, no Djinn has ever fought among themselves and most was horrified by the attack perpetuated by the leader of the rebellious Djinn, a being named Shadan, mostly sided with Fazhal, after a swift battle, that caused powerful sandstorm that could be seen from hundreds of kilometers, the Djinns decided to divide, one group followed the first among their kind and decided to settle in this new world, creating a large enchampment-city among the sands of a vast erg, calling it Shuras, the First Home.
Meanwhile the remaining few genies led by their lord the powerful spirt Shadan was exiled by their brethren for attempting to bring violence among their people, he and his follower soon found out that the act of resorting to violence has changed something among them, tainting their souls and warping their power of granting wishes into the one of tempting creature, including themselves, leading to a the path of their downfall...
Verda
The Twins arrived to a smondering Verda, they watched the unmoving and bronken form of Brinn as the gods moved her body away, they felt some affinity with the goddess. Evshan even rememberd that the spirts folks have talked about her to the Aszhari hunters they did not know the goddess however one followed by such noble creatures could not be an evil being. The Twins wanted to help the planet to survive the flaming wrath.
Sarris watched the devastation and wondered if she could help somehow...
The Court
"Verda is on fire, I think we should go my son, Brinn might need our assistance..." told Eshcal "Even if I fear that, we might be too late as many souls engulfed the World on the River when I last visited it..."
- 1 PP Nourish, A group of Djinn manage to travel to Yrie and create the nation of Shuras,
- 1 PP Modify, Some of the Djinn that went on Yrie turned to a darker way, giving life to the Dark Djinns or Qareshi.
After having waited for some small time, allowing the Silent One to gather his thoughts on what to say to his new race, the mind flayers came to. Strange how the other gods so often made their people concious immediately... this was so much more convenient.
"We... live," a mind flayer communed to the god telepathically. Telepathy... huh, there was a more convenient way to speak without words than using the silence between them. He wondered why he'd never thought of it before.
"Indeed you do," the Silent One communed back. "I have made it so."
"And who would you be then, oh so called creator?" the mind flayer asked suspiciously.
Barely a few minutes old and already suspecting deception from the one creature they'd met... he was so proud. "I am the unknown and the known which is unknown to all- you know what, let's skip the fanciful introductions. I'm the Silent One. No other mortals knows that fact, not knowing me or knowing me by an alias. You, however, need to know who I am if you're to fulfll your purpose."
"Well gee, don't I feel special," the mind flayer commented. "Created merely as a tool in some grand game."
The Silent One chuckled. "We are ALL tools in the grand game, young one. Even I am a mere pawn in the weavings of the universe. But a mere pawn, if it is to reach the other side of the field, and manipulate things to be just right, can be transcended to be the most powerful piece on the playing field.. that is the purpose of darkness, of secrets, of deception. To stack the odds so its user can dominate the board."
"But even if you are a queen, you are still but a mere playing piece," the mind flayer pointed out.
"The only way to end the game is to destroy the board, and that would take me and every god out in the process. If there was some way I could survive it than maybe I will break the universe and the game some day, but for now I am merely content to push pieces around and see what happens." The Silent One frowned. "But you seem to have distracted me... your purpose is one you will enjoy I'm sure. Put simply, your purpose in existance is..."
He had never flat out told something it's purpose before. He was afraid to do so would be to break it's will to keep searching, and cause it to rile against it's lot in existence. But the mind flayers were... different. If he gave them a purpose, it would only motivate them to fulfill it in the most effective, vile way possible. And that was exactly what he wanted.
"But your Silence, how will we gain access to the other realms to do what you ask?" a mind flayer asked.
"I trust in you to figure it our for yourself... if I were to give you access to so much as an empty asteroid the entire pantheon would crash down on me. They've done so on less, believe me..."
"Then we will find a way," the mind flayer communed, tentacles slavering.
"Excellent," the Silent One replied. "Don't hesitate to contact the Brothers or Sassriss if you require aid... or I myself of course, but I have other matters to attend to as well. Fair well, my mind flayers. I know you will do me proud."
Infused with purpose, the mind flayers bowed their heads as their god dissappeared.
[2/7, 1 bonus, 2/2]
1PP-Nourish Kaorti
Ankirega fought to get past the phoenix that barred his way, fury clouding his mind. "BRINN IS THE FOREST! YOU KILL IT, YOU KILL HER!," he screamed at Bel, trying to shove his way past the flaming defender.
PP Remaining: 3/7 + 2/2 +1/1
You summoned my mistress -- I come in her stead.
------------------------------
Within the Susurrus, things remained as they were; The purple-green sunlight shone, and the Malevolants stalked the Tombs of Remembrance. But The Crossroads was astir with energy; something was happening to the Whispergate. It was... multiplying?
+1 New Day
-1 Duplicate Artifact (Whispergate, 2) -- Create a second Whispergate on Verda
-1 Duplicate Artifact (Whispergate, 2 ) -- Creates a third Whispergate on Yrie
-1 Duplicate Artifact (Whispergate, 2) -- creates a fourth Whispergate on the Isles of Wonder
-1 Duplicate Artifact (Whispergate, 2) -- creates a fifth Whispergate on Lohak's distant world
Whispers of the lure of destruction had made their way to the foulspawn. Zo-Att appealed to the nature of many of them, and some switched to her worship, in place of Sku'byss. This created some disagreements between the clans, but nothing too serious.
For now
~Verda
In the aftermath of what the drow called the Great Conflagration, survivors were scattered about. Some drow and eladrin decided to band together for their own mutual benefit. As a result of this, some eladrin opted to worship Zo-Att, though not partake in imbibing demonic blood. These eladrin and drow became known as the Seyshite.
4 PP - guide populace (x2) - Foulspawn and Eladrin worship Zo-Att
1 PP - nourish populace - Created Seyshite, a nation composed of drow and eladrin.
[2/7]
Kahnda
The Foulspawn lay divided, half of the clans under the worship of Zo-Att, the remainder still loyal followers of the Lord of Corruption. The Tyrant, ruler over all the clans of the Foulspawn on Kahnda, did not know what to do. Any worship deviating from that of the Corruption Lord was not to be tolerated, but he did not wish to sunder the Foulspawn. They needed to remain together for when Sku'byss called for them.
The Tyrant needed more power to win back the worship of the Foulspawn to the Corrupt Master. He had heard of a small font of leftover corruption, deep within the fires of a volcano many miles away. Thus, after a long journey, the Tyrant found the font, and threw himself into it.
No one knows what exactly happened, but when the Tyrant finally emerged, he had changed. He was larger, stronger, and, above all, immortal.
3 PP Ascend Exarch: The Tyrant, which supplies an extra PP toward guide actions.
[1/7 PP]
+4 (4 new days)
3 PP moderate shape populace: Grimlocks.
1 PP lesser claim domain: Underdark.
0/7
Bel cackled crazily to herself, her laughter hitting a rather hysterical note at its apex. She threw her head back when she laughed, a mad glint in her eye.
"The doggy knows how to talk, huh?" she continued through fits of hysterics, "The doggy thinks it can play with the big boys 'cause it throws around a few big words?"
She leaned in close to the madly barking wolf, placing her head close enough that she could feel his breath upon her face, but not close enough for him to touch her, reach her, rip her. She blew a raspberry in his face. She succumbed to her laughter, rolling over herself in her mad fit of wracking, crazy glee. She sobered up for a moment to gaze back at the wolf.
"Well doggy, let me break it to you. This forest isn't that dead, and neither is your collapsing goddess over there. Sorry to take away your reason to act tough, but there it is."
As Ravnos watched the son god comfort his mother, he fell into deep thought. The world was moving so very, very fast... he had no idea how he was going to keep up with the ever increasing amount of knowledge that was being generated. It would be preferable to have some central repository... some central race that would gather the knowledge in one place where he could swoop in and read it all in one go.
Turning aside from the action before him, Ravnos quickly fashioned a humanoid being, filling it with a love of knowledge and the gathering of it. He fashioned a number of them, giving them the ability to flicker in and out of the Astral Sea. The Maruts, for that is what he would call them, had one sacred duty, woven into their very souls at their creation: To go out and trade knowledge for knowledge, expertise for expertise, gathering it all inwards. He sent them to the Astral Sea, where they began to gather together to form repositories.
~Yrie~
Samtaana continued to work furiously, putting together some complex machine, which he added to the shell he had created previously.
Karhedron as well had been experimenting further. While the Marble Titans were able to range further north than he himself could, there were still large portions of the planet that Casakans could not visit. He watched from the ocean shore as the new Titans he had just created, Salt Titans, strode into the ocean, growing larger as they went as they absorbed salt from the water around them. These Titans, powered by molten salt, burned the fiercest of all the Titans he had created, and were able to go anywhere aside from the frozen peaks and the icy pole, where even they had difficulty. However, in the City of Glass, the Salt Titans became cherished members of the society, as it was known that whenever they returned from the ocean depths, new treasures would be availible to the people of Casaka to own... shells from the great deep, strange rock structures created in crushing depths and reports from far around the world.
~Avanii~
The Sap rings were growing. Some were becoming larger than others while others began to gain even more specific functionality.
2 PP: Shape Populace (greater): Maruts. They live in the Astral Sea and are collectors of knowledge, providing services for new pieces of information
1 PP (from Samtaana): Create Artifact(lesser): Another piece of the project... this one is an air purification system.
1 PP (from Codex): Modify Populace: Salt Titans from Glass Titans
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Salt Titans join Casaka
1 PP: Spawn Creature(lesser):Sap Rings diversify even further.
0/8 PP +0/2 (nourish) PP. (TOOK MY 2-PP day)
PP
1PP-Nourish Populous- Kaorti
((This flavor text is also accounted for by the extra pp of nourish tophep allowed me to respecify))
((Okay, this is the third time I've made this post (internet ate the other two) so sorry if it's a little succinct))
Upon crafting the Ithillid, the Silent One had retreated to the void, in order to plan his next move... at least, that was what he intended until the Sculptor's pet appeared.
"I admit I'm somewhat insulted the Sculptor views me as so low on her priority list that she sends a mere pawn to deal with me," he began. "None the less, I have a message. The Shadowfell has been recreated, so any plans she had for it may be progressed. What's more, Bel and Sky'buss have both been added to our ranks... in a sense, I trust them both as far as I can throw them, but a loose cannon is better than no cannon at all."
***
The Ithillid had been given a sacred mission by The One Who's Name Will Never Be Known. So far, the mind flayers had pursued that mission as well as they could. They created the concept of parchment and writing, so they could record all that they learned on their dark world. Soon, books upon books surrounded the places the Ithillid lived, becoming a kind of... library city. But this wasn't enough. The Ithillid were decreasing in number: they're unique biology made it impossible to procreate except bu infecting another race with their seed. Since there were no other races in the Shadowfell, this was difficult to say the least. What's more, the brains of animals were not a good enough feast for their kind. They ate and recovered the memories and knowledge of those who's brains they ate far more than the tissue itself, so memories of sniffing around for a meal weren't very sustaining.
However, this dreaded stasis soon ended with an important discovery: Misery Portals. Using them, the Ithillid could travel to other worlds. They could ensalve and devour other races, and use them to create more of their kind. What's more, they could go about their true mission: discovering all the secrets of the multiverse, commiting it to writing, then using those secrets to gain power while keeping them from eyes who were not meant to see it... in other words, every other race, beast, exarch and god.
In the interest of furthering their mission and the survival and prosperity of their race, a group of nine ithillid gathered in the heart of their largest commune. Deciding on a course, these nine then sacrificed themselves, adding their brains to what would becoming the Elder Brain, guide of the Ithillid people. Calling forth the wisdom of the council and every dead Ithillid who recived a proper funeral (ie added their brain to the collective), the Elder Brain would guide the Ithillid in their mission and life. It was decided that if the mind flayers were to prosper, they must specialize... and so their society would be divided into nine guilds, each with an important role to play.
The Slavers would travel through misery portals, ensalve other races with their mental prowess, and return them to the Shadowfell to act as front line soldiers and laborers.
The Takers would also travel through misery portals, however they would simply capture other races and use them as food for the other guilds and themselves. They sometimes embark on rare 'delicacy hunts', hunting down extremely taleneted and knowledgeable individuals to add to the Ithillids ever growing library cities.
The Makers were the last of the guilds that operated solely in the worlds of light... they were devoted to stelithily implanting other races with their seed, to propegate and grow. These infected race members would eventually transform into full fledged mind flayers, feeling the call of the Elder Brain and travelling into the Shadowfell to be assigned on a guild based on their talents and calling.
The Watchers were the only guild to operate equally in the Shadowfell and the worlds of light. Being devoted to guarding, searching for and researching Misery Portals, many of their forts are half in, half out, half in between light and dark.
The Scriveners have a simple job: write everything they know. The Ithillids have a unique ability to transfer the memories of those they feed on to another of their kind, so often a single scrivener could write about hundred of their fellows experiences and meals.
The Librarians were devoted to guarding the works the Scriveners produce, and acting as a sort of catalogue so no knowledge is lost in the sea of books that makes up an Ithillid settlement. Since 'library' and 'city' are synomonys to the mind flayers, they also operate as the army, and recieve the choice weapons and advances to use to perform their duty.
The Seekers use the knowledge gained by their fellows to practical applications, and build off of it through research and experimentation. Unfortunately for other races, these experiments are sinister, and often require a lot of sentient lab rats.
The Keepers do nothing but monitor the other guilds. They could be called the law enforcement of the Ithillids: they watch for xenosympathisers and incompetence, and destroy both with equal predjudice. They also monitor Ithillid lands for intruders, and serve as city guards along with the Librarians. Of course, the Librarians first priority is the books, while the Keepers the people, leading to some friction.
The Speakers are the final guild, and the smallest, seldom found outside of the library city the Elder Brain resides except as an embassy or messenger. They perform the funeral rites that add an Ithillid to the collective, tend to the Elder Brain, and administer its will to the other Guilds.
With their course set, the Ithillid looked through the Misery Portals with slavering tentacles. They would live... and others would die so that they could.
1PP (Bonus) - Nourish Populace - The Ithillid form the Elder Brain, and a guild based society.
3PP - Guide Populace - The Ithillid learn to make paper from dark trees, and learn writing. They produce their own ink thanks to their unique biology, and often write with their tentacles.
Fulrit made a dismissive sound.
Is indisposed. She is fully devoted to a project of her own -- to immortalize her spirit, such that she may never be slain like The Sisters... or Bel.
The wolf's eyes narrowed.
How could you form an alliance with that which is dead, darkwalker? That which I saw killed with my own eyes? Bel is dead, and now some... other stalks the void in her body.
As to the Shadowfell -- well, I am her answer to that, aren't I? While you sought which had been taken from you, my mistress retook what had been taken. The souls of the vengeful dead, reborn to wreak havoc upon that which drove them to death.
"However, those were past dreams that I experienced. Going now would probably serve no purpose, as it is already over, I believe."
He nodded to Samtaana and Eshcal.
"If you don't mind, I will take my leave now."
He vanished, sending himself hurtling through the world, with nothing to really guide him other than dreams. (Anyone want to talk?)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Quori grew in strength, but they were still riven with internal strife. This caused them to be unable to expand more, as each would have to take precautions against all of the others unless it wanted to have all it posessed taken from it.
However, rumors began to spread through the Quori of one of them, filled with the Dream and more powerful than any of them put together. Rumors abounded of his power, which was said to flow from him in such quatities that some thought he was a manifestation of the Dream. There was said to be a coming of him, when he would take control of all the Quori.
Soon it came. He would appear to individual Quori, and force them to swear to obey him, with dire consequences if they would not. Soon, all of the Quori had taken these oaths, and wated with bated breath over what he would command them to do. Suprisingly, it was but one simple thing: That all the major internal strife must cease, so that they could expand and taste the dreams of the universe.
Those who had taken the oath willingly, and had accepted his command without complaint he would teach a way to store the power of the Dream in sigils, enscibed on something. These could then be used to perform rituals easily, without much stress. Soon this art expanded beyond his limits, to all Quori. Dispite this, some wondered if that had been his intention all along....
+2 PP: 2 New Days
-3 PP: the Quori Dream Lord, a Quori who was infused with the pure power of the Dream, as well as a small connection to Shry as a result. Provides Nourish PP.
-3 PP: Guide Populace(Greater): The Quori learn about rituals, and how to use them.
[0/7 PP]
The Silent One rubbed his chin thoughtfully. This was... disturbing. He doubted the Sculptor would ever turn against him, but if she managed to discover a way to attain true immortality, and that art spread to the other gods... his anti-god weapon would be completely worthless.
"She believes Bel is dead? How strange, I thought she was more perceptive than that," the dark god mused. "In any case, Bel didn't die at all: rather, she possessed one of my exarchs and left her body to whatever had taken root inside of it. My most loyal exarch..." The Silent One clenched his fist. "If she wasn't so damn useful I'd kill her for that. In any case, she made a new body, and is currently... I honestly have no idea, I seem to be outside the affairs at large of the other gods. Perhaps appropriate, for how else am I to keep secrets?"
At the creatures last comment, the Voice Without Sound just looked bemused at the speaker. "An interesting concept, though a little flawed in execution... I have a similar project on the back burner at the moment, though mine is a little more, how should I say... all encompassing? In any case, the Shadowfell was extremely important for almost ALL of my schemes, so of course I restored it before going on to new things."
***
There's a funny thing about the universe that scholars would jokingly refer to as 'Verda's Law'. In essence, the rule stated that if anything bad were to happen that originated from an outside force, it would always be Verda that ended up effected first and hardest. The law wasn't entirely correct: other worlds had been pelted by asteroids, or blown to bits only to be reconstructed. But Verda did seem to have a complex eerily reminiscent of Tokyo: it attracted giant monsters that toppled buildings and breathed fire upon the fleeing populace.
So of course the first Misery Portal the Ithillid explored let the planet. Coincidentally, they immerged smack bang in the middle of Gigotaur lands. Perhaps not so big a coincidence... with the amount of wars the gigotaurs fought, their land was probably littered with the things on recent blood soaked battle fields. Without hesitation, the Ithillid began their mission... they enslaved gigotaurs, captured them for food, took them for experimentation, and infected ones that seemed particularily talented in their fields with the deadly embryo that would conver them into one of their own. Soon, the Ithillid learned almost everything there was to the gigotaurs, inheriting their knowledge with every brain they devoured. And, as was their way, soon the library cities were no longer crude constructs but soaring stone architectual achievements eerily similar to the gigotaurs own castles... albeit far more sinister. Soon, the Ithillid began to sing, in alien notes that spread despair in all that heard it. And soon, Ithillid warriors began to add the gigotaurs knowledge of sieges and their ways of training their kin in the art of battle to their expanding roster of battle tactics.
It wasn't all take however. Before their transformation, infected gigotaurs would have fevered dreams. Dreams of tentacled creatures, and great brains that told them what to do. Dreams of parchment, and words that conveyed meaning without speaking. Some of these gigotaurs actually held on long enough to put forward this last idea, and soon writing spread throughout the bull folk.
Aside from tall tales of boogey men who came in the night and snatched people away to steal their thoughts, the gigotaurs remained largely unaware of the stealthy Ithillid incursion... despite every instinct in their body screaming in terror at the mere mention of such tales.
1PP - Nourish Ithillid to establish Trade between Gigotaurs and Ithillids - Though technically not 'trading' the Ithillids preying on gigotaur nations allows them to pick up their technologies, namely stone working and song. In turn, the gigotaurs pick up writing and the ability to make parchment, though almost accidentally and certainly unintentionally. Not that the Ithillid really care, the animals could write whatever nonesense they wanted to.
[0/7, 2/2, 1 mold, 1 spawn]
Wait -- so Bel was slain by Ymalos, freeing Zo'att, who was really your exarch, who was also really being posessed again by Bel?
The wolf shook his head in aggravation.
No, I think there's some temporal disconnect here. If what I witnessed happened first, that means seeing Bel "die" wasn't really Bel at all? That still leaves the question of who or what captured her corpse.
Alternatively, if what you know to be true happened first, Bel now lies dead, Ymalos truly killed her, and something still ran off with the corpse.
Fulrit looked at the Eternal Clock.
We were gone for a long time, weren't we? And what is this about flawed execution! Bah! My malevolants are perfect engines of vengeance!
Ranjan Dakhan was one of the most gifted priests, a Blessed Ones he has always being alone in his life, revered, but rarely loved, by his tribesmen and feared by packmaster Garleth, that was afraid of losing his position in favor of the younger and stronger Aszhari and attempted to have him killed at leat twice during the hunt. He became a blood priest extremely young, easily besting the tests posed by the wise ones who determined who could be trained in the arcane arts, only a few among the eldest expressed doubts about a creeping darkness in his soul, however his nature of Blessed One clouded their judgement.
Soon Ranjan became one of the most skilled sorcerer, capable of easily performing the hardest spell, but he also was almost totally careless about the moral rules that the priests attempted to teach to every disciple, he quickly become addicted to the rush of power felt during a sacrifice, the "Embrace of Eshcal" as it was called, in secret Ranjan kept performing the rituals of blood just for the pleasure of sensing such an energy flowing in his body. For many years he was able to conceal his treacherous nature, however he knew that he will not be able to hide his nature forever, in secred he hatched he planned to bring the priesthood under his command, so that there will be no retribution for his actions.
When the high priest Sarkhan decided to include Ranjan in an experiment designed to give life to the many stillborn eggs the Blessed Ones was ready to accept, figuring out that in case of success he would have gained access to the secret of creating new Aszhari loyal to him. The experiment was unsuccessful but still it demonstrated that the Blood Magic could be used to give life.
For a few years he watched the Masaren, the new Aszhari subrace created by the spell of life, prosper and begun shaping his own version of the spell. One day he left the temple of Oshan Gaar with a large number of stolen eggs and a few weak willed Masaren followers that he had decieved into following him. He settled on a secred cave, under the Isle, there he practiced something that the other priest called merely the Greatest Crime, the sacrifice of an unwillng victim. Ranjan always speculated that it was possible to gain power for such an act and he indeed felt the divine energy flowing trough him when he sacrificed an helpless Masaren follower, he felt dirty after casting the spell, but the sensation was still extremely enticing... When the blood of the young creature begun flowing on his stolen eggs they all hatched, just like they did during the cerimony at Oshan Gaar, but just as the renegade priest has predicted the children of that magic was not the albino Masaren...
The small lizard creature begun fiercely fighting among each other, bathing in the blood of their brothers and sisters until just a few survived, when they rised their heads to look for new preys to consume Ranjan smiled to the newborn beings, with the palm of his hand he transmitted a small discharge of electricity in the their heads, shocking them and slowly using his enticing voice and dark magics to force the total obedience of the new beings.
Secretly in the darkness of the caves under the Isles of Wonder, over the red clouds of Kandras below the renegade priest begun creating a small army of bloodthirsty slaves, rarely he went back to the surface in the Jungle to hunt for living Masaren to sacrifice or Blessed Ones that shared Ranjan life of loneliness, to seduce with a temptation of power.
Verda
The twins watched the scarred surface of Verda, so much life destroyed by the fire, both wanted to help with the planet recovery, for a while they watched the forest realm, trying to decide what to do. Finally Evshan had an idea, "What if we use that power of yours to make new life for this realm sister? Something that can help with filling the void left by the wildfires?" Sarris promptly accepted her brother plan. It took for them a long time to shape life in this realm, apparently the planes reality was easier to manipulate and the guiding hand of their father was not there to help them with their task. However after an apparently endless work a new being took shape, a large feathered serpent, with a mind as sharp as its fangs, capable of easily navigate the sky and bring the life giving blessing of wind and rain to the surface of the world it now inhabited. After a little work the twins also managed to figure out the "trick" used by their father to make more of their creations.
Pleased with their actions, they watched the newly born Coatl dispersing among the clouds of Verda, ignoring the disappointed comments of their Death dragon companion "You should make these tree hugging creatures less draconic..." he suggested...
Court of the First Ones
"Late or not my son, I think that I'll go and check what is going on maybe we can still do something to ease the suffering of Verda...." Eshcal replied, mostly talking to himself as his son has already left. Calling on the guidance of the winds to find Verda, as his last visit to the planet was more than one age before Eshcal went to the surface of the forest world seeking Brinn or the Twins that he had sent there to investigate...
4/7 +0, +0 Shape +1 Guide
1 PP Modify - A new breed of living vampiric Masaren, the Jaraca, is artificially created by the renegade blood priest Ranjan.
1 PP Nourish - Ranjan found a cabal of dark blood priest, the Hand of Ranjan, among the Aszhari civilization
1 PP Nourish - The Jeraca are enslaved by the Hands of Ranjan.
2 PP (1 from Sarris) - Shape Epic Populace - Coatl.
- Used my Extra Weekly PP today.
Brinn thrashed in the water, a firey aura blazing around her as the blaze of pain inside her grew ever fiercer. She made as if to grip her heart before spasming again, her face a rictus of pain as the water around her began boiling and steaming. The burns on her body were alternating between healing and expanding in the chaotic whirls of energy. Around the banks of the holy waters had gathered the Ankir, golden watchers of their mothers' pain. Their prayers, whispered, yelled, and thought reached out to her, but were denied in a haze of pain. Yet this pain was not wholly real... Brinn had trapped herself in the horror and agony she had felt upon the fires' creation, obsessing over that which had taken so much of her forest from her.
Brinn ran at breakneck speeds through the plains, racing to escape the swooping dragon above, before tripping on the rough mountains' gravel and hitting the rock hard. Swarms of small, ugly brutes surrounded her, as she lay facing the black and red sky above. Fire raced from the woman beside her, consuming her naked form in the fires of rage as she basked in the waters. Beside her was a man and a child...before they were trampled by men on horseback. She flew through the sky with wings like an eagle, begging at the feet of a man for her child. From her bed she saw a sign over the door..."May Iron Guard Us".
The forest goddess screamed, arcs of fire rushing from her and bursting upon the rocky mountains surrounding the lake. Beside her, floating in the lake, hrummed the Void Matrix, the presence of ultimate fire energy fueling it's hunger. Fire lashed into it and was consumed, an inky blackness slowly spreading as it absorbed the chaotic bolts.
She was afloat... in a sea of fire... Brinn looked around her and saw darkness above and fire below. Pain unimaginable racked her body endlessly as she wondered of her death. Verda lost it's life... and now would she lose hers? Visions of Sonel's smiling face floated, and the images of her two unborn children. Ankirega paced beside her, the Ankir beyond praying for her. To her left floated the spirits, uncounted numbers of nature's helpers, befriended by some sort of draconic creature she had never seen. She clawed out to them, her hand passing through the flames. She could not reach them. She had failed. She would die. Brinn cried, her aching for her people, her friends, and her family hurting far more than fire ever could.
The spirits. The dragons. Orine. Araiyo. Grawlf. Eschal. Hrinori. Lohak. Ankirega....Sonel. She wept for those she would leave behind in this endless sea of flame.
"She gives up, it seems," came a voice, echoing from nowhere. She heard a chorus of assents, and the images of her friends began to dissapear, one by one, leaving her alone and reaching for anyone to come back.
"Please..."
The inky blackness had formed an impassable barrier between the goddess and those who watched. It flickered with purple lights and the occasional burst of fire as it cocooned Brinn in it's all-consuming void.
Darkness...
It was all over her now, Brinn floating in a sea of black. She felt....empty. Hollow. She didn't care anymore...her friends had left her...her planet was destroyed.... it seemed that she was forever doomed to have everything she valued stripped from her...
The fire had left... and it was dark.
Verda
The peoples of Verda had gathered in prayer to their patron, witnesses to the loss. "Come back....Brinn!," they cried.
Yrie
Orine had watched the destruction on Verda from her new home, and her heart was hurt to her surprise. "You cannot fall.," she said, more a statement than a prayer.
The Isles of Wonder
The spirits had been told by Great Zephyr of the fires on their ancestral home, of Brinn's pain and departure. Though they had never met Brinn, they knew of Ankirega, and his connection to their goddess. They stared into the night sky, words of prayer on their lips. "Fight on, Brinn!"
Avanii
The primal spirits, from their homes near the dragons, looked up in the sky towards the planet the white wolf had called Verda. "Survive, goddess of nature."
Verda
Araiyo could barely stand, it was an effort to merely keep a corporeal form. "We all pray for you, Brinn! Live!"
Miles and miles away, Ankirega's thoughts of vengeance were tempered by despair for Brinn. "We need you, Brinn!," he thought, the fight leaving him despite Bel's provocation.
Renissa
Brinn winced at millions of points of light suddenly burst into being in the void, as voices called out to her, words of hope and prayer for their friend and mother. Brinn floated amid the dark, the light rekindling her desire to live. "My friends..." she managed. She closed her eyes, picturing the flames that tormented her under the smothering veil. "Thank you. I will not let the fire consume me...I owe you all too much."
On the shores of the lake, Ravnos saw the globe of void suddenly collapse back into a gleaming pinpoint, which Brinn held in one hand. The other held a brightly flaming bow, which seemed to cause no pain at all. The burns were quickly receding as Brinn recovered, though patches of black remained. She looked at him, her eyes conveying thanks and relief, before dissapearing.
Verda
A flaming arrow split the skies, boring into Bel as Brinn descended. "Never hurt my friends again, Bel. You have caused much pain this day." The wolfish goddess looked peaceful, though her bow was ready. Ankirega gave a stifled shout as Brinn appeared again, before taking his place at his side, trembling in relief. Brinn looked down at the forest, the devasation that had taken place. "Why did you attack my home, Bel?," she said, dangerously quiet.
2 PP: Create Artifact: Phoenix Bow (1 PP from Void Matrix)
PP Remaining: 4/7 + 1/2 + 1/1
"Oh Brinn, oh sorrowful Brinn, I see now what has happened," cried Bel, a tone of sudden maturity and remorse layering itself over her normally child-like and cruel voice, "I thought it was a game, the fire my present to you, but I see now, our two worlds cannot be together, cannot live together."
She looked downwards at Verda, at the thoughtless destruction imposed upon it. She thought of the words spilling from her lips. They saddened her immeasurably.
"This is a terrible truth, but one that must be spoke, I once declared us friends, but that can never be, for mine is a world of fire and savage destruction," said Bel, her finger tracing the delicate lines of black that marked where the flames had raged, "And yours is a fragile world of delicate and unimaginable beauty."
Her gaze passed to the tracts of beautiful forests that still stood.
"I am sorry for your loss, yes, terribly so," said Bel, "But truly, I am sorry for my own loss, that of you as a friend and helpful companion."
She smiled one last smile.
"Be at peace, old friend."
The Silent One laughed at the wolf's claims that the malevolants were the perfect execution. "Nothing in this universe is perfect, exarch, except the gods of course. After all, those with power define perfection. But your toys are indeed a very fine execution, simply... too small in scope. They are spirits who yearn for vengenance, but what of those others if given the chance would choose not to move on? Those with too many worldly ties, those that don't feel they deserve an after life, those who are angry, regretful... I plan to have ALL of these forms like your own creations."
As if to demonstrate his point, the Silent One drew forth a board of blackest night, drawing on it a circle with a line through it. "This is the after life. As you can see, it's divided into two: half of it is made with the Sisters energy, and half of it is made with my own. But with the Sisters death, there's no-one to claim that half of the afterlife, meaning it is effectively mine in it's entiritey." The Silent One erased the line. "However, just because I MADE it, doesn't mean I own it, unfortunately. That honor belongs to the god of the afterlife, whoever took over." The Silent One drew a pair of hands, greedily holding the circle to itself. "However, if I were to punch a hole in my afterlife, connecting it to my Shadowfell..." he drew a second circle, then an arrow between the first and second circles "I could claim over any dead that came through, and use them as I see fit. This tunnel, in theory, would amplify the darkness of the soul that went through, and give it an undead form, while shedding away the pureness of the soul and expelling it as mere fragments or whisps on the other side. I have no idea what to do with those, maybe I'll make something that eats them or some of my creations will use them in experimentation..."
Realizing he'd gone on for some time, the Silent One dismissed the board. "In any case, this would result in universal and total conversion of any remotely dark soul into an undead, while destroying the purity in them and forbidding them a true after life. And while doing so, I don't even break any so called 'rules'. However, with the amount of energy my followers are draining from me, I doubt it will be completed any time soon..."
But this display of remorse... it all seemed to convenient. Brinn ends up fine, and as soon as Bel realizes that this could be trouble for her, she claims that she regrets her actions. As if she wishes for the assembled gods to act as if nothing had happened at all.
No. There had to be some other reason for this.
Zo-Att spoke before all who were watching the event,
Does anyone else see something suspicious about this? As soon as Bel realizes that her actions would spell out trouble for her, she immediately has some epiphany and sees the error in her ways? I, for one, do not believe this one bit. She is only trying to get into our good graces so we do not punish her. She should expect retribution for her crimes, not forgiveness.
"I am sorry...I wish I could welcome you, but...," Brinn stared down at the destruction, sobbing. "I have lost so much, and yet I still want to give! Bel..."
At Zo-Att's statement, Brinn looked at the destroyer. "Who are you to speak of retribution for crimes, Zo-Att? You unleashed demons, and I forgave you. Bel and I were..are friends, though we...are opposites."
I had +2 days at least 7/7
4 PP: mold land inner planar object which recieves dead bodies and then fuses their bodies with a gas in the atmosphere to make them undead.
2 PP: Form domain, the underworld.
I now have 1 PP
Sweet, sweet, Brinn, I do something that would benefit you, and you turn my help aside? The demons are different, my dear. They exist with the forest, and will never be able to destroy all of it. In addition, I have never created anything that would be a personal threat to yourself, I was only expressing my domain in a way that wouldn't do any permanent damage. You would be a fool to let the devious Bel go free.
She rushed forward, ready to embrace her, tears still speckling her cheeks. But she hesitated, unsure whether or not to proceed.
"I want to be good, I want to help you as you have helped me this day," said Bel slowly, "I want to save others as you have saved me."
She brushed to tears from her cheeks and cleared her throat. She continued, heartened now.
"I can still be your friend, I know I can, if I just try," she continued, "I'll have to try harder than all the rest because of who I am, because of what I am."
She cast her head back and regarded the heavens with a look so intense, it seemed the stars themselves would quake beneath it.
"Let it be known that this goddess is free from the bonds of depravity and the vile darkness!" excalimed Bel to the heavens, "And let this day be henceforth be known as the Day of Cleansing Fire, for it is the day that I was cleansed of evil, and let light into my heart."
She closed her eyes, seemingly lost in her devotion. Her arms raised up to the sky.
"And let other follow in my footsteps, let others walk the path of righteousness as I have this day, and let all the world sing Hallelujah!"
And light danced about her, the light of her fierce devotion. Her crimson skin and ebony hair turned pearly white, and her horns and eyes a molten gold. And she gazed upon the world with the eyes of a true believer. And her words were thus:
"I have been Saved..."
-----------------
In the savannas of Ninevah, the God-King, calling himself Ismael, set about unifying the Angeloi. The powers of his Lord pulsating in his veins, Ismael raised first a tribe, then an army of the fair skinned peoples. As his holy armies, spilling blood in the God-King's name, stormed across the plains, some few schismatic elements, lead by a man from his own entourage, Bartimaeus, fled into the deep forests. This schismatic element believed that the Angeloi should strive for inner perfection, remaking themselves into ideal servants of Ninneve instead of cleansing creation of the False God's children.
In the Year of Our Lord 77, the God-King, Ismael Who is called The Blessed, from our abject state and by the command of Our Lord placed himself above us. In his resplendent form, of greater height and beauty, The Blessed handed down the Word of God. He declaimed to us, the unworthy vessels, that we must hate the False Gods and love the Lord. He commanded that we bear true testimony amongst each other, that to lie dishonored ourselves and God. We strove to obey his commands as the Word of the Lord.
Yet, some among us, even some among The Blessed's own disciples, foremost Bartimaeus, dared speak against him. The schismatics preached that Ismael's understanding was formed imperfectly, that Our Lord had chosen not to reveal his message in totality to him. The schismatics, even upon the rack as their blood oozed into the grasses, continued to speak their heresies. They cried out that He meant for us to seek perfection within, to build a perfect world unto which we could bring the spawn of the False Gods to teach them the meaning of paradise and convert them to the worship of God.
So, with a heart leaden with sorrow at our brother's foolishness, The Blessed ordered those who kept true faith in Our Lord to have no trade or relation of any sort with the Bartimaeun Schismatics. He then raised a thousand of the most loyal, the Inkallim, and struck against the Schismatics with fire and sword. In thirteen days of blood and fury the thousand warriors and Ismael sought to cleanse the Schismatics from our people. Bartimaeus, the origin of this heresy, Ismael personally skinned alive and then burned. The cleansing consumed whole families, men, women and children died upon the swords of the Inkallim, sacrificing their souls that we, the Angeloi might remain pure of sin. On the thirteenth day, the remaining few Schismatics, only hundreds where thousands hand been, fled from the sight of Our Lord and the purifying fires of The Blessed and vanished into the forests.
Then, Ismael, in his endless mercy, allowed them to live in the hope that they might see the error in their ways. Then The Blessed, invoking the power of Our Lord, raised his right hand, garbed in white, and declaimed that the souls of the Inkallim held no stain. The murder of Angeloi, though an abomination, was an honorable act when an Angeloi harbored evil, such as the Bartimaeun heresy, in their heart. Thus the Inkallim rejoiced, for no longer were they damned men, nay, they now were blessed, favored under the eyes of Our Lord. In accordance with their new found salvation, the Inkallim dedicated themselves and their descendants, unto the thousandth generation, to the purity of the Angeloi. Any heresy would be burned out, and impurity, eliminated in the crucible of the rack and the fire.
So it was the we were set free from strife, we could rest assured in our purity with the Inkallim as our loyal guardians, assured of our purity.
PP
1PP-Nourish Populous: Soulspike Devourers
1PP (God King)- Nourish Populous: Angeloi
Zo-Att gnashed her teeth together for effect.
...I am more than willing to do that.
Fo'jadr was stunned when he saw how great the increase of undead grew in a couple of hours, so he thought to himself, " It's time. It's time to start making my army." He taught his undead different strategies and how to make weapons, shields, armor, and holy symbols out of bone, and clothes, flags, and banners out of skin. He then decided to give his favorite undead in each class a special item to help in war; and to make an intermediate from each class to teach other undead the way of their class. He, personally, started creating these weapons extremely large and powerful from the strongest of bones, but he felt to weak to give it its full power. He then went to sleep. When he awoke he remembered his dream, but it was really almost like a vision. His next step was looking for a way for more death. He decided to create life to destroy. He then lifted his hands, holy symbol in each, said a few words and the symbols jumped out of his hands and started moving around him. Fo'jadr said to them, "you shall reproduce when you run into eachother, you then grow twice your size and split making another version of you each, your goal is to kill everything you see. I have given you mist of darkness so you look like a cloud, and a ray of light for killing, which looks like a lightning storm; after you kill something, your darkness will come down and take its soul, which will then be teleported to my underworld and shall become undead spirits. Now go to the realm humans call, Earth. I shall call you, the X'afers.
I had 1 day +1 PP 2/7 PP
2 PP: Spawn beast (moderate) the X'afers
i now have 0/7 PP
Rising once more into her righteous state, she threw her words at the sky, and at Zo-Att.
"Let goodness into your heart, as I have!" cried Bel, almost shaking with barely suppressed devotion.
It soon became quite clear that Bel here was off her rocker. Switching moods and even entire personalities at breakneck speeds was not normal, even for a god. And her wide, staring eyes did nothing to ammeliorate this.
"We must have words, Creator."
"....Go. Just go, both of you.."
PP Remaining: 6/7 + 1/2 + 1/1
Even if the Ithillid finding their way to the gigotaurs early in their planar and planetary exploration made sense, it was still amazing that they'd got there before they found the next place they visited: the yuan-ti of Lor'quhan. With the amount of assinations, mass murders and simple scheming that took place there, it was a beacon of misery portals, albeit ones that were far more temporary in nature than those of the gigotaurs... an assination was just the death of one man, after all. Fifty max. A sustained war would generate far much more resonance with the Shadowfell.
Of course, Lor'quhan WAS a toxic wasteland, which posed some difficulty to the Ithillid. They could breathe the foul air longer than most, much longer in fact, but that still only gave them an hour or two at a time in the land, and even that risked long term damage as the fumes caked itself to their lungs, making it difficult to breathe even the freshest of air. Still, using some clever scouting methods (and sacrificing some mind slaves to the toxic mist), the Ithillid managed to begin preying off the yuan-ti much as they did the gigotaurs, though they'd never be able to be so indiscriminate about it with such a time limit imposed. Plus the yuan-ti were a lot more wary of deception than the bull folk, meaning the mind flayers had to be extra subtle for their presence to go undetected.
As is the nature of their kind, soon the Ithillid became well aware of yuan-ti culture (actually being able to speak the Old Tongue, they found no end to the amusement their name provided), as well as their technology. Soon, Ithillid began to use their mind slaves (mostly the ones that could actually survive on Lor'quhan... mostly) to gather up Lor'quhanian herbs to distill for venoms to coat their weapons with, and the Seekers began to use similar distillation methods to discover what plants in the Shadowfell has similar properties. Of course, the 'inspired' of the yuan-ti made this not a one way street as far as trading technology was concerned, teaching their fellows stone working from the visions that flashed in their fever dreams. They also tried to impart literature, but the nature of yuan-ti society made that a bit ofa dud... the only works the yuan-ti collected were lists of poisons and how to make them, the antidotes to said poisons, and messages to and from the many spies and assassins the nobles used to further their goal to become an anathema.
Eventually, the Seekers made a discovery, a terrible one, but a powerful one... needless to say, when they tried to go public with it the Keepers killed every last Seeker that knew of this secret. This was not the sort of thing that should be available to every Ithillid... but the Keepers knew that if they were to truly enforce the way of the Ithillid on all of the guilds, they'd need to use this discovery to upgrade themselves. Make themselves stronger than their kin.
The discovery was that a certain herb in the Shadowfell, if properly prepared and mixed with Ithillid blood, could be injested to gain temporary boosts of strength. But this was far too uneconomic, the amount of blood it required compared to the longevity of the benefit was unacceptable. However, but pumping a huge amount of this concoction directly into their blood stream, which turned into a sickening black ichor as a result, the Keepers could permanently achieve power that was simply epic in scope. With this discovery, the Keepers became the most feared of the Ithillid, capable of taking down many of their own kind with little danger. What's more, the training a Keeper went through, in comparison to the other guilds, was nothing short of intense. A Scrivener could write a hundred books in the time it took to train a Keeper just to the point they could be thrown onto the front line in a desperate emergency, let alone when they were allowed out onto the field. This training paid off however... aside from their mastery of weapons, the Keepers learned to use their psiconic powers to trade places with one another through teleportation, read minds to discover true traitors, and hocked up stinging, immoblizing globs of their own black blood as projectiles. A side effect of the process that made a Keeper, however, was that on their death they would simply dissolve into the black stuff, which in turn soon evaporated... a welcome one in their eyes, as it meant no-one could autopsy one of their number to discover the proccess involved in making one.
1PP - Nourish Trade between Ithillid and Yuan-ti - The Ithillid begin preying on the yuan-ti, gaining Herbology as a technology, and passing on stone working and writing (though the yuan-ti are not a very literary based culture)
1PP - Modify Ithillids - Form Epic Populace: Keepers - The Keeper guild discovers a way to augment their power, pushing them into the epic tier above and beyond the average Ithillid. Needless to say, that combine with the role they play in Ithillid society means that even other Ithillid are terrified of them.
I feel that I should warn you, are you to continue this bid for the souls of the departed; already the winds whisper of those taken unjustly from their final exodus. I doubt your larger transgressions would be as easily ignored as my malevolants...
-----------------------------------------------
Lor'quhan
"Friend Twist! Twist!"
Tethis the Leviathan rapped his coral walking stick soundly against the stone near the Whispergate. "There are new people upon your land! They lurk, and they squabble, and every day poisonous, toxic, noxious liquids come gushing out of their city into our oceans! And even these whisper of nightmare creatures that come in the night!"
Several more Leviathans emerged from the ocean.
"Help us contain their influence, or drive them out, if it comes to that!"
As Lohak waited for this visitor to speak with unusual patience, he continued to mold the elements, watching as they took various forms and shapes at his will. His mind wandered, thinking back to the dragons, creatures of flesh imbued with an element, and his creativity was sparked.
Could an element itself be imbued with life? He reached out and plucked half a dozen large floating stones out of the air, shaping them into vaugely humanoid forms, instilling them with the breath of life.
Watching them wander away, he frowned and turned back to the creature, his patience wearing thin.
PP Expenditures
2 PP - Shape Populace (Greater) - Stone Titans
6/8 + 1/1
I was created in part to serve you a message: Bel is dead, as seen by the Sculptor's own eyes, her corpse possessed by some nether-thing, and fled away into the void.
The Steel Dragon paused, thinking.
Though considering where I found you, and the loud exclamations of those around you, I would gather that one of the goddesses involved was Bel -- or at least something claiming to be Bel.
Creator -- I hope your information regarding this Bel is greater than mine, yes? That what we saw was a mistake and not the truth? Or has Bel been acting oddly lately, a change in form or manner, perhaps? That would indicate her death, or at least her imposition by another in a stolen corpse? As you were her creator, we thought that you would care to know of this. Whether it means anything to you, I know not.
His face darkened in to an irritated scowl as he considered the situation. "She came to me and grew angry when I failed to play into her deception. I haven't spoken with her since, but in her anger, she reealed her true self. As I said, I recognized the unique essence of flame within her. Further, had she perished, I would have noticed. Such a thing would have sent chaotic ripples through out this place, destabilizing it, as your mistress should know, as she did it once by rejecting her own nature."
As you will. I said before that the message was merely a courtesy your daughter wished to offer. I'm sure she'll be relieved to find out that Bel is not truly dead, though that makes the thought of the corpsesnatcher still unresolved.
Orimoth looked into the distance, watching the shapes and tummults of the Elemental Chaos.
I didn't know her before this incident, wasn't created yet, you see, but the other exarchs tell me she's changed. Hasn't left the Susurrus in centuries. If I hadn't known she was working on a project, I'd have thought her dead by now.
He drew a deep breath. "I'm tired. Tired of watching petty squabling, tired of the constant bickering, and foolish wasteful deception. I don't understand my kin, not even my children. The only god I thought I understood was mother, and even she confused me in the end."
He raised his head. "What is this project she's been working on?"
I understand what you mean by tired. The Sculptor is now filled with a grave melancholy. I felt it when she created me.
Orimoth idly splashed some rivulets of water that were running across his feet.
Her project? I know it involves a returning of roots to her, for it seems to be solely focused on the element of water. All of it.
Orimoth spread his small arms as wide as they would go.
I'm not talking just Verda, just Yrie, or anything, but all of it. All. of. it. Every scrap of ice, every cascading droplet, every damp corner of the void since that initial maelstrom that created her. Us.
I know she intends to link it all together, somehow. I don't know how that would even be possible, or what one could do with it. I think it's supposed to be some sort of legacy though. Something that will endure after she's gone.
The exarch shuddered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Aszhari lived their life, without realizing the eyes that were watching them. The Quori had decided that they had observed enough, and then began to silently abduct some of the Aszhari. The missing Aszhari would return within a day, with a seemingly excellent excuse, and all was well.
The Quori on the other hand, had an excellent benefit from this relationship. Their rituals and mind powers let them probe the admitedly tricky minds of these lizards. These minds pulsed with energy, and this made in exceptionally hard for effective mind probing. However, they did manage to extract some information, about the lifestyle of the Aszhari, and of the interesting way in which they performed magic, by drawing it from the life of creatures. They sent back those with this knowledge containing subconsious instructions, where thye would unknowingly begin to make standardized ceremonies to create standradized effects. And the Quori sat back, and watched.
+3 PP: 3 days
-1 PP: Nourish Trade: Quori and Aszhari. The Quori abduct the Aszhari, and probe them for information, as well as subconsiously implanting some. They exchange Rituals and Blood Magic.
-1 PP: Nourish Trade: Quori and Beholders (Considering what has gone before between these two races, this is probably just spending the official PP).
[1/7 PP]
On the plane, the Ankir continued to grow and develop. Their culture now venerated the lake and the mountains surrounding it as holy land, touched by Brinn as a fount of life. They formed pack relationships, and a formal meeting-ground for those who wished for a more social and stationary life. Here they resolved conflicts, and came into contact with the primal spirits. They quickly found common ground and grew into trade and harmony with each other. In time they discovered that supplicants at the Grotto and on Et'tur could utilize the Stones of the Forest-Mother to travel between the planar boundariers, establishing trade among the two nations. The close relationships between the two nations became blurred, as the boundaries between the two were muddied. Each became part of the other, and they worked in harmony to nourish the land.
2 PP: Guide Populace: Create the nation of Asha on Renissa.
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Many spirits join Asha.
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Ankir join The Grotto.
2 PP: Nourish Populace: The Grotto and Asha form trade relationships.
3 PP: Guide Populace: The Spirits learn Shamanism.
PP Remaining: 0/7 + 0/2 + 0/1
A few month has passed after the strange creature fell from the skys, the beast, an Orium Dragon, was unable to survive long to the poisonous and searing atmosphere of the red planet, the Zang that has found it was extremely cusious about the world above and attempted to protect the being forging a shield where air could not pass, suffocating the creature to death by mistake.
Displeased that it could not talk with the dragon and listen to its tales about the Isles of Wonder the Zang decided to try another way of learning... He moved under the skin of the creature, using its own aethereal nature. However it soon found out that the supernatural energies in the dragon body was harmful to the Zang jellyfish physiology... Desperate to escape that paiful experience the Zang run to the head of the dragon, hiding within its brain and than falling asleep...
Years later the creature body has sunk beneath the surface of the gaseous red world the energies of the planet has changed it, altering the dragon and the Zang, creating a sort of union between the two beings. Without memory of both existance the bew beast opened its strong wings and left the surface of Kandras, to settle among the isles of wonders, following an instinctive call to explore that land...
In the following year that being offsprings begun to diffuse among the islands, becoming one of the most feared predatore of that land. Even the Aszhari considered these new beast to be extremely dangerous and killing one could bring great honor to the daring hunter.
The World on the River
Content with the Coatl creation and with the life on Verda the twins decided to go back to the World on the River, there they found out that the Tos'Arai had somehow changed, the wardens of death have discovered that something was changing in the way that afterlife worked a few souls were missing for reasons unknown to them...
Many wise spirits has being recruited among their ranks, forming an entire new breed of Tos'Arai, these creature, vulture headed ones, was devoted only to understanding the working of life and death, discovering why and how living creature and come travelling to the World on the River.
One day Evshan was walking amont these new beings alone, his sister was watching over her Death Dragons, she found three of these beings interrogating an old Dhorem spirit, that was describing them his death due to a letal wound suffered after falling down from a cliff. Listening carefully the Evshan begun thinking that someone could have saved that being life, by mending its wounds, the Vulture Headed too commented a little about how they could have done that, remembering past experience with similar causes of death. Intrigued by such resoults Evshan decided to stay longer with that group of Tos'Arai and in the next years they collected many informations about death and how to prevent it, the Vulture Headed, impressed by Eshcal son's theories decided to devote even more in understending how life could be preserved developping the basis of future "healing arts".
3/7 +0 +0 Guide + 0 Shape
+3 PP New Days
1 PP Modify - Orium Dragons into Kandras Dragons (a wili page with more fluff about them coming tomorrow), they are less inteligent than normal dragons, but still smart enough to communicate with both Zang and dragons.
1 PP Modify - Tos'Arai, a new breed of Vulture headed tos'arai emerge, scholars of death these beings dedicate their existance in understanding the end of existance. Incidentally they also become extremely skilled healers and assassins.
3 PP Guide (1 from Evshan) - The new Tos'Arai race learn a form of proto "medicine" based on their knowledge of death.
OOC: I'm back home for a few min than I have to leave again, this post will require some polishing I hope I'll have time for that later tonight, see you around and merry christmas even if a little late hehe...
+4 PP (4 new days)
3 PP Guide populace: The Blood Trolls learn to capture and imprison Dhorem so that they have emergency rations if need be.
1 PP De-nourish populace: Dhorem.
07
The Silent One chuckled. "I am perfect, exarch, as are all gods. Indeed, you could say that that's what we are MEANT to be: perfect darkness, perfect light, perfect knowledge, all intent on spreading mere imperfect shadows of itself through creation. However, there are many forms of perfection, which don't always agree... and like how a blade of diamond is required to cut another diamond, a perfect entity can indeed crack another perfect entity if it so desires. The gods are perfect, even the ones who are my enemy. Only mortals and those between divinity and gods are flawed."
At the mention that his plans for those souls who refused to pass on would tick some people off, the god just shrugged. "Half of that plane is my energy, yet I had no say what so ever in how it was made... consider this my delayed 50% share in the place. Personally I think this wind should just be glad I don't take back my power and let the souls fly around in the void for all eternity... it'd certainly be ammusing enough to watch to be worth while."
***
After being rejected by the Whispergate, Twist had taken to a sour mood, not really involving himself in the matters of Lor'quhan. He didn't know why he was so irritated about it... was the shadow truly that infuriating? Or was it that yet another place had found him unworthy to continue being there? Or maybe what the thing said had gotten into his head, and made him consider himself in ways he'd rather not think about... whatever the case, he'd managed to get over most of this frustration by the time the leviathan implored for their aid. About, of all things, toxins pouring into the ocean. They were BLIGHT spirits, they should be happy about that sort of thing! But...
Cinder interrupted his thought. "So? What's your point? It's about time the hand of man laid waste to this place! For too long have my aspect of blight been absent from this world, it is time-"
"Cinder, shut up," Twist interrupted, before turning his attention to the aquatic race. "If I can ask, why exactly is this an issue for you? The ocean seems toxic enough already that a little more poison won't do much harm, and none of these races seem aquatic, so you'll probably be left well enough alone."
[1/7, 2/2]
"The snake-men think they've found potent toxins in the landplants, but our ocean is more deadly by fivefold or more!"
Tethis slammed its walking staff into the ground hard enough to crack the hard earth -- the greatest show of strength it had yet made.
"But it is a tenuous balance! If they continue to dump more and more toxins, it is only a matter of time before we can no longer abide by the newer, higher concentration! Much higher than that, and everything in the oceans, all the oceans, will be dead!"
The Leviathan looked past Twitch, towards Cinder. "They have buildings, spirit! And buildings can BURN."
Tethis raised its arms to the hosts of spirits. "You, spirits, we welcomed into our home. Now comes a chance to satisfy your primal desires, and yet you hesitate? Once the snakemen determine your existence, no doubt they will seek to end it again. I tell you, spirits! Will you be driven out of a home again?"
Your ego will be the death of you yet, darkwalker. How is a secret perfect, when every secret is underscored with Truth? You are a coward -- you sit here plotting in the darkness, scheming, always
scheming, and what do you have to show of it? Grand plans? You work by proxies, guard what little power you have jealously, and seek to coerce or turn any who cross your path. You are not 'perfect' anything, you simply maintain that Deception to assuage your own concious. Strip away the slander, strip away the lies, and what are we left with? A narcissistic shell of a god, oblivious to his own failings, dependant on the works of his servants, all bordering on sociopathic egomania.
Sitting down, the godling rummaged around, trying to find the source of the glint. Eventually, after some effort, he found the source: to his surprise, it was a shining stone, through which light was projected, producing multicolored spots in the ground. After a short time fiddling with it, he grew bored. Standing up once again, he walked further north, not knowing that the stones he had touched (and especially the shining stone, which had split into several colored pieces, just like the beautiful colors it had projected) had become capable of altering what would happen, for good or ill...just like him.
If I've made a mistake with the costs, let me know. I'm a bit rusty with this. ;)
Twist scoffed. "The snakemen are weak, too weak. They have poisons to do battle with, but they're harmless against our kind, who are made of the stuff... they pose no risk at all to us, let alone possess the ability to drive us out from this world. What's more, we are spirits of natural destruction and the destruction of nature... dumping toxins into the water until it's unihabitable is merely one form our side of the coin of nature takes, and I can think of at least two of our council who'd love to see that happen."
His tails twisting like a handful of snakes, he hesistated a little before continuing. "But... you did indeed welcome us into your home. No doubt we could have tried to take it by force, but I'm glad that wasn't necessary. In short, I owe you a favour ... we'll introduce ourselves to the snake people, and tell them about the situation. Odds are they'll start polluting fresh water or the land instead of your home, and if not we'll help you if you decide to attack." The fox looked at the leviathan levelly. "Will that satisfy you?"
***
The Silent One's fists clenched, his jaw, if he'd had one, would have grinded, his eyes narrowed... he forced himself to keep his anger under control. It had been his undoing before, and if he kept letting it get the best of him it would do so again.
"A secret is imperfect true. But I am not A secret, I am THE secret. What's more, of course a secret is underscored by truth, a secret IS truth, which even now is in my very essence thanks to the Sisters. It is merely a truth that isn't spread. And as for the rest of your... little trantrum... how should I operate? Should I just charge headlong into everything like an idiot and get myself killed? Hardly. Should I forgo spreading my domains entirely, instead taking to stringing together diasy chains and skipping through sun dappled meadow and drinking from sugar flavoured lolly ponds? Not even Brinn sinks to such... disgusting levels. No, if you want anything done in this universe that somebody doesn't like, you have to hide it or be killed. Cowardice? Yes. Yes it is. I'm a complete coward, and that's why I'm alive to admit it today.
"But I ask of you, is that such a bad thing? Is a deer a coward when they run away from the lion about to tear them apart? Is a spider a coward for weaving a web to catch flies instead of chasing them down and giving them a fair chance? No, they're simply trying to surivive. And guess what? They succeed. And might I remind you that I myself cast away secrets and deception in order to live, and guess what? I'm still here. So the next time you want to call me an egomaniace just for acknowledging that EVERY god, not just myself, is perfection in what they represent, and mortals a mere flawed copy... remember that a god can snuff out an exarch as easily as they can make one."
The Silent One turned his back on the wolf, frowning out into the distance. "Grand schemes... heh, you're right on one account. I don't have much to show for it all. I've been too scattered, trying to achieve everything at the same time. But I think it's time I finished something... something to make achieving everything else oh so much easier... because no-one will have the courage to stop me."
The result was... less than desirable. Half of the Foulspawn worshiped his mother, and spirits had moved in. The Foulspawn needed to reunite, and the spirits had to go... but one step at a time.
The Tyrant. Quite an interesting figure... the Foulspawn seemed to posses a portion of Sku'Byss's power, and had an enormous amount of influence over the Foulspawn still under his control. Using the Tyrant, he sent the Foulspawn to launch minor raids on the Foulspawn that had turned from the worship of the Lord of Corruption, to teach them a lesson.
1+1 PP (from the Tyrant): The Foulspawn begin to attack the Foulspawn that worship Zo-Att.
I meant no great ill by all that, understand, I was merely trying to goad you into action, but by doing nothing, you have indeed proven it. Don't you understand? "A god can snuff an exarch as easily as they can make one." But you didn't. What held you back, darkwalker? You could have disproved my point by physically threatening, perhaps even gravely injuring me -- but you did not. You kept to words, and did not approach me at all, despite my intentionally provocative tirade.
Fulrit swept one paw out, to indicate the void.
Brinn has her spirits on every world of note! Lohak has his paradise, and the elemental chaos to boot! Grawlf has his hand in everything! But you! Nowhere in this expanse does anyone fear you, worship you, or even consider you worth developing an emotion about! Why not? Is it not good to be respected? Or if not that, feared? Why hide when the stars burned bright about the lie of the Sister's fate? That should have been a moment of glory for you -- a stepping stone to unrivalry. The Sisters were first -- who would dare touch he who had slain those three, singly?
The exarch brought his piercing gaze directly into the tenacled face-mask of The Silent One.
Can you content yourself with proxies forever?
"That is... acceptable."
All the energy seemed to flow out of it then, and he began to retreat to the sea.
"Good that you were here to calm our emotions. Surely, fighting is not the way..."
The eldest Leviathan stopped, turned, and presented Twitch with his coral walking stave.
"Here -- take this in remembrance of me. We Leviathans will fight in other ways, fighting the effects, if the cause prove unmalleable. I do not want to be remembered as a murderer."
"Why did I take no action?" The Silent One trembled with rage. "You impodent little... the last time I hit one of your god's exarchs, she said she'd kill me if I did so again. She'd fail. But I'd have to kill her in the process of defending myself, and that would be a loss for all concerned. I'm not so stupid as to throw away an ally because one of her pets wants to act like a petulant child."
And then... Fulfrit said something that made it clear how differently they saw the world. At first, this just stunned the god... then he began to chuckle. Then laugh, a hearty, dark laught that echoed through the void. Collecting himself, the dark god gasped "oh, on innocent... in short, no. I don't give a damn what mortals think of me. They're bugs. Impefected, insignificant insects. The only value they have is that they're important to other gods, so by playing the game of creation I can advance a few pieces in a far greater game. That and the fact their worship, even made through proxies provides me with additional power. And the other gods... I don't care about what they think either, really, except whether they find me foe or friend. When the gods thought that I killed the Sisters, most of them went to the former end of that spectrum, and since I was weak, and the other gods insane with 'emotion', I would have no doubt perished if I hadn't fled."
The Silent One frowned at the exarch. "In short, exarch, I don't want to make a mark on the universe. I don't want people to know my name, otherwise they can know there's something to stop. I don't want people to know my motives, otherwise they might find it conflicts with their own. I don't want the puppets of the universe to know who's pulling their strings, otherwise they might try and cut them loose. I just want power. Power over mortals. Power over gods. I want to be the unseen hand that guides this universe in the vision I see fit. If that means establishing a few false gods, so be it."
***
Twist took the stick into one of his tails, feeling the significance of the gift. "It's not a problem, friend," he replied. "I just did what I wish someone did for me."
When the lethiathan returned to the sea, the other blighted spirits had a few things to say.
"Boomo! Are you sure it's not better to just let the seas run with toxins, boomo?"
"What do you mean you wish someone did for you? You're life's been nothing but blood, waste, fighting, paradise!"
"How dare you propose to stop this beautiful tide of destruction at the hand of man!"
"I do believe that your actions aren't very logical, assuming of course we're attempting to increase the blight on this planet, which given our nature would be a safe assumption presuming-"
"Look, all of you," Twist snarled. "Verda threw us out because we didn't play nice. Knowing Ankirega, he'd have probably thrown us out even if we'd just offered to go with the flow and do our part as a measure of balance instead of decimating the whole place anyway, but who knows? And maybe Brinn would have been more compassionate, I don't know. Besides which, if I hadn't been so hot headed, we could have a tunnel straight through to ho- Verda by now. I'm trying to be a little more level headed, so the last thing I need is a bunch of idiots whining for blood. You understand?"
The other blighted spirits looked a little sheepish, before nodding in assent. "Boomo! What now then, boomo?" Toadstool asked.
"Now? Isn't it obvious?" Twist grabbed a long leaf from a nearby tree, wrapping it around his chest to form a sort of band to hold his new staff to his back. "We go introduce ourselves to our new neighbours."
The exarch studied the dark god. If nothing else, he was patient, and canny. For all his grandiosity, he was definitely something to be feared.
Oh.
Fulrit collapsed into a supine position, jaws draped across crossed forelegs.
Surely, he couldn't succeed! But there were niggling doubts in the back of the exarch's mind. Patience... perhaps that was truly the most powerful tool in the universe. By Fulrit's calculations -- The Silent One could outwait anyone. Perhaps it would come down to the god's Overconfidence versus his willingness to wait. Fulrit roused himself from such dark, speculative thoughts.
What you said earlier then -- I take it you've reclaimed your shadowfell and purified that other part away from it then?
Among the planets, she wandered, forlorn and desperate. She clung to some hope, some dire wish that she might still be redeemed, despite Brinn's dismissal. But she knew, in her heart of hearts, that this could never happen.
And then she saw it. Lor'quhan. A festering cess-pool of noxious gasses and, at least in Bel's eyes, of evil. And she knew right then that to win Brinn's affection, Bel would have to cleanse this wart of a planet and present it to her as the shining jewel it would become.
And so she began her work. She drew strands of magical power from herself and wove them into the land, the air, the poisonous fumes of the planet. She made them gold and pure, and cleansed the place of all darkness so that the planet shone like a small sun. And from the darkness of her heart, she produced love and goodness so pure, it cleansed the planet.
Bel smiled as she beheld her golden work..
For animals, the percentage was much lower -- only the Leviathans, created to withstand the poison, not use it, maintained sizeable populations, though scores upon scores were lost as they collapsed, twitching, into seizures, or went into paralytic shock from the sudden change.
The prayers of pain, piteous cries of help, and the gurgling cries of the dying reverberated through Hrinori's mind lick an icy shock, slapping her to wakefllness, and filling herself with an icy madness.
The Exarch, responding to the cries of her people, emerged from the Whispergate at a dead run, launching pulses of icy power at the highest remaining concentrations of leviathans. Those her power reached were... changed. Obsidian black ice encrusted their bodies, and they hulked, more massive than they were before, more elemental than humanoid now.
The crises temporarily checked, Hrinori cast around for the source of the disturbance. A new race had settled upon the planet in her absence, but Hrinori decided that they were not the cause.
There -- in the distance.
Hrinori raced towards the spec,k watching as it rapidly grew into a small, floating humanoid. She was fair of skin, but had two pronounced horns upon her head.
Hrinori hissed, baring her teeth.
Who are you to harm my people so?
+4 new days
-1 modify Populace -- Change some Leviathans into Frost Archons.
"I am Bel, and I have saved them."
Saved? SAVED?! You have slain hundreds of them! My people cry out in pain -- the entire world cries out in agony, and you call them saved? I'd usually hate to trespass on my brother's domain, but somehow I doubt he would mind much, this time.
The exarch's form puffed out, long spines of ice growing, turning the mild-mannered exarch into a living, serrated weapon.
This world cries out for vengeance, interloper, and I shall deliver.
The Exarch charged at Bel, maw opened wide, nothing held back, seeking to kill.
The Exarch stopped in her tracks. Not by her own volition, but by some mystical force produced by the child Bel. She stopped, just before the goddess. And the goddess was crying.
"I have to do this!" yelled Bel, her eyes wide and shining, "She has to love me!"
She tore her hands through the air, and a raking pain tore across Hrinori.
"She has to love me," whispered Bel, more to herself than anyone, "They all have to love me."
And with a flick of her wrist, Hrinori's glittering scales were ripped from her body, leaving nothing but a bloody mass of muscle and bone. Bel turned and walked away, weeping.
It seemed the wolf had finally shut up... it was about time. Half-smiling, the Silent One drew forth the white tooth of the Lightfell, still in it's prison, bouncing it on his palm. "Indeed, the crude opposite of my own world is still safely contained, and still in my possession... perhaps I can even-"
The yuan-ti did not need the poison of Lor'quhan to breathe. Indeed, it actually inhibited them: a yuan-ti on Lor'quhan live for an average of two hundred years, whilst if they were to live in clean air they could have lived for five times that. But the shock of losing the protective fumes they'd known for so long, and the death of so many plants of animals they needed to surivive... the Silent One actually FELT the pain, and not in an objective 'who cares' way, but in a rather uncharectistically empathic way. He felt like he'd just been punched.
"I... I need to go. Sorry, we can talk later," the Silent One excused himself before teleporting away, intent on finding whatever had done so much damage to his followers.
***
"So, this is the snake men's land," Twist mused to himself. With the advent of stone work, the yuan-ti cities were now more impressive to look at... albeit all smaller, less auspicious copies of the step pyramid temple they'd come from so long ago. It was actually a little sad how the only unique thoughts they could form were new ways to kill eachother for insane bids for power. It was-
Twist's thoughts were interrupted as the entire world went haywire. "What in Brinn's name?!"
Being spirits, the blighted spirits were completely uneffected by the assault, for assault it was considering the nature of the world, but the shock value was still... immense. The smog was gone. Light actually touched the surface of the world. And the entire place was dieing. Considering their nature you would think the blighted spirits would be glad, but they wanted DESTRUCTION, not for everything to BE DESTROYED. Soon the world could well be a wasteland without even blight on it to keep it company.
And of course, with the toxic mist gone, the void amoeba's could not touch down on the surface and consume things at will.
"Damn it all!" Twist shouted. "Whoever did this is going to get a taste of my fangs around their neck!"
***
"Oh great Yuan!" the yuan-ti guarding the shrine called. "Our people are in peril! Please, with your infinite wisdom, guide us in our time of need!"
The statue was completely silent.
This was because there was no-one in it.
Sassriss knew what had happened. She could feel the divine force in it, the oh so familiar stench of the one who'd possessed her. And, whether she was six inches or six million miles long, she was going to make her pay.
[+1 for new day, 2/7]
------------------------------------------------------------
Utterly decimated, the exarch's body could no longer support itself. Semi-divine blood and effluvia sprayed through the air, while the dead meat simply dropped, far down into the seas below.
The influx of divine energy caused the very world to react around her. In times to come, the place where the exarch had fallen would become known as the Strait of Fangs.
-1 PP Mold (Lesser) -- Create a Strait out of the immediate area where Hrinori's body lands
The vengeful host descended to the surface, landing near the Whispergate. Fulrit's howls of rage echoed across the planet.
----------------------------------------------------------
Within the Susurrus, the sun flared once. The Sculptor emerged, eyes and hands blazing with blue-white power.
A thought sent her form spiraling up from the now blue, pristine waters of Lor'quhan. Arcing up, she floated in the air, approximately even with the devil-skinned goddess.
When she spoke, it was as if ice itself -- the ambient temperature actually decreased, and what little plant-life remained below uprooted itself in a frantic bid to get away.
Sister.
-1 Nourish Populace -- Malevolants
-1 Nourish Populace -- Malevolants
-1 Nourish Populace -- Malevolants (From Tombs of Remembrance)
Instinctively, she knew who this was.
"Sister," replied Bel, standing proud.
Flames danced and flickered about her form, and from her fingertips flew jets of brightly glowing sparks, which rained down upon the land below, scorching it.
"Why have you come here today?"
Then her gaze was caught by the Leviathans far below, and she knew.
"It is out of love!" she cried, "You love these filthy, evil things."
She narrowed her eyes at the other goddess.
"Well, then the only thing to do is have you follow the same fate as your pet over there."
The Silent One had to make a quick decision as he stood before his incomplete anti-god weapon project. Did he use time and power to improve it before he what was potentionally a battle, or did he merely attach the wings to himself, use the arm as a club and make the best of it? He wasn't even sure why he was going... he said it himself, mortals were flawed, and not worth bothering with. But... the yuan-ti were a gift to his most loyal exarch. On a world made in concert with the first god he'd called 'companion'. Despite himself, he couldn't help but feel a little emotional about it all.
Deciding time was of the essence, the Silent One's fist crashed down on a stone panel, which in turn sunk into the floor. This made the green liquid in the tank filter out, before opening the tank revealing what little of his project he'd completed so far.
Failure moaned at his rest being disturbed.
"Oh shut up," the dark god snapped, attaching the wings to his back as a sort of cape and hefting the arm in both hands. His task complete, the Silent One teleported to Lor'quhan...
To see horror. Or perhaps what most races would call normality, which to the races and plants and animals and even the soil itseld of Lor'quhan meant death and desolation. How dare... whoever the Shadowfell did this do this! This was HIS world! His and The Sculptors! If they wanted to ruin their own lands that was their business but he was NOT going to let them ruin probably the only thing he'd ever made for the sheer thrill of making it!
By accident, or fate, or- as the Silent One himself would claim - some non-sentient or sentient force that made even the gods mere pieces in the grand game of existence, the Silent One appeared in the rough proximity of Bel and the Scultor. Close enough to hear the exchange and make a few deductions anyway.
Teleporting the short distance towards the pair, the Silent One materialized out the darkness, the light from his elemental wings barely reflecting off his dark purple armor, his tentacles pulsing with rage.
"Bel, remember how we came to a sort of semi-allied agreement with eachother?" the Silent One asked cordially. Before hefting the arm in preperation for a swing.
"Agreement... over." With that, and in an uncharecteristically brash move, the Silent One swung with his all his might, the arm connecting heavily with Bel's body.
***
Sassriss continued to crawl, her wrath causing the dieing vines she passed to coil and hiss with life. Feeling the same desire she had to end life, to squeeze the last breath of it from their victims. Soon, soon she would have her revenege... no, not revenge. Justice.
1PP from Sassriss - Spawn Heroic Tier Beast (Deathgrip Anacondas) - Sassriss spawns Deathgrip Anacondas... I think, I don't have my books with me so I'm not 100% on the name.
[2/7, 1/2]
She lifted a hand, neatly snaring The Silent One's arm. Her grip was surprisingly strong -- strong enough to halt his attack altogether. His flesh tingled as an unspoken message crossed between them. It was short and to the point: "No. She is MINE"
She heaved the arm away just shy of violently, spinning The Silent One away from the combat -- out of her line of fire.
Within moments, Fulrit was at her side, growling.
No, Fulrit.
The exarch turned his head sharply, in disbelief.
The Sculptor held firm, never taking her blazing eyes off of Bel.
You are overmatched. As Hrinori was. As any mere exarch would be. Go to your Malevolants, to your sister's Leviathans. Tend them as best you can. This one... this one is mine alone.
Whimpering, Fulrit departed.
BEL!
The casual tone she had used with her exarch was gone. There was only ice-cold malice in her voice.
You hurt everyone you come across.
You are Lohak's spoiled child. You can tell neither right from from, nor goodness from evil. Your actions are those of a confused, selfish brat.
You've hurt Brinn, Lohak, Zo'Att, The Silent One. And you've hurt me. You took from me something irreplaceable.
The Sculptor brought both hands to her breast, to the Crystal Lotus that remained there, even now.
This power of mine is glowing bright. Its loud cries fill me with an unending vengeance. Do you hear them, Bel? The souls of the dead cry out for vengeance. Water comes to quench Fire's sputtering embers.
Do you hear it, Bel? The tolling death knell is nigh! No more shall the innocent suffer for your morbid curiosity! No more shall the land itself be brought crashing to its knees.
The Sculptor pointed a single finger at the Fire goddess, and a brilliant blue-white beam emerged, neatly piercing Bel's breast. The two Goddesses hung above the planet for a moment longer, then they both vanished.
--------------------------------------------------------------
They appeared above the icy exterior of the Susurrus. Gaerth was on the side nearest to Bel, the great bird tirelessly pulling the comet through the void. He appeared not to notice the two interlopers.
And now, we begin...
A nimbus of light and power, The Sculptor charged Bel, welcoming the challenge and the danger as her opponent did the same.
PP Expenditures
1 PP - Mold Populace - Use Stone Titans as a template for the creation of Fire Titans
1 PP - Mold Populace - Use Stone Titans as a template for the creation of Ice Titans
1 PP - Mold Populace - Use Stone Titans as a template for the creation of Storm Titans
5.3/8+1/1
Ooooh...
The dragon spat words at Lohak, ignoring the pain as much as he could.
Something big just happened on Lor'quhan. I think... I think my sister Exarch is dead...
+1 (new day)
1 PP Nourish populace: Blood Trolls.
0/7
"You know nothing about me, you foolish insect, you know nothing of my pain!" cried Bel, and she seemed to be yelling just to yell, just to have her voice be heard, to let loose some of the terrible emotion within her.
She culminated her shouts with a wordless roar that sent a jet of flames washing over the Sculptor's forms, searing her skin and making her flesh bubble. The flames whirled around, and, like a powerful tide or lashing serpent, fell upon the Sculptor once more. Then it exploded outwards once more, a wall of flame and ash pushing outwards in all directions, leaping, roaring, consuming.
The Sculptor met Fire with Water, and for every time flame scoured her shadowy flesh, gouts of sickly green gas erupted, a stinking, noxious cloud that numbed Bel, slowing her movements. Gouts of steel, blades of ice darted through the void -- a kaleidoscopic arc of shurikens that formed a forest of pain.
Power flew wildly, and several times one or the other found themselves flung hard against the rocky surface of the Susurrus. But the crust was almost as stubborn as the goddesses themselves, and, like them, refused to yield much.
Amid the calamitous vortex of elements, The Sculptor found an opening in Bel's fury. A single arm thrust suddenly, grabbing Bel by the throat, and thrusting her away -- holding her at arms length, where her furies were ineffectual.
The Sculptor panted heavily, the noble silhoutte heavily marred, leaking power from dozens of small wounds. The Crystal Lotus itself had been shattered in one of Bel's mad rushes, and blinked erratically, somehow lesser in luminosity each time. Her wounds were grave... perhaps even... mortal.
Clutching her Sister by the Throat, The Sculptor teleported one final time, a much shorter distance this time. She gathered the strength she needed to perform her master stroke.
Bel -- your time is at end. Do you have any last words?
Within the Elemental Chaos
I, uh...
Orimoth looked first one way, then the next, clearly lost within the Chaos.
It's all connected. Any planet will lead to Lor'quhan. Verda, Yrie, Isles of Wonder... even the place with the dragon protector! Lor'quhan is which ever way is fastest out of here! I...
Orimoth cocked his head, as if trying to listen to something far away.
HERE!
With a great wrenching tear, The Exarch drew his claws to form passage back to the Void. He barreled through, neatly stopping the spinning body of the Silent One with his own momentum. Confused and Surprised, Orimoth fell through the air, before righting himself above the Strait of Fangs. Looking down, he realized the breadth of what had happened, understood what the continuous howl from his brother meant.
Orimoth shut his eyes, and became very still.
The Silent One was not pleased with what had just happened. For starters, he'd been assaulted by how own ally. He knew The Sculptor treasured vengence, but that was just too much. Secondly, he'd collided into some sort of.. lizard thing, which meant that he now lay on the muddy, no longer toxin soaked ground. Getting up onto his hands and knees, the Silent One wiped the mud out of his face disdainfully.
"Oh for my sake... the first time I actually take a real interest in something and I'm not wanted. Well, serves me right for actually getting involved in something..." Sighing, the dark god looked at the dieing world around him. He should probably try and fix that... but if The Sculptor won maybe Lor'quhan would return to being a poisonous paradise without further divine intervention? So for now, the dark god was content to merely watch, and wait, as he always did.
Seeing that he didn't appear to be noticed yet, he moved rapidly, descending upon the god in a rush of wind and flame. "What happened here?
[7/7]
2 PP (one from Forge) - Nourish Populace x2 - Mariliths
[6/7] + [1/2]
Zo-Att blinked twice. What did she want?
For... ah...
At first all she wanted was to bring the world to Nothing. But now she came so close to her creations, and even some of others. Did she want her brothers gone? She even had the chance to do away with Brinn while she was unconcious, but she couldn't. Was destruction even necesary in the world? Was she an uneeded element in an otherwise fine world? It was difficult to say.
I don't know. What is it that you want?
But it has also done so much. Look below, do you see my children and the eladrin working together to get past this calamity? I think... I do think there is a place for destruction in this world.
Zo-Att sighed, not exactly sure why she didn't feel like tearing Brinn's throat open at the moment with her high hopes and utopian thoughts.
You just need to open your eyes a little.
PP: 1/2 + 2/2 + 1/1
"Burn in hell!" she screamed, as the searing pain consuming her foe caused her to drop the fiery goddess.
Like a stone she dropped through the sky, picking up speed the longer she fell. Then she burst into radiant flames, and she arced suddenly upwards. She came to hover before the Sculptor, chest heaving. She gazed into the face of her foe, a face marred forevermore by a hand print burn mark. Bel smiled, though she herself was not without her own battle scars. Then she made an odd gesture. With both hands, she appeared to be lifting some invisible object ever so slowly. She moved her arms steadily upwards, all the while keeping that infuriating smile upon her lips.
The Susurrus moved. Pulled upwards, it rocketed towards the two goddesses. The pull of her magic was irresistible, and soon, a direct collision was inevitable. Even as the great object picked up speed, hurtling through the sky like some cosmic missile, Bel didn't move. Even as the vast object bore down upon them both, threatening to crash into them, Bel didn't move. She clenched her fists, and great cracks appeared upon the surface of the sphere, as though some great force struggled to emerge, as though the Susurrus itself was ready to explode.
"So you have a choice," cried Bel, over the roaring sound issuing from the comet, "Run, and save yourself..."
She paused, and grinned triumphantly, albeit rather maniacally.
"Or stay and kill me, thus ensuring our mutual demise."
He spun on Orimith. "We must find your mistress imeediately. She needs to know Take me to her."
All fires burn out. Water adapts, disperses, survives. My works shall endure long after I am gone.
Tendrils of energy shot out from the Goddess, neatly ensaring the cackling madgod.
As suddenly as they appeared, they retracted, bringing Bel into a chilling embrace.
I do not fear death.
Like a stone, the entwined sisters fell, gaining speed. Bel struggled and flailed, gouging what remained of The Sculptor's face, but to no avail -- she would not let go, and the pair continued to rocket towards the massive rock.
A wall of fury and flame pushed outwards in all directions.
One might imagine the sound to be incredible, unbearable even. The sound of a giant dying, the sound of two sisters dying, held in each others arms.
It would be nice to think that, in those last few moments, in those last few thoughts passing through their minds, they were at peace. That the swirling, chaotic thoughts and emotions died for a time in the loving embrace of a sister.
Perhaps when the fire stripped away flesh, seared off all meat from the bones, it burned away their fears and hatreds as well, and they were happy, for just one moment. For just one moment, they weren't fearsome goddesses fighting savagely to the death. For just one moment, they were sisters.
Dying in each others arms.
Perhaps it can be this way, perhaps not. All that can be said is that, for one sad moment, in the wake of one last desperate cry from a desperate goddess, in the wake of one last fruitless act of kindess, of compassion, the world went silent.
And wept for the end of two titans.
Secret Keeper -- Creation.
The Exarch bowed.
It is too late for you to help; even now Bel turns my own creations against me. The very fabric of The Susurrus has been damaged. The Malevolants flee my realm, and the network of Whispergates froths with uncertain future.
The Exarch held out his hands, a translucent, aqeuous book held within it.
Creation. Lohak. Father -- ensure this reaches Thetis, if it yet lives, or one of its successors if it does not. I had hoped to present it personally, but I fear that is no longer viable. Perhaps it will help restore the damage Bel has brought to this world and others.
Goodbye.
That-who-was-once-Orimoth turned then to The Silent One.
Silent One... it is my fervant hope that you do not die alone.
Orimoth raised his head to the heavens, and then slowly dissolved into blue-white light, leaving only the water-book behind.
+1 new day
-3 guide Populace -- the nation of Symmos learns how to use pure water to power the Raise Dead ritual. This guide only occurs when the Book of Renewal is delivered to them.
"This is not right."
He gathered power into his staff, drawing the corruption into a ball at the end. He aimed and fired, covering one half of the planet with the corruption, and forming a barrier that would keep the two halves separate.
Having finished that, he looked around and saw a god that he did not know, one who seemed to be one he chould not know...but his head started to hurt, and he went over to this god.
"What happened here? I come and find the balance of the universe whacked up. Who did that?"
+2 PP: 2 Days
-2 PP: 2 x Nourish Land: Half of Lor'quan returns to corruption.
-1 PP: Create Artifact(Lesser): A barrier that prevents the corrupted and cleansed halves of Lor'quan from mixing. It is flexible, and which parts of the planets are corrupted or cleansed will vary as the halves move around the planet, but it will keep the halves separate.
The Aszhari was getting ready for a great celebration, five clans was present that day and many Masaren attended too, every five hundred years the clans joined in various places among the isles, to remember the moment when the first few Aszhari eggs hatched due to Eshcal blessing. This time many spirits was invited to attend the cerimony, however while the aszhari has begun to gather it was not only the spirits who watched them.
Their civilization has always being based on small cummunties, personal skill and cunning, even the large fotress of Oshan Garr was inhabited only by 50 Aszhari at every given time, such large gatherings was indeed extremely rare, an occasion for someone who has being watching the divine lizard people from the shadows.
It was Dajith, a young hunter, the first to notice that one of the clans was missing, Ashzari hunting clans were higly independend and their nomadic nature was considered by the others as an excuse for the absence. Dajith however did not believe that, he has being secretly meeting one of the clan woman, Asakha, planning to mate with her during the celebrations... Fearing for her well being the hunter went looking for help from the lead blood priest, Ranjan Darkaan, a blessed one well known among the aszhari for his wisdom and magical skill.
The unluky hunter frantically reported to the priest about his fears, however Ranjan already knew quite well what happened...
The Aszhari solitary nature has played direcly in the currupted priest hands, the clan was far from the others and acted as a test for Darkann new power and allies. While powerful and extremely skilled the hunters was no match for the army of Jeraca... hundreds was killed for every aszhari that fell, but Ranjan did not care abou the losses, like the Masaren the Jeraca birth rate was extremely fast and trough application of blood magic he could have made more. The only issue was forcing his vampiric warriors to capture some Aszhari alive, Ranjan crived for the power granted by the act of sacrificing his own kind, every time he grew closer to his god, this time he planned to take over nearly an hundred of Aszhari, allowing him to finally embrace his divine father Eshcal in heaven...
Ranjan faked to be concerned when Dajith talked to him, he led the hunter to a small clearing outside from the watchful eyes of the other clansmen, called a spell to hide his actions even from the eyes of the spirits... When the hunter sensed that there was something wrong in the priest it was already too late, Dajith reflexes was fast and he fought with impressive strength and ability honed surviving the Isles harsh environment, but he was no match for the Dark Priest, older and stronger due to his Blessed One nature and the divine-charged blood he consumed during his life Ranjan overpowered him in a mere second, unwilling to kill him, for the magic awakened by the sacrifice could draw unwanted attention he simply ordered a fellow dark priest, to restrain Dajith and then went back to the cerimony.
That night the cloudy sky begun turning to a dark red, a fact not extremely rare on the Isles due to the proximity with Kandras, the Aszhari begun dancing singing and celebrating the birth of their race, their guard becoming relaxed and unfocused, secretly induced to excess by Ranjan and his pack.
"They will provide me with a proper sacrifice" he tought "and the spirits too... they must hold great power..." meanwhile a legion of Jeraca was secretly surrounding the clearing...
What... in the Shadowfell had just happened? The Sculptor was... her exarch had, with her essence... it seemed as though... the Silent One had no idea how to feel. Contemptous that the Sculptors emotional nature had led to her death, guilty at feeling such thoughts to one of the few gods he actually liked, then angry that he felt so guilty when it was just the truth.
But mostly, he was just... crushed that he'd lost the only friend he'd ever had.
Needless to say he was in no mood to deal with godlings who had no idea what was going on.
"Look, whoever the Shadowfell you are," he snapped at the new arrival. "One of our number went crazy and killed themselves, again, and tried to take someone out with them, again. But this time, they actually suceeded. And that damned crazy..." He sighed. Forget it, it wasn't worth his time. "Ask lord hammer everyone over there. Oh and by the way, I suggest you take down that barrier and just let the whole world sink in toxin again: it's like air for this world, so around half of Lor'quhan is suffocating as we speak. Nothing really of mine on that half though, so I don't give a damn."
As if in response to a question, the dark god turned to Lohak. "Yes, I'm the Silent One. No, I didn't kill the Sisters. No, I didn't take a disguise or something, I just lurked on the edges of the void until I thought things had cooled down a bit. And no, I'm not going to stick around here and listen to whatever you have to say, I have things to do."
With that, the Silent One dissappeared into a flash of darkness, leaving the rotting world of Lor'quhan behind him.
[3/7, 1/1 Bonus, 2/2]
He then looked at Lohak.
"Ok, what happened here, who was that, and why to I never make a good impression on those I meet for the first time?"
The Salt Titans ranged far across the oceans of Yrie until eventually they came to a unique place, where the power of magic that coursed deep within the crust of the planet. There a band of them were grabbed by the power and transformed, their limbs turning to magical energy as they rose up to the surface, becoming a wholly different type of being. Once transformed, they returned to Casaka to report to Karhedron, who was thrilled to finally have a being that was unfazed by the chill up north.
The lens of Casaka sparked to light, warming the entire city and causing all of the Titan's cores to pulse at a higher tempo, causing all of them to work harder. They soon learned the skills of extracting special minerals from the ground, although for now all they used the materials for was for decoration of their spires.
On the Isles of Wonder, both the Beholders and Cyclopsi spread from their opposite sides of their Isle, slowly becoming aware of one another.
Finally, the Heart of Kahnda reached out to the fighting Foulspawn, causing a number of them to begin worshiping Ravnos, adding even more to the confusion engulfing their race as the different tribes began falling under the sway of leaders who worshiped one god or the other...
And in Renissa, Ravnos, who had fallen into a fitful slumber after carrying Brinn away from the devastation at Verda, stirred fitfully, caught in a dream.
1 PP: Modify Populace: Eldrich Titan: Salt Titans tap into the magical power within Yrie and are transformed!
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Eldrich Titans join Casaka
1 PP: Nourish Populace(from Lens of Casaka): Casakan flourish
2 PP (1 from Heart of Kahnda): Guide Populace: Foulspawn begin to worship Ravnos.
3 PP: Guide Populace: Casakans learn Mining.
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Beholders spread to the gas giant itself.
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Cyclopsi
0/7+0/1 extra+0/2 (create,guide) EXTRA PP USED!
"Asking me for advice, now? That's not something I had expected to happen. Do what's best for you, whatever will help your creations survive and your purpose be heard. I cannot think of much else."
The eladrin and drow of Seyshite had formed small communities, and were discovering ways to fend off future invaders. Utilizing the natural resources around them, they were able to make crude structures and weapons of wood. This was their first step in securing a hold on Verda.
-3 PP - Guide Populace - Seyshite learns woodworking.
[4/7]
PP: 2/7 + 2/2 + 1/1
Only a small number of spirits joined in the celebration- many were daunted by their allies, hated the use of blood in their rituals, or simply weren't capable. Rumbler and Featherdown were both present, being deemed the ambassadors between the two races. Rumbler was awkward during the singing, dancing, and shouting, but Featherdown flew complicated patterns through their air, trailing sparkling dust in many colors, to the appreciation of the Aszhari. None suspected anything out of place, however.
PP: 3/7 + 2/2 + 1/1
Back in the forest one of the sentry was watching the spirit evolutions in the sky, entranced and distracted he did not believe that any dangerous creature will dare to attack a so large group of Aszhari. The Jeraca swiftly begun to close in, the hunter felt senses however was well trained and he realized the presence of the creature before being attacked, he electroluted the first monster with his touch even before it could lay its claws against the scaled skin, using his tail he easily sent another jeraca to the ground. The hunter attempted to scream and call the others, however a couple more of red lizards jumped on him, he deflected one crushing the creature neck with his bare hands, but the other managed to sink his fang in the troath of the Aszhari, easily penetrating even its hard scales.
Meanwhile Ranjan called all the present to him "This is a sacred day, my brothers and sisters..." he told "but today we are here for a purpose even greater than celebrating our birth, two things I'll present you, that will change the future of the entire Aszhari civilization"
The first Jeraca than moved in the clearing, climbing from the back of the rock that Ranjan was standing on, the creatures weere humanoid lizards, covered in thick scales, they where smaller than the Masaren or the Aszhari, with elongated fangs and wicked claws, covered with a think armor of black scales, densely covered in a weird patterns of red ones that made them look like they was covered in blood. The Aszhari looked at the newcomers, they could feel trough their divine blood that there was something wrong in them, the spirits too sensed that the Jeraca was somehow unnatural.
"At first I present you our new brothers!" told the dark priest as the small group of Jeraca surrounded him, forming a protective circle around Ranjan.
Kandras
The Zang has finally noticed that some new beings have approached their planet, soon they sent a delegation composed of 5 creatures to great the beholders.
"But this is far from the most important announcement today, my friends" continued the priest "As I have a far greater discovery to show you... In fact I have found a way for some among our kind to join the Great Father in heaven" while Ranjan paused for a second the Aszhari watched him with mixed reactions, some of awe other of doubt or fear...
"However a little sacrifice is required for such an impressive feat... a price... one that I'm willing to pay..." during his speach the sky turned to a darker red, infused by Ranjan magic.
Finally the Aszhari in the outern ring felt a presence in the forest, the Jeraca forces finally got to the clearing, the priest had some magic worked during his speach, to cloud their mind. The Masaren present to the cerimony, lacking the divine connection of their brothers was able to resist Ranjan trick and stood to face the coming ravenous Jeraca.
The large albino lizardmen faced their bloodthirsty cousins, fighting valiantly, but they was not trained for combat, thanks to the protection granted by the Aszhari and sfitly fell against the warlike Jeraca.
It was only when the red lizardmen begun attacking the Aszhari that Ranjan spell broke and the real fight begun...
As hell broke loose, many of the stronger spirits flew into battle defend their friends from the strange newcomers. Some of the spirits were too weak to fight the invaders, but most of those who had come were able to more than adequately defend themselves. Rumbler and Featherdown went into battle side-by-side, working to defend the Mensare and working out. Huge cracks in the ground spread into the Jeracan ranks, plunging many into the gaping rifs. Featherdown had grown to the size of a roc, and wherever she flew, the ranks of the invaders were cut like wheat. Other spirits fought back with whatever weapons they were born with, or could use around them- plants strangled the blood-born Jeraca, and animals trampled them.
The Silent One gazed emptily at the empty tube before him. He knew what he had to do, it was just... hard to focus on it when so much had happened. The Sculptor was dead... how could this had happened? Why did this have to happen? No, he couldn't dwell on it... this just proved that gods didn't have to kill themselves to die, which would further the fear his weapon brought. But what... what did she mean by she hoped he didn't die alone? He hoped he never died at all, but that would hardly have been what she meant...
Thrusting it all to the side for now, the Silent One decided to focus on the matter had hand. Retrieving the wings from his back, and gripping the arm in his hand, the Silent One returned them to the tank, which still didn't seal itself. The reason being he had more to add to it. Taking up a large metal ball.. an iron golem that had crashed into the Shadowfell some time ago no less, the Silent One used his power to mould the ball, to impose his will on it, investing it with his power to form it into a weapon.
The results were... interesting. It was an arm, a left arm to go with Failure's right. Although whereas Failure's arm, though undead, was clearly an arm, this was more an arm shaped killing machine. It was thicker and bigger than it had to be, and where fingers would normally be there were super long and super sharp claws that looked capable of cutting through a planet. But that wasn't all he'd done with the golem... he'd crafted from it's body large and small plates of metal, some flat, some spiked. It all seemed entirely random... until he added them all to the tube, which sealed itself off and once again flooded itself with the green liquid. Soon the arms swung into the position arms would normally take, and the wings the place wings would take. The metal plates, however, looked as though they'd be scattered around the body at random intervals... a shoulder here, half a chest there, a thigh over on the other side, etc.
It looked like it was going alone smoothely... and might even be completed soon. So why did the back of his mind still preoccupy itself with everything that had happened?
2PP - Create Artiface (Moderate) - Left Arm of Mechanus - The Silent One crafts a metal arm and a few metals pieces of a body from an iron golem and adds it to the anti-god weapon. It provides a +1 combat bonus.
[2/7, 1/1, 2/2]
All this construction, of course, required vast, mind numbing amounts of time. Though the first simple spires and buildings went up as the project of a lone clan, their influence soon spread, and they attracted more and more followers and workers. After a century and a half, the citadel's growth, though not ceasing, slowed hugely. Now new courtyards and rooms added on to its bulk only to accommodate the more slowly increasing population. The Kaorti called their fortress Acre. The direct descendants of the clan that had begun it, numbering no more than a few hundred, became the priests of fortress-city, calling themselves the Abhor, and their high priest, the ruler of the city, the Doma.
----------------
Beneath the blue crystal sky, the Angeloi of Jericho, ruled by the God-King, began to make and fire mud bricks from their savannas. With the new materials of construction, the first city began to take shape; they called it Firenze.
PP
2PP Guide Populous- Kaorti learn masonry
1PP (God King) Nourish Populous- Angeloi
Zo-Att said this with a slight hint of impatience.
A moment of silence, and he screamed again, and then a third time, its puissance tearing through the void. Finally it fell silent, and Lohak shivered for a moment as color seemed to leak away until all that remained were subtle shades of gray.
In the deafening silence, the body crumbled away, ordinary dust floating away.
PP Expenditures
1 PP - De-Nourish Land - Lor'quan's natives plants and animals suffer under violent earthquakes and horrible screams.
1 PP (Artifact) - Mold Land (Lesser) - A large mountain rises on the surface or Lor'quan, it's peak reaching above the cloud of toxins surrounding the plent.
6.6 + 0/1
"Come, Ankirega....let's return to Renissa." The two returned to the plane, finding Durenghast not far from the lake, watched in the distance by some of the Ankir. Ankirega looked curiously at them and the new god, recognizing neither. "You...you're my child!" Brinn suddenly beamed as she hugged Durenghast.
PP: 4/7 + 2/2 + 1/1
Instead, strange things happened. Some of the stars disappeared, hiding behind other, bigger ones in an attempt to flee from the godling's grasp, frightened. Others still were pulled too forcefully, and fell to the ground, sparkling. And a few more took a strange course: pulled to the godling's hand for a moment, they then escaped, and, changed by his touch, started to circle the world, shining brighter than ever, remaining close to the earth.
1 PP: Nourish Land: Create Star Lilies.
"Lohak, you really don't want to talk to me at all, do you?"
He sighed and turned away.
"Really, did he just kill himself, or will he reform elsewhere? And why is it that all the elder gods keep getting killed off? Does some cosmic force want the guard to change quickly, or something?"
He sighed and looked around at the world, and at Lor'quan, in its slightly shell-shocked state.
"On to other things, if gods will stop dying and interrupting them."
+2 PP: 2 Days
[2/7 PP]
Closing his eyes, the godling concentrated. He felt his power flow through him, and briefly, he siezed control of it, shaping it in a particular way. Then, just as the control began to fade, he let it out.
However, there had been a mistake. Perhaps some unknown variable had intervened, but instead of the creatures he had intended to create, several floating blue balls appeared. Embarrassed, the godling shrunk visibly, as the tiny points of light flickered and descended to the earth. Down below, the spots where they landed flourished and regained greenery, while they began to move, occasionally blinking and fading from view. However, the ashamed godchild didn't notice that.
At first, the Silent One had been afraid that he'd have to interrupt his work to get the next piece of his weapon. Constructs were easy enough to represent: each one was more or less a closed circuit of metal and magical animation. But life... life was more complex. Every living thing was connected, and there were so many intricacies to it... orginally, he had thought that he'd have to go to Verda, and take some energy from the Lifeweb there. But then he realized... if all life was connected, even by a medium, then all he needed to do was reverse engineer that link to connect the organism into the lifeweb, and from there into all other life. A little more complicated to work out, but the base was a lot easier to come across.
In the end, the Silent One simply grabbed a void ameoba and began to manipulate it, moulding it and manipulating it into the shape he desired. Then came the hard part... with a few deft alterations, and significant time and concentration, the dark god managed to hook the amoeba up to the 'network of life' that buzzed through the universe, drawing strength from it. Finally, the Silent One placed the body in the tank, where the other items revolved and reformed and fused together until...
It was complete. Where before his weapon had been scattered pieces, now they were finally together in a single form. The life aspect of the weapon he'd decided to use to craft the weapons body, legs and head, all of which took a vaguely sauran appearance. Somewhat like a tyrannosauraus, albeit with a proportionally smaller head and legs, and sort of skinny as opposed to scaley. The arms also ruined this t-rex image, as they were around as big as a humanoids compared to it's body as opposed to the tiny arms of the dinosaur. The left arm glittered threateningly in the dim light, while the right puled with necrotic energy. The metal plates from the left arm encompassing some of it's chests, the top of it's head as a sort of helmet, it's left thight, right shoulder and a fair few smaller ones scattere around it only added to it's menacing vissage. Finally, it's wings spread out behind it, large and glowing with elemental power. They seemed to have divided into six, to form a seraphim like arrangement.
It looked complete... but it wasn't. It was an empty shell, incapable of doing anything but perhaps swinging blindly if someone were to pull it's strings. It needed one more element, that would take some time to prepare... time which gave the dark god even more time to consider the Sculptor's mystifying last message.
She wished he wouldn't die alone... was she implying he should become all buddy buddy with the other gods? Abandon his plans for the promises of friendship? He doubted it, and if she did she'd become insane in her exile... or perhaps she meant to give him a clue on how he should proceed? Bel and the Sculptor were dead, so the only ally he had left was Sku'byss, and even he was erratic. Perhaps she had meant for him too... and suddenly, he knew what he had to do.
2PP - Create Artifact (Moderate) - Body of Gaea - The Body of Gaea is the anti-god's weapon most prominent part, encompassing it's legs, torso and head. It provides a +1 combat bonus.
[1/7, 1/1 bonus, 2/2]
The Battle was swift and at the same time brutal, the Jeraca struck with untold ferocity, their claws cutting even trough the scaled Aszhari skin, while Ranjan blood magic combined with the jeraca warlocks that he has personally trained, managed even to "wound" the natural spirits that intervened. However finally one of the spirits managed to broke the dark priest concentration, dispelling the spell that was entrancing the hunters. Soon the tide of the battle begun to turn in favor of the Aszhari and their spirit allies, the Jeraca lacked the divine spark of their opponents and the sheer personal power of their enemies seemed to be enough even against their overwhelming number...
As the hunters begun thinking that the battle could have being won Ranjan unleashed yet another spell, clouds of red smoke emerged from the ground, shrouding the battlefield with a bloody and misty cover. Even the screms of the fighters was somehow smothered by the spell, soon the Aszhari became divided in the darkness, forced to fight alone, lost in the embrace of the clouds...
When finally the wind sent the red vapors away the battlefield was silent, the Jeraca and Ranjan has vanished, blood soacked the ground, many bodies lied scattered, hundreds of Jeraca and a few Aszhari.
Soon the hunters realized that nearly 20 among their kind was missing, their bodies vanished, even some of the lesser spirits was no more, their essence stolen by some unholy magic.
The eldest among the packmaster present, Kiran Drhos, swiftly took the leadership of the survivors and begun to organize them to help those who was wounded and give the proper respect to the dead ones.
Kiran was an old hunter, with more than four centuries of life, he has seen much but never a massacre of such proportion and perpetuated by one they believed to be a brother. "We were many today and we had the help of our spirit allies and still we barely manage to survive the onslaught" he tought, fearing that such things might be happening to smaller packs...
He knew that the spirts was much more powerful and wise then himself and so he turned to them seeking help and answers...
"Do you know what attacked us? What kind of malevolence brought these demons against our people?" he told Rumbler "Will you help me warning the other tribes before such an horror can happen again? or find those that are missing as I fear what that creature might to do them..."
Kandras
The Zang has explored the surface of their homeworld and even settled deep under the planet core, however they was not satisfied, some wanted to see distant relms and sought ways to leave the surface of Kandras, but other just wanted to understand their homeland even more, to control it. After centuries of work they developped a way to sculpt the gaseous substance of their planet, to forge buildings made of semi solid air, to create tools for themselves to use out of smoke and clouds. Soon small cities begun to appear under the surfac of the planet...
The World on the River
Eshcal was meditating about the events on Verda when he felt that something was wrong, missing, a distant presence in the back of his mind, the one of his father and sister was no more, currents of spiritual energies was leaving the cosmo, heading to the worlds beyond, the one that only the death could visit. Eshcal felt the end of his kines and for the first time he knew sadness, while the god begun to walk toward the ruined Lor'Quann the sky of all the distan worlds begun to darken and a gentle, thin rain, begun falling a silent tribute to the death of the gods...
4/7 +1 +1 Shape +1 Guide
3 PP Guide - The Zang learn the art of sculpting gases and air into semi solid items and buildings. (fantasy tech).
For their part, the malevolants inside were having a harder time coming to terms with the legions of new beings Fulrit's dirge had roused. Nearly paralyzed with shock at The Sculptor's end, the comatose Fulrit was brought back through the Whispergate to Crossroads.
It was an eerie thing -- the Crystal Highway between The Whispergates was eerily empty -- the stillness compounded by the lack of the mimic shadow.
Fulrit, the only god they knew, was placed in one of the closest rooms in the Tombs of Remembrance -- one that hadn't changed as long as the Malevolants had known it -- in the hopes that he would heal, and one day lead his people again.
The malevolants themselves had little idea what had happened, but banned together in the hopes that as a united whole, they would be better prepared to face the future.
----------------------------
Somewhere in the Void
PP: 4/7 + 2/2 + 1/1
When the godling opened his eyes, he saw a mass of lilies all around him. Gleefully, he handed the original lily back to his mother.
The leaders of Volumbra Aegis started talking amongst themselves. This was not the proud god of vengeance they remembered. So silent. So fiercesome.
Over time, Fulrit the Exarch faded into distant memory. There was only Fearos the Grim.
-----------------------------------
The exarch was returning from the Tombs of Remembrance again. As they always did, the Judicators of the Vlumbra Aegis were summoned, hoping to glean some divine guidance from their god. Unexpectedly, their vigilance was finally rewarded.
Do the majority of our people still live within The Susurrus?
Gaping for words, trying to hide their astonishment at the diety's first words in generations, the Judicators warbled some mild form of assent.
That will not do. The Malevolants must expand throughout the void. Raise an expeditionary force. I willl scout suitable empire sites myself.
And without further words, Fearos the Grim shouldered through his people, and entered the stillness of the Whispergates.
------------------------------------
Verda
Fearos sniffed the air. It was fresh. Reeking of decaying vegetation. An afterscent of burnt wood. Running water. Blood.
The godless exarch followed one of the rivers. He arrived upon a Gigotaur battlefield. The Bullmen were between charges, and some even turned interested eyes towards the great wolf. But they were not surprised. Not fearful.
Fearos turned away, snarling to himself. They did not shrink in terror from him. What calamities had befallen this place that the inhabitants did not fear overlarge beasts?
The exarch bowled over a tree, just to remind himself that he could. He sang his fangs deep into another, basking in the glory of destruction. Underfoot he crushed small animals -- rabbits and voles. When his anger abated, the wolf crept deeper into the forest. He had seen a massive circle of trees in the distance. Maybe it was a suitable place for a Malevolant city.
Brinn exuded joy that her child was fast learning. "Amazing, my son! These lilies will travel Renissa, bringing beauty to those who see them." She smiled happily at him, having forgotten the troubles of before for the joy of the present.
- - - -
Verda
Ankirega had returned to his home to allow Brinn her family time. He was laughing and singing a little at how much the young god's presence had overjoyed Brinn. He found his way to the Grotto, where a cadre of spirits met him anxiously. "Ankirega! There's another wolf, like you, in the forest that we don't recognize. He's been wandering the forest not far from here." Ankirega nodded, curious about this. He didn't know of another divinity that shared his form beyond Araiyo... had another been born, or perhaps one of those golden wolves from Renissa had wandered in? Not long after he found Fulrit, his white contrasting with his younger counterpart. "I am Ankirega, who are you?," he asked, eyeing the slashed and fallen trees nearby.
I am Fulrit, known to my people as Fearos the Grim, last exarch of The Sculptor, the goddess of Water.
What are you?
So then your god is dead too.
She is dead. Dead by her own hand, to deliver the void from the terror that was Bel. I am all that is left of her.
The exarch began to growl.
Her Leviathans lie scourged by Bel's treachery, my sister lies flayed by Bel's hand, and Bel would have taken my Malevolants and our home from us at well, but for the sacrifice of The Sculptor.
I was of Vengeance, but now that is all I am. My pain, my sorrow, it will endure in a grim legacy. I will not have her forgotten!
It was not a pleasant laugh. It was a whispery, mocking laugh that sent small animals scurrying away in fear..
Does it matter? If I wage war against the entirety of the void, even in failure, I shall be remembered as the one who tried. If I scour the forests of Verda from her surface, even as I die to your angry goddess, I shall be remembered as the Exarch who dared to try.
Can't you feel them? The souls of the dead litter this world. This place has been marred by tragedy after tragedy since its inception. So much chorus for retribution.
It doesn't matter who or what -- as long as the Malevolants spread far and wide, our legacy will endure.
What? The trees? I'm sorry. They were in my way.
The wolf did not appear particularly sorry.
He bared his teeth in a wolfish grin.
Oh, there will be change all right...
His soft cackling laugh echoed as he walked through the forest, heading away from the forest. He paused.
It makes me wonder though.
Fulrit didn't bother to turn around -- his divine essence amplified the words to Ankirega's ears just fine.
Would you be able to survive if your beloved goddess fell? That makes five now, by my count.
Lor'quhan
One final void amoeba persisted in the re-toxified Lor'quhan, managing to breathe just easily enough to raspily continue it's not stop devouring... until Twist sunk his fangs into where it's neck would be if it had one, messily ripping the creature apart.
"Crisis over," Twist snarled, spitting out the foul tasting creature's flesh. "This is why I hate gods... one little flick of their finger, and they cause the damn apocalypse. Now, what were we doing?"
"Boomo!" Toadstool cried. "We were introducing ourselves to the Yuan-ti, boomo!"
"Huh, so we were," Twist mused. "Well, might as well get it one with... maybe we'll earn some brownie points if we cart off some of the corpses for them..."
Verda
"Mine kindred, doth thou percieve what I doth percieve?" a gigotaur asked his comrade, gesturing to the skulking figure of the Sculptors wolf exarch before he slinked off.
"Mine eyes doth see what thou doth see my kin," the other replied. "It doth be a giant wolf! Another one! Doth though thinketh it be a friend of Ankirega?"
"I doth not know, mine brother, but mayhaps we should getteth him over here. The lasteth giant wolf sang to us, maybe yonder wolf will singeth to?"
"An excellent idea mine brother! Now let us- oh, he be gone..."
"It matters not, the enemy hath finished resting. Now we mayst honorable brain them!"
"Huzzah!"
The moral of the story is that eventually, you can become desentised to anything, even giant scary wolves. Especially if the first giant wolves you saw sang.
The Heart of the Shadowfell
It was time. Time to finish it. Time to be feared by other gods. Time to protect himself from the fate of his rapidly falling fellow gods. And time to finish the ultimate anti-god weapon... Ruin.
The weapon had already achieved four of the essences that creation took place in... undeath, as represented by the Right Arm of Failure. The elements, as represented by the Wings of Chaos. Artificial creations such as constructs and artificats, as represented by the Left Arm of Mechanis. And life and it's inate connection to other life, as represented by the Body of Gaea. And now... now was the final ingredient. The thing that made it all, governed it, and ruled it. He needed to infuse Ruin with... divinity. But he still needed to be able to control it absolutely... he couldn't use a weapon that could turn on him, after all.
The answer was simple. He was already connected to Ruin through the innate link he'd accently achieved with Failure, which in turn passed through the Right Arm he'd crafted from his necrotic flesh. If he imbued Ruin with a shard of his own divine spark, then used the right arm to tap into his essences... he could manipulate his own shard to operate Ruin as a mere puppet.
Reaching into his chest, the Silent One snapped off a shard of his... he supposed a mortal would call it a 'soul'. It hurt, but considering he'd abondoned the very shard of his essences that had given him life he was used to such pain. Thrusting it into the body of his weapon, he tied it into the body, making it the very focal point of every part of Ruin's body until...
It lived. It breathed slowly and labored in the glass tube, still sleeping, still contained. But when he called it... it would come. And he had something very important to do with his weapon... the Sculptors wish would come true. He wouldn't die alone.
He'd have a score of puppets to defend him from dieing at all.
3PP (Spending 1 Bonus) - Ascend Exarch (Ruin) - The Silent One breathes life and divine strength into his anti-god weapon. Ruin is a combat exarch.
[0/7, 2/2]
If I find out, perhaps I will let you know.
Fulrit stalked back through the forest, back towards Gigotaur lands.
He watched their battles from the sidelines, always visible, but never fearful of injury. It was interesting. The Malevolants could stand to learn something from their war-tactics, he supposed. Perhaps the Stoneguard Malevolants already knew.
He would have to ask them.
"Why is there all this death? What purpose does it serve? It is a part of the balance, and that must be maintained, but why must this senseless death occur?"
He turned his head toward Eschal.
"Is there anything that we can do, to prevent senseless deaths?"
+1 PP: New Day
[3/7 PP]
The Silent One stood outside the great court. The meeting place of the gods. How ironic that no-one seemed to use it. It didn't matter. He didn't need people there for his plan to work. If you could call such a blatant move a 'plan'. Still, it was necessary... he needed allies, and he needed those who would meddle in his work to butt their faces out.
Behind him, a hulking figure loomed.
***
The artifical womb slid open for a final time, causing the green liquid within to flood the floor of the Shadowfells core. Ruin breathed heavily, before lumbering to his feet, seeming to grow and grow now that it was no longer restricted by the container that had birthed it.
Seeing the Silent One, the beast drew close, holding it's face an inch from it's creators... before letting out a humongous raw that reverbrated throughout the whole planet. The Silent One however, was not perturbed.
Holding out his arm, as though exerting his will, the dark god said simply "Kneel".
And, amazingly, the abomination knelt.
And the dark god smiled.
***
The Silent One had never really entered the court before, as he was sure a lot of gods hadn't. He wondered if they'd be more interested if they knew they had their names on the front door... as well as every other god in existance. Except his own, of course. He'd erased that some time ago, and now only a broken rocklay where it once appeared. He really needed to find a way to make the erasure of his name more subtle... and add Dharrox, Yuan and other proxies to the list.
But that wasn't what he was here for. Walking through through the entrance, the Silent One made his way into the court, his new pet following at his heels. It actually shrank as it walked... it had to, otherwise it would never have fit through the door.
***
"We found it, we found it!"
"We didn't find it! We didn't find it!"
The Brothers rushed into the room, holding their heads high and waving their arms exictedly. "I take it you found what we were looking for, then?" the Silent one asked, not turning around. "Or didn't find it, it's hard to tell with you two."
"He's lieing," Honor replied. "We managed to find what you were looking for, right where you said it was."
"It wasn't in that Court you said they made a while back," Chivalry continued. "And it certainly wasn't what you were expecting. If I can ask boss, how did you-"
"Oh please," the Silent One interupted. "If you're going to make a Court for the gods, you need to devise SOME way to get people to come when you need them. The only question is, is it purely singular, or-"
"Nope," Honor interupted eagerly. "It has an 'all' option ready and waiting for you boss."
The Silent One could hardly believe how easily this was all going... one of his plans was finally drawing to a close. A successful one, no less. This would make things... oh so much easier.
***
It seemed to easy. There it was, just sitting there. Begging to be used. By now the majority of the gigantic room was taken up by the hulking figure of ruin, obediently staying at his god's heel. But one part of the room was instead taken up by an artifact. The artifact that would forever burn fear of him into every dieties mind in the universe!
The Public Announcement System.
It may seem insignificant, but the Silent One intended to make an announcement they'd never forget. Taking up the artifact, the dark god fiddled with it for a time, before activating it, setting it to transfer to all gods simultaneously.
"Attention, gods of the universe," he spoke into the device. "This is the Silent One. Yes, that Silent One, to set the record straight I was framed in that case of god murder. But that isn't what I'm here for. I'm here to let you hear... this."
With that, the Silent One held the object to Ruin's mouth... who promptly let of an ear splintering roar that made the very court shake to it's foundations.
Returning the artifact to broadcast his own 'voice', the Silent One continued. "THAT, fellow gods, was the ultimate weapon. Capable of reducing a god to mere atoms in mere seconds. But I'm here to tell you: I am hopefully never going to need to use it. It is merely protection. With the recent deaths of Bel and the Sculptor, as well as the danger I was in while the majority of the gods in the universe believed me a murderer has prompted me to take precautionary measures. Consider this a friendly 'beware of dog' message, so you know what awaits you if you ever trespass.
"But I have another reason to be speaking to you all... this universe is covered in light. Mortals consider themselves near equals to their creators. They know little fear, little darkness, they are too pure, too strong. A new age is coming, my fellow gods, and I intend to have a part to play in it. And so, I am declaring my intent to start a pantheon of the dark. If you join, you will gain the support of all of the other members, so long as your actions further our cause. In addition, you will gain full use of Ruin should you need it. That's right, I am GIVING any members full use of the most powerful weapon in existance, as long as they continue furthering the cause for darkness, evil, corruption, blight, madness, and all other things that make mortals realize just how far they are from us.
"Any who are interested in my offer, meet me in the Court of the Gods. Anyone else, continue as you were, but stay the hell out of my way."
With that, the Silent One deactivated the PA system, and breathed deeply. So, he had finally revealed his hand... he just hoped no-one had an ace up their sleeve.
After hearing the message, Zo-Att was carefully considering the information that she had obtained.
First of all, her son was alive. Somehow that news didn't bring her any great sense of joy. It could have been because family never meant much to the God of Destruction, but he also lied to his own mother, which isn't always the best sense of trustworthiness. She never really felt that they were close at all, but even then this whole "not being dead" thing was a shock to her.
Then there was the weapon. The Silent One was definitely quite the Ambitious One it seemed. If Zo-Att were ever to make an enemy, with one of his allies, it would mean trouble for her. This new pantheon just seemed like a can of worms for a snake-pit of machiavellian alliances and betreyals.
After staying in this pensive state for a few more moments, Zo-Att decided that she would at least see what her son was planning with his pantheon. She moved toward the Court of the Godsthat her brother had created ages ago, and sought out the Silent One
***
The Seyshites had further honed their woodworking skills into a particular area of expertise. The eladrin and drow had armed themselves with a new weapon: the bow and arrow. They had a natural talent for it, and it would be their greates military asset if others would dare to attack their nation
+3 new days
-3 Guide Populace - Seyshite learns archery
-1 Nourish Populace - Seyshite
[3/7]
The door to the court opened. The Silent One turned to see who it was, and was genuinelly surprised to see it was his Maker. He really should have sent her a line to say he was alive once his identity had been revealed... but he'd been awfully busy.
"Ah, Maker, so good to see you," he greeted her warmly. "So sorry for not getting in touch with you, but I've had to lurk in the void faking my own death after the Sister fiasco, and I wasn't sure whether you were reasonable enough to listen to my point of view of events before destroying me for supposedly killing your own Maker. I take it you have some interest in my pantheon?" How ironic that it was possible the first to join his side was the very god that had made him, and he had pledged himself as an acolyte of destruction to so long ago.. how things changed.
Zo-Att let the last word out with emphathis, letting it roll off her shadowy tongue.
"What exactly are you hoping to accomplish with this pantheon, and how do you think it represents me?"
Ruin grunted from it's cramped positions at the side of the room. Ignoring his weapon, the Silent One thought of how best to answer his Maker.
"Evil is... nothing. Just as good is nothing. Remember when we first met, oh Maker? When we discussed a world in which creation was no more, and it was returned to the void from whence it came? That is evil to the eyes of creation. Just as, in your eyes, creation was evil. When I use the term evil, I mean what the mortal races percieve it as. Darkness. Plague. Death. Agony. Beasts that devour them. Basically, anything and everything that makes the mortal races lives harder. And when lives are hard, who do mortals turn to?" the Silent One paused dramatically. "Us, Maker. We are the ultimate 'go to guys' as some mortal races would say. As long as mortals are plagued by the forces of evil, we'll always be the most important things in existence to them. As we should be, we're perfect, and they're merely flawed replicas of that perfecion."
The Silent One chuckled. "Honestly, that is what I want. Mortals are mere playthings, and they should know as such. They should revere us, fear us, worship us with all their beings... yet so many of the races live in harmony with their gods, merely friends. That is NOT HOW IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE!" The Silent One's last commented shouted loudly throughout the court, causing a few cracks to spring up in the stone.
Calming himself, the Silent One continued. "But that's just what I want from the pantheon. What the members will recieve is simply support to do whatever they want. To spread destruction. Spread corruption. Spread madness. Spread darkness. Spread their imperefect reflections of their perfect selves, as they have always done, merely with added efficency due to the support they recieve from eachother. That's all this is... a network to further our domains. It happens to coincide with my own dream, but I'm hardly going to impose that on anyone else. So that's what you'll recieve Zo-Att. Don't you want people to help you forge your own dreams on the universe? To return creation to the void piece by piece, spreading misery in your wake?"
The Exarch shook his head.
He felt a slight ringing in his head. As if someone was speaking just out of earshot.
A sudden roar had the Exarch spinning around in confusion.
With nothing in sight, Fulrit tensed, expecting attack -- But there was nothing, and the gigotaur continued on unperturbed.
Am I going mad? That would be the ultimate irony...
The great wolf shook himself and settled down, mildly watching the Gigotaur once more.
A low voice echoed out, almost too low to understand, crryingit's words with a sickly sweet tone. "What have we here? Two gods and a weapon, standing aroud wasting time?"
This violet swirling was irritating. He'd been in the middle of trying to convert one of the oldest gods in existance to his cause, and now the interuption had suspended the weight of his words. Yet... at the same time, it seemed so sorrowful. It seemed to whisper to him that the Sculptor was forever dead, that she'd never be back, that he'd never find anyone who regarded him so closely...
"Look, whatever the Shadowfell you are," the Silent One snapped. "If you represent a god who's interested in my offer, go ahead and say so. If not, then I suggest you stop making my weapon look like it took a bath in pink pain."
"I'm not syaing I want to join, but this is your dream, is it not? It will be the dreams of several gods. While I encompass the bright side of dreams, I also encompass the dark."
He held up his gauntlets, making the spikes longer and sharper.
"Nightmare. "
"There must be a balance for me, so be warned that if there comes the corresponding pantheon of light, I will either join both, or none. Most likely none. Still, I thought I would come here out of curiousities sake."
OOC: Hmm, this reply feature needs some work... The 'most recent' post is from 21 hours ago ;)
Ravnos started awake at the roar in his head. Fully awake, he heard the announcment of his son's meeting at the Court. Shaking his arms to make them function again and made his way to the Court, appearing before Zo-Att and the Silent One.
"Sister, Son. Good to see both of you. Secret-Keeper, I would like to know if I may sit in on your meeting... although the furthering of darkness is not wholly within my wishes, it is not against them either, and..." a low chuckle escaped from his form... "I want to keep both eyes on that thing."
Ravnos gave a long look at the being before him, and glanced upwards to the pillars and beyond them to where the head of the Guardian of the Court was peeking in over the lip of the plaza, watching the weapon warily. Here was perhaps the only place where such a being could be destroyed...
Slowly, it slipped throuh the assembled gods, wrapping around the newly arrived Ravnos, "And you, Ravnos or Grawlf . . . surely you of all those in this room must feel sorrow. And if not, perhaps I can cause you some, " and again it whispered only to him, "and reveal the secret of your true name."
"Reveal who you are, intruder, or be gone."
Raising in tone, speaking for the first time in a clear voice, though still very low in volume, it addressed them all. "I am known to each and all of you, and through you, I was brought here. Reveal who I am? No, no, no, no, no. I think it best if you figure out what I am on your own, dear Zo-Att, that you all might better come to understand what my presence infects you with."
-3 PP: Claim Domain(Intermediate): Balance
[0/7 PP]
-----
As the child god cowered in fear, the very air around him and his mother darkened, color draining from all things aroud them until Renissa was sheathed in tones and shades of black. With a horrifying howl, the darkness coalesced into a floating orb, emanating a palpable aura of terror over Brinn and her child, it's icy tendrilsseeping into them. In a low screech, it whispered, "You feel fear? Fear for the future? Fear of this weapon that another has brought into being?
PP Expenditure
3 PP - Ascend Exarch - Currently unamed. Combat bonus.
5.9 + 1/1
On the warm and happy plane, the golden-furred Ankir found themselves in a curious situation. Some small number of their kind gained the power to shapeshift into a form such as Brinn's, or others gave birth to the humanoid wolves. These new people were gladly accepted into the Ankir's community, whether from birth or change. Those who had gained the power tended towards white or golden fur, while those born ranged from brown to gray to black. Curiousity ran rampant as to the origin of these new Ankir, and the common opinion was that Brinn's stay on Renissa had somehow affected them. In time, the number of the weaker, humanoid Ankir grew, and they too journied through the Stones to a new home on Verda, to aid in regrowing the forest planet. Rumors spread of a great wolf spirit's blessing upon them and fleeting visions in the forest.
Verda
The people of The Grotto had long known of their elven kin to the north, and the growth of their nation encouraged those who lived there to explore the nature of their non-furry neighbors. They were lead by Flowing Current, the same spirit who had first contacted the eladrin peoples. The party stopped a short ways from the homes of the eladrin and drow, and the water spirit flowed forward to greet them.
"Hello, oh people of the north! Of the north!," she called out with her characteristic repetition.
Renissa
Brinn froze, happiness draining from her as quickly as could be when this god of darkness called. "No....! No, no, no!," she yelled out, punching a hole in a tree nearby. Rage coursed through her at the arrogance of this dark god, who called for an alliance of evil. It just never ended! Over and over evil came to call, and...wait. Bel and Hrinori were...dead? A wash of overpowering emotions flooded through her; rage, grief, loss, relief... she began glowing with a angry black glow as her emotions began to rule her, chief among them fury. She barely realized that her young child clung to her in abject terror at the call before yet another dark foe appeared in her realm, speaking words of fear and darkness. She felt not a whit of fear for herself, but for her child... Brinn snarled, immediately snatching the void knife from her belt, making a slashing gesture at the dark cloud. The knife grew whipcord thin, reaching across the distance to flail into orb and spreading destruction where it touched. Rational words failed her as she clasped her son tight and struck the orb again and again.
Ankirega appeared beside her, stammering something about dead gods and a message, but she paid him no heed.
2 PP: Nourish Nation: Blaze and Ash Dragons join The Grotto.
1 PP: Nourish Nation: Sap dragons join Asha
3 PP: Nourish Populace: Ankir. The Ankir, in both variations, grow greatly in number.
PP Remaining: 1/7 + 1/2 + 0/1
As suddenly as it had coalesced, it dispersed into the air, the purple tint darkening, then pulsing slightly as it floated around the assembled gods.
-----
The black cloud dispersed at the strikes of the knife, it's terrifying howls growing louder as mental images of grisly wounds and horrifying suffering rammed into their minds.
Scattered across the clearing, the mist whispered, it's voice ragged in pain. ". . you . . . . me, . . . . . . . . . . do you hate me, . . . . . . . Why do you hate me? "
"What was that about? Does anyone know? It seemed...familiar, almost. "
"I sense your fear, grandmother. Fear for your child, fear for his safety. The thought of him suffering harm strikes terror into your heart like nothing else. I could not harm my father, grandmother, but I am fear, and I cannot help but to strike fear into those who see me."
The cloud suddendly gathered back into a solid sphere of darkness as it spoke for the first time in a solid, voice. "I am the Sovereign of Terror, and I can see the fear pusling through you, grandmother. I can feel it, and it feeds me."
------
The purple tint all around the court suddenly gathering into a single orb, floating above the assembled gods. "Familiar? Of course I am familiar. I am within each and every one of you, lurking within your minds, hiding behind your motives. You cannot escape my grasp, but without my presence, you would not be who you are."
-----
A musical laugh echoed forth from the purple sphere as it lowered to the ground, "Yes, yes, yes, I knew you would be able to see through it, Zo-Att. I am misery and despair, remorse and sadness, grief and yes, above all else, I am sorrow. The Sovereign of Sorrow."
"Sorrow, is it? Yes, I sense that within you, newcomer. But you are no God. If you were, I would have record of you. Therefore, what are you? Do you have a name? And yes. Speak my name aloud. All those here but one know it, and even he knows of its existence. Speak and let it be heard... Im sure that will answer many of our questions."
The Silent One was surprised at some of the gods that came forth at his bidding, even for mere curiosities sake... and irritated at his Maker of knowledge that he spread the secret that had spawned him so far and wide. Honestly, it seemed like he couldn't keep his mouth shut for ten seconds...
"You are ALL welcome in this court," the dark god intoned. "Grawlf- I'm sorry, Ravnos. It would be an honor to have you join the cause, even if you're not fully devoted to the cause. As long as you aid the council, you shall be aiding us in bringing forth a darker universe. God of dreams, you are also welcome... but I suggest you try not to fall off that fence to far towards the light," he said simply. It wasn't a threat. It was a simple statement, not unlike the 'I'll kill you' statement the Sculptor had given to him some time ago.
And now the crux of the matter. If this... thing had been identified as sorrow, it could be a good ally even if it wasn't a diety. However, it's commented about the Sculptor were infuriating enough that if he was half tempted to kill the creature right then and there. "As for you, Sorrow, if you have any shred of divine power you may join us. However, if you are shackled into a mere imperfect shell as a mortal is then we have no use for you in our council, or this plane."
In an attempt to nip some idealistic notions in the bud, and to regain the attention of the gods to the matter of hand, the Silent One continued. "I'm hearing some notions of balance, and fence sitting, and that's all well and good. But you're thinking too... artificially. The balance of the universe is like a scale. On the one side, there is the dark, and the evil. On the other, there is the light, and the good. In theory, if every creation in the universe just stuck to the center of the scale, balance would be achieved... but that's far too tempremental to be stable. Rather, it's far more efficent to stack each end of the scale until balance is achieved. This council is for organizing the weight that will go onto the dark side of the scale. The other gods are more than capable of placing the weight on the light scale without us needing to concern ourselves with anything more than the dark."
The balance of the universe was complete and utter crap, the Silent One knew this. What the gods said, went, there was no need for balance or even responsibility. As much as he despised Bel for what she did to the Sculptor, and would kill her himself if she was still alive to be, he had to grudgingly admit that as a god she had every right to do whatever she pleased, even if that was killing his friend. There was no balance, no law... but some of these gods were so wrapped up in it that if he was going to convert any of them to his cause he'd need to present an argument that appealed to their sensibilities.
[1/7, 2/2]
He looked straight into the Silent Ones eyes.
"For the sake of all who exixt do not do that. Dark is all very well, but there are always lines that should not be crossed. Do not cross them."
Eshcal has felt the call of the Silent One in the back of his mind, "So fast are you to forget the death of my father and sisters are you?" he tought "You already begin to weave a web of intrigue, to scheme for power, with lohak ashes still not cooled down after his fall... I'll need to go and see what thid unrespectful god is planning but first there is something much more important to do..."
The god of wind, stood in the hall of the giant tomb, built for the Sisters by a mourning son, now that place will host the remnants of its builder and his offsprings.
In silence Ehscal has collected thir remnants, he was quite good in sensing death apparently, his burden granted him "ehanced perceptions" apparently, with his will he carve a large hall of stone in the tomb there he sculpted three massive sarcophagi of dark rock, near to each other close in death unlike they was in life and placed there the remnant of his father and siter.
For a long time he remained in silence letting his mind drift around the few memories of his sisters and father...
Meanwhile the Twins watched their mourning father, feeling his pain, unable to tell anything that will draw him away from his dark mood. However while the god was distracted they was not, among the shades of the room they noticed many small sparks floating, dead souls, drawn to this place, to mourn their creators in death, the Tos'Arai was there too, ready to bring this spirits to the afterlife, but unwilling to disturb the mourning god.
The Wardens of Death then went to Twins asking for directions, feeling pity for these souls Sarris asked the Tos'Arai to allow them to stay, for a while at least not forever, with their lost makers.
Eshcal stood in the room for a long while, surrounded by mourning souls, however after a while he felt that something was missing, the essence of Lohak was not in his remnants, not fully at least, some of it was floating far from this realm. Eshcal decided to investigate, he told his sons to return to the Isles of Wonder and than moved toward the Court...
5/7 +1 +0 Shape + 1 Guide
+2 PP New Days
-2 PP (1 from Sarriss), Shape Epic Populace - Mourners, the spirits of those whose creator god is death, these beings are allowed to stay at their Tombs to bring respect to the fallen.
She looked around for her child, wondering how far the youngling could have went. "Son? Where are you?" Ankirega followed silently, fearing for Brinn's anger. He looked back at the "Sovereign" and sighed, shaking his head. Even if it was no enemy...
PP: 2/7 + 1/2 (any but Nourish)
The orb hovered around the silent one, "Yes, yes, you always return to that same sentiment. Divine power. I am no god, but I am no mortal either, Silent One. Perhaps I shall stay a while, and enjoy watching you drive yourself to ruin."
-----
As suddenly as it had arrived, the black orb dispersed.
Fool. There were no lines. The gods created the universe, and everything in them. Therefore, they drew for themselves were the lines were. So if the Silent One thought there were no lines... there were no lines. But at least the god of dreams wouldn't be a thorn in his side. "Very well, I'm sorry to hear that... but rest assured, I hope never to use Ruin against another god. Divine murder opens a can of worms I hope has been shut tight since Bel and the Sculptor..."
So this... Sorrow claimed to be neither god, nor mortal. And it didn't seem to be an exarch either... how strange. Perhaps it was some sort of unnatural mongrel? Well, as long as it was out of his tentacles he didn't care. Though the whole 'drive yourself to ruin' comment made him chuckle. Everything was going swimmingly so far, even if the divine turn out was a little underwhelming so far. He doubted anyone woul drive him to ruin any time soon, let alone himself.
Perhaps a little demonstration of what he wanted to do with the court would make up his Maker's minds on whether they wanted to join. "Grawlf, Zo-Att," he began. "This pantheon will be a place where you can get the aid of other gods in your works. It isn't some sinister council devoted to ending the universe as we know it, or crushing all light in the universe. It is merely a loose organization where 'friends' help 'friends'. Allow me to demonstrate, if you'll lend me some of your power to create a new kind of beast... unless of course one of you have their own plans that need some power to complete?"
As the water came into contact with him, he felt a feeling of calmness wash over him. He felt safe, hidden by the water above him, invisible to all eyes. Though still alone and weak, it was as if nothing could harm him. Slowly, Brinn's child fell asleep.
"I'm sorry, son. The scary thing is gone now.."
One day, Durenghast approached his mother: "Mother, you've mentioned there's other worlds like Renissa, and others capable of creation like us before. Who are they? Where do they live? I want to see them."
The forest goddess took the bow off her shoulders and looked at it, and touched the void knife she kept at her belt. Weapons.. it seemed that she would have to take them and defend life and creation from the darker gods.
"I missed a name? Hardly. I know what name is missing... it is not hidden from me in the slightest. If your name is not there, then you are not a god."
Ravnos turned his attention away from the intruder.
"You wish my help, Secret-Keeper? I gladly give it, although with that beast of yours above, I wonder if I have a choice."
Ravnos flashed a smile at his son and reached out to him, giving him some of his power.
He would have to do something about those stars...
1 PP given to The Silent one for his beast.
3/7 +0/1+0/2 PP remaining
The Jeraca assault begun after that fated night. Knowing that he had to be fast in order to secure his victory and become ruler of the Aszhari civilization the Dark priest ordered the simultaneus attack of many isolated packs, gorging himself in the blood and power of the captured Aszhari and Masaren he begun spawning even more horror to fuel his campaign.
At first it seemed that the Jeraca and the dark priest would have being able of forging an empire for themselves on the islands, however the Aszhari finally decided to react, many packmasters banded under the leadership of the Overlords and formed an organized opposition to the bloodthirsty hordes of the Jeraca.
In the end it was the combined effort of the Aszhari, that under the leadership of their Blessed Prophet Evshan, managed to learn how to apply their skill as hunters in war and the spirt folks, that forged powerful bonds with many Aszhari shamans that decided the outcome of the war.
Ranjan however vanished near the end of the conflict, someone speculated that the dark priest was killed by his own creation when desperate about the loosing conflict, the Jeraca turned against their master, but other think that he managed to escape the defeat of his forces with a quadre of loyal servant and fled into the planes...
The Isles of Wonders, Oshan Gaar
The day after the end of the Aszhari Civil War, the hundred clans reunited at the sacred mountain of Oshan Gaar to celebrate the victory against the Jeraca, the liberation of many Aszhari and spirits that has being liberated before being sacrificed to replenish the bloddthirsty hordes and the birth of a new Aszhari Order.
Evshan, prophet of Eshcal, proclaimed that in order to secure the future of the Aszhari civilization they should end the isolation of their kind and form a single power, one strong enough to be unchallenged by any treath, one that will cleanse the Aszhari of corruption, keeping the way of the reptilian people pure. Many choose to follow the prophet desires and thus the Overlords that led the Aszhari to war and the wisest Blood Priests formed the First Council, tasked with the creation of law for the newborn Aszhari Dominion and many swore oaths of loyalty to this new order.
However Sarriss was not happy about her brother proclamation, she loved the Aszhari as they was before the war, in her mind the Dominion was just countering Ranjan ambition by fullfilling the one of Evshan and the Overlords, she wanted her people to be free as they always was.
For the first time the Twins quarreled, over the destiny of their people, in the end Sarriss left, with many packmasters, the clan she led owed to each other that they will fight together should a common treath appear and that they will join every few years to discuss about common matters, but a part from that will remain separate, free to roam their hunting ground without any superior law or order to lead them.
These clans also marginalized the use of blood magic, chosing to follow Eshcal teaching not due of the power they called but merely out of faith, turning on shamans for guidance and forging a strong alliance with their spirit friends...
For nearly a century the twins remained separate, each shaping the future of his own part of Aszhari civilization, however they could not easily stay away for that long, one day Evshan went looking for his sister and the two talked for long, each finding the benefit in the solution proposed by the other and finally settling their differences...
The Tomb of the Gods
Eshcals meditation was interrupted by a sudden rush of essence, the divine portion of many death Aszhari, wose death has being caused by the civil war flowed back into the god spirit, feeling it with dark memories. The god struggled with his own spirit overwhelmed by so many raging emotions, the the Mourners went hiding in the dark corners of the room as Eshcal form begun to shiver and lightnings erupted from his skin as he changed into something new...
2/7 +0 +0 Guide +0 Shape.
+1 PP New Day
3 PP Guide (1 from Evshan, 1 Bonus) - The Aszhari learn the path of the warrior.
1 PP Nourish - The Aszhari Dominion is born
1 PP nourish - The Aszhari that did not join the dominion form a loose alliance of clans.
1 PP Nourish - The Aszhari Clans form an alliance with the spirt folks. -OOC: TRADE RELATIONS WITH THE GROTTO
This would happen. Some Aszhari would have the sudden experience of Dream Creatures rushing up to and knocking them out. They would wake up, in a room about 40' by 40'. They would be unable to walk out of the room, leaving by the door would result in them walking back into the room, as though turned around. They were provided for, with food and exercise. But they would soemtimes pass out, and then reawaken, with nothing seeming to have happened, excerpt that they were slumped by the door, regardless of where they had been.
The Quori learned many things from studying the Aszhari, especially in regard to their half-divine nature. They also learned from the Jeraca, whom they had also abducted a few of, but they were less helpful, for their fighting nature made them almost impossible to keep, for they would eventually beat themselves up on the walls of the prison, or with anything else they coud get their hands on. Still, a few were managed to be kept alive, in particular the survivors of the war. To keep them docile, they were touched by the Dream, "convincing" them to give their allegiance to the Quori. While their were maybe 20-30 of these, they made they Quori interested in what they could do for them.
+2 PP: 2 days
2 pp: Guide Populace(Lesser): The Quori abduct and expirement on Aszhari and Jeraca. Aszhari are all kept the same, but the Jeraca are all eventually given the Dreamtouched template (like above, there aren't many of these, the Aszhari were effecient in their slaughter)
+1 PP: Nourish Trade(Quori Dream Lord): The Quori improve their Dream Creatures skills at combat and tracking. This is taking the Aszhari hunting tech, and applying it to all Dream Creatures who are trained by the Quori.
[0/7 PP]
Brinn shook her head helplessly and laughed. "I have no way of knowing. Sonel, your father, is the worst of all. Before your birth he dissapeared to a plane I didn't know existed to create golems. And now, he's gone again."
Verda
Trade and relationships with the aszhari clans grew ever stronger as time went on, as the travelling spirits kept the bond strong.
1 PP: Nourish Nation: The Grotto begins trade with the Aszhari.
Aszhari learn Music, Architecture, and Shamanism for the allied clans.
The Grotto learns Hunting, War, Rituals, and Blood Magic, with extends to Casaka and Asha.
PP Remaining: 2/7 + 1/2 (any but nourish)
Deciding that Grawlfs offer was enough for his example, the Silent One reached into a portal of shadow, fishing about with his hand until he grabbed a hold of what he sought: his exarch Sassriss. He then pulled his hand out, the struggling and hissing exarch in tow.
"Massssster, I wassssss going to get my vengenccccccce againssssssst Bel for posssssssessssssing me!" Sassriss complained.
"Bel is dead, my exarch," the Silent One informed her. "Besides which, shouldn't you be looking over the yuan-ti?"
The parasite actually managed to look sheepish. "Well, Massssster, I wasssss jussssst taking a sssssssmall break to-"
"Forget it. Return to the yuan-ti as soon as possible. But first, I require a globule of your monster spawning venom for a little demonstration."
"Yesssss Massssster," the parasite hissed submissively, spitting up a blob of poison and flem bigger than she was onto the stainless courtroom floor. With that, the Silent One placed her back through the portal, returning her to Lor'quhan, before closing it behind her.
"Now... watch." Focusing his power, the Silent One used his own divine might, merged with that of his Makers donation, to cause the glob to grow and convulse, before rupturing into... spores. Nothing but tiny, little spores that flicked about the chamber. These spores then flew out the door to the court, out into the plane and, remarkably, back into the material plane and into the void. Except for one... the one the Silent One had grabbed before it floated away.
"This, is a void spore," he explained. "These float throughout the void erratically, until they hit a solid object such as a world or a moon. After that, they burrow their way into the earth to incubate for a few years, before... well..." the Silent One sent a thread of his divine power into the spore in his hand, accelerating it's natural progress. Soon, the spore grew, and reshaped itself into a ferocious looking beast that seemed to be vaguely insectoid, mixed with a good deal of lizard and plant. But it was all fury and slaughter, with ravening teeth with saliva that burned as it hit the ground, huge mantis like talons that looked like they could cut a meteor titan in half, and an armored body that seemed impenetrable to all but the sturdiest of blows.
"This, on the other hand, is a World Eater," the Silent One continued as though what had occurred was perfectly normal and not at all horrifying. "It is strong, fearless, and hungry. This monsters life cycle revolves around blowing onto a region of a planet, devouring everything it can, then blowing themselves up into more spores to spread to another world and continue the cycle. Obviously, the better the hunt, the higher the population on the next planet will be. Since they arrive on the planet as nothing but spores, most planetary defense systems against the void amoeba simply won't work. They can even penetrate Verda's force field. I doubt they'll ever grow enough to consume an entire planet, let alone the whole universe, but it is something that will become feared throughout the universe, only arriving back onto a planet once that planet has forgotten it except in the most fearsome stories told around the fire of a dark night..."
Chuckling, the Silent One apologized. "Sorry, I didn't mean to go on like that. The point is, I didn't make this alone. I made it with your help. That's what this council is: a network of equals who help each other in their goals. Of course, the council won't support goals that aren't at least somewhat corruptive, destructive, dark or 'evil', but I doubt a god would join if that wasn't his intent."
1PP + 1PP from Grawlf + 1PP from Sassriss - Spawn Epic Creature (World Eater) - World Eaters appear, super powerful monsters that arrive on worlds as nothing but a cloud of spores, before burrowing down in the earth to mature. Several years later, they emerge underground and devour entire sections of planets, everything from trees, animals, humanoids, even most minerals. They then die and secrete more spores to travel to the next world. Traveling from one world to the next can take anywhere between decades and millenia.
[1/7, 1/2]
When he walked out of it, he had changed. Where the mist used to be was now a wolf, with grey and white fur, the golden streaks coursing around him.
"If I am to explore the world, I wish for everyone to know who I am, and where I stand.", he said. "Is this the world that was razed, mother?"
First, the young god tried to picture the scene. An all-consuming fire, a terror destroying all in its path. Involuntarily, he yelped, covering his eyes with his paws. Beating back the fear, he let the scene run its course, looking for something to help reverse the horror. Fury rising out of the ground, razing all greenery with flame...he could see the tragedy almost as if he had been there...but how to fix it?
The answer came to him without really thinking consciously about it. The fire had risen from the ground...it was only fitting for the healing to come from the ground, as well.
In front of him, the earth cracked. Slowly, the opening in the earth moved to the sides, revealinga green orb. Opening his eyes, Durenghast picked it up in his mouth, before leaving it down in front of Araiyo.
"Life. You said you represent it, and so this is what will bring what you need back. Place the orb where you consider it most appropriate, and the life that retreated into the earth when the flames rose will return."
With a sigh, Durenghast sat down, once again. The experience had been exhausting, not so much for the creation of the orb as it had been for reconstructing the tragedy. Weakened, he laid there for a moment.
Edit: Apparently, a 3 PP Nourish artifact is most appropriate for this. So count it as an unusable Nourish artifact.
The Edit Strikes Back: ...But it doesn't. So Nourish Land (Greater), 3 PP.
2 PP: (1 from Void Matrix): Create Void's Embrace, a combat artifact that hides the wearer from senses other than sight.
PP Remaining: 1/7
The Life-Web, a glowing ball of energy, pulsed inside the grip of the Talon Barrier. The barrier was a series of sharp roots that gently held the Life-Web in place. The walls around them were filled with images and writing of the birth of each of these races, and those whom they had met. Brinn explained it as the Wall of Origins, an artifact that granted the power to create races with ease.
Across the Wall, many lines of a pure golden color formed, vibrating. For a moment, it seemed as if the Wall would break. Eventually, however, the movement stopped. However, a vague pattern had formed across the Wall, its meaning not quite discernible, but its presence unmistakable nonetheless.
Embarrassed by his clumsiness, Durenghast turned toward his mother, seeking to apologize, but before he could speak. he saw a figure standing in front of him...which then disappeared. A few seconds afterwards, it appeared again, this time with many more figures by its side. Their height ranged from a few inches to seven feet tall, and all their body was a mixture of pale white and sky blue. With each appearance and disappearance, a slight glow seemed to emanate from them, as pale as they were.
The first looked around.
"Where am I? Who am I?", it said, confused, it's voice quivering. As it spoke, it disappeared for a far longer period, before reappearing again, panting. Several of its brethren acted similarly, reappearing after some time.
Shocked, Durenghast couldn't answer. All he could do was watch the creatures, stunned.
The dark shadow flitted through existence, flipped between planes and places as fast as one might flip through the pages of a book, looking, searching, hunter, digging, seeking the object which it sought, until it finally slipped into a crevice deep within the chaos, finding the otherwise unremarkable gray stone deep within it, lying where it had been dropped.
Holding the Primordial Eye close, he slipped from reality again, seeking the perfect place to use it.
-----
With a lilting laugh, the orb circled Ravnos. "Now, now, now, did I ever say I was a god, dear Ravnos? One who values knowledge shouldn't be so quick to jump to conclusions, should they?"
The glow dispersed once more into the room, tinting it in violet once more. "I suppose, if it would make you poor sorrow-filled creatures more comfortable, I could acquire a bit of divine spark for myself. Is that what you want?" it cooed into Ravnsos's ear.
-----
From the sky high above, a shooting star descended from the heavens, the air burning and churning around it as it rocketed ground ward towards the Grotto. At the last moment, just before a potentially fatal impact with Brinn and Durenghast, the flaming sphere pulled up short, unfurling into a phoenix as it landed lightly on the ground before the goddess.
For a brief moment, it met eye contact with here, a silent pulse of mental energy seeming to indicate greetings, an empathic feeling of greeting, rather than any word or telepathy. With it's unblinking molten orbs never breaking contact with Brinn's eyes, it lowered it's head slightly in what was unmistakably a bow.
-----
With a ferocious roar, flaming mist burst from within Sku'byss, surrounding the hateful little god-ling, tinting all within his vision in shades of red, darkening and deepening as he thought his dark thoughts. For a long moment, the haze floated inert within the void, then as suddenly as it came, it gathered itself into an orb of the purest crimson, lying contentedly before the god-ling. Even as he watched it, Sku'byss cold feel it's presence subtly amplifying his hatred and anger.
With a deep hissing voice, it called to him. "Sku'byss. He who hates. You called me forth to this realm, and I feel your rage."
-----
High above the Grotto, invisible to the naked eye, a misty black cloud coalesced among the other clouds in the area. Floating still despite the strong wind, it watched the peaceful creatures below, contentedly enjoying their safety, safety brought t them by Brinn's efforts. By the goddess who hated him, and despised his existence.
Feeling an upwelling of anger, he lets the power flow, warping and altering the area . Influenced by his fury, the air darkened and the cloud cover thickened, blotting out the light of the distant sun. Feeling the surge of per as those below felt their unconscious fear of darkness, he coalesced into a solid orb of purest night, the Primordial Eye suspended before him. In a single moment, the world shifted, and the storm broke.
With an unrestrained power, the sky unleashed it's fury sending lightning dancing throughout the sky, and water flooded down in torrents. As the sky vented his rage on the lands below him. Thunder rolled through in an unrelenting avalanche, shaking and twisting the ground itself. And amid it all, the wind screamed with inaudible words a single phrase, repeated over and over in an endless loop, burning into the minds of those beneath the storm. "Why do you hate me?"
Within the calm center high above, he opens the floodgates of the Primordial Eye into the Grotto and it's surrounding area. In a single instant, the earth creaked and groaned, trees twisted and bent, and the flow of water altered and redirected. And then, as suddenly as it had come, the storm came to a halt, the clouds vanishing.
His fury gone, he watched emptily, seeing the signs in ever curve of the rocks, bend of the tree branch, and lap of the water. The subtle echo of terror, just strong enough to alter the perceptions of mortals, but not nearly strong enough to effect a god, unless they were foolish enough to spend several centuries there. For those in the area, they felt a sense of trepidation, as if they knew something terrifying was nearby, but they could not prove it. In everything they saw, they caught hints of something frightening.
But that was not the ultimate price of what he had wrought. The longer one stayed within the area, the more terror that echoed through them, slowly growing strong and stronger until the unlucky creature was doomed to spent eternity in a permanent state of absolute terror.
The orb shivering in ecstasy at the sudden upwelling of fear from those below, and he laughed, dispersing into the wind.
PP Expenditures
3 PP - Ascend Exarch - Unnamed Exarch with Sku'byss. Provides Guide PP.
1 PP (Artifact) - Mold Land (Lesser) - The land around the Grotto, as well as the Grotto itself. Exact effects are within the sblock below.
1 PP - Create Artifact (Lesser) - Traasa Darvii, the Land of Terror. Also to be explained within an sblock below.
4.2/8 + 0/2
[sblock=Mold Land]The effects of this expenditure are almost entirely of a subtle visual
nature. The land was not rearranged, no new mountains or hills, nothing like that.
Basically, patterns in things (the arrangement of rocks on the ground, the way leaves fall
on the ground, the contours of sand after a small wave laps against it, the shapes of shadows
cast by the light, and even colorations and patterns in the fur of animals), subtly suggest
the presence of things the viewer is afraid of. Trees are altered slightly, their branches
more gnarled and twisted, like classic spooky forests. Subtle patterns in the grain of stone
and wood also suggest the presence of fearful things. Basically, living, and even traveling
through the area creates a constant slight sensation of fear.
Worse, all of the above is amplified and reinforced by the new artifact, the Traasa Darvii.[/sblock]
emanates a constant echo fo fear into it's area, amplifying the natural emotion within living
creatures, and even sparking it into existence where it might not otherwise be. As a divine
property, any sort of fear immunity or resistance does not function within the radius of the
Traasa Darvii.
Beyond the emanations that evoke fear, the Traasa Darvii enhanced the effects of the Mold Land
made in this post, and reinforce it's effects in such a way that is the patterns and changes are
altered (cutting trees down and bringing new ones in from outside the radius, moving rocks from
their pattern, pushing sand around, the Trassa Darvii will subtley alter the outcome or interloping
trees to conform to the fear effect.
Finally, the Trassa Darvii effects will cause craftsmen (blacksmiths, carpenters, gilders, and such)
to unknowingly include similar fearful patterns and subconcious cues in their work.
The new creations weren't quite so prepared for what had happened. In a panic, they all vanished simultaneously, disappearing instantly.
"With such subterfuge, you ground the corruption within the forest god's own creation, placing blame soley on itself for it's actions. Corruption is brought to the green planet, and your hands are not responsible. To speak plainly, you may have unlocked the door, but you did not rob the home."
"Come, godling. Give me a taste of your power, len me divinity, that I might take form and show you."
But Cru loved stories, oh how he adored them. He loved to invent different ones in his head, and often went into the forest near where he lived to find materials to stage the stories. And on this day, this perfect day, while his mother and brother were off exploring the distand kingdom of Verda, Cru was staging a particularly dramatic piece of theatre. Over the years Cru had become quite a skilled mask maked and often made new ones for different occasions, never allowing anyone to see what lay beneath the mask of course. Today he wore a mask depicting a shining knight. Carved to depict a helmetted head, the mask was painstakingly detailed, one of Cru's more realistic works. On hand he also had a mask showing a cruel and cunning goblin, and a vicious dragon. this particular play was rather complicated for a young child's game, and it involved betrayal, love, and redemption. Cru's only friend, a lifeless ragdoll named Elle, played the part of the princess,, and was placed at the top of the tallest tree Cru could find, and subsequently climb.
With the damsel in her lofty perch, Cru began to play out the drama that beset the other three characters. The Knight, most valiant and bold, obviously wanted to rescue the princess. The dragon, however, jealously guarded its prize, while the goblin backstabbed anyone who was stupid enough to trust it. Often in stories such as these, Cru was forced to bring in woodland creatures to have cameo appearances as guards, or merchants, or ignorant townsfolk. These appearances were always short-lived as Cru tended to drive them off. But Cru was too envelloped in the drama to really care. Eventually, a full-blown fight broke out, and the mask-changing became a frenzied rush. His swordswings and dramatic leaps soon carried him far from his home. The goblin had decided to scale the tower, and now held the princess in his pointy teeth while he rushed away, dragon and sir knight in hot pursuit.
Then he saw it. A shining circle, roughly a metre in diameter hovering above the path, perpendicular to the ground: it was beautiful. It shimmered in the cool breeze whispering through the trees. Cru stared up at it, awestruck. He reached out a hand to touch it, and it rippled like the surface of a pond. He let out an amazed sort of sigh, and stepped right up to it, the point of his stubby little goblin nose nearly touching it. And then he stepped though, and emerged...
In a different world...
3 PP given to the weird angry exarch.
The boy stepped into the new world,and found himself on a sunny path, just enough trees nearby to provide a pleasant shade for those who felt too hot. A new world, ready for him to explore, discover, and travel on his patchwork legs, new stories to hear, and new things to see, away from his mother for the first time. And all around, he encountered something different from his home on Renissa. In this world, everything was blue.
Or so it seemed. As he took it all in, the blue drew into a small sphere in frount of him, it's cheerful voice resounding through the clearing. "Hello. Tell me your name."
-----
It growled in displeasure at the purple sphere, mumbling something about sorrow as the stream wrapped around it, purple rapidly disolving into red. With a howl of fury, the thing red line drew back them pierced the sphere, sending it flying into Verda, landing in a distant forest, far from the Grotto.
-----
The spirit dshed through the forst, ducking behind bushes, leaping up trees, and generally moving at a break-neck pace as it fled from the spirit behind it.
As it hurled itself from the topmost branch of the tree, another spirit burst from the foliage behind it. Realizing his mistake at the last moment, the fox squirrel spirit groaned in dissapointment as the bird spirit chasing him took to the air, easily catching him, them making for the ground.
"Caught you, Saka."
"I know, Khaga, I know."
As they both landed, they dissolved into laughter at their simple game of tag. Resting from their exertions, they both started in surprise as a small stone fell from the sky, landing nearby. "Wonder what that was."
Intrigued, they moved closed. Saka, picked it up, and his eyes blowed slightly as he turned to his friend. "What ever it is, I like it." For the longest moment, he held the stone in his mouth, savoring it's odd flavor. "Here, Khaga."
Khaga took it from his friend, feeling the warm pulse run through him as he tasted the sugary stone. "You're right. What a pleasant sensation."
The stone, sensing the presences, pulsed once, then rolled from the bird spirit's beak. By the time it struck the groun, no primal spirits remained within the clearing.
A new breed of creature now roamed Verda.
PP Expenditures
3 PP - Ascend Exarch - Unnamed Exarch with Cru
3 PP - Create Artifact (Greater) - The Aberrant Stone (provides Shape PP)
1 PP - Modify Populace - For now, Primal Spirits that encounter the Aberrant Stone are transformed, taking on the form of the Swordwings
0.2/8 + 0/2(3)
Despite being formed by power given by corruption, and being an artifact that corrupts and alters, it does not seem to be made by corruption.
"C-Cru..."
The word escaped almost unwillingly from the boy's unseen mouth, and he giggled nervously into the space left by their passing. Suddenly he was rather self-concious, as if his simple little name wasn't good enough for the bright little thing about him. He pulled Elle closer together, heartened by her close proximity. It gave him the strength to speak once more.
"W-what is your name?" he asked, his voice cleared of some of its anxiety.
Once again, Cru seemed rather amazed that words had passed his lips. Rarely did he ever speak aloud, most of his conversations happening between the characters in his stories, and that was all in his own head. He also seemed rather startled that he even had a speaking partner. The animals on Renissa never spoke, and his mother was often away. But he forced himself to meet the sphere head on. Despite his hesitations, he liked having someone to speak with.
"If you are not god and not mortal, you have no place in this world. What is your Duty?"
Ravnos' fingers unfurled into spikes. There was an anomaly here...
OOC: Sorry its a little late. Just got in. Here's the weekly update/reset.
1.15 PP: Dvrgr(48),Brinn(44),Lohak(43.7),Eshcal(29.1),The Silent One(28.8),Zo-Att(11).
1 PP: The Sculptor(88),Shry(79.4),Nenneve(52),Sku'Byss(42.4),Durenghast(21),Cru(2)
Kel'Zora was birthed into the roiling turmoil of the Elemental Chaos, beset by the wild elements that were nearly out of control. This was unacceptable to Kel'Zora. Without even thinking he knew he existed to bring Balance, and the chaotic out of control nature of the elements here defied his very reason for existence. It would not remain so.
Reaching out Kel'Zora felt his tenuous control over water, and was displeased. This was something he was supposed to have mastery over, and yet it resisted him. This would not do. Pulling the water to him Kel'Zora bound it and it brought it to heel. The water thrashed and struggled against his control, and so he forced it into conformity, he made it into ice. Now it would serve him. He shaped the ice, changing it to his desires and creating with it an image of beauty and craftsmanship. He chipped away at the ice, hewing it and molding it, until his creation stood complete.
A vast city of ice stood, bold and unchanging against the everchanging state of the Chaos. It was a thing of wonder. The bottom of it was totally smooth, and on top a vast array of towers and buildings stood. In the center of it all was a fortress, with thick walls and unrelenting battlements that glittered and practically shone. Kel'Zora ascended this new marvel, and from the walls of his new home pulled forth a great axe. Forged of ice, Kel'Zora hardened and strengthened it further, turning it as black as his skin and twice as solid, and so was born his mighty weapon, Black Ice.
Kel'Zora sat upon his rigid throne, in a grand hall that overlooked the harrowing depths of the Elemental Chaos. Some the elements were more controlled than others, and as Kel'Zora looked out he saw fire raging out of control. He would quell the rebellious flame like he had the waters. But he could not turn flame solid, it was a thing of light and life, but also of destruction and rage. Kel'Zora would need to quench as much as quell the raging infernos. To this end, he called forth the water once more. Subdued, it answered his summons and he once more shaped it. This time, however, he made not ice and sculptures, but formed it into living beings.
Kel'Zora pointed his axe at the unending fires without, and his city began to move towards them. When it drew near, the Archons charged fearlessly into the flames, combating it and beating it until it was a simmering ember of it's previous fierceness. As Kel'Zora looked out, he saw so much of the uncontrolled water and fire, and knew his duty. He would make this place balanced once more, even if he had to do it one heedless torrent and unthinking brushfire at a time.
PP expenditure
0PP=6PP
-3PP Claim Domain (Greater): Ice
-1PP Mold Land (Lesser): City of Ice
-2PP Spawn Beast (Moderate): Water Archon (Divine Servants)
Behind her, the spirits and dragons had panicked, the sudden onslaught of the storm and darker aspects around them sending them into a fright. Or was that it...? Storms were not so bad, after all. Was there a divine at work here? She looked at the phoenix, yet knew it was not the cause of this.
"Who are you, phoenix?," she asked of it, hoping it might be able to enlighten her.
PP: 2/7 + 2/2 + 1/1
"He lies with his mother, among his aunts, hidden away. Within the depths of stone. Surrounded by the fury of flames. Concealed by the flows of water, and suspended by the power of wind. He is within the Elemental Chaos."
"Well of course you have a name silly," he said in the slow, deliberate tone of one pointing out the painfully obvious, "What did your mommy name you?"
For a second he considered the vague impossibility that this thing didn't have a mommy. He had to laugh out loud again at that. But though outwardly it appeared as though the idea was completely ridiculous and nonsensical, a tiny little voice at the back of his head wondered if it was true. The boy shiverred suddenly at the terrible implications. No, it couldn't be, everything comes from somewhere, and that somewhere always gives that something a name. It was always like that, and it would always be like that. Still, no amount of logical reasoning could help him shake that nagging doubt. What if he'd stumbled upon something different, something special? What if, when he stepped through the circle, everything had changed? One thing was for sure. This was going to prove an amazing story.
All about, the elements hummed and purred in contentment, evens an equals, infused wth Lohak's power. But not all was calm. Upon closer inspection, the air cared a faint foul scent, the flames seemed to burn with less heat, the water stagnant, and the earth rotted. Without it's master to hold it together, the place was beginning to collapse in on itself.
In the distance, above it all, a single building stood tall above it. "That, mistress, is the Tomb of Gods, built by Lohak to contain the remains of those who had fallen. He lies within."
-----
The blue orb transformed, becoming a long stream of blue light that circled around the young godling. "No, no, I have no mother. I have not father. And I have no name."
+7 (7 new days)
2 PP guide populace & 3 PP guide populace: Some of the Digger Trolls learn to make pitfall traps to capture and eat Dhorem. They form a nation called Morsinfra.
1 PP nourish populace: The Morsinfra.
1 PP de-nourish populace: The Dhorem.
0/7
Brinn nodded and started within the tomb, looking around at the elements and the tomb itself. This place must have been one Lohak built and enjoyed himself, at home with the elements.
Verda
Ankirega could feel the twisted life in the forest, and more specifically this area. He sniffed curiously, a sickly rotten smell coming to his nose. The forest was not rotten, or dead...but changed. Something had happened, and neither him nor Brinn would have done such a thing. Turning to the Life-Web, he stepped into it's glowing embrace and gave himself to it, seeking the source of the problem.
"Of course you have a name!" cried Cru, in a rather louder voice than he had deigned to use previously, "Your name is Sphere."
But then his stance faltered as he considered for a moment some unforeseen variable. The sphere wasn't a sphere anymore, it was a streak of light. So what was it now, a sphere, or a streak? Or was it maybe a light? Cru was confused now, and all muddled in his ponderings of names. Finally, he decided to take a stand, and, just as he had named Elle, he decided to name the sphere. What else had the sphere always been, even now when it was a streak? What had always defined it, made it special? And then it hit him.
"No!" shouted Cru triumphantly, still louder than before, "You are Blue!"
Then the little god giggled at all the rhyming possiblities this presented. Oh how he loved stories that rhymed.
"Cru, Blue," laughed the boy, mostly to himself.
As the spirits approched Seyshite, they saw the crude wooden barricades meant to keep unwanted visitors away. Blood could be seen on the barricades and in the ground, as if battles had occured here recently. Noticing new arrivals, the sentries aimed their arrows at the intruders. A moment later, a drow woman with two eladrin guards climbed down the barricade to meet the spirits.
"I am Aila, captain of the guard. Why are you here?"
+3.15PP new days
[6.15/8]
-----
As Ankirega slipped into the Life-Web, he became away of someting hiding within the forest. An unknown spirit, watching and waiting.
-----
Athe light shivered and shook a bit as he laughed. "I see. You may have called me forth, but even in this, I must seek what I wish. Blue shall do, my young friend, Blue shall do."
Flowing Current...well, flowed around Aila, curious as to the dark elf. "Hello, Aila!, Hello! I'm Flowing Current, want to be my friend, want to be?"
In the Circle of Life, a.k.a. Life-Web, a.k.a Verda
Ankirega saw within the web another being... what was it doing here? This was the very life of the planet! "Who are you, intruder?," he asked, approaching it in the glowing green of the psyhcadelic hippy-trip.
The Heart of Chaos
Brinn gasped in true overreactant fashion, screaming "Noooooooooo!" at the top of her lungs at the sight of her dead father. "So, it's true...," she muttered softly as she looked at the dust. She closed her eyes, thinking of her grandfather, her father-in-law, and the things they had done. "Lohak...are you really gone?"
-----
As she watched the dust, it seemed to stir faintly, shifting on the stone. As she watched, the color seemed to drain out of room, leaving everything covered and concealed by a gray fog that hung thickly in the air.
Flowing Current stopped moving abruptly, confused. "Demons, you say?, Demons? They were destroyed, were? We've come to be friends!"
Heart of Chaos
Brinn stared at the moving dust, hope stirring in her. Could it be that Lohak was not truly dead? She looked at the phoenix, not daring to hope. "You said somebody brought him here, do you know who?"
"We'd be glad to help, glad to!" Flowing Current said, a stream of water indicating the various dragons and spirits nearby. "Demons are evil, you see, very evil!"
Ankirega moved up to stand next to the spirit, growling slightly. "Feeding on fear? Are you the one who brought this storm and change upon The Grotto?"
"The increase in Rimeshadows means that Yrie is weak!"
"But think of what it means we're facing! Do we really want to make enemies with whatever is the basis for our Bloodslaughter brethren?"
"Lord Fulrit will lead us to victory, wait for his return!"
"All hail Lord Fulrit!"
The malevolants begrudgingly came to a consensus: scouts were sent through the Whispergate to Yrie, hoping to determine what could be killing so many Dhorem.
------------------------------------------
Fulrit had grown bored of the Gigotaur. After watching their conflict week after week, it became clear that the gigotaurs did not adapt or change tactics. The strict adherance to some "code" meant that they were predictable, and ultimately would seem to be unable to muster a unified front.
Bored, he continued to prowl Verda's forests. He eventually stumbled upon Seyshite, where he was driven away with arrows. He lurked around the settlement for several days, watching warily as a delegation of spirits approached the alabaster and ebony skinned longears.
-----
"I am. I did this to speak to grandmother in a way she must understand. I seek to know, to discover the truth. Why does she hate me?"
"When Lohak...chose this?"
Verda
Ankirega looked curiously at the being. "You did this to get Brinn's attention? She has left to find the truth of her grandfather's death, and left me to see to the cause of the changes. Why do you believe her to hate you?"
"When Bel and Hrinori died, he was confused. He couldn't understand. He lost himself, first in the horrible sorrow of the deaths, then terror that he had some how caused it. Screaming at it all, he became angry at them both, yet desired them to live once more. Confused and overwhelmed, he gave up. He decided that he we finished with this world. He gave me a single message to seek you out, then embraced death with all of his will."
-----
"She hates me. She lashes out at me with painful weapons and screams at me to leave. Perhaps now she will tell me why,"
- - - -
"When did this happen?," Ankirega asked, confused.
She led them inside the town, and showed the spirits the customs of their civilization. All with a cordial tone, since they were 'friends' now.
2PP - Guide Populace - Seyshite has trade with the grotto
[4.15/8]
-----
"Before I came here, before she came here. In the place known as Renissa, where I was born of her son. That was where she chose to hate me. That was where sh echose to harm me."
- - - -
Renissa...how did this spirit know of it? "Who are you, spirit? Where did you come from?"
-----
A hollow laugh echoed through Ankirega. "I am Terror."
- - - -
Ankirega laughed. "Terror? Wait...was there a small god when you approached Brinn?," Ankirega asked, suspecting what had happened.
And then he felt something. Another divine had entered the Chaos. Kel'Zora was curious. He knew other divines existed, and he would like to meet some, but he was busy in the Chaos. Well, now he could indulge both desires. He had pointed his vast City of Ice towars the very Heart of Chaos, subduing the elements as he went. Finally he bean to reach the Heart. The Elements here seemed already subdued, though also in decay. As if the elements themselves were dying here.
-----
Terror chuckled, "Yes, yes, my 'father', the godling who called me into this world once I was given life. Durenghast."
-----
"Call me? A name, you seek? I will not speak my name, Sku'byss. But you can feel my tenrils seeping though you, ytristing your guts. Surely you know my name. Surely, you can say it."
- - -
Brinn smiled somewhat as the dust responded. "Then tell me, who speaks to me now? Lohak, you have many people who depend on you! Your children, Grawlf, and those races of Avanii. Will you abandon us all for your loss? We must remember those who have passed, and strive on. Beauty in this universe is far and between, surely you have not forgotten the call of creation and life!"
It's laughter echoed through the void. "Yes, Hatred, the Sovereign of Hatred. I feed and grow stronger in it's presence."
-----
"Yes, yes, I felt her fear, here terror, and I grew strong on it, and I explained it to here. Yet she hates me."
------
The mono tone continue as the dust on the rock stopped shifting. "He cannot hear you, Brinn. All he feels, hears, and obeys now is apathy. He has forsaken it all."
The grey fog quivered slghtly, but did not approach. "Excuse me if I don;t come closer and speak to you more personally, but I find I don't care either. I won't name myself, though if you choose to, feel free."
- - - -
"There is nothing more important to Brinn than her family, her friends," Ankirega replied. "When you frighten them ,you frighten her. It is the nature of all life to strike at those who threaten them. Perhaps you are terror, perhaps not. Yet you know more than you should. Who are you, 'Terror', in truth? To know of Renissa, Verda, and to be inside this Life-Web, the culmination of Brinn's hopes? Only a handful know of that plane, and I doubt that any child would create a monster out of their nightmares. If you wish for Brinn's love, then you must apologize for causing Durenghast to fear. If you wish for her hate, then you likely have it."
Despite being at a disadvantage, the Zo-Attian foulspawn's devotion to the God of Destruction was fierce. As their numbers lowered, they prayed to their God for help overcoming the heathens. Their prayers were answered as their minds were touched with knowledge of special entiteties. The foulspawn traced symbols on the ground, and from them, demons enterred the world. Forces to supplement their army. It was time to even the scales
3 PP - Guide Populace - The foulspawn worshipping Zo-Att learn to summon demons.
-Fantasy Tech
[1.15/8]
The Foulspawn still loyal to the Lord of Corruption on Kahnda were the ones now fighting an up hill battle. Those serving Destruction could now summon demons... and the other Foulspawn only had the Tyrant, who, despite his divine gifts, was but one Foulspawn among many. But then, something happened.
While exploring the mountainous region of Kahnda, The Foulspawn found a mineral... it seemed as a metal, but also crystal... it was a hard metal that constantly was changing shades of purple, one minute it could be light purple, almost pink, the next it could be the darkest shade, nearly black. Regardless, the metal, or crystal, was both strong and sharp. The Foulspawn quickly learned to mine and shape it, and then turned it against those who had turned from the worship of the Corrupt Lord.
1 PP Nourish Land: Kahnda has a new, purpilish, weird, metal crystal mineral, unnamed as of yet.
2+1 PP Guide Populace (1 from the Tyrant): The Foulspawn worshipping Sku'Byss can mine and make use of the weird crystal mineral.
The Silent One had been paying little attention to the sorrow filled orb. It was irritating, and it kept dredging up... things he'd be much happier leaving in the depths of his mind. The Sculptors death, his forced exile, being created purely by accident instead of through conscious intent like most other gods (that one really stung...). But his attention was riveted on the monstrosity he'd created before him, nothing but savage hunger and brute force. That was enough in most cases, but it seemed... incomplete for the task he'd set it. Like it was only one side of a coin. It was too... animalistic. It would fall to any populace that fought it with even a iota of wit. It needed something to guide it. Something cunning. Something wicked.
Taking the beast before him, the Silent One crushed it beneath his hands, compacting it and shifting it around until it was a smaller and somewhat less dangerous looking creature. You would never not guess the two creatures were related, but this beast was vaguely humanoid in appearance, and seemed to exude a feeling that it did what it did not just to survive, but for the pleasure of doing so. The Silent One, never being one for fanciful names, decided to name it the World Eater Sovereign. A race of monstrous creatures that possessed the innate ability to command their World Eater servants like puppets, or simply be able to point them in the direction they want them to slaver and devour.
"I hunger," it said simply, licking it's long tongue over it's sharp teeth.
"I know," the Silent One replied. "You'll feed soon enough. Just remember this day, and that you were born of the Pantheon of Darkness. Worship them, and devote every region, continent and world you scour clean of life in your hunger in their honour."
"So it will be," it replied with a small bow. "Now, I must return to the spore cloud of my servants, so that I may lead them when they come to meal."
"So be it," the Silent One replied, blowing on the creature. This caused it to billow out in a cloud of spores, each spore being another of it's kind, before the spores blew out into the void to join their less intelligent counterparts.
1PP - Modify Spawn into populace - Create the World Eater Sovereigns from the World Eaters, intelligent creatures that command the World Eaters with powerful telepathy and join them in devouring everything they encounter. Their life cycle is identical to the World Eaters themselves, though they usually just have the World Eaters bring them their food rather than going out and devouring it themselves.
[1/7, 1/1 bonus, 2/2]
Looking at them, he felt guilty. The creatures were there due to his folly, and now they were terrified and confused. His mother and Ankirega were dealing with other matters. It was down to him to pacify the creatures, and make sure nobody was harmed until they returned.
Concentrating, his form changed. After a moment, Durenghast no longer had the form of a wolf: now, he looked not unlike the creatures, though half of his body was golden, instead of sky blue.
"Stop.", He said, calmly, even though every nerve on his body was prepared to run. Surprised, the creatures froze.
"You asked who you were, did you not?", he spoke, looking at the creature that had uttered the question. Taking a step back, not knowing what to expect, the creature nodded.
"I...I do not know the answer to that.", the god started. "But I do know how you came to be. Look at that wall.", he said, gesturing towards the Wall of Origins. Overcoming their fear momentarily, the creatures gazed at the wall, not quite sure of what to expect.
"Do you see what is imposed over the images?", Durenghast asked. Some of the creatures nodded, while others shook their heads. another group just continued to stare intently.
"That wall keeps a record of the origins of each race. That pattern is you.", he explained.
The creatures were still confused. Not understanding what the other being meant, several raised their voices:
"But what does that mean?"
"Why are you telling this to us?"
Raising a hand, Durenghast used the time it took the creatures to calm down to think. As he did so, several of the creatures once again blinked and disappeared, reappearing after a moment. His curiosity sparked, Durenghast asked:
"Why do you disappear? Can you do it at will?"
As a response, several of the creatures vanished. Stepping towards them, Durenghast touched the spots where they had last been, finding nothing. It wasn't just a way to hide, it seemed.
"Hmm...odd. Where do you go when you vanish?", he asked, once the volunteers had returned.
"I don't know.", one of them said. "I just...I...", he struggled to find the words.
"What does it look like? Perhaps we can learn more about your identity that way."
"It's...nothing. There's nothing there.", the creature said.
"Nothing? ...Disappear once again, please.", Durenghast asked, as he wracked his brains. Obediently, the creature vanished. Once it was gone, Durenghast focused, trying to bring it to him. To his surprise, nothing happened. Once the creature had reappeared, the god turned to a nearby rock. At his command, it flew towards his hand.
"...You should have come to me.", he said, meditatively. "And yet, you didn't. It's as if you're not bound in the same way the rest of the world is."
Not bound...that seemed oddly appropriate. Perhaps that name would suffice for now...
"Listen to me.", he said, his voice growing louder. A little frightened, the creatures looked at him. "It seems I cannot affect you, like I can affect the rest of the world. My power doesn't bind you. You are free as few others are. For that reason, I will call you The Unbound Ones. That is who you are, who you will be. Remember that."
Excited, the creatures talked with each other. They had a name now. They were still confused about the place where they were, and rather scared about it, but at least they knew themselves a little now.
"I must leave." Durenghast said, as he prepared to depart. "There are other races nearby, who are just as confused as you are. But I will return. Until then, wait for me here."
With that, Durenghast disappeared, blinking just like the creatures had. Outside The Grotto, he looked around, and prepared himself for his duty of helping the people who lived nearby recover from the disaster that had struck.
Sku'Byss said to his companion, Hatred, "I will be right back... there is some bussiness I do intend to take care of."
With that, he headed towards that chaotic plane where he had left his heart in the first place. After a while of searching, he could actually sense that his artifact WAS here... perhaps his search could be cut short. But, when he arrived at his destination, he rethought his stratagem.
The fact that other gods were there did not bother him. What bothered him was the fact Brinn was there. He shrugged to himself. Perhaps if he made himself scarce, he could creep his way in and grab his heart. In fact, he started to just that, as he tried to sneak in past Brinn.
"Sku'byss."
And so with a calm mind Kel'Zora walked into the monolithic Tomb of Gods, Black Ice held firmly in his grip. He walked boldly and with assurance up the steps, his dark, smooth Basalt cape trailing behind him and his stone feet tapping on the floors of the Tomb. After a short time he reached the place of Brinn, and the resting place of Lohak, though he did not recognize the full significance of the ash-on-stone. He saw too the second god, and so he addressed both. For the first time, Kel'Zora spoke, though he had no mouth. His voice was a howling gale force wind, and the soft breeze of a spring day. His body was Stone, and his voice was Wind. "Who are you divine? What is your business in Chaos?"
"Your Duty is to exist? Nonsense. Clearly, you feel your duty is to annoy us all with your prattling. I will note that you still have not said my true name, nor have you made any suggestions of merit. Whatever you are, you are not a God and therefore do not belong here.
Leave."
~Vok~
Samples of a number of different types of creatures had made their way back to Vok, carried back by the mature forms of the hunters. There, they had been set upon by the Vokdarans, who devoured them and began to change, each one incorporating key elements of the consumed being. Meanwhile, the Vok'Dar looked on eagerly, guiding the natural adapability of their unsapient brethren. Eventually, they managed to create a new type of Vokdaran. Looking like a large, scaly amoeba with wings, the eyeless, legless, mouthless blob looked repulsive, but not necessarially dangerous. That would be a mistake, as the blob when it neared a creature would sprout dozens of sharp hollow spines, which would puncture the target and extract its essence for absorbtion by the Vokdaran collective back on Vok. They called it the Vokdaran Harvester, and sent it out into the universe to bring them back new things to experiment with.
3 PP: Spawn Template: Vokdaran-assimilated: Creatures assimilated by the Vokdarans recieve this template.
2 PP: Spawn Creature (paragon)
okdaran Harvester. Works like a hunter to return DNA and evolution essences to Vok.0/7+1/1+2/2(guide,nourish,create,shape)
Sku'byss froze. "Well, hello there sister... funny to meet you here. I haven't seen you in a while have I..." Sku'Byss laughed nervously.
- - - -
Araiyo returned to the Grotto, having temporarily lost her way in the sudden shifts and storm. "Durenghast? Where is everyone, what's happened?," she asked.
"Of course. Most of those in the area around here have fled, something seems to have frightened them in this general area." Araiyo looked in at the Life-Web, curious as to Ankirega's search. Why would he enter the Web? She shook her head. It didn't really matter. "The people are hardy, we've lived through worse. Likely someone or something has worked to change this area, perhaps as an attack, I have no way to know. Your Orb worked well, by the way; much of the dead land has healed. Thank you."
Heart of Chaos
Brinn sighed. "I expected as much. You follow your nature, as we all do." She turned to the newcomer and nodded. "Yes, we are siblings, in that my father is his father. Lohak is..." she paused, but figured it could not much hurt. "Lohak is gone for the time being, though his exarch here remains, and perhaps another.," she answered, gesturing to the phoenix and platform behind her. She looked directly at her opposite god, then. "Sku'byss, if you will swear to leave me and mine alone, I will have no qualm with you. However, I am just as dedicated to my path as you yours."
Kel'Zora looked to the ashes and the exarch and thought for a moment. "Is that why this place is so sheltered from the uncontrolled fury shared by most of the Chaos?"
Sku'Byss sighed and said, "Well, in that case, then I you already have qualm with me... anyway, I was here to retrieve an artifact of mine from another god... I do believe that god is this Lohak... As you said, he is not here at the moment, but I do want my artifact back."
Brinn shook her head. "I do not know anything about this place, newcomer. However.. If Lohak took something from you, Sku'byss, I see no reason to give it back; if it was even yours to begin with. I may tolerate you, Corrupter, but I do not trust you. This is Lohak's resting place. If anywhere is subject to his will, this is."
Verda
Araiyo looked curiously at him. "No, I don't know anything about it. I just returned and found the land deserted by animal and people alike. Why do you ask?"
Laughing slightly, Araiyo agreed. "Be my guest, though I don't know if anyone would have any more ideas than we do."
Heart of Chaos
Brinn gave a slight smile, amused by Sku'byss despite herself. "You're quite right, I wouldn't. Out of curiousity, what have you done recently? Ankirega tells me he saw you over the new planet...what was it, Kahnda?"
Eventually, he came across a group of spirits. Blinking into existence besides them, he said: "I need your help. Were you present when the Grotto was attacked?"
"Y..yes?," replied the frightened spirits. At his request, they told him about the sudden feeling of fear and anger they'd felt, the fear the very trees and earth around them invoked. Everything was darker, more sinister. It was almost maddening to stay in the area.
Taking Araiyo aside, Durenghast whispered. "This is not natural. The spirits are in harmony with the world. Fear is not an emotion they should be feeling while at a font of life. Something's off here."
- - - -
Araiyo's eyes widened. "You're right! While I imagine the divinity Ankirega gaves me protects me, these normal spirits should not fear anything...unless the land did itself. They might fear for the land, but a senseless fear...? Do you have idea what might have caused it? You seem to have an idea..."
"...When I was a child, a being came to Renissa. It was a terrifying creature, a monster. It claimed to be fear itself. Mother, seeing me so scared, went into a rage, which only served to frighten me more. Eventually, I run away, looking to hide...just like the spirits have.
That being...it claimed that I was responsible for its existence. If so, my presence here has brought it...and I have made a terrible mistake. We need to find the source of the spirits' fear. Otherwise, I shudder to think what might happen to the Grotto."
- - - -
Araiyo looked seriously at Durenghast. "Then, if it's here...that would be where Ankirega left to. The Life-Web." She smiled. "We are in good hands, Durenghast, no not fear."
PP: 2/7 + 2/2 + 1/1
The fog remained silent for the longest time, before finall speaking again. "Really now, so many gods come to distrub the sleep of the dead? Please leave the dead to rest, and me to enjoy the silence."
-----
"You think I am ignorant, wolf? I know what frightens Brinn. I AM FEAR! I could feel it within her, growing with every moment."
Glancing over, he felt a familiar essence. "It seems the frightful child has come to us, Ankirega."
-----
The Sovereign expanded the circling, entwinning around the Silent One as well as Ravnos. "Annoy you? Perhaps, but only i you are easily annoyed. And no one has asked me for any suggestions. As for leaving, I find myself doubting you have the power to enforce such an edict, knowledge."
Slowly the purple line coalesced into a ball once more. "Still, you seem so insistent that only gods matter, so I uppose I should become one, if only to annoy you. There is an unused spark of divinity loose in the universe after all. Dear old Lohak was so eager to snuff his own spark, but he failed, and could only cast it aside."
The air in the room seemed to ripple as threads of divine essence poured in from the world beyond, gathering around the floating lavender orb. More and more, the power gathered until the light was blinding.
When the light faded, no colored orb remained, but instead was a women dressed in lavender and violet robes, watching them. She offered a sardonic grim as she slipped over t Ravnos, leading close to his head to whisper. "There. I am a god now. Does that make you happy?"
The Silent One frowned at the woman... she still exuded such irritating sorrow, but she was definitely a god now. There was no question to that. Just what she was a god OF if she merely claimed a dead spark was beyond him though, or even if she counted as a god in a technical sense.
"Lohak's spark has been severed from his body?" the Silent One asked. "How... intriguing. I suppose that since you claimed his spark, that would make you Lohak now. At least in a technical sense. Never the less, I could use more gods in my council, even ones with a complicated nature such as yourself... given, made, or stolen, a divine spark is a divine spark."
***
The spores floated through the void, carried on winds that did not exist. Did the spores propel themselves, only seeming to be swaying in a breeze? Were they buffeted by the forces exuded from the worlds and creatures that dotted the universe? Or did they follow the very leylines of creation, that not even the gods could detect? Who knew. The spores certainly didn't. But they blew through the void, and eventually... found a world.
History would suggest that the spores would take root on Verda. But this time, it was spared yet another disaster. Nor was the world it landed on Yrie, torn by war and divine strife. Nor Lor'quhan, still recovering from Bel's madness.
No, it landed on what must have been the most inauspicious of worlds. A world that was hardly a world at all. The moon of Yrie.
The spores burrowed deep, deep into the world, falling down as a beautiful shower reminiscent of cheery blossoms falling in the spring. But years later, when the event was all but forgotten, monstrous creatures burrowed out from the earth, controlled by fierce looking sovereigns.
The moon of Yrie was under attack. Not from politics, a god, or anything else. It just happened to be in the path of the World Eaters, who wanted to devour every little thing on it until there was nothing left.
"My brother is dead?" Ravnos spun around to face the orb as its transformation took place. There was no denying the flavor of the spark. It reeked of Creation and the elements. It was assuredly Lohak's spark. The god felt crushing despair wrap around his soul. First his mother, now his brother? Lohak had never been that easy to get along with, but... he was kin, and close kin, at that. If his spark remained there was still hope, although even that brought up a number of difficult questions.
"What do you mean, 'Cast off'? Such an event has never happened before. And you... Sorrow-born one. If you take on Lohak's spark, will you fulfill his duty given to him by our mothers? Will you watch over his children? Or will you steal what was my brother's for your own purposes? The spark you carry will not stand for that and neither will I."
Ravnos looked at his son.
"I understand your desire for allies, Secret-Keeper, but an ally that comes from a theft of this caliber would be abhorrent. What is to stop her from stealing what is yours in the future? Should we not wait for a proper time to give Lohak's spark to a deserving entity rather than allow it to be claimed by the first anomaly that thinks of it?"
"Sister", Ravnos said, turning to the Destroyer. "Will you stand for this? This abomination who stole our Brother's essence to fuel her creation? Should we not be the caretakers of his spirit if he has died?"
Finally, he turned back to the new goddess.
"And you... whatever your name might be. Is Lohak's essence still in his spark? If so, let us speak to him."
"I stand by the facts. I stole nothing, Ravnos. I simply toook that which another had throw away, much as a mortal might cast aside trash. If you want to complain, I suggest you seek out what remains of him and take it up with them. If anything of your dearly beloved brother remains, it would be with those."
"Well, at least he didn't frame someone or blow himself up in the process," the Silent One muttered. Half the gods in existence that had died had done so of their own volition... no, three. The Sculptor could have accepted his help. Could have accepted anyone's help. If she had, she might still be here. She might be able to help him achieve his Dark Pantheon, to share in the power, to- and there that damned sorrow was getting into his head again!
"Look, I don't give a damn about Lohak, but I don't think a mere mortal or whatever you were should have the power to become a god so easily," he argued. "It lessens the auspicious of our divine birthright. Besides, if a non-god becomes a god, does that make them perfect, or are they still flawed? How can we allow an imperfect being divine power? It's madness!"
"I may very well do that. What shall we call you in the meantime, Once-Creation? Once-Lohak is... wordy."
In the Skies above Verda
Chance saw fit to return the divine water droplet to more of its fellows. Its conciousness eagerly spread out, engulfing the available surface area until suddenly -- she knew who she was, she had survived, she had triumphed, she had -- the divine essence gaped in horror as The Gravity Well began to rend her body in twain once more. As the congealed conciousness was cast apart again, the life within called out to what she knew to be closest -- knew from The Gravity Well, even as it rent her back into innumerable pieces.
Brinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!
Silence.
Slipping up to the Silent One, she poked her finger into his chest to accentuate every word. "Do you really think you are perfect? That your have some sort of divine birthright?" No, you are deluded."
Pulling back to straighten her robe, he continued. "Only the fickle whims of fate made you a god, secrets, instead of some mere mortal. Any one of them, given the remotest chance, could succeed in striking you down and taking your position."
"As they say, the higher your rise, the further you fall. And the further the fall, the more painful the loss. You need only ask Lohak. Though, in your case, I suppose you would be better off asking the Sculptor, wouldn't you."
"You're fu-funny," he said between hiccups.
Then, pulling himself into a standing position, he gazed intently out into the dense mass of trees that surrounded him. A sudden urge had come over him. He felt as though he should step boldly into the dark forest like the heroes in his stories. He felt an urge to seek out bold challenges and terrible foes to conquer. He wanted to prove himself.
"So, what do you want to do, Blue?" asked Cru, before descending into another fit of laughter at his terribly clever rhymes.
"I... um... I want to go find mommy," said Cru hesitantly, and for the first time since arriving in this new place, a sense of foreboding shook him and a chill breeze washed over him.
Now he came to realize just how true Blue's words were. Cru was unusual to it, which meant that the sphere was unusual to Cru. Up until now he had thought of it as a friend, just as he thought of everyone he met. Now he wasn't so sure. He pulled Elle closer for comfort and gazed warily up at Blue.
The sphere brightened for the first time from the dark blue tone it had carried. "I see. Something you want. Your mother. Brinn. Forest goddess. She desires your saftey above all else, even her own and the world she cares for. Yes, yes, I think I could take you to here. She is near one of my kin as we speak."
"Y-yes let's go," he said, nodding slowly, an expression of troubled uncertainty almost undoubtedly lurking beneath his mask.
He didn't know where he wanted to go, he didn't know what he wanted to do. All he did know was that he didn't want to stay here any longer. And he didn't want to spend any more time with this Blue thing than he had to. It was starting to creep him out.
The orb dispersed into a flat circular disk, standing before Cru. "Simply walk through the portal thinking about who you want to see or where you want to go. I will take you there if I can, my friend."
With lightning-quick hands he swapped his knight mask for the dragon mask. And before the patiently waiting circle of Blue could react, he turned and ran. Though it was only his tiny feet that pattered away upon the forest floor, Cru imagined that he had powerful muscles propelling himself forward, and soon he was racing along.
"The mighty dragon realized that this was not a battle he could win," Cru mumbled to himself as he ran, "And so he set off into the forest at breakneck speed."
And as the little god wove the story with his mind and with his words, so it came to be. Though his appearance changed not one whit, the boundless speed and endurance of a fearsome dragon was bestowed upon him. Now to try flying. He gazed forward and spotted a place where the canopy above broke, just above a rock that would serve as the perfect lanch point. Suddenly nagging doubts bit at the running boy. Would this work? Or would he merely fall upon his soft bottom? But he shook his head clear and replaced the doubts with a story.
"The dragon unfurled its mighty wings as he prepared for liftoff," cried the little boy, heart pounding in his ears.
The rock with the open canopy was approaching swiftly now. Soon he had almost reached it. He placed both feet upon the rock, and with all the strength he could muster, he launched himself into the air, and though no wings unfurled, he knew he was truly flying.
"The dragon leapt into the air," he cried, breathlessly, "And soared straight through the canopy into the sky above."
And that is just what he did. Cru, the tiny god, was now soaring through the sky, Elle dangling from his hand. He dipped and wove through the sky, flying higher and higher with every passing moment. Great verdant expanses shot by below as he was borne upon his imaginary wings.
"And the mighty dragon left his pursuer far behind!"
The eye in the Silent One's chest winced with every prod Sorrow dealt to it, watering and blinking rapidly with each impact. Fortunately each of his eyes was sort of a closed system, so the Silent One felt no pain. Rather, he felt raw fury.
"You... you... you little..." he couldn't even speak eloquently enough to speak a sentence for a few seconds, before he gathered himself together somewhat. "How DARE you! Of course I'm perfect! I'm a god! That's what makes me or anyone else a god! Being perfect, and possessing the power to spread imperfect copies of our perfection upon the world.. that's what a god is. There is no fate but what WE decide! There is no fate for mortals beyond being merely playing pieces in the games of the gods, let alone a chance for them to transcend! And I do not! Intend! To! Fall!"
As if on cue, Ruin got up from his crouched position in the corner, leaning over until his face was but a mere inch from Sorrow's. He then let out a roar that shook the court to it's foundations, the wind more than enough to flay the flesh from a mortals bones with no effort.
***
The World Eaters were undertaking the consumption of Yrie's moon as well as they were able, but they were simply not designed to perform such a task. Sure, they could eat the smaller plants and the animals simply enough, but what of the trees? What of the stones? What of the life on ridges far above their heads? The Sovereigns saw the problem, so retired to discuss it, to research it... and eventually discovered the raw power that was biomancy.
By using the power of biomancy, the World Eater Sovereigns gained the ability to manipulate life, to alter it to their will.. and what better use for it than to modify their World Eaters? To specialize them so they could consume the planet as a whole? Soon, some World Eaters gained axe like noses, perfect for chopping down trees for consumption. Some gained insect like wings, to rule the skies. Some gained gills and fins, to swim underwater. Some gained super hard teeth to munch on stone. Dozens and dozens, then hundreds and hundreds different varieties of World Eater were born, some as subtly different as their color, others so different it was hard to believe they were the same creature.
The swarm became that much more deadly.
2PP + 1 Bonus PP - Guide Populace (World Eater Sovereigns) - Biomancy: The World Eater Sovereigns learn the magic of Biomancy, gaining the ability to alter life as they see fit. They use this power to specialize World Eaters to maximize their potential to devour worlds, and modify them for each world they encounter.
"Silent One, gods are not perfect beings. We die for one, although not necessarily of out own violation. We make mistakes like Lohak's creation of the Void, and My attempting to pull it out of him. We gods are better than most beings, but we do make mistakes. You cannot deny that."
+2 PP: New Days
[2/7 PP]
"Unlike yourself, Silent One, I understand the truth. All things fall, without fail. You will fall, and when you do, for your sake, I hope you have someone to help cushion the fall."
The Silent One's hands tightened into fists of rage at another god taking the opposing side. "Look, so called Sovereign, and lord of dreams... emotions are not imperfections. Nor are mistakes, as we can't make them: mistakes we make are simply unintended exertions of our power that still none the less fold into the fabric of the universe. If a god made a mistake, would it not simply be rejected by the universe and come to nothing? But if they universe accepts it, even if it SEEMS like a mistake, it must simply be unexpected but correct. As for perfect creations.. that's madness. They're not divine, therefore they couldn't be perfect no matter how hard a perfect being tried. Perfection cannot replicate perfection so easily, Sorrow. And even perfection can be shattered, but so far, the only thing I've seen kill a god is another god or themselves, and that backs up the theory that we and we alone control the fate of everything!"
The dark god put a lid on his rage, and forced himself to simply sniff disdainfully. "I have truth in my very essence, spark theif, can you say the same? I have PERFECT truth within me, so I'LL decide what's true or not!"
"Is your truth so perfect, little fool? Or are you simply arguing semantics to protect your self from the truth, decieving yourself in an attempt to prop up your oudated and foolish ideas of what a god should be? And I did not steal this spark. As I said, it was free floating, given away freely by an owner who did not seek it."
She smiled as she watched him. "Do you have any more rubbish to spout at us, master of deception, or are we free to talk or more revelant things, like this ugly brutish beast you have brought here to back your imperfect understanding of existence with brute force?""
"You have truth? Really? You aren't the kind of god who would seem to be the truth-teller. Your domain is hiding things, is it not? How do we know you are not hiding the truth, and tricking us with your words. You say to have discovered this truth yourself. But does it have to be the truth for everyone? Do not some facts cahgne depending on the person in question?"
Since Shry seemed far more amiable than the little worm who kept trying to goad him into doing something rash, the Silent One addressed them first. "I have both truth and lies embedded in my very being," he explained. "I claimed deception for myself, whilst truth was thrust upon me by another, but they are both perfect, and both within me. As for whether truth changed with the person... yes, it does," the Silent One admitted. "But FACTS do not. Verda is Verda no matter how you look at it, stone is hard, water is wet. And gods... are perfect."
Turning onto Sorrow, every one of the Silent One's eyes glared at her. Which, since some of them were bigger than his head, was a disturbing sight. "YOU, on the other hand, I have doubts you're even a god at all. Merely an imperfect, but super powerful mortal who's grown too big for their britches. I don't debate with mortals. Their too insignificant to be given such a high honor. But you do raise one good point: this is not a time to try and argue that perfection is imperfect, and right wrong. Ruin here is a powerful weapon, but as of yet I only plan to use him as defense against the same fate that have befallen other gods. And to lend him to other members of the pantheon to use as they see fit," he added, "but if he's used to kill anyone then take it up with whoever is borrowing him at the time."
She held out her hand, calling forth stone. With her other hand, she reached over to it, pressing softly, watching as it molded under her finger. "Yes, stone is very hard, isn't it you simpering ignoramus? As for Ruin, he is insignificant. There isn't anyone in this room who couldn't take him apart if they wished. Your grand weapon is a waste of space."
"You are afraid to debate me, aren't you, Silent One. Afraid that I'll pierce the carefully constructed facade you've built around yourself as some perfect chess master, moving peices on the board, and reveal that you are simply a spoiled child whose parents should have spent more time keeping their brat in check!'
"Perfection is indeed varied from person to person... thus why they are imperfect. We are each perfect, but in different ways: perfect darkness, perfect creation, perfect destruction, perfect dreams. To people who value what we are perfect as, we are perfect. Those who disdain what we represent falsely believe that just because we're something they oppose, we're somehow flawed. Fools.."
The Silent One again glared at the little cretin. "Afraid? Yes! I'm always afraid! I'm perfect fear! But you just proved my point. Who else but someone overwhelmingly perfect could be so powerful they can change reality so easily? Anyone who was imperfect couldn't perform such a miracle, could they? As for being spoiled, I can assure you, I was anything but... everything I've ever achieved I've had to claw through viscous storms and sharpened stone to get to. And I will NOT have you demeaning everything I've achieved by claiming that just because a god can, with great effort weaken my weapon, it's meaningless!"
The Silent One turned his back on the goddess of Sorrow. "Besides, who are you to judge me? Just what the hell are you? You're nothing. You're a god now perhaps, but you weren't born one. Nor were you born of one as far as I know. You're not a mortal. You're not a god. You're not even an exarch. You're nothing. You're just a niggling sense of doubt in our minds, given form through nothing but chance and the odd feeling thrown your way you can devour greedily. Even now you're prying into our minds, and not because you want to. No, because you HAVE to. We further our own ends for our own reasons, but you're a slave to others sorrow. Doomed to try and bring it out. I bet you don't even know what you want, or what you even are, so I suggest you stay the hell out of my way and stop judging those better than yourself."
She closed her eyes. "And I have not yet begun to pry my talents on your mind, god. When I do, you will know it. Perhaps you would like to stare into the face of sorrow."
When she oened her eyes, they were a pure and brilliant shade of violet, staring at the Silent One, staring into the Silent One, staring through him, peircing him all the way down to his very soul, filling him with pure undiluted sorrow.
The Silent One simply shrugged. "If you have enough poor self esteem or self deprivation to not see your own perfection, that's none of my business. But I won't try and convince you. Once you've played with your mortals long enough, I'm sure you'll realize just how imperfect they are, and how perfect you must be."
Facing again the new 'goddess', the Silent One... chuckled. He was actually mirthful! "I don't expect you to see what I see, but throwing names at me because you don't is hardly the way to be civilized or make your point is it? That stone, by the way, was made especially for trying to disprove my point, and is EXACTLY what my point is.. we're gods. We can do anything. We can even change immutable facts. If we weren't perfect, we'd no doubt misuse our power grossly, correct? And tear the universe asunder each trying to exert our will. But the universe is still here, isn't it? Sure, we have our squabbles, but that's just because we embody different elements. We can respect each other, and work in relative harmony. Only perfection could achieve something so grand without it being torn apart by pettiness."
That was about when the goddess gazed at him with her look of Sorrow. Bringing every little thing that caused him sadness to the forefront of his mind. The Sculptors death. His meaningless and accidental birth. His exiled, where everything he'd had seemed to come to nothing. And then... he realized something. It didn't matter how much those things stung, he had still rissen above them. He'd lost himself before to feelings of rage, or grief, but never had he merely given up like too many gods before him. No, he simply thrust his feelings to the side and continued on. He wasn't some grief filled weakling. He was the Silent One! A surviver. No, THE surviver! The only god to survive such a brutal assault, have his very world swallowed, be forced into exile, have to masquerade under another name, to scrap through existence in the shadow just to avoid the threat of death, and he was STILL ONE OF THE STRONGEST GODS IN THE MULTIVERSE! He was so close to winning whatever grand game the universe held in store. Three moves ahead of his closest opponents. Sorrow was beneath him, he was perfect!
Wrapped in a shield of his own arrogance and hubris, the Silent One stared down the goddess, a smile touching his lips. "Impressive. But insignificant. I wonder, perhaps it's my turn to prey on YOUR feelings? I have fear within me, perhaps you should feel it?"
With that, his eyes lit up, flowing with a faint red flow. Creeping into the goddesses mind. Searching for every little insecurity, every little phobia, every little thing that made her skin crawl and mind recoil. And brought it all out to the front of her mind.
"You have wrapped yourself in hubris and arrogance to shield yourself from the pain of sorrow, but when your time comes, and you fall from your pedestal, all that yu have ignored will come back to ahunt you. In the end, I will be there, and I will bask in your suffering."
It was enough to drive anyone to insanity, all the constant arguing. Zo-Att had come here to learn of her son's plans, but all that she was being shown was an incredible spectacle of pointless bickering. Furthermore, none of the arguments seemed to be the least bit effective. Changing any of their minds seemed like trying to demolish a fortress with pebbles. No one would move.
Her temper was being drawn thin like a string. Every speech, every phrase, every damned word started to stretch her frustration to it's limit. How much more she could take of this...
Snap!
There it went.
Without delay, she slammed her tail against the floor, making a loud crashing sound that would be heard over their voices. With their attention, she closed her eyes, and said in a shaky, but not loud, voice.
I did not come here to listen to the petty squabbling of my son and whatever being had the misfortune to carry my brother's essense. I merely wished to know more of what had been planned by my son.
She took a deep breath and opened her eyes.
And I have made a decision.
I will join this organization of yours. Before you come up with any ideas, it is not out of admiration of your cause, but more out of the necesities of allies. If that is good enough for you, then I shall simply exit and leave you to your debates.
"Nothing to fear, Sorrow? You will exist as long as one of us exists? Now who has wrapped herself in arrogant posturing? You have taken divine form, Sorrow. You are as vulnerable as the rest of us now."
The god laughed.
"I am Knowledge, Sorrow. Think about that. I was tasked by my mother to learn all that was, all that is and all that will be to come. So take it from me that there is much to fear. Much that *I* fear. Much for *you* to fear. Fear of impotency, fear of death. By your logic, Lohak should survive as long as Creation survives, yet you claim he is dead. So which is it? Does Lohak still live and therefore you have stolen his divine spark, or is he dead, and therefore you are as vulnerable as the rest of us? It cannot be half of one and half of the other."
"Furthermore, what does it matter if we make mistakes and all we do is for naught? We do our duties as given to us by the universe, our parents and ourselves, and that is all we can hope to do and all we can be expected to do. Does the thought of failure fear me, sadden me? Yes. But it is in doing, not dwelling that we live, that we strive to do better."
"I asked you before. If you have nothing constructive to add to this meeting, then you should leave. I will not ask again. In fact, If you have nothing useful to say, I am done speaking to you. Clearly, you thrive on this conflict you are trying to create."
Ravnos stepped forward and placed a hand on his son and sister's shoulders. In their minds, they heard a message.
If she will not leave, should we retire to my quarters here? I can bar her from entering there, at least. She seems to thrive on our feelings of anger. Also, Secret-Keeper, I know you want nothing more than to thrash this upstart... but beware. The pillars in this room are tuned to protect anyone that comes under attack... even if it is justified.
Also, to the both of you. While I find this alliance of yours of great interest, I fear I cannot with a good heart commit to joining it fully. I fear I may not agree with every project you undertake. However, come speak to me if you think I might be interested.
She closed her eyes, seeminglt deep in contemplation. "Hm, this may be interesting. One of my 'friends' is coming our way. I wouldn't want to miss his arrival."
"So when you speak of yourself, you do not speak of the physical form you have, but the concept you represent? So be it. In that manner, we are all immortal. I must tell you however, that if Lohak is not dead, then I will not rest until my brother exists again... and if I need your spark to do it, I will use it. I am compelled to help my close kin by duty."
Ravnos felt a presence approaching. Great. What would this one be: Pity, Grief, Bubbly Hapiness? Hopefully it would not be nearly as full of itself as this thing was.
She turned to the entrance of the cour, her eyes narrowing as a red mist flowed into the court. "Oh. Not good."
When the fog had flooded the camber, covering everything in a crimson tint, the voice echoed forth from it. "Shry, Zo-Att, the Silent One, and Ravnos. Quite the company you keep, Sovereign. Quite the company indeed."
She smiled. "Yes, I came to in quite the company. It has been quite interesting."
The mist coalesced into a single location, taking the form of a large humanoid encased in crimson armor. "I am the Fane of Fury."
"Fury. Welcome to the Court. So, Sorrow, who else of your 'kin' are lurking about the universe? Can we expect more interruptions?"
Sorrow glanced at Toph. "No need to be snarky about it, Ravnos. And there are five of us, if you wish to know. And I expect they will all find their way here eventually. They will seek me out."
She paused for a long momemnt. "Well, one of them may not seek us out, but that is as much his nature rather than any active choice of his own."
Ravnos blinked. What was this anger that was coursing through him? It was surprising in its strength, especially given his usual temperment. He fell silent, wondering what was going on...
She offered a small smile as she answered his other question. "I don't know their names, Ravnos. I can sense the vaguest notion of what they represent but they do not know their names until they are named by another. Zo-Att named me, and Sku'byss named Fury."
Despite the fury pumping through every fiber of his being as the new... THING appeared, the Silent One had to admit the other gods were right... feeding this beast with anger and arguing wouldn't serve any purpose.
"Zo-Att, I would be disappointed if you had joined on any other terms," the Silent One replied. "By all means, do as you will, how you will. Only through diversity and individualism can an organization truly thrive."
I'm disappointed, Maker, but I can't say I'm surprised. You've always struck me as they type to favor light over shadow if forced into that position. I admit I find it quite irksome that an otherwise upstanding god has such a flaw... well, not a flaw, a trait of character I disagree with. For some it would be a virtue, and from a purely objective point it's part of what makes you you, and thus perfect.
- - - -
"Then you know, too, why she was angry at you," Ankirega replied, glancing at Durenghast and Araiyo. "Those who are scared fight back. It is the way of universe, and none of us is any different."
PP: 4/7 + 2/2 + 1/1
Ravnos shoved his son away from him, sending him flying back several feet.
"Enough with this PERFECT nonsense! You are NOT perfect! YOU ABANDONED ME! YOU LET ME THINK YOU WERE DEAD! You cannot BEGIN to fathom the emotional toll that was placed on Me, the immense and crushing sorrow at your 'death.' And then to let me take physical harm defending what was yours? To allow me to make a pariah of myself, the sole defender of your ENTIRE WORLD among all the gods? I have to ask you. WHY. WHY DID YOU LET ME SUFFER FOR SO LONG! WHY DID YOU MAKE ME FIGURE OUT THAT YOU WERE ALIVE? DO YOU NOT TRUST YOUR OWN FATHER?"
Ravnos finally fell silent, glaring at his son while his shell began glowing an increasingly dark shade of red...
"Andthentherewasahugeexplosioninthesky,likeBAM!andeveryonewaslikeWOAH!andthentherewasfireeverywhere,andwewererunningawayfromalllikeAAAH!wellnotreallyrunningcauseweflybut..."
It conitnued like this, non-stop, in its high-pitched, speedy little voice, for quite a while, keeping Cru positively enraptured. He was barely even listening to the words. The thing itself was just fascinating, the way it bobbed in the wind, the way it talked non-stop. Cru had never seen anything of the sort, and was consumed by his own curiosity.
Cru was currently nestled in the gnarled roots of an ancient tree. He was in a part of the forest that had not been touched by the Great Fire that had swept across the land ages ago. This part of the forest had an oddly ancient, mysterious feel to it, everything seemed so still, so pristine. The stars sparkled like diamonds through a canopy so high up, Cru had to lie flat on his back just to see it. When he had first discovered this place, tiny flickers of light had danced in the distance and at the corners of his vision, sky kin of the thing that now chattered endleddly to him. It hadn't been to long before this green one had zoomed out of the foliage to meet Cru, positively ecstatic to find someone with whom he could speak.
"Andwewereflyingthroughthetrees,andwefoundtheseelvepeople,onlytheyweren'telves,
welltheyweresortofelvesexceptthehadblackskinandwhiteyesandtheywerefightingthesebigthingsthatwerelikeRAWR!Andwewereallreallyscaredsoweranawayscreamingallhigh-pitchedlikeEEEEEEK!!!"
And it continued like that for a number of hours, the little green thing recounting his life story to complete and total stranger, Cru taking in every word. He didn't even feel sleepy, like he normally di at a time like this. The energetic nature of his new friend's story kept him wide awake. But even as he sat there, consumed in the green thing's story, he began to weave a story of his own in his head...
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a beautiful princess. She always wore really fancy dresses. Her favourite colour was green, so that was all she wore, and her dresses were almost always covered in green glitter so that she shone like her own miniature green sun. The princess lived in a beautiful land filled with roiling forests. Her home was a magnificent castle where she lived with her mother and father, the King and Queen. The princess loved to play in the forest, spinning in circles in her huge green dress. Little forest creatures would come out, and she would sing to them. For, despite the extreme unlikeliness of such an occurance, the princess also had an amazing singing voice, which was able to sound wonderful, even with the poor accoustics of the forest. And so on this particular night, she was singing a particular heartfelt song about true love, and how she'd never find it. The deer were singing back-up vocals.
Suddenly, something really strange happened. Her song was interrupted by the arrival of none other than the evil witch who hated the princess because she was so much more beautiful and musically talented than she. The evil witch hurled balls fire at the princess, since she was magic. Luckily, a particularly intelligent rabbit bit her leg and caused her aim to go astray. The flames caught instead upon the trees, and the fire quickly began to spread. The witch cackled evilly before she mounted her evil broom and flew away into the night sky evilly. The princess cried and tried to run back to the castle all the while composing a wonderfully heart-pounding running montage. She only hoped she would live to see her true love....
Cru was roused from his reverie by the loud voice of the green thing, who had decided to check if Cru was listening. Well, he was now. He resolved to finish the story another time.
3 PP Ascend Exarch The Princess: The archetypical fairy-tale princess, the Princess spends all her time singing to forest creatures and trying to find her true love. She provides Guide PP, since her songs are so powerful as to inspire people to learn new things.
0/7 PP
"WILL YOU TWO STOP ARGUING! YOU BOTH HAVE THE RIGHT TO THINK WHATEVER THE HECK YOU WANT WITHOUT HAVING TO FOIST IN ON OTHERS! NOW SHUT UP SO SOME OF US CAN HEAR OURSELVES THINK!"
As he yelled this, his the spikes on his qauntlets grew sharper and longer, forming wicked-looking instruments of death.
+1 PP: New Day
[3/7 PP]
The Silent One felt the rage flow through him at his Makers comments and assault, amplified by the presence of this red Emoticon. He wanted to fight it, to ignore it, to refuse to be manipulated... but of course the thing had to appeal to one the emotion that he'd NEVER been able to get a grip on.
"I abandoned you? III abandoned YOU?! You idiot! Do you know what you put me through! IF IT WASN'T FOR YOUR DAMN MONSTROSITY, THE SISTERS NEVER WOULD HAVE BLOWN THEMSELVES UP TO SPITE ME! If you'd have just put your DAMN THING somewhere else, NONE OF IT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED! I wouldn't have been scarred, had the very antithesis of everything I am created just to piss me off, and I wouldn't have this damned kernel of truth stuck in me! YOU KILLED THEM, GRAWLF, AND YOU ALMOST KILLED ME TOO! And you, you who's been slammed with a hammer by your own brother... and yet you STILL ask me if I trusted you?! OF COURSE I DIDN'T! I'D JUST SUPPOSEDLY KILLED YOUR MOTHER! HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHICH PART OF YOUR 'FAMILY' YOU'D SIDE WITH!"
Well, this was new. What had his son been doing? Had he not EXPLICITLY hid Failure from everyone?
"AND WHAT WERE YOU DOING TAMPERING WITH WHAT WAS MINE? I HID IT. I didn't leave it out on the surface of the Shadowfell for anyone to see. I did this? ME? If you hadn't decided that you had to see my own deep, shameful failure, if you hadn't needed to put your grubby appendages all over MY creation, maybe you never would have had any troubles at all!"
Ravnos' voice dropped to a whisper.
"And if you ever accuse me of killing my own mother again, I will finish what she started."
What in the world was happening? This wasn't how he usually acted. Intellectually, he shouldn't even be all that upset... all of this had happened so long ago, and he and his son had reconciled, had they not? This... was... not...
A fresh wave of anger coursed through his mind, obliterating his thoughts as his entire body went rigid with rage towards The Secret Keeper
The Silent One glared at his Maker, each one of his eyes frowning with all their might.
"How was I supposed to know the Sisters had such a dim view of privacy they'd appear in the VERY HEART OF WHAT IS MINE! If they were THAT determined to uproot whatever 'wrongs' in the universe, they would have discovered it eventually anyway! And just what DID make your so called failures a failure, 'father'? Is it not a living thing, with it's own mind and unlife! Is it not a creature of the universe?! Is it just that it was unintended, that you didn't plan to make it happen?! If that's true, WOULD YOU HAVE DONE TO ME WHAT YOU DID TO IT GIVEN THE CHANCE?!"
He didn't even know why he was fighting any more. Every little thing he'd been angry at his Maker at over the ages, every little slight that aggravated him even a little seemed to be rushing to the surface, forcing him to fight on with every fiber of his being.
[1/7, 2/2]
Zo-Att may have been the only one to notice, but for as much as her son claimed his own perfection, he was currently being manipulated by one of the forces he had just named imperfect. Fury had a tight hold over him like a leash two sizes too small.
Her first impulse was to join the fight, her destructive nature calling out to her. But Zo-Att had become much better at controlling her urges. Her next impulse was to scream at everyone nearby because... because...
Why?
She looked to the armor-clad being. It was causing this. She had never once seen either of the two act in this way before. It was something she'd be less surprised to find herself doing. These emotions may have acquired the power of a god, but they could not force them to act like this. After all, they were gods, too.
So what was it then? A battle of wills?
Zo-Att glided in between the two arguing gods, stoping them from doing anything rash... rasher. Her body shook all over as she tried to contain the sheer amount of fury adulterating the air. Was everything turning red? When she opened her mouth, the words came out clipped and unsteady,
This isn't... isn't what you two normally act like. Don't let... let them get control of you.
[3.45/8]
It was at this point that Zo-Att interjected. Ravnos' mind, already reeling from the waves of emotions grabbed ahold of those two sentances and held on to their simplicity, their meaning, and used them to pull himself to some semblance of sanity. It was true, he did not usually act this way... and the emotions he was feeling... fury, sorrow... corresponded with the two beings before him. He was being manipulated!
With this realization, he was able to recognize the foreign influences on his mind and shove them away, shove them down into a small corner of his mind, where they raged at their confinement. He envisioned a giant door slamming shut, and finally, there was silence.
"You are right, sister. We are being manipulated. Forgive me, Secret-Keeper. I said many things I did not mean."
Turning back towards the two emoticons, Ravnos said in a voice wholly devoid of emotion: "That was a good trick you played, preying on our feelings and histories like that. But know this: It will not be allowed to happen again. I advise you go find someone else to frustrate now..."
"Stop that. Stop that or I may make you stop. And I don't think that anyone else will be sad if I do that."
He turned to Zo-Att.
"Thank you, Elder."
-2 PP: Gauntlets of Nightmare: add an additional combat part to it. Now gives +4 bonus.
[1/7 PP]
-----
Amidst the grey haze surrounding Brinn, a streak of blue blasted into the room, circling her at a rapid pace. "You are Brinn, are you not?"
-----
The two watched the outbursts impassively, waiting on the two gods to finish. Sorrow was the first to speak. "Trick? I've no idea what your talking about. I warned you that we detect and amplify emotions. And Fury announced his name in warning when he arrived. As for your history, I must say, they are far more interesting than I had beleived. Very fun stuff. You know, keeping such emotions bottled up is unhealthy for your, Ravnos. You should release them more often.
His expression hidden by his helm, Fury simply grunted. "Amusing. I had expected gods wuld handle my presance better than a couple of mortal children having a spat. Had Zo-Att not have been here, I might have fed well this day."
Sorrow twisted her head to one side, and a small smile graced her lips. "This is a place for gods to meet, is it not? I'd say I have as much right to be here as anybody. I eagerly await a chance to claim some rooms for myself."
The Silent One didn't know how to reply to Grawlf's comments on Failure, even before he forced the feeling of fury from his mind at Zo-Att's interruption. He was above such feelings, how dare that... THING invade his mind! His mind was a hallowed hall, and that creature had trodden within it with boots covered in mud and manure! But... he couldn't help but wonder. Did Grawlf's feelings on this matter make him a coward, too afraid to try and fix what he'd wrought? Or did it just make him... for want of a better word, humane? It couldn't be a flaw, gods were perfect. But it was such a complicated emotion, the dark god had no idea how to respond to it, let alone manipulate it for his own ends.
"I said my fair share of poor things too," the Silent One admitted. "The Mother comment and bringing up your creation were.. beneath me. I aplogize." Though he couldn't help but wonder... his Maker had never answered his question. If he had been given the choice, would he have imprisoned him away as just another 'mistake' wrought by his power?
Refusing to think on it any more, the Silent One rounded on the Emoticons. "As for YOU, last I checked we gods didn't go around bringing darkness or water or fire or creation or destruction of ANYTHING in this place or anywhere else it's not welcome! So I suggest you find a way to suppress these 'aura's' of yours before I'm forced to physically extract them! If you can do so, then I confess you do have as much right to be here as any god. If not, we'll throw you out as we would with a god who spat on the floor or graffited on the walls: this place should not be polluted, whether by physical means or with emotional auras."
-----
Fury was the first to respond this time. "No. I suggst you try to physically extract them or stopaking idle threats and shut up."
Sorrow continued to watch, the small smile gracing her lips once more. "Hmm, so fun. This is going to be so fun."
The Silent One thought for a few moments, before shrugging. "Well, I wouldn't really be taken seriously if I didn't follow through on my threats... Ruin, hold down the angry one."
Obliging, the gigantic creature stepped forward, wrapping it's huge arms around Fury's and picking it up into the air. From nowhere, the Silent One made a sharp, curved knife appear, testing it's edge on his finger. "Hm, little dull, but should be good enough..."
Honestly, the Silent One had no idea what he was doing. He GUESSED he could extract the aura by removing whatever part of the body it was linked to through a rough surgical incision, but it might not have a physical conduit... well, he wasn't going to find out standing here. He'd need to cut open Fury. Actually, come to think of it, this was good on several different levels. He was interested enough on these Emoticons that a dissection seemed a good idea even without his threat going ignored...
- - - -
Ankirega nodded, and without a word dissapeared amongst the whirling energy within the Web. Araiyo turned to Durenghast, and tried to comfort him. "Don't worry, Durenghast, we're both here to help. We may not be gods, but we're both here for you and Brinn." Ankirega 'felt' himself travelling rapidly through Verda's earth, though he was little more than a conciousness within the Web. The lands beyond The Grotto seemed largely unaffected by this strange 'scaring curse'. Therefore, anything that was feeding this would be nearby. He suddenly recoiled, the currents of life he travelled swerving suddenly away from the darkness between strands. Growing excited, he detached himself from the current and studied the blot. It had a darkness in it, a kernel that fed the evils above. Was this the source of the fear, then?
I believe I've found the source. Can the two of you follow me down?, came Ankirega's voice echoing in the minds of Durenghast and Araiyo. The latter smiled. "I'll be right after you."
-----
"Neither, Brinn. Your other son, Cru."
PP: 4/7 +2/2 + 1/1
- - -
Ankirega waited until Durenghast and Araiyo came down into the darkened earth beside him, and indicated the kernel in front of him. Indication being more of a mental thing. This would appear to be the source of the darkness, as far as I can tell, Ankirega said into their minds. You have created, have you not, Durenghast? This has spread it's darkness through the forest, so it instead needs to be un-created...or at least moved. We will help if need be, but I believe this is your foe to face, young Durenghast. Do not fear; you are stronger than you know, stronger than either of us.
The Silent One stopped, staring at the Emoticon that had succeeded at obtaining a divine spark thoughtfully. "No," he said finally. "Let me put it in a way that even you can understand: we reap what we sow. Your friend here is the very incarnation of Fury, bringing it forth with him and feeding off it as he makes it. But now, he's gone to far with it, and ticked off the wrong god. And now that fury has come back to end him. You can't have it both ways, Emoticon. You can either spread these feelings, and face the consequences, or you can chose to keep them to yourself and not end up having to face judgement for your actions."
Sheathing the knife, the Silent One turned his back to the goddess as he continued. "However... if you genuinelly don't want your friend to be dissected, I'll give you one more chance. Leave, or suppress your aura's. I don't make idle threats, so if you don't, I really will forcibley extract this aura from you. I might actually find a practical purpose for it somehow... hm, now I'm almost hoping you refute me. How conflicting."
A massive snowbank settled onto the planet's surface, two to three feet thick in some places. It was located more or less due east of The Grotto, and blanketed everything most elegantly. What the Drow, Eladrin, Primal Spirits, or even the wandering Gigotaur couldn't hope to realize, was that when viewed from above, the snow formed a meaningful pattern. The snow formed two characters in Supernal, easily decipherable by gods who looked down from the proper perspective. The characters were clear, but the author's intent, much less: "Aid. Water."
It was then when another flowed into the room, the black orb transforming into a pale thin humanoid, with long streaking scars covering his exposed torso. "Fury beat me here? My, my I have been distract." Flashing a wicked grin at the Silent One and Ravnos, he offered a bow. "Terror at your service. The Tyrant of Terror."
-----
Blue brightnened into an almost opaque shade of blue as it laughed, "Thank you Brinn, thank you. I am Desire. The Despot of Desire. I am appreciatie of the name, but I must go. There are things I must attend to."
Without another word, it zipped off into the Chaos.
Once the waves of fears had washed over him, however, he felt...gleeful, oddly. In his mind, he saw the spirits escape, their emotions fueling the blot. It was in this strange, disturbing lull in the artifact's assault that the young god found the strength to extricate it.
Screaming out loud this time, Durenghast removed the blot from Verda...but he couldn't free himself from the dread, as the parasitic creation shot through his chest and lodged itself inside. Panting, Durenghast looked at Araiyo and Ankirega, his eyes dangerously ablaze. "It...is...done...", he managed to mutter. "...Leave. ...Let's...go...", he finished, wheezing.
Okay, well, it didn't really fall down. Fluffy white stuff just feel from it. In a few short moments, Cru was burried in it. He huffed and puffed and spat, trying to clear his mouth of it. With flailing arms he managed to break open a tunnel through which he could wriggle. He soon came to realize that this stuff was water. Only it was hard... sort of. And it was so cold! Cru pulled himself onto the top of it shiverring, melted water seeping into his material form. He gazed outwards, and suddenly, awe envelopped him. This white stuff stretched so far away. He could only stare, his mouth hanging open beneath his mask. Even his green friend, who had hitched a ride on Cru's shoulder, was speechless for once.
"It's..." but Cru couldn't find a word for what he was seeing.
"Snow!" cried his green buddy in delight.
The little guy swooped down low over the "snow" and scooped some up to stuff in his mouth. Cru gazed appalled at the little guy. His friend just grinned through a mouth full of swiftly-melting water. He swallowed it before speaking.
"Don't worry, it's safe," he said, his voice still rather subdued with awe.
Cru could only gape.
- - - -
Brinn watched Blue leave, amused, before turning back to Sku'byss. "Well? What happens next?"
With a wince, Durenghast dug his hand into his chest. There it was. He could feel the presence of the blot inside him. At once he was overcome with worry. What could it do? Would he become a monster, just as fearsome as the one that had frightened him as a child? He had to do something.
"The corruption isn't gone. The best I could do was transfer it from the life-web to a vessel.", he said, as he pointed towards himself. "I need to find a way to remove it, permanently, and make it so it can't cause harm anymore. Araiyo, Ankirega, if you could inform the people of the Grotto that it's safe to return now...", he suggested, as he walked towards the exit. Before he could leave, however, he turned towards the Unbound Ones, who were still there. When Durenghast's gaze fell upon him, the creatures recoiled. To them, he seemed furious, ready to lash out against anyone. Then, he spoke.
"It is over now. You can leave this place. Seek out the help of the creatures above, they will aid you. I will return...soon. Follow me."
Hesitatingly, the Unbound Ones followed after their creator. Just as they were stepping outside, however, they heard him yelling:
"WHAT...?!"
Then, those who had followed him quickest saw him blink and vanish.
- - - -
Brinn smiled at Kel'Zora. "It's good to meet you, Kel'Zora. I'm not familiar with the Elemental Chaos myself, but...," her expression suddenly soured, "I can understand why you have such work to do." She sighed and looked at Sku'byss. "Corrupter, how do you even know that this artifact, which you claim to own, is here? Could not Lohak have hidden it, if such was his desire"
A new wave of emotion moved through Ravnos, but he shoved it away with the rest of them.
"Enough of this. I also tire of having my emotions played with for the benefit of hungry concepts and one half-god who can only exist because she stole- yes yes, you claim he threw it away, but I am not convinced that such a thing is truly possible, much less permanent- the essence of one of our elders. Control yourselves, now."
as he said 'now', Samtaana reappeared, carrying a pair of pitch-black shackles with him that glowed with an eerie light. Ravnos reached out and took it.
"This is the last time I will ask as well."
PP
3 PP (1 from Samtaana): Create Artifact (greater): Blacksteel Shackles: IMPRISON artifact.
Used extra PP.
1/7+0/1+1/2 (guide, shape, nourish)
Sku'Byss arrived back over Kahnda.
"Lovely."
Ravnos looked at the three beings for a moment, trying to place where he had heard that voice before... the melding of their voices had produced a sound so very familiar, but... unlike any he had heard before...
BAH! He had had enough of these things meddling with his thoughts.
Ravnos stepped forward to touch both Zo-Att and The Silent one again.
"Well, we have two options here... either we fight them, which we will be working against the pillars above us as well as whatever they can bring to bear... although I'm fairly certain that between the three of us we could do a significant enough amount of damage to counteract all of that, or we leave and let them go harass someone else... if I am not mistaken, your message and meeting is finished, is it not, Secret-Keeper?
- - - -
Brinn smiled slightly as Sku'byss left. "Well, then..." She turned to gaze at the dust of Lohak. "It is obvious you do wish to help yourself, Lohak. I will leave you be, until I can figure out how to help. I have a son to see..." With a friendly nod to Kel'Zora, Brinn dissapeared. In the Balance god's mind, however, echoed the words, When you confront the Void, seek me out. I have more experience with it than any other, I fear.
"WHAT?" He shouted afterwards, all his irritation gone, replaced by sheer shock.
Upon arrival, Sku'byss was mildly surprised. It was snowing... on Veda? No matter, he thought as he approached the tree that he had literally ripped his way out of.
Unsurprisingly, the tree was dead, as were the plants immediately around it. A terrible gash was in the center of the tree. Although Brinn had claimed Verda, some parts of Verda remained impure. That was a comforting thought to Sku'byss, yet it also got him thinking.
Brinn had a home, a world she called home. Yet Sku'byss was left homeless, wandering the void for new things to corrupt. Although Sku'Byss did not consider a home of any sentimental value, but he saw the value in having some sort of base. And where better than right under his sister's nose?
Thus, inside the hollow of the tree, he made another world. Not a world in the sense of Verda or Yrie, but an entirely different plane, like the Elemental Chaos. However, this plane was much, much, smaller. The entire world was a single structure that, if constructed in the material world, would obviously of crumbled. The building was much larger then any other building, and shot straight up, into many hundreds of floors. Each floor had less and less rooms, until the top, which contained only one room. This room would be Sku'Byss's base, and in it he rest his artifact, the Mind of Corruption. He then named the building-world, the Body of Corruption.
Finally, he sealed the tree shut, making it unopenable to any but himself and those he chose to grant access. For those he would allow in, the tree would rip itself open once again, and then seal once the permitted being was inside.
Proudly, Sku'Byss stood on his top floor, a smug grin upon his face.
2 PP Create Plane (lesser): The Body of Corruption is created. For now, only Sku'Byss may enter.
[4/7 PP]
If it was possible, the Silent One's glare deepened further when it alighted on this so called 'Tyrant of Terror'. "That's MY claim to make, pretender," the Silent One hissed. "I AM fear, so I don't appreciate you claiming to be some self-proclaimed tyrant of it!"
He calmed down somewhat at Grawlf's comments.
"Sadly, you're right... I'd hoped more would come forth, and of those few that actually came only one joined. Still, it's a beginning... perhaps it was overly ambitious of me to expect more so soon."
Wait a moment. Did any of you notice something funny when those three talked? I could have sworn that suddenly I recognized their voice... although I can't say from where. The feelings coursing through me seem to have diminished slightly as well. Do either of you have any thoughts?
The Silent One shrugged visibly.
[spoiler= secret-thoughts]
Well, Sorrow took Lohak's spark correct? Mayhaps she has gained a small part of his soul in the process. And since these Emoticons all seem linked together, it's possible that this has passed onto them as well. Fascinating... why did Sorrow know so much about Lohak anyway? I really wish I could have dissected one after all, I'd kill to find out where they actually came from.
[/sblock]
Agreed. Well, perhaps we will get the chance. If you run into one of them outside of this place... All I can say is... have fun. Try and keep it alive, though... I think it would be more useful that way. In fact. If you do catch one, I want to come for the dissection. It should be juicy."
The Silent One's eyes glinted wickedly.
You never cease to amaze me Maker... every time I think I have you worked out, you end up showing a side of yourself I hadn't yet seen... and I must say I like every side you've shown so far. I'll be sure to tell you as soon as I've pegged down a subject... and I think I have one in mind.
Oh Secret-Keeper. Did you think that I would hold back for MORAL reasons? I am not Brinn or Kouru. Yes, oftentimes I find myself allied with them as the creation of society and order promotes the study and furthering of knowledge, but this dissection would have the same purpose, and therefore, I will be there to assist you if need be. I want to see how they can do their very... interesting trick. In fact, it is my duty to find out.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
On the surface of Yrie, the once-powerful Dhorem were dying by the thousands. They were being hunted more now than ever before.
2 PP guide populace: The Grimlocks join the Morsinfra
1 PP de-nourish populace: The Dhorem.
The Moon of Yrie
Sassriss looked into the bubbling concoction, green in color and smelling fouler than Lor'quhans toxic air. Beside her, Honor and Chivalry also looked on, but while her eyes glinted, their faces were troubled.
"Oi, do you think the boss should really be getting us to help the World Eaters?" Honor asked. "I mean, he gets in enough trouble for just SAYING things. If he actually DID something like this, how do you think the other gods are going to react?"
"Relaxxxxxx," Sassriss hissed. "The Masssssster knowsssss what he'sssss doing. If he thinkssssss asssssssisssssssting the new born World Eaterssssss is ssssssafe, then it isssssss safe."
"That hiss is not at all annoying, you know that?" Chivalry quipped.
"Sssssshut up you missssssserable-"
"Oh what, bosses little pet doesn't like being made fun of?" Honor asked, tapping Sassriss somewhat hard on her little head.
"I WILL DESSSSSTROY YOU BOTH FOR THA-"
"Ah, I see you've discovered the alteration pools," a voice from behind the three noted.
Ceasing their squabbling, the exarchs turned to see one of the World Eater Sovereigns standing their, looking on in faint bemusement.
"Ah... we weren't fighting," Chivalry covered. "We were just-"
"Oh no, think nothing of it," the Sovereign waved away the excuse. "We don't care how much you bicker among yourselves. The Dark Pantheon itself is what we serve, not it's servants. Besides, even if you were all complete imbeciles it wouldn't change the matter. We're here to eat the universe, and you're here right now to help."
"I like thisssss one," Sassriss noted.
"Of course you do, he's you," Honor retorted. "Nobody likes you more than you."
Ignoring the remark, Sassriss asked "Ssssso, what issssss thisssss alteration pool?"
"Well, that's rather simple," the World Eater Sovereign remarked. "Biomancy requires the subject to be complete eradicated, then to be reconstructed in the image we see fit. The alteration pool is approximately ten thousand degrees Celsius, more than enough to dissolve even our hardy kind. We then allow the mixture of super hot liquid and liquefied flesh to cool down, then use the still living tissue to reformat the subjects into a new form."
"Fassssscinating," Sassriss mused, looking down into the sludge.
"Disgusting," Honor gagged, avoiding looking into the sludge.
"It's like pickles," Chivalry said rather neutrally.
"Alright, so what do you want us to do?" Honor asked.
The World Eater Sovereign grinned. Which with it's teeth was a frightening sight indeed. "Why, that should be obvious shouldn't it? Sassriss is a master of the living, and you two are masters of constructions... we need you to give us some advice."
"What, you want to learn how to build?" Honor asked.
"Hardly," the Sovereign spat. "We have no need of such constructions. No, we need you to tell us how to eat what you do. The best possible adaptations for hunting beasts, and devouring stone. Teach us how to end what you make."
The three looked at each other for a few moments, as though having the same thought process. 'This doesn't sound right... but if the boss said it...'
"Alright, when do we start?" Honor asked.
***
With the exarchs advice, soon the World Eaters ceased being unwelcome squatters... and became a real threat. Using the teachings of Sassriss, the World Eaters began to hunt the Lunar Striders more effectively. More painfully. Soon, there were none of the beasts left, all devoured in the wake of the World Eaters' advances. Leaving them the only living creature left on the moon, giving them free reign to devour everything that was left.
The Moon of Yrie was slowly but surely dieing.
2PP + 1 de-spawn PP from Sassriss - De-spawn Lunar Striders - The World Eaters devour the Lunar Striders.
[0/7, 1/2]
They each nodded to Ravnos, though only Sorrow spoke. "Mostly. We can feel traces of foreign emotions, but by and large, I feel only sorrow."
PP Expenditures
1 PP - Claim Domain (Lesser) - Fear
2.65/8 + 2/2
"Where's my brother, though? I'd like to meet him before that.", he said, curious.
It wasn't readily apparent what had caused the change -- some subject which the gods discussed? The exarchs bounding readily through the snow? The mere presence of other divine bodies? The snow itself did not seem liable to offer any answers.
There was, however, a shadow in the snowbank, slightly darker than the surrounding snow that seemed to be the source of the emanations.
"If nothing interesting is going to happen, I'm going now."
He jumped back to the world, randomly flipping through locations until he felt several gods at one. Re-emerging, he looked around and saw Brinn and another god, one who he did not know, but who seemed young. He carefully approached them, trying not to startle anyone.
"Hello Brinn. How are you?"
+1 PP: New Day
[2/7 PP]
The Silent One stared daggers at the Tyrant of Terror. "If you want to try and play with the big boys, little thing, I suggest you start playing smart. Monopoly I may not have, but I will not suffer some young upstart claiming to have a firmer grasp of Fear than I have. I was a master of fear well before you or even mortals themselves were born!"
I did wonder at Sku'byss' absence: we already achieved a sort of understanding... very well, we will seek out corruption and enlist his aid. Then we'll plan our next move... I may have a side project which requires some attention, but it can wait in the face of the formation of our pantheon.
"Maybe I will make it anyway. As you said, it could come in handy."
He moved down and looked at the flower.
"Any idea what this could be?"
Terror simply watched the Silent One in amusement, "Sorrow, I have tasks to attend to as well. I bid your farewell."
He glanced at the Silent One one final time, offering a smirk. "I may be a young upstart, but fear is the core of my being. For you, it is only an addition, something you sought mastery over. I was born to it. It;s in my blood, while it;s onlyin your head."
Finished, he vanished in a black pulse.
Sorrow angled her head sideways. "Hmm, they sure were in a hurry to leave. I have places I should be as well. Enjoy your dark broodings." And then sh was gone.
-----
Hatred reappeared where he had come into being, looking around. The corrupter had returned and left. Cursing the time that detour had taken, he sought out Sku'byss through the hatred they had shared, calling him to return again.
-----
Sorrow slipped into the Heart of Chaos, walking slowly into the central tomb. "Lovely place. A building dedicated to grief and sorrow, immortalizing it in stone, fire, wind, and water. Truly, Lohak was a master of creation."
Seeming bored, she sat down onto the stone beside his ashed, only idly noting the gray fog in the air watching her. "Yes, I see you, brother. I imagine you still haven't been named. Don't wait too long. We will need you in the end."
-----
Terror, robed in a dark black cloak to conceal his horrible injuries looked out over the windswept dunes, watching the mighty creatures work. This world held much terror, but here within the desert, he could feel almost none. Soon, it would be time to give these creatures a reason to fear, to remind them of that ase emotion they had lost.
-----
Fury watched as Sky'byss returned. "You left without warning, simply rushing off. We have things to do yet, do we not? You said you hate Verda, that you have unmatched fury against it. Your work is only beginning. There is still much to do."
A whisper, a mere breath, borne on the gentle wind.
"Welcome..."
"Mommy!" he cried, "Over here mommy!"
He was so happy to finally have found his mother. It seemed so long since they had last been together, and he was positively dying to tell her about all he'd seen and done. And so he waved his arms frantically, Elle swinging through the air. His little green friend soared upwards, trying to get Brinn's attention.
She held out a hand, brushing it through the gray mist. "As for his nature, well, I'm sure you can figure that out for yourself. Since my arrival, you have no doubt felt the sorrow I bring with me like a depressing cloud. Seek within yourself, and yo will surely understand the cloud he carries within him."
She lowered the hand to the stone. "I come here to back in a monument to me. A monument to those who are lost, and the sorrow caused by their passing. Yet," she whispered, running a hand through the gray dust beside here, "this one has not passed. He tried, but he could not. I wonder sometimes, if his is the most sorrowful state of all."
Hearing the faintest of whispers in he mind, she tensed for the briefest second, then let it remain, answering it in her mind. "Thank you for the welcome."
-----
Fury lifted his mask, revealing his wicked grin. "Excellent. Perhaps you have an idea how best to orchestrate the next strike? Or shall I continue our efforts."
"Sorrow... we like you... we could be great friends..."
Coalescing into a single orb, their was a slow pulse and a thing figure was left standing before them. "I have come, Sovereign, and you seem to have gotten me named. That is who you're speaking to," he hissed, pointing to Kel'Zor. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going over here to resume what was so rudely interuppted."
Sorrow shook her head, smiling as she waved a hand to dismiss him. Turning to her companion, she waved. "Well, there you are. Why do you wait?"
"Indeed, we might, if you tell me why you would befriend the avatar of sorrow."
-----
Sorrow nodded. "Eschal is lord of the wind, and Sorstal master of earth. they would also be your parents. Bel and Hrinori, who calls herself the Scupltor, held sway over Firt and Water repsecitvely, with Lohak here," she whispered, indicating the remains, "watching over all four as a failsafe. He also contained the power of the Void. Unfortunately, Water and Fire fought to the death. Striken by the loss of his daughters, Lohak became what you see here before you."
"We have much in common Sorrow... We desire much of the same things... Spreading sorrow has long since become our greatest desire for the world..."
"In due time, Sorrow, in due time... We are too weak to reveal our identities yet... It is not yet safe to reveal our hand... But if you help us... Oh the rewards you would recieve..."
.....w.....h...o?....
The artifact vibrated, shook, and darkened before flaring up, a similar luminosity as before.
Br....i...n....n.......?
Th....g..hts.... Fr...g..m...nte....d.. ..N...ot... en....g....h.. . o....f..... me....
Erf... that was...
She turned towards her saviour -- and kept looking up, and up, and up. She came barely up to the forest goddess' knees.
I... um...
Wow... you're tall.
Hrinori? Is that my name?
She shook her head, as if to help dislodge something stuck within it.
Oh, ow ow ow....
Why is everyone so tall?
The goddess shook her head in confusion.
I know you are Brinn, but that is all I know. I feel as if I am not all here. Where else I might be, I do not know.
She paused again, shadowy lips pursed.
I do not think I am Hrinori. The name means nothing to me. The only other name I can recall -- was I Lohak? If not, who was she?
Ice? I am Water and Renewal. That is all.
Speaking of...
She closed her eyes and concentrated. Throughout the Chaos, that water which had been unruly stilled. That which had stagnated churned once more, new afresh.
The Sculptor? That is even worse than 'Hrinori'. And no... nothing about this Fulrit either. If Lohak is my father, perhaps he can explain what has happened to me? Where is he, I think I should see him.
Scattered -- like I still am? Perhaps I should visit the highest concentration of him then.
She looked skyward.
Bah. He couldn't recall it. He turned to the other two remaining in the court.
"Well, lovely. I'm glad thats over. Zo-Att, Secret-Keeper. If you have a moment, there is something I would like to show you. Actually, let us find Sku'Byss as well... he might enjoy it too."
The Silent One forced himself not to just chase after the Emoticons and rip their heads off then and there.. well, get ruin to do it anyway. He didn't want to get blood on his armor. But at Grawlf's comment the god shrugged.
"I intended to seek out Sku'byss anyway, and after that I had nothing urgent, so I'd be glad to see whatever project you've cooked up Maker," he replied.
A barrier formed between the warring gods. Made of dreamstuff, it distorted images slightly, as well as giving a god an aura that would vaguely suggest their domains when looked through the barrier at them.
"Why are all the gods attempting to attack each other? Now sit there and work this out peacefully, or don't work it out at all. I don't care, but don't try to kill each other."
+1 PP: New Day
[3/7 PP]
"Maybe, maybe not. But I just saw a three-way duel start between me and two other gods, all due to the meddeling of an emotion given life. I do not want to take risks."
"Either way, I do not know you personally, but I witnessed you, or the former you, just before your...death. You died defending the planet you patroned from another god who wanted to change it to her image of things. In my mind, that is a good death, although it appears that it wasn't even that."
The Dhoremi civilization and people were decimated from the constant predations from the trolls above and below ground. Only a few small tribes, guarded diligently by emissaries from Casaka had managed to avoid slaughter, and the Casakans were routinely forced to return south to reheat their cores, leaving the settlements vulnerable.
It was then that Samtaana appeared to Kythandrin, son of Karhedron and led him deep into the desert, showing him the Great Work that the exarch of Grawlf had been working on for many many years: A great vessel for traveling through the heavens. Strong, thick and opaque glass encased a huge internal area, full of living and working quarters for the inhabitants. He showed the glass titan the system to allow people to eat, drink and breathe while in the ark. All it lacked, he said, was the propulsion... a way to actually get off the ground. With several of his articulated eyes, he gestured to the scraps of metal lying about the area. Soon they would come together into an engine, and then it would be ready.
Kythandrin returned to Casaka to tell his father of the soon-to-come mission.
"And son? Do you wish to go?" The old Titan said.
Kythandrin nodded. "I do, father. And I wish to bring some of the Dhoremi with me."
Karhedron nodded. "Yes, do that. I feel such pity for those poor souls. Their goddess appears to have abandoned them to the predations of the Trolls. Go out and search for volunteers among the People of Glass, and go forth with my blessing."
Many titans volunteered for the journey, so many that it was required that a lottery be taken in order to fairly pick those who would come along. As they set out, invigorated by the Lens of Casaka that shone on all of them before they had left, Kythandrin and three other titans raced northwards to the southernmost Dhoremi village, helping the people there pack and head south to the ark. The journey was not easy. Along the way to the borders of the desert, the caravan came under the attack of several bands of trolls, who, although thrown back each time, still did damage, even killing one of the titans. Eventually, however, the safety of the desert and eventually the Ark was reached, and the combined force of Titans and Dhoremi, now calling themselves the Tarii (meaning "People of the Boat") settled into the hull, growing together as a community as the mechanically minded ones helped Samtaana finish the engine. Soon, they would set off for magical new places...
Meanwhile, Karhedron decided it was time to speak to the Trolls once more. His earlier attempt had met with failure when instead of the trolls he had met with their god... who hadn't seemed to care one way or the other what happened between the mortal races. The years had taken their toll on Karhedron's body, which was pitted and scratched, but his grip on his Tarrasque-claimed sword was still strong as he strode through the forests towards the Trolls...
1 PP: Nourish Population: some of the Casakans split off to form the Tarii, or the people of the Boat.
1 PP: Nourish Populace: The Tarii are bolstered by the addition of some of the remaining Dhoremi
1 PP (lens of casaka): Nourish Populace: The Tarii are blessed by strength from the lens of Casaka.
1 PP: Create Artifact: Engines of the Ark. Engines to power the ark on its journey.
0/7+0/1+0/2(guide,shape,nourish)
The Silent One frowned at Zo-Att. "Why are you still communicating privately? Grawlf here is no threat to security, and the Emoticons are long gone. In any case, if Sku'byss ignored the summons once, he'd likely do so again... one last try before hunting him down in the void couldn't hurt though."
Walking over to the PA, he paused a moment. "How exactly DOES one send a message with this thing to one god?"
- - -
The water goddess shivered as the cold voice sank into her conciousness, seeming to come from everywhere at once.
Now that voice sounds familiar.
She looked between Shry, Brinn, and Sku'byss, deciding that things were calm enough that she could leave. The Water goddess bowed politely, then slowly stepped away, trudging deep into what remained of the snowdrift.
Sheh raised both hands high overhead, and waited -- still, unmoving, and deathly silent.
She-who-had-been-The-Sculptor wandered the avenues of chaos, taking solace in the entropy of the place. It was comforting -- relaxing. Where she passed, the Water stilled, churning itself in a deathly effort to reach her, touch her, to bound along beside her. The goddess passed, and the Chaos steadied.
I need a name.
For centuries he stood, mourning the death of his father and sisters, for centuries his mid drifted in the vastness of creation seeking them, he sensed that somehow they have survived, but still he could not locate them. The mourners watched many creatures walking the tomb, but Eshcal mind was unable to percieve them, lost in his tought... Finally he decided that the time for mourning was over, creation has changed while he slept and he himself was, many hungry souls drifted to him during this age, the one of those who fought and died on the Isles, on Yrie and on Verda, killed by violence many demanded retribution, their essence mold with the god dreams and sorrows, turning his mind with their prayers.
Seeking again the company of his kind Eshcal left the elemental Chaos for the Hall of the First Ones, there he has heard the call of the Silent One long ago...
While he left a few of his tought drifted across the elemnetal Chaos, many creatures felt them, the Djinn at first, but they did not know conflict yet, the mourners, that well known loss and death, however these tought kept floating in the void, slowly gathering the energy of that realm, changing it, gaining form and will on their own...
The Court of the Gods
Eshcal approached the court, his last visit of that place was long ago, when Bel assaulted Verda, he felt the rage of the guardian that he has created barely contained by the columns of the hall. There were more of his kind there, Eshcal felt that some familiar essence was there too not long ago, but now it was gone "could it be my father?" he briefly tought.
He watched other gods assembled here, in silence...
Yrie
The Djinn of Shuras has lived for many centuries on the surface of Yrie, prospering in the massive deserts of the golden realm, fighting occasionally with their corrupted brethren, but otherwise living a peaceful and isolated existance.
Some time their scouts spotted the majestic buildings of the titans or the Dhorem who has being hunted by the Trolls and other dangerous creatures on the planet.
Being creatures of whim and desires the Djinn begun craving to better know the other inhabitants of the golden world. The first envoy, composed of nearly thirty of their kind and led by one of their eldest nobleman was sent toward the nation of Casaka.
2/7 +0 +1 Shape +1 Guide
-3 PP Claim Greater Domain - War
-3 PP Shape Paragon Race - Storm Archons
"Sku'byss, your mother needs you. I am at the Court."
After finishing that simple statement, she gave a look to her other son, as if daring him to call her out for using the PA.
Sku'Byss said, "Hello, mother. I believe you summoned me. What is it that you require?"
"I think you can best explain that."
Showing a blatant disregard for gravity, matter conservation laws, entropy, and physics in general, the snow sped up, rocketing off into the farthest reaches of the void itself... and then -- beyond the void itself. The snow drift billowed through the Elemental Chaos, caught flashes of The Susurrus, even the rocky expanse of Sorstal's desmense, before arriving in the Court of the First ones with an audible "flumph".
The snow bank was much smaller now, perhaps a third of the size it had been on Verda. Uncaring, the snow simply lay in the room for a few moments, basking in the latent divine energies of the place. Eventually, it broke its own stillness, forming two symbol in the script of the gods:
Hello, world.
1 PP Nourish Populace: The Foulspawn have a sudden spike in population.
It began as a simple humanoid shape. Then, it gained a grayish skin color. It grew red, violent-seeming eyes, and a mouth with two small tusks coming out of the lower part of the jaw, from within the mouth. Then, it grew small claws on the hands, and sharp toenails on the feet. Finally, it had black hair, as black as their souls truly were. They were the Orcs, and for now, they would try to live on Verda peacefully, in a village built around the tree, which the orcs called the Sacred Tree. They would live peacefully until their master, Corruption itself, needed them to behave otherwise.
4 PP Shape Lesser Populace: The orcs are born on Verda, near the Body of Corruption.
So, one day, the Unbound Ones decided to leave. While some of them had found peace in the Grotto, most were uneasy about the place, perhaps due to their first impression of it while it was imbued with fear. Most of the families, out of no conscious accord, left at the same time, looking for a different place to live in.
Nourish Populace (1 PP): The Unbound Ones multiply, which enables them to settle in another location.
2 PP: (1 from Void Matrix): Create Artifact (Moderate): Regalia of the Forest-Mother, a suit of armor.
PP: 6/7 + 1/2 + 1/1
The orcs, unfortunately, were unable to find any of the Unbound Ones... though they knew the way back to their village, the leader of the village hadn't given very accurate directions to find the Unbound Ones, so the trio of orcs soon found themselves wandering the forest, half lost.
It is odd how fate sometimes works out.
As he made his way through the jungle, Varik heard someone approaching. Believing someone had chosen to follow his footsteps and had been swifter than him (since the footsteps came from somewhere in front of him, not behind), he prepared himself to disappear, avoid the well-intentioned samaritan who was looking for him, and keep moving on.
That is, that was his plan until he saw who the good samaritans were. They were quite unlike anyone he had seen before, and clearly not Unbound Ones. Surprised, he lost his step, and fell down to the ground, losing the cover of the tree he had been leaning again. Standing up, he rapidly sized up the three creatures in front of him, waiting for them to make the first move.
The Silent One merely shrugged at Zo-Att's challenging gaze. "I suppose it doesn't really matter if everyone hears it, I was simply curious. I haven't yet worked out how to unleash this machines full potential." For some reason the idea of sending messages privately appealed to him... imagine, being able to whisper maddening messages into your enemies thoughts anonymously, slowly poisoning their mind... it sounds like fun to say the least.
At Sku'Byss' appearance, and Zo-Att's comment, the Silent one grinned. "Well, in case you weren't paying attention early, I've decided that it's in the best interest of the gods who dwell in the dark to band together in a sort of... council of mutual trust. As a single unit, we can aid in each others schemes, band together if we face opposition, and anyone who joins can use... him."
On Que, Ruin, still huddled in the corner, let out a deafening roar.
"There's no catches. No games. All you have to do is share and share alike. So, interested?"
It was at this point that a new god appeared in the court... followed closely by a wave of snow that pulsed for a moment before spelling out 'hello world'. Cocking his eyes, the Silent One looked at the new comer. "Did you do this?" he had to ask.
The orc said to the Unbound One, "W-we haven't ch-chosen anything. We've always lived here, ever since we were born into this world."
-------
Sku'Byss nodded at the Silent One, "Well, I am indeed interested. This idea of banding together sounds like a great idea, but I'm not sure I have any real reasons to join in on this yet... if I were to join, we would be able to work together, correct?"
Any explanation was unneccessary as Sku'byss arrived soon after. Ravnos watched as his son spoke, watched the guardian of the court give another concerned look as Ruin as the beast roared, and finally watched as Eshcal and... a snow bank? appeared.
"Hello, Eshcal. It is good to see you again."
~Yrie~
The titans had been aware of Shuras for some time, but were uncertain of what to make of their desert-bound neighbors. When the delegation from Shuras approached, it was met by a group of glass titans led by one of the rarer meteoric titans.
"Hail! What brings you to the Nation of Glass?"
"Indeed it is a pleasure to see a friend in this dark times, with my father and sisters fallen I was alone too long... Did you know anything about them? I have brough their remains to the Tomb of the Gods myself and I felt that something was missing, maybe there is still hope for them?.... I ... I feel something familiar here among us... "
Yries
The Djin noble, Soredin, was guiding the expedition, a tall creature made of wind and desires, dressed finely and with a gentle voice, he was surrounded by a thin veil of blurred air, like a mirage...
"We have watched your land for a long time, your culture thrive on this realm, despite the dangerous beast that lives there while my kind, you see... is nourished by company of others, by helping in those who seek to realize their dreams and desires and so we could not prosper alone... That's why I have being sent to look for your civilization..."
He puzzeled over this question for months, though in the unchanging crystalline glow who knew, and, after a period of great internal stress, for the inexorable commands of his Savior hardly lessened for the thought, Jezevel called a great council, a meeting of the finest thinkers, philosophers, and priests of the Angeloi. Then, donning the ceremonial robes, woven of tikkari grass, the God-King rose to speak to the assembled men.
Our Lord, may you bless us, these unholy, imperfect vessels. May you grant us but the slimmest chance at redemption, and shed but the smallest ray of light upon the road unto it. We strive every waking minute of our lives to seek out those impure of heart who would malign You, and to purge this world of them through fire and sword. Protect our unity of thought from the attacks of the Baritimaeun traitors, and grant us strengh of mind, body and faith the bring your holy word unto the creations of the False Gods, and to cleanse this, the world, of them. In your glorious name, which our tongues may not profane, we pray.
Jezevel then exhaled, releasing the prayer to rise upwards, as had the first breaths of the Angeloi upon that forgotten shore at Sacre Plage.
Gentlemen, I have called you here today, both the most faithful and the most learned of Firenze, to ask what each of you three hundred believes to be the greatest threat to our people, or the most pressing issue of our society. No answer shall be penalized, all thoughts are welcome in the eyes of Our Lord. And remember, Our Father hates false modesty as much as false vanity, so speak quickly and with conviction.
With these words, the God-King beckoned for dozens of trained servants to come in and commit to memory every word each scholar and priest said.
In an instant the snow was gone, and a shrouded figure stood among those assembled.
I am all that remains of The Sculptor. When I removed the two of us from Lor'quhan, such that no more damage might be done, Bel took umbrage with me and tried to slay the both of us. I defended myself, but ultimately Bel's insanity proved too much -- she set the Susurrus itself against the both of us, damaging me for a time, and, as far as I can tell, destroying herself utterly.
Though, since I have survived, perhaps we should not discount some fragment of Bel likewise remaining.
After thinking for some time, Varik turned sideways, pointing in the direction he had come from. "My people will be glad to know about you. The village lies in that direction.". In truth, Varik was quite annoyed about his departure being postponed by the orcs' appearance, but he knew that it would be foolish to pass up the opportunity for his people to establish contact or discover a potential enemy before it was too late. So, biting back a sigh of annoyance, he lead the orcs to the village of the Unbound Ones.
The Silent One nodded at Sku'Byss. "Indeed, that's the very purpose for the council... alone, we are easy prey to those who dwell in the light. But if we band together and lend each other strength, we have a much better chance of unleashing corruption, darkness, destruction, or whatever else against the multi-verse."
At was at this point that the Sculptor (or part of her) arose. Needless to say the Silent One was... stunned. She was alive? How? Oddly, he felt a sudden lurch of sympathy for his Makers... if they'd felt like this when he'd returned alive and hadn't let them know, he could understand why they'd be a bit upset.
"Ah, Sculptor," he began, caught off guard. Overjoyed to see her, but caught off guard none the less. "It's... great to see you alive. Truly. And glad to hear you 'won' the battle, though it seems at a heavy cost..."
I did what I needed to ensure everyone else's safety. Bel was a danger. I displaced her, and then she saved me the trouble by removing herself. You were about to do something similar, I recall.
Though perhaps you had a lesser chance of surviving.
And now I am here -- I, ah.... 'missed the memo'. What did you wish to speak of that would send you to everyone simultaneously?
The hooded figure glided closer to the dark god. Long, sea-green fingers of ice emerged from beneath the robes, grazing over The Silent One's armor as their mistress leaned in close to his ear-analogue.
I am Poison... and I am very interested in this plan. Tell me more.
"Of course my name's Cru!" cried the tiny god, "What else would it be, silly?"
His gaze shifted between the two, and his little green friend danced through the air, giggling softly, as that is what sprites do. Cru was just so happy to finally be in the presence of people he loved and who cared about him. It was nice.
It was a good thing the Silent One didn't have a true throat, otherwise he'd have probably been heard swallowing loudly. "Ah... of course," he replied. "Well, alone we're strong it's true. Strong enough to be a match for Brinn protecting Verda, or for want of a better example, and I admit it's a little tasteless considering his current circumstances, Lohak meddling in whatever he sees as his business. A match for them ALONE. But the thing about these gods of light is that they're never concern to leave their numbers to fight their own battles. No, if we do one little thing like spread an illness among a race, destroy tracts of what the other gods feel is theres, or move one measly meteor into the path of a planet we suddenly have ten or so different gods yelling at us and threatening to destroy us unless we undo what we have done. For a universe of balance, there certainly doesn't seem much room for darkness and evil... but no more."
The Silent One reluctantly pulled himself away from the Sculptor, walking to the center of the court and raising his arms to the sky.. His sense of drama demanded it. "No, now when they interrupt us making the universe a darker place, WE'LL be the ones to call forth allies to protect us. We have the ultimate weapon, strength in numbers, and are ten times as cunning as those who view the universe through rose tinted glasses! Now when we think to ourselves 'this world would be so much better with a few more carnivores to spice things up', WE'LL have the force to stop whoever would see us not make it so to abscond! This is not a pantheon that pledges it's allegiance to one god as their leader. Shadowfell, this isn't even a pantheon that's expected to all agree on a common goal. This is a pantheon that's devoted on one cornerstone of truth... the universe needs darkness too. We all seek to bring it, and now, we have enough power to keep it there without being assaulted by whoever disagrees with our vision of the universe! Who's with me!"
[2/7]
The Goddess of Poison swept circles around the court, examining The Silent One from all angles. Truly, she was more wraith than shrouded shade now.
You are blinded by hubris and your desire for theatrics. The very ones you seek to thwart now know everything you can do -- who your allies are, the existence of your weapon... did it ever occur to you that by bringing to light your position of strength you would encourage those you despise to likewise form an alliance?
I am sure I need not remind you the power of Secrets.
Unless.... Unless....
The spectre stopped, hovering in place in front of him, staring him face to... shroud-covered face.
You've got something else planned, an ace up your sleeve somewhere, yes?
-----
The three orcs nervously followed the Unbound One to his village. Unsure of what to say upon arrival, they stood in a bit of nervous silence.
He looked thoughtful for a moment, as if thinking back. If Brinn could have seen her son's face, she might have noticed a faint line of worry crease his brow. As it was, she sensed nothing amiss. His voice didn't betray any hint of the distress he felt bubbling up in him like boiling water, threatening to fill him up. He just forced himself to smile broadly and continue.
"I met this horrible blue thing, it was awful to me, so I ran away.." said Cru, his voice almost cracking from the memory of it, "But I flew Mama! I really did! It was amazing!"
Now he really was smiling, his whole body filled up with the joyous thought of soaring through the air, nothing above or below but open sky, the wind at your back, the sun shining down upon you like the watching eye of a parent. Cru was suddenly overcome with emotion for his mother, and nuzzled his face in the crook of her arm, breathing in her scent. That always made his feel better, always made his calm down.
"But I missed you Mama..."
Though his face was obscured by his ferocious mask, Cru's smile stretched from ear to ear. Well, it stretched from the spot where a normal person's ear would be to the spot where a normal person's other ear would be. Either way, it was clear that he was positicely ecstatic that his mother and brother were here.
"Of course my name's Cru!" cried the tiny god, "What else would it be, silly?"
His gaze shifted between the two, and his little green friend danced through the air, giggling softly, as that is what sprites do. Cru was just so happy to finally be in the presence of people he loved and who cared about him. It was nice.
"I'm glad to meet you, brother.", Durenghast said, smiling, as he watched his brother's joyful reunion with his mother. "What have you been doing all this time? I'm sure you've seen lots of wondrous things."
Sku'Byss watched in the two gods as they conversed, thinking of if joining them would be a wise decision.
-----
The three orcs nervously followed the Unbound One to his village. Unsure of what to say upon arrival, they stood in a bit of nervous silence.
As the orcs entered the village, the Unbound Ones who saw them ran into their houses, to inform their loved ones about the presence of strangers in the village. Chattering excitedly, many of them popped out to observe the orcs.
Varik appeared behind them soon enough. One of the observers, a hunter named Krysanter, recognized him. Yelling, he said, "Hey, look! It's Varik! Who are these fellows you've come back with?"
Leaning against a tree, Varik nodded towards the orcs. Silently, he mouthed: "Introduce yourselves."
The Silent One chuckled. "Is arrogance arrogance if all your confidence in yourself is well placed? I hardly think I've done anything that could be construed as particularily boastful... merely stated the facts, and the truth as I see it. As for shedding light on our council and my weapon, that was an unfortunate necessity. If I had kept Ruin a secret, then used him, it would likely have been construed as an act of agression, and resulted in the other gods turning against us. As it is, they have fair warning, and now if they do meddle in our business I can at least say I warned them. As for the council, again it was necessary to speak to all... I had no idea who would join our little group, and so had to address the invitation to all. I feel that the gods of light are of no threat to us just because they know we exist... others have tried to hammer gods into doing what is 'right' before, and have failed because what's right to some is not right to others. A simple council devoted to helping each other to achieve what is 'right' for each of us has a much higher chance of success, wouldn't you agree?"
At the Sculptors accusation that he had another ace up his sleeve, he feigned a look of innocence. "Sculptor, you insult me. I ALWAYS have something up my sleeve. But in this case, I've had no choice but to lay my hand out for all to see... you can't win a game without showing your cards to prove you've done so, after all. At this point, it's only a matter of replenishing my hand from the deck, and to see what comes up."
1 PP: Create Artifact (Lesser): Chord Amulet
PP Remaining: 6/7 + 1/2 + 1/1
And no -- I do not think I am The Sculptor any longer. That life is... gone for now. You may call me... The Harbinger.
She spiraled around him, stopping above his right shoulder. Her weightless hands grasped the cold armor, steadying her drifting. She cast out her eyes, scanning the rest of the court, looking for... something. She wound up gazing at Zo'Att.
Tell me, Dark One. What is our pantheon's next move?
Her gaze twisted to Kel'Zora. "No. I seek solitude, and would ask that you leave this place behind you."
-----
Terror walked silently and invisible among the titans of Casaka, letting his power seep into the desert before he acted. They were perceptive creatures, sometimes glancing at him as he passed, as if they had caught the slightest glimpse of him, but for now, he smirked and slipped among them unknown, spreading terror.
Something new had entered this desolate domain though, a new type of creature, more familiar with fear than these titans.
-----
Wisking through the chaos, wandering at random, he slammed to a stop, feeling a familiar sensation of someone seeking something, desiring something. Smiling, the blue ball flew towards the source, coming up behind the wandering god in need of a name.
-----
Fury settled heavily to the ground, dust rising around his footsteps as he glanced around. Avanii. The natives, the dragons, were impressive creatures, and most vulnerable to his powers. Already he had watched them set upon each other, not knowing why there fury had been inflamed.
Still, he had noted these other creatrues as well, these spirits, were unusually resistant. Nodding to himself. "Yes, this land could be a paradise for me. As soon as they are dealt with."
He clenched his fists, letting his essence disperse into the wind, covering all of Avanii with his power, bringing Fury to all the creatures of this world. Feeling the connection with the minds of all creatures within the sphere, he directed their fury to his purpose. In a single instant, everything changed for the primal spirits of Avanii.
Trapped by the unnatural fury, they turned on each other, lashing out and striking down friends and family with abandon. Worse, flights of dragons winged their way across Avanii's skies, hunting the spirits down. In a matter of a few short weeks, the primal spirits of Avanii were exstinct, with no trace that they had ever existed.
PP Expenditures
1 PP - De-Nourish Populace - Kill the Primal Spirits living on Avanii.
5.10/8 + 2/2
The Silent One had to chuckle at the Sculptor adopting yet ANOTHER new persona. It was amazing she managed to keep them all straight. "The Harbinger it is then. And you're entitled to your view... that's the whole point of this pantheon. Every view is valid, and is equally supported. As for our next move... well, I'd hardly want to seem to force the direction of a council I myself have professed to be a congregation of equals," he replied grandly.
"That said," he continued, "I would think that as a show of unity, we should attempt to do something a little... constructively destructive. Perhaps unite to bring blight to a single world? Or mayhaps create a new race or beast as a symbol of our power? We could even lend support to an existing race that furthers our goals that seems to be in dire straights. Any suggestions from the council?" he opened the issue to discussion.
"That's the Tall House. It's been unoccupied since Mr. Lilenbum had an accident and needed the help of his family to recover.", she explained, chatting happily. "Since it's empty, you can use it to stay for the night."
Moments later, they the tree's roots. With a wink, Amira disappeared, before calling at the visitors and waving at them from the house above.
"Mr. Lilenbum can't do this, so he made a ladder to get to his house. It's on the other side of the tree."
with a quiet popping sound, Grawlf appeared from his chambers. The Eye detached from Ravnos and floated over to his other form. It had been far too long since he had visited any of those who knew him in this form... he wondered how the Titans were faring.
With an experimental spin of his arms, Grawlf was back.
~Yrie~
The lead titan looked down at the smaller Djinn, and saw the strength and power that hid within the smaller creature's form. Unlike those pitiful Dhoremi, these creatures were truly capable of great things.
"I'm afraid you arrived at not the best time, Soredin. Both our leader and his son are gone from the city. We too have seen your people from afar, although for the longest time we had assumed that you were mirages thrown up by the desert air. You wish to help us fulfill our dreams and desires? I am sure there is something we can do in return for you. Please, come join us in the city proper while we send a runner for Karhedron to return with haste."
The titans gestured back towards Casaka, just visible in the distance as a sea of glimmering reflections from the afternoon sun. As he looked back, he suddenly shivered. Was it getting... cold?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Quori began to expand. Before, this was harmless as there was free land to move onto, but now their lands border up against the Aszhari and the Beholders. The Aszhari remained clueless to their existence and it should remain that way for the time being, but the Beholders already knew of their existence. That made them ripe for expansion into. But first their were preparations to be made.
With great care, the Quori shaped their minds, gaining greater precision in their thoughts. And as their thoughts became more precise, their abilities to manipulate the thoughts of others became more precise. With practice on their regular abductions of Aszhari, they became masters at manipulating the thoughts of others. Soon their manipulations became so precise that they could make "Lesser" creatures believe anything.
With that, they began expanding into the Beholder territory. With their abilities at manipulating minds, they would change the minds of the beholders to accept them as leaders. So skilled at their work were the Quori, that the Beholders they touched wouldn't even notice that they had been changed. Expansion went forward, for a short time, when they slowly pulled to a stop.
+1 PP: New Day
-4 PP: Guide Populace(Greater)(Staff of Dreams): The Quori become master manipulators of the mind. As a side effect, they also gain some resistance to mental manipulations.
-2 PP: Guide Populace(Lesser): The Quori expand into some Beholder territory.
[0/7 PP]
For years Evshan has watched in secret as the Quori kidnapped his people, he really did not do how to deal with such an issue, should he reveal their presence to the Dominion a war would have probably begun, the exarch however was not interested in spilling blood on the Isles of Wonders again, expecially against enemies that he did not really know anything about... He decided that he would need to know more of them, safe from the eyes of his people.
He also knew that, despite the defeat in the war the Jeraca still survived, they would provide perfect tool, Evshan secretly wandered among the scattered Jeraca clans, masquerading as one of the treacherous Aszhari that still served Ranjan, from them he secretly learned that, in order to enshure the bloodthirsty lizards loyalty they use their magic to mingle with their mind and forge some "master-slave" mental link with them.
Exploiting such a bond he pried into the mind of those that was kinapped, learning and studying the mind of their alien captors, the exarch could not figure out what the plan of the quori was just from the minds of the Dream Touched Jeraca, however he managed to pry deep among their secret mastery of mind and slowly develop a new discipline based on meditation and control of the dreams to achieve a lesser, but similar mastery of though not unlike the one of the Quori.
Meanwhile the Dominion kept consolidating its power, drawing both the Masaren and the Blessed ones among its rank, as the more traditional clans reverted to the ancient tradition and was less welcoming to these variation of their race. Using the Masaren as manpower they begun building large temple cities among the jungles and mountains of the Isles.
The Court of the Gods
"At least I'm glad to have you back my sister, even if we did not really spent much time together before, I'd love to know more of you, if you agree of course..."
Yrie
"Very well, my friend, I'll gladly wait for your leaders to come back and I'll accept your hospitality, however if you don't mind I'll offer you to visit my sultan halls one day, so that I can repay you of of that gentle offer..." replied the Djinn, however he too felt uneasy for some reason he could not discern.
The World on the River
When her father left the Tomb of the Gods, Sarris remained a little, contemplating the spirits of the mourners, talking with them he found out that many who has died would have wished to somehow help their beloved gods or their people and so was sad to be forced to leave creation, even after being shown the blissful existance of the death souls.
For a while she wondered if something could be done for these souls, finally she decided that, while her father forbids the creation of undying souls she still wanted to help the honorable spirits that wanted nothing more but to help their people. In secret she begun to allow a few spirits, the one of the greatest heroes among many civilization, to hide from the eyes of the Tos'Arai for a time at least, granting them more time to help their descendents and council them.
0/7 +0 +0 guide +0 shape
2 PP (1 from Evshan) - Hand of Ranjan learn psionics from the Quori, (I assume it is a fantasy tech so you have to pay 1 (+1 from this age) point to learn it.
2 PP (1 from Sarriss) - Shape Populace, Revered Ancestors (the spirits of heroes who decides to linger a little more to help their people, however they too could not resist the call of the Tos'Arai and are forced to abandon themselves to the pull of death after a while)
1 PP Nourish - The Aszhari Domnion now includes the Masaren
1 PP Nourish - The Aszhari Dominion now includes the Blessed Ones.
Perhaps... I notice Lohak is not among us? I find the prospect of turning Lohak's private world into the foundation of our united power.... most deliciously ironic. Part of me helped create the guardian of that place, I think I can deal with it too, if it comes to it.
----
Sku'Byss stepped forward and said, "If I may interrupt, I like the idea of unleashing a blight on a specific world. I would definitely help in such an endeavor.
---
On the other side of the village, Krysanter and the other hunters were engaged in a heated discussion. While almost nobody doubted the truth of the orcs' words (they seemed too nervous to lie convincingly), not everyone was willing to accept their offer. Many of the hunters were solitary men, lone wolves who preferred to keep contact with others to a minimum.
"I insist, we must learn more about the orcs. They seem to mean no harm, and we mustn't eschew the possibility of finding allies in this lonely place. After all, if a tragedy befell the village, we would have nobody but ourselves to help us.", he said, for the nth time.
"Yes, but what if all of this is just a ruse? What if they wish us ill and just sent children to deceive us?", a more cautious hunter said. Sighing, Krysanter leaned back against a wall. This had been going on for hours, and it seemed like it'd last even longer, before a cheery, childish voice said:
"What if one of us goes to see their village? That way, we can be sure they're nice people."
Turning around to look at the door, Krysanter saw Amira, the girl who as escorted the orcs to the tall house. For a moment, he considered telling her to mind her own business, but then he thought of her idea again.
"Hrm. It's not a bad idea. Not a bad idea at all.", he muttered, as excited whispers spread across the house the council had occupied. It was a simple, but elegant solution. Looking at the little girl, he said: "You will go far, Amira. It takes an enlightened mind to hit a target no one else can see".
Blushing, the little girl shuffled a bit, uncomfortable with the praise. Meanwhile, one of the hunters posed a question:
"If we decided to do that, who will we send to the village? We will need someone who can represent the village fairly."
"Amira can go. Her eye is as good as her mind, and she knows the orcs better than anyone else here, if only due to the short time she's spent with them.", Krysanter said, trusting the girl who had brought them a solution to a seemingly unsolvable issue.
"But what if she's attacked or injured on the way? She can't go alone.", the same hunter from before said.
"Yes, we can't risk a child so recklessly. What would happen to her poor mother if she was injured?", another one chimed in.
"Varik found the orcs, and he's as good as any one of us. Make him go with her!", yet another one added. Everyone nodded in agreement, considering the lone explorer to be as good a choice for a protector as anyone else.
---
The man himself, of course, did not take it too well.
"I brought the orcs here. That is all I owe this place, and that is all I will do", he said, as he prepared his belongings, ready to set out once again, on the trip the orcs' appearance had interrupted.
"You were the one to bring them here. You should see this to the end, Varik.", Krysanter said, shaking his head. Ever since the explorer had been chosen, he had known it would be hell to convince him.
"If I leaned on a tree which then dropped an apple, would I have to tend to it for the rest of my life?", he retorted. "No. That is a coincidence, just like the arrival of those three. I have done what I must, and now I will leave."
"So you would potentially sacrifice a child just to fulfill your desires?", Krysanter said, coldly, stinging the explorer's weak point. "I didn't know you were so selfish...such a coward. I guess I shouldn't have expected more from one who deserts his people."
With that, Krysanter left, convinced about having recruited Varik for the mission. To prove his worth, the explorer would jump into an endless abyss. He would be there to escort Amira tomorrow.
Inside the hut where he lived, Varik snorted, as he continued the preparations. He, a coward? Preposterous. He would escort the child, and once it was all over, he would leave, no matter what happened. He was still preparing to leave, but now it was for a short trip.
---
"We're leaving!", Amira said, as she entered the tall house in the morning, beaming. "The hunters said we needed to know more about your people, so I'm leaving with you! Varik will escort us. He's a mighty warrior, he'll make sure nothing happens to us."
"Lohak and My world, if you must... we did create Avanii together. Were Lohak still with us, I'm sure he would object, but I, personally, have no problems with your using the place."
"As for Yrie, I am currently the dominant god on that rock, seeing that Maibe appears to have gone to sleep. If I find that the result could be... informative... I would gladly support this venture."
The god paused for a moment, arms spinning about him idly as he thought.
"On that matter... why don't you all ask Ymalos to join you? He seems to have the knack for destruction."
"If Yrie seems to be defended more poorly, then Yrie shall be out next target," the Silent One agreed. Honestly, he was somewhat relieved... he had nothing on Yrie, and so stood to loose nothing by unleashing havoc against it. Inversely, he did have the gigotaurs on Verda, and though they did little to further his cause except by making Verda a veritable swarm of misery portals, they were still his.
The dark god listened to Grawlf speak. He wondered why they hadn't expelled him yet... he'd flat out said he wouldn't be joining the council. He supposed even if Grawlf didn't join, he could still prove useful... Knowledge was always a good thing to have on hand, after all. "What better thing to learn than how mortals respond in a true divine catastrophe?" the Silent One asked. "I'd be more than happy to have your support in the matter Maker... and I don't seem to be familiar with this 'Ymalos'. Is he a god of anything particularily dark?"
What? Lohak is no longer? When did that happen?
The shade's icy talons clutched tightly.
And who. Oh, please tell me who.
Hello. Who is it that has come to visit me?
I did not know. My last memories were of the fight, and then here. I know nothing that happened in the intervening time.
I'm assuming by your tense that Lohak still exists... somewhere. I wonder what would happen were I to visit him...
Then there were the orcs themselves. Like the Unbound Ones, they had gathered to greet their visitors, though they had at least been half expecting them. One other thing was made apparent. Many of the orcs seemed taller and, well, older then the orcs sent to the Unbound Ones... almost as if the orcs sent were barely into adulthood.
Finally, a group of older orcs approached the two Unbound Ones and said, "Welcome to our village... I see the three we sent finally found you."
The draconic races found themselves with two new races of brethren, as sharp a contrast as Sap and Blaze. The ever-wondering Sap Dragons found themselves enthralled with the snow, as something like this had never known to occur on Verda before. The slow-moving dragons burrowed themselves lairs of snow and ice, and hibernated for many a year as they dreamed the time away. When they awoke, their form had completely changed; snow and ice replaced sap and bark, and they felt full of life and energy as they never had before. These new dragons wasted no time in finding their homes in the Grotto, and found that they were not alone among the new races. Dubbed the Wild Dragons, this new race found themselves in possession of great natural strength as well as unparalled abilities at shape-changing. Their natural form varied by each, though rarely did one see a Wild in their true form. Shapechanging was almost an artform to them, and they found themselves close friends to the spirits.
Yet this was still not the full extent of the changes, for the phoeni too gave birth to clutches of a new kind. Humanoid in appearance, these new "Anala" were natural-born singers, storytellers, and leaders. As they lacked the wings for true flight, they and the Ankir shared the lower-level areas of the Grotto, finding themselves fast friends in storytelling and lore. The Grotto was teeming with the varied races it contained, and many of the more outgonig peoples wished to learn more of the worlds beyond their own, as the Ankir spoke of. Groups of Anala, Snow Dragons, and Wild Dragons braved the portals of the Stones of the Forest-Mother, finding themselves in a new land, one not covered in forests yet none the worse for it. The simple lands of Asha, born more of friendship than for any true need for a nation, began to expand as the influx of Verda migrants came to Renissa.
On one fair day, a pair of mated dragons, Sap and Snow, wandered the clear forests of Verda, enjoying life simply for what it was. The Snow Dragon, commonly called Frost, laughed as she far outpaced the slow-moving male. The two had no true place or purpose in mind, and what need had they for one? Verda was peaceful, as it had been for many thankful years, and horrors were only heard in the tales of the long-lived spirits and those storytellers of the Ankir. Frost enjoyed the lands beyond her home, curious and excited to learn of the other races beyond. She had heard tales of the gigotaurs, and even seen a few of the strange Unbound Ones around The Grotto. Which was why, when she found herself suddenly in a colonized clearing, she was overjoyed. One of those races she found was the Unbound Ones, certainly, but who were these others? Curiously watching the orcs beneath her, she called out a welcome.
1 PP: Modify Sap Dragons into Snow Dragons
1 PP: Modify Blaze Dragons into Wild Dragons
1 PP: Modify Phoeni into Anala.
3 PP: Nourish Nation: The Grotto grows and Snow Dragons, Wild Dragons, and Anala join.
3 PP: Nourish Nation: Asha grows and Anala, Snow Dragons, and Wild Dragons join.
PP Remaining: 0/7
The Princess awoke the next morning with a start. The night before had been plagued with terrible dreams about the evil witch and the burning flames she had unleashed upon the forest, all set to music of course. When she got out of bed, she crossed to the window to find a magnificent sight. The forest that had so recently been plagued with flames was now covered in a soft white blanket of pristine snow, as yet unbroken and perfect. Squealing with delight, the Princess ran from her castle. Her nightgown, which coincidentally was a sparkling white that matched the snow perfectly, swirled about her as she ran. In the village, townsfolk emerged, all magically dressed in white themselves. As yet another musical number unfolded, filled with vague metaphors for happiness and "a new dawn", woodland creatures poured into the town in droves, coincidentally all white themselves.
The Princess danced in rapid pirouettes and leaps across the little town into a field with pretty much the whole town dancing after her in some strange and magical procession. When the Princess finally reached the impossibly high note that marked tghe climax of the song, the rest faded away, leaving the Princess standing alone in the field. Oddly, she felt none of the cold, though that fact went completely unnoticed. A valiant Prince had just strode out of the forest, a broad smile upon his perfect face, his dazzling teeth shining white like the snow all around them. He was wearing a black getup that stood out remarkably upon the white backdrop. As the Princess strode towards him, she found her simple nightgown had transformed into a dazzling blue dress, perfect for dancing and doing complicated tosses and raises.
The two met in the centre of the clearing and began to dance a slow, measured dance. A calmer, gentler version of the melody that had so recently blared from the rooftops of the village now hummed softly out from the still trees. When they completed their dance, the Princess stood there, staring into the Prince's eyes.
"How did you find me?" she asked the Prince breathlessly.
The Prince merely pointed a finger at the trees. The Princess turned to gaze at the spot he indicated, and gasped. For there, emerging from the trees, was a plump little woman, hair pure white and in ringlets, and her dress and sparkling white. In her hands she held a long wand topped with a star. She wordlessly strode out to meet the two lovers, and held out her hand. After a moment, the Princess noticed she was holding a small rectangle of paper upon which words were written in dazzling silver script.
The card read:
"Ever After: Ensuring your story always ends Happily Ever After..."
1 PP Modify Populace (Greater) The Fairy Godmothers: Transform some Far Far Awayers into Fairy Godmothers. It is the job of the Fairy Godmothers to ensure every story ends Happily Ever After. No exceptions.
1 PP Nourish Populace: The Fairy Godmothers form the organization known as Ever After. This specialized group of Fairy Godmothers make it their mission statement to find love for desperate young girls (sometimes boys) in need of a Happily Ever After. They also work as a sort of defacto police force for the plane, ensuring that everyone meets their Happily Ever After Prerequisites.
1 PP Nourish Land: Musically-inclined woodland creatures inhabit the forests of A Land Far Far Away.
0/7 PP
Weekly update. Not much different in terms of the points, but this WILL be the last week of age 2... so get any epic populi made that you want now.
1.15 PP: Dvrgr (66.7), Brinn (56.9), Lohak (53.7),Eshcal(47.7), The Silent One (33.6), Zo-Att (12.7)
1 PP: The Sculptor (88.8), Shry (83.8), Ymalos(75.2), Sku'Byss(56), Nenneve(53), Durenghast(23), Cru(22), Kel'Zora(18)
2 PP guide populace: The Blood Trolls form the Bloodsworn Nation.
2 PP guide populace: The Morsinfra establish trade with the Bloodsworn
0/7
---
"She's right, you know.", Amira said, intrigued. "Dragons are really old creatures. If they don't know about you, you haven't always been here. I wonder when you got here?", she asked, idly.
~The Eternal Clock
Balors, Mariliths, and Glabzerus had learned a secret of the Demon Forge. It's fires were strong, and contained a magic force that could create weapons. Rather than forging the souls of the dead into additional demons, it could be molded into a steel. The weapons were somewhat poorly designed, but were nonetheless sharp.
2 PP (+1 from demon forge) - Nourish Populace (To all three demons) - Create the nation, Abyssal Horde
3 PP - Guide Populace - Abyssal Horde learns Demon-Smelting (Fantasy Tech)
[3/8]
For now, though... Karhedron tried to appreciate the night sky and the stars that glinted in the blackness, slowly moving from pattern to pattern with only the two great constellations remaining constant. Karhedron took a moment to meet the 'gaze' of his lord Grawlf. It had been so long since the god had visited his people, and while his exarch Samtaana all but lived on Yrie and the 'gaze' of the god fell on the desert every night, Karhedron still felt somewhat apprehensive. The other deities who had interests on this planet seemed so much more... intense in their protective natures. It was only the size and majesty of the Titan races, he was sure, that kept those others from storming the desert and destroying them all.
And yet, here they were, still standing, the proudest nation on the face of Yrie. Karhedron's molten core seemed to pulse hotter as he thought about the power of Casaka, the power of the nation he had helped to forge.
As he got closer to the city, he was met by a younger titan, who informed him of the new visitors.
A few minutes later, the titan ducked under the doorway into one of the smaller buildings near the edge of the city.
"Forgive me, friends. I was up north taking care of a few things and just came back. I am Karhedron, current leader of the Nation of Glass. Who do I have the privilege of meeting?"
My Holy Lord, Reliquary of His Splendor, I offer these weak words with trepidation, knowing that you commune with Our Lord and the frail thoughts of my mortal mind cannot have come from even the same splendor as one such as He. Yet, as you have commanded, I have considered the problem. The issue is this, from some three hundred of the finest Angeloi, you have received, doubtless, three hundred different answers. There can be however, greatest problem within us, principal flaw in our immortal souls, and I contend that that flaw is inherent in this council. It is the answers themselves, three hundred different answers, it is the different answers that are the problem. To solve it, you ought, in my humble belief, bend your considerable might to binding all Angeloi to a single iron will, your own.
With that, the southern priest kissed them hem of Jezevel's robe, and, intoning the ritual phrase, backed out of the room. The God-King, mind a thousand miles away, adrift amongst amongst crystal, mumbled some response to those same ritual phrases.
-------------
Years later, after thousands of hours of prayer, of running underneath that crystalline sphere, seeking that state of mind peculiar to those race by foot, of emptiness and fulfillment, an ease of physical effort. Finally, stretching out his stride across a vast, northern tundra, devoid of most life save that of the Angeloi. Feet crunching into the frost stiffened plants, Jezevel, God-King of the Angeloi, was seized by epiphany.
An powerful, rushing knowledge filled his mind, a great awareness, an awareness of all the Angeloi. Similarly, some few would become more aware of others, and fewer still would harness this talent to wield in as a weapon.
PP
3PP- Claim Domain: Psionics
3PP- Create Artifact: Instant of Perfection
2PP (Jezevel)- Nourish Populous: Angeloi
Instant of Perfection
Provides basic psionics to every Angeloi, but allows the God-King to monitor the thoughts of everyone with seventy miles, all those who have sworn allegiance to him, and all those who use psionics through the Instant of Perfection.
----
Heilar stood in nervous silence, and then said, "A-as far as I k-know, we have always been here... as long as any of us can remember..."
---
Varik missed a beat. "There is a god living inside the tree?", he said, awed. "Can you come with me for a moment?", he asked.
-----
A low crack echoed through the air, sending the residents of the Grotto scattering. As suddenly as the sound had come, it passed, rattling and shaking everything, sending leaves to the ground in a flurry.
In the wake of that echoing crack, the Grotto's people began to feel terror within their homes once more.
-----
Terror watched the arrival on this lands leader with a grin. Here was one who understood fear. He feared the wrath of the other gods of this forsaken orb. Feared that only his people's strength had kept them safe so far.
As silent as a spirit and fleeting as a shadow, he followed behind Karhedron.
-----
Sorrow frowned at the gods silence, and she rose to her feet, raising her hand towards him. For a long moment, it seemed as if nothing would happen, then the air thundered upon him with her cry, "GET OUT!"
Buffetted by the howling wind, the very fabric of the plane, the full might of the Heart of Chaos turned inwards on him, and all went dark. When light returned, he stood back with the Chaos itself.
-----
Fury opened his eyes, feasting on the fury of the dragons, feasting on the mighty rage of dragonkind. Such a delicious sensation. And the slaughter of those primal spirits was beautiful. And the way they tore themselves apart at his command was even better.
Taking his leave of Avanii for the moment, he soiught the nearest concentration of the spirits that still lived, moving out into the void in a spherical search pattern, until he finally came across a world which had what he sought. Called Kahnda by it's natives, it had little living on it besides the spirits. Perfect for his intentions.
Settling to the ground, he held his arms wide, dissolving his essence into the winds of Kahnda, spreading his fury far and wide across it. All across the world, primal spirits fell upon each other, destroying kin and family with reckless abandon in an uncontrolled blood rage.
Caught up in the battles, and seeing opportunities to strike at weakened spirits, the foulspawn too joined the slaughter. Overnight, the primal spirits of Kahnda were exstinct.
-----
Agnii glanced around the Elemental Chaos, starled and dazed by the forces which had cleansed everyne from the Heart of Chaos. Unable to reenter the tomb, and with nothing else to do, she returned to the prime world, wandering aimlessly.
PP Expenditures
1 PP - Create Artifact (Lesser) - The Traassa Darvii regrows, resuming the infliction of fear upon the peoples living within the Grotto.
1 PP - De-Nourish Populace - Primal Spirits go exstinct on Kahnda
5.4/8 + 2/2
The titan started up the ramp leading to the lens. He had to get higher, see if anything was causing this chill. Upwards and upwards he climbed, passing the other tenders, who waved at him as he passed by.
"Fools." He said to himself, climbing up higher. Didn't they feel it? Feel the chill? Feel that sense of impending doom? Didn't they...
The titan stopped short, staring northward. THE TREES WERE MOVING! THEY WERE COMING FOR THE CITY!
How was this possible? He saw their limbs waving back and forth in the distance, and they were definitely coming closer!
"CASAKA! MY CITY! I WILL DEFEND YOU FROM THIS INCURSION!" The titan shouted, grabbing the lens and wrenching it into place, focusing the burning beam on the tree line, burning the invading woods. By the time the other tenders had gotten to him, the attackers were all dead and burned.
As the other titans dragged him away, the titan was content. Casaka was safe... but as another breeze crossed the desert, a sudden fleeting thought crossed his mind... was it getting even colder???
1 PP (lens of casaka): Denourish Land: Burn large swaths of the forest north of the desert on Yrie, turning it into more desert.
4/7 PP + 1/1 PP + 1/2(all but nourish + spawn) PP
Desire? That is no name at all. Surely you have some other designation. Desire is a thing while you are a being.
I think I shall call you... Eros. Yes. I like the sound of that. Does it please you also? I am... you may call me Iro. I was told Lohak is somewhere, deep within this wondrous place. Would you help me find him?
He stopped circling, coalescing into a blue orb in front of her. "Still, if you wish to call be other than what I am, I will not begrudge you."
His color darkened from the bright shade it had been. "Lohak? He is within the depths of the chaos. But that area is sealed from within."
Someone told me Lohak was integral to that -- so I want to find him.
Iro picked a direction at random and began walking again.
I'm afraid I have no real goals or ambitions for you. I am perfectly content to simply, 'be'. Once I reconcile with this, 'Lohak', that is.
-----
The orc nodded, "Indeed I can. What do you need?"
The Djin lord was impressed by the titan appearance, he had seen many things in the elemental chaos, but none of such a strenght, a part from the herrim the still rule the sky of Yrie.
"My name is Soredin, gentle host, I'm an emissary from the nation of Shuras, seeking the friendship of your people..."
"Amira.", he said. Curious, the girl turned to look at him from her seat on Heilar's shoulder. "What is it, Varik?"
"He's the guardian of the tree there", he said, pointing at the orc and then the tree. "And he says that a god lives inside. You should inform the hunters' council when we return to the village."
"A...what? Does a god really live inside that tree?", she asked the guardian.
((Heads up, I currently have no internet, and so will be posting erratically... so don't rely on me to move things forward for a while.))
"Slaughter, you say? Hm, what a novel concept..." This god sounded... erratic. Somewhat like a combination of Bel and Lohak if he were to be honest. But if his cause aligned with that of the council, he didn't really care whether he was a cunning manipulator or brute with a giant, deified club. "Perhaps we will extend an invitation to him as well? If we see him, which is almost definite if we are to assault Verda."
The Silent One listened carefully to the other gods suggestions, nodding in agreement. "It seems we each have some idea of what we want to do to the world... all of them very good," he added, "I find the idea of that accursed world being buried mountain deep in demons and undead to a pleasant image. But our strength is in our individuality, but also in how we each bring our own talents to bear... I propose instead of uniting our power into a single entity, such as the demon horde or the Malevolants, we each go to Yrie at the same time, and protect ourselves from interference, but each bring out the dark nature of our domains in our own unique way. That way, even if the inhabiants learn to deal with one threat, another one is likely to cause them harm." It was a sound plan: no war was won by throwing your entire army on the enemy fort. That was at least one thing the gigotaurs had been good for showing him...
"Alright, let's spread this out fairly," the Silent One proposed. "Grawlf, you're familiar with Yrie. Can you give us an accurate summation of the regions and races it's made up of so we can each take one to... play with?"
[4/7]
Grawlf paused and looked at the other gods.
"Honestly, though... the most trouble you will have is with the other gods of the planet. Maibe and Ymalos both are very protective, and although I have not seen Brinn over Yrie's surface in some time, her mothering instinct is legendary."
"Oh, now I recall... there is one more race. The Trolls have split off into two races, and one now lives underground in a series of tunnels."
Then let us avoid gods entirely. The great dragons of Akkadia would prove worthy trials against our forces -- and perhaps we may even subvert a few of them, gaining greater power through their assimilation.
She gestured towards Grawlf.
If, as you say, Lohak is gone, our conquering shall be swift and untested by... rigorous foes, the draconic guardian not withstanding.
The guardian nodded. "Due to the effects of the tree, we believe some sort of god lives within, that or the tree itself is a god. Though the former does see much more likely. There have been many... occurrences... that have hinted to this."
"Occurrences? Has something wierd happened, like lights in the sky or an earthquake?", Amira inquired, curiously,
I can't help but note that Yrie houses Grawlf's own creatures. What gain does he have if we subvert the Titans for ourselves?
She spun, gliding towards Knowledge, clutching Grawlf lightly.
Unless of course, you only feign neutrality, and actually support our pantheon. There is room enough for you, yet. Will you not help harness the Titans for our mutual goals then?
The guardian responded, "Not exactly like that, though the tree changes whatever it touches into something different. It is also believed that whatever is within the tree created us as well, though it still has negative effects on us when we touch it."
Oh Grawlf, do you truly think me so cruel? I don't think we desire genocide. We strive for unity.
She gently patted The Silent One's armor.
And perfection, I think it was. We strive for perfection.
The goddess stroked the edge of her cowl.
I suppose I should go inform my exarch of our plans. Assuming my better half didn't reach him first, anyway.
She smiled.
Anything else, Knowledge? Or shall I leave you to your information gathering.
Grawlf turned to leave, then turned back.
"An idea for you. The Titans contain a core of molten glass that keeps them alive. An interesting idea might be to threaten the temperature of that molten core... I leave you to determine the method..."
PP Expenditure
3PP=8PP-1PP Modify Spawn (Archons): Earth Archons (Divine servants) (moderate) -1PP Modify Spawn (Archons): Air Archons (Divine Servants) (Moderate) -1PP Modify Spawn (Archons): Fire Archons (Divine Servants) (Moderate) -1PP Modify Spawn (Air, Fire, Water Archons): Storm Archons (Divine Servants) (Moderate) -1PP Gain Lesser Domain: Archons
With that, the guardian picked up a stick and poked the tree with it. Almost instantaneously the stick dissolved into ash. "You see," said the guardian, "Though it sometimes is beneficial, most of the time the reactions can be... dangerous."
----
Meanwhile, within the tree itself, Corruption was working on something much more sinister. The Body of Corruption had long been empty, save from the god that lived within. However, the place, being born of Corruption, almost literally seethed with corruption. thus, it gave birth to yet another sinister monster.
At first, the creature was a roughly humanoid muscular system, only far larger than the average creature. Then, it grew long fingernails, and had what seemed to be intestine hanging out. The being was hideous, with a long tongue and empty eye sockets. It was as hideous as the foulspawn four times over. It was an Atropal.
4 PP Spawn Greater Beast: The Atropals are created. For now, they only live within the Body of Corruption.
I care not of where we invade, I only insist that we act soon. I am sure that any target, with the exception of Verda, will fall to our combined power. There has been enough waiting. And Harbringer, I would be careful with your use of "we."
[4/8]
So be it.
She made a sharp, chopping gesture with one hand, tearing a rend in the fabric of space. The Harbinger steppd through the tear, and both vanished with a muted pop.
-------------------------
Fearos the Grim stirred from his dark slumber. There was... something else in this chamber.
Greetings, exarch...
Fulrit's hackles rose as the wolf jumped to his feet, alert now. He could see nothing, but he could smell... The Sculptor? As a maelstrom of emotions began whipping through his mind, he forced himself to concentrate. This was not The Sculptor -- it was subtly different. But still, very, very familiar. The exarch growled.
Who are you?
There was no answer. Fulrit's growl increased, and a faint, tinkling laughter reverberated throughout the chamber.
I am part of she whom once you served, risen from the dead with new orders for you.
I served The Sculptor, not parts of her dead flesh!
Dear, dear, Fulrit. Perhaps orders were not the best word. No... I come to bring you an opportunity...
Fulrit raised an eyebrow.
Oh?
Indeed.... let me explain how this is going to work...
---------------------------------------------
The deserts of Yrie remained as blisteringly hot as ever, but the heat did not stop the Sandshroud Malevolants that emerged from the Whispergate. Volumbra Aegis had expanded into Yrie, a second coming, and a return to the ancestral home the Sandshroud had enjoyed while living.
---------------------------------------------
Like a venomous ghost, The Harbinger soared over Casaka. On the nation's eastern border, the Goddess of Poison floated, miles above the searing sands. One clawed hand raked upwards, and the earth of Yrie responding with a groan -- mountain after mountain erupted, violently, out from the ground, reaching for the sky. The Casakans had a new neighbor -- the Parched Mountains.
-2 Shape Land (medium) -- Creates the Parched Mountains [mountain range] on the east-most edge of Casaka's border. These peaks are the highest on Yrie.
-1 nourish Populace (From Tombs of Remembrance) -- Vol'umbra Aegis expands into the Southwest portion of Yrie's desert. The Yrie-based population is primarily Sandshroud Malevolants who are uniquely adapted to survive in the desert.
He reappeared in the void over Yrie. Frowning to himself, he realized the Foulspawn's numbers were not nearly large enough to assault the giants, let alone any of the other races on Yrie. He sent a shot of his corruption down onto the planet, and nodded as the numbers of the Foulspawn grew.
Finally, on his way back into Verda, he ran into his old ally Ninneve. He said, "Ah, hello again."
2 PP Nourish Populace Foulspawn on Yrie
[1/7 PP]
"Doom comes for Casaka!"
The leader of the Malevolant group had nothing but his shifting-sand armor to distinguish him. Unlike the pearly white sand of his fellows, his was biege-ish, bordering on gray.
"The mountain has risen, and doom comes for Casaka!"
Those following the prophet lent their voices into the air -- the mournful keening accentuating their fellow's dire portents.
"The end of the desert has begun! May the Pantheon save us all! May the Pantheon save you all before it is too late!"
*keening*
"Mountains rise and doom comes for the desert!"
The Silent One mused over the proceedings, chuckling at the Grawlf's mention of genocide. "Fear not Maker, I don't intend to try to be so... disgustingly blatant with any creation, let alone yourse. It's just so... crude. I prefer to be a little more subtle, letting fear, paranoia and the odd nudge in the right direction make my prey destroy themselves." This gave the dark god an idea... Grawlf said that there were a race of trolls that lived beneath the earth? The darkness there was quite like his Shadowfell in essence... so if he were to go through with... and then link... hm, intriguing to say the least.
Missing somewhat the Harbingers presence on his shoulder, the dark god none the less turned to his Maker. "I must also take my leave for now... but rest assured you'll get all the knowledge you'll ever want regarding how the sentient races respond to... how shall we say, certain stimuli? But first, I have to use a little share I have in the afterlife."
With that, the Silent One teleported away in a veil of darkness.
***
The World on the River
Only to reappear on the barren outer regions of the afterlife he'd helped the Sisters to create so long ago... he wondered if they'd have allowed him to help if they'd had any idea he'd been intending to do this ever since he'd handed them a shard of his power? Then again, if they'd have seen that far ahead, they surely would have tried to kill him before he indirectly cause their death... well except for that future one, but she was far too fatalistic for his tastes anyway.
Picking a nice spot along the river, the Silent One drew his knife, cutting a large furrow of earth that lead further into the barren wastes. This made a branch in the river all souls would have to pass, one leading down to greener fields, and the other into the wastes... and a second chance. He'd always favoured those who took fate into their own hands, and now was the time to reward those who's cling to life to perform unfinished business or simply didn't want to die. Well, 'reward' in his eyes at least... he supposed it was a matter of perspective.
Moving on with the project, the dark god raised his hands over the small pool the river branched into, causing it to buckle and sway before becoming a swirling of dark water, a black portal crackling in it's depths. But not just any portal... a Misery Portal, leading directly to the Shadowfell. In other words, back to the world of the living. Finally, he shot a bolt of necrotic energy into the maelstrom, causing it to crackle even further with black lightening. Now, whatever soul decided to enter the abyss would emerge out the other side twisted into the undead, their entire minds devoted to whatever they had returned to life to do. To seek vengance. To bemoan their own death. To hate everything. And their form would change depending on what their motive was: it was hardly fitting for every soul to become a mere skeleton or the like, after all.
Speaking of which, their really weren't enough undead to provide a decent selection for lost souls to transform into... taking up a soul drifting into his new abyss, the Silent One looked over it critically. This soul was full of rage, full of sorrow, full of hate... it felt it's death was undeserved, and was full of emotion because of it. So, he would give it a form fitting for it's nature. It was a good thing he had taken some spittle from Sassriss... her saliva had the supernatural ability to twist the pure into the monstrous.
Dribblng the fould liquid onto the soul, it blackened and twisted in his grip, and soon a life sucking undead Wraith was all that remained of the purity of it's immortal soul. Well, not quite... when a soul entered the portal, it's darkness and mind would form the undead, becoming mere monsters. But it's good parts could not be so assimilated, and so drifted throughout the Shadowfell as mere whisps, fragments of a person with no further use... doomed to spend eternity in a world they didn't belong in. Unable to move on even if given a chance, as they were mere shard of a being...
3PP - Create Artifact - Create the Maelstrom of Unlife on the Sacred River. Souls now have a choice upon entering the afterlife: move on, or become twisted undead to avenge their death, avoid the afterlife, finish unfinished business and so forth. The purity of their souls are extinguished and expelled into the Shadowfell as mere whisps. Ironically, the tragedy caused by a soul becoming an undead in this way opens a small misery portal at the souls corpse, which leads to undead often stumbling upon their place of death or body as a haunting place. It also provides Guide PP.
1PP + 1 Spawn PP from Sassriss - Spawn Paragon Beast (Wraiths) - Wraiths appear as the undead remains of souls who are full of fury, saddness, or other feelings and can't let them go, especially if such feelings revolve around their own death.
[1/7, 1 Bonus, 1/2]
With that, Grawlf vanished, reappearing over Verda.
"Brinn, are you about? We have not spoken in some time. Come say hello to your grandfather."
~Yrie~
Karhedron nodded.
"Friendship sounds like a wonderful idea. I am sure we have much to share with one another. I would be happy to send back some some titans with you to teach your people our ways and our technologies. Now, let us talk specifics. How many-"
At that moment, a titan raced into the room.
"Karhedron! Come outside, quickly. Something very strange is happening!"
Karhedron jumped up. The titan's tone left no doubt that something very, very worrisome was occuring outside.
"Forgive me. It would appear that I am needed elsewhere. If it is okay with you, I will ask one of my titans to put together a small group of us to accompany you back to your homes. Take your time in our city, of course."
Karhedron ducked outside and immediately saw the mountains rising up one after another. Deep within his heart, he knew that he was not viewing a natural occurance... a god's handiwork was here. Once more, fear beset him... never before had a god taken such an interest in Casaka itself... typically the others had contented themselves with the northern portions of the continent and left his own people well enough alone. It would appear that those times were coming to an end...
Soon after the rumbling stopped, the creatures came. Karhedron planted himself squarely before the marching throng.
"What is the meaning of this? What do you mean, doom comes to Casaka, first nation of Yrie and home of the People of Glass?"
PP:
2 PP: Guide Populace: Casakans stand ready to begin trade with the Djinn, if the Djinn accept.
3/7 PP +1/1 +1/2 (all but nourish +spawn)
"Karhedron, you the leader of this wondrous place? Then old Skyrion shall speak warnings to you.
I am the oldest of the Sandshroud, freshly raised when the Tarrasque ran rampant."
The Malevolant nodded to Karhedron's weapon.
"For a time, I was to serve my goddess directly as a leader of my people... but when lord Vengeance, Fulrit, drove us through the Whispergate into the warm caress of the Susurrus, I hid. I have been living on Yrie all these years -- I could not leave my home. I hid from The Sculptor and her exarchs, and thought my hermitage would last until I once more ceased to be--"
At this, Skyrion threw back his head and hands, vocifercating to the sky.
"But the Sculptor was slain -- defending the peoples of her world. She gave her life for our brothers on distant Lor'quhan. The gods are dying, Karhedron, for without unity, there is death. Those gods who work solely for themselves are renegades and vagabonds, preying on the weaker beings, uncaring of others, mortal and divine alike! Dangerous times, my old, old friend -- dangerous times!"
The Sandshroud Malevolant abruptly turned, pointing at the newly risen mountains.
"THAT, is unnatural. A portent of coming cataclysm for sure! A new age is turning, brother, gods are dying, and all creation should quake in fear! DOOM, Karhedron! IT IS COMING!"
"Dead? Nonsense. Gods do not die. If you have not heard from this... Sculptor, I would posit that it is merely because you have done a good enough job of hiding from it. I have not heard from our lord Grawlf in some time, but I know that he is out there still, watching over us. This... mountain is worrisome, yes, but I am sure there is an explanation of it. Calm your worried mind and together we can figure out what is happening. Is not the sudden appearance of these mountains evidence of a divine force still very much alive and active in our world?"
The titan chuckled.
"And you should speak to our neighbors to the north and tell them that their gods are dying... Maibe and Ymalos would likely come out of the sky and smite you themselves for such a statment."
But deep within himself, the seed of doubt had been planted. He truly hadn't heard from Grawlf in a very, very long time... what if what this Skyrion said was true? What if the gods were fading? It was troubling, to say the least.
"Karhedron, what should we do?" the titan behind him whispered.
"We wait and see..." he whispered back. There was nothing else to do...
Cocking her head curiously, Brinn looked up to see Grawlf come to Verda. It had been too long since last they'd talked, indeed.. after telling her children she would be right back, she flew up to where the god of knowledge floated, half-bowing respectfully. "Hello, friend Grawlf, to what do I owe this visit?," she asked, smiling.
It finally occured to the titan that the dark skin of the Malevolant had grown darker... and moist... underneath his eyes. His followers tittered nervously.
"I..." Began the Malevolant, trembling in an uncharacteristically piteous way. "I was formed from her own hands!"
Skyrion slowly ran his palms over his armor.
"She forged this for me myself -- gave me the a second chance in the wake of the tarrasque. And I threw it all away, denied her and hid on Yire -- all she had done was seize a newly dead soul, after all; what could I possibly be to her."
The malevolant surged upwards, sorrow turning to fury in the span of a few seconds, seeming to grow several inches in the process.
"Until she passed -- you must remember what happened when you were suddenly thrust into the cold water of the sea? That initial, painful shock as your core dulled, as your lifeforce began to ebb away? "
Skyrion stared straight into Karhedron's eyes.
"When The Sculptor passed, it was like that for each of us, but one thousand-fold. For each of us created directly by her hand still had an intrinsic link to the goddess, and when her power ebbed, so too did we."
"Look at me!" raged the Sandshroud, gesturing to his oddly coloured armor.
"Look. At. me! I barely survived the ordeal! Titans shatter, Malevolants die, so tell me why gods cannot cry?"
Skyrion turned to address the surrounding crowd.
"Dark tidings abound, the end is nigh!
Mountains rise and the gods do die!
Alone and scattered, we are doomed,
broken like Ymalos' moon!
Against the godkillers what hope have we,
disparate, scrambled, we need unity!
This mountain spells doom, mark my word--
left alone, we all shall perish, but:
ubi concordia ibi victoria!"
A day had passed since the Unbound Ones had arrived at the orc village. Amira and Varik had been given a spare hut located near the Sacred Tree, and though it was primitive, it was very comfortable and somehow quaint. The next morning, Heilar came and said, "Well, have you reached a decision? Are you returning to your village to tell your people of us?"
----
Sku'Byss nodded, "I can indeed strengthen their numbers and give them knowledge. What did you have in mind? As to allies, indeed there are others. I have just returned from a meeting with them, in fact."
Karhedron was taken aback by Skyrion's response to his questions. It would appear he had crossed a line.
"I apologize, Skyrion. I did not mean to diminish the weight and importance of your feelings. Would it help if you spoke of her? It helps us when our creator is gone to share stories of him. And, forgive me, but what was that last thing you said? I didn't understand it. Urban Coconut In Victory? My ears are growing old..."
~Verda~
"Oh, nothing in particular. I mostly wanted to check up on you. Last I saw you, you were not in very good shape. I'm happy to see you have recovered. How have the past few centuries gone? I must admit I have not been all that active. I had the most interesting dreams."
"I assume you share a strong link with Grawlf as well -- you are the first sculpted, after all."
The Malevolant swooned, and was quickly caught and given a walking stick by one of his followers.
"Ah yes -- it was guttertongue, a language of all the discordant forces of the malevolants. More or less, it translates as 'In unity there is victory.'"
Skyrion turned towards the setting sun.
"As to The Sculptor, no... her time is gone. She has no more stories to be told. We follow someone else now..."
The titan paused, considering for a moment, then continued,
"Although, now that you mention it, I cannot say whether or not this lack of feeling means that a connection does not exist or that a connection does exist but nothing has occurred to make me notice it. I will ask Grawlf about it next time I see him."
"As for the rest of what you have said, unity is in our interests. Why don't you make yourselves at home... let it not be said that we Titans are not a hospitibale people. And if I may ask, who do you follow now?"
"Gladly -- we follow the Pantheon now; the few gods who dare to unite against the coming era of darkness. We do not concern ourselves with the individual gods, for it is the united, collective whole that lends their strength to those under their protection.
Already my brothers have seen their home torn nigh asunder by a single, raging god, and knitted back to full by a member of the Pantheon. I believe one of their number attempted to right the wrongs on Lor'quhan, but was thwarted by the rampaging of another mad god -- Lohak. Perhaps you've heard of him?
We follow the Pantheon for they alone have deigned to protect us. You titans would be wise to follow our lead -- before you too are subjected to adversity."
Skyrion handed the walking stick back to his fellows and adjusted his armor. "Alas, we cannot stay. We go now to the new mountains, seeking to discover clues as to what caused its emergence."
"A good plan. I think I will go and see what is occuring on the mountain as well. Perhaps on the way you can tell me more about this 'Pantheon'... who is part of it, what do they intend to do? I remain unconvinced that any doom is about to befall my nation, but talk is free, is it not?"
Pointing to a few other titans, Karhedron quickly assembled a group of his own.
"Lead on, Skyrion."
----------------------------------------------------
The malevolants continued to proselytize as their journey took them through the city, taking inspiration from the Titanic group now following them. (That their words had not been the sole cause of their followers didn't matter appear to dissuade them in the slightest)
As the freezing desert nights swept in, they brought with it a strange sensation, utterly alien to the desert... overnight, when temperatures were coldest, the skies of Yrie opened up and it snowed.
-----------------------------------------------------
"My friend, I hesitate to tell you more of the pantheon, less it drive you away. Understand that we worship the collective, not the individual, so despite them containing some unsavory elements, we respect each god's differences, but we respect more their unity.
As was revealed to me by our dark lord Fearos, there are four gods in the Pantheon at current -- The Silent One, keeper of Truth and Darkness, Zo'Att, warden of Time and Destruction, Sku'byss the Corruptor, and the enigmatic one known as The Harbinger, lady of poison. I hear your own Grawlf was offered solace in the open embrace of the council, but was as of yet unsure.
The important thing to take from this is unity -- if the likes of Zo'Att and Sku'byss can work together, so should the disparate races dotting these worlds be able to."
+1 PP New Day
-2 PP Guide -- Parts of Casaka begin to worship the Pantheon.
4/7+1/2
"Ah, much has happened since you left! My children have finally arrived, and are even now below us. Come, meet them while we catch up.," Smiling, Brinn descended to the forest floor. "Durenghast, Cru, this is my friend Grawlf, keeper of knowledge. Grawlf, these are my children." Looking aside for a moment, Brinn thought to her herself that perhaps it was a good thing Grawlf had come... she needed someone of indisputable wisdom to talk to, after all.
PP: 4/7 + 2/2 + 1/1
+2 PP new day (using extra PP today)
-2 PP - Guide Populace - Foulspawn instructed to worship the Dark Pantheon. Because they worship the same gods, they cease fighting.
[5/8]
Gazing upon the peculiar thing that was Grawlf, Cru was struck with a sudden desire, an inexplicable urge. He needed to make a mask of this thing, of this marvelous, wonderful, odd thing. Without a word to his mother, brother, or the strange new arrival, Cru dropped to the ground. Seeming to produce material from nowhere, he began to work at a dazzling speed, the movement of his hands almost hypotic over the rapidly forming mask. When he was done, he stood to stand beside his brother, and proudly presented the mask to Grawlf.
It was an eyeball, no doubt about that. One large eyeball, evidently made to fit over the wearer's entire face. It was positively astounding the level of detail produced in just a few short moments. Somehow, he had managed to produce the startling pigments in the eye's iris, and the pupil was such a perfect black, it seemed nigh-impossible. There were even faint red vein lines tracing across the white of the eye. This truely was no mere mask, for Cru truly was no mere boy. With another flash of too-fat hands, the eye-mask was upon Cru's face. When he spoke again, his voice was somewhat deeper, more akin to Grawlf's voice than Cru's own. Whether this was due simply to playacting or to some mysterious quality of the mask was entirely unknown.
"It is true, the name bestowed upon me is Cru," said the little boy, using words much more complex than he normally would have, "Though I assume that you, being the brilliant Lord of Knowledge, would already be informed of such things."
Unbeknownst to the rest, Cru was smiling broadly beneath the mask, thrilled at his own ability to stay in character. At the back of his mind he had a sneaking suspicion that he was over-doing it a tad, but the prevailing emotion was excitement. Cru just loved playing roles. Especially those that were so removed from his own personality. Finally, he couldn't contain his excitement any longer.
"How was that mommy?" asked Cru excitedly, completely forgetting to remain in character, "Was that good?"
PP Expenditures
1 PP - Modify Populace (Greater) - Create Void Dragons, using chromatic dragons as the template.
6.7/8 + 2/2
This time with my children has been the happiest in my life... despite the pain that keeps coming my way. Verda burning, the demon attacking, darkness spreading... I can't keep up with this. I can't enjoy my life if I fear so much for the lands I protect and grow. The mortals have proven themselves to be able to take care of themselves, and I do not wish to control them in any case. Between the elementals and Cragnas, they should be safe from a god's attack, and if not they can work to protect themselves. Is this practicality on my part? Or failure? I don't know..
Grawlf laughed, a long and happy sound that bubbled up from deep within himself and burst forth into the surrounding area.
"That was lovely, Cru. You truly have a marvelous talent. Forgive me for not seeking you out earlier! You bring a joy and sparkle to my eye that I have not felt in some time."
Grawlf looked up and met Brinn's eye and saw a reflection of his own doubt and weariness there.
"You look tired, Forest-Tender. What is it that pulls your spirit downward? Perhaps I can help."
~Yrie~
"So Grawlf still lives. That is good to hear." Karhedron rumbled.
What Skyrion was saying made little sense. Why should it be remarkable that a god of destruction and time should find an ally in a god of corruption? Was not Time the greatest corruptor of them all? He had heard tales of the Silent One as well... the stars made it very clear that he was a god-murderer... and a lady of poison? This seemed less and less like something he would want a part of. It was no wonder that Grawlf was reluctant to join them.
"So yes... you speak of a coming disaster. Do you know what this disaster will entail? And how could it possibly threaten the combined powers of the gods themselves?"
"Grawlf, my old friend... what is my purpose?," she asked softly.
"All I know is that six gods lie dead. And despite what the stars say to the contrary, every passing was suicide. Can we mortals even comprehend what would drive the gods to slay themselves?"
"And that, my friend, is my point - there are no 'combined powers' except the pantheon. It is only under their protection that I feel my people will be safe."
"As to the disaster... no, nothing specific. But the winds have changed -- I can feel them even if you do not -- they are sluggish and adrip with water. I have my guesses and suppositions about what may come to pass... but I shall keep them to myself for now."
1 PP Nourish Populace: The numbers of the Kaorti grow.
Perhaps that was why mortals reviled the undead so? They challenged this core fact that the dead don't return, and so made the belief mortals based their entire cultures on irrelevant. What's more, with the undead, they didn't need to make war. They didn't need to eat, or sleep, or even breathe. They didn't age. They could stay alive forever and ever, giving them the power to do whatever they wanted, and maybe mortals just couldn't handle that. Preferring to revile the undead as abominations rather than admit their deep set envy. Of course, the fact many undead chose to prey on the living probably didn't help, but then again, didn't the living prey on the living as well?
It was a perculiar phenominon. A brave warrior who could face down a dragon often turned to a qualing sack or meat in the face of the undead... frightened beyond sanity from the 'unholiness' and 'wrongness' of it's foe. But what was right? Did not the undead deserve a place in the world as much as the gigotaurs? The trees? The stars? Were not the undead just another thread in the tapestry of creation, weaving among the pattern in harmony with the rest, all weaved by perfect weavers? Of course some claimed even gods were no absolute, even among the gods themselves... but the Silent One knew differently. They were perfect. There was no other explanation, and nothing could persuade him otherwise.
But that wasn't important right now... right now, he had bigger fish to fry. MUCH bigger fish. The entirity of Yrie, in fact. At first he'd though to only reach his tentacles over a small region of the world, but that would hardly do for his little experiment would it? An experiment in fear, paranoia, and just how far a mortal would go to avoid the horrors of the world... if only they'd realize that horror WAS the world, and the little patches of light they supposedly lived in were but an illusion brought upon by feeble minds.
The dark god stood in the void above the world of light. So disgustingly bright. So blatantly pure. So sickeningly absent of horror and strife. Sure, some mortals ate eachother, kept eachother slaves and the like, but where was the FEAR? Where was the HATE? Where was the MISTRUST? He'd attempt to bring it all in and more.
And all it would take would be to curse the entire planet.
Raising his hands above his head, the Silent One let loose a crackle of necrotic lightening, feeling the power of unlife surge through him. Undeath wasn't his essence, but it had become a little hobby for him... he doubted there were many in the universe who could match his mastery over it. Grawlf perhaps, having made the first undead to see the light of the universe. And the one he himself had made with Sku'byss, whatever had happened to them. But few others. Levelling the ball of necrotic energy at the planet, he dispersed it, causing the crackling threads to engulf the world, blackening the skies until...
Nothing. Nothing changed. The world remained the same... to the untrained eye. But those who looked deeper, could FEEL the darkness within it, would realize that the Silent One had turned the entirity of Yrie into unhallowed ground. Unhallowed ground, that which gave undead extra strength and resistance to holy light. Unhallowed ground that if one were to die or be lain to rest on it would make the chances of that dead mortal rising as the undead increase by such an amount there wasn't even a single word to describe it... increasing the possibility of undeath by about 100-200 times it's usual rate was about right, but far too wordy for the Silent One's taste. So he contended himself to think of the simple fact the entirety of Yrie would learn to burn it's dead... and eventually realize with horror that even burning often didn't help.
2PP + 1 bonus PP - Nourish Land - Yrie become Unhallowed Ground, which makes undead stronger and greatly increases the odds that a even slightly wayward soul will take the dark path in the river to undeath.
[0/7. 1/2]
The Silent One seemed the obvious choice at first, but Zo-Att had not trusted him one bit. Deceit was his entire nature, and there was no reason that he would be especially loyal to his own mother.
Her other son, the Corruptor had the least experience in the world. He also seemed the most likely to alter them in some way. He could probably be trusted to some degree, but they were hardly close.
That only left the Harbringer. The name seemed suitable to lead demons in itself, and she was another woman; definitely suited to lead people simply out of that virtue. And unlike the other two, she did not seem a scheming type. If Zo-Att told her what to do with her forces, she would bet that the Harbringer would do exactly as she commanded.
Excellent.
Swiftly returning to the Court, Zo-Att fiddled around with the PA. She didn't know how to contact only a single being, but she had an idea. Concentrating on the Harbringer's face, Zo-Att spoke into the device.
Harbringer... I have an arrangement for you that I believe you would find suitable. Meet me in the Eternal Clock. You can enter simply by thinking of the concept of Time.
Without delay, Zo-Att moved to the agreed (well, by herself anyway, that was all that mattered, right?) location. Grinning with anticipation, she looked toward her demonic children.
The goddess of poison considered her options -- she had time yet, and Zo'att had always been her favorite Aunt. Still too high to be seen by the landwalkers below, the goddess concentrated on time.
She had never heard of (much less seen) the Eternal Clock before, but as her claws ripped a hole between the worlds and she gazed at her destination, she was sure that it could be nothing else.
Gingerly entering the plane (her tear in reality neatly mending itself behind her) the Harbinger murmured in awe at the whirring clocks, gizmos, widgets, cranks, gadgets, doohickeys, and whatchamacallits that hummed, buzzed, and clanked.
Seeing Zo'Att, The Harbinger glided to her aunt.
It's... ingenious. Did you make it, Destroyer?
A flash erupted from the Demon Forge. A large gout of flame burst into the air, and slowly shaped itself into the form of a large Marilith. The flames subsided, leaving fiery red scales, and deadly swords of pure white brilliance. She was a good two feet taller than the others, and her visage was fierce and terrifying.
"And this their general. Her name is Karii."
-3 PP - Ascend Exarch - Karii the Queen of Mariliths. Provides guide PP. The Harbringer has full control over her, but the extra PP is for Zo-Att.
[2/8]
The Harbinger wafted around the demon forge, inspecting Karii (and the nearby masses of demons) from every angle.
They are... I have not seen the like of these before! Such ferocity -- such dedication. Ooooh, I would love to experiment with some of these. And you are lending them to me?
Dare I ask what brought this on? I'm sure these could aid our -- well, my -- current projects on Yrie. And Khanda? Where is that? I thought I had Whispergates on all the worlds, but I have never heard of this Khanda...
Indeed. Forgive me for taking my leave of you so soon, but I must return to make sure my plans develop accordingly.
I think I shall visit Khanda first though -- it sounds rich in strife -- perfect fuel to expand the Malevolants, I think.
She turned towards Karii.
Assemble a small expeditionary force. If you can convince or coerce some of the other demons into joining you, all the better. Pick the weakest and least demonic of your kin -- I will see what I can do to... 'encourage' their development.
The Harbinger waved a claw, and a nearby alcove of gears and support struts suddenly contained a whirling pool of ebon energy.
Send them through the Whispergate when the weaklings have assembled. I anticipate fighting soon, so I want the rest of your ladies in top form. I will return soon with further instructions.
Zo'Att, you said some demons are on Khanda? Should be easy to find then. HIYEAH!
Once more the Harbinger's claws tore a hole in space. She darted through, appearing in the throne room of the Tyrant.
PP Expenditure
0 PP move Lor'quhanish Whispergate to The Eternal Clock.
Understanding (approximately) where she was, she took a deep breath, ready to dispense with the theatrics.
FOOL! Look upon the Harbinger of your Pantheon and despair, for Poison has came to Khanda!
Cackling madly, the goddess swarmed through two nearby guards, who immediately turned green and dropped to the ground, sweating profusely and mumbling unintelligibly.
Me? I require nothing. Can not gods reward their most loyal servants with blessed visits of their presence? I bring opportunity, Tyrant.
Even know your Foulspawn kin languish on Yrie -- forlorn and surrounded by enemies: trolls and dhoremi.
I can let you aid them -- support your kin in their trials. Perhaps even secure favor from Sku'byss in the process. I believe he, as I do, appreciates servants intelligent enough to strike out for the greater cause out of their own initiative.
What say you -- care ye to invade Yrie?
The Harbinger pointed at one corner of the Tyrant's throne room. Black, whispy energy rose from the location.
That is a Whispergate. It will lead you to Yrie. Go forth, spread the word of the Pantheon, and curry favor with all of us.
The Harbinger looked at the two moaning foulspawn still on the floor.
They will live if they are strong. It is a trial by fire, my poison...
Farewell, Tyrant, and may your people prosper.
The Harbinger cackled madly before diving head first through the Whispergate, returning to the Susurrus.
PP Expenditure
0 PP Move Artifact -- The Isles of Wonder Whispergate moves to Khanda.
0 PP Move Artifact -- The Yriean Whispergate moves from its location southwest of Casaka to due East, within the Parched Mountains.
Once the army had been gathered, the Tyrant stood before his army just outside his palace and said, "My servants, my people, Slaves of Corruption, today I present to you an opportunity to win the Corrupter's favor. Within my palace lies a portal to a world known as Yrie. There, the first of our kind struggle to survive in a harsh world. It is the will of our master to come to their aid, and crush the populaces of Yrie in the name of Corruption! We go forward now, into the unknown, for our Master!"
And with that, the Foulspawn charged into the throne room and into the Whispergate.
1 (+1 PP from the Tyrant) Guide Populace: The Foulspawn use the Whispergate to travel to the Parched Mountains. There, they set up a warcamp.
As he flew over the skies of Verda, looking for a spot to safely plant the seed at, the young god removed it from his body, with a twinge of pain. To his surprise, its power seemed to rapidly weaken as he moved, until eventually it disappeared completely. With a sigh of relief, Durenghast descended to the earth, and planted the Seed of Terror there, confident in its influence being completely gone.
Then, the heavy load finally lifted off of his back, his mind turned to his creations, the Unbound Ones. Wishing to see them again, he returned to the Grotto.
---
Amira and Varik returned to the village without incident. There, the Hunter's Council was waiting for the little girl.
"So, Amira? What do you think of our new neighbors?", Krysanter asked, as the hunters and the little girl entered the hut.
"They're nice people, though they get scared easily. They've got a god living inside a tree, too!", she started, before a chorus interrupted her.
"WHAT?! A god? How?"
Amira then proceeded to narrate what she had learned about the orcs and their god, and everything else that had happened during their stay. Afterwards, the council spent another hour debating what to do, before deciding to establish a bond of friendship with the orcs.
---
While Amira gave her report, Varik was preparing himself to leave. His duty done, he had nothing else left to do but leave for a new place to see. With his meager possessions prepared, he left the village, paying no heed to the golden-colored Unbound One he passed by as he left.
"What is your purpose? Your purpose is to do your duty. Tend the forests, sow harmony instead of discord throughout the universe, heal those who are in pain, love those who deserve your love. There can be no more and no less to what you are meant to do, what you were, in fact, created to do."
Grawlf watched Brinn for a long moment, and eventually his form relaxed somewhat, arms drooping down to his sides.
"What I am saying is that it is your purpose to live do what you feel is best. I am not sure that I can reveal to you anything more than that, for unlike most of the other gods who make up our universe, you have always had a clear view of what your duty required of you."
Grawlf was silent, then said quietly.
"Brinn, may I ask something of you? The others who I would trust to ask appear to be sleeping or dead, and I need some help."
~Yrie~
The appearance of the foulspawn, the tainting of the soil, the snow in the desert. It was clear that something horrible was coming. Perhaps the doom foretold by the malevolants was true, but the Casakans would have none of it. They had summoned up the sun worms from the depths and sent them spinning about the capital city, creating a moat of molten glass that heated the city and melted all the ice. Although the storm raged without, here in the city and for miles in every direction, it was still warm. Messengers were sent to all the nations and peoples of Yrie: The Trolls, both above ground and below, the Dhoremi, the Djinn, the Gold Dragons, all those who lived on or under the planet, even the Foulspawn who lived in the southern reaches of the planet. It was a calculated risk, but the odds that these foulspawn would be on good terms with the new foulspawn seemed... unlikely.
"Come. Come to Casaka and parley with the Titan lords against the doom that is approaching"
~~~~The Parched Mountains~~~
Karhedron walked in silence with Skyrion. He had some ideas of his own, but if Skyrion didn't feel like sharing, then he did not feel like sharing either...
"You know you can ask me for anything, Grawlf. There are few I would trust more."
"I think you have the right of it. Perhaps by fighting so strenuously you drew the disasters to you like moths to a flame... or flames to a moth... one or the other. My advice would be to think about your forest. Think about those beings that live within them. They live and they die in a constant web of birth and death, creation and destruction. Without their destruction at the hands of predators, or at the hand of time itself, they could not give the energy necessary for another things creation! Or look even higher up, at the forest itself. Without periodic destruction from wind or fire or lightning, new trees could never flourish and the animals that depend on those smaller plants would die.
Look at your life-web and see how it manages to function without constant intervention. Perhaps you should consider all of Verda as as extension of the web. Destruction may visit it, but it will pass and new life will flourish. Of course, I do not ask you to simply walk away. Gods and their interests may result in far more variation than the planet can naturally handle... but... see where something is going before reacting. Guide it down a route you find pleasing. Allow yourself to see past the immediate destruction to the time of great fecundity that may follow."
Grawlf chuckled.
"Forgive me, but it is amusing that what I have to ask of you happens to correspond to this very conversation. At this moment, four gods: Destruction, the Secret-Keeper, the Corruptor and Once-Water are plotting to put Yrie through some form of harrowing experience. They have informed me of their intent, and I wish to see what the mortals will do in response. I ask you to help me watch over this... experiment. I worry that the Corruptor and Once-Water are up to something and will go too far into some form of genocidal act. If such an event occurs, I ask your help to save my titans and beat back the invaders. Regardless, if you would be there to watch with me, I would be greatly appreciative..."
Grawlf's voice dropped to a whisper, ragged with emotion:
"It is going to be hard to watch..."
"It is another sign of coming doom, I'm sure!"
The withered Malevolant looked at his silent and brooding friend, then shook his head sadly. He did not want Doom to come to Yrie anymore than Karhedron. The party was high in the mountains now, the desert long having dispersed into scrub grass and rocks.
"Cheer up my friend -- these mountains cannot be all bad! Look, the clouds hug the lower slopes and foothills of this place. They are unable or unwilling to approach us. That means more sun to keep you and your brethren warm so far from the desert!"
-----------------------------------------
Within the Tombs of Remembrance, Fulrit was busy slaughtering Mariliths. They truly were the weakest of their breed, but their souls found no rest -- the fearsome fangs and claws of the exarch pinned them into the stone floor, writhing helplessly in spirit-based plight.
The spirits cried out in pain and agony and injustice -- their only crime had been loyalty, after all.
Fear not, demon-souls... I am not heartless. You are weak, and I shall make you strong!
PP Expenditure
+1 New day
-2 Modify Populace (1 from Fulrit) -- Change some of the Mariliths into Vindicants, vengeful souls whose loyalty to a person, cause, or ideal keeps them from a restful death.
7/7+ 0/2
~Yrie~
Karhedron let out a barking, bitter laugh.
"Indeed, it will be slightly warmer up here... but the presence of those clouds worries me. We have not had clouds over the desert in decades, and now all this all at once. The Foulspawn as well... we have seen some in the southern reaches of the desert, but these appear to be of different stock. Again, worrisome. I just hope we reach wherever you are going soon."
"You think I know what I am looking for? Karhedron -- we did not come here with a purpose in mind! We came here to pray and hope for some reveal of what doom approaches, or how we may best stop it. If you expected us to lead you straight to the source of this... event, you have been mislead by our ignorance! We are as much in the dark as you!"
"Bury them as well as you can," the leader of the living band requested, patting one of his men on the shoulder. It was hard to dig a grave in such frozen earth, but they could at least cover them as well as they could, before the cold and constant wind shattered them and sent them scattering indignantly into the icey winds.
For a few moments, the group worked somberly... until one of them shot backwards with a cry, scrabbling across the snow. For a moment, there was confusion, before panic shot into the rest of the titans as their dead companions simply melted away, their glass shifting and moulding before converting to the disgusting form of rotting flesh. Wings more bone than flesh errupted from their backs, and soon the dead titans arose in the form of Rot Harbingers.
Admists calls of 'retreat', the titans ran, bounding as fast as they could in the frozen desert. It didn't matter though... long legs or no, a glass titan is no match for death incarnate on the wing.
Soon, another band of glass titans lay dead in the snow.
***
In the Underdark, a village of ogres were having a feast. You could tell it was a feast because of the huge pile of slaughtered dhorem piled up in the center of the village. They'd killed an entire pen for this celebration, and they intended to enjoy it. Everywhere you looked, an ogre was eating a leg, a hand, a head, something. And this made the dhorem... angry. So so angry. They just wanted to live in peace, and now they were being eaten. How dare they!
From the anger came forth shadow. The pile of dhorem turned black for a moment, the misty trails of the Shadowfell mixing with the innate shadow of the Underdark, before suddenly the shadow.. shrieked. A shriek of rage, of grief, of death. Out from the bodies flew dozens of wraith, one for each dhorem killed that day. The trogres cried out in alarm, grabbing their weapons to fight off the things, but they were no match against the insubstantial creatures.
Soon, the wraith were eating the ogres. Not their flesh, but their very life essence. Their souls. It wasn't completely ironic, but it was more than enough to sate the wraiths thirst for vengance... for about ten minutes. After that, the group of undead decided that they might as well search the Underdark for other ogres. More vengance. More hate. More anger.
***
"How dare you!" a dhorem shouted at his neighbour. "You accuse me of such... such..."
"All I'm saying is that people have been dissapearing, and your son died last week," the other accused. "Maybe he wasn't content to stay dead, hm? Maybe his bones just started walking, and little old daddy decided to take him in and provide him with the odd meal?"
"My son would never... and I would never... how could you even THINK that?!"
"It's happened before, and it'll happen again. And you're the most likely one in the village to do it!"
"Oh yeah? What about your sweet old gran?! She died scarcely a fortnight ago, could be you're just accusing me because you want to draw suspicion away from yourself!"
"That's it!"
The dhorem soon came to blows, punching eachother, pulling at eachothers tails, rolling around in the dirt like common street brawlers. It wasn't an uncommon sight now days... at first the races had been united against the undead, but soon it became apparent that some parents, lovers and the like were too attached to their undead loved ones that they took them in and went so far as to help them hunt down the living. It was sickening, but so was the idea of the dead walking in the first place.
Soon, mistrust replaced unity, and all lay a suspicious eye on one another. And while the living fought the living, the undead grew in number. Grew in strength. Grew in hunger...
***
The Silent One looked over the board in front of him, musing over it before moving a few pieces. His undead were doing their job well... they were spreading fear. Paranoia. Mistrust. He'd heard the titans were making a play for unity, but with the way the board was currently set up, that wasn't going to happen. There were many undead pieces in the way. The ogres and the dhorem were still on opposite sides of the board despite a few common threats. The twisted sons of Sku'byss would no doubt work together, and provide a common threat. And all the while, the two races that were actually 'good', the dhorem and the titans were on the brink of oblivion. The dhorem from the ogres who'd overhunted them for so long, before the dark pantheon had even turned their eye to this world, and the titans... well...
Looking at the board, the white shining pieces representing the titans were completely surrounded by dark pieces. Undead. Twisted humanoides. Even the odd piece representing the changing climate. Chuckling, the Silent One removed some of the smaller pieces in the titans defence. They were losing... of course he didn't want to wipe them out. Genocide was beneath him. But this world was growing darker by the second... and he wondered what would flash through the mortals minds as the last rays of light were blocked out, dooming them to live in the shadow for eternity. Then, they'd have a simple choice... become one with the darkness, or be opressed by it.
[1/7, 1/2]
Volumbra Aegis (comprised entirely of beings 'mostly-dead' already) stood as a shimmering beacon of hope in the dark desert. Their racial physiology made them tough as nails, and the Malevolants were decent fighters as well. It probably also helped that when they 'died' their bodies disappeared utterly, their soul immediately returning to the River.
The undead might have terrified the living, but to the Malevolants it was just another nuisance that came with life on Yrie. Like the Titanic refugees that were even know flooding Volumbra Aegis' camps and outposts, huddled around forges, smithies, and crematoriums-- anything they could find to keep up their body heat.
They were the lucky ones -- others on the edges of Casaka had been far less lucky. The malevolants grudgingly accepted their new 'citizens' though the refugees had planted a definite seed in their mind: would the Sandshroud soon reunite with their ancient progenitors? Officially annexing Casaka to protect the intelligent glasswrought behemoths?
At this point it was only truly necessary for one purpose. The Ark.
The completion of the Ark had become a priority for the Casakan people. Things were looking increasingly dire on Yrie, with none of their potential allies responding to their messages and the cold and undead creeping ever closer. In fact, it was uncertain if there were any more mortals living on the whole of the planet. Sun-worm escorted caravans traveled across the desert to the Ark, which so far had escaped notice, supplies and people were brought to the great glass structure, and slowly but surely, the vessel was being filled. Three sun worms circled the camp, and many carefully tended Sahukya floated near the individual titans, warming them and speeding their progress. Always the titans, Dhoremi and a few of the Malevolants looked over their shoulders... knowing their hideaway could not remain undiscovered forever.
The Foulsopawn had found the Ark. A giant glass structure. Though the Foulspawn did not know its purpose, they knew one thing; the enemies of the Corrupter were defending it fiercely, and the Foulspawn needed to remove such enemies. Thus, a large chunk of the Foulspawn army assembled that night, and, under the shadow of darkness, attacked unrelentingly and without mercy, killing all who would get in their way.
Brinn shook her head. "No, I know for a fact that it was Hrinori, or whom she became, at least. A mountain of snow came to Verda, and when we found it, the Crystal Lotus was there. After combining the snow, she took form, and remembers me, though little else. It is definately Hrinori who is on Verda. Could she have somehow been split when she nearly died...?" Brinn considered what she'd seen of her friend, and nodded in certainity. It was the goddess of water, no doubt. Divine death was hardly something she was familiar with... would it be possible for them to split into their domains? Hrinori had grown poisoned, and nearly died, had she grown two seperate selves then?
Yrie
South of Casaka, in no-man's land, stood a small and lonely mountain range, untouched by any but spirits' hands. Rumors had spread for decades that some great creature lived there, a shadow through the sky in the noon light. Nothing had ever been shown for this, though, and in time it was forgotten... just as Orine had hoped.
Having arrived on Yrie nearly two centuries ago, much time had passed for the Alabaster Dragon, time of study and thought that suited her well. After Maibe had granted her free reign upon Yrie, she had visited the Dhorem for a time, under the guise of a pale-skinned Dhorem. Their people were fascinating to her, in their mortal lives and ways. Birth and death... such interesting concepts to an immortal. She had briefly considered a liason, but decided that she was too far above such simple folk. She had then stayed with the ogres, but only briefly- the savagery they displayed, the predatory fury, were abhorrent to her. She had soon left them, but done little to interfere with her plight. The titans were the most interesting of the lot, in their marvelous city of glass and marble, with spires and gleaming sunlight. Those few times they had seen her, she hadn't been able to resist watching the massive giants in their work. Since then, she'd returned to her new home in peace.
Yet, the good dragon could hardly stand it when some of her spirit attendants and friends fearfully spoke of the great undead menace that was sweeping across Yrie. Some god had shown their hand, no doubt, and she would not allow her precious mortals to die off to some undead monstrosities. Soonafter, she left Vigil, crashing into the waves of Rot Harbringers with unbridled fury. Blades of light corroscated through the sky as the undead horrors fell to the ground in rotten chunks. Mourning the loss of the titans on the mountains, she travelled quickly through the desert, appalled at the number of undead in the area. In a wash of radiance, the undead burned from where she went, travelling quickly towards Casaka. When she reached the great walls of the city, she circled off to continue her slaughter, but not before dropping off a small spirit, who piped up in an unimpressive voice, "Little One says to stand strong! Orine is here!"
PP: 5/7 + 2/2 + 1/1
In The Grotto, fear ran rampant once again. Despite the assurances of their protectors, impossible fear would not relent. Though they had felt relief for a short time, it had not lasted... and now they had gathered together to take things into their own hands. With the combined forces of the draconic races, the spirits, the Ankir, the Phoeni, and the Anala, they gathered in the center of the Grotto, working their magics of nature to protect the Grotto. Though they were of one purpose, they had many different minds; arguements spurred by fear raged across the holy place, causing strife between them in their proposed unity. Yet the united races of Brinn would not stand apart for long, as the leaders of each race managed to calm their people. In light of a common fear, they said, we must all unite and save ourselves.
For five days and nights, the strongest nature mages among them, avatars of nature all, devised a plan to save their nation from the hands of the dark gods in this way, hopefully for good. They would make a land that would fight for itself, with the combined powers of all the races fueling it with the blessings of their protectors. All the people of the grotto, together, raised their voices in prayers to the divine, calls for nature to rise and cast off the evil shackles that bound it. Give it the enduring flame of the phoenix, the wisdom of the dragons, the knowledge of the Ankir! Let the land be it's own greatest protector lest fire, fear, or demon come to Verda again.
The rituals went on for weeks, many dropping of exhaustion of overwhelming fear, as the Life-Web grew and pulsed ever stronger as the people of Verda sought to save the world. The land around them grew violently, mountains erupting and then collapsing into seas as flowers the size of the Grotto briefly bloomed and dissapeared. Nature magic pulsed in the area stronger than any before and yet to come. The essence of life was almost suffocating in it's strength, yet the races all thrived upon it, and especially the spirits. The action reached a crescendo as the land outside flowed together like molten lava, images of all sorts of life blending together. And then, it was done.
Though little seemed to have changed inside the Grotto, the people could feel only warmth and hope. The suffocating fear that had clutched them so tight was gone. Outside, the people were awed; though the changes had slowed, the land itself was ever-changing, with the Grotto in the eye of the storm. Mountains and seas would come and go as the wild magic sparked life to flames. Most important of all, though, was the fear having left... and they would never have to fear it again. Araiyo, invisible above the Life-Web, smiled down at the people, feeling slightly drained for her part in the creation of this new force. Perhaps they could have succeeded without her... mortals were a persistent and surprising lot.
The unpredictable forces of the Life-Web also played a part... a strange new race of riding birds that the races soon dubbed the "Kelen" Fleeter of foot than any creature those far, they were soon domesticated in the hopes of use in the future.
3 PP: Guide Populace (1 from Stones of the Forest-Mother): Ankir learn Nature Magic, and it spreads through The Grotto.
1 PP: Create Artifact: The Wild Lands. The chaotic energy forces the fear-inducing forces out, replacing them with a place of chaotic growth and change.
3 PP: Create Artifact: Soul of Verda. The combined forces of the mortals (with help from Araiyo) awaken an instinctive guardian of the planet. Linked to the Life-Web, it covers the entirety of Verda and acts to protect itself from harm; i.e. raging fires, artifacts of fear, etc. It's connection to the divine, spiritual, and physical realms makes the land easily mutable. It provides Mold PP.
1 PP: Mold Land (Lesser): The impact crater Brinn left when she fell, the lands around it, and the Traasa Darvi become anathema to the good races of Verda; a land of fear and death.
1 PP: Spawn (Lesser) (1 from Life-Web): Create the Kelen, which are definately not chocobos.
PP: 0/7 + 0/2
[OOC= Since from the moment I posted this I've been accused of the single biggest turtling action ever, let me explain that the Soul of Verda has absolutely no purpose beyond, say, building a fireblock in front of the Grotto or something. And I'm getting really *bleeping* sick of these insults, people!]
Still, he mused to himself, that meant his job was complete. Frowning at the thought, he cast his hands skyward, conjuring forth the blackest darkness to fill the skies over the deserts of Yrie.
For seven nights and seven days, darkness shrouded the Casakans, blotting out the sun. Without it;s warming rays, the temperature of the desert slipped lower and lower.
Finished, he left, returning to his home, Verda. Silent and unseen, he gathered the source of the Traasa Darvii's power, and released it from it's bonds, taking it within himself. Feeling two other familiar feelings on the accursed world, he went and gathered them as well, finding a second copy of his artifact, as well as a stone that reeked of Fury's power. "Handy, this might be."
Satisfied, he made for Avanii, tossing the abberant stone into the chaos where it would be safe for now.
Within moments of arriving, the stone was found by a group of stone titans. Taken by the power of the stone, these titans were twisted and warped, their hard rocky bodies giving way to ore malleable dirt and clay. Thus were the Earth Titans born.
-----
Sorrow glanced around, frowning to herself. "Where did that whispering voice go?"
Apathy murmured back, "Maybe it finds you annoying as I find you?"
She smiled. "Sut up, Apathy."
"Whatever."
-----
Fury hovered over Yrie, wtching the world below. So many creatures and a battle raging among them. The fury and rage they were releasing was excellent. If he were to feed upon it, then release it, it would be a most wonderful thing. But alone, no. He would need some assistance. Whispering into the void, he called out "Sku'byss, come to me."
-----
Desire frowned at her. "Yes, I can tell. The sensation practically burns me."
Despite the apparent discomfort, Desire continued to follow her.
-----
Agnii skimmed over the surface of Yrie, watching the horror below. So few Dhorem remained, between the hunting trolls and the awakening undead. Her memories and knowledge were vague, but she beleived their creator was known as Maibe.
But their silent calls for their goddess's aid fell on deaf ears, and no help was forthcoming for them. Fear for the poor creatures below her, Agnii winged overhead, raining fire down upon the lands of the dhorem. When the flames burnt out, no sign remained of the few remaining dhorem inhabitats and their villages.
PP Expenditures
1 PP - De-Nourish Casaka - The deserts of Yrie are shrowded in darkness for 7 days and 7 nights, weakning the titans
1 PP (Artifact) - Modify Populace - Earth Titans from Stone Titans
2 PP - Guide Populace (Lesser) - Remove the few remaining Dhorem from Yrie, freezing them in stasis until they are placed somewhere safe.
The battle continued, the battle now going in three ways as the dead foulspawn returned to "life" and attacked both sides. Finally, one of the titans shattered, precious molten life flowing onto the sands. As the shards of the titan fell, it was already transforming into a monstrosity. Soon another titan fell, then another. The Titans fell back to the Ark itself, backs pressing against the glass as they watched the ramp finish retracting into the structure. One or two foulspawn managed to slip into the craft itself, but those inside quickly dealt with the intruders. With a mighty roar, the ship took flight as the foulspawn swarmed it, starting to climb up its sides as the remaining Titans tried in vain to pull them off of it. The ship strained upwards as two Rot Harbringers grabbed ahold of it, pulling downwards and nearly overwhelming the engines. Ports opened along the sides of the Ark and streams of molten glass poured onto the harbringers, encasing their wings in glass and sending them tumbling back to the surface of Yrie. Freed of their extra weight, the engines pushed upwards and soon the Ark had vanished into the night sky, headed for one particularly bright star where, according to the legends another planet was located.
Below, the Titans, their bodies melting from the heat, called out one final command to their Sun Worms. The sun worms burst forth beneath the remaining titans and each one melted immediately into the desert, returning to their beloved sands.
~~~
When the very sky turned black, and stayed black for many days, the Casakans realized that perhaps this was a doom they could not fight. So they began planning in another way, directing some of the sun worms to begin crafting something deep beneath the city. Samtaana, returned from the Ark, joined the Titans and Worms in the project... A... final solution.
~~~
"Wait, so we have come here on what is effectively a soul-searching mission? A trip to the mountain to purify our hearts for the coming disaster? I do not have time for such nonsense, Malevolent. My people are under attack, Skyrion. I thought you had some idea of what you would find!"
~Renissa~
"She could have been. We have seen examples of gods split among different personas before... My Mothers come to mind. Perhaps this has happened to Once-Water. All I know is that whatever persona I saw... it lacks much of the... compassion of the Hrinori I once knew."
PP:
2 PP (using extra PP): guide Populace: Tarii finally leave in the Ark, heading for Avanii.
1 PP (from Samtaana): Create Artifact: Some sort of artifact under Yrie. Its a secret!
5/7 + 0/1 +0/2 PP.
"I never promised answers, nor tried to distort my people's intentions. We did not ask for your presence, nor indicate that we would discover any answers!
Karhedron -- I think you placed too high expectations upon our group; we are pilgrims of the Pantheon, and that is all we ever claimed to be.
At any rate, we will return to Casaka at once -- there seems to be nothing out here but the clouds."
-----------------------
The Elemental Chaos
So what is your story, Eros? You're not like the other gods I know of, more like an exarch. If so, to whom are you beholden?
Iro stopped to scan the chaos. Every direction looked the same; vibrant and teeming.
I wish Lohak hadn't made this place so big!
Brinn nodded, considering it. "The question is, are they two parts of the same, or two different beings now? The Hrinori who came to Verda didn't know of another half, certainly."
'More of us?' You are the only one of 'us' that I have met then? So you have a sister at least! That's something. And you all five go around helping people fulfill their desires?
The blue orb quivered slightly as he laughed. "No, no, no. I am desire. My presence strengthens and draws forth the desires of those near by, giving me strength. My kin though, they draw forth and amplify other emotions."
I bet your sister is of Serenity. 'Soverign of Serenity'. Has a pleasant ring to it. I think I would very much like to meet her. You said she sealed herself away -- can you take me to see her anyway?
He shifted slightly as if haking it's head. "No. As I said, she was the one who claimed a divine spark. She has sealed the heart of chaos from entry."
But isn't that where Lohak usually is? And I want to see Lohak!
Eros, you must reason with your sister, especially if she isn't as nice as I had hoped she is!
She reached out a hand, tickling (she hoped) the blue orb.
Locking oneself away isn't good for any being, ever! Come. Let's go, the two of us, and reconcile with her.
Silently, he moved off into the chaos, leading the way.
Oh, Eros. You're making me so happy!
Several units of time passed, and the small tomb finally came into sight.
Is that it?
The goddess mimed knocking on the door.
Hello? My name is Iro, goddess of Renewal. I've come to speak with Lohak and the Sovereign.
Then I shall wait.
She sat down, absentmindedly conjuring water around her and guiding it in intricate patterns and spirals.
I am good at waiting.
How very interesting... a new piece had entered the board, slaying undead with piercing light. A futile effort: as long as there was life on Yrie's unhallowed ground, more undead would rise to take their place. The few 'good' races seemed to be working on constructing an underground fortress, as well as launching some kind of primative void craft.
It wasn't what he'd been expecting at all. He'd imagine that faced with such overwhelming strife, the mortals would merely drop to their knees and pray with all their hearts, imploring their gods to save them from harm. Instead, they took things into their own hands, and attempted to save themselves... as much as the Silent One hated to admit it, he was impressed. Frustrated they didn't follow his whims, but impressed at their tenacity.
Now, the board looked very different. More and more dark pieces had immerged, but a large empty space surrounded an impressive looking white piece on the board. The formerly doomed looking collection of shite pieces surrounded by dark ones was now in several parts, the Dhorem removed from play but not dead, many of the titans heading towards another board entirely, and the rest managing to fight off the undead and Sku'byss' mortals with their worms and fortifications. Hm, if they left too, it looked like Yrie might end up being left entirely to the undead... my that was a beautiful mental image. He certainly didn't want to destroy Grawlf's mortals, or perform genocide of any kind, but if his undead managed to do so without divine intervention...
His undead... as much as they were effective, they weren't a match for the intelligent races, simply because... well, they lacked intelligence. They were mere impulses and desires, vengance and rage and hate, but hardly cunning enough to know how to beseige a fortress as opposed to merely swarming all over it (or throught it in the case of the wraith). Hardly witty enough to know that it was far better to kill the mortals still living rather and eating the ones you've killed while others still stand. What he needed were undead that were... mortals. Undead that still possessed the inkling of sentience that would let them plan, and win, commanding the lesser undead as his generals. He could create a new race for these undead... or even better, he could simply recycle the souls of the dead wholesale.
Mustering his will, the Silent One grabbed at a few passing souls drifting away from Yrie's surface, on the way to the world on the river and their ultimate reward... or 'reward'. Ironically, he had to do very little to alter them: all he had to do was reverse their child like innocence birthed at death so they retained the minds they had while alive. Well, sort of... dieing does a lot to a person. Half the souls he turned became mere jabbering lunatics, intent on haunting the place of their death or seeking revenge for it. Shrugging, the Silent One merely dismissed these souls, sending them back to Yrie to do what they willed.
The others the dark god looked over critically. They were merely unsubstantial versions of their former selves... well, their former selves minus a few bite marks, heads and the like. But they would do well for the purpose he had in mind...
"Good people," the Silent One intoned. "I have gathered you today from the cradle of death- and undeath- in order to give you an offer you can't refuse. You will serve the Dark Pantheon, and command the undead hordes of Yrie as their generals, and you will be returned to life. If you don't, you'll be doomed to live this unlife for eternity, wandering the earth unable to taste, to touch, to feel. Your choice."
"Like that's much of a choice," a soul claimed. "Of course we'll serve you. It's not like we had much to do anyway."
There was a general mumur of agreement among the spirits ranks, until another spoke up.
"What? No! We can't turn on our kinsman like that!" a ghost claimed. "Far better to live forever in this damned limbo and seek another way to move on than to play the puppet to this foul monster!"
Another mumur of agreement arose, and soon the mumurs of agreement between the two parties turned to shouts of anger.
"Shut up, all of you!" the Silent One 'shouted'. "You who choose to serve me, go down and take command of your undead legions. Those who don't, go ahead and do what you will. But remember, if you somehow die in this form, you will NOT move on, and mark my words if you face down my undead I will find a way to kill you. Now, go!"
With that, what would later be coined as ghosts fled down onto Yrie. Some took command of the undead legions spanning the planet, commanding them to greater heights of visciousness. Other took a more benevolant approach, simply wandering the world or forming loose 'villages', even going to the trouble of constructing crude huts with their limited telekinesis, more for the comfort of the familiarity of life than for any need of shelter. And of course there were those that merely haunted that which was important to them, driven mad and attacking any they saw fit to do so to.
2PP - Form Epic Populace (Ghosts) - The Silent One creates ghosts, which become an incarnation of undead that have unfinished business in the world. Some serve the Dark Pantheon, commanding lesser undead. Others go insane and haunt, while still others remain sane and pure, establishing settlements and looking for a way to pass on.
[0/7, 1/2]
The truth was that she had fallen asleep and as she slept she changed. She grew smaller and younger as the centuries passed until there was nothing left but a babe. A child that opened golden eyes and cried out in pain as something within her had died.
Her children were gone. Her memories were gone. The Goddess that once had been Maibe was gone. All that was left was a small, naked child that layed on the side of a dune in the southern parts of the deserts of Yrie. Her eyes were golden, locks of black hair covered her head and tears flowed down from her cheeks.
A God-Child she was. One that wore the power of creation and destruction deep within her. But one that was pure and lacked the faults she once had.
But what was this?
With The Silent One's curse, the many dunes of Yrie's desert had changed from alabaster white to gritty gray. Yet here, among the sand dunes was one of radiant white light. The undead dared not approach the pure white sands, nor the tainted soil several miles from the center of the spot.
Curious, most curious.
The Harbinger slowly landed, trudging towards the center of the anomaly. What appeared to be a small, Dhoremi child lay, untouched, on the sand. But The Harbinger sensed the divinity within the child.
Slowly, tenderly, The Harbinger lifted the child from the ground.
Shhhhh.....
Like a susurrus herself, The Harbinger cooed the child into quiet, holding her close and bundling her up in part of her cloak.
What happened to you, I wonder?
A smile touched the Babe´s lips and little Maibe stretched out a tiny hand to touch the Harbringer´s cheek.
The child remained silent as the Harbringer spoke and then suddenly began to speak herself. Not with words, no..but with images!
A son shone in the sky and sunk three times. Endless pain. Thousands and thosands of stars that died. A woman with black hair. A Golden dragon that burnt to a crisp. In the ashes that was left a single child layed.
The Child herself didn´t understand much of what she had shown the Harbringer. She understand though that it was something that had been needed to be done. Happy with that she had done that she burped loudly, smiled and fell asleep once more. This time though her slumber would be measure in hours not millenias.
Had she truly found Maibe?
How much did she remember? Glancing down at the girl, The Harbinger realized that if this godling *was* Maibe, it was perhaps all for the best; The Harbinger had the feeling that the old Maibe wouldn't have liked what The Silent One and Sku'byss were doing to the place.
The Harbinger stroked the girl's curls absentmindedly.
I tried to divert them from here, you know. And when they wouldn't I begrudgingly agreed, hoping that I could help against what chaos they wrought. They are careless, those two. Careless and uncaring. But I'm trying to change that. But subtly, oh, so subtly.
She looked down at the child again.
Should I tell Grawlf about you? I'm not even sure if I could find any more Dhoremi to take you in... between the trolls and the undead...
She didn´t understand what the Wraith said. For her they could have been a lullaby or bedtime story. She knew though one thing...she felt secure in the Harbringers arm, happy even.
The babe opened her eyes, smiled brightly and and kissed the Harbringer at it´s cheek, smiled once more and went back to sleep.
She felt so warm in it´s cloak...
As she wandered, she listened, seeking prayers for help and aide. Calls to the Pantheon were there -- but there were not enough. Not yet. Perhaps a miracle was in order soon.
In the meantime, she continued to consider the godling she carried. How long did gods remain such, anyway? She didn't remember ever being so frail and helpless.
It was nice to not need to act any longer. To be able to rest..at least för a little while. Little Maibe knew...that maybe...maybe she would have to grow up a little faster than other children. Much had happend on Yrie and bad things were loose there.
Monsters...and bad memories...
As the worms were pushed closer to the city, the Casakans continued to prepare for the end. It was clear now that nobody was going to answer their summons and within weeks the defense of the city by conventional means was going to fail. Their final solution was proceeding apace, but they needed longer than weeks. So the Worm-masters of Casaka stood on the walls of Casaka one final time and called up the true first children of the desert for a truly momentous act. Soon, the city of Casaka was an island in the midst of a giant lake of molten glass as what seemed to be the entire population of Sun Worms abandoned their desert roaming and all converged on the glass city, spinning around and under it, creating a final barrier between the living and the dead. The undead could not get in, but the titans were equally trapped.
PP:
1 PP: Mold land: Surround the city of Casaka with a lake of fire.
5/7 +0/1+0/2 PP
For millennia they have watched, leading peacefully the souls to the pleasant existance of the world on the river, allowing both those who acted in a selfish way for the whole existance and those that did not, some time they have allowed a few to briefly stay among the living an extremely rare act indeed, but now entier legions of the dead has being decieved into abandoning the afterlife that they deserved in exchange of a longer existance of pain and suffering, forced by the hands of an ambitious alien god...
The Tos'Arai slowly begun congregating, they needed to plan for their future as they could not allow the legions of undeads to prosper, hate begun to seed among the usually peaceful guardians of death, they used reason to fight the threath of unlife for a long time and now madness is taking over, they will need another way to liberate those who was tricked into serving the darkness...
Slowly from the essence of the river a new breed of Tos'Arai emerged, as every of these beings take the head of a carrion bird these new creature chose the form of a poweful breed of eagles, that lived in the frozen north usually feeding on fishes, but when the winter came they begun feeding on carrions in time of need. Like their chosen beast these creatures was born from necessity, skilled fighter from birth they did not guide the dead spirits like their brethren instead they could take the souls of an unwilling creature, breaking any bond it has with creation, natural or not, they took no pleasure in doing such an act of murder, however they deemed it to be a necessity.
These new beings called for other among their kind, the more reflexive Vulture-Head was convinced that they need more time to study the situation, however the majority of their kind agreed with the new breed and in the end they begun to prepare for war, in silence floating citadel of soulstuff was built on the sky of the river, there the Tos'Arai beun training for war, in secret they begun "recruiting" to their cause the spirits of the more agrressive races, to learn their secrets and allowing them to fight in any future war.
The World on the River, If Spirits can go to the afterlife after the cleansing of Lohak world and khanda (otherwise ignore it)
The Tos'Arai has learned about the existance of other forces of nature only after something begun to attack them, to cause their death in fury. These being was different from the other dying creatures, somehow they carried an immortal soul, but still they have being forced to suffering by a violent force. Noticing these creatures essence floating on the river and sensing their power the Tos'Arai begun aproaching them.
The spirits of death was tall humanoids with two pair of wings and rave heads they approached the dying souls, seaking to understand more about their nature and willing to have the power they wield by their side when the cleansing will start...
The Isles of Wonders
Many years has passed since the last war on the Isles, however Sarris have watched as somehow the aszhari were still dying... The Dominion has slowly abandoned the way of the past, building cities of stones and while still living by the hunt and loved the touch of wind and storms as their ancestor they now where fed by legions of Masaren, built cities of ston and was growing laxier, focused more on politics and intrigue.
Only the clansmen has remained true to the Aszhari tradition, living a full life in the forest, allowing instinct to guide them more than reason, she wanted to do something but while all the aszhari view her as a prophet, even in the domninion, she lacked the ability of her brother as a leader of people and shaper of minds, so she decided that she would need something to help her people remind what they was meant to be.
She went again to the realms that she has visited with her father, the planes of chaos and the one of dreams, there she took a little of these realm essence, mixing with the ones of a few chosen aszhari priestess she shaped new beings of power. More spirits than mortals these creatures has the ability to awake and command the deepest instinct of mortals, seducing them to abandon the call of cold reason.
The Isles of Wonder, Oshan Gaar Temple
In the temple of Oshan Gaar the aszhari was celebrating a funeral, the Aszhari Warlord Ovash Narh Khas has died, killed during his last hunt in the forest, almost worshiphed by his people due to his skill and drive during the war with the Jeraca he has attracted an huge crowd, even the the Prophet Evshan, advisor of the Dominion overlords and one of the two Holiest Brothers.
Evshan mind however was not focused on the celebration, his eyes could see things that even the half divine aszhari could not sense, he watched the spirt of the great warrior talking with one of the guides of death, of a breed that evshan has never met. Curious about what was happening among these spirits that rarely talked with the souls they was bringing to the afterlife he decided to follow them.
He watched the training of the Crusade of Sorrow, the army that the Tos'Arai was training to fight the threat of undeath. He talked with its generals, figuring out that while they have begun to learn now to fight they will still need better weapons to defeat the beings that they was up against, using the supernatural power that he inherited from his father he helped them into forging the very essence of death into weapons of war and begun overseeing their growing armies.
Yrie, Casaka
With the darkness and death devastating the golden world the Djinn lords at first retreated among the windy currents, many among the djinn sensed that their world was doomed, but they did not want their friends to fall with Yrie.
The Sultan Osafar, leader of the Shuras nation, went to the Titan lord, of Casaka, traversing the currents of the world, hidden by the natural magic of their kind.
"We have come to know each other in dark times, my friend, told the Sultan, armies of darkness march on this once beautifl world, death rules in a place of life, my kind feel it is no more useful to stay, the undeads has no wishes we could fullfill, no dreams, no hope, there might me nothing more for us on this realm. But I have an offer for you, we are not from this plane and we will return to our own soon enough... I'd love if your people can follow to the relative safety of the elemental chaos, for now at least... we can try to guide you there if you want..."
Yrie, Dark Djinns
The Quareshi, corrupted brethren of the djinn, instead was flourishing, violece, pain, desperation, that was their fuel, they loved the new invaders and soon they begun seeking for the sentient undeads, to see if they could find some agreement with these beings...
Werhever a large group of not crazed Ghosts is.
While most of the Tos'Arai prepare for battle some learned that many of the undead spirits was more than willing to walk to the afterlife, but that something was keeping them away from the aethernal rest. The Eagle Headed, that has begun to call themselves "the Pure" would have vanquished these beings with violence but many among the Vulture headed did not agree... These beings went to vist some of the ghosts, attempting to discover more about their nature.
The ghosts has probably already met a tos'arai, silent watcher who guide the dead spirits to the afterlife, but that being never talked to them, when another came, a large humanoid with two pairs of black feathered wings and a vulture head, a being that radiate the call of death, the promise of a pleasant afterlife, they was surprised by him directly addressing them.
"I came to seek your kind, honorable ghost, I'm an healer and I feel that something is wrong, leading you away from the reward that wait for you in the afterlife, if you want I'm here to help healing this... allowing you to rest..." it told
The Elemental Chaos, The Palace of Winds - And Werhever Kel'Zora is.
Eshcal left the hall of the court, content that his sister was still alive, but still worried about the decisions taken on the temple. When he went back to the chaos he felt something new, a power a presence extremely familiar the one of a being that shared his own blood, now awake and on the same realm. It was him who have given life to the god of balance in the past, but he felt dormant soon after his birth, now that power was awake again, gifted with a new will apparently. Eshcal sent his wind to look for Kel'Zora.
They carried a message. "I'm Eshcal, the one that sired you, Time has passed since the last time I have felt your presence, I'll love to see you now if your mission does not prevent such a thing, the chaos is stable thanks to your actions, I admire that and I fear that your talent might be needed not only in the elemental chaos..."
0/7, +0, +0 Guide, +0 Shape.
1 PP - Modify, from the Tos'Arai create a new breed of eagle headed ones, trained for war they are not guides for the dead spririts but killers and destroyers of undeads.
1 PP - Nourish, the Eagle Headed Tos' Arai Form the Crusade of Sorrow, a massive military organization of spirits based in the World on The River.
1 PP Nourish - Raven Headed tos'Arai join the Crusade of Sorrow
1 PP Nourish - The Vulture Headed Tos'Arai jointhe Crusade of Sorrow
1 PP Nourish - The spirits of the warlike Aszhari are recruited among the crusade (mechanically that create a trade agreement between the two races)
3 PP Guide (1 from Evshan), the Eagle Headed Tos'Arai and the crusade of sorrow learn how to shape "deathstuff" to produce weapons and tools... (fantasy tech)
2 PP Shape (1 from Sarriss), Nymph like spirits capable of awakening the feral instincs of mortals. (name is work in progress).
Note: I'd like to do this kind of trading with the Trolls, spirits and various titans (if they have a soul that can go to the afterlife) however before "forcing that" as I don't want to steal any tech I'd like to hear from their creator what they think about that.
Ymalos watched in amazement as Agnii made the dhorem disappear. The dhorem were gone. The only reminder of his mother was gone. Within a few days, however, his happiness had vanished. With their only food source gone, his trolls and grimlocks were starving. So Ymalos took some of his power and formed a font of power that took the shape of a fountain made of shimmering light. The Fountain of Life, as the trolls and grimlocks called it, nourished all of Ymalos's worshippers for thousands of miles, completely eliminating the need for food and letting their populations soar.
3 PP create artifact: The Fountain of Life.
1 PP nourish: The Blood Trolls.
1 PP nourish: The Digger Trolls.
1 PP nourish: The Grimlocks.
0/7, 0/1 Fountain of Life
A Rimeshadow Malevolant (one of the few on Yrie) by the name of Rheos had taken to preaching in the open plazas of Casaka.
"My brothers and sistesr -- we have the power to end this right now! Lift up your voices to the skies! If the gods allow us to call on them in times of trouble, we would be fools not to take them up on it!"
It had been drizzling the entire day (quite odd -- the desert had been cooler and wetter lately. Titans outside the radiating warmth of their molten lakes of fire would surely be dangerously uncomfortable).
"My fellows, lift up your voices and pray!"
A despondant Salt Titan looked up through the drizzle.
"Lot of good that'd do us. Haven't you been praying all this time yourself? What's come of it? More bloody undead 'is what."
Rheos puffed up his chest.
"You think the Pantheon listens to ethe prayers of one man? Think you I am so egotistical to assume the gods listen to me and me alone? By Fulrit, man, be reasonable!"
A Dhorem mother (still clutching her child) raised up her voice then.
If you doubt the power of a single being, how can one be sure of the power of the entire city? Maybe that would still not be enough.
Rheos smiled.
"I don't. But I have my faith, and I have my hope. Our peopls could not have been created simply to die against an unkind universe."
Casaka is in dire straits already. Surely your Pantheon would have intervened by now if they had meant to help.
"Bah! This is nothing but a test of faith. When enough of us call out to the Pantheon, they will respond. It shall be a joyous miracle -- just you wait."
The mother smiled.
I must confess, your optimism is infectious...
"Then come, milady, and join with me in prayer. All of you Titans as well -- Glass, Marble, Salt, Eldritch, Meteoric, all of you! Yes, that means you too -- I see you leaning on the wall over there. Yes, that's better. Let us raise our voices as one. For the Pantheon!"
"Pantheon" came a general mumbling from those in the Plaza. (Those who were not particularly religious joined in just because, hey, the city was being sieged, and there wasn't much else to do).
"We are but your humble petitioners, mere mites beside your strident glory. In dire need we call upon the power of the ancients! Defend our cause!"
He brandished the hammer, "I am Fury. The Fane of Fury!"
Muttering to himself, he cursed as he silently sent out another call for Sku'byss. "Where is that blasted child. I have something he'd be interested in helping with."
"CORRUPTOR! SECRET-KEEPER! YOU HAVE LIED TO ME. THIS WAS MEANT TO BE A TEST OF THE WORLD OF YRIE. A TEST OF ITS INGENUITY AND ITS ABILITY TO DEAL WITH DISASTER. THIS, HOWEVER, IS DAYS AWAY FROM GENOCIDE, AND YOU HAVE DONE NOTHING TO STOP IT, AND I CAN ONLY ASSUME THAT YOU PLANNED THIS ACTION FROM THE BEGINNING AND LIED TO ME."
Grawlf made a complex signal with one of his arms and suddenly Ravnos appeared. The Eye made a quick transition.
"THE EYE SEES WHAT YOU HAVE DONE, OATH-BREAKERS. LIARS. COME AND EXPLAIN YOURSELF. THE SOULS OF MY PEOPLE CRY OUT FOR ANSWERS."
Reaching through the portal to the Court, he sent Grawlf back into storage, then activated the Pey'Ay, calling out through the Dream for Brinn.
"Brinn, what I feared was to come to pass has happened. I have been lied to and my people stand on the brink of destruction. Please, if you can, come and help, and bring any others who might be willing to stand against these oath-breakers."
The portal snapped shut and Ravnos swelled up to his full height, fingers lengthening into claws and his entire form pulsing a deep red.
~Below, on Yrie~
The bellowing sound from the heavens stunned all those within Casaka to silence. Finally, one of the Malevolents said
"See? The Pantheon has answered our call!"
He was immediately silenced by one of the titans.
"Fool. That was not your Pantheon. Did you not listen to its words? THE EYE watches us. It is our maker, Grawlf, returned at last to save us."
Then another titan stepped forward.
"Grawlf, Pantheon. It makes no difference. We, the People of Glass will be our own salvation. Preparations are nearly complete. Wait and Watch."
~The Parched Mountains~
Karhedron wheeled about as the voice boomed from the heavens.
"That was Grawlf! He has returned! I must return to Casaka."
Karhedron began running back down the mountain towards the desert.
With the force provided by the Beholders, the Quori managed to develop a powerful superweapon. Focusing the mental energies of the user, it combined powerful scrying rituals to locate a target location, and "lenses" to magnify power channeled from the user to "blast" everything in the radius with whatever the energy was channeled to do. With a blast radius of about 100 ft., this let the Quori affect enemies so far away, they would have no idea what hit them.
With these advances, the Quori Supremacy was well on its way to domination of their part of the Isles of Wonder
+7 PP: One Week
-2 PP: 2 Nourish Populace(Beholder Dream Lord): The Quori gather their forces
-3 PP: The Quori expand through the Beholder territory and enslave all of the Beholders (Topheh, I'm willing to work this out)
-2 PP: Create Artifact(Intermediate): The Psionic "Eye". A morter-like artifact. Uses Scrying rituals to find a target anywhere within a large radius, then channel the power of the user to affect everyone/everything within the radius with the power. Counts as a +2 combat artifact, but cannot be used by gods, because it can't handle that level of power, and they can already duplicate its function anyway.
Ghosts, leading scores of wraiths, spectres, and other insubstanial, flying undead fell down from the skies like arrows of death.
The Harbinger looked on with faint horror as the undead rent the living, dragging them kicking and screaming into death. One wraith made the mistake of lunging for the Harbinger, pulling away in pain mere moments after touching, its dead veins already bursting with toxins lethal enough to kill even the dead.
This... will not do.
The Harbinger threw back her head, letting the Dhoremi guise fall away. She raised a hand towards the sky, clutching at the sun.
Rheos -- the Pantheon hears Casaka's prayers and comes to protect its own. As long as the Pantheon remains, Casaka shall be under our protection, and no undead, nor rogue god, nor disaster of the void shall strike you down while one of us yet breathes!
Casaka, I am The Harbinger of the Pantheon, and I have come to intercese on your behalf!
At the crescendo of her speech, a flare from the sun arched out, traveling across the intervening space and into the palm of the goddess in a matter of seconds. For a moment she simply stood, blazingly radiant, the screams of the undead and the dying reverberating around her. But then she kneeled down, slapping her palm against the sandy ground of the city, and at once the light left her body, entering the sands of the desert itself. No more was the sand grey, beige, or brown, The Harbinger's power had made it indeliably white, shining, shimmering, alabaster.
At once the screams of Titans were replaced by the screams of the incorporeal assailants. The pure power of the Sun -- of Maibe's domain, drove the invaders, burning, away from the city.
But the coruscating power wasn't done -- it continued to spill out from the great city, until every grain of sand from east to west shone with an incredible fraction of the Sun's power. Such radiance was an anathema to the undead -- the weakest of the creatures were annihilated utterly, the poisonous light destroying them from within. Stronger undead might have been able to last hours, or even days, but the pain was so unbearble, that even the stoutest souls of the dead fled the desert, heading north to the despoiled land that remained.
As the screams faded, The Harbinger turned to address the Casakan Plaza. Silence... and then cheers. Rheos was crying with joy, the despondant salt titan was on its knees, praying for the first time in its life, everywhere the Harbinger felt the press of joy and gratitude. It was... invigorating.
Slowly The Harbinger (returned to her traditional shrouded form) rose up from the surface of the world.
Pray -- if you ever need our help, we of the Pantheon shall be there to assist.
[sblock = PP Expenditure]
-2 Modify Land -- The Deserts of Yrie (and only the deserts) become hallowed, and malevolent towards true undead (I.E. not the quasi-dead Malevolants)
-2 Guide Populace -- In the breaking of the siege, Volumbra Aegis is eager to cement its relations with Casaka by creating trade relations.
-3 Guide Populace -- The Titans of Casaka learn how to use Divine Magic by worshiping The Harbinger or the Pantheon.
[/sblock]
0/7 + 0/2
----
With that, the Corrupter vanished and re-appeared next to Fury, near the moon of Yrie. He asked, "Did you call for me?"
Glancing at the other god near by, he shrugged. "Perhaps you'd like to help as well, Ymalos? I can sense that you have not great love for this planet below."
He nodded, cursing with rage as the battle below ended "Thats no fun." Looking at Sku'byss, he continued. "Yes, yes. I have plans for this world below. I once aided you with the corrption of Verda, and I had thought you might like to aid me here."
Glancing at the other god near by, he shrugged. "Perhaps you'd like to help as well, Ymalos? I can sense that you have not great love for this planet below."
"I suppose that I could help destroy it. My fountain will keep my worshippers alive until I can get them to the moon. What could I do?"
Eyes were opened.
The child in the Harbringer´s arms looked up with a pair of golden eyes and spoke to her. Her voice was a child´s voice. Soft and pleasing to the ear but had a serious tone to it still.
" Good morning, Mother. "
The little one said in a rather serious tone.
" I suppose...I am supposed to thank you..that thing you did seemed to make me snap up a couple of things...such as.."
A thoughtful expression appeared upon her face.
" Talking..by..the way...You are my, Mother aren´t you? You seem different from the others...stronger and more like me. "
The Child gazed at the Titans and smiled curiously.
" But they are pretty big, Mother dear..aren´t they? "
Curious, Ravnos travelled down to the surface of the planet, towards Casaka, finally ariving over the city and spotting the form of the Harbringer below. Floating down beside her, Ravnos spoke, aware of the eyes of the Titans looking up at him.
"Once-Water. You have my thanks for saving the lives of my people. At least it appears that one member of your so-called 'Pantheon' was willing to listen to my heartfelt request for moderation. Sku'Byss and Voiceless appear to have completely disregarded it. For now, though... I declare this experiment to be over... my people have been driven to the brink of doom and I will not allow their fragile rebuilding to be interrupted."
Ravnos looked about the Titans.
"I see that many of you do not recognize my form, Children... but it is I, Grawlf, here in another form. I am pleased with the ingenuity and creativity that you have displayed in fighting off this menace. Know that I was watching and would have intervened had the undead truly threatened to overwhelm you. Know also that those gods who went too far will be brought to justice."
Ravnos' form began to glow, and moments later a pulse of need and energy shot off into the darkness of space...
"Once-Water, there are some things that I must ask you about in private."
Ravnos looked down at the titans and snapped his fingers and a shell of white light surrounded the two gods.
"Once-water, did you know that there are two of you? Apparently you are on Verda as well, or so Brinn tells me."
suddenly the child spoke. Ravnos looked down, shocked. He hadn't even noticed it!
"Who is this?"
The next thing she heard was her brother yell out in anger. Her own name wasn't included in this outburst, so she did not deign to comply with his request. After all, she didn't want the fighting to stop too soon. Her mind reverted back to her enjoyment of the chaos and destruction, and she only vaguely noticed The Harbringer acting to stop the invasion.
And Zo-Att was thankfull that she did. As soon as the fighting stop, it was as if a veil was removed from Zo-Att's sight. Everything seemed so much clearer now. It was almost as if she couldn't be trusted to partake in her own element, since it distracted her so. But now that she was able to view Yrie with a new lucidity, a horrible realization came over her.
The Tarrasque
She felt the core of Yrie ready to burst at almost any moment. There was not much time before its second coming would be upon the world. It seemed there was enough destruction all ready, she couldn't imagine the fury of her brother if it was Zo-Att's fault that his creations were forever destroyed. She moved over to Ravnos, a nervous look was clear on her face, and addressed him,
Brother, don't appreciate this peace just yet. I... I can feel one of my creations stirring beneath the surface. If you don't want to lose your Titans, I strongly suggest doing all you can to save them.
[5/8]
"It is the Tarrasque, isn't it? I was wondering if it would stir itself. Thank you for warning me, sister. I know you have no control over the beast."
Ravnos snapped his fingers once more and Karhedron stood before him, clearly shocked. The titan had its sword in hand, and it was covered in dark blood... the blood of the undead.
"My lord! Thank you." The titan said.
"Do not thank me yet, First-born of the titans. A greater threat approaches Casaka, one which you have faced before."
Ravnos saw Karhedron glance at his blade and understanding dawn in his eyes.
"Yes. You are correct. The Tarrasque is coming. We here will stand with you, Karhedron, but you must face this foe."
The titan nodded.
"I am ready."
At that moment, the ground beyond the lake of fire began to shake. The Tarrasque would soon arrive.
Summoning flames of hellfire from the Demon Forge in the Eternal Clock, Zo-Att forged a blade that would give Her brother's champion an edge. The sword was smooth and without any flaws, and strangely enough, its obsidian-like texture was cool to the touch.
This blade is named Broken Promise; use it well.
Upon making contact with the Titan's hand, it burst into white flames. Zo-Att was pleased with her work, and then closed her eyes, feeling the waking creature.
It has just awaken... there is little time left.
-2 PP - Create Artifact - Broken Promise (combat - Gift to Ravnos)
[3/8]
Karhedron glanced at the new blade in his hand and smiled.
"Thank you! This blade will do you proud today, great one."
With a sword in each hand, Karhedron moved towards the desert. Moments later, the ground broke and the great head of the Tarrasque appeared, pushing upwards out of the sands before arcing its great neck down to stare at the smaller titan, keeping close watch on the glowing sword and letting out a snort of rage as it saw the other blade. Its other tusk had never regrown, and even now was merely a stump.
The two foes watched one another for a few moments... waiting for the other to make the first move.
First blood (as the expression goes, it was really more of molten glass) was drawn.
This did not stop Karhedron, who charged toward the behemoth who was very surprised the titan was still standing, much less charging for it. The tarrasque attempted to bite Karhedron, but he managed to dodge to the left with split-second timing, striking the Tarrasque in a brilliant burst of flame, at its exposed cheek. Annoyed that a creature managed to defy its attack, the Tarrasque swiped at the tiny (in comparison, of course) titan with both claws. The first was blocked (allowing Karhedron another opportunity to strike the beast), but the second hit home, knocking the titan many meters back.
Drawing his power out, a violet mist left Sku'Byss body and entered Fury. Fury could feel the Corruption entering his body... he could feel the power, and it felt good.
With a nod, he said, "I hope you know what you're doing... I've given you a fairly generous amount of power..."
3 PP given to Fury.
[0/7 PP]
Pushing himself to his feet, he ran towards the Tarrasque. Swinging his blades, he attacked. The Tarrasque twisted and his attack glanced off the beast's scales. Back and forth the two fought each opening up many small wounds on the other. The battle raged on...
The beast let out a roar of pain, but it was expecting this. It continued to slide its claw through the blade, until it was able to completely reach around Karhedon. Black ichor that could only be its blood ran across Broken Promise's edge. The Tarrasque's claw had completely grasped the Titan Champion and threw him whole into its mouth.
It probably would have been smarter to chew.
The Harbinger smiled at the child in her arms.
No, I am not your mother -- consider me your protector.
Poison turned to the approaching Grawlf.
You look different, Knowledge. This child is... I'm not sure what's happened. I think she is all that is left of Maibe. As to there being two of me...
The Harbinger looked off into the distance, contemplating. She shrugged.
It would not be the first time that Brinn made a false assumption, professed to know more than she did, or inferred more than she ought. There remains only one of me.
But I digress -- do not thank me for saving the Titans. They asked for my help, and I gave it... nothing more. But Grawlf -- no, you said Ravnos, yes? -- This is why you need to join the Pantheon. Without my nudging things in one direction or the other, The Silent One, and to a lesser extent, Sku'byss, become polarized, placing themselves above all else.
I beg of you -- the Titans below know nothing of The Silent One's involvement in their plight, nor that he is part of the very pantheon they called upon. Join the Pantheon. And if not that, Join me. Ease your children's strife by reminding them that you, like they, are not alone in the void.
The Harbinger turned to the Child in her arms.
I hope you'll join with us someday too, Maibe.
No one in the world would know this (not even Ravnos) but there is a certain spot in the tarrasque's throat that's very sensitive. The Elder Tarrasque felt a sharp pain before its food could enter the stomach. It let out a roar of pain, and vomited up the Karhedron as well as copius amounts of acidic bile and blood. Disoriented, it started to dig into the earth, needing to escape back to the nourishing depths of the earth.
In its haste, it forgot about the semi-conscious Titan laying in its disgusting stomach acids.
Ravnos glanced down at the child-Maibe. What could this mean? How could his daughter be...
"Yes... Ravnos now... I'm both... its a long story..." he said absentmindedly, watching both his daughter and the battle raging beyond... it looked to be reaching its climax.
"I think... I think you might be right about the Pantheon. I did not wish to join it for I feel that I am neither dark nor light... at times my loyalties as they are would be opposed to the rest of the council. But, perhaps that would be a good thing. Darkness without light loses its meaning as much as light without darkness. Let me think about this a little more, Once-Water... but your words are quite persuasive..."
Ravnos glanced back at the battle below and saw that the Tarrasque was retreating, but that Karhedron was close to death. He began whispering words that, invisible to mortals, made their way towards the Titan.
Eventually, word spread through the village about the arrival of a new visitor, and Krysanter and the rest of the council stepped outside to meet him. After some hesitation, one of them asked: "Why have you come here?"
Smiling, Durenghast sat down on the ground. "I wanted to see what had been of you. It seems you have prospered in my absence.", he commented.
Over the next day, the Unbound Ones slowly learned more about the disappearance of their creator, and he, in turn, learned more about them. In particular, the tale of the sacred tree caught his attention, and after reacquainting himself with his creations, he left for the orcs' village.
Fury gathered the power, drawing upon it along with all the fury, hatred, and rage in the mortals below. The fury of the titans defending their home. The hatred the undead had for the living. And even Grawlf's rage at the near genocide of his people. All of this energy fed into him, and the air pulsed and rumbled with the entrenched power just waiting to burst free.
Far far below him, the trolls and titans, the foul spawn and malevolants, the sun worms and undead, looked skyward into the night sky and witnessed a never before seen phenomena. A red star glowing brightly in the dark sky, blotting out the stars and the moon. For three nights the star remained in the sky, faintly visible during the day and illuminating the night with it's crimson brilliance.
As dawn broke on the third night, as suddenly as the star had came, it dissipated, vanishing. Only when the light faded did Fury turn to Ymalos and Sku'byss. "The world below has been corrupted by an outside influence. The energies of death inundate it. And the red star has amplified that power for this purpose. Stand back, godlings, and watch as Maibe's world destroys itself."
-----
All across Yrie in the wake of the red star, a sense of foreboding lie in the hearts of intelligent creatures. Since it's vanishing, the world seemed warmer and earthquakes, once rare, now came often and regularly, sometimes even daily. None of them could have ever hoped to comprehend the truth.
The Silent One had unhallowed Yrie. In the wake of his energies, dead creatures could choose to wake once more, returning to unlife. But he had not understood the nature of the world he was altering. For Yrie was not just a world of earth and stone like others. Yrie was formed from the body of a dead creature, the remains of one of Maibe's first children, created after the destruction of the original sun, a mighty star beast. And in the wake of the red star, the ancient spirit grasped at the unhallowed energies, using the lifeline to do the unthinkable. Slowly but surely, the long dead star beast awoke.
But all was not well. As it slowly forced it's long dead form back to life, the problems became apparent. It had been dead too long, decayed too far. Jerking about, the world began to quaked and shiver like never before. Before the giant beasts movements, titans were hurled thousands of feet into the air, only to fall back to the ground below, shattering into thousands of pieces. Trolls and foulspawn found themselves splattered across the walls and ceilings of their caves. In the wake of the red star and the undead monster's rage, the world of Yrie was doomed.
As it's failing body finally began to crumble and collapse, it lashed out at the cruel world one final time, striking out at the nearest object, shattering it into pieces before it unleashed one final roar into the echoing void, calling out its song before it's ruined and decayed corpse failed once more, collapsing in on itself.
-----
Watching the world collapsed, Fury held out his hands, amplifying the implosion. When it finally ceased, nothing remained of Yrie. The ancient world was no more.
PP Expenditures
3 PP + 1 PP (Artifact)- Mold Land (Superior) - Yrie is no more.
2 PP - Mold Land (Moderate) - The Moon of Yrie is shattered into an asteroids once more. Without the gravity of Yrie to keep them together, they scatter.
5.15/8 + 0/2
AGE 3 IS BEGUN.
Age 3 rules:
-All costs are now normal
-Superior Actions require Admin approval
-3 years (roughly) per week
Also, a slight change to the point thresholds means happiness for people. For the sake of completeness, here is every god, including the inactive ones.
1.15 PP/day: Dvrgr (92.3), Brinn (77.9),Lohak (74.3),Eshcal(71.4),The Silent One (59), Zo-Att (35.2), The Sculptor(or whatever you call yourself now :P) (10.6), Shry (3)
1 PP/day: Ymalos (97.5), Bel (Dead, 95.5), Maibe(81.8), Nenneve (76.1), Sku'Byss (74.7), Sonel (73.9), Khitis (63.6), The Sisters (Dead, 56.8), Sorstal (31.8), Draemus (29.5), Durenghast (26.6), Cru (26.4), Kel'Zora (22.7), Kouru (19.3), Lizt (18.2), Huzeddim (15.9), Spower (11.4), Avalokama (10.2)
He reappeared over his Sacred Tree in Verda... and was slightly surprised. New beings seemed to be living around his tree... of course, he recognised instantly they were made of his corruption... apparently, his tree had been busy. However, the orcs... they weren't visibly corrupt. Nor were they mentally. They may of been born of corruption, yet oddly... they weren't corrupt at all. Deciding to investigate his accidental creations, he took the form of one of their children. Deciding to mix things up a bit, he changed his rod into a wooden walking stick, and crippled his left leg. With that, he entered the village secretly, and observed.
Meanwhile, the orcs were welcoming yet another Unbound One guest. This one seemed... different... from the other Unbound Ones that had visited. The elder, along with other orcs (including Heiler), approached the Unbound One to welcome him.
Karhedron dragged himself forward. He was almost to the edge of the lake of fire, where he would pour his soul into the great molten lake. But... was it... getting smaller?
It was! Karhedron watched as the lake seemed to dissapear, receding back towards the city. As the level dropped, he saw what the titans had been working on... something he had heard rumors about but had not actually gotten a detailed briefing on. It was a giant set of tubes and structures, made of reinforced glass and metal, and the lava was being pumped into it by great machines. As Karhedron watched, several Sun worms entered into an enormous circular tube just below the main city. Instantly, the heat from the worms flowed through the machine and through Casaka, warming it. With a mighty roar, a pillar of white light shot out of the bottom of the machine, pushing the entire city upwards and into the heavens and leaving behind an empty pit and Karhedron, who watched the glass spires fly away from the doomed planet. The Final Solution of the Casakan people, while not used to save them from the undead menace, had still proven quite useful. Karhedron smiled as he watched the city rise. Then, with a groan, the earth bucked beneath him, sending the Titan flying up into the air, nearly reaching the city itself as it moved upwards, straining to escape the planet in its final death throes. Karhedron plummeted back down to the earth, knowing that his time was over, but that his people were safe.
He hit the sands of his beloved desert and shattered into a thousand pieces, which scattered across the sands. All was silent for a long moment, then, one by one, the pieces of glass began pulling back towards the point of impact, reassembling into a Titanic form made up of finger-sized shards of glass. Karhedron blinked in surprise as he felt his lifeforce returning a thousand times stronger than he had ever felt it. Overjoyed, he lifted his gaze to his city, and with a mighty leap, left Yrie for the last time to rejoin the city of glass.
Sku'Byss, meanwhile, observed the newcomer from the shadows. Overhearing what they were talking about, he decided to follow them to the tree as secretly as possible.
The guardian quickly interrupted Durenghast's investigation, saying, "How many of your people am I going to have to tell this to? Don't touch the tree. It is... damaging."
Sku'Byss remained in the shadows, leaning against a hut. This Unbound One seemed to be examining his tree... which was odd, seeing as most things that got near his creations were severely damaged or left completely transformed. Puzzled, he got slightly closer to the tree.
Slowly, Durenghast focused on the tree. At once, a wave of sensations and memories assaulted him, from the creation of the orcs, to something...else. The creation of an entity not unlike him, which had killed the tree on his way out. Perhaps, some time ago, it would have been overwhelming for the young god to go through such a torrent of...existence in such a short time. But, while different from the Artifact of Terror, the tree shared some similarities, and after his last experience, Durenghast was more capable of resisting noxious effects.
Eshcal felt the destruction of Yrie, souls without number flooded the world on the river, even the Legion of Sorrow, that was preparing to purge the undead abomination felt the destruction, so many souls... even the one once shackled by undeath was flowing back to the river, their form crushed by their dying world...
He felt the Herrim, his gift for the goddes Maibe, one he himself greatly admired, leaving the planet for the void, where the sun kept feeding them with power, the Djin flooded the Court of Winds, returning to their ancestral home
So much beauty wasted, potential destoyed, the cosmo was indeed turning darker and void with the passing of time...
Then he heard his son voice, Eshcal was curious to see him in person and so he willed himself in front of the god of balance.
"Finally I can visit you in person my son, I had planned for us to do something before the balance of creation could be damged as it is now but I fear my actions was too slow... An entire world has being killed in creation, death rule where once there was life... I wonder if it is time for us both to abandon the planes and visit creation again"
At the first hint of Yrie's volatility, those of Volumbra Aegis did what any sensible, self-preserving being would -- they fled. Back through the Whispergate into the belly of the Susurrus. The last Malevolant had barely made its way through before the Whispergate flickered and went out, returning to Verda.
The Whispergate in the mountains likewise vanished, this one reappearing within the City of Glass itself.
The Harbinger turned to Ravnos, unsmiling and furious.
Know you what caused this cataclysm?
"I honestly have no idea... this level of devastation... it was so sudden, so... final. I am thouroughly impressed with my titans for their foresight. I imagine they had initially planned to use that device to flee from the undead if things had gotten disasterously bad, but it came in good use here. I can only imagine..." Ravnos' voice lost its tenativeness and gained a hard edge "That the blame lies directly on the shoulders of those who had already gone too far. And I sense one of them nearby."
Ravnos spun and surged upwards towards Sku'Byss, who he could now sense.
"CORRUPTOR! You have crossed a line that was NEVER to be crossed! Prepare to defend yourself!"
Sku'Byss was amazed that this being was not harmed by such exposure to the tree. He decided to take action and figure out how he wasn't coming to any harm. He limped out of the shadows and asked, "How did you do that? How come the tree isn't hurting you?"
_________________________________________________________________________________
Nearby, Ymalos watched in shock as the star beast that was once Yrie lashed out at his moon, shattering it into asteroids once more, before it itself imploded. He was silent for a few seconds then turned to the Fane with a look of shock and rage on his face. He spoke only four words. "What have you done?"
+1 Nourish PP (new turn)
1/7, 1/1 Fountain of Life
The Harbinger clutched one protruding part of the apparatus, being whisked along as Ravnos charged upwards in anger (the other still holding the childgod Maibe).
That is not Sku'byss for one, that is Ymalos. I find I do not know the other.
He turned away. "The spirit sought the chance at life, not understanding that it's body could not even support it's undead state. There is no turning back now. Yrie is no longer, and your fountain will not sustain them forever, Ymalos. I suggest relocating them."
Glancing at the departing Sku'byss, and considered the approaching form of Ravnos and another, he offered a smile to Ymalos. "Between you and I, I suggest Yrie. Doing so will make you one enemy, but will make Sku'byss there an ally."
Glowling slightly, Fury dissolved into a fine red mist fading into the void. His final words echoed about, fading even as he did. "See you again soon."
"Ymalos. Did you have something to do with this? Did you see the oathbreaker, Corruption, leave here? Was he here? Where did he go?"
And with that, Fury was gone.
Brother, I... I am not sure what to make out of this event, but you cannot rush into anything. Lest you forget, the Corruptor has friends. You must be careful how you act.
A horrible realization came upon Zo-Att
Oh no... does this mean... I will have to fight you? I am a part of that alliance as well.
Panic slowly dominated Zo-Att's features.
Calm yourself. I know a little bit of how The Silent One works, and while I have no idea what he had hoped to do with his undead forces, I know that this... implosion of destruction could not have been caused by him. Yrie's destruction was an impulsive act of rage. The Darkwalker would not have done so had there been some underlying purpose, and given his intent to conquer, I hardly think destruction was his end game.
Sku'byss too is innocent. This was not corruption in any sense -- and do you forget that his own Foulspawn were pouring through from Khanda?
And Ymalos -- you look as distraught as any of us.
No, this must be the work of the rogue gods the Casakans were leery of.
Besides, Zo'Att, Ravnos was considering joining our pantheon anyway. I dare say that these latest events have given us a unified purpose going forwards.
Edit: Freaking ninja Veok!
"You must do whatever it is you wish, Sister. My people are not dead, so genocide was not committed, which is the only thing that stays my hand at this moment. But I desire answers as to why things were allowed to get to this point. Once-water, you say that Voiceless could not have had anything to do with this, but I feel you may be mistaken. Was he not raising undead across the entirety of Yrie? You may not know this, for it is not known to many who were not there to witness its creation, but Yrie is... was... the body of one of the great Star-Beasts that roams the heavens. Perhaps my son's actions led to its awakening."
Ravnos thought for a moment, then spoke.
"Yes, Once-Water has laid out a convincing argument why my previous stance regarding your pantheon may have been mistaken. Perhaps soon I will be part of this alliance as well. For now... I must find our son. Do you know where he may have gone?"
((OOC: Toph, your post is invalid... Sku'Byss left, friend.))
Sku'Byss was amazed that this being was not harmed by such exposure to the tree. He decided to take action and figure out how he wasn't coming to any harm. He limped out of the shadows and asked, "How did you do that? How come the tree isn't hurting you?"
"Like I said, I've been through worse.", Durenghast said, looking at the little kid who had asked the question. "I was forced to dispose of an artifact that twisted the very soul of the place where it was implanted and carry it within me. Compared to having to resist its influence, the mere contact with this tree is nothing."
Void above what was Yrie
What... had just happened? He'd finally got everything to where he'd wanted it... he had every piece on the board in exactly the right location... and then... the board itself had risen up and decoured every piece on it, before imploding in on itself. Even as he saw the same occur to the planet down below him. He didn't know such a thing was even possible... how could he possibley play a game where the rules could change at any moment? He'd said himself so many times before that the gods made their own rules, but he'd never realized how IRRITATING it was when they did.
Intent on finding out what had happened here, the Silent One drifted towards what he sensed was a large gathering of divinities, lurking in behind them just in time to hear Ravnos describe the nature of Yrie and his doubts about him.
"So, Yrie was actually a living entity... intriguing, if I'd have known that I would have chosen a different approach for our little project."
The dark god raised his hands in preperation for a dozen questions and accusations, cutting them off before they left the assembled god's throats. "Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking, but I honestly had nothing to do with whatever transpired here. In all honesty, I didn't even have that much to do with the undead horde once I'd unhallowed Yrie's soil. Except for making ghosts to lead them, but they were milling about like birds without a brain, it was frustrating to watch. Allow me to tell you exactly what happened here, from my eyes at least... then you can decide whether or not I'll have to run off to the edge of the void to save my life again."
The Silent One rubbed his chin for a few moments, thinking about how to best go about explaining himself, before speaking. "I underestimated the mortals here. I underestimated their stubborness that they would wait so long before imploring for divine aid. I underestimated their resourcefullness that they would divise so many ways of dealing with such a dire situation. And, most importantly, I underesitamted their sheer apathy and incompetence. Grawlf, unhallowing the soil of Yrie meant that almost everyone that died there arose as undead... everyone that DIED. NOT those who were already dead. As such, the titans, the dhorem, the ogres, they all had the ability to cut this plague off in the bud. All they had to do was burn the bodies when someone died, and kill any undead that arose from them. But no," he went on a little bitterly. "They couldn't handle that. Instead, they chase off the undead into the desert. They slaughter eachother for mere food without considering what consequences it would bring. They even sheltered loved ones that had returned as monsters. Sheltered them! And all the while, the undead just kept growing in number, growing in strength with each living mortal they killed. I NEVER intended for a horde of undead to besiege Yrie. I expected them to merely begin to fear death, and pray to the gods to help them avoid the fate of undeath. Instead, their own apathy nearly ended up killing them all."
The dark god spread his hands helplessly. "And then, of all things, the whole world blows itself up. If I'd have known that it would do that, I wouldn't have bothered to meddle in it's affairs."
Former Moon of Yrie
The World Eaters survived the seperation of the Moon of Yrie into asteroids... in fact, they welcomed it. Little chunks were so much easier to devour than a whole world. Using the methods taught to them by the Brothers, the World Eaters began to devour the stone asteroids, one at a time, devouring the satellite piece by piece. They also consumed every last plan that remained on the asteroids, relishing the vegetation in their diet.
Verda
The gigotaurs weapons shattered the skeleton's skull into mere fragments, causing the monster to sink to it's knees... before simply getting back up and charging at it's assailants.
"Abomination," the knight hissed before kicking the sack of bones firmly enough to send it's remaing pieces flying.
It was indeed true that only Yrie had been unhallowed so that the undead rose there in such great numbers, but the Silent One's new detour on the River of the afterlife applied to the souls of every world. That included Verda, and with the amount of deaths caused by their numerous wars the gigotaurs had to arrange frequent undead hunts to avoid their lands being overwhelmed by the creatures. Well, a land anyway, by the time the undead grew enough to conqueror one land the others would have joined together in enough of a sense of unity to wipe them out with ease. But since no land wanted to be the one that was sacrificed in the proccess, each lord arranged to deal with the undead on their own terms.
"Looketh! Over yonder!" a gigotaur cried, gesturing to the sky in which what seemed like hundreds of translucent humanoids were floating down towards them.
"Avast! More abominations to taste mine blade!" the knight replied, tightening his grip on his weapon.
Needless to say he was stunned when the see through people stopped short of the band, one floating towards them and raising his hand in a gesture of peace.
"Excuse me," the ghost asked. "But would this be your land?"
"Verily," the gigotaur replied perplexed. "Mine kinsman and mine self doth abideth here. Why doth though seeketh to parlay?"
Taking the odd dialect in stride, the ghost replied "Well, we come from a world named Yrie... post-humously, anyway. But our world was recently... how shall I put this, blown up."
"Blown up?!" the gigotaur asked incredulously. "By Dharrox, no wondereth you're... er..."
"What?" the ghost asked. Before realizing. "Oh no, no, we were dead before it blew up! That was the only thing that saved us really. As saved as we can be, anyway. Still, it isn't terribley interesting just floating in the void by ourselves, and we can't really look for ways to move on just twiddling our thumbs for eternity, so we decided to leg it to another world. And yours was the first we came across."
The gigotaur scratched his head in confusion. "Doth thou meaneth to say that thou did travel from anothereth world? How dist thou do so? Magic?"
"We walked," the ghost replied simply. "Well, floated anyway. Took us a few centuries to get this far."
A few centuries?... the gigotaur shuddered at just how these ghosts dismissed the passage of time so casually. "Thou doth wanteth to live in our landeths then?" the gigotaur asked. "I wouldst have to checketh with mine lord..."
"That would be nice," the ghost replied. "But we just wanted to introduce ourselves for now. Meet the locals, so to speak, before exploring the rest of the world. So, it was nice meeting you," the ghost said in farewell, before floating away with the rest of his comrades.
"Um, the sameth for thou," the knight replied slightly confused, looking to his comrades in arms. They just shrugged.
((Oh, Nerdzul, sorry about cutting off your conversations with the ghosts of Yrie, but I assumed that it's destruction kind of cut the meeting short... feel free to hunt them down again though))
1 Mold PP from Brothers - De-mold land - the World Eaters devour a chunk of the asteroids comprising the Moon of Yrie
1 PP - De-nourish land - the World Eaters eat the moon's forests
0PP - The 'good' ghosts relocate to Verda.
[1/7]
So what now?
[4/8]
"Burn them? Do you know how hard it would be to BURN a titan? It would take a Sun Worm... although... I guess they have those..."
Ravnos trailed off, thinking.
"Very well. I am still annoyed that you let things go so far, but if there was such a simple solution to the whole mess, then... I cannot remain angry. I will admit it. It was a good challenge. And my Titans were quite innovative, weren't they? I wish I could say the same about the other races... do any of you know what happened to the Dhorem? If Maibe has returned... it would be nice if some of her people are still living somewhere."
Ravnos turned to Zo-Att.
"Well, I think I will spend some time with my titans, getting them settled on another planet. After that... I will come find you all again... I think I may be joining you all... this was truly informative."
Ravnos turned to face Brinn.
"It appears it was a horrible accident based on a lack of complete information... in fact, you could say it is my fault for not remembering the true nature of Yrie as much as the Secret-Keepers for casting the reanimation spell. I assume your Spirits were able to escape without much worry... correct? They being spirits and all."
The Silent One chuckled at Grawlf's response. He was glad things were patched up so easily... as much as he hated to admit it, it was nice to be on his Maker's good side. Though he swore he didn't know whether he should love him or loathe him at times... "Indeed they were, far more than any of my mortals would have been I hate to admit... you should be proud Maker. Your creations thrived under the worst of circumstances... even if those circumstances were almost entirely accidental. As for the Dhorem, I'm not entirely sure myself. They were removed from the playing field long before the game came to a close, but I get the impression that their removal was in the interest of preservation rather than destruction. Beyond that, I know not."
The dark god's eyes turned to look at the new arrival.. Brinn. Not exactly the most friendly face he could have imagined considering, but hopefully she could keep any wrath at his very existance in check. "Ah, Brinn, a pleasure to see you again. I haven't seen you since... that meeting of the gods so long ago," he greeted, remembering that the last time they had met he had actually been disguised as his alter-ego, Dharrox. He needed to assume that form again soon, before anyone thought to wonder where he'd gone... "In any case, Grawlf has the right of it. Due to a little mishap with some necromancy, my curse of Yrie's soil accidentally made the planet want to kill itself. It was an honest mistake... I never even would have imagined that any world would have such a response to a simple curse. Of course it wasn't really a world now was it? Which was the entire issue... and Zo-Att," he added finally. "After this disaster on Yrie, maybe it's time we took a little break before trying to tackle such a large project again... giving us each time to expand our own little areas of interest, perhaps aiding eachother in things we might think others interested in. And the next time we try and work in concert, maybe we should try to discover all the details of what we're trying... destruction is your domain, not mine, and I find little pleasure in the empty void in which Yrie once stood."
The child's expression remained impassive. Simple. That tree is not only mine, but it had a hand in my creation. In fact, its my home.
All of you, stop; Even if The Silent One's reanimation was the ultimate cause of Yrie's reawakening, consider that it did not happen immediately. It took weeks, years! I've no idea how the mortals measured the time. The skeptic in me calls foul play -- who would have known about Yrie's true nature, and the ability to bring forth these results?
"Well, perhaps it just took some time for it to do its trick... a world-sized beast might take a while to reanimate. But... I will play your game. Lets see. Anyone old enough to recall those days right after I created the stars might know... Maibe, obviously, myself, most of us gathered here... Lohak, although he is dead so we can ignore that option, same with The Sisters... Ymalos, did you know? Beyond that, I think the others who might have known are all sleeping or missing. So. Did any of us do this? Because that would eliminate the vast majority of the possible suspects. I, obviously, had nothing to do with this."
The Harbinger turned to The Silent One.
I thought you implied he was merely incapacitated!
She then considered that not every god would be as pleased that so many demons still existed
"Fortuitous for me at least. I am loathe to bring my forces to Verda, seeing as I have my own children there, but I am not the 'brains' of this pantheon as you may have already ascertained. Regardless, all things shall end eventually, so it's almost as if all this is entirely moot."
Her last statement made Zo-Att wonder why she even bothered talking. Words were useful, but often petty.
More and more tears flowed down the Child Goddess´s cheeks as her child killed itself. It was gone now. All that she had once been was now gone.
" Mother..."
She insisted on calling her mother that, because in her eyes at least the Harbringer was her mother. It was her powers that had awakend her and made her in to what she was.
" Mother...why did they make him burn? Why did they hurt him? Why couldn´t they..."
The Child stared at what once had been Yrie. Her face red, her lips trembling and her eyes wide with grief.
"Simply put, observing mortals as a mortal makes the mortals seem more... natural. Mortals always behave differently in the presence of a god. Speaking of which, do you mind if we talk elsewhere?"
The roots spread throughout the immediate vicinity of the tree, yet that was not enough. They expanded, and there reach grew greater and greater until it had secured a large portion of Yrie. The roots needed to feed, and so they did.
Whenever another creature stepped over a root, the root would rip itself out of the ground and drag the unsuspecting being to its death under the earth. Then, the nutrients of the being would not only feed the root itself, but the Sacred Tree as well.
2 PP Spawn Beast (moderate): Roots of the Sacred Tree begin to appear in Verda, intent on eating whatever disturbs them.
[0/7 PP]
Ravnos came up suddenly before Ymalos. He could have SWORN he had felt the Corruptors influence just moments before.
"Ymalos. Did you have something to do with this? Did you see the oathbreaker, Corruption, leave here? Was he here? Where did he go?"
"It was the one calling himself the Fane of Fury, not I. There was also one, a god, no exarch, that the Fane called Sku'byss. I would help you find and punish the Fane, as he destroyed my moon in addition to Yrie, but first I must repair my moon." Ymalos closed his eyes, concentrating on the scattered fragments of Yrie's moon. All of them immediately flew back to their original spot and fused together. "There," said Ymalos, "I am now ready to track down the Fane of Fury. Where is he, Eye-God?"
2 PP mold: Ymalos puts Yrie's moon back together.
0/7, 1/1 Fountain of Life
The Harbinger turned to the godchild she still carried, carefully brushing away her tears.
Hush, little Maibe. We will find he that did this to your world. I think I still have enough vengeance in me to make some spectacular fireworks.
"Indeed I think it is time for us to step back in creation, my son, I'm honored to be the first one to show you what awaits there, even in such a sad occasion...
I think we will see others among our divine kind there, be wary of them, some might be helpful or friendly, but most only have their own interest in mind, they seek no balance only power for themselves to grab..." Replied Eshcal, his memory racing to the burning of verda, the dark pantheon, the intrigues that surrounded the death of the one from that created the first among the gods, he let some of these memories flash through his son mind, brief but intense.
"Now it is time for me to show you the way..."
Eshcal then called the currents of Yrie, the winds that resided there and was now drifting in the void, slowly guiding the path of the golden planet shattered fragments, slowly he bent the space to his will, joining that winds with the ones that roared in the Chaos, forging a path to Yrie.
"Follow me, Kel'Zora, creation awaits..." He told before walking into the new path...
Yrie, The Death Realm
The leader of the Pure, Ometh, was floating on the surface of the "once world" as Yrie was now called by his kind, he was entranced by the flowing for of milion souls, liberated by the shackles of life, guided by the avant guard of his new army, legion of Tos'Arai all sworn to bring them to the peace that awaits in Death and all bound to his will by oaths of fealty...
The general mind however could not remain concentrated on the wonderful, to his eyes at least, parade of souls, he knew that the scourge of undeath was far from vanished, many souls was still shackled to creation somehow, most of them has migrated away to a far realm, moments before or after the destruction. He has ordered one of the legions to find them.
Ometh however was not alone there, far less pleased Talash, one of the wardens, the raven headed first breed of Tos'Arai and Jarva, a vulture head scholar, watched with cold eyes the scene below.
The three spirits discussed for long about the future plans of the Legion, finally deciding that they should seek the groups of undeads that was still reasonable and willing to seek the proper afterlife first, before beginning a war that might cause more suffering than the relief it brought to the dying souls.
Eshcal followed the paths of wind to the ruined Yrie, he remembered when he had walked that realm, his mind drifted to the goddess Maibe, the caring mother of that realm, Eshcal feared that she might have died, even if he has not sensed her passing, or at least maybe she was in danger as the goddes would have never allowed the fall of her prized world...
Finally he sensed the presence of the other gods, slowing down so that his soun could follow he approached them.
"Its has been a while since the last time I have met any of you, brothers and sisters, unfortunatly it seems that such things happens only in the direst moments..." he told.
"Today one of our precious worlds died a massacre, indeed, however one that we was not capable of avoiding, nothing more than ruins are lef of Yrie, nothing to admire, to cherish, to explore, to rule or change, nothing to nourish, nothing to destroy... And the many beings who lived or existed here are suffering or dying how should we face this?
Lord Ravnos, that I once knew as Grawlf, Sister, lady Zo-Att the aunt who keep sending me so many to lead into the embrace of the great unknown that lies beyond, lady Brinn, patron of Verda, Silent One, whose mind guide the death to a path of uncertanity and fear but still grant them choices in a time when there was none, Kel'Zora, keeper of balance and all of you brothers and sisters that I have never met yet, I have a proposition...
None of us planned for Yrie to die, I hope at least, however this proven that a single world a treasure made by one one among our kind is not safe enough it can be ravaged by ousider or even torn itself to shred, so my offer is that we made a new one here, where Yrie once stood so that we will never forget its memory, one world that can be the center of creation, one that we should all grant a gift to and that we all shall protect...
This way we will show that even from destruction something new might be born...
Then we might seek to truly understand what brought to this. Who will was behind that devastation and what happened to the goddes of the golden world, that somehow is no more what she once was...
What do you say?"
"Fury, Sorrow, Fear, and several others I'm not familiar with are what we've dubbed Emoticons," the Silent One explained to the Harbinger. "They're not divine, except for Sorrow who stole a divine spark, but they're not mortal either, and they build off of and feed off of the negative emotions of mortals and gods alike. Fury nearly made me and Grawlf kill eachother during our last encounter if I recall. As for why an emoticon would destroy a whole world... to spread their emotion?" he hazzarded with a shrug. "Honestly, I can't think of anyone who'd benefit from an entire world's destruction." Except perhaps Zo-Att, but even she's moved beyond such base methods of furthering her domain to such an extent that the dark god doubted she'd go to such extreme extents to achieve destruction.
The Silent One wasn't familiar with the god that approached the group of dieties, but apparently his reputation preceded him. Though he was somewhat erked that apparently the most significant thing he'd ever done was to make the souls of the dead able to choose whether to pass on or to arise again. Then again, considering Ravnos' was once being called Grawlf...
"Haven't we already done something like this before?" the Silent One asked. "Or other gods did anyway... what was that little world you and Lohak made together Grawlf? But on general principal if that's not the sort of project you were considering... whoever you are. Sorry if we've met before and I can't remember, I've been very busy lately. If we haven't, nice to meet you. But I digress. I'd be glad to help, although I find it a little insulting to build another world just where Yrie died. For one thing it's rather like building a city on a graveyard, for another there's still a lot of restless spirits in the general vacinitie I'm sure you wouldn't want haunting your vision for a perfect world."
[2/7, 1/1, 2/2]
A sound emerged from beneath The Harbinger's hood, not unlike grinding many sharp teeth.
She glanced over at the assembled gods.
No, I do not think we should recreate Yrie -- unless, true to the past, we build it out of a dead being. How large an area do you think that 'emoticon' would render?
We shall kill Fury. United in purpose, all of us, it should be a simple matter. Let us show these interlopers that we are not their playthings. Turning our anger towards Anger incarnate? It's poetic, truly.
She softly tapped Maibe on her forehead.
Fury must pay for what it has done to Maibe and Yrie.
When The Harbinger spoke again of the Emoticons, Kel'Zora's eyes would have narrowed. If he had eyes. "I cannot recall if I have met this Fury, though perhaps I need merely delve my memories. However, I do know of these creatures you speak of. Already I have met Sorrow, Desire, and Apathy. It seems they meddle in all affairs. They seem to be a great force of Instability"
Sorrow finally rose to her feet,. "I trust you to stay here and keep an eye on things, Apathy." Slipping free of the heart of chaos, leaving the realm sealed from outside access.
-----
Terror walked the streets of the Casakan city silently, enjoying the fear within the city. Their world had been destroyed. They now floating among the void, with no contact with any others. Fear for the future was rampant among the population. Among the most fearful and frightened, Terror whispered to the mighty titans. He spoke to them of their fear, telling them that fear was natural, that all creatures felt fear. Heed my words, he told them, and you will be granted power over fear, your own and others.
Most would ignore the whispers in their minds, but there were some who would heed them, eager for the power that was offered. Behind the closed doors of Casaka, small cults dedicated to power of fear began worshiping Terror, never knowing he was walking among them.
-----
Desire looked at his companion. "The Sovereign has left the Heart of Chaos, but it remains sealed. How long will you wait, my friend?"
-----
Fury coalesced back on Avanii, wandering it's islands blindly. In the back of his mind he could feel fury building, anger and outrage at the collapse of Yrie. Bored and waiting for something that could be worth is time, he wandered.
-----
A purple haze gathered around the assembled god, slowly coalescing into Sorrow's purple robed form. Looking over the vanished world, a single tear fell from her left eye. "I thought I felt a gathering of grief. Such a sorrowful event to have occurred under your watches. I should have come sooner, I think."
-----
Agnii swept silently above the lands of Avanii, seeking and searching until she found what she sought. A secluded island, far from the typical hunting paths of the flights of dragons. Landing on the island in a flash of flames, she released he charges. Across the island, the last living dhorem were released.
Finding the island a temperate paradise, with plenty of game and fertile soil, with no predators beyond the rare dragon, the dhorem flourished. Naming their new land Nadana, they formed a new nation. Forgetting the old ways, forgetting the goddess who had birthed them, the dhorem of Nadana took up worship of their new goddess.
There religious practices were fiery affairs, worshiping the flames sacred to their savior. To christen the construction of their first city, they constructed a grand bonfire in the center of the great temple. At the height of the service,the flames burst outwards. When the flames cleared, many of the dhorem were no longer as they once were.
Lesser then their kin, but more in tune with the nature of the world around them, these new people, given birth by the flames of rebirth from their goddess, were called the elves.
PP Expenditures
1 PP - Guide Populace - Casaka begins worshiping the Tyrant of Terror
1 PP - Nourish Populace - Rescued dhorem form the nation of Nadana
1 PP (Artifact) - Modify Populace - Via the ritual of rebirth, some dhorem are reshaped into elves.
1 PP - Nourish Populace - Elves join Nadana
4.45/8 + 1/2
The Silent One blinked at the Harbinger. "You know, that's almost exactly what I said when I was going to publicly disect Fury back in the Court of the Gods, before you arrived if I recall. All things considered, perhaps I should have gone through with it rather than be persuaded otherwise. Of course if I had-"
It was at this point that one of the very cursed Emoticons they spoke of materialized before them. Of course, it had to be the only one strong enough to avoid being held down and sliced open without a fight. "Ah, Sorrow, so good to see you again. Huh, you know, lieing like that now that I have the essence of truth within me just isn't as satisfying," he commented. "As for Yrie, yes it is indeed a sorrowful event." Well, to most of the other gods. The Silent One wasn't particularily weepy over a world of light dissapearing, thoug he was frustrated to no end at how easily the god's who had worked on it works had been dismissed by a mere insignificant avatar of an emotion. "However, since one of your little siblings seemed to have been heavily involved with the death of the world, I don't think we're very appreciative of what false sympathy you bring."
You had to be looking exactly at her while she did it, so sudden her reaction, so fast her assault. One moment she had been comforting Maibe, and the next... the god-child floated comfortably in the void, the goddess of Poison already having crossed the intervening distance, taloned hands reaping towards Sorrow's robed neck.
If it isn't the source of all our troubles. Actions speak loudest, brethren. Aid the Pantheon against our common foe, or get out of my sight.
Actions speak loudest!
PP Expenditure
+2 new days
-1 Attack God(?): Sorrow
1/7.15 + 2/2
She offered a small smile. "An which of my siblings might that be? I know the Tyrant was on Yrie. Something about titans and needing to remind them of the feeling of fear. Though, I'd say that was handled well enough by something else."
Throwing back a wisp of her hair, she shrugged. "Besides, I've told Fury and Terror not to be too destructive. Fury wouldn not have crossed me by inflicting destruction on this level. He knows I'd give him to you if he did."
As the Harbinger lunged at her, Sorrow watched impassively, metallic armor bursting forth from her skin, shrouding her in primal metal. "A handy trick borrowed from Lohak's repetiore."
Grappling with her attacker impassively, she looked at those nearby. "Such an unprovoked attack. This one is a bit unstable, isn't she?"
I have nothing better to do. The Chaos is calm, I have no worries, troubles, or other duties to tend to. I have no foes, no allies, no outstanding quests. I am content to meditate here, let the occasional passing stream exalt its joy for me, and wait.
Why? Should I be doing something else?
I'd rather that you stay here, conversing with me. Did I mention I have no memories? I am sure you have some stories of your----
The goddess broke off, abrupt.
Why now? What has changed?
"It is painful to remain in this incorporeal form once I have my name. I must see my kin and name myself to her if I am to gain a physical form."
What is it about your kin that makes her special? You could name yourself to me! I can help you with that! Would that work?
Ravnos' voice broke through the other gods' speeches, and one by one they turned to face him.
"Zo-Att, Secret-Keeper. You recall how Fury caused all those about him to feel rage and anger, correct?"
The god chuckled.
"How could we forget? But imagine, if we gods felt so strongly, what must the mortals feel? Even one as large as a star-beast? When the beast reanimated, it must have felt Fury's aura and lashed out in anger, destroying itself in the process. An unfortunate mistake, but... I would not place full blame on Fury, much as I cannot blame the Secret-Keeper for reanimating something he did know existed, nor can I blame myself for not mentioning something I thought unimportant."
"That said... it is time we deal with these emoticons... round them up and force them to come up with a solution to their auras."
Ravnos turned to look towards Casaka, still floating through the ruined remains of the planet.
"I will find you in a short while. I must settle my Titans somewhere new. Their current situation seems... less than ideal."
Ravnos nodded to the other gods and moved towards Caskaka, transferring the the body of Grawlf while he went.
He arrived in the city soon after. A cheer went up at the familiar sight of the eight-armed god, and throughout the city, titans began to feel once again called to the worship of the Great Eye. Grawlf looked about for Karhedron, but did not see the great Titan anywhere. Those he spoke to informed him that the Titan had not reached the city.
"Behind you, Great Eye."
Grawlf spun his eye about and saw Karhedron approaching. The titan looked quite different, but the voice was the same, resonant and booming with power and confidence.
"I see you are feeling well."
"Yes, I am. Thank you for giving me another chance at life."
"You fought valiantly, and defeated your foe. Plus, your people still need you. Go to the Isles of Wonder, ringing the great Gas Giant. There you will find room to live and grow once more."
Karhedron turned to him and said quietly.
"Grawlf, tell me this. Will you watch over us more diligently than you have in the past? A new world will be... a challenge."
"Of course. I plan to take a much more active roll than in the past."
Karhedron nodded and moved downwards into the the city, where he was greeted as a hero. Soon, the city began moving towards the Isles of Wonder. As it left, Grawlf opened up his mind and poured out some knowledge onto the Titans. When some of them woke up the next day, they would find that they had a new skill, the ability to write and record past accomplishments.
As the city left, Grawlf turned to his right.
"I see you there, Terror. We must speak."
1 PP: Guide Populace (from Karhedron): Karhedron sets Casaka moving towards the Isles of Wonder.
2 PP: Guide Populace: Caskans learn to write.
0/7+1/1+1/2 PP.
IC: Ravnos suddenly spotted the commotion in the distance.
"Terror, come with me. It would appear things have progressed quickly."
Grawlf sped back towards the gathering of gods.
"Once-Water. Wait! Sorrow is not the source of our troubles, merely one of its kin."
"Sorrow, do you know where Fury has gone? And... what... are you doing with Lohak's armor?"
Grawlf's eyes narrowed.
"Or did you steal that as well? I wish to speak with you and your brethren, all together. Could this be arranged?"
As they approached, Sorrow chuckled at Grawlf at his request. "I'll be happy to speak with you Grawlf, " she said, smiling, " as soon as you restrain this crazy *****."
Glancing at Terror, she mentally gave a single command. Responding immediately, his eyes darkened as he joined the fight, casting the Gaze of Terror upon Sorrw's attacked.
"That's it?" pondered Cru aloud.
It was a world, a vast world like this one, gone, consumed in an instant. A simple moment of simple destruction and it was gone, gone as though it had never existed. Was that what dying was like? All this colour, all this movement, these dreadful emotions one moment, and the next... nothing. No grand farewell, no extraordinary pizazz ushering you from being to non-being. It didn't seem right, somehow. Cru felt, in his heart of hearts, that nothing deserved that, nothing deserved to merely be... gone. Grand stories must follow in the wake of Yrie's passing, delicately composed epics that spoke of the wonder and grace that once existed there.
So Cru decided, right then and there, to give the world something to remember Yrie by. It was his mandate, his purpose. As the Storytelling himself, what choice did he have? And so he began to compose the epic saga of the City of Bright, a glowing metropolis nestled in the spot where majestic Yrie once sat:
It was born of idea, a mere thought, a memory if you will, drawn from the bright imagination of a boy.It sparked, flourished, rippled outwards, danced to the rhythm of the worlds, and shot into the fantastical heavens. It was a globe. Not quite the size of the dazzling planet of Yrie, but certainly not small. And it was beautiful. Every inch of the globe was covered in striking architecture, arching bridges, high towers, wide streets. And all of it glowed. At its inception, the globe shone bright as a star, but in time, it came to fade, never extinguished, but not blindingly brilliant.
It was a paradise, a shining utopia. Sparkling, never dirty water flowed through elegant canals and finely carved fountains. Intricate statues manned the sides of the streets like stoic sentinels, and lush gardens dotted the cityscape. Walking its streets were refugees from destroyed Yrie, never enough to even nearly fill the city. Vast stretches remained untouched. But those that were there found their every wish granted, their every need met. Fruit grew plentifully from the trees, and animals from Yrie lived on in the large green spaces. The refugees would never want for anything again. They were free to eat, drink, and be merry.
And to tell tales of time gone by...
3 PP Create Artifact (Greater) The City of Bright can sustain its inhabitants with food and water. For more exotic fare, one must search elsewhere. It effectively provides Nourish PP.
1 PP Guide Populace (Lesser) A small number of titan refugees themselves on Bright. In the new paradise, they seem to be doing quite well, and find buildings there that seem to fit their stature. They nowhere near fill the vast city, and enormous swathes of it remain unexplored.
As Terror appeared, The Harbinger spat poison at Sorrow... but turned to face Terror head on.
At first, there was nothing. The Harbinger stared at Terror, and the incarnate stared back. Thoughts, voices, images began to drift invisibly between them. It was as if no one else existed.
The screams of Leviathans. Hrinori being flayed alive, icy scales scattering on the winds. Being shattered into one million million shards of ice. Giving birth to Madness. A mocking cascade of flames. The Susurrus' near explosion, watching as a manical she-devil drove her beloved creation back upon herself. The incineration of divine flesh. Scattered, shapeless, lurking throughout the void.
You think to show me terror? What do you know of terror when I have already experienced the worst this void has to offer. I have been killed -- twice -- only to come back stronger and more determined. I do not fear. I have been the martyr for far too long to be rendered helpless by a gang of quasi-divine incarnate sycophants! And do you know what I strive for Terror? And end to you -- unity, prosperity, peace. An end to strife, an end to fear, and an end to your uncaring kin. Know that when you look upon me, you look upon your doom.
I will end you.
One way or another, I. Will. End. You!
The last four words, spoken aloud, were accompanied by a veritable psyhic shockwave, sending the self-proclaimed Tyrant tumbling through the void.
She turned to the other nearby gods, signalling Terror to remain quiet. "Honestly now, control your friend here. I've not quarrel with her, and this unprovoked attack and threats are uncalled for."
No. He could not help.
"Did you not say that he was already gone and nothing of him remained in his spark? I feel such crushing sadness within at his loss. If you die then perhaps I can finally move on."
For a long moment, she was silent. "Yes, I will help you find the way."
"Once-Water, I must implore you to stop. I believe that Sorrow hold the key to restoring Lohak to life, and I will not allow your misguided rage to ruin the last chance to get my brother back. Please, step back and think this through."
" You...it was you that did it! You killed him! YOU MONSTER! "
Tears flowed down the child´s cheeks as a terrible transformation begun. The child begun to age in an unsurpassed rate and in the matter of moments the Child was no longer there. Her eyes glew with a sickly, golden light and a wide, mad grin appeared upon plump, full lips.
In her place an adult woman stood, one that had not been seen on untold millenias.
Her skin was white as marble, her hair black as the night and her eyes looked as if they had been carved out from purest gold. She was dressed in robes and in her hand a glaive shone with the brightness of the very sun!
There was anger in her eyes as she did what she was supposed to do. She threw herself at Sorrow, aiming her Glaive against the creature´s heart. Anger, especially anger derived from insanity is a fire that often burn those that has nothing to do with it. Rage, Wrath or Anger...whatever name he wore was the one that had killed everything she had once been. She knew or at least suspected that much.
Sorrow was his sibling. Rage had killed her child...wouldn´t it be fair than to kill Sorrow? To make him feel the same thing she felt? Or...was it she that felt this? Was it truly Maibe, the child that wanted to stab Sorrow in her chest. Who wanted to kill her, burn her and destroy everything that was vaugely connected to the one that had destroyed "her" life...
Confusion.
Attack God 1PP + One combat artifact.
Damn time difference prevent me from partecipating a conversation hehe
Casting her words towards the original attacker, Sorrow spoke to her. "There will be no imprisoning, godling. If you continue, I will fight until this spark fails and collapses. Lohak's spark is irrelevant to me. What do I care if you destroy it with your foolish anger?"
She looked to Eschal next. "Creation is the gods to guide. And as long as i have this spark, I number among you. I have just as much right as you to guide and move freely among creation, Eschal."
1PP guide: The Morsinfra now inhabit Yrie's Moon.
0/7, 1/1 Fountain of Life
Zo-Att considered the current situation. The Emotions had been nothing but an annoyance, but what did she have to gain by attacking them? Perhaps peace of mind knwoing that they would not be causing any troubles in the future... yes, that was a tempting reason to join the fight. A look of annoyance also appeared on Zo-Att's face as she realized that her domain was being impeded on; how if she did such an act, it would be trouble for her, but these divine-thieves are some how getting away with it? It would have to change.
Brother, I have to say I agree with the Harbringer. The first thing they do is bother us at the Court, and then they proceed to destroy planets. What does the universe have to gain by keeping them alive? And about Lohak...
Zo-Att recalled when Lohak had told her he wished to leave the world, and just vanish. She hadn't thought of it much, but it seemed this was his doing after all.
I don't give a damn what happens to his essense. What has happened is *his* fault, and we should not rescue him from his own mistakes. I say we end these arrogant Emotions once and for all.
1 PP - Attack God
[5/8]
"You may not care what happens to his essence, but it does not change the fact that he is our sibling and one the children of the Sisters. I will not... no, I cannot stand by and let that be snuffed out. There is too much that I still need to learn from him."
Turning to The Harbringer, Grawlf continued.
"If you are serious about your intent to merely imprison, then I could be persuaded to step aside, especially if the rest of you would be willing to agree on imprisonment."
Grawlf moved a free arm and the Blackiron Shackles appeared.
"I would even contribute this."
I have every right to want Lohak returned as you do. You know this. I already agreed with your aims, and I agree to them again.
Unceremoniously, Sorrow ripped away the restraining blocks containing the raw fuious force of the elements. As quick as the thought thundering fury unleashed into three directed blasts. The Very air and void howled as it burned and the area ignited with a blinding flash of light - opposites twisted into a deafening discharge or wrath, striking out at and shoving her attackkers back.
"If that is what you desire. Lead the way."
Sku'byss nodded and moved through the crowd of orcs, with a simple, "Excuse me." Then, upon reaching the tree, he simply poked the bark, and what happened next was... interesting. The tree ripped itself open, revealing what appeared to be a massive room... a room far to big for the size of the tree. He turned to Durrenghast, "After you."
Up until now the Silent One was content to see how things would go. After all, why waste energy stamping out these emoticons if others would do it for him? But when she buffeted his fellow gods with that elemental energy, he couldn't stand by any more. She's struck at gods. Gods! Divine spark she may have, but Sorrow still wasn't worthy to lick the perfect boots of a true god!
"Enough!" the Silent One 'shouted'. Snapping his fingers, a void in space appeared, from which the anti-god weapon Ruin clawed it's way out, roaring and eager to serve it's Master in the one way it knew how... battle. "Sorrow, you've lived long enough on a stolen spark I think... I have no idea whether you deserve death for what you've done, or even what you've done period, but frankly... you irritate me, so I don't really care. Ruin, kill."
On que, the anti-god weapon opened it's mouth and let loose a massive ball of energy, fire and water, life and death, technology and nature, a paradoxical blast of everything that just couldn't be together and yet was. A little blast the Silent One had affectionately dubbed the Paradox Ball. More than capable of levelling a planet... and hopefully a self-proclaimed god.
If attack goes through and not interrupted or what have you:
1PP - Attack God (Sorrow) - One exarch and three combat artifacts.
[2(3)/7, 1/1 bonus, 1/2]
"NO!!!!!" Grawlf shouted, spinning and using his mind to knock the orb of light aside and flying into space.
"WE. MUST. KEEP. LOHAK'S. SPARK. ALIVE. I have a promise that Sorrow will try to return Lohak to life if she is not killed now. I cannot allow that chance to dissapear."
Grawlf flexed his arms and activated the Cloak of the Shadowfell. He would take care of the machine... it was up to Sorrow to take care of the rest.
1 PP: Aid God (against TSO alone)
0/7+1/1+1/2 PP
You would trust this foreign interloper over your own blood? Are you not even now being misled by the sorrow you feel for your cousin's death? How much of that grief is your own?
"Because I would do the same for you. I defended your world when I thought you were dead, for you were kin and I wished to preserve your legacy. By the same token, if there is a chance to keep some part of Lohak alive, I MUST do so. He is kin, son. My Brother. And Kin demands a duty higher than any other. So, I am sorry it has come to this, but I cannot allow you to kill him."
Grawlf ducked under Ruin's mighty fist and sent a concussive blast into the construct, who staggered back a step but did not appear seriously wounded.
"Once-Water. It matters not. If this one here dies, then I will never know if I stood aside and allowed my own brother's lifeforce to be finally, completely snuffed out. You speak of my grief? My grief would be endless and my doubt eternal if I were to allow that to happen. So, if you must attack me, restrain me... do so. For then at least my conscience will be clear."
The Silent One sighed. "I don't know about all that, but I do know one thing... you did stand up for me while I was gone. And for that, I hate to admit, I'm in your debt. Consider it repaid, Maker, but if I come across any Emoticon again, Sorrow included, I WILL kill them."
Waving an arm in a 'stand down' gesture, Ruin calmed itself, grunting as it was sucked back in through the portal from which it came. He'd kill these insignificant whisps of feeling soon enough... there was no need to crush Grawlf in the progress just so he could do it a little sooner.
((Withdrawing the combat action above))
"How do you know that Lohak does NOT wish to come back? Have we all not made mistakes? If I revive Lohak and he tells me that he wishes to die forever, I will honor that wish. But until that point, when I hear it from his lips, I refuse to rely on the words of others as to what he 'would have' wanted. My duty is to protect his soul, for it is defenseless.
My duty is to protect my people as well, of course, and I will strive to prevent any such devastation as this one from occuring again, but... I must follow this through just a little further. Again, I have no quarrel with you, but... I must stop him from actually dying."
Suddenly, Ruin stopped attacking, and his son was speaking. Grawlf listened.
"Thank you, Son, for allowing me to get to the bottom of this. We must talk later when all of this has passed. There remain things I meant to tell you before..."
((withdraw aid action))
1/7 +1/1+1/2 PP
PP: 5/7 + 2/2 + 1/1
Rubbing her injuries from Zo-Att and the other's attacks, she at least took pleasure in having struck a vicious blow against Maibe. Turning to Grawlf, she frowned and took a serious tone. "I certainly did not come to REVEL in the destruction. I came to experience the sorrow of so many gods all gathered togather. Destruction, for whats its worth, is not something I overly enjoy."
"Well, I'm flattered you'd think to join our glorious organization," the Silent One began. "But please, if you still have a written invitation, kindly shove it up your a-"
It was at this point that Ravnos mercifully cut the Silent One off. He still needs to tell me something? How... interesting.
A claw raked across Sorrow's neck and face, leaving trails of silver and green upon the being's face.
A second claw shot out, clutching at the incarnate's neck, holding, pressing, pinning.
The Harbinger leaned close
She bent down, whispering in Sorrow's ear.
I don't care what you are. I don't care what you think. You... your mere existance is an abomination. Give up Lohak's spark and get out of my sight. Or better yet, lead me to his remains yourself. I'm willing to forgive your compatriot's actions... or inactions, I really don't care how he caused it, but see that it does not happen again. And know this -- if you ever again harm anything of mine, I will kill you. Utterly.
Continuing her silent conversation, "Oh I have only taken form for a short time, but I have existed since the day that Lohak accidentally helped Grawlf bring Sonel into this world. Even had I not, I know all that Lohak knew. And there are certain, shal we say, useful things hidden among his knowledge that could be useful to you."
You were not even here. For all you know, I destroyed Yrie myself.
She held out a dark, icy talon.
Spark. Now. Or lead on.
She lifted her arms, and the void around them vibrated outwards, a silent call, but one felt within the core of all those assembled. Slowly but surely, blue, red, and grey mist filtered into the area, slowly forming up into orbs. The red mist coalesced into Fury, who looked amused at the call. The gray mist seemed content to stay as an orb until she gave it a harsh gaze, at which time it finally began to take the form of a gray-skinned humanoid wrapped in simple gray robes. The final to gather was blue. Upon seeing Sorrow, it took the for of a wiry athletic humanoid, dressed in a simple blue tunic and breeches. "Despot of Desire, at your service mistress. You called?" he spoke in a smooth voice.
Ignoring Desire for the moment, she fixed her stare on Fury, ignoring the wisps of light that had begun to trasnfer between them, flitting back and forth in an elegant light show, no two ever takng the same path. "Fury, what part, if any, did you have in the death of Yrie?"
He remained silent for a moment, before his coarse voice came forth. "I attempted to inflame the trolls to head south and bring war to the titans. I watched. I watched and warned no one while the spirit of the planet grew restless. I watched as said spirit returned to a body which could no longer support it. I watched as it tore it's withered dessicated corpse to peces trying to return to life. That is all."
She nodded. "Does that satisfy you? Surely the Silent One, master of truth and deception, can tell that he is not lying."
"If that is what you desire. Lead the way."
Sku'byss nodded and moved through the crowd of orcs, with a simple, "Excuse me." Then, upon reaching the tree, he simply poked the bark, and what happened next was... interesting. The tree ripped itself open, revealing what appeared to be a massive room... a room far to big for the size of the tree. He turned to Durrenghast, "After you."
Stepping into the room, the young god looked around. "...Impressive hideout, I must say."
Tears ran down along her cheeks, tiny fists were clenched and a small body shook as it´s owner cried out in pain. It felt worse and worse for each passing moment. Yrie had been a part of her...and now when it was gone it only left pain and a horrible feeling of emptiness within her. An emptiness that filthy beings refused to let her fill with revenge. Lying, cheating, mean and...and...bully bullies!
She continued to run for untold minutes and then...she was there. She saw Avanii´s floating islands and an odd, suprisingly pleasant feeling of belonging overtook her as she landed on an unhabit island. There was something here...something in the air...something in the earth that made her smile. A memory of someone she had once held dear.
Father...
A memory appeared in front of her eyes of a figure that had wished her out of non-existence. A kind being that had given her world life...one that had loved her, helped her and smiled at her.
This place, she decided would be her new home.
Grawlf had little patience for the emoticon 'family reunion' that was going on. For one, it was doing no end of craziness to his emotional state.
"Would you all PLEASE try and keep those auras in check? This is getting insane. Maybe direct them onto one another... you all seem to be immune to each other's auras anyways."
Grawlf forced the emotions back down and turned to the leader.
"Well, Sorrow. I have kept up my end of the bargain and kept you alive. But that spark within you is NOT yours. I must agree with the Harbinger... You must return it. Hold up your own end of the deal and help me to return Lohak's spark to him. You had better be ready soon, for I did not damage my relationship with all of these other gods for nothing."
As they fell silent, they glanced at each other oddly, and Sorrow continued alone. "I will indeed hold up my end of the bargain, Grawlf. "Indeed, I will hold up my end of the bargain. I said I would help you find a way to restore him, and I will. Do you have any idea where to being?"
This... is not over.
Grawlf? Dark one? I leave the handling of these...abnormalities to you.
There was only one planet in the direction Maibe had fled -- and unless something drastic had happened since she had lest been there, The Harbinger knew that the powerful dragonlord guarding the place would find a solitairy Maibe an easy meal.
---------
Eventually, The Harbinger found the goddess of light on the outskirts of Avanii.
Maibe... you must be careful. This is no place for unprepared gods.
The Harbinger landed next to Light, fiercly gripping Maibe's hands.
At the very least, let me renew your body and heal your injuries...
1 PP guide: The Bloodsworn are moved to Yrie's Moon
0 PP guide (divine servants): The Maenads travel the universe, seeking out slaughter.
1PP nourish (Fountain of Life): The Morsinfra.
0/7, 0/1 Fountain of Life
"Feh! I was enjoying myself, too."
(Calling off attack)
"All of you. I want to to say something, and everyone still here... listen to what they say. Emotions, could you please say "I am Creation" all together?"
It had been Lohak's voice. He was sure of it. Which meant... what did it mean? Grawlf waited for the emoticons to speak again.
Sku'Byss entered after Durenghast. As he entered, the tree sealed itself shut behind him, preventing any others access to his demiplane. Finally, Sku'Byss reverted to his original form. His orcish skin was replaced with a shade of purple that constantly seemed to be changing, and his mouth even grew short fangs. He was, however, still child sized. "Well, that's better..."
"A pleasure to meet you now that you've shed that form, whoever you are.", Durenghast said, with a nod. "Now, what is it that you wish to discuss that could not have been done in plain sight?"
Sku'Byss nodded, "Yes. Mainly, I would like to know exactly who you are. In return, I shall introduce myself... I am Sku'Byss, the Corrupter."
Yrie.
Destruction of life
Destruction of unlife
Falling apart
Collapsing, rebuilding
Collapsing
boom
He emerged in the center of what seemed to be most every god. He looked around for a moment at everybody, before noticing the Emoticons.
"Why are they here, seriously", he said to no-one in particular.
+5 PP: New Days
[6/7 PP]
The little Goddess mumbled and smiled nervously at the Harbringer as she looked around.
" It has parts of me in it..."
Her smile grew as she picked up a stone from the ground and blew at it. Divine essence flowed through it and suddenly a small mind awoke within the stone. Wings suddenly grew out if it and the stone slowly began to fly away with wings white as snow. Small black eyes appered on it and a tiny trunk as well.
" Bye bye! "
The little girl shouted and waved at the Stone that landed on a nearby flower, crushed it with it´s weight and began to feast on the dead plant.
Create lesser Spawn 1PP: Winged Stone
- - - - -
Orine paused in her flight, seeing a gathering of gods in the distance. Should she stop and approach them? They may have had part in Yrie's destruction; in fact, it was likely. ....no, she preferred to stay out of their way. Learning was not furthered by death, after all.
PP: 6/7 + 2/2 + 1/1
I know. And you have every right to be here. Just... be careful. I'd rather not find you in such a sad state again. You appear to have returned to your full abilities, and need my nurturing no longer. Take care, Maibe.
The Harbinger shuddered slightly.
This mask grows tiresome at times, but I must remind myself the benefits it brings. If you need me, you will find me.
This is a nice place. Perhaps I shall tell Fulrit to bring the Malevolants here...
The Harbinger faded from existence, going... elsewhere.
Iro looked longingly at the heart of chaos, then after the form of her fleeing friend.
Achingly, Iro dragged her gaze away from the door of the tomb and vanished.
Nearby, The Harbinger faded in. She looked around, seeing no one, then glared at the tomb.
--------------
Within the circle of gods, Iro appeared, quite out of sorts.
Um... hello?
Realizing the growing theory that the Emoticons had something to do with Lohak besides merely one of them possessing his spark, the dark god made a suggestion. "If these Emoticons have Lohak's spark, and their creation had something to do with his essence, then perhaps we can merely kill them all, harvest than energy and see if we can use it to discover how to recreate him?" He paused for a moment. "I'm just saying is all. We don't always have to deal with all this diplomacy, sometimes just brute force and a bit of murder suffices."
It was at this point that the new god appeared in the circle. A fairly familiar looking god... "I'm sorry, who are you?" he asked Iro.
[4/7, 1/1, 1/2]
"We are here to watch the ruins of one among the worlds that was crafted by our kind and to waste our time in fighting against each other, without really changing anything, that's what we are here for, my son... I think that your world of dream is a lot more interesting than the divine politics currently, maybe I should visit it soon..."
Told Eshcal to his Shyr then he turned to face the others
"However I think that my time here is over, but before leaving this place I want to create something to help us not to forget about this lost world, a monument to Maibe dream..."
He begun gathering the small fragments of Yrie, their golden light was slowly vanishing, their shining essence lost after the death of the world, Eshcal conjured a gentle breeze that polished them, this supernatural wind drifted among the broken remnant, gathering not only them, but what remains of the memories they carried.
Eshcal watched as the breeze worked its way among the debris of the planet, when he was content of the treasure that the wind brought to him the god begun molding it, shaping the substance with his touch, until a large temple of golden stone appeared, its delicate, reflecting surface collected the memories of Yrie, projecting vision of the planet history in the mind of those that walked its hall. Dorhemi, djinn, titans, even trolls and restless dead, every creature that once existed on the planet appeared in such visions, celebrated somehow by its power.
The djinn of Shuras gathered there, following Eshcal desire they sworn an oath to protect its hall.
The Herrim, more elemental spirits that living beings, was still floating in the void of the world they once called their homeland, mourning it in their silent ways, however when the new structure appeared many gathered at the place, floating among its spires, sensing the familiar ground.
Eshcal smiled watching some of his creations playfully flying trough the temple halls, his mind drifted to the sun goddess, the one reason of the sun falcons birth... She was a child now, scared and lone far from her lost home... Maybe he should do something, however he was not sure about how to address the goddes, Eshcal did not want to scare her, he wondered if her mind still remembered anything about him.
He decided to send one of the herrim to look for the goddess, he found one of them, a powerful male, the god took the sun falcon within his hands, caressing his plumes to makt the beast at ease he chanted a quick spell, sharpening the mind of the Herrim and imbuing him with a portion of his immortal power. Then he sent the creature to find the goddess, before leaving the being watched his master with its inquisitive dark eyes, silently asking why he was not going himself... something that Eshcal can not find an answer to...
The Afterlife, Titans,
The Tos'Arai spirit, watched the still unmoving form of the glass titan, wondering if he had made some mistake in his attempt to heal the creature...
Avanii
After a long search the Herrim found Maibe, while she was playing among the trees of that strange world, the beast first found the currents of the place hard to navigate, even if the wind themselves was his trainer in the art of flying, however the currents was unnatural there, enslaved by some kind of elditrich machinery...
The creature was at first distracted, by the flying stone, it looked soo much like the smaller flyers that once lived on his homeland, or like a really tiny and bulky hHerrim, silently he approached the goddess, wondering what he should say... At first he tought that he has never learned to talk, he should have rememberd his father... Drawing on the memories that Eshcal has granted him the creature decided to give a try, telling a timid
"Hello" to the goddess
0/7 +1, +1 Shape, +1 Guide, 2/2
1 PP Mold (or create artifact), The Hall of Reflections, a massive palace that held the memories of Yrie, many secrets of that dead world could be found by those daring enough to best its illusion and please the court of Djinn, evil and good, that guard that monument to Yrie.
3 PP Ascend Exarch, a yet unnamed Herrim exarch, lacking any "specific" power I guess I'll make him a combat exarch (or maybe a nourish if I can change my mind later can I?)
/poke Toph about the Titans-Spirits interactions (check my older post :p)
The World Eaters had been munching down Yrie's moon for some time. They'd eaten it's animals. They'd eaten it's plants. They'd even eaten chunks of it's soil. Now, since it had been pulled back together again and populated, the World Eaters turned their eyes to it's people.
Given so much time unopposed, and so many rich meals, the World Eaters had grown in number and strength. They were probably close to the end of their life cycle in fact. But as long as there was still food on the moon, why not attempt to enjoy it?
If looked on by an outsider, the fact the World Eaters chose to devour the Morsinfra, creatures that had for so long devoured other races to survive themselves, would be extremely ironic. To the Morsinfra themselves, it was merely catastrophic. This overworldly terror that ate the stones themselves soon dined on sweet humanoid flesh.
1PP - Denourish Populace (Morsinfra) - The World Eaters start showing down on some succulent morlocks and trolls.
1PP (Bonus) - Nourish Populace (World Eaters) - The World Eaters rich diet pays off for them.
[3/7, 0/1, 1/2]
I am Iro, goddess of Renewal. You... you look familiar.
She paused, scratching her chin.
You look.... flawed.
She brightened.
But I can help with that!
Of course, this was all thrust to the back of his mind when she mentioned he looked flawed. "Flawed? How could I be flawed? I'm a god, perfection incarnate. Perfection cannot be flawed, else it would be imperfect. Though I admit to being curious how you think you can help with this perceived 'flaw'."
There is conflict inside of you. Two opposites that can not coexist peacefully. I can feel the wear and tear of your essence as the two battle for dominance, slowly wearing you away, even if you do not realize it.
She floated up, the tiny goddess needing to do so to look The Silent One in the eye.
I can remove one of the two, if you'd like? Make things easier for you, I'd imagine. A paradox is a dangerous thing...
Iro's comment came to a complete surprise to the Silent One. Two opposites inside of him? He hadn't ever felt something that would suggest that.. had he? "With all due respect, I've don't know what you're talking about. If I have two parts inside of me, then that's how the universe has chosen to make me, and meddling in the issue could cause irreprutal damage. However," he hesistated a moment before going on. "If this is really 'tearing me apart', as you say, then perhaps we should find out more... rather than simply destroying one side or the other."
It matters not to me. Perhaps you should seek your own answers. I only know when things are broken, and how they might be fixed.
She turned, seeing the incarnates.
Eros! You look like a person now!
Casaka/The River (Thanks Nerdzul)
The titan slowly opened its eyes and involuntarially flinched at the sight of the Tos'Arai standing next to his head.
"Did... you heal me?" It asked groggily.
~The Gods~
Grawlf barely listened to the argument going on about perfection. The Secret-Keeper needed to find some perspective on that whole thing... his Perfection and their Perfection was not the same thing. He was far more interested in the emotions floating before him.
"Sorrow, I think I know where we need to begin. Will you and your... siblings... accompany me to where Lohak's remains lie? Brinn, would you also come with me? I feel that we may need your special talents before all of this is done."
"You might not be able to see it, but the strand of insanity that that man's corruption carried has been exterminated.", he explained. "While I cannot do this for every single orc, I can devise a way for them to police themselves. After all, I am the embodiment of what could be but has yet to occur, of what could turn at any moment. There is yet time to help the orcs. What do you say, Sku'Byss?", he asked.
Turning to her kin, she gave them a quick warning. "Beware the departed one. She attacked me. Seems a bit unstable."
Turning to Grawlf, she shrugged. "I will go with you, but the others had tasks they were about. I will not ask them to come. I promed you my aid in finding a way, Grawlf, not theirs. You can bargain with them as you wish."
Even as she spoke, both Fury and Terror were leaving, returning to what they had been about before the call. Apathy cursed and looked at Sorrow, "You're really going to bring him there? I'm sick of the visitors, you stupid hag." With a frustrated huff, he dissolved back into the void.
Desire shifted towards Iros. "Yes, yes. I came and announced myself, and I was given form. Though . . there was another here, one that greatly reminded me of an angry you. In the depths, I could sense desires that were reminiscent of you. Tell me, my friend. Where did you come from?"
As the night passed, Durenghast meditated, thinking and scrapping ideas. When the day came, he was ready.
Assembling all the orcs, Durenghast brought them to him. Raising a hand, he said: "As you know, I have explored the inside of your sacred tree. There, I have learned several truths, and now, I wish to share them with you.
I will be blunt: You are corrupt. Tainted, even. The very nature of your creation has granted you a instinctual, primal dash of corruption. If left unchecked, you will be no better than beasts, mindless, depraved creatures for whom death would be a sweet release.", he continued. Though the crowd seemed slightly fearful, Durenghast remained unfazed.
"But there is a way to contain the worst aspects of your corruption. Like almost all things, even corruption can be put to good use."
With that, Durenghast uttered one word. From the ground, a massive chunk of stone, about as tall as a normal orc and smilarly wide, emerged from the earth. With a quick motion of his hand, the young god split the stone apart, showing its interior to the tribe.
"Do you see the creatures that live inside, slowly clawing and scratching their way out?", he asked, as he pointed at a small black colony, which had emerged from a hole in the stone. "That is your corruption. However, think of what purpose this stone serves. Thought it allows you to walk and stand, instead of drifting through space, it also provides a shelter to a rare kind of life. Its original purpose has been corrupted, altered to something else. And yet that new purpose is not wrong...as you can see from the results", he said, pointing at the sharp, jagged parts of the stone which the colony had dug through, which had a crystalline sheen and a noticeable sharpness.
"Therefore, you, like this rock, must learn to take advantage of what lurks inside you. Use it, control it, and create impassable walls to keep it from spreading outside."
With a command, the stone moved, appearing next to the sacred tree. "Just a chip off that stone will be enough to suppress the negative effects of corruption. You will be free to take them off the stone until you no longer need them. Now, let me teach you how to control what lurks inside you."
PP Expenditures (3/7): Guide Populace, 2 PP: The orcs learn about the The Taint Inside, a philosophy which centers around taming the base, animal impulses and how to tap into their inherent corruption to alter their perspective on things, finding novel approaches to problems and issues. All of this focuses around controlling their corruption and minimizing or eliminating its negative effects. In due time, those who truly take the principles of the Taint Inside to heart can maximize the potential of their heritage, tapping into it for increased resourcefulness and inventiveness.
Create Artifact, 2 PP: The Broken Stone. The stone represents what the orcs can achieve through their self control, and the advantages and disadvantages of their collective self. By taking little bits of the stone and carrying it on his person, an orc can completely suppress his depravity and tendency towards base impulses. Durenghast intends for the orcs to use the stone until they have managed to embrace their heritage completely, to give them time they otherwise would not have to learn.
PP: 7/7 + 2/2 + 1/1
She stood right in front of the bird with her head slightly tilted against her right shoulder as she watched the bird.
" Emm...hi? "
She responded to the Bird´s polite greeting.
" Are you a bird? "
Maibe promply asked and took a step closer. Looking at the strange but yet fascinating creature with a curious spark appearing in her eyes.
-----
Within the churning Choas, a group of powerful titans, representatives of all type, gathered together. For time beyond reckoning, they had been stranded, along within the enless plane. But this group had come together for one consolidated purpose. To open a gateway to a new world. As reality bended beneath the consolidated magical energies, the passage opened wide and titans
began to make their way through it.
Unfortunately, the titans, inexperienced in matters of planar travel and not entirely familiar with the magic they had conjured, made a critical error in the construction of the gate. Those titans who passed through the portal emerged on the otherside a changed people, the giants.
PP Expenditures
2 PP - Modify Populace - Earth Titans passing through the gateway become Hill Giants
2 PP - Modify Populace - Stone Titans passing through the gateway become Stone Giants
2 PP - Modify Populace - Frost Titans passing through the gateway become Frost Giants
1 PP - Create Artifact (Lesser) - The Elemental Gateway, a semi-permanent planar portal between the Elemental Chaos and a mountain range on Avanii
.9/8+1/2
Either way, I hope you succeed, if only to be rid of these... annoyances. Although I can't say I'll exactly be heartbroken if our brother does not return to us. Goodbye, brother, Brinn.
[8/8 - Taking extra PP today]
"Look, I have not doubt that you will all get this finished. Still, can you hurry this up? Those Emoticons cause more havok than Zo-Att, and more Chaos than whatever god has that. Getting them gone will be good for everyone."
He sighed, pulling a ball of energy out of somewhere, and began juggling it, bouncing it around his body, for no particular reason that he could descern.
He grumbled, and then zoomed down toward Yrie for a better look at exactly what had occured. Strangely, it seemed as though Yrie had actually been a giant, ancient creature, perhaps older than him. That was, strange.
+1 PP: New Day
The herrim watched at the tiny goddess, she was changed from the old Maibe, however the beast enjoyed watching her, she was not unlike the youngest among his own kind, a few days after the eggs hatched, the being looked into her eyes, while lowering its head up to touching the grass below, taking care not to damage the weird flying stones and their nests.
"Well.... I guess that I em... Are you Maibe?" he replied "If you are, my father sent me here looking for you..."
The World on The River, Titans
The spirit was pleased, finally the creature woke up, the Tos'Arai expected that to be faster, however until now it has only studied how mortals died, this was the first time he actually attempted to use such a knowledged to prevent that.
"Indeed I have done that, I think you deserved more than to die today, the duty of my kind is to navingate the souls to the worlds beyond... however we are much more than mere ferrymen..."
"However you owe me at least an answer, what have you felt when I healed you? What was your mind thinking in the last few moment? Pardon me if I ask you tell me such a private thing, but I'm a curious creature..."
The people of Seyshite flourished with the influx of new technology after trading with the Grotto. They had better constructed walls, stronger weapons, and best yet, some trade allies if they were ever needed. The drow in the capital of Aeromus had found an interesting use for the world's newest creatures.
Skittering, crawling creatures that they named spiders. While some were quite harmless, others were able to inject a deadly venom into their prey. Studying these creatures, the drow were able to milk them of their poisons, and use them for their own weaponry.
-1 PP (From Raithon) - Spawn creature - Blood Web Spiders
-1 PP - Nourish Land - Verda has a variety of non-monster spiders
-2 PP - Guide Populace - Drow learn to make poison. They will keep this technology secret.
[5/8]
The little Girl said and smiled brightly against the flaming bird.
" My name is Maibe! It´s..good enough I suppose even though I would have wanted to have a longer name...maybe Buttercup? Or Avaousandora´Caravin? Or.."
The little child sighed.
" Nah...who might you father be? Might he be my father, Oh Great bird? "
"A name? Well I have never tought about that, my brothers and sisters have none, but I can still tell them quite good from each other, my father has a name, Eshcal, do you think I might need one too?"
He replied looking at the goddess, with a mixed expression of curiosity and doubt...
"I don't think that we have the same father, but you was part of the family for him, he was really worried about what happened to you when you went away..." then he paused for a second "I wonder if we are related somehow..."
The Child said and suddenly jumped up in the air and landed on "Mister Bird´s" back.
" Hmm...a new name for you, Mister Bird...I once had a friend...or at least I think he was my friend. His name was Eiron. He tended to sit on a cliff and look out at the ocean...and dream. He had a beautiful mind that one. Worked as a fishermen.."
The Child looked down at her feet with a confused look appearing upon her pale face.
" I...want to see your, Father..."
The Child whispered.
"Eiron, mmm, not bad I guess, it works for me! And I like fishing too, but I need really big fishes" he replied giving a quick laugh...
"Well my father would love to see you again, do you want me to bring you to him?"
The World on the River
When the Crusade forces retreated from Yrie many of the spirits was whispering among each others, many of the Pure has come to fight, however their only duty was to carry the milion of death souls, they watched these spirits join their families in the afterlife and many begun to think that maybe the undeads was not the only one they could help to cross from a world of suffering to one of pleasure.
It was one of the vulture headed spirits, Ashaf, that finally decided that maybe they could help making the process of death a little faster, in secret he begun seeking for the most dangerous creatures of creation, slowly he found really ancient memories of the demons, some has emerged on Verda long ago, others on the Moon of Yrie, however most of the dead souls on the river did not know much about these ancient and dark beings. Ashaf wondered if maybe these fierce creature might provide these souls the help they need to abandon their lives of suffering, spontaneously or not...
The Vulture Head however was not a being of courage and did not want to risk his own existance in visiting such powerful creatures, so he just whispered a few suggestions in the ears of the most aggressive Pures... waiting for them to act.
Finally an expedition was formed, in secret as the crusade general would hava hardly accepted a deal with the the demons, they was still shepherd of the dying ones, not bringers of death...
Ten Pures, eagle headed Tos'Arai, each ready to fight, but most importantly, to seek the demons and bring them a dark offer went there. Their leader, lady Tarsis, opened the way, equipped with a fine mail armor carved with the very essence of death and a pair of blade forged of the same deathsteel...
In silence they begun walking the plane, seeking for the legendary demons and their masters.
The World on the River
It was a rare fact indeed that one among the immortals navigated the World on the River, not as a visitor, but as a guest in that realm. However that was a strange time, the devious Fury had purged the spirits from two among the worlds, condemning many to destruction.
Intrigued by such a thing and always attracted by the powerful beings that they observed for afar during their visist in creation a few Tos'Arai gathered around one among the nature spirits.
"I salute you, mighty one, I'm Doras an humble ferryman of the dying souls, I was not expecting to see one of your kind here in this realm, will you do me a favor and tell me your story?"
Shameful double post I know...
The Void Outside Yrie
The Silent One scoffed at Kel'Zora's argument. "So a perfect being is a rock? A corpse? Please. As for my definition of perfect, well, that should be simple shouldn't it? As gods, we can do anything. We can make worlds, we can destroy them. We can bring heartfelt god or brutal sorrow. The whole universe is ours to mold to our will. If we weren't perfect, why would the universe allow this? Why would it not simple reach out and destroy us? It must have created us, after all, there's no other logical explanation for why we're standing here. Even the Sisters had to have been created at some point. As such, since the universe allows us to do whatever we will, and we don't end up making the entire thing explode despite being omnipotent, we must be perfect. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, after all, but I see no god who abuses his power in such a way. Therefore, we must be perfect to avoid such temptation."
The dark god ignored Sorrow's remark, but he did examined the small god of renewal curiously. "First you say that I'm damaged, then you say that you don't know how? How can you fix something you don't understand?"
Gigotaur Lands
A gigotaur lay down on the ground, it's hand over it's stomach, trying to hold together the torn remains of it's stomach. Trying to stay alive that much longer. It was an old story... the battle is won, one way or another, but soldiers stay on the battlefield slowly dieing. The song of battle having gone away some time ago, left with nothing to see but their mortal wounds, nothing to hear but their labored breath. Some crawled in search of help, other treated themselves as well as they could in hopes they'd be rescued. Others just lay down, and waited for death, too weak or too afraid to deal it out to themselves.
Slowly, the gigotaurs breathing slowed, his eyes glazed over, his soul left his body and...
The gigotaur stood on a river, the souls of the dead around him. Some had fought with or against him in the battles this day. Others were creatures the gigotaur had never even dreamed of, let alone seen. But they all went down the river... although some went down a small side stream. Curious, the gigotaur followed this stream a ways, to find a huge whirlpool. Looking down, he could see a dark portal, seeming to draw him in. He could see death in the portal, thousands of murders, accidents, battles... and somehow, he was inspired. But just as he could fight against the pull of the whirlpool no more...
He came to, eyes opening to reveal that he'd been carried to a medical tent. Gigotaur medicine was relatively simple... revolving around the liberal use of bandages, stitches, and if the mood struck them whatever plants they could find that probably did more bad than good. But in this case, it had brought the soldier back from the brink of death. And yet, he still remembered small parts of his ordeal... or the idea that had struck him anyway...
Some months later, the gigotaurs had found a technology that revolutionized their warfare. But dragging out seemingly worthless rocks from the earth, they could heat them and hammer them into something strong and sharp, much better than the wood and stone they'd used up until then. They called this new thing.. metal.
1PP - Nourish Land - Iron deposits appear in gigotaur lands.
1PP + 1 Guide PP from Whirlpool - Guide Populace - The gigotaurs learn how to mine metal, and forge it into tools, weapons and armor.
[2/7]
----
Meanwhile, not all of the orcs were satisfied with their "Controlled Corruption". These orcs had very different views from the others... why should they control their inner corruption when they could use it at their full disposal? These orcs decided to leave the village, and formed many small tribal societies across the region.
1 PP Guide Populace: Some orcs leave the village.
[2/7 PP]
At the same time, the Hunter's council decided to tighten the Unbound Ones' relationship with the orcs. Many people traveled to and fro, sharing experiences or goods needed, as the council's influence expanded.
Eventually, however, Durenghast's curiosity got the better of him. Wishing to know more about his mother and twin brother, he set out for the Grotto.
PP Expenditures (0/7): Guide Populace, 2 PP: The Unbound Ones learn how to read and write. They use a unique, flowing alphabet named Kitarian, which places emphasis on the strength of the strokes of each word to indicate meaning.
Nourish Populace, 2 PP: The Unbound Ones begin trading with the orcs, and they multiply in number once more. The Hunters' Council grows in power, as it regulates negotiation and diplomacy with the orcs, plus the relations between the village and the Unbound Ones' original settlement is rekindled.
One does not need to know the how or why a fire burns -- treating it with water will end it either way.
Iro then turned to Eros, and shrugged.
What do you mean? No one was leaving here when I arrived. Except your siblings, anyway.
------------------------
Within the Elemental Chaos, on the very border of its Heart, The Harbinger growled softly to herself, pacing menacingly. She could see her destination, and the elements themselves had no problem getting closer to it, but as hard as she tried she could not approach.
But the goddess was nothing if not creative. She raised a hand towards the turbulant sky and, in response, tides of water scattered about the chaos shifted into new courses. It loved her, and all of her creations, would lay down its existence to save her life. It was utterly devout and utterly useful.
-------------------------
A great wolf stalked the barren fields of Avanii, sniffing, probing, and searching. Whenever he found one of what he was looking for, his maw immediately closed around it, chewed vigorously, and then spat it out again. What emerged again were dark, sickly looking people.
Fulrit shaped the Revenants from the last spirit wisps of the primal spirits. They had each had a specific goal in life, and in redeath, their second chance, they sought to fulfill the balance just the same.
PP expenditure
-1 from Fulrit Shape Populace: Create the Revenants, from the remains and spirit-echoes of Avanii's fallen primal spirits.
Brinn looked sadly at the scattered remnants of Yrie. While her spirits had remained, and the titans had flown away in their city, what of other races on the planet? Had they all perished with the world? Whole races snuffed out by accident. The work of gods destroying the work of generations of mortals, and no place to flee. No, this would not do. Pondering what a mortal might need to survive, and to travel the stars to a new home, she flicked her hand, a small flower appearing within it. Thinking of the floating lilies on Renissa, Brinn blew on it. Hundreds of petals flew from the ever-blooming flower, floating in the empty void of space with colorful specks. Flowers; symbols of life and hope, would travel the stars and provide temporary respites for those who needed to flee. Of course, something such as this would also allow conquerors to travel the void... pondering briefly, she floated among the petals, her wake leaving an explosion of growth in them. Each grew millions of times over, becoming house-sized flower caps with a trailing stem. They gave off large fields of oxygen, and the various mushroom-like spores and growths on the flowers could provide some amount of food during the journey. Though the flowers would find no nourishment in the void, they would be able to feed themselves at the planets they stopped at, given time. And for the rest of it, there would be the Tenders. Spirit-forms grew out of the flowers, much like her primal spirits of long ago, but without anywhere close to their strength. These spirits would see to the maintence of the flowers, and guide them in their travels. Waving her hand through the flower swarm, they immediately began drifting away from her, to all corners of the universe to find their temporary homes. Durenghast's idea would lead to the salvation of many lives. Brinn smiled, finding relief in her help.
Verda
Ankirega and Araiyo relaxed happily in the sunny forests of Verda. Everything was peaceful- the forest, the Grotto, their neighbors... there had been talk of a new race, calling themselves the orcs, but there was no cause to fear them. By all accounts, they were one of the weaker of races, and certainly no threat to the races of Brinn. To the north, spirits, eladrin, and drow worked to fight the persistent and inexplicable demons, and had them well under control. To the west, the gigotaurs proceeded as ever, seeming set in their ways. Travel between Renissa and Verda was solid, and Asha was becoming as populated as it's elder. All was at peace, as far as they were concerned.
Seeing Durenghast appraoching the Grotto, Araiyo called out happily for him. "Hello, Durenghast! How have you been?"
The Void
Orine and her fellow travellers travelled through the void for a long time. Though Orine knew of Verda, she did not particurarly wish to return there. Her life was her own to live, not some goddess who would claim ownership by creating her. Life was not under someone's control...it was meant to pursue that which you felt called to do. Right now, Orine's calling was to find a new home for herself and the spirits. The great dragons' tail lashed behind her as she sought a new, peaceful home. If she had seen to where the titans had left, she would have perhaps followed them... perhaps in the future she would seek them out, wherever they had gone. They were an impressive people, to be sure. The thought of the titans sparked an idea in the back of her mind. Titans... Grawlf had created them, and then he'd created another planet! She had been with Maibe, not far away, when it had happened. Stopping suddenly, she whipped around and sped off in another direction, leaving a wake of confused spirits. In a short time, they reached Kahndas, the world the gods created together. Hovering above it, she wondered at the chaotic and scattered nature of the place. Perhaps this would be her refuge... coming down to the surface, she found herself a area of vast plains and tall mountains, a peaceful area to be sure.
Over the course of many years, the spirits established themselves upon Kahndas, growing into a nation of artistry and knowledge, guided by the Alabaster Dragon herself. They named it Iwari, the White Library. In time the spirits of Kahnda travelled to Verda, establishing trade and spreading stories of Yrie's destruction.
1 PP: Nourish Void: Create Vocere, the star-travelling flowers.
1 PP: Spawn Lesser: Create the Tenders, who tend the Vocere.
3 PP (1 from Araiyo): Nourish Populace: Sap, Blaze, and Ash Dragons spread to Asha.
2 PP: Orine establishes the nation of Iwari, the White Library.
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Yrie's spirits join Iwari.
2 PP (1 from Stones): Guide Nations: Iwari and The Grotto establish trade.
PP: 0/7
The orcs who accepted Durrenghast's training in controlling the corruption within explored the lands around their home and eventually found the Grotto. They then attempted to contact with the people there.
Meanwhile, the more hostile orcs had discovered the gigotaurs and their metal... iron. Deciding to take the resource by force and stealth, the orcs begin to raid the gigotaurs for the iron.
1 PP Guide Populace: The orcs contact the Grotto.
1 PP Guide Populace: The orcs raid the Gigotaurs for iron.
The orcs were slightly surprised by the sudden greeting, but the first orc was able to respond, "I am Heilar, and my friends here are orcs... we were sent here from our village to make contact with the Grotto. Do you know where that is from here?"
Holding the amulet in his hand, Durenghast spoke: "Mother? Can you hear me?"
The little girl mumbled, sighed heavily and closed her eyes. She curled up in a little ball, closed her eyes shut and looked up at the sky with doubtfull eyes.
" I don´t understand..."
She muttered, closed her eyes and began to work. There were things that were needed to be done. Things that...a part of her told her would be usefull later on.
Along the eastern shores of the Verdan continent something odd happend. The sky grew dark as a massive landmass appeared high above the sea. A continent about half the size of the Verdan continent. To the rumbling sound of breaking stone and to the roars of raging winds the continent was ripped in to pieces and in it´s place hundreds of floating islands appeared.
They didn´t stand still though, nearly immidietly after their creation the islands began to fly away. Drifting above both land and ocean, travelling far and wind as the fair winds carried them of. Some of the islands were small in size while others were large enough to host lakes, forests and steppe upon their rocky surfaces.
Mold Land 3 PP: A vast archipelago of floating islands that slowly fly around above Verda. They mostly stick to the oceans but a little now and then they appear above land.
The inhabitants of the Land Far Far Away were hard at work. Spring had sprung in the little village, and the Princess had deigned to descend from her castle and lead the townsfolk in a rousing musical number demonstrating the fruits of hard labor. Using wood from the recently thawed out forests, the villagers constructed many dazzling new edifices. And with the magic of musical montages, the building's were completed in no time flat, as well as with an apparently disproportionate amount of effort. Fairies flying high above added their delicate sopranos to the deep baritones of the male workers.
Meanwhile, the Princess managed to sing much louder than all the rest, despite not being equipped with any sort of voice-enhancement device. She danced merrily through the town, past men carrying beams to one end of town, and other men apparently carrying beams to the other end of town, and soon she found herself in the town square. As the song reached an almighty crescendo, a perfectly choreographed dance routine developed around the Princess. As the final high note of the song came to a close, a single cry rent the air.
Everyone stopped dancing. The Princess glaced downwards to see a young girl upon the ground. She had evidently run out into the middle of the excitement, and a wayward beam that a workman was inexplicably still carrying about caught her across the chest, sending her spinning to the floor, where she twisted her ankle. She cried out once more, and a nervous ripple moved through the crowd. She was crying.
No one, in all the years the Land Far Far Away had been around, had ever cried. Sure, there had been a sad song or two, but it always had a hopeful note to it. This was different. This was pained, wretched, desperate. The townsfolk did not know how to react.
A number of minutes later, Ever After arrived. They found the villagers just standing there, staring at the still weeping girl. None had moved an inch. The Fairy Godmothers lead everyone from the premises, and cordoned it off. The little girl was escorted away, and not heard from again. The next morning, a vast tent had been erected around the spot, but no one mentioned it. In fact, that whole event, nay, that whole day seemed wiped from everyones' minds. It seemed no one wished to remember the harsh, wretched sound of the little girl in pain.
1 PP Nourish Populace (Lesser): The Fairy Godmothers join the Kingdom.
2 PP Guide Populace (Moderate): The Kingdom learns Architecture. (I use my Guide PP)
1/7 PP
Yrie's Moon
The World Eaters had been munching down Yrie's moon for some time. They'd eaten it's animals. They'd eaten it's plants. They'd even eaten chunks of it's soil. Now, since it had been pulled back together again and populated, the World Eaters turned their eyes to it's people.
Given so much time unopposed, and so many rich meals, the World Eaters had grown in number and strength. They were probably close to the end of their life cycle in fact. But as long as there was still food on the moon, why not attempt to enjoy it?
If looked on by an outsider, the fact the World Eaters chose to devour the Morsinfra, creatures that had for so long devoured other races to survive themselves, would be extremely ironic. To the Morsinfra themselves, it was merely catastrophic. This overworldly terror that ate the stones themselves soon dined on sweet humanoid flesh.PP Expenditure
1PP - Denourish Populace (Morsinfra) - The World Eaters start showing down on some succulent grimlocks and trolls.
1PP (Bonus) - Nourish Populace (World Eaters) - The World Eaters rich diet pays off for them.
[3/7, 0/1, 1/2]
Seeking again to allow her kind go prosper and grow, but unwhilling to resort in blood magic as the Aszhari did while creating the Masaren and Jeraca, Sarriss travelled for a long time across the Isles of Wonders, watching the other races that lived there, the manipulative Quori, the beholders even the newcoming titans, many of these beings impressed her, one day maybe, she will guide her tribes to seek the powerful beings of glass or the quori, but not that day.
In the end, after a long unsuccessful exploration she made an amazing discovery, in an far island, far from the Dominion, lived a small community of lizard people, apparently they have naturally evolved from the animalistic beasts of the Isles to an humanoid form, much smaller and weaker then the Aszhari or their spawn, the lizardmen was suffering greatly from predation by the powerful beasts of the Isles, their tribe was small and they was forced to hide among their swampy territory, fearing the light and the sky above where death dwelled they have not yet managed to develop any form of civilization.
Intrigued by these beings Sarris decided to help their community, she presented herself as a divine being and begun helping the first lizardmen tribes to develop, using unity and cohoperation as a weapon against the much stronger predators of the Isles.
The World on the River
Many years the crusade of Sorrow have trained, for nothing apparently as the very world that they wanted to "save" has already being purefied, by a terrifying power, vastly superior to their own, Yrie was no more, the crusade has left the planet death realm, gathering milion of souls with them.
However the crusade did not dissolve, many was the undead spirits sitll roaming creation and they wanted them all to be liberated by such a destiny.
Evshan remained for a while among the Tos'Arai, trying to better underestand death, study its power and slowly adpating the secrets of blood magic of his people to the spirit realm, where no blood or life flows, it took a long time for him to shape a new form of supernatural study, one designed to manipulate the very essence of death, to give life to the bodies of the fallen, liberate the souls from the shackles of undeath or command those who wear them...
Avanii
"So I'll lead you to him, he will be pleased by your visit Maibe" Eiron replied.
He then opened his wings and flew to the place between places, bringing the goddess on his back, they traversed the elemental Chaos, where perpetual storms awaited, unleashing a fury of colored lightnings around the herrim, but he traversed them easily unharmed.
They went trough a realm made of clounds, some dark and stormy other white and peaceful, entire cities made of ice, solid wind and sand, existed there, inhabite by Eschal Djinn... finally they went to the Court of Winds, the god retreat. It was a large city of towering marble structures, with bizare geometries, many looked so thin that the breeze might shatter them a labyrinth of bridges, floating statues and isles, beautiful and peaceful gardens, well tended by the djinn, entire armies of storm Archon training a vast bazaar where the genies traded in wishes and dreams all of this awaited the Goddess and the Herrim.
Eiron has never been to his master palace, he explored it for a while, occasionally scaring or playing innocent jokes with its inhabitants before moving to Eshcal chambers...
2/7 +0 +0 Shape +0 Guide
2 PP Shape (1 from Sarriss) Heroic Populace: Lizardmen
2 PP Guide (1 from Evshan) the Crusade of Sorrow learns Necromancy (this does not transfer to the races trading with them, for now at least).
He sighed, unwilling to join the conversation of all the big important gods above. He pulled himself through the universe, jumping to a place that he had never actually spent much time, Verda. Its great green and verdant life jumped out at him, as did the spirits that lived on it. They, and other races lived in a place of great life, with many layers. Moving closer, he watched in fascination their lives, in a pattern completely foreign to him.
Feeling an almost divine presence, he moved to it, coming in the shape of one of these spirits to not distub them, albight a strange-looking one. He appeared in front of the almost divine creature, a four-legged creature covered in hair, that contained power of its own. (Ankirega)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Evshan was moving through the Aszhari dominion, making sure that everything was doing fine, when his mind felt a touch.
"Evshan, child of Eshcal. I wish a meeting with you. Do you agree?"
Dispite the deceptively light touch on his mind, the sheer raw power was evident, like a bright lamp behind a curtain.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Isles controlled by the Quori were changing. Awhile ago, Shry had noted that the death of Dream Creatures released dreamstuff into the air. This was not a problem in small quantities, but it did build up, as it had for some time. Mist now shrouded the Quori Isles, a mist that those who were not of the Dream could not ignore. The strongest dreams of those people would manifest, as flickering images to themselves, and a barely visible halo of images to others. But the Quori, and those of their servants who touched the Dream saw no diference in the mist, although it would thicken at their approach.
As the air was changed, so did the ground. The Quori were almost living conduits to the Dream. Their power seeped into the very ground that they lived on, and infested it, changing it. Rock so imbuned with the power of the Dream that the power took on its form, solidifying into a solid, rocklike substance. This was traced in veins all over the Quori Isles, but the most strongest under places where they lived.
+2 PP: 2 days. I haven't kept track of how many I have total, but I just know that I have my max storage, which I believe is 8.
-3 PP: Create Artifact (Greater): Dream Mist. As above, but OOC it creates special terrain. It covers area where creatures connected to the Dream live. The longer they live there, the stronger the mist will be. The more of them there are, the stronger the mist will be.
-2 PP: Mold Land (Moderate): The Quori Isles are laced with deposits of the mineral Dream Rock. Enough Dream Magic in a place will cause the rock below the transmute into Dream Rock. This has an affinity for the Dream, and can be used to power magic usually based around the Dream. Besides that special purpose, it can be used for anything that normal rock can be used for, building castles, making walls, carving, etc.
[3/8 PP]
After having decided to temporary leave the crusade to check on his dominion Evshan felt the voice within his mind, at first, he tought of the Quori, dream beings that inhabited the Isles of Wonders, from their exploitation of a few helpless aszhari he has learned many secrets about the mortal minds, however he felt far from safe in their presence.
Using what mastery he has learned of the mental arts he sent to source of the strange voice a simple reply.
"Who are you? What do you plan to talk about? Answer honestly and we might meet in person..."
Sorrow shrugged at them both. "I think you are both a bit crazy, but what ever."
"What did I see? Umm... I felt a sensation of floating along a great river, a great, peaceful river. And there were others there... many others, but we all had plenty of room. I think I saw a few beings that looked like you... its all fuzzy, though..."
~Casaka, Isles of Wonder~
The Titans had been travelling for some time now, slowly learning more and more about the great mechanical thing that was propelling them through space. The four stored Sun Worms kept the entire city warm, a great boon to the People of Glass as they had been worried that a trip through the void would prove too cold. The Titans delved deeper and deeper into the engine-structure, watching how the molten glass was used to fuel the great engine, a supply constantly renewed by the Sun Worms' churning through the large pool of molten sand that the city had scooped up as Yrie was shaking itself apart. Eventually, the Titans figured out means of reproducing the engine's effect at a smaller level. They constructed a few small ships, glass-hulled with a modified engine behind it. In each they placed several of their number and sent them out into the Void with the mission to determine the location of a suitible spot to land the city. Out the six ships went, and within a week, five had returned. Four had found nothing, but the Fifth had found a very interesting planetoid circling a great gas giant.
Karhedron recognized the Titan's description as matching that of the Isles of Wonder, and the great City-Ship turned and headed for the supplied coordinates, soon arriving over an uninhabited world... smaller than Yrie for sure, but suitable for their purposes. Turning the great Lens on the planet, they burned away much of the vegetation on one side and turned the entire region into a sandy desert. Then, they began to make preparations for landing their great city on their new home.
~The Gas Giant~
Meanwhile, within the gas giant itself, the Beholders who had moved there were concerned. They had lost contact with their brethren on the Isles and the few of their number who had gone to discover what had happened had not returned. In desparation, the beholders reached out to the other inhabitants of the planet. Several beholders approached a great Zang, looking for a meeting.
~The Void~
The Ark carrying the Tarii had traveled for a long time, but their goal was approaching. Avanii was just ahead of them.
~Avanii~
In the swamps of the Sap Rings, something very interesting was happening. The rings were piling on top of one another, swarming up into stacks only to fall back down into disarray only to try once more in a slightly different combination. Slowly but surely, rings began to find partners until finally a stack of eight rings swarmed together and... stayed assembled. Connective fluids flowed down the stack, binding the rings together as deep within the eight-part being, a spark appeared, flowing up and down between the rings and culminating in a thought.
"I/We are alive. I/We are... Manyu"
The first Manyu set out to tend the other ring-stacks, helping them to become other Manyu.
~Vok~
The Sixth ship sent by the Casakans out into the void had discovered a planet, but it was a planet of nightmares. Upon his approach, the planet's surface had seemed to erupt as hordes of beings flowed towards him. The pilot attempted to turn the craft, but the Vokdaran hunters grabbed ahold of the ship and dragged it down to the surface, where the Vok'Dar directed the Vokdarans to smash into the glass-structure. Soon the titans within were dead, but not before the Vok'Dar learned three important things. First, that there were many other races out there in the stars, of which the titans were one of the oldest. Second, the means to build a ship such as the one that had brought the titan to Vok. And Finally, the frustrating fact that the Glass-based titans were resistant to assimilation by the Vok'Dar, whose teeth could not digest the hard glass.
Soon, ships of Vok'Dar flowed out from the planet, heading for a planet that they had learned about: Kahnda.
~Kahnda~
The Vok'Dar arrived over the planet, and quickly landed on the surface. The first creatures they came upon were Foulspawn, living in their communal tribes all across the surface of the strange planet. Soon, several small tribes had vanished, their members eaten, although now some of the Vok'Dar looked and acted much like the Foulspawn they had eaten. The Vok'Dar piled into their ships and sped away to Vok to contemplate what to do next.
~Ruins of Yrie~
Grawlf shook himself out of his stupor and turned to Sorrow.
"You say that Lohak's remains are in the Heart of Chaos? I feel you will have no trouble entering. May we go there now?"
2 PP: Guide Populace: Casakans learn how to construct engines to traverse the void (Fantastic Tech)
1 PP (from Lens of Casaka): Nourish Land: Turn part of one of the uninhabited Isles of Wonder into a vast desert
1 PP: Modify Populace: From the Sap Rings, the Manyu arise. See the wiki for more details...
1 PP: Guide Populace: Vok'Dar steal engine tech from the Casakans
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Vok'Dar Collective: A 'Nation' of Vok'Dar. When a group 'joins' the Vok'Dar Collective, what is actually happening is that some Vok'Dar are taking on aspects of their forms... mechanically, the Vokdaran-Assimilated template is added to the creature in question. A BIG NOTE: The Vok'Dar are not interested in trade, and they are not really interested in technology. As such, they do not get the techs or the trade connections to groups they assimilate as other groups would.
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Foulspawn are assimilated into the Vok.
0/7+0/1+0/2 PP
"Straight to the point as ever, son of Eshcal. You know who I am, I see it in your mind. Who else do you think that I am? Who else do you think not only knows who you are, and your parentage? As to our intentions...let us say that we feel that we should be.......neighborly. Your not-quite-as-divine minions will find out about us eventually. What will you say then? That you knew about us all the time and that you kept us secret from them? I think that we should plan....contingencies. The world is changing. Many things might change soon, for the worse, or the better. If we are to weather the storm of changes and time, would it not be better to weather them together?"
Void Outside of Yrie
The Silent One scoffed. "I misunderstood me when I spoke of corpses and stones, but really that just goes to prove one thing... perfection is in the eye of the beholder. You believe perfection is blatantly obvious and involved doing nothing, I believe perfection is intrinsically tied to power and the willingness to use it. You believe perfection is obvious, I believe that you seriously underestimate the ability of being ability to place their fingers in their ears and sing a tune in order to block out what it doesn't want to know. However, I think we can agree on a few things at least... in mortals eyes, or at least the eyes of mortals we created, we are perfect, or at the very least omnipotent which is the same thing. We have the ability to mold the universe as we see fit, which is another testament to our perfect power. And we each agree that the others position is ludicrous, and we're not going anywhere with it. After all, since- I mean if we are both perfect, both our positions are equally valid, and thus neither of us are going to be persuaded any time soon.
"Oh, and as for the universe," he added with a small smile. "We create mortals, and we can destroy them just as easily. Logically, if the universe created us, us to it would be as mortals to us. The fact we haven't done anything to make her actually rise up and kill us for messing her up so badly is probably a good indication that if we're not perfect, we're at least close enough in her eyes."
The Mouth
The Mouth chewed. And chewed. And chewed... slower? And slower, then slower again, starting to look rather sick and limp, before finally it stopped altogether.
The thing with biomancy was that using it, one could create whatever you needed for a given situation, as long as you could imagine it. So creating a branch of World Eaters that exuded a chemical when chewed that would put the plane under their control was a relatively simple affair. They could have simply eaten the Mouth, and many of the animalistic World Eaters had wanted to, but the Sovereigns had had other plans...
This Mouth was perfect. With it, they would no longer merely have to drift through the void completely by chance, hoping to hit a world. Now, they could fly through the void in the plane, finding a world, analyzing it with forward scouts, before dumping a payload of spores on it to incubate and arise to devour it. What's more, if they kept their bio-vats in the plane, they'd be practically impenetrable. It was a giant fortress that could literally take a bite out of whatever foe they came across!
A few alterations to the mouths interior later, the World Eaters had their inter-planetary fortress. Having had their fill of food, the World Eaters dispersed into the spores that would normally have traveled the void, instead staying inside the Mouth in preparation for when they would be needed. A few Sovereigns stayed behind however, a skeleton crew to steer the Mouth and find a world to devour. And so the Mouth floated slowly off into the Void, looking for another world to eat.
Verda
The gigotaur picked up the orc by the head, looking at it critically before slapping it's hands together to splat it's skull like a bug. Wiping the brains off it's hands, it took a moment to survey the battlefield.
The poor orcs just didn't stand a chance. Sometimes they happened onto an almost unguarded wagon of steel, or managed to take it straight from the mine, but they were just too weak to stand up to a fighting ready gigotaur. For starters there was the size difference, while orcs were tiny, the gigotaurs were as large as titans. As he watched, another gigotaur bucked it's horns at a squadran of orcs, actually sending a large number of them flying to splat against rock some distance away. Then there was their technology... they raided steel occasionally, but the same size distance that afforded the gigotaurs such strength also meant the orcs couldn't use their weapons or armor, having to bang them into something reasonable sized for them but not exactly useful in battle. That wasn't to say that it was all one way, occasionally the orcs would trip up a gigotaur and swarm over them, taking them down with sheer persistence. But if this had been a war, and not just the occasional raid, it would have been incredibly one sided.
Sighing, the gigotaur lowered the visor of it's helm, taking a firm grip on it's battleaxe and wading back into the fray.
1PP - Modify Plane (The Mouth) - The World Eaters make a sort of spacecraft/fortress from the mouth, and use it to travel from world to world that much more efficiently, as well as giving them a powerful stronghold when they do reach a world.
[3/7]
The vulture headed spirit paused for a second, thinking about the titan answer, so many was able of getting glimpses of their own existance, maybe it was time for a proper revelation of the Tos'Arai race to the mortal races whose souls they are shepharding. However it was not a thing for him to decide and not that day...
"And what do you feel of being back, after getting a glimpse of the afterlife? What do you think of my choice in helping you to live many more years before being able to see that realm again? What will you do if I bestow a similar power for you to administer?"
Kandras, The Red Giant
The Zang, always intrigued by other life forms, sensed the beholder coming to them, so many went to investigate, until now they was unsuccessful in taking any pacific contact with their neighbours, as every unluky creature they invited from the isels above has died due to the planet atmosphere and heat, or has done something stupid that forced the zang to kill them.
Many zang drifted peacefully in the atmosphere of their planet, slowly surrounding the beholders, trough many eyes they could be seen floating among the clouds of Kandras poisonous gases, their bodies shimmering with different colors, forming disturbing patterns and occasionally igniting the air nearby due to their searing internal temperature. Unable to produce any form of sound, but gifted with the ability to sense even the most insignificant vibration the Zang waited in silence for the newcomers to speak.
The Isles of Wonder
Evshan was thrilled by the creature offer, he had seen the power of the quori and they might be useful to indeed...
"I might be interested in your plans" he replied "what do you think we should do?"
The mental voice turned dark, serious.
"Whether they are friendly or not is unknown. But whatever the reason, we should present a united front. I am not suggesting that your general populace becomes aware of us, but perhaps we and your sister should represent our forces and the split nations of your people. I do not wish war against a civilisation without first taking their measure. Do you agree to this suggestion? If you wish I can bring you to my....home to wrangle out the details."
The water in the elemental chaos was not happy. It was not happy because its mistress was not happy. All the water was over here, and their mistress was over there. It thrashed, it crashed, it mashed against its self-made prsion, colliding with not the mere physicallity of the place, but the ephemeral borders between planes themselves. The pressure had been building for days now, and it was only a matter of time before---
A massive tidal deluge soared through the chaos, carrying all in its wake. Joyful, free, the water danced gleefully about its Mistress, enraptured by the nearness of her, the soft touch of them against her.
For her part, The Harbinger ignored the adulation. Water was fickle -- it would find something else it had to love in short order. Besides, she had other things to do. Nimbly stepping on top of the still receeding floodwaters, The Harbinger walked up to the soggy Tomb, opened its doors, and stepped inside.
Lohak; A word.
[sblock=PP Expenditure
+1 New Day
-2 De-create The Heart of the Chaos (using bonus PP for this)
[/sblock]
7/7
But if one were to follow the rather plump Mrs. Mumble from her quaint little home in the morning, and keep in pace with her as she descended into the streets, and marched along, fairy wings glittering in the bright rays of sunlight. If one were to follow along as she waddled along, weaving in between the pedestrians, and power-walking up to the great big tent in the middle of town, one might catch a decidedly unsettling sight. You see, Mrs. Muble was a part of the mysterious organization known as Ever After, and as such, she did not pretend the tent did not exist. Rather, she did the express opposite. It was her business to investigate the weird happenstance developing within the tent, along with all of the other fairy-godmothers, all swarming in and out of the tent like buzzing bees at a vast, canvas hive. Mrs. Mumble strode right up to the centre of the tent, where the majority of the fairy-godmothers were huddled, hovering above something never before seen in the Land Far Far Away.
"Is it a hole?" inquired one.
"A hole to where?" queried another.
"Maybe it is a rip in the space-time continuum!" exclaimed still another, rather unstable, godmother.
"No, it is neither," announced Mrs. Mumble, buzzing into the centre of the amassed godmothers.
"Well, what is it?" asked a godmother after a moment's silence.
"I have no idea," replied Mrs. Mumble unhelpfully, and after a period of confused silnce, she added, "But I am going to find out."
And with that, Mrs. Mumble dived headfirst into what, unbeknownst to her, was none other than a Portal of Despair.
When the flood receded, only a single overweight gray cloaked humanoid still stood there. Cursing his luck, Apathy stepped beyond the elemental chaos, returning to the prime world.
-----
"Of course I'd have no trouble entering. I've ben there, and I sealed it up when I left." Lifting her arm, she started to smile before her brow furrowed, and a frown decended upon here.
For only the briefest second, anger crossed her face, then she lowered her arm. "It seems that I spoke too soon, Grawlf. I cannot take you to the Heart of Chaos. Somebody has destroyed it."
At that moment, Apathy appeared. Frowning himself, he gave a single quick sentance, "The one who attacked you, Sorrow, has destroyed the Heart." As quickly as that, he headed off into the void on his own.
The water surged forwards, locating the fast fading essence of its cousin -- ice that had been imbued with its own divine will long, long ago. Once found, the swirling waters continued their searching finding one, then another, then a third, and finally a fourth instance of divine will, sending all five objects out, skimming the reality vorticies, to come to a soggy rest at The Harbinger's feet.
The Harbinger smiled. It was not a pretty thing, but one of grim satisfaction.
The water hissed playfully around her ankles as she walked slowly among her water-logged elemental flotsam.
She named each as she passed it.
Para
Pasha
Panna
The Silent One's Doll
She stopped at the last one?
And a pile of silt?
+1 new day
-2 Nourish -- The area of the elemental chaos that used to hold the heart of chaos flourishes as the matter stored within the demi-plane is gently reintegrated back into the chaos itself.
After running for a long time, Ankirega and Durenghast finally came upon the fertile lands the Yrie survivors now came home. Ankirega stopped in amazement, seeing white stone walls, fancifully decorated with whorls and frescoes, came into view. What spirits claimed such a fortress as their own? It was definately a defensible place, though built in beauty as well. Coming towards the gate with Durenghast behind him, Ankirega paused at the gates, where a group of spirits stared curiously at him. None of these were ones he was familiar with, but then he hadn't been on Yrie for long, either.
"Hail, spirits of Kahnda! I am Ankirega, exarch of Brinn!" The spirits started in surprise and came up to him. Old tales spoke of a wolf raising them from Yrie's life, but little else... Most thought it was a mere myth, as they had never seen a god's hand on Yrie before it's destruction. What else could have caused it, after all? "Ankirega? The stories spoke of a god by that name... but Orine has never spoken of you. How do we know you are who you say you are?" The exarch was taken aback by the name the spirit had so reverently spoken. Orine? Here? She had been gone for centuries....millenia, perhaps! "Orine...," he said, trailing off. Looking around at the peaceful but empty landscape of Kahnda, Ankirega thought of something that might help. When Kahnda was created, they had never made animals.. he snorted in disbelief, and then struck the ground hard with a paw. Jags of green light spread out, animals erupting from it as it spread. Within moments, the plains were the home of many different types of animals. Ankirega shrugged, and returned to the spirits with him. "Will that suffice? With me is Durenghast, son of Brinn. May I speak to Orine, if she is nearby? You spoke of her as if you know her..." "Know her? Of course, she's our leader. This is the nation of Iwari, where we came after Yrie's destruction... please, forgive me for doubting you, Ankirega." The wolf exarch was already shaking his head. "No, it is a fair question to ask. Very well, then, thank you."
Turning to Durenghast, Ankirega told him of Orine's creation... and dissapearance. Born of overflowing energy from the Life-Web, she had left immediately, and not been seen since. "Do you want to meet Orine, or would you like to part ways here for now? I have many questions for her..."
1 PP: Nourish Land: Animals appear on Kahnda.
PP Remaining: 2/7 + 2/2 + 1/1
"No, I think it would be best if I met her. We mght need her assistance later on.", the young god commented. "Though I did not know you were a god.", he added, surprised.
Ankirega looked surprised. "Brinn did not tell you? I am her exarch, created by her divine spark and empowered by the same. Araiyo as well, though it was I, not Brinn, that gave her the divine energy." Ankirega turned to regard the spires of Iwari, wondering just what sort of reception they might recieve. Orine could well be stronger than him and a match for Durenghast... it would certainly be beneficial to keep the visit polite. "Durenghast, be careful in the presence of Orine. She is a match for any god, born of unlimited energy. I do not know her intent, but she has at least allied herself with the spirits, it seems.."
Your words make me wary, however. Is Orine a warlike being, if such caution is advised?"
The main building opened directly into a throne room, upon which a curious-looking human/dragon hybrid sat, it's scales pure white. Later known as the dragonborn, the figures eyes flared at the site of Ankirega, as if knowing him by sight. She stood up and approached the exarch, looking curiously at Durenghast. "Ah, Ankirega. I wondered when you or Brinn would finally come. Who is this with you?," she asked, pointedly looking at Durenghast.
+1 PP (bonus)
3 PP guide x3: The Blood Trolls, Digger Trolls, and Grimlocks are moved to Raktem.
1 PP nourish (Fountain of Life): The Morsinfra.
0/8, 0/1 Fountain of Life
She emerged into a land quite unlike her own. She felt cold here, unwelcome, but she knew she must press on. The landscape was bleak, barren, and all was a sombre shade of ash grey. It seemed for a time as though this place was the polar opposite of her own world. Where she had been, life flourished everywhere, and songs were on everyones' lips, joy in everyones' hearts. Here it seemed as though all the life, all the joy had been sucked out of everything. This place could not help her, that portal must be sealed off, and never breached again. But then an idea struck her. And just as ideas often do, that idea began to multiply, morph, mold itself into a recognizeable shape. A plan was forming in her head.
Just as she turned to leave, to return to her home and set her plan in motion, something caught the fairy godmother's eye, something far in the distance. She could not see what it was just yet, but she had an inkling. She smiled. Her plan was evolving with every passing moment. She began to fly towards it...
(Anubis, this is basically an invitation to start an interaction with some Mind Flayers. Not sure how they would be behaving, so I left the details deliberately vague so I didn't step on any toes.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Verda
Cru was having a delightful time with his newest mask. He marched about the forest, making loud and authoritative pronouncements about everything he saw, in a voice he hoped sounded mature and knowledgeable. Most of the things he said weren't true, but it was still fun for him to pretend that they were, that, by donning the mask, he had been granted some higher level of intelligence.
And so he marched about, his green friend in tow. He had begun to wonder if maybe he should bestow the green friend with a name, just as everyone seen to be doing around her. He stopped in his tracks, and gazed upon his friend. In the most knowledgeable and authoritative voice he could muster, he spoke the name.
"You shall be Mister Green!" said Cru, and so it was.
"OkaymisterCru,I'llbemisteGreen,whichissortoffunny,sinceIamgreen,andmynameismisterGreen,
soIthinkit'sfunny,notfunnyhaha,butfunnystrangewhichisstillareallygoodkindoffunny..."
And so, with that done, Cru returned to marching through the forests of Verda, trying to see what he could find.
Orine looked curiously at Durenghast, echoed by Ankirega's own surprised look. "You're Brinn's son? That would explain your presence here, with Ankirega. I expected that he or Brinn would come after Yrie's destruction; but tell me, young one, why do you regret your parents?"
Verda
Araiyo shrugged. "Who knows? Things like this happen all the time." It had been rather sudden..
"I trust that you won't all suddenly find better things to do and run away, will you?"
The orc was, once again, surprised, "Did you just say that these things happen all the time?"
Ankirega spun to see Shry standing in the doorway. What was he doing here? "Shry? What are you talking about, what are you doing here?," he said, confused.
Verda
Araiyo laughed at the orc's surprise and confusion. "Yep! Expect the unexpected, because it will happen. I suppose I should explain; Ankirega, the other wolf, and I are both exarchs of Brinn, goddess of the forests and matron of Verda. The other you saw with us was Durenghast, son of the same." She looked seriously at them, wondering how they would take the sudden surprise. Again.
The Shadowfell
Ithillid society, as always, had remained the same in essence as it was when it was first divided into the guild system that so defined it. But as always, it had changed in many other ways. Firstly, it had grown. The Ithillid took good care of their mind slaves, and bred them like cattle. Some of their slaves had never known a life where the mind wasn't manipulated through magic. As such the mindflayers now had a far more plentiful supply of forced manpower... and snacks if the brains were ever in short supply.
The second was that they had learned, as they always do, of the new technologies the races they preyed upon had discovered. Namely, the gigotaurs mastery of metal. Where before they had had to make due with nothing but their natural weapons and abilities, now the Ithillid had true weapons. And not of the feeble iron of Verda, made of the cold, black iron of the Shadowfell, that cut your soul as well as your body. The Seekers had been putting further research into the metal, trying to devise some sort of artificial body for the souls of the races they killed so that they could serve the Ithillid even after they'd been killed for a meal... but progress was slow. And painful for those unfortunate enough to be chosen for test subjects...
Despite these minor changes, and the spreading of their cities and power through their plane, the Ithillid remained the same in many respects. The respect that applied most to the fairy godmother that new flew through the dark plane was that the Ithillid still kept a close eye on the misery portals they were aware of... and so knew that she was coming. If it were up to the Keepers, they'd have merely killed her and be done with it... but the Seekers insisted that she be allowed to live at least long enough so they could record how they acted in life, and possibly capture in order to be studied at length.
And so a contingent of Librarians stood a mile outside of their library city, allowing with a member of the Elder's Brains carers to speak for the Commune. The Seekers had argued that the visitor should be allowed in the city, but the Librarians didn't want a single one of their books smudged by some curious pixie.
"If she won't let us flag her down, shoot her," the Librarian squad leader mentally sent to his squad, before waving his arms to gesture to the flying creature that it should land.
0PP - The Ithillid learn metal working from their 'trade' with the gigotaurs
1PP - Nourish Land - Shadowfell iron appears in the Shadowfell
1PP - Nourish Populace - The Ithillids cities spread further throughtout the Shadowfell, and they and their slaves grow in number
[3/7] [1/1 bonus] [2/2]
"Whenever I try to talk to someone, they always find a way to run away to do something else. It gets annoying after a while. Also, as you seem to know who I am, would you care to make introductions?"
"Um... well, I'm happy to be alive, if thats what you mean. The river was lovely, but I wasn't ready to relax yet... far too many things to do before I will be ready for that place."
The titan considered the Tos'Arai's offer for a long moment.
"Yes, I would be quite interested in such a power... my people are a hardy folk, but once they take enough damage it is nearly impossible to heal them. Being able to pull them back from the brink would be lovely."
~Kandras~
The beholders floated up cautiously to the Zang...
"Can... you speak?" One of them asked tenatively.
~The Void over Once-Yrie~
"Destroyed? What does this mean?"
2.6/9 +2/2 PP.
The orc's head spun. He wasn't even sure who Brinn is. He asked, "My kind only know of two gods, including Durrenghast, but we do not know of 'Brinn'... who is Brinn?"
Evshan paused for a while, thinking about the creature offer, before replying.
"I think that we can manage to work out something, my friend, however I'd prefer my sister not to be involved, we have a different vision of creation and how it should work... Also I'm not that sure that the newcomers might be a source of troubles for our people, maybe we can find some use for them..."
Kandras
The Zang kept floating around the beholders, many reacted to they answer, as their sharp senses and mind was made capable of understanding spoken language, their skin changed, assuming a dark coloration, peaceful and uniform.
The Wold on the River
"Only the art of resurrecting living beings is beyond my ability to teach, I can help you learn how to heal most wounds, how to treat many of the causes of death, how to make the life longer, even for a kind like yours that can walk creation for soo much... Time will be required for this kind of training, however, but if you are ready to sacrifice a little of yours I'll gladly help you mastering such a power..."
You see, in the Land Far Far Away, everyone was beautiful. Even the evil witch was beautiful. Not everyone was as positively dazzling as the Princess herself, but even the lowliest specimen had some sort of something that tugged at your heartstrings, and made you feel sorry for their imperfections, even though they were minimal, and only served to add to their adorable look. These things had none of that. There was no soft, cute or cuddly aspect to their visages, which was basically universal back home. These were vile, mean-looking, with absolutely no redeeming qualities. But Mrs. Mumble was a lady, and as such, acted like one.
"My name is Mrs. Mumble, and I have a..."
She paused for a moment, considering her words. Then she smiled slightly.
"A business proposition."
Araiyo sighed. Apparently the orcs were so surprised they weren't listening.. "Brinn is goddess of the forests, and of this planet."
Kahnda
Ankirega glanced at Orine, who'd been silent. "I am Ankirega, this is Durenghast beside me and Orine," he said, nodding to Orine. "I know of you from Brinn, whom I am an exarch of. Durenghast is her son, and Orine... is herself. I did not mean to ignore you- I did not even know you were here, in fact. My apologies," he said, half-bowing.
By the Silent One, this... thing was disgusting! It looked like it was made of rainbows and puppy dogs... even though he had been sent with clear orders by the Collective, the Ithillid diplomat was tempted to just rip her brain out and be done with it on general principle. But despite their appearance, the mind flayers were more than mere monsters... they followed the Elder Brain's will, regardless of how sickening it may seem.
"Greeting, Mrs Mumble," the diplomat... croaked would be the closest term. The Ithillids voice sounded like it was vomiting each syllable, it's tentacles struggling to pronounce a tongue they were never designed to speak. "I am Acolyte" he said something unpronounceable unless you lacked a tongue and had tentacles "and I speak for the Ithillid of the Library City" he did another name in the same unpronounceable dialect. "We have not allowed xenos that are not under out compulsion to enter or realm before... consider yourself honored. As for this proposition... speak."
It means, Grawlf, that the Incarnates have been lying to us, and that Lohak never was within the Heart of Chaos. As near as I can tell, Lohak has vanished completely from the cosmos. I could find no trace of him, even as I delicately unwound The Heart from the inside...
The Harbinger noted Iro and raised an eyebrow.
I'd been wondering where you had got to...
She certainly wasn't in any position to beat them, even if she brought back a veritable army, but the second option had a nice ring to it... She could barely consider allying with these wretched things, but she had to admit, it would provide her with certain benefits, not to mention dealing with two of her problems in one go...
And so she rallied herself, and spoke.
"I believe there is some business to be had between our two peoples', if you accept, we can enter into what I am sure would be a very long, very fruitful relationship."
She paused for a moment, getting her thoughts in order, her mind racing to edit and add to her quickly developing plan.
"You spoke of a compulsion, well I am willing to offer you a fresh new batch of 'mind-slaves' if you will, on one condition: if I bring a city, yes dear boy, a city here to this... place, then you must grant me a contingent of your men. I will install them within the city, and it shall be their job to maintain order, and ensure that everyone is getting their... well, their happily ever after."
She smiled glowingly at this, before contuing.
"And in return, those who dwell within my city will have their pick of any of hundreds, nay thousands of delicious, endorphin-soaked brains to prey upon with their... um... compulsions. So long as they submit to my delicate, if sometimes precise, will."
She raised an eyebrow.
"If you choose to accept, we can work out the finer details later."
"And a pleasure to meet you too."
He turned to Ankirega.
"Well, that seems to be fairly normal. My essence is made of dreamstuff, which seems to be not necessarily of this world. It seems that it makes me easy to ignore. As to what brought me here, I just followed my instincts, and they led me here. I don't really have anything to do."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So, when the newcomers arrive, we can meet with them together, as a united front. And we can coordinate our forces if that becomes necessary, although our true nature and existence shall remain a secret to your people. Do those terms sound acceptable?"
"You. LIED? What, did you delay this long in taking me to Lohak so your siblings could come up with some ruse to distract me? I wish you luck surviving now, for I will no longer protect you."
And with that, Grawlf ripped open a hole in space and stepped through into his chambers in the Court, sealing the doors behind him. He had to think.
The orc stuttered for a moment, "Oh... I-I see... Like I said, we orcs have, up until now, only known of Durrenghast and the Sacred Tree."
Araiyo cocked her head curiously. They hadn't known of the Grotto's location, so they didn't mean that tree. What other tree would be particurarly important? Perhaps another god had come to the forests? Strange... "What 'Sacred Tree' do you mean? Not the Grotto, I assume?"
Kahnda
Made of dreamstuff? Interesting, that could well be why he'd been hard to notice. It fit, though, with him being the god of Dreams... "I....see. Durenghast heard from Brinn that Yrie had been destroyed, and we came to see if those of Yrie had survived, and to help them if need be. It seems the spirits, at least, have done well," he said, looking to the ruler of Iwari. Orine nodded, smiling with little real warmth. "Do not worry, Ankirega, I bear neither you nor Brinn ill will, though I do not wish for god's petty squabbling to interfere with Iwari and I. We will be a nation of knowledge and perfection, and gods... gods bring trouble."
The orc shook his head, "No, this Sacred Tree is not in the Grotto... It's in our village, in fact. For a while we didn't know what exactly it was, other then the fact that it could both be a benefit and a problem. Then, Durrenghast came and discovered the, ah, truth."
Orine nodded, still smiling, though with a little more warmth now. "Indeed, it is an effort that may never pay off. Yet are we to live in chaos and anarchy in fear of what may happen? I am no fool, to hold false hope. Still I will strive for it, and protect those who feel the same way."
Verda
"The truth? What do you mean?"
The Ithillid twitched it's tentacles thoughtfully. This... thing spoke sweet words. If indeed they brought a city here, then feeding on it's residence would no doubt add cities worth of books to their lore. But the Ithillid were a proud people, and being at the beck of call of some xenos seemed almost more than they could bare.
But then again, only a small fraction of them would have to suffer the indignity. And if they were installed in such a city, they could always devour the brain of their 'partner' once they were firmly enough entrenched. "Your business proposition seems a good one," the diplomat agreed, trying to convey eagerness... but instead seeming like it was instead vomiting twice as much. "The details will need to be worked out in detail however... I'm sure a few squadrons of Slavers and Makers would be glad to take the part." The Ithillid was tempted to ask what this sickening creature had to gain from the arrangement... but it would be a pointless exercise. They'd know soon enough, once they devoured the sweet empty mush it called it's brain.
"Exactly! I, and those who choose to live in Iwari, will look towards the future without fear as we seek to learn and perfect ourselves. Think about it, young Durenghast. In the time I have been gone from Verda, the planet had been engulfed in flames, twisted and scarred, and now Yrie has been destroyed, as well as likely numerous things I do not know about. The gods fight amongst themselves, and destruction follows. Iwari will be apart from that, by my own hand if necessary."
Verda
Corruption!? Surely not Sku'byss? These orcs did not seem at all like the destruction of Sku'byss... they would have to be watched, if they were born of whom she feared. "Made of corruption? What do you mean?"
The balance god merely shrugged at the Silent One "I suppose we'll just have to settle for having different opinions and definitions of perfection and leave it at that." He then looked to the broken remains of the world. He was forged of stone and earth, but he was not truly at one with it. If he wanted to help make a new world, he would have to join with earth that was at the core of his being. He delved deep into his stone heart and learned of it, and was pleased that it learned of him too.
As he learned the way of Earth, Kel'Zora smiled. Strange beasts began to spring from his flesh, and from the shattered rocks that had made up Yrie. Various in form and temperment, these creatures were a managerie of stone beasts, some with beaks or snouts and others humanoid visages, with claws or talons or human-like hands and wings like birds or bats or even like fins, some with tails and some without, the list of differences was endless. But they all shared a common theme, for their flesh was earthen stone, and their eyes glowed with an intelligence belied by their monstrous appearances, they leapt and danced and flew about Kel'Zora, a chorus of whoops and shrieks ululating from their throats. Not true servants like the Archons, these creatures were nontheless beings of his own creation. They would live here, in the rocks of Yrie, at least until he could relocate them. His Gargoyles.
1PP=7PP-3PP Claim Domain: Earth (Greater) -2PP Spawn Beast: Gargoyles (Moderate)
Yrie Void
"I suppose we shall," the Silent One agreed reluctantly. Even if mine is right... honestly, is modesty a trait of perfection beyond that of darkness, or is everyone else merely simpletons? I suppose intelligence is a neutral trait, neither a virtue nor a vice, so it makes sense it would be divided unevenly among the gods...
Even though he was fairly amoral when it came to most things, the dark god had to shudder as the balance god made his gargoyles. "Please don't make any more of your little pets from the obliterated undead corpse of the destroyed world," he asked. "Even by my standards, that's a little creepy."
The Silent One frowned at the Harbinger, his eyes darting back and forth between her and this other goddess who... seemed remarkably similar. "You know this god?" he asked.
The Harbinger waved a taloned hand over Iro, and pulled. Two orbs of power rocketed out of the small goddess, and despite the physics conundrums it undoubtedly caused, "she" grew larger beacuse of it.
Where... what... I was with Lohak and then...
Orimoth spun dazedly in space, utterly confused.
I can only imagine my cataclysmic encounter with Brinn scrambled his mind -- given that I was posessing it at the time of my discorporation...
The orcs were, however, very persistent. Sure, they couldn't actually use gigotaur arms and armor, but the steel... they wanted it, and wanted it very badly. So it continued, the orcs would occasionally get their hands on iron, but for the most part the orcs suffered severe casualties. Then, an event occurred, that would define the raids the orcs lead on the gigotaurs.
On Kahnda, an ore exclusive to the planet existed, now known as the Corrupt Ore. Of course, Kahnda was far out of reach of the orcs, but that isn't to say that it could not exist on Verda.
The Sacred Tree, this time with a tiny bit of help from the Lord of Corruption himself, spread the ore to Verda, to the immediate vicinity of the orcs. Though the orcs who had listened to Durrenghast avoided the ore, the raiders happily harvested it for their own means to use against the gigotaurs. Although the strange, purple mineral was not nearly as strong as cold steel, it certainly did give the orcs the edge they needed to steal the iron from the gigotaurs.
1 PP Nourish: the Corrupt Ore appears on Verda.
2 PP Guide Populace: Orcs learn to mine and make arms and armor with the Corrupt Ore.
"Oh, and of course, my fairy godmothers and I would merely exist as... facilitators to your agents, so long as you remain hidden from the general populace, you will have free reign to... well... what exactly is it you do with your servants?"
Just as soon as she asked the question, she decided she did not want to know the answer. She suddenly shook her head slightly, and sparkling fairy dust fell from the silver curls piled high upon her head.
"No matter. In any case, you would do well to avoid the general public, if not for my sake, than for your own. They can get quite... heroic I suppose, if presented with a threat, and ignorance would truly be bliss for them. As well, their joyous and relaxed states would undoubtedly make them easy targets for your... um... abilities."
She smiled again, and winked.
"Now unless there is anything more you need from me, I must be off. I've got a city to move."
So it WAS Sku'byss. But Durenghast had come to them, eh.... interesting. Perhaps it would be best to keep this info to herself for now. "What happened to those who left, then?"
Kahnda
"Then how, little Durenghast, do I stay apart from the gods' squabbles, hmm? I am no fool, to believe that I can have paradise; how well has it worked for Brinn, I wonder? Should we all fight and fight again to eke out our small portion of the universe?"
The orc shrugged. "No one really knows. There is a lot of speculation that they worship the evil side of Corruption, whereas we worship the concept of change and corruption itself. It is also rumored that they have adopted to raiding their neighbors, attacking without mercy..."
The orc hesitated for a moment, and then bowed, "I am known as Heilar among my people."
PP Expenditures
2 PP + 1 PP (Artifact) - Modify Populace - Storm Titans passing through the gateway become Storm Giants
2 PP - Modify Populace - Fire Titans passing through the gateway become Fire Giants
3.8/8 + 1/2
The titan nodded.
"I would have expected that learning such an amazing feat would take some time. I am willing to learn if you will teach me."
The titan pushed himself up to a sitting position, bracing himself as his molten core, still not fully replenished, sloshed about inside him. He looked down at his savior.
"So, how do we start this?"
~Kandras~
The Beholder envoys floated for a few moments, dissapointed that communication was going to be more difficult than they had imagined. Finally, one spoke.
"Hello mighty beings of the boundless skies, we are Beholders, recently come from the rocky islands that ring this place. We have come to greet those we share this planet with and ask them for assistance in surviving in a place that is quite... foreign to us. Is there any solid land here at all?"
~Avanii~
The Manyu, now numbering in the low hundreds, spread out into the swampland. Soon, however, their bodies began to feel the pangs of hunger... the energy required to keep the rings together and sentient went far beyond anything they had needed to deal with before. Eventually, large patches of swamp were cleared out and careful cultivation of nutritious plants began.
A Manyu looked up at the stars.
I/We see something moving up there... he/they thought to him/themselves.
PP:
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Manyu flourish and colonize more of their swampy home
2 PP: Guide Populace: Manyu learn to cultivate plants for their survival (agriculture)
3.5/9 +2/2
Void Outside Yrie
The Silent One had to chuckle. To think, a mere exarch had been telling him there was something wrong with him? And he'd almost listened... unless... with this domain mix up, perhaps the exarch had been referring to his suppressed domains? It was perhaps high time he reclaimed those... he didn't find the task particularly urgent though.
"Well, that explains a lot," the dark god replied, idley looking up at the stars. He was fair bit behind his usual censorship.
The Shadowfell
The Ithillid diplomat didn't believe a word the thing said giving the Ithillid more or less free reign in the city. Whether she claimed to be 'mere facilitators' or not, he knew that she fully intended to use the mind flayers however she saw fit... but they had no intention of alerting the populace to their presence anyway, and it was a lot easier to pull the strings when they thought you were a puppet.
"We have no intention of revealing our presence to this city of yours," the Ithillid vomited. "Bring it forth, and we will... care take it for you. You will get this happy place of yours."
[6/7, 1/1, 2/2]
Lor'quhan
Twist padded along the poisoned soil, his customary snarl looking even more fierce than usual. Behind him, the other blighted spirits followed in silence, not wanting to draw their leaders ire. Well, most of them did.
"Boomo! That went rather well, wouldn't you say, boomo?" Toadstool commented.
Twist turned around, his eyes glaring daggers at his comrade. "Well? Well?! What was your first hint! That the damned snake men attacked us when they thought we were responsible for that damned cataclysm?! That when they finally believed we weren't, they invited us to dinner and tried to poison us?! That when they realized we were immune to poison, they lured us into one of their damned plots to kill their leader so they could bathe in their blood?! That when we actually succeeded, the new leader sent us to prison?! If we hadn't ripped out their damned throats we'd probably still be there! So what, oh Brinn what is so damned well about it all?!"
"Um... boomo... that they stopped dumping their poison in the ocean?" Toadstool hazarded.
"Oh yeah," Twist snarled, looking at a nearby swamp filled with the yuan-ti's toxic sludge. "A real step up."
"I like it," Stagnation protested. "The toxic in the air, the death in the water, the stillness of it all... it's a glorious vision, I'd very much like to study it's example."
"It's still water, and it's still toxic," Twist snarled. "We hardly lived up to the leviathan's expectations. If the leviathan even survived that damned Armageddon, or lived so long that they remember us after so long apart."
"Twist, don't be so hard on yourself. We won," Cinder reminded him. "The leviathan's oceans are now safe of the toxins.. and my domain has remained the same in power. Look at this glorious wasteland forged by the hands of man!"
"Whatever," Twist replied, proceeding on his walk.
He'd wanted to prove to himself that the blighted spirits were just as much a part of nature as the primal. That they could cure nature as easily as they, even if they chose not to. Instead, they'd merely replaced one disaster zone for another. Kicking a cockroach that looked to have grown fat and strong on the toxic water, Twist snorted. Perhaps it was foolish to try and prove such simple minded things to himself. Rather, he should just focus on growing the strength of his spirits, so that they and the primal were equals. Then, they'd have no choice but to accept them.
A stray thought bubbled to the fox's minded, causing him to stop in his tracks. Padding back to the cockroach he'd kicked, he followed it's scuttling for a while, before it led him back to a veritable swarm of the things.
"You know," he said aloud to his comrades. "The primal spirits have worshipers. Creatures that revere them almost as though they were gods. Perhaps it's time we made some for ourselves?"
With that, Twist spewed upon the insects, feeding to them the same toxin that had been sent into himself by Sassriss so long ago. The cockroach twitched in pain, changing, growing and growing. Some simply grew large and stopped there, no further changes happening to their anatomies. Others, however, changed even further. Their rear legs grew thicker and strong, and soon they could stand on them along, leaving the higher ones free. These higher ones then grew carapaced hands and fingers, capable of fine movement. The wings on their backs melted away, and their shells grew softer, but the rounded, awkwardness of them twisted in something more approaching the shape of a humanoid back, if hunched. And their eyes took on the light of intelligence, their mandibles melting and reforming until they were capable of speech.
"See, we don't need the power of primal magic or gods to make our own place in the universe," Twist cried. "We make our own way, our own place! And from this place, and this time, we shall be revered as we deserve!"
1 Spawn PP from Sassriss (it was her venom) - Spawn Lesser Monster Population (Giant Roaches) - Twist creates Giant Roaches that inhabit the toxic, polluted swamps of Lor'quhan
2PP - Form Heroic Populace (Blattaria) - Twist forms the Blattaria, cockroach people who worship the blighted spirits.
[4/7, 1/1 bonus, 1/2]
3 PP mold land: Ymalos recreates the Underdark on Raktem.
1/7, 0/1 Fountain of life
"Well... I guess we can start with...."
------------------
While many titan spirit of the greatest warriors families have joined the Crusade of sorrow during the centuries it was not uncommon for the tos'arai to appear in front of the dying casakan and secreatly teach them their secrets
Kandras
The zang kept floating around the beholder, their patterns of colors remained peaceful and stable, many drifted toward the sky above, pointing at the isles, other lazily begun to weave their tentacles among the clouds of the red planet, slowly shaping them, concentrating them to form a solid looking white structure, the various zang begun to float around it, each adding a new layer of complexity to the building...
6/7 +0 +1 Shape +1 Guide
1 PP Nourish, Casaka and the Crusade of Sorrow have now a trade agreement.
Sorrow frowned as he vanished. "Hm, I didn't lie." she let echo after Grawlf. Looking around, she shrugged. "If he doesn;t want help, so be it." With that, she vanished.
Desore, still floating around, slipped over to Brinn, whising in her ear.
"Why should I believe her... She has never given me anything but half-truths and riddles. If Lohak is gone, then he is gone."
And yet... he could not get out of his head the sound of the five emoticons speaking together. It had been Lohak's voice and there was no denying that fact. If Lohak's voice was shared among the five, then... perhaps his spirit was as well. A faint hope, but one he had to pursue.
Manipulating the space before him, he opened up a small channel through to the ruins of Yrie.
"Very well. You may come in and explain yourself." he said through the hole. Then, he waited.
~Kandras~
The beholders watched as the Zang began to work, fascinated by their ability to work with the very cloudstuff itself. More and more beholders gathered as the great structure grew, branching out into a truly monumental fortress. Included among the number of beholders was one that appeared to be made wholly of metal, one that radiated godly power.
Samtaana watched the construction continue, and saw some of the beholders flitting in and out among the Zang, trying to use their eyebeams for similar effect. Eventually, some of them began to get the hang of the method, involving the most delicate of application of their deadly beams to subtly alter the cloud-stuff.
Finally, the structure grew to completion and Samtaana joined in on the final construction efforts, helping the Zang and Beholders check the walls of the spiraling structure for any gaps.
Finally, it was done, and the beholders looked upon a new home... a solid structure of cloudstuff floating without support through the skies. They flooded into the building, exploring every nook and cranny and finding that there was plenty of room for all of them and that yes, the place was actually solid. Finally, the original pair of beholders reemerged, flying over to the Zang that had been of such great assitance to their people.
"Thank you. It is perfect and we could have hoped for nothing better. Is there anything we can do for you in return? Can you perhaps... show us?"
~Casaka/Isles of Wonder~
The lens of Casaka flared out once more, striking into the desert and fusing sand together, where magically it transformed into deposits of metal running underneath the desert sands...
PP:
1 PP: Guide Populace: Beholders learn Cloud-shaping from Zang (Fantasy Tech)
1 PP (from Samtaana): Create Artifact(lesser):Beholders and Zang finish building Aerie, the city in the clouds.
1 PP (from the Lens of Casaka): Nourish Land: The Isle that Caska is hovering over is now full of veins of metal.
3.8/9 PP +0/2 PP.
Brinn reflexively reached out to stop Grawlf, but was too late. He was gone... and she was alone with multiple gods she did not trust in the least. The emoticons were leaving, Grawlf was gone, and Lohak was none the closer to being revived. Without Lohak's return, she had no reason to stay here... but could she leave him be? No, he was her grandfather, and would likely do the same for her if she was in his position. Then Desire came to her, whispering in her ear. This, of all the emotions, seemed the friendlist. "I can contact Grawlf, but it seems he is...," she stopped as a portal opened, preceding Grawl's voice. "...ready to talk again," she finished lamely, and moved to the portal. Should Sorrow help, then she would be needed. If not... she would also be needed. Smiling slightly, she nodded to Desire and moved through the portal.
Kahnda, Iwari
Orine stood staring at Durenghast for the longest moment, her expression inscrutable. Finally, a smile spread over her face as she began laughing loudly. "You are different indeed!," she said between her laughing. Ankirega stared blankly at her, not understanding the sudden mood change, and she laughed all the harder for it. "Brinn has always been so concerned with keeping her precious Verda safe, she's hardly enjoyed life, has she?," she pointedly asked Ankirega, smiling. Ankirega glared at her, but could hardly disagree.. Brinn was indeed to busy fighting for Verda. Only when her children had been born had the loyal exarch seen a smile on her face, and those were constantly interrupted by new threats and problems. Sighing, he nodded grudgingly. "It is true, her actions have left her tired and worn... and Verda is no less of a target than it was before." Orine nodded, having known she was right. "Nobody can defend a planet against everything, or even a nation. It's pointless to try, as Brinn has shown." She smiled at Durenghast. "And greetings, god Shry. Welcome to Iwari."
Verda
The power of corruption to change... just what Brinn had spoken of to Sku'byss. So Durenghast had managed to bring chance to the orcs, or perhaps even the god of corruption? Very impressive. Araiyo smiled, relaxing. It seemed the young god was quite capable... though he had not yet revealed what domain he claimed. Strange, but not a problem. He seemed more than willing enough to help, and certainly warranted thanks! "Ah, that is good! Please, do not let me keep you; continue on to the Grotto if that is what you wish. I will certainly not stop friends of Durenghast."
"This is all very good and well, but no-one can predict the future. Your caution may or may not be necessary, but arguing the point is moot. It might happen. It might not. That's all there is too it. "
He then smiled at Orine.
"Thank you, I have a great interest in this place that these spirits have made, in all its beauty."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Quori used the undead energies sent to them by Shry to create a new type of being. These creatures, were undead like normal, but not aminated by death energies. The sheer will of the Quori who raised them to serve them as perfectly loyal servants who had no will, no essence of their own, simply extended wills of the Quori who had animated them.
At the same time, new Quori were spawning. These Quori weren't as strong, or a willful, or a powerful as the older, elder ones, but they still commanded great psionic powers. These younger cousins became generals, servants to the elders, serving them as lesser extensions of the powers that the elders comanded.
The Quori Dream Lord looked onto these changes, and was pleased.
-1 + -2 PP: Spawn Creature(Lesser and Moderate): Create Heroic and Paragon tier Quori.
-3 PP: Spawn Template(Greater): Create Dreamdead, psionic undead animated through the sheer will of the Quori who controls them, or any creature with enough psionic power and will.
-2 PP: Nourish Populace(Quori Dream Lord): The Quori grow stronger with these additions.
Arriving just behind Desire, Brinn looked around at the room. It felt like part of the Court, though she had only been there briefly. Perhaps it would be good to use the plane more... Nodding to Grawlf, she added, "I hope you didn't mean to leave me out of this, my old friend," she said smiling.
Kahnda
"Isn't it wonderful?," Orine asked, waving as if to encompass all of Iwari. "The spirits have learned much in the ways of architecture, from Casaka and the gigotaurs of Verda. I certainly did not intend for it to be such a stronghold, but the spirits were forced out of there home. It is only natural, yes?," she asked, seeming somewhat distracted by a thought. Regarding the pure white walls, empty but for those divinities and Orine, she sighed. "Yet it is so empty. I do not hold the power to create races out of nothing, for that is the domain of the gods. Outside Iwari, Kahnda is empty. The spirits have spread tales of the races of Verda, Yrie, and the Isles, yet none of them touch this world." Turning directly to regard Shry, she added, "My dreams have not yet come true, but perhaps you know of that, Shry. So many ideas, and plans, and interests, and yet not the time and power to accomplish them."
Ankirega nodded silently, having noticed the emptiness of the nation himself. Only a small number of Yrie's spirits had come to Kahnda, and they were the only race there at the time. Verda, on the other hand, boasted a vast number of races. The dragons, Ankir, and phoenix, just at the Grotto itself. More races lived beyond, as well... "Would you like me to bring the races of Verda here, then, Orine?," he suddenly asked. Orine nodded, seeming pleased but somewhat distant towards Ankirega. "I would... and Ankirega? Please do not tell Brinn of my presence here. I do not wish to be caught up in god's affairs more than I must, that much of what I said before is true." After pausing for several moments, Ankirega finally nodded. "I will not tell her, unless she asks. I will return shortly."
Verda
".... and so I must ask of you, who would like to come to a new planet?," Ankirega finished, the combined races of the Grotto in attendance of the quiery. Of them, the most prominent answers came from the Ankir, followed by the Wild, Snow, and Sap dragons. The Sap dragons viewed Kahnda as a new source of information and exploring, in particular in regards to Iwari. The Wild and Snow dragons, on the other hand, were simply too energetic and wide-ranged to confine to one planet if they options elsewhere. The Ankir's interest, however, was overwhelming in it's majority. Living in the shadow of the great dragons, and with all the tales of Verda heard, of course they would go! Ankirega nodded appreciatively, and tore open a temporary portal to Kahnda. The masses of Verdan migrators came through, appearing in the vast fields of Kahnda, outside Iwari.
1 PP (Stones of the Forest-Mother): Guide Populace: Kahndan Ankir join Iwari, in both forms.
1 PP (Araiyo): Nourish Nation: Sap Dragons join Iwari.
2 PP: Nourish Populaces: Wild and Snow Dragons come to Kahnda.
PP Remaining: 5/7+1/1
"And that is why we must be vigilant. We cannot allow the dragons to be near our lands, for they are foul creatures that will destroy us."
"But my mother said they were gentle creatures. She said they didn't wish us harm."
"No, child, your mother was... is wrong. They have slain so many of our people..."
***
Arela spoke with a strong voice, "This is not the answer! How can you justify these actions?!"
The Grand Cleric's face remained solemn as she simply responded, "Everything I do is to better our people."
Arela was in fury, changing the eladrin's normally pale skin to a light shade of red. "How are you bettering our people?! If we attack the dragons only so we can expand, then we are no better than the demons we have sworn to fight so long ago. Can't you see any reason? This is a hopeless fight."
Meriah-Att turned around and looked directly a Arela with nearly no emotion. "It is not hopeless. We have developed... techniques. We have seen their weakpoints. We know what poison they react to. But I know that is not enough to satisfy you."
The Grand Cleric took out her dagger, and swiftly plunged the blade into Arela's heart. The look of fury soon changed to horror as she realized her life was fading.
"So you must be silenced."
(Taking extra PP today)
1 PP (+1 exarch) - Guide Populace - Seyshite knows Dragon Slaying (Fantasy Tech).
3 PP (+1 artifact) - Nourish Populace x4 - Seyshite.
[4/8]
Desire, is it? Speak. Its perhaps for the best that it is not Sorrow trying to sway me at the moment. I do not trust her anymore. You, I have no opinion one way or the other about. So tell me, what is the truth?"
...Or maybe there was. His mind racing, Durenghast looked up to the sky. If someone were to explore the world on the wind's wings, they would easily see Iwari. But what if there was no world to explore? The Unbound Ones could disappear, temporarily. Perhaps a world could disappear, too?
With a deep breath, Durenghast closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he felt something change, and opened them. What he saw was...confusing. He saw himself, his back, his face, his eyes, the top of his head. It was as if thousands of outside spectators were providing their perspective, all jammed up against his eyeballs. Shivering, he closed his eyes again. Losing focus could be a disaster here. Slowly, he began to meld with the suffocating nothingness that pressed against him. Much like a certain other time, he felt a stab of pain, and then something lodged inside his chest. However, this time, it wasn't just one tiny object: throughout several minutes, he felt thousands of stabs, as the infinite nothingness that surrounded him began to enter his body, where it would be stored. When he could not take any more of it, lest he exploded, Durenghast stepped back into Kahnda. Panting, his lungs full of nothingness instead of air, he fell to the ground. As his consciousness began to slip away, however, he coughed. And again. And again. He coughed, and tears involuntarily ran down from his eyes and slowly, what was inside of him left. Impossible to see or perceive, it flew up to the skies, covering the whole of Kahnda, encasing it in a bubble. To the rest of the universe, the world stopped existing: it vanished, completely and utterly, without a sound. In truth, Kahnda survived, but began to blink in and out of existence at such a rapid pace it was imperceptible for all but the most attentive minds from the inside, and impossible to enter from the outside. Of course, even such a massive protective armor had some cracks, as the flickering between existence and nonexistence created ways in and out, in a small scale. There never lasted for long, sometimes only a few seconds and, at most a few days, but they served to keep Kahnda from total isolation.
Coughing and spluttering, Durenghast stood up. As usual, he felt drained and tired, now perhaps more than ever. Stumbling back to where Orine and Shry were, he asked: "Are there any other worlds near Kahnda? I believe it is time for me to leave."
Create Land, Lesser (1 PP): Portals and gateways spring up, connecting Kahnda to all other planets and planes. These portals only last a few days at most, but there's always a large number of them.
Sarriss watched the first lizard-men slowly forming the first communities, hunting parties, small villages, however she slowly found out that they was not the only reptilian creatures that naturally evolved on the isles, she did not know where the tiny creatures she met came from, small scaly beings that lived in the lower parts of the isles, near the surface of Kandras, chosing the natural caves below, there only a few kandras dragons lived. Strangely the small beings resembled somehow dragons, maybe they got somehow touched by these beings during their history.
Intrigued by these creatures Sarris begun to slowly impress their minds with her power, awakening their deeper thougts, like she did with the lizard men, however she preserved their "prudent nature" allowing them to become craftier, sneaky and trickier than thei bigger cousins. The while the newborn kobolds worshiphed her as a goddess and listened to Eschal teaching they also kept some kind of respect for the dragon kind, believing them to be somehow their ancestors.
The Isles of Wonders, Oshan Gaar
Evshan walked for a while among his people, the dominion was growing in power, however as avery aszhari crived for a large domain, they was also slowly pushing to the borders of nearby empire, soon even the vastity of the Isles might not be enough to hold them, they might begun to look for other hunting grounds, blood might soon flow on the isles again, he did not want them to begun fighting with the tribes of her sisters, they need something else... He have spotted the titan coming to the isles, they was somehow capable of navigating the void, maybe he will need something like that.
Maybe they would have given them such a knowledge freely, but what if they did not, he went to the dhepts of the temple, city, there the blood priests first created the Masaren and from that place that Ranjan mind shaped the Jeraca.
The Aszhari was deeply emotionals, fight among them frequently erupts, however the laws against killing one of their kind was extremely harsh and even these fights rarely finished in tragedy, but bloodless fight usually did not please them, occasionally many of their kind choose to kill their opponents in less public ways, arranging their death for the shadows. It was from these dark dealing that Evshan gathered the blood for his spell, he did not have ths kill of her brother in creating new living beings, however he has learned to master the arcane arts, with this tainted blood he went there and trough it, murmuring prayers to his father aspect of death. Trough magic he gave life to new beings, able of shifting their form and cloaking themselves with mist and shades as they see fit, hiding from the eyes of mortals, he gave them a brilliant mind, however he hid it beyond blankets of darkness and deception, so that even those who can read the the complex pattern of the dreams and brains could not discern their intention. Finally he bound these beings with magic so that they will be loyal only to those he desires.
4/7 +0 +0 Shape +0 Guide
2 PP (1 from Sarriss, 1 Bonus), Shape Heroic Tier Population, Kobolds
2 PP Shape Heroic Tier Population, dopplegangers, with a reptilian natural form
2 PP (1 from evshan), guide the new dopplegangers to the arts of stealth, including the ability to shield their minds.
"Worlds near this one? Yrie was the closest, I would say that the Isles are next nearest; they are not far from Verda. What did you do, Durenghast?... ," replied and asked Ankirega. The world seemed almost not quite entirely there, in a way the wolf could not place his paw upon. Outside, the Ankir were quickly growing enthralled with the city, and were quickly finding homes in the many empty houses.
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Ankir grow in number.
PP Remaining: 6/7
With that, the orcs continued out towards the direction of the Grotto.
1.3 PP/day: Dvrgr(6.5), Lohak (0.7)
1.15 PP/day: Brinn (99),Eshcal(96),The Silent One (76.7),Zo-Att(49.9),Shry(21.4),The Sculptor(16.9),Ymalos(12.1)
1 PP/day: Maibe(88.6), Sku'Byss(88),Durenghast(45.7),Cru(40.9),Kel'Zora(34.1)
The orcs living near the Sacred Tree had, for a long time, worked on the perfection of the Corruption Within. Slowly, their society became based around the teachings Durrenghast had taught them, and worshiped Corruption, and through it, Sku'Byss, as an instrument of change that, if not properly handled, could prove to be deadly.
So the orc formed chose their leaders based on their skill and knowledge on the Corruption Within. They formed the Enlightened Council to lead the village and ensure that corruption was never misused.
-----
Meanwhile, the raider orcs united together and built a village of their own. It was ugly and crude, even more primitive than the orcs living by the tree. Unlike the orcs under the Enlightened Council, these orcs believed corruption should be used to its full capacity, regardless of the results. They formed a rulership under the strongest warrior, and they used the Corrupt Ore as weapons and armor.
-----
1 PP Guide Populace: The orcs leaving near the tree form a nation under the Enlightened Council.
1 PP Guide Populace: The remaining orcs form a society known to others as the Raiders, ruled by their strongest member.
2 PP Guide Populace: The Raiders learn to further enhance their fighting skills, learning Warrior Skills.
"The Isles, you say? I can take you to them. My creations wander there, as well as the creations of Eschal and others. "
He opened a portal over to the Isles and stepped through.
"Here, come on."
"Ok, these are the Isles of Wonder, although I call them the Isles. As far as I know they were originally created as floating bits of rock, although then the big gas planet was created and they were set to rotate around it, although who did that, I don't know, its not really that important."
He dragged his tourist down into them and began to pull him on a tour of the Islands.
"Lets see, those ones covered in mist are the homes of my Quori, and the ones near them are generally controlled by Eschals Aszhari. Let's see, those dragons have been there for as long as I can remember, but they don't seem to do anything." Passing over a city filled with giant humanoids made out of a clear substance, he remarked: "Hmmm. Those ones are new."
He then stopped at a point where one could overlook most of the Isles.
"As you can see, they are connected by these plant stalks, which let mortals travel around between the Isles. The climates vary, there are barren Isles, ones filled with forests, plains, and mountains. That one with the new beings appeared to be a desert, which wasn't there before, so more of those will probably show up. "
"That's the Isles"
"Then... we would not need his physical body? I was under the impression that we would need a vessel for him to inhabit. The fact that his spirit still exists is... refreshing, though. If Brinn is willing to help, I would be willing to rebuild his heart for him.
"Honestly, I'd never really thought about it. I mean, I change my form, but I change the shell... Grawlf and Ravnos are both faces for the real Dvrgr behind it."
The god paused.
"Oh, I understand. That is an excellent point. Now, if you are willing, I have a question to ask of you. Why is it that when all of you speak at once, you have the voice of Lohak?"
Unable to return to the elemental gateway through the chaos, many of the giants scattered across the lan ds they had arrived upon, but some decided otherwise. Banding together around the portal, members of all five races bound themselves together in a binding pact, agreeing to take these lands before them and bind them under their stewardship, that this realm might be molded and changed to a land more befitting it's new rulers.
Calling their new empire Samrajya, they ventured out to learn of their neighbors and it was on one such trip that a group discovered the presence of an azer village tucked away in the mountains. Seeing value in taking this lesser race under their wing, and using them for tasks their own size would not allow, At the word of the current empire, threew dozen giants descended upon the azer village.
At first, the azers, having never encountered another creature like them, if much larger, They felt no fear of these newcomers as they did of dragons, feeling certain that the giants non-draconic nature meant that they were no threat. The truth son became clear, as the giants began gathering the azers togehter, telling them that they would be taken before the gateway, and put to work helping their new masters.
Not fully understanding, and outraged that the newcomers intended to force them to work, the azers were about to bring their simply stone weaponry to bear against the giants, when the lead giant, a ferocious storm giant, lifted two azer women into the air and made the way forward clear. "Serve your new masters, or we slauighter your women and children."
Cowed, and unwilling to face the deaths of their families, the azers wernt willingly into slavery under their new masters.
-----
The swordwings looked into the the night sky of Verda, and were starled by a new heavenly body that shone brightly, bathing the world in it's pale red light What portent could this omen carry?
Half a day and world away, night fell over the grotto, and the pale red light washed over it. For an hour, things seemed normal enough, if bright for the night. But then, the full effects of the brilliant crimson star became apparent. The dragons, agents and beings of nature, launched skyward, winging their way to the north.
Midnight fell over sheyans, another peacful night among many. None, even those who warned of the dire threat, could have predicted the omen that the red star had brought forth. For in the dead of night, while many sheyans slept peacfully, dragons descended upon them with a fury, attacking and killing all they could find. The attacks were breif, a few short hours at the most, before the dragons vanished into the night sky. The coming dawn would not herald a new beginning, or a new day, but instead usher in grief and sorrow. In the wake of the attacks, the red star flared purple, and remained in the sky until dawn, when the sunlight drowned out it's violet brilliance.
While the sheyans to the north gathered their dead and swore vengeance, the dragons who returned recalled nothing of the night, positive they had slept soundly through out the night.
-----
Sorrows smiled at Fury and nodded. "Yes, you were right, This was a good place for me to be. That was quite a rush. But we have other things to attend to. Let us return leave."
As she spoke, both vanished from the area.
-----
"I am NOT crazy."
Grawlf turned to Brinn to confirm his lack of insanity.
"I have nothing that would stop you from doing just that. Their not my Isles, I just know them well and my creations own a good part of it. If there is anything that I can help you with, just let me know."
3 PP: Nourish Populaces: Sap, Ash, and Blaze dragons increase in number.
PP Remaining: 5/7+2/2
"Okay. Okay. Hold it. Hold it. Slowly, Slowly."
Karhedron looked up at his home as it slowly sank into the prepared pit that he and many of the other Titans had been digging for the great city-ship. Waving his hand, he gestured for those controlling the thrust of the great engine to slowly taper off the last of the flame. The city settled down into the sandy pit, and almost immediately, the great torus opened and the molten glass from Yrie flowed outward, interrupted every so often by one of the four sand worms saved from the devastation. Soon, Casaka floated once more in a pool of molten glass, then, as the sand worms moved away, no longer called by their masters, the liquid lake cooled and hardened into glass. Casaka was home. The Lens turned to catch the light of the sun and shone it on the city, invigorating the Titans as they ventured forward to explore their new home after spending what had seemed an eternity in the city proper.
"What should we call it?" One of the titans near Karhedron asked.
"Let us call this rock Maru." Karhedron replied.
~Isles of Wonder, Quori/Beholders~
Although the beholders had slipped into slavery, as it turned out, their minds were not entirely gone. Some in particular who held a special devotion to their original calling, namely to observe the universe and behold its secrets were able to retain enough control to continue to speak to anyone who would listen about their calling and the god, Ravnos, who had commanded them so long ago. While their ramblings were like those of a sleepwalker, some of the Quori heard and were intruigued and began searching for this Ravnos themselves...
~Court~
"So. Not Crazy. Thank you, Brinn. Now, Desire... If you would lead us to the appropriate spot, we can begin."
~Approach to Avanii~
Kythandrin looked in the direction that one of the salt titans was pointing.
"I don't... oh, no. You are right. That must be them!"
Up ahead, still looking nothing more than small holes in the pattern of stars, Avanii was approaching, a land of countless islands floating through the darkness, far from the light of the sun. Kythandrin looked behind him to the great Orb of Flame that his engineers had managed to hook and drag along with them to provide light and warmth. They would have to settle on one of the rocks nearer to wherever they ended up putting this thing... The one sun worm they had managed to bring along, although it had been a lifesaver in keeping the Ark warm, would eventually die.
"Sir, up there. There's something coming!"
Kythandrin looked. A winged shape had detached from one of the rocks and was making its way towards them.
"Tell everyone down below to prepare to defend themselves, he told the titan, who hurried off to do as ordered."
Kythandrin turned to face the oncoming dragon. Whatever it was, it would find that the Tarii were not wholly helpless.
PP:
1 PP(Lens of Casaka): Nourish Populace: Casakan people flourish now that they are landed on their new homeland, Maru.
1 PP: Guide Populace: some of the Quori begin to worship the great Eye, Ravnos.
5.4/9 PP + 1/2 PP.
-----
It awoke from his long sleep as he felt the approaching object. Outsiders approaching. Creatures that did not belong on Avanii. Watching their gigantic glass ship drift through the endless sea of darkness, he stretched his wings, awaking from his long dormancy, more energetic than he had felt in many millenia. All his long life, he had waited for this moment.
With a roar that echoed throughout Avanii and beyond, Visgara took wing. In the first pass, he slipped close, lashing out at the giant ark with his claws, leaving thick gouges in the glass.
Reversing course for a second pass on the other side, he repeated the threat, leaving thick gouges on the otherside. Though he had said nothing, his intentions were clear to those on board. Leave or be destroyed.
All along the sides of the ark, ports opened and, the next time the dragon came by, it was greeted by the Titan's retaliation: globs of molten glass pouring out from the doors, sticking all along its side and sending it pulling back away from the craft with a roar of surprised pain. The great dragon shook itself, sending the cooling glass flying, but all could see the livid red burns that ran up its chest, its scales burned and ripped off by the glass.
Reaching his desired location, he spread out his wins, and opened his mouth, calling forth the unstoppable weapon bequeathed to him so long ago. Twisting snaking lighting burst from his throat, but it was lightning such as the titans had never seen before. It was black lightning.
Instead of bolts oflight and heat, is was the an undulating void, darker than black, darker than Visgara's scales, as dark as eternal death. The backdrop of the space between worlds seemed bright and sunny in comparison.
The bolts of void sliced efortlessly through the ark where is struck, slicing clean through the great vessel and any of it's inhabitants as easily as if it were passing through water.
The Tarii continued to fight back, but it was clear they were outmatched. Although several more volleys of molten glass managed to hit the great dragon, none of the attacks were as effective as the first, and it was all that Kythandrin could do to just direct the Ark towards the nearest cluster of planetoids, hoping that perhaps he could manage to land on one of them. Surely this beast was no more powerful than the Tarrasque that his father had fought.
A beam of nothingness passed through the deck just behind him. Below, he could hear the cries of pain as yet more Titans died in the assault.
He could only hope they made it in time...
Glaring into the vessel before his eyes, he caught sight of what seemed to be a control mechanism, with a large giant, slightly larger than the rest, looking at him from the helm. Roaring, he snapped out his wings once more and opened wide, unleahing another horrible blast of pure void into the bridge of the ark.
With a bow, Durenghast left. Soon, he began to wander the land idly, as he traversed the distance between the islands. As he approached one of them, he saw a strange group of creatures. They had no legs or arms, but instead, many, many eyes. Curious, he approached them: "Hello, friends. I am a traveler from far away, and have only recently arrived here. Do you know where I may find a place to sleep?"
((This post's directed at Toph, of course, assuming he doesn't mind. If you do, just say so and I'll edit this. ;) ))
Another night fell, revealing the strange sign in the sky. A dozen Sheyans formed in a circle at midnight, and performed a dark ritual. Reaching inwards, looking into the dark forces that made them who they are, they found a hidden secret at the core of Verda. Something they could use to their advantage.
2 PP (+1 Demon Forge) - Nourish Populace - Seyshite
1 PP - Guide Populace - Sheyans instructed to attack all dragons on sight. They aren't exactly going around looking for them, however.
[4/7]
Somewhere, a dragon was dieing. Not of old age, not of famine, but by the hands of the weaker sentient races. Once, they reigned supreme, but now every insignificant race had some form of dragon slayers intent on ending them. The dragon was angry at the injustice. Hadn't they been there first? Didn't they have the stronger claim to live? As it drifted off into the afterlife, it's last thought was of the sheer wrongness of it all..
And then the dragon stood at a crossroads in the river. It could go on, move on to wherever it is that souls went to truly rest. Or... it could go towards the swirling maelstrom of darkness, to live again, and right the wrongs it had faced in life. As a monster. An undead. The dragon made it's choice...
And the cave the dragon was dieing in echoed again with harsh breathing. Struggling to it's feet, the dragon noticed something... wrong. Not just that it's heart had stopped. Not just that it's flesh seemed to have stopped decaying only after the rot had set in somewhat. Looking down, it saw what was wrong... it had grown an extra foot on each leg.
Roaring in anger at it's mutilation, the horror spread it's now twisted wings and took flight. Searching for the ones that had slain it. Hunting those that had twisted it into this.. thing!
3PP - Spawn epic monster (Nightmare Dragons) - Spawn Nightmare Dragons, undead dragons that return to life at the feeling of injustice being slain by insignificant weaker races causes. They're rather life like for undead, usually sustaining a semblance of life beyond not having to breathe, eat, or anything else living creatures normally require and occasionally a slight bit of decay depending on how long it took the dragon to return to life. However, once they return a Nightmare Dragon is twisted in some way that differs wildily.. some grow extra limbs, others an extra mouth, some's wings expand to twice their usual length, there are even reports of two headed Nightmare Dragons. The twisting ranges from subtle to total, and every dragon is twisted differently. Some theorize the amount they are twisted depends on how twisted the dragons mind was, but it's never been confirmed. Their breath weapon is the sheer volume of their maddened cries (thunder).
[4/7, 1/1, 2/2]
Though he was satisfied with what Durrenghast had taught the orcs, he decided to change things around a bit with those orcs that refused to listen to Durrenghast's teaching... They could prove to be undoubtedly useful, and with them he could explore yet another aspect of Corruption.
He came to them in the form that he normally took when visiting orcs; the form of a young orc cripple. He observed the Raiders for a while, and decided to visit their leader.
The leader of the Raiders was a huge, extremely muscular specimen. He was, at the moment, staring at the small orc cripple curiously. He had never seen this orc before, and he knew most of the Raiders under his command. And so he asked, "Who are you, and what do you want?"
Sku'Byss said, "I have come to make a... proposal. So far, you only control this group of orcs, correct? Well, what if I were to tell you that there was an even better way to harness Corruption, an even better way to exert your control? Well, I think I may just have something that may interest you... Through controlling others, you can gain even more power. And I can tell you just how to do that, through domination and Corruption."
The orc leader was confused. There seemed to be such power in such a weak figure... but he decided to listen to what the young orc had to say.
2 PP Claim Moderate Domain: Domination.
Kythandrin cried out as waves of nothingness crashed into him. The bulkhead before him was able to deflect the majority of the blast, splitting it up into dozens of smaller waves, cutting through the ship in a thousand places.
It was an odd feeling, he thought... the feeling of having his arm being replaced with nothingness... a strange tugging feeling as the atoms were ripped out of him and put... somewhere else. It was over as soon as it began, but where once his arm had been was now a clean break somewhere right above what had once been his elbow. He quickly stuffed some shards of glass into the wound, watching his molten core melt it into a patch.
CRACK!
Kythandrin whipped his head around and stared behind him, where a great crack was slowly expanding down the length of the ark, hopping from hole to hole. The titans and Dhoremi looked on helplessly as their ship began coming to pieces around them.
"Grab ahold of something!" Kythandrin shouted moments before the great ship split in two, throwing supplies into the void. A Dhoremi floated by, eyes frantically searching for help. Kythandrin reached his arm out to grab it as it floated by, but... his arm was not there any longer. Sadly, he watched the smaller being float out and away, coincidentally traveling back towards Yrie.
The sound of shattering glass was growing louder, and more and more parts of the ship were breaking apart. Most were large enough for dozens of Titans and Dhoremi to grab ahold of, and soon the Ark was nothing more than a flotilla of glass lifeboats, all floating towards the planetoids of Avanii.
The Sun Worm, now revealed and unprotected, unleashed a cry of rage and anger. Its body was covered in gashes from the attacks by the dragon, but none had been fatal. The dragon rushed forward, scattering pieces of Ark like leaves in its eagerness to reach what seemed to be the greatest threat.
All four legs grabbed ahold of the worm, and Vizagra unleashed a final torrent of void-energy into the gaping maw of the worm. It was over nearly instantly. One twitch from the worm and it was still, a hollow cylinder, all flesh within its outer shell burned away.
Kythandrin grabbed ahold of a large piece of splintered glass with his good hand and while the dragon was trumpeting its victory, threw with all his might, sending his piece of the ark flying backwards.
The shot hit true and the dragon screamed as the glass tore into its side. Crying out it anger and pain, the dragon flew off, content that the intruders were all but dead.
Which they were. Kythandrin could feel the tug of the nearest planetoid dragging him towards it, and held with his single hand as hard as he could.
The ground loomed before him, coming closer and closer, filling up his whole view, until...
Impact, and all went black.
~The Chaos~
Grawlf stepped through into the chaos, the water sloughing around him, but not actually touching him.
"So... does this need to be both of us? I have more than enough power to bring the heart back to this place... I was here when it was made the first time."
~Kahdna~
In the desert portion of Kahnda, something was stirring. The sand was moving, up and down, up and down as something BIG moved beneath it. Suddenly, a great tower burst from the sand, flying higher and higher with every second. Then, a giant head emerged, made of metal and rock, it appeared, huge neck behind it, a shell of hardest iron covering its back and pushed through the sand effortlessly by four strong flipper-like arms. All along the metal shell snaked stone passageways, leading to the tower as well as deep within the beast. After a few hours of movement, the turtle dived beneath the sand once more, tower dissapearing until only the very top of it emerged from the sand, looking nothing more than an old abandoned watchtower. Within, though, spiraled a gigantic staircase, lined with books. It was the Library, and although Grawlf did not know it yet, it would soon be home.
2 PP: Create Plane(lesser): The Library. Takes the appearance of a giant mechanized turtle with a tower on its back. The turtle rarely moves, but when it does, the ground shakes and all sane beings flee. Otherwise, the tower is barely visible above ground, only the top two stories or so appearing above the sands. Within lie books of every type, the ultimate trove of knowledge for adventurers to seek out.
6/9 PP + 1/2 PP.
The Vocere, the giant space-travelling flowers, were growing rapidly in variety and beauty under the watchful care of the Tenders. Many now supported new ecosystems upon themselves; some for instance held large flying game birds, slow but beautiful and an easy source of meat. Others had shimmering cat-like creatures, who were partially transparent, showing the stars beyond. The Vocere travelled the stars endlessly, and in time their life spread to new planets.
Elemental Chaos
Brinn shook her head, not knowing either. "I admit, my stay there was brief... you would likely be more successful than I would."
1 PP: Spawn Lesser Beast: Wastos; large flying many-colored game birds, come to life on the Vocere.
2 PP: Spawn Moderate Beast: Linia; roughly tiger-sized and partially transparent, mostly dark colors.
PP Remaining: 5/8 + 2/2
-----
Samrajya's scouts romed far and wide over the landmass they found themselves on, but some among them, the storm giants, used their natural talents to go even beyond the borders which limited ther lesser kin. Using their natural flight, they made short trips to other nearby lands, doing their best to avoid the attention of the dragons.
It was on one of these trips where a group of giants encountered the elvers and dhoremi of Nadana. Recognizin that the distance and limited numbers they could bring to bear made conquest and slavery unlikely to impossible, the giants approached unarmed and under a white flag. For several days, the scouts stayed with these strangers they encountered, both sides doibg their best to overcome the language barrier. Eventually, using a mix of pantomimes and hand signals, they were able to trade some of their extra supplies for food for the journey back home.
In the coming months, more and more storm giants would stop by Nadana, always approaching peacfully and respectfully, trading for supplies that masde even further explorations easier to make.
-----
The battle above did not go entirely unoticed to those below. In the aftermath, the rain of debris, bodies, and people scattered across Avanii, Visgara and many other dragons seeing it as an excellent chance to find weakened and easily taken prey.
Others though, particuarly the giants of Samrajya, found the injured and wounded from the catasrophe, and captured them, bringing them back to the holy city to be given basic treatment for their injuries, and also for interrogation. Most of the dhoremi on the great ark perished the fall, or to hunting dragons shortly afterwards, but the titans, more durable then their soft skinned comrades, survived. One of those captures was the titan Kythandrin.
PP Expenditures
1 PP - Nourish Populace - Samrajya begins trading with Nadana . . . slowly at first, courtesy of the language barrier.
3.15/9 + 1/2
The many arms of Grawlf reached out into the chaos, pulling together bits and pieces of the essence of the place. It was actually quite a bit easier than he had assumed... the chaos clearly missed its heart, shoving the pieces back towards its core. It was possible, in fact, that the heart would have reformed without their intervention, although this was surely faster.
Soon, Grawlf held the pieces of the heart before him, but found that he lacked the dexterity and power to will the pieces into their correct places.
"Brinn, you are up... make it... whole!" he grunted, arms trembling under the strain...
~Avanii~
Conciousness returned slowly to Kythandrin, light stabbing his eyes and setting his head a'pounding. Knowing he was far too weak to try and sit up, he looked around instead. He had clearly been moved to... somewhere. He could see the signs of civilization all around him. Opening his mouth, he tried to call out for attention, but all that came was a rattling croak.
~Vok, Moon of Yrie~
The Vok'Dar were off once more, this time traveling to the place where the captured Titan had said he had come from... or at least the place his mind called home. There, they found the ruins of Yrie and its one-time moon, floating through the void without a partner. Swooping down upon the moon, they came across bands of trolls, probably transplants from the surface of the ruined planet below. Not ones to ignore a good thing when they saw it, the Vok captured some of them and ate them, incorporating their distinctive forms into their growing number of templates. Then, they turned and went back to Vok to plot their next offensive.
1 PP: Given to Brinn for the creation of the heart of chaos once more.
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Vok'Dar assimilate the forms of the Blood Trolls
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Vok'Dar assimilate the forms of the Digger Trolls
3/9 +1/2 PP.
Dribbling some water into his mouth, one of the pale blue faces looms over his head. "What is your name, stranger, and what in the name of Lohak are you?"
The Foulspawn inhabited every region of Kahnda, and due to this they knew most of the happenings on their world. And a new happening had occurred. In the less violent region of Kahnda, the least extreme of all 12 of the regions, a city had appeared. All though the Foulspawn did not know much about this city, it was, of course, the city ruled by Orine, Iwari.
The Tyrant was still extremely enraged by the destruction of Yrie and the loss of his legions, and, more importantly, the loss of the fun of destruction. He needed to command his men to destroy once more... and that was exactly what he did.
Assembling Foulspawn from all 12 clans, he built himself a legion, and gave the order: attack any and all non-Foulspawn they could find.
0 PP [0+1 PP from the Tyrant] The Foulspawn invade Iwari.
"Ky-Kythandrin. We are... T-t-titans... Grawlf's c-crea- C-c-c-old... n-n-neeed sun, heat... fire. W-w-w-e w-w-ill die..."
Nodding, Brinn reached out towards the chaos Grawlf had gathered, seeing where each piece had been...and where it wanted to be once more. They were part of a whole, these scattered remnants, and that made the job all the easier. She began to see it as part of a web... to the forest goddess, it seemed everything was connected. Such was the way of the hippy. Pulling pieces together was no hard task with Grawlf's help, and soon the plane began to take shape once more as the pieces reassembled themselves. "The Heart...let us hope Lohak wishes to return to us."
Kahnda
Orine and Ankirega had walked the city of Iwari, discussing the happenings of the universe. Ankirega was glad to find Orine at least moderately friendly to him, though she was much more friendly to Durenghast. It didn't matter, though, so long as she was no enemy to the races of Verda. As they walked the streets, a sound like thunder reached their ears, though the sky was clear. Looking confused, the pair took to the skys to find an army outside their doorstep, of the foulspawn that Orine had found on Kahnda upon her arrival. Snorting, Orine shook her head. "They're attacking Iwari?" Her form shimmered and lenghtened as she took her natural pure-white form, quickly coming to a stop before the 'invading' army. Ankirega shrugged and followed, somewhat amused himself.
"To what do we owe the honor of this visit?," Orine asked, sarcasm and humor evident in her voice as she towered above the foulspawn army.
2 PP (One from Grawlf, one from Void Matrix): Re-create the Heart of Chaos
PP Remaining: 5/8 + 1/2
Several moments later, a fire giant , bearing several large torches and a large brazier, which he quickly it, filling the room with heat. The remaining frost giant, beginning to sweat profusely nodded. "You deal wth it. I'll see to the orders about the rest of the guests."
Watching the ttian closely, and soon joined by another of his kin as well as a stone giant, they waited for the heat to restore Kythandrin.
"Thank you" Kythandrin said, feeling the glass within him beginning to move faster and faster. He glanced quickly to his lost arm, making sure it was not leaking fluid before looking back up at the gathering giants.
"Thank you. Please send my apologies to the giant of ice that had to leave... we titans of the desert, especially my own glass titans, cannot survive in the cold for long."
"We come from Yrie and are travellers... refugees now, I guess. I assume this is one of the planetoids of Avanii? We have been travelling here for some time. How many of my brethren have you found?"
His frown lightened. "We have found a few dozen of your kind. We are still searching for others. The smaller folk do not seem to have survived. Those we found died shortly afterwards."
"Yrie is another world, and Grawlf is a god like Lohak. Tell me, what was the great dragon that attacked us? And... are there more of them?"
The giant's face turned grim. "And yes, there are others like him. None that we have encountered so powerful, but this world is heavily populated by great dragons. Few that we've encountered can unleash the power of non-existence, but the rest can unleash all varieties of elemental power, ranging from frigid cold, to corroding acid, to even flames hotter than any we have ever produced."
The giant scratched his head for a momet, then waved the others out of the room as he leaned against the wall. "It is a shame about the small ones. We have encountered others similar to them, and we had hoped we might curry trade favors with them in exchange for returning the survivors to them. But those we have found perished shortly afterwards."
"They are delicate beings, unlike you or I."
Reaching out, Kythandrin grabbed ahold of a proffered hand and pulled himself up to a sitting position.
"I take it from your words that you yourselves have not been here long. What is your story?"
"Want some help? Some revenge sounds lovely right about now. Perhaps we could come to some sort of agreement to allow us to remain on your lands until we collect more survivors of the crash? We know many things that may be of interest to you..."
The Foulspawn legion was quiet for a while, when the largest of the Foulspawn finally stepped forth. This was, of course, the Tyrant himself. He yelled at Orine, "I am the Tyrant, lord of the Foulspawn, and Slave to Corruption and emissary of the great lord Sku'Byss! I have assembled my legions to come and crush you. Though you may think yourself stronger than us, even now my men are summoning demons in the back of the lines! You will be defeated!"
Meanwhile, Sku'Byss had become interested in the Tyrant's recent activities and decided to indirectly help him along. He opened a portal connecting the Body of Corruption, and sent his Atropals to aid the Foulspawn.
1 PP Create Artifact: A portal connects the Body of Corruption to Kahnda.
1 PP Guide: The Atropals enter Kahnda and join the Foulspawn army.
But even with all these superficial changes, Cru remained the same fun-loving boy he'd always been, still possessed his fanatic love of stories of all sorts, which had perhaps multiplied as he discovered the wonders of printed works. He still possessed his remarkable gift for crafting masks, despite his new predilection for the pale and white. He had amassed quite a collection over the years, and he stored them either within the folds of the robes he was now quite fond of wearing, or hid them in various places about the worlds he visited for the curious to find. And of course, Cru's best friend, second only to Elle, was Mr. Green, who buzzed at his shoulder at all moments, chattering on about some inane topic or another. But on this day, of all days, Cru decided to don once more his trusty old dragon's mask, beautifully redone in a startling white, and leaped into the sky, departing for worlds unknown.
The surface of the red world of kandras has always being plagued by currents of elditrich energies, gathered in the cosmo, or merely powered by the light of distant suns, twisted and reflected infinite times by the red orb gasous atmosphere.
Slowly during the millennia that followed the creation of the planet this energies begun to concentrate into an unknown place within its gaseous core, the few Zang that dared to try to best the immense pressure of the planet deepest reaches could sense this growing power, this untamed essence, pulsating like a living haert, they found it refreshing and entrancing, but was unable to focus or control it in any way, puzzled many begun to think if maybe their beholder friends could help them finding a possible explanation to its nature.
4/7 +1 +1 Shape +1 Guide
3 PP Create Artifact, Kandras Core, it provides a nourish pp.
(
((Hm, last time I checked, Foulspawn could summon demons...))
The Foulspawn legion was quiet for a while, when the largest of the Foulspawn finally stepped forth. This was, of course, the Tyrant himself. He yelled at Orine, "I am the Tyrant, lord of the Foulspawn, and Slave to Corruption and emissary of the great lord Sku'Byss! I have assembled my legions to come and crush you. Though you may think yourself stronger than us, even now my men are summoning demons in the back of the lines! You will be defeated!"
Meanwhile, Sku'Byss had become interested in the Tyrant's recent activities and decided to indirectly help him along. He opened a portal connecting the Body of Corruption, and sent his Atropals to aid the Foulspawn.
1 PP Create Artifact: A portal connects the Body of Corruption to Kahnda.
1 PP Guide: The Atropals enter Kahnda and join the Foulspawn army.
((Not to rain on your parade, Chappy, but one of the things Durenghast's artifact does is precisely make portals...which are unstable. They fizzle out rapidly, no more than a few days.))
Kythandrin closed his eyes and nodded.
"Yes yes, of course. Forgive me, I am still rather lightheaded from the crash. Is there anything else you would like to know?"
~Chaos~
"Okay..." Grawlf muttered, staring at the rebuilt heart before him. "So now we get Sorrow to come and give up her spark? That should be easy enough. Any ideas, Desire? Asking someone to de-god themselves seems... likely to fail."
-----
Desire shook his head. "It is not right. Something is different from how it was before. As for Sorrow, she can be reasonable under the right circumstances."
"Enough riddles and half-answers, Emoticon. If you have a plan, tell us."
2 PP: Create Elemental Wolves, who are coincidentally enough wolves made out of elemental energy.
PP Remaining: 5/7 + 2/2 + 1/1
Void Outside Yrie
The Silent One tired of all this. While he was wasting time here, there were urgent matters to be dealt with.
"Well, it's been fun," he said. "But I really must be going now... if anyone needs me, just call my name. Well, pseudonym anyway." With that, he dissipated into a puff of shadow...
Before reappearing at his orb of adamantium. He did have things to do... but since he had some time, he might as well reclaim a little something he hid away a long time ago.
Holding out his hand, the planet sized orb cracked down the center, opening up to reveal the two orbs of power he'd suppressed in order to infiltrate the universe once more after that little spat with the Sisters... he wince at the memory, holding the spot where under his armor the scar of their truth still pained. Grabbing the two orbs, he held them fast against his chest, where they flowed into his being, recharging him with new found energy.
"Ah, I forgot what it felt like to have you in my essence," the Silent One mused, slumping with the relief of having his essence back. "But I can't enjoy it yet... I have one last thing to do."
Suddenly, Ruin manifested out of nowhere, heading his Masters call. Deciding it was the best storage space available when he didn't need his weapon, the dark god stuffed the beast into the hollow space of the orb and closed it tight, resealing it. "Perfect... now onto other things."
1PP - Unsuppress domain (Secrets) - The Silent One reclaims the Secrets domain
1PP - Unsuppress domain (Deception) - The Silent One reclaims the Deception domain
[5/7, 1/1, 2/2]
He glanced at Grawlf. "As I said, she can be reasonable under the right circumstances. Had you not cut me off, I intended to continue. She is at her most reasonable after she has been exposed to a great sorrow. And I'm sure she could be convinced to turn over the spark as long as she were provided a way to continue operating within this reality."
The Raiders had learned that they could acquire the favor of their god, and thus power, through domination. So they began an insane quest for domination.
Using their battle powers and their ore, the began to attack their neighbors- namely the Unbound Ones. The orcs tried to leave no survivors in their raids, but the worst fates were those of the Unbound Ones who were captured by the Raiders- and lead to a new life of slavery.
1 PP Guide Populace: The Raiders attack the Unbound Ones
2 PP Guide Populace: The Raiders learn slavery.
[0/7 PP]
---
Since the time he'd left the region, Varik had seen much of the world...of several worlds. Never satisfied with staying in one spot, he had never stopped moving, leaving no cave unexplored, no wasteland untouched. As he began to feel the memories of the Unbound Ones' village begin to fade, he had returned, a most momentous occasion for him. Perhaps it was nostalgia, though he would not admit it to himself, or perhaps he was simply aging, but something inside him had pulled him back toward his home from several years ago.
As he began to approach the village's location, he had voices coming from a glade. Uninterested in contact with other people, he shrugged and prepared to leave...before he heard sobbing. Now curious, he slowly approached the glade, only to find a group of orcs sitting there, laughing. No sign of anyone sobbing in sight, however, even though the crying continued.
It didn't necessarily blow up in the strictly traditional sense, more of in a dark and foreboding sense, if that were possible. And while the dark and foreboding nature of the explosion may have been debatable, the place into which the dark and foreboding nature of the place into which the city was thrust was certainly not. You see, in the wake of the particularly gloomy explosion, the city was plucked from its position on the scenic countrysides and was deposited, rather unceremoniously, in a place that was absolutely foreign to anything that it had encounted thus far. You see, the city had shifted dimensions, and was now floating absently along through the decidedly dark and foreboding skies of the Shadowfell, borne along by a force undoubtedly akin to the one that had landed them here in the first place.
And, understandably so, the townsfolk were all rather distraught, but under the wise tutelage of Ever After, they pulled themselves together.
In their new home, they discovered a few key points. For one, they no longer broke into wild song and dance numbers at random, which apparently was a unique feature of their home plane. Another, albeit less palpable change was the fact that they no longer found themselves iresistably confined into specific boxes, roles in the story if you will. Even the lowliest peasant found that they could do pretty much anything now. It was as if their home plane subtly urged some people to be quiet and meek, and others to grab the proverbial spotlight. In their gloomy new home, this effect seemed to have gone away. This was an unforeseen obstacle, but one that could be taken advantage of. The main result of this change was that the citizens no longer felt the urge to do as they were supposed to, and before long, the whole city turned into one vast party, with everyone doing as they pleased. They called their new city Masquerade, and in homage to the new name, they took to wearing varied masks of all shapes, sizes and colours.
1 PP Mold Land (Lesser) A Land Far Far Away city is transported to the Shadowfell and now floats along in the sky.
1 PP Nourish Populace (Lesser): Far Far Awayers form Masquerade.
1 PP Nourish Populace (Lesser): Fairy Godmothers join Masquerade.
2 PP Guide Populace (Moderate): Masquerade learns how to make masks.
2 PP Guide Populace (Moderate): Masquerade learns singing.
0/7 PP
The Swamps of Lor'quhan
Honor and Chivalry waded through the filth that was the swamps of Lor'quhan, not really enjoying the mixture of toxic waste and assorted humanoid and monster feces that made up it's water and earth.
"Why, why, WHY are we not here again?" Chivalry asked.
"We wanted to see the universe, didn't we?" Honor replied. "That includes it's more... disgusting places. Besides, how can we make real beauty if we don't know real ugliness?"
"By not using our imagination?" Chivalry shot back.
"You have no sense of adventure," Honor accused.
"And no sense of smell either," Chivalry retorted.
"More junk!" a triumphant cry rang out, before Chivalry suddenly felt something very heavy and six limbed jump onto his back and begin trying to pry him apart.
"Arrrrg! Don't get it off! Don't get it off!" Chivalry cried, futilely trying to fight it off.
"Okay," Honor replied innocently, watching on much amused.
"You don't know what I mean!" Chivalry shouted, finally getting the thing loose.
"Oh, sorry, didn't know you still kickin' inside that bucket," the thing apologized.
'The thing' was a blattia, dressed in what appeared to be scraps of cloth from twenty or so different garments, not all of which corresponded to the body part they were currently occupying. Wrapped up like that, little more than the creatures eyes, hands and feet were showing, but from gaps in the cloth a carapace was clearly visible.
"Well, we aren't, so don't get lost!" Chivalry shouted at it.
"Please excuse me brother, he's a bit... odd at time," Honor apologized to the creature. "Why did you want this... what did you say, junk?"
"Y'don't know?" the thing asked, running into the underbrush before pulling a crude sleigh loaded down with items. "Junk is what makes the world go round in these 'ere parts! Y'scavenge somethin' from the swamp, then y' go an' try an' sell it to get y'self somethin' nice! I've been lookin' for somethin' nice for Reginald here for a while now."
"Reginald?" Honor asked.
The blattia picked up a rock on top of the pile, stroking it gently like a pet. "This 'ere is Reginald. Say hi Reginald!"
There was silence.
"Reginald says hi," the blattia translated.
The blattia weren't created by gods, or even an exarch, merely be an extremely powerful mortal. As such, they were a little... off.
"O...kay?" Honor replied.
"'course it's hard to get junk 'round here, or anywhere," the blattia went on. "The only trash we get is from them there yuan-ti, and they're no fun."
"Hm... so you want more junk in this swamp huh?" Honor mused. "Chivalry, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I don't think I am Honor," Chivalry replied.
"It's (not) building time!" they chanted together.
"Them two sure are strange, ain't they Reginald?" the blattia murmured to his rock.
The rock said nothing. It rather liked the strangers. It got tired to talking to the same blattia day in day out, so it was nice to have guests.
***
"And (not) done!" the two proclaimed proudly, looking over their handy work.
The three (four counting Reginald) stood at the foot of a great waterfall, that coursed into the swamp before mixing with the fetid water within. A pool was at top, but the entire falls was an almost unclimbable slope of stone, making getting to the top no simple feat.
"Well, it does seem mighty impr'ssive," the blattia admitted. "But how does it- jeezaloo!"
A piece of a glass titan ship suddenly flew down the expanse, bouncing on rocks as it went down before smacking into the swamp with a disgusting 'schloop' sound, the slow current on the wetlands pushing it along, (very) slowly dragging it from sight.
"Behold, the Junk Falls!" Honor decreed. "These falls have a portal at the top that seeks out lost and forgotten items- mostly garbage," he added for good measure, "and drags them here into the swamp for you people to scavenge!"
"It's not the perfect system!" Chivalry chimed in. "You won't get junk from all over the universe now!"
"Well gosh," the blattia proclaimed thankfully. "I don know what t'"
It was at that point that a gigotaur battleaxe fell down the falls, neatly chopping the blattia in two.
Needless to say, the Brothers and Reginald were stunned. "Holy sh-"
***
The blattia floated above a whirlpool that seemed to descend into darkness. Calling to him. Wanting him in the unlife. But it resisted temptation, simply peering into the depths... and being inspire. He felt himself drifting away, as though his time were not yet finished, and soon...
***
...he dragged his decapitated torso across the ground, crawling towards his unattended legs. "I'm okay!" he called out, dragging his legs towards him and reattaching them to his torso. He then lay there for a time, waiting for them to heal back together.
"That... is just creepy," Honor shuddered.
"Not at all," Chivalry agreed. "Are you not going to be okay if we just... head off now?" Chivalry asked.
"I'll be fine," the blattia waved away their concern. "I've had worse than this 'ere wound. 'sides, gave me an idea... instead o' just gatherin' junk, we fix it too! We'll be rich! Rich in junk!"
The Brothers shared a look, before shrugging. "Well, see you," Honor parted ways the creature, the Brothers continuing their little tour of the multiverse.
Reginald watched them go sadly. He'd miss those two...
The Shadowfell
The Ithillid fulfilled their little part of their social contract, inhabiting the city secretly and ensuring everyone had a good time. Those who looked to be thinking too much, easing too much on the liquor, or in general being a party pooper were quickly and quietly taken away for their brains to be devoured. It was a good system, and the Ithillid there ate well.
1 Mould PP from Brothers - Mold Land (minor, Junk Falls) - The Junk Falls are created in the swamps or Lor'quhan. These Falls draws garbage from the multiverse, and sends it into the swamp. It occassionally drags in lost treasures as well, and there have been rare cases where entire ruins have been thrown into the swamp to float for a short while, take root, and begin decaying in earnest.
1 Bonus PP + 1 Guide PP from whirlpool - Guide populace (Blattia, Scrounging) - The Blattia learn to Scrounge in earnest. This generally involves dragging junk from the swamp, before repairing it as well as they can, even if they don't really understand all the technology involved. They're surprisingly good at it.
1PP - Nourish land (Lor'quhan swamps) - The swamps grow in size and toxicity, due to the filth pumped into it by the yuan-ti and natural growth.
1PP - Nourish populace (Ithillida) - The Ithillids take root in the party city of Far Far Away, now in the Shadowfell.
[4/7, 0/1, 0/2]
Cru stopped dead in his joyous race across the heavens. He froze in midair, his muscles tensed, his breath held. What was that?
...there lived a little peasant girl...
Cru spun around. A voice was whispering in his ear. He swivelled about in the air, trying to find the source. He rotated in the Void, but his efforts proved fruitless.
...Her name was Ava, and she lived in a little cottage on a little hill...
Now Cru was quite anxious. Who in the name of Brinn could be speaking to him like this? Unless...
...She was a very happy little girl, despite her low social status...
And then it hit him. Was this perhaps one of those things he had heard talk of? Prayers were they? Yes, that seemed the obvious answer. However, this odd little monologue seemed special somehow, different. But Cru couldn't quite put his finger on what that difference was exactly.
...You see, Ava was in love, and not just with anyone...
Then it dawned on him. It was quite obvious now. This was a story. Someone, somewhere, must be telling a story. And he Cru, was tuned into it somehow.
...Ava was in love with the prince...
Yes, it seemed so simple now, Cru was hearing a story. It didn't quite make complete sense, he still did not quite understand how exactly this had happened, nor had he discovered why this startling new ability had chosen this precise moment to manifest. Still, at least he could trace this phenomenon to a source.
...And every night, Ava sat upon her window sill...
Was that a breeze he felt? But how? Was there wind in the Void?
...She would open her window wide...
Yes, definitely a breeze, and it was picking up.
...She would gaze up at the stars...
Was it just him, or were the stars above twinkling with abnormal brightness?
...And sing to the world of her troubles...
Was that singing he heard?
...She saw of sorrow, and of hardship, but most of all, she sang of love...
Yes, there was no mistaking it, slow, mournful singing was drifting towards where Cru hovered, transfixed by the story. Then a mask, dazzling white and intricate in its detail, fell into Cru's hands. He gazed down at it, and without concious thought, he recognized it, knew at once the curve of the cheeks, the fullness of the lips, as that of none other than Ava, the Lovely Maiden. He tucked the mask away, and departed.
While waiting for Brinn to reply to Desire's statment, Grawlf began rolling various words off of his tongue. He started out small, but rapidly switched to longer and longer words, trying to find creative combinations of sounds. He continued for some time, watching the other two as they stared at one another. He was so engrossed in his activity that he missed a rogue chaos wave sweeping down on him. It hit him from behind and he exclaimed out something completely unexpected, something that should be impossible. He Exclaimed:
"*******************************************************************************************************"
Grawlf turned back to the two others, seeking their opinion as to what he had just said, but both were staring at each other blankly, jaws working silently to try and pronounce his utterance again.
This had potential. Grawlf snapped his fingers and Samtaana appeared beside him. Grawlf quickly described what he wanted, and Samtaana crafted it. A simple wooden box, inlaid with inticrate designs meant to capture the word and, upon opening, utter it once more.
Grawlf waited for his companions to rouse themselves.
~Avanii~
When the Manyu had looked upwards and seen the Tarii ship break apart under the assault of Visagra, for the first time that they could remember, each Tarii's mind was unitary instead of divided, each mind was certain in its thoughts of horror and dismay, projecting their feelings far into the void itself. Although after that moment, the unity was broken, and the component rings took to arguing amongst themselves once more, some element of that connection remained, and with the proper training the Manyu could utilize it to tap into the combined potential of their joined mind, causing amazing things to happen all about them as willed solely by the power of their joined thoughts... if the minds would ever stop bickering long enough to agree on something to apply their energies to, that is.
The Manyu were still expanding, and it wasn't long before a group of them decided to try and use their powers to open up a way to distant swamps. The group began calling themselves the Tasakti which means the Formed Mind, and one dark night, they enacted their plan.
The fifty Manyu of the Tasakti arrayed themselves in a circle, slowly swaying to an unsung melody, falling into sync with one another as the circle grew to completion. Faster and faster they swayed, and soon some of their rings began pulsating with blue light as the individual minds of the stacks calmed themselves sufficiently to tap into their combined power. Beneath them, the ground began churning, bubbles racing up from the depths of the swamp as slowly a large whirlpool began to form between the Fifty. Still, they swayed, most of their rings now turned blue, with only a few of the younger stacks having issues wrangling their final tori into line.
Then, it was done. With a mighty roar, the whirlpool sprung into existence, dragging the fifty down with it. They had only a few moments to contemplate the intelligence of their actions when...
~Lor'quhan~
It was suddenly over, and they emerged relatively unscathed on what was surely a new world. A world ripe with food to eat and a swamp full of discarded items. Excited, the Tasakti began to explore, increasing their numbers as the fecundity of the swamp proved to be more than they could have imagined.
And then one of them spotted a facinating insectoidal creature, combing through a pile of junk. The stack made its way over to it, hoping to discover more about this clearly intelligent form of life.
2 PP (1 from Saamtaana): Create Artifact (moderate): The Unspeakable Word. A simple wooden box. Upon opening, it utters a word so terrible, anyone not familiar with the proper way to parse its twenty and two-thirds syllable majesty is temporarially stunned as their brain attempts, but ultimatly fails, to find a way. Combat Artifact (currently +8)
2 PP: Guide Populace: The Manyu Learn Psionics
1 PP: Nourish Populace: some Manyu get sucked through to Lor'quan's swamps. They begin calling themselves the Tasakti
1 PP: Nourish Populace: The Tasakti expand quickly, running into the Blattaria
3.2/9 PP +0/2 PP.
The blattia in question gnawed hopefully on a what appeared to be an unusual kind of rock, testing to see if it was in any way edible. Determining that it wasn't good for eating, and therefore junk, the cockroach man tossed the rock onto his growing collection of oddities on the treasury of his fair town, which to the untrained eye would look very much like a crude sled designed for sliding through bog. But he knew better, this was his town, and he... was it's mayor.
The blattia's chest swelled with pride at the fact, glancing over the residential district and it's fair citizens. To someone who didn't know his town, it would look to be a simple weapon rack with numerous weapons stuck in it. A gigotaur battleaxe, and orcish corrupted steel sword, a yuan-to dagger with poison still on it... but he knew that these were the proud citizens of weapon town. And he was their mayor, with a record holding 100% percent of the voters behind his back. Most of those voters didn't have mouths or hands, but he knew who they voted for, and it was him, their esteemed Mayor! He even had a sash, an old scarf with the word 'Mayor' written on it. Of course blattia couldn't read or write, but if he COULD write, that aimless smudge on his scarf he scribbled in with gunk would definitely have said 'mayor'.
Never before has 'intelligence' been more subjective.
"Good citizens of Weapon Town," he began auspiciously in an address that would forever stir the edges and hilts of his fair towns folk. "Today we have added another item of importance to our treasury! Due to this unexpected income boost, I am lowering taxes by-"
A movement caught his eye, causing him to turn in the middle of his fantastic speech to see... an odd stackey thing! Which was... wait, what the heck was it supposed to be anyway? And how did it eat? Wait, eat? If it could eat, it must be a visitor! And something so able to eat could be nothing but a mayor from another town! What an auspicious occasion!
"Ah, good citizens of Weapon Town, we have a visitor, another mayor!" he proclaimed proudly, before sticking his hand out for the traditional handshaking mayors do when they meet for whatever reason. He had four hands, and it had... none that it could really see, so it should balance out to just one hand shake. "Nice to meet you, Mayor of... stackey.. ville," he hazarded a guess.
((...dear god I love these guys ))
It is an abomination! said one of the rings.
It could be a friend! Said another
RUN! Said a third, which had never quite gotten over being nearly crushed by a falling branch when it was still developing.
We should at least say hello. Suggested a forth.
Yes, let us say hello. A fifth ring chimed in.
We should at least do something. said the last ring, who often ended up being the concensus-maker.
I still say run. Said 3.
Let us speak with it. Said two four and five, finding they had an alliance of sorts with one another.
Very well. It remains an abomination, but I will speak for us. One sighed, before opening the mouth that only its ring had and speaking.
"It is good to meet they as well. Wha-"
I think that was a joke, that about stacky-ville. Two piped in.
Fine, I'll mention it. Calm down. One muttered internally before continuing.
"The joke about stackey-ville is funny. What are they?"
Seeing that the stack didn't seem to understand the concept of a mayoral hand shake, the blattia shaked his hand in the air before returning to the usual position.
"Joke?" the blattia asked. "Aren't you the mayor of these stackey things? Like I'm the mayor of the weaponese?" he gestured to his proud citizens. "Oh, I know!" he said suddenly, quickly loosing interest in his former questions. "I should give you a mayorally gift in honor of your esteemed visit!"
Roosting for his treasury, the esteemed mayor emerged with what looked to be a chunk of a former glass titan city, no doubt drawn in from the wreckage of Yrie. "Welcome to Weapon Town!" he welcomed warmly, holding out the chunk to be taken by the stackey's... huh.
I'm scared its a tree. Three whined.
Its not a TREE! The other five rings shouted in unison. This was often a problem with Three.
Oh. Okay. Fine.
Three detached one of its arms and reached out to grab the piece of city.
"Thank you. They are speaking funny. What is an "I"?
The mayor handed over the city chunk gleefully. He'd accepted his mayoral gift, this diplomatic meeting of mayors was going swimmingly! This would be great for cementing the flail vote for the next election! They really hadn't liked his decision to invest in steel polish instead of new rope.
"I is a letter, that is part of the alphabet. We teach it at Weapon Town Elementary School. It's right over there, see?" he gestured to a rather stagnant looking pool of water on his sled. "I had to raise taxes in order to keep it running after the great mold famine of '92, but my fair citizens agreed with my reasoning and voted in record numbers, 98% of the collective voting for the taxes to be raised in order to keep the youth in good education centers. The spear section of the voters weren't allowed to vote due to it being a religious holiday at the time. St Lances day if I recall correctly."
Usually the Holiest One, Evshan, visited the high dignitaries of the temple only in public occasions and celebrations, however this time he choose the cover of darkness, he needed to present a special gift to the Aszhari Overlords, one that he preferred to remain a secret. When he presented the first few shapeshifters to Lady Suroth Alkhan Iafh, she was extremely pleased by the gift, she saluted Evshan smiling about the possibille use of these new slaves.
However Eshcal son was not yet pleased, he knew that while the Aszhari of the dominion was powerful warriors their sheere size of their realm was too much for them to effectively control and any possible war of conquest might require a larger manpower, he however was unable to provide them with some directly. For this reason he went seeking his sister and asked her to shape a new race, capable of breeding fast enough to form an army in service of the Dominion, made of skilled and loyal fighters.
Inspired by the dragons that she has seen while walking the planes she decided to use them as blueprints for this new breed of beings, gifted with qualities of the dragons combined with those of the kobolds and lizardmen that she was secretly nourishing she gave the first Dragonborn as a gift to her brother.
The Elemental Chaos and Verda
Meanwhile Eshcal has retreated to the elemental chaos, waiting for the sleeping Maibe coming, for a while he was content enough to contemplate his domain, to watch the life of the miriads djinns and archon that served in his court, after a while, however, he grew impatient, as inaction did not suit his fervent mind. Desiring to excercise again the power of creation, he sent his winds to Verda, to the northern regions of the world, the coldest, in this inhospitable land the wind formed crude pupptes of snow and clouds, then they breathed life into these constructs, turning their aethereal frame into one of flesh.
He then reached Evshan with his mind, ordering his son to visit these creature and help them surviving the harsh land that he has chosen for them the Aszhari soon found out that, not unlike himself and his brother and sister, this creation fo Eshcal mantained a strong bond with the elemental energies of their father, slowly with a long series of trial and errors he begun teaching their wisest ones to shape this essence with their will, slowly becoming capable to adapt to their deadly territory
2/7 +0 +0 Shape, +0 Guide
2 PP (1 from Sarriss), Shape Heroic Populace, Dragonborn
1 PP Nourish Many Dragonborn joined the Aszhari Dominion and are trained as soldiers by the Aszhari Overlords.
1 PP Nourish the Dopplegangers are offered as a gift from Evshan to the dominion, joining the courts of the high ranking bloodpriesst, overlords and packmasters.
2 PP Shape heroic Populace, Air themed Genasi
2 PP Guide (1 from Evshan), the Genasi develop elemental magic (mostly sorcery based and more focused on wind spells).
THE SISTERS ARE DEAD, THE SILENT ONE DID THE DEED.
Cru was astonished, and taken aback by this. Of all the disjointed things in the stars, the was perhaps the most so. HE searched the heavens for any clue as to who this "Silent One" could be, and could not. It was a mystery, and he was fascinated by it, for what but the most marvelous and fantastic tale could have such mystery surrounding it? Cru resolved at once to discover who or what this Silent One was, and how exactly he had killed the Sisters.
Killed the Sisters. This mere fact seemed incomprehensible. He knew who they were, of course, they were the first gods ever to emerge upon the cosmic stage. Cru longed to know more about them and how a being who possessed not even a place among the stars had managed to dethrone and even destroy them. This story seemed the most amazing of all, and Cru was determined to figure it out. And if their was one person who could reveal to him the truth, it was none other than the Lord of Knowledge. He left to seek him out. As he did so, he attempted to access that odd power his mother had once displayed, that of sending messages to far off. His skill was clumsy at best, and it resulted in him merely broadcasting his intent for all to hear. Cru hoped that would be enough.
((It seems everyone has at least one "Anyone who wants to talk, come talk to me" post. It also seems that this is that post.))
"What is it that you want?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Quori Dream Lord accepted the gift of the Staff of Dreams, and began to plot the use of its powers.
The Quori knew about many of the races and creatures that lived on the Isles of Wonder. One of these creatures was the Orium Dragon, created by Khitis. They were an example of power that the Quori, while not envious of, decided could be better used serving them. After all, the dragons did do just about nothing, didn't improve themselves at all. At least the Quori could help them with that. Using the power of the Psionic Eye and the Staff of Dreams, the Dream Lord changed each dragon. They became conduits to the Dream, changing their bodies into something that, while draconic, was different in many profound ways. Dream Dragons were born.
At the same time, the beholders were working for the Quori. Not that they knew they were, they thought that they just noticed the Dreamstone in the Isles, and began taking it as gifts to their benevolent Quori lords. What they didn't know was that these urges were implanted in them by the Quori, through crystals that they floated in every main Beholder Village. These crystals, the Beholders were told, were to protect them, would strike out at those who would harm them. While this was true, they also provided a means for the Quori to reach out and subtly alter their minds, something they could already do, but these let them do it at a greater range than before.
Not quite sure how long since I last spent PP, but I'm sure that I have full PP now.
-3 PP: Modify Populace: Orium Dragons are turned into Dream Dragons.
-1 PP: Guide Populace(Lesser)(Staff of Dreams): Beholders under Quori control begin mining Dreamstone
-2 PP: Create Artifact(Intermediate): Quori Mindtouch Crystal. These act as beacons that let a Quori extend the reach of their mind powers, using them through the Crystal. They also have defensive functions, designed to protect those designated by the Crystal's controller.
-1 PP: Nourish Populace(Quori Dream Lord): Form the Quori Empire. Just to make things easier to work with.
-1, -1, PP: Guide Populace(2 Lessers): Dream Dragons and enslaved Beholders are a part of the QUori Empire.
[0/8 PP]
Heilar was the one who met Amira. Approaching her, he asked, "Welcome back, Amira. What do you need?"
"Good to see you, Heliar. It's been a while since I last came to visit, hasn't it?" Amira said, smiling. Soon afterwards, however, her face turned grave. "The village has been attack. Orcs came, and they killed several people, while taking a few more away. Why have you chosen to do that?", she asked.
"Who is the Silent One?" he asked with a blunt manner rivalling that of the Dream God himself, "Tell me his story."
This was often the way with Cru. He related things in terms of stories. It wasn't their past, it was their story, it wasn't just a happy ending to someone's life, it was their happily ever after. He seemed to be able to translate near anything into storytelling terms.
Ymalos had decided that his world was too tame. His people had grow fat and docile on the carefree paradise that was their planet. So the god of slaughter sent a blast of heat into the ground that went the the very core of the planet, melting the stone and earth into magma. Then Ymalos called the lava to the surface, creating ranges of volcanic moutains all over Raktem's surface. Ymalos watched as the volcanos destroyed entire villages of blood trolls. The Morsinfra, however, learned to tap into the sheer power of the molten rock, using it destroy their foes, becoming the undisputed masters of Raktem. As the digger trolls began using more fire magic, they became resistant to it, and it no longer stopped their bodies from healing quickly.
2 PP guide: The morsinfra learn pyromancy (private).
3 PP modify shape: the digger trolls lose their weakness to flame.
1 PP nourish (Fountain of Life): The morsinfra
0/8, 0/1 Fountain of Life
In the universal void, a tear in space came open, letting out a huge rush of raw energy at once. Lor'quhan, nearby, shuddered as a wave of energy passed by it; most mortals were not even aware of it, but soon found that the swamps and forests were quickly becoming overgrown in itself, and were expanding rapidly. The Isles of Wonder suffered a different fate, as much of an island was shoved outward; the earth itself and that on it shoved itself out in a circle, leaving a barren and threadbare earth beneath. The earth, mountains, forests, and whatever else was on it now forms towering natural walls around the barren land.
1 PP: Create Artifact (Lesser) (Void Matrix): Elemental Transmuter: Turns one element into another in a specified radius- takes the form of a rainbow-hued disk.
1 PP: Create Artifact (Lesser): Element Null: A ball of void which sucks elemental force into itself, cancelling it. Fires, water, etc.
2 PP: Mold Land (Moderate): Create the Al Katul, a large range of plains and mountains that is engulfed in an eternal tornado.
2 PP: Guide Populace (Stones of the Forest-Mother): The races of Renissa create labryinthine tunnel systems in mountains near the Al Katul.
1 PP: Create Artifact (Lesser): A White Hole
1 PP: Nourish Land (Lesser): Lor'quhan's forests and swamps begin to quickly overgrow and overtake some of the settled lands. It's not natural growth, and is in fact hurting the land and the ecosystem. Forests grow into themselves, with mammoth trunks interlocking on, over, and under the ground and thorny vines everywhere.
1 PP: Mold Land (Lesser): One of the islands gets a facelift, as everything on it is shoved and hollowed out from the center outwards.
PP Remaining: 1/7
Hi All. Really short reset post tonight. Will update tomorrow. with more. *sleeps*
1.3: Dvrgr(25.4), Brinn(13.3), Lohak(7), Eshcal(5.9)
1.15: The Silent One(88.7), Zo-Att(55.4), Ymalos(20.4), The Sculptor (18), Shry (6.5), Sku'Byss (.8)
1: Cru(54.1), Durenghast(46.1), Kel'Zora(34.1), Leema (0).
Again. Update tomorrow with percentages and the like. *naps*
Edit: Updated.
"The Silent One. He's Secrets, amoung other things. He's also convinced of his own protection, leads of coalition of dark gods, and controls the closest thing to a god-killing abomination in existence. He's convinced of his own perfection. Other than that, I don't know, you would be better off asking Grawlf/Ravnos, or possibly Zo-Att, I believe that they are at least as old as him, and would know more about him. "
"Oh, I am rude. My name is Shry. What's yours?"
"Thank you so much," said Cru, "My name is Cru, by the way."
He paused for a moment, considering how to proceed. He had no idea where to find Grawlf/Ravnos, least of all this mysterious "Zo-Att," and he allowed himself only a moment to ponder the weird naming conventions of gods before deciding he must seek these ones out. He turned his attention back to this "Shry" (yet another example of divine nomenclature oddities), and decided to ask him for help.
"Have you any idea where I might find one of those gods you mentioned?" asked Cru, "It would help me terribly if you did."
"Not where they are now, no. But I do know how you can get in touch with them."
He opened a portal to the Court and gestured for Cru to go through.
After a moment of that, he shook himself internally once more, and reminded himself of the task at hand. Still, he could not shake that feeling of awe that plagued him from the moment he stepped foot in this room. He marched shakily across the room to where an odd device stood. Cru studied it for a moment. He decided this must be the method of getting in touch with the other gods that Shry had spoken of. It certainly looked the part. Cru stepped up to it, and placed his face near to a large appendage that looked suitable to be spoken into. He gave an experimental "Hello?"
Almost immediately he knew he had done something wrong. The "Hello?" had echoed in his head with the force of a thousand drums, and was enough to knock him off of his place upon the device and send him tumbling to the floor, dazed. And though he was not imminently aware of it, the "Hello?" had reverberated across the cosmos, putting other gods in various states of dissarray as they attempted to discover from whence this incredibly loud "Hello?" came. To provide a reference point, it must have sounded much like an explosion right inside your head.
Cru staggered to his feet, and gazed up at the object, his vision still swaying from the shock. Had it worked?
"Well, congradulations. You just said hello to every god, and god-like being in existence. If you want to home in on specific gods, you have to concentrate on that god, and then speak into the machine. Like this."
He leaned over, summoned his thoughts of Grawlf, and spoke into the machine.
"Sorry about that. Grawlf, could you let me know where you are, if it wouldn't be too much trouble? I have a godling here by the name of Cru who wants to know about the Silent One. You are probably the most qualified to tell him that. You don't have to go anywhere, just let me know through Samtaana, or just send me a message, whichever is easier."
Turning to Cru, he continued.
"Samtaana is an exarch of Grawlf's, who tends the Court. It should be around here somewhere."
Grawlf looked back and forth between Brinn and Desire. He was finding his patience wearing thin.
"Are you saying that Lohak's spirit is going to throw a tantrum if your plan is not followed to the letter and refuse to reform his body if his spark is brought here? Lohak always was a stubborn one, but I find it rather curious how you appear to know exactly what he would and would not like. Are we ready to proceed? I think I have a way to make Sorrow more cooporative."
At that moment, the message from Shry reached him. Turning to Samtaana, the god whispered.
"mind taking care of that?"
The exarch nodded and dissapeared, reappearing moments later in the Court.
"Grawlf sends his greetings. What is it that you would like to know about his son?"
~Lor'quhan~
They are idiots. One muttered to the collective. I is a letter. Of course. Idiots.
Perhaps they are just confused as to what we mean. They do not appear to be very well in sync. Six replied. Perhaps explain more what we mean.
One sighed. Very Well.
"No, that is not what is meant. Why do they say 'I' when referring to themselves? What is an 'I' in that context? Are they not a them?"
Can we leave soon? One sent down to Six.
I want to wait and see what they say in response, then I will move us elsewhere.
"Sorry about that," he said breathlessly, "I get a little jumpy in new places."
Then he took a somewhat stern expression as he gazed at the thing, a rather difficult feat, as he had just decided that her appearance was rather unsettling.
"But you shouldn't jump out at people like that!" he exclaimed, "It is rather rude."
But he composed himself. Now was not the time to go around arguing with everyone. He did have a story to uncover after all.
"I saw the message in the stars, the one about how the Silent One killed the Sisters," he began, overwhelming curiosity suddenly usurping the position of indignation, "And I wanted to know, how is that possible? What is the story behind it? I'm sure its a good one."
These last few setences fell out of Cru's mouth in a fast and breahtless tumble, as though each was trying its hardest to be the first out of his mouth. It was clear that he still had a few more questions on his mind, but he stopped at that, giving the exarch time to reply.
He glanced at Brinn. "It is a symbolic thing, dear Brinn. You and Grawlf have restored the physical form, and you must both recognize that this is not your place, but the place of creation, his domain. You both need only recognize within your hearts and minds that this place belongs to Lohak. Once he has, if we are successful, the spirit will return, as you both desire."
"No apologies needed" The exarch said, eyestalks grinding softly as it floated before the two gods.
"It is a good story. Or, at least, an interesting one. As it turns out, that message is a lie."
Samtaana began relating the story of the early days of the universe, when the three Sisters had begun the process that had led to the eventual creation of all that was visible. He told of the creation of the Secret-Keeper, of his creation of his hidden world, the shadowfell, and of the terrible secret that was hidden within its core, although he did not mention his master's involvement, or the nature of the secret. He continued, telling the gods about the Sister's discovery of the secret, and their demands to know more about it, and then the dramatic events that followed: The sisters killing themselves and framing The Silent One, the brief appearance of Dharrox, and the eventual revelation of the truth and return of the Secret-Keeper to the number of the gods.
"And, that is the tale. Is there anything else?"
~Chaos~
"Oh, fine. Lets do this, Brinn... Desire is right that we're not going to spend any real time in this place anyways."
Lor'quhan
The esteemed mayor scratched his antenna in puzzlement. "Um... we are a them," the mayor explained somewhat confused. "But I am an I... just like every one of my citizens is an I. We're only a we once we've tallied a vote, and decided on a course of action. But until then, we each have our own view, and are free to speak it." He continued on a little more cheerfully "It's just like my campaign slogan says, 'Individuality and Unity'. Whether you're an axe, a flail, or a big stick, you have a right to say your personal view and let it be heard by the other citizens and the esteemed mayor."
The Void
The Silent One didn't know how far Grawlf's revelation that he and Dharrox were the same had spread. He didn't know if he'd keep the secret or blab it out for all to hear. But if he were to keep up both alter-ego's, he needed to give Dharrox some screen time. ...huh, he'd just thought of his 'Silent One' form as another alter-ego. Maybe it was... it certainly wasn't his real name, maybe it wasn't his real personality either? It was hard to tell anymore... he'd made so many moves and actions just to deceive people as to his true intent that he wasn't even completely sure what his real intent WAS.
No matter. He'd just do what see fit until he achieved his goal.. whatever that ultimately was. It was his divine prerogative to do whatever the Shadowfell he wanted after all. And at the moment.. he wanted Dharrox to live again for a little while.
Focusing his energy, the Silent One's armor darkened from purple to black. His eyes disappeared into the black steel, reforming into ornate lions that bedecked the metal. Finally, his head was covered by a lion head helmet, and his tentacles retreated back inside his metal shell.
He'd forgotten just how uncomfortable it was in this thing... but no matter, it was necessary. Besides, he had a little project in mind Dharrox would be much better suited for than the Silent One...
[6/7, 1/1, 2/2]
"Wow, thank you!" said Cru, positively dumbfounded.
He shook his head to clear it, and then continued, marginally less dazed this time.
"Now if you'll just excuse me, I have to go digest this information," he said slowly.
Cru then turned away from the other two gods, walked slowly up to one of the walls, and sat down, cross-legged, a metre or two away from it, a slightly awed expression on his face. He loved this feeling, this sense of accomplishment, of discovery. He needed a moment or two to simply bask in it, to mull it over in his head. As he did not, new ideas would pop into being in his head, sending another wave of astounded wonder through his body.
Cru knew at once what he must do. He would have to share this feeling with others, tell everyone about this marvelous story! And then he would find more amazing, wonderful stories just like this one, and let everyone know about them! Then everyone would share this dazzled, warm, amazing feeling that was now coursing through him.
If he had to pin it down, had to explain exactly what was making him feel this way, it was most likely a sense that he was a part of something, something bigger than him, bigger than all of them really. And it was the sense that this huge thing was so freaking awesome!
The Silent One himself seemed totally amazing! Somehow he had managed to hide from the gaze of the stars themselves! Someone that cool must have done tons of other super cool things. And Cru was going to find out about them.
The Sisters, on the other hand, both intrigued him, and pissed him off. Sure, they were the first gods and that alone made them awesome, but it irked Cru that he could not for the life of him figure out exactly why they had killed themselves. It seemed like a lot of work for very little payoff, especially since their plan hadn't worked. The Silent One was freely roaming the galaxy now, and the Sisters were but a distant memory.
When Cru finally stood, it was with a new sense of resolve. He decided he would teach to the mortals all about these amazing things that were going on all around them, tell them all the magnificent stories. Let them feel this sense of wonderment. That was Cru's new goal.
Khandra
And here it was. The fabled world made by several gods, containing aspects of all other worlds in it's depths. Grawlf had spoken of it, but Dharrox had never seen it with his own eyes... he could have sworn Grawlf said that the planet was mostly uninhabited. That was what had drawn him here... the chance to create a race here that could live and thrive, dominating the whole world before the other gods could think to add their own races to it had appealed to him immensely. As it was though, there were some of Sku'byss' little pets stinking up the place, and some of those obnoxiously vibrant primal spirits.
The dark blade of the just shrugged his lion engraved shoulder plates. No matter, he'd just have to create a race that could carve out it's own portion of the world, and hold it tightly. But how, and what? Dharrox was a noble and good god... creating something overtly evil was not in his nature. However, he did make the gigotaurs descend into constant battle with a simple twist to their honor system.. perhaps he could do something similar with this new race?
Yes, that was it. They needed to value something highly, so highly that those that didn't live up to their standards of this value would be beneath their notice. But at the same time, Dharrox couldn't bare to make a race that actually lived up to their own high standards... mortals should not be that close to perfection. So what if... he created a race that did it's best to follow the forms of the values, but who's very instincts and bearing fought against it? Like... an ugly race that respected beauty. Or... a savage race that respected grace, poise, and manners. Yes, that was perfect.. and well within Dharrox's scope, to create something that always strived to be better.
Picking a likely place for his new race, a nice patch of mountainous land in the quilt design of the world, Dharrox thought for a moment, envisioning his new people. They'd be small, yet want to walk with a grace that came with height. Ugly, but wear fine clothes to make up for the fact. Animalistic, but wanting to introduce countless social rules to for the most part remain civilized. Unfortunately there was nothing here to use as a base... he'd have to do this from scratch.
"By the justness in mine dark, a beseech thee, live!" Dharrox called, clapping his hands causing a dark flash of shadow to blot out the scene for a moment... and when it cleared, a race of small, green skinned folk were groggily getting to their feet.
"Where th' bloody- er, that is, I don't believe I know where we are. Or what we are for that matter. Kind sir," the creature asked politely. "Would you happen to know just what's going on here? If you'd be so kind as to tell us of course."
"But of courseth, mine child," Dharrox beamed. "You are the newest of mine own selfs, Dharrox, the dark blade of the just creations, the goblins! It shalt be thine mission in thine's lives toeth live with manners, decorum, and thy own sense of pride and beauty. It shalt be every goblins dream to liveth in thy lap of luxury, for thou belongeth in it!"
"I say, what a novel concept," the goblin replied. "But how exactly are we supposed to be so beautiful and graceful? We don't even have any clothes, which is a mite embarrassing I must say."
The dark blade of the just scratched his helmet thoughtfully for a moment. "Thou speaketh true, oh greenest of goblins," he replied. "Thou shalt achieveth grace by following the rules of decorum, which musteth be set forth by your own people.. only thou canst know what isth rude, and what isth polite. As for clothes, I shall remedy that lacketh for you. Behold!"
At his command, worms suddenly rained down from the sky, odd looking worms, but worms none the less. But what also came from the sky were clothes the likes of which were never seen before, made of a substance that seemed to shimmer as it moved. The goblins grabbed up the robes eagerly, putting on the brilliant garments as soon as they could. They looked rather ridiculous on the creatures, with sleeves that passed their finger tips and hems that trailed on the ground, but the goblins thought they looked smashing.
"Oh merciful god, we thank you for giving us such fine garb!" the goblin thanked his god. "But what is this marvelous fabric? And what will we do when these clothes wear away?"
"This fabric is silk, oh greenest of goblins," Dharrox replied. "And these worms that hath raineth down from yonder sky produceth it like spiderweb. Exract it from these worms, and weave it aseth you see fitteth, and thou shalt have all the silk and fine garbs thine heart desireth."
"This is a fine gift!" the goblin replied, loving feeling it's robe. "And we shall worship you for creating us and giving us our directive in life!"
Dharrox smiled down at his new worshippers. "Go now, my goblins. Live, prospeteth, and be graceful unto yourselves and unto others."
2PP - Form Heroic Populace (Goblins) - Dharrox creates goblins. Goblins live by a code of grace, manners, and poise, though it's a little off. For example, it's considered rude to call someone you haven't seen at least three times by their first name, but eating with your hands and messily is considered the norm. The goblins put great stock in clothes, jewelry and the like as a show of 'beauty'. Little do they know that most other races look at it rather akin to a dog wearing a tuxedo. They consider themselves the aristocrats of the multi-verse, and consider themselves above most base labor unless their lives depend on it.
1 Bonus PP - Nourish Land - Dharrox creates silk worms on Khandra
2PP - Guide Populace (Goblins, Private) - Goblins learn how to extract silk from silk worms, and weave it into fine brocades and garments of silk. A goblin that doesn't wear silk is hardly considered a goblin at all.
[2/7, 0/1, 2/2]
Utilizing various interogation techniques, the giants of Samrajya uncovered vast troves of information and learned a great deal about many things.
PP Expenditures
1 PP - Nourish Populace - Samrajya uses interrogation of the rescued wounded to gain the techs of Tarii. (one time, one sided trade relationship)
Perhaps I underestimated these ones. They seem to have more parts than we do. One remarked down to Six.
Perhaps, although I think something is wrong here... we have seen no reaction from these others. They look like metals and sticks, not beings. Six replied.
What if they're all trees in disguise? Three chimed in.
Dearest, they aren't trees. Five said, sending soothing signals towards Three.
Oh, right.
"Are there others of they?" The stack asked, sending Two's eyes back and forth around the stack, staring about the swamp.
The mayor beamed, outstretching his arms to gesture to the whole swamp. "Indeed, there are many more of these! I go around looking for fair citizens to add to my fair town! We have a very successful immigration system, and new citizens are quickly inducted into Weapon Town. Would you like to meet the director in charge of immigration?"
Fumbling through the weapon rack, the mayor drew out a rather battered looking corrupt steel axe. "This is Chopper Axeman, deputy in charge of immigration and-"
It was at this point the axehead fell off the handle.
"Woops, seems like Mr Axeman has lost his head," the mayor half-joked, rooting through the much and drawing out the axe head, stuffing it back onto the handle as well as he could. "There we are, good as new," he beamed. "I'll just leave him to recover in our local hospital, it's the pride of the city."
The mayor placed the axe on a pile of broken arrows, a flail who's rope seemed to have broken, and a helmet that had been split in two.
Indeed. Imagine if one of our own was hurt, would we not do anything we could to help them? Six said.
Right! If the trees attacked, we'd help, right? I mean, we'd make sure there weren't any trees around, but... then we'd help. Oh. Oh. Oh! Three shivered, sending ripples across its surface. No. Splinters, bad! Bad! Get them off! Ah! Splinters!
Calm down, dear. No trees will get you here. We should do something, though. Five said soothingly.
Yes. Let us - Two began, but was cut off.
You idiots! They're objects. Sticks and rocks and various other inanimate things! Only that thing in front of us is real. They are crazy. You all are crazy if you try and help! Four shouted at the others, but was eventually silenced by the combined efforts of the others.
"We might be able to help Them who are hurt." One told the Mayor. Six moved the stack forward, and Three grabbed hold of the two parts of the Axe and lowered them down to Five, who secreted a sticky substance to keep the two parts together. Three handed the Axe back.
"There. I hope they are feeling better now. But, what was this thing that you called this? Chopper Axeman? What does that mean?"
The mayor swung Chopper Axeman experimentally, beaming when his head didn't fall off. That was a marked improvement almost unparalleled to their own health system! Aside from being mayors, these stackeys must also be doctors!
"Thank you for helping my deputy in charge of immigration! He's never been so healthy ever since we found him sticking out of a rock.. poor citizen, hasn't been the same since."
Placing the deputy back into the residential sector, the esteemed mayor cocked his upper body segment in puzzlement. "Chopper Axeman? Why, that's his name of course! The fair citizen even let me name him, as they all do. They love their mayor so much, who could blame them for wanting a name from him?"
Peering over the citizens, the esteemed mayor started pointing to them one by one. "Let's see, you know Chopper Axeman, but there's his brother, Cutter Axeman. Then there's Stab Lance, Steel Flail, Stick McBig, Harvey Staffman, Swordy Swordmanson the Second, Swordy Swordmanson the First, Swordy Swordmanson the Second Jr..."
The thing is insane. Its crazy, I tell you. four said, momentarially breaking into the conversation.
Oh, just ask it. Six muttered.
"What is this... name?"
"I just told you," the mayor replied quizzidley. "This citizen here is called... oh, I see!" he replied, coming to a realization. "You come from a town where people don't have names! How odd, how do you know when someone is talking to you?"
"No matter," he went on without leaving any time for a response. "A name is what someone calls you, it's like..."
The mayor rummaged through his citizens, getting out Stick McBig and Stab Lance. "This is Mr McBig, and this is Mr Lance. When these to meet, it's like... 'Hello Mr McBig!' and 'Hello Mr Lance!'"
The mayor moved each weapon as it 'talked', putting on a funny little voice for each of them. "Of course they'd actually call each other Stick and Stab," he went on. "They're step-brothers, so these fair citizens would never be so formal with each other unless applying for work in our business sector. Mr McBig had had some trouble looking for work lately, and Mr Lance is head of his company."
The business sector was some toadstools growing on a section of the sled.
Brinn shrugged. "I'm ready, though I honestly have no idea what I'm supposed to do."
PP Remaining: 3/7 + 2/2 + 2/2
"Ah, so thats exactly what happened. I hadn't known the whole story before. I thank you."
He looked around, reviewing the Court.
"If you don't mind, I think I'll stay here for a time."
-----
The dragon blew a small, mostly harmless, burst of fire over his companion as he frowned. "It's not funny, Draklinos. These giants are starting to kill our people. We, who ruled over this world long before they came. "
Draklinos, a smaller black dragon, shrugged as he chuckled. "Yes, yes, I know. And I agree with your ideas. I'll gather some of my friends, Advakor. We've been friends a long time. I'll do my best to convince my friends and kin to join you."
Advakor nodded. "I'll do the same, and we'll remind these creatures who is the predator and who is the prey."
PP Expenditures
2 PP - Guide Populace (Greater) - Samrajya masters masonry, mostly used in defensive structures right now
1 PP - Nourish Populace - A red dragon begins forming an alliance (a nation to be named later)
1 PP - Nourish Populace - Black dragons join the above mentioned alliance
5.25/9 + 2/2
But after years of effort, his hard work was finally personified.
The Vindicants and Revenants outnumbered the Malevolants tenfold or more. Volumbra Aegis developed a caste society almost overnight; The Revenants were the common folk and footsoldiers, the Vindicants were the arbiters, judges, and middle class, with the mighty Malevolants at the top of society, each ruling over scores of their lesser fellows.
But there was no strife within the nation. Volumbra Aegis was united in cause, goal, and purpose. They served the pantheon (Malevolants worshiped Fearos, Vindicants worshiped Zo-Att, and the Revenants worshiped Brinn, despite the latter not being in the pantheon at all) and sought to continually expand their influence.
They were opportunists, and when Yrie vanished, many of her creatures were left to die in the void. But the Malevolant lordlings saw promise in Yrie's great Gold Dragons, dispatching their Vindicant commanders to retrieve as many specimens as possible. The noble creatures were still paralyzed with the shock of their home's destruction, and were easily malleable. Within a few short years, the Gold Dragons had become an iconic part of Volumbra Aegis -- the mounts of the elite.
The Whispergates continued to remain an incredible advantage to the shades, who used the devices to settle the outskirts of Verda.
PP Expenditure
-1 Guide Populace -- The Vindicants join Volumbra Aegis
-1 Guide Populace -- The Revenants join Volumbra Aegis
-1 Guide Populace -- The Gold Dragons join Volumbra Aegis
-2 Guide Populace -- Volumbra Aegis learns Dragon Riding (fantasy tech)
-1 Nourish Populace -- Volumbra Aegis settles around the Verdan Whispergate
-2 Nourish Populace -- Volumbra Aegis grows in strength and power as more Revenants, Malevolants, and Vindicants are absorbed into the nation. (1 from tombs of Remembrance)
.15/.15 +0/7 +0/2
I bet he's allied with the trees. They have spies everywhere, you know. Tree-spies, with splinters where their spines should be. Three squeaked. Five began uttering soothing noises back towards him, and under her careful watch, Three began to calm down again.
He calls each of these things by some separate identifier? How primitive and stupid. Perhaps he is crazy. One sneered.
Oh come on. That sounds fun. I'll call you grumpy, and you can be scaredy-face. Two laughed while One shook in annoyance.
So, what do the dears call their entire community? The full Them, as it were, made up of the Theys? This name thing could prove useful. I am always confused as to where my siblings ended up. Stack They and Stack Them is not useful. We should find a better way. Five said, joined in agreement by two and six.
No. This is stupid and you can't make me. The thing is crazy. One muttered, keeping the Manyu's mouth firmly sealed.
Waves of flourescence coursed up towards One from Two, Five and Six, and the mouth opened, but the speech did not sound quite the same, as if the speaker was not used to having a mouth to speak with.
"Soo... What Do... They Call... Thems-Themselves All Together?"
~Chaos~
Grawlf sighed.
" I think you are 'supposed' to make some grand and formal declaration that you cede this place to the memory of Lohak and hope for his spirit to return to its place of safety, or some other such nonsense."
The mayor was too busy thinking of mayoral duties to pay attention to the other mayors odd new way of speaking. There was an election soon, and he needed to find a way to secure the staff vote. Maybe if he offered to lower the price of yogurt? Staffs loved yogurt.
"Our fair citizens are called something different depending on how many there are and their relationship together," the mayor explained.. comparatively lucidly. "For example, Swordy Swordmanson the First, Swordy Swordmanson the Second and Swordy Swordmanson the Second Jr are all related, so together they would be a family. And Stick McBig and Stab Lance are related by marriage, so together they'd be called step-brothers. But Mr Lance works with Knifey McGank and Steel Flail, so together they'd be workmates or a company. But all together," he went on, spreading his arms wide. "These fair citizens form the wondrous place of Weapon Town! So they would be called townsfolk, or even by their race.. though they're all different races," he added with a chuckle. "I already mentioned our wonderful immigration scheme."
Dears, Dears. They seem nice enough. Why are you trying to make us leave?
Because this insect is insane. Weapon town? Weapons are inanimate objects.
Where we come from, maybe, but imagine if here weapons are intelligent like we are!
Idiot. Have you not noticed that this fool TALKS for his weapons? Moves his weapons?
Hey! you be nice to Diplomatron, Grumpy! He's my friend.
Treeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
"Hoooowww.... Looveeelly, A naaaameeee..."
The mayor twitched his antenna curiously. Was Stackeyville dancing? It must be some kind of event! Like the Weapon Town fair, celebrated to honor the founding of Weapon Town! None of the citizens liked dancing much, due to their lack of feet, but they all loved to see the mayor strut his stuff.
"I rather like them," the mayor agreed cheerfully. "Now, enough about our town, you've already met most of my mayoral staff.. except for Lindsy Bowan, but she's on holiday leave to visit her friend Reginald in Rock Town. It's a shame, she's vice mayor in charge of inter-town relationships. What was I saying again?" he asked, completely loosing the track of his conversation. Before snapping his fingers. "That's right, dancing and other towns! We should have a mixer! What better way to learn more about each other's fair cities? Cutty Pocket is in charge of social events," the mayor claimed, drawing out a tiny knife from the weapon rack. "So make sure to tell him any allergies or additional guests you'll be bringing."
"'That's right,'" 'Cutty Pocket' said in a voice eerily reminiscent of the mayors but higher pitched. Also, his lips were moving. "'Nice to meet you!'"
But its a friendly knife. Pointing at us.
But it still is a knife, idiot.
I don't like you, Grumpy.
Well, you're stuck with me.
It may be a knife, but it has a name, so... I think we can trust it for now.
Yes, trust the dear knife. Trust the dear Mayor. I love Weapon Town.
A tinny voice came out from the manyu stack.
"Do you have trees here? I hate trees. Can you help me destroy them?"
The mayor frowned seriously. "The trees and Weapon Town have always been on neutral terms... the trees vastly outnumber our poor weapons. But if our new allies of Stackeyville want to give them a war, then a war they'll get!"
Returning Cutty Pocket to the weapon rack, the mayor heaved out what looked to be a gigotaur maul... it was so big he could hardly lift it, and ended up resting it on the ground. "This is the general in charge of our militia, General Darth Maul," the mayor introduced. "He'll help us plan our strategies to take down these vile trees once and for all!"
"'Indeed,'" 'Darth Maul' said in a deep voice. "'We'll give those trees a fight they'll never forget! We'll need to bring in the axe division though. Those tree tanks are too sturdy for even our hammer squad.'"
"Right you are General," the mayor beamed. "With his tactical geniousity, we'll win this war in no time!"
Within the stack, the argument continued, which was the only reason why Three was able to direct the now-forgotten mouth.
Brinn stared deadpan at Grawlf for a moment, then turned to face where Lohak's corpse had remained. "Let this place be dedicated to Lohak, that he may be restored!," she called out.... and then added "....this seems awfully silly."
"Good enough for me. Now then, we need something that will induce Sorrow to cooporate, and according to Desire here, she's the most reasonable when something really sad has happened. I think I know just the thing."
Grawlf snapped his fingers and Broken Promise appeared in one of his hands. Before the Emoticon could react, he brought the blade down hard into its form, cutting it cleanly in two.
"I hope that works." he said, watching as the Emoticon's form settled down into the chaos...
3 PP: Decreate Exarch: Desire is destroyed.
4.1/9 PP +2/2 PP
"'Yes sir re,'" Darth Maul replied. "'We'll give those no good plants hell! Axe division, role call!'"
The mayor returned Darth Maul to the military tent (a convenient patch of ground), before rummaging through the residential area for the axe division of the Weapon Town defense force. First, he drew out what appeared to be a simple wood axe. "'Chopper Lumber, at your service sir!'" 'the axe' snapped to attention. He then drew out a wicked looking orc waraxe. "'Duhhhh, Wicked Cleaver here general sir,'" the axe introduced itself. Finally, he pulled out a large gigotaur waraxe, not even being able to lift it properly in two hands, causing it to thump to the ground. "'Big Axe, here sir!'" it snapped to attention as well as it could.
"'I thought I told you to take care of that weight problem son!'" the general snapped.
"'I'm doing cardio,'" Big replied sullenly.
Wait a moment. Four said, breaking into the argument.
What? One snapped. Don't back out on me now.
No, no. Wait. Where's Three? I would have expected to hear him blabbering on about Trees at some point.
Oh, I put him to sleep, the poor dear. We were getting so grouchy.
Did that work? CAN you put one of us to sleep?
Five made some quiet noises to herself. Revealing her secrets was not something she felt like doing right now.
"Oh Sorrow. I wish to speak with you." He called out into the void, trusting that his message would reach its intended ear.
Irritated, Desire snapped at Grawlf. "What the hell was that for? You really think that's going to bring Sorrow running"
Rubbing the place the blade hit with a rueful expression, he frowned."Really now, try to be helpful and you get cut in half."
Before Grawlf could strie again, Desire vanished into the fabric of the plane.
PP Expenditures
3 PP - Ascend Exarch - The Despot of Desire - Nourish PP
6.15/9 + 2/2
~Chaos~
Grawlf watched in shock as the dead body reformed before his eyes, admonished him, and disappeared. He let out an enormous sigh as he turned to face Brinn.
"Oh great. Now they can't even be killed! I thought that that would have been the perfect solution. No matter. It would appear that these things are able to do anything and everything already, so why not return to life moments after their demise? No wonder my son, sister, and who knows how many other random gods hate them.
Anyways, Brinn, if you think of anything properly 'sorrowful', let me know. As it is, I, personally, am tired of being pulled around by invisible strings, and I'm out of ideas and am going to take a break from this endeavor. I think I will be visiting my sister for a time. Samtaana should know where to find me. He'll be in the court."
With that, Grawlf disappeared, looking for Zo-Att. He had something to ask her, a project that required the expertise that she had claimed from their mother.
~Maru (The Casakan-claimed Isle of Wonder)~
It had been three long and hard years, but their efforts had paid off. The sun worms were flourishing, and, although the planet they found themselves on was smaller than Yrie, as it was wholly covered in desert, it had roughly the same amount of space for them to live on as their old home. The only Titans that felt out of place were the Salt titans, built to withstand the oceans of their old homeworld, the barren world of Maru, although perfectly habitable, was not ideal. They began petitioning the high council to allow an expedition across the Great Bridge to the neighboring isle, which had clear signs of water.
After much debate, the council reluctantly agreed, on the condition that the expedition be extremely cautious. Under the watchful gaze of Karhedron, a contingent marched onto the next isle, watching the shadows for the approach of strangers.
Looking around, she ran her hand through the air as if caressing it before reaching out to give Brinn a hug. "Hm, yes, did you rebuilt it. I must thank you for that. The Chaos just wasn't the same without it's heart."
After the birth of the Aszhari dominion many tribes decided not to adhere to the new tradition of building fortress, forging a caste society and extensive use of blood magic. These tribes kept the nomadic life style of their ancestors and just migrated out of the dominion territory, moving as far as any aszhari has ever travelled from the isles of their birth, pushed by the evergrowing ambition of the youngest packmasters and by the ever expanding hunting grounds of the Dominion overlords. It was a couple of hunters that first spotted the titans at first they was impressed about these new strange beings, they have heard about some weird changes happening on distant isles, about advancing deserts and being of glass from their spirit friends however none of them has ever seen one of the creatures in the flesh (so to speak).
At first the couple decided to observe the glassy explorers, skilled hunters and accustomed to the life in the isles they were capable of remaining hidden for a long time, after deciding that these new beings was not a source of harm, neither a potential prey, they decided that it might be time to find a way to communicate with them.
The couple went back to their tribe, finding their packmaster eager to learn about the titans, in secret his small pack surrounded the explorers, resting in the shadows as Nas Azhen, their leader, allowed the glassy being to spot him, entering a large clearing and making a friendly gesture with his hands.
The Isles of Wonders, Temple City of Ixarha.
The Aszhari has sought to conquer the sky for millennia, however only a few has being blessed with such a gift, blessed by Eshcal power only one every few thousand was capable of merely gliding, many among the priesthood believed that finding a way to approach the sky was just another test from their god, at first they tried with blood magic, however they was unsuccessful, as their own nature can't be changed by such power, then they turned on their knowledge of natural forces and affinity with wind, however even this attempt was unsuccessful for their primitive "sience" could not develop a way to best the currents. The Aszhari were unable to accept defeat, if they could not fly on their own they will seek some beast that can and use them to touch the heaven. It was on the city of Ixarha that the first Beast of Eshcal was born, someone speculate that it was created by the powerful priest Haris Khas Tzhan, trough the use of blood magic, others that Eshcal himself has sent them, as a gift to his people for their devotion or that somehow they have being bred using orium and kandras dragons stolen eggs by the temple city trainers.
These beast, viciously aggressive had a dragon like shape, they possesed a powerful armor of dark blue scales at their birth that turned black when the creature become older, however their thin bone structure and an hart flowing with elemental energies allowed them to fly even for extremely long periods without getting tired and of carrying passengers on their back. Eshcal beast has a long life span and only the century old ones was capable of carrying an adult Aszhari on their back after an extremely long training. The Aszhari controlled them by a combination of the taming skills learned in weird nightmares from the Quori and by using their natural ability to channel electricity directly into their brain as the Blood Priests once did with the Jeraca. At first these beast only lived in large towering structure built by the Aszhari in their temple cities however their independent and curious nature led to many escaping and settling on the highest mountain tops and diffusing across the isles.
3/7 +2 +1 Shape +1 Guide
3 PP Spawn Epic Creature, "Eshcal Beasts", non sentient dragon like creatures.
1 PP Nourish, Aszhari Dominion, Eshcal Beasts are tamed by the the Aszhari breeders and used as monts by the nobility
"'Yay, a speech from the mayor, he's so awesome!'" the axe's praised the mayor.
"Now now, I'm just another man," the mayor bashfully replied to his fair citizens, before clearing his throat for a rousing speech. "Men... the time is now to strike! These trees have been our oppressors for too long, and the time is now to end their tyranny once and for all! They think that just because they outnumber us, are larger than us, and have better skills and training than us they can win, but they! Are! Wrong! We shall attack and the foe will be as lumber under our axes! We will uproot their homes! We will snap their saplings! And we! Will! Win! FOR JUSTICE!" he cried, charing towards the nearest tree with the axes in hands, still dragging the gigotaur axe along the ground.
""FOR JUSTICE'" the axes replied in harmony... or as much harmony as one voice trying to do three different ones simultaneously can achieve. The mayor began to swing his soldiers into the wooden body of the enemy, hewing the wood away in the name of Weapon Town and Stackey Ville!
Wait, what is he...
The stacks returned their focus to the world outside of them and realized that in their argument, they had allowed Three to gain control of their mouth, something which the other five of them had agreed should never happen.
"Hail, friend! Stop! What you just heard is a... minority view among us. The majority does not wish for carnage to befall our tree-ey brethren."
~IoW, Azhari Borderlands~
The Titans were aware that they were surrounded, although they were not very worried by the smaller beings. They had fought off a worldwide horde of undead... A small scouting force of small things was not really of any concern.
And so it was that Karhedron found himself looking down at one of the small creatures who had emerged from the trees.
"Greetings, small one. We are Titans from the nation of Casaka, refugees from the destruction of Yrie. Who are you, and what may we call your people?"
The mayor continued to flail about with the axes, before the words he'd just heard sunk in. Slowing down his chopping entirely, then stopping entirely, the mayor turned to regard the stackey's.
"A minority view? Aren't you the mayor? But, if you change your mind, we might be able to write up a peace treaty..." He beard cheerfully. "Yes, a peace treaty! We can have a nice meeting over tea, and forge over the provisions of our ceasefire! We might be able to gain control of the stand of trees over there every weekend if we play our cards right! And best of it all it should be easy, because there was only one injury!"
Behind him, the tree groaned as it fell over, collapsing onto the ground behind the mayor. "Only one casualty!" He corrected, his tone not decreasing in cheerfulness.
"I'm Nas Azhen, my family has owned these hunting grounds that your kind is exploring from three generation, over two thousand rotation of our island on the red realm below, me and my brothers and sisters, we are the Aszhari, chosen heirs of the Shaper of Wind and Keeper of Death, Eshcal..."
"I present you my welcome here, however I seek to know the intention of your people? We have seen your city of glass and burning lenses from afar and we are curious of what your kind might do..."
While he spoke the hunter focused his mind on the divine spark within his soul allowing nearby creature to sense his supernatural retage.
the rotation of the island around kandras lasts roughly 1 year
Brinn sighed and stared out at the Chaos, thinking about just how ridiculous this whole debacle was. Nobody knew anything, and over and over they were responding to things outside their control. She was hardly surprised when Desire was destroyed and reborn in the blink of an eye, though she'd rather it have been Fury or Fear instead. Staring at Sorrow, who had now arrived, Brinn shook her head mutely. Now the 'leader' of these blasted emoticons was here... Lohak showed no signs of stirring, either. She'd remade the Heart, 'given' it to Lohak, and done all she could... "Yes, the Heart has been rebuilt, and Lohak shows no life for it."
PP Remaining: 6/7 + 2/2 + 2/2
Karhedron nodded.
"Well met, Nas Azhen. I am Karhedron, once-mortal leader of my people, now infused with the power of Grawlf to lead my people for a short time longer as they find a new home.
I understand why you might be worried about our intentions, as we have been doing some... terraforming next door. Yrie, our old home, was overrun by the armies of evil, and as we fled the planet, the entire world broke apart. We were left homeless and scared, but old legends spoke of these worlds around the red planet, so we set out, and after many years, we finally arrived here, selected an uninhabited world, and tried to make it looks as much like our old home as we could. However, while we can create more desert, there are some of our number"
Karhedron gestured to the salt and eldrich titans before continuing,
"Some of our number wanted a more temprate climate, so we have come here to explore whether there might be room for them on this planet. Beyond that, our intentions are to find new allies. We are weary of travel and conflict. If I may ask, what other empires exist on these connected rocks?"
~Lor'quhan~
"No, none of us is the mayor and all of us are the mayor. It would be hard to explain to you. Is there anything we could do for you? We would like to offer thanks for not allowing our member to go too far. One... Casualty... is acceptable."
"Terraforming?" he replied "what do you mean by that Karthedron? Changing the "soul of the land" somehow? Do the spirits of that regions agree with your desires? Hospitality is a sacred tradition among my kind, however I can't accept those that hurt the land and its spirits... Are you doing such a thing?"
"To answer your question, There are many people already on this isles, most of my own blood, they claim their hunting grounds in the lush islands where life thrive and our father will is strong, we rarely work together, in peace, but many of us are ready to fight in case of a war, there are brothers of mine that has chosen to live in mountains of crafted stone, however I have never being to one of their home and I don't think I ever will, even if many holy places are among their domain... Many breed of flying scaled creatures... dragons, rule the sky above and the ones below, I have heard stories of beasts with many eyes, who can rule your mind and control your dreams, however I have never seen one in person, neither has my family, if you seek them, but I think that will be unwise, go to the isles shrouded in mists...
Finally there are the creature that lives on the land below, monsters mostly, they feed on blood, that I guess you lack, created by unholy magics... Maybe the Red Realm also have life, some time if you focus your eyes there seems to be some kind of movement but about that I can't tell you no more..."
"Yrie? I have never heard about such a place... an entire world overrun by the forces of evil... can you tell me more?"
Karhedron listened to the description of various races living on the isles, marvelling at the number and variety. Yrie, by comparison, seemed barren!
"Such a variety of peoples, although it does sadden me that the Dhoremi and the Trolls did not follow us here. It all happened too quickly to offer any of them refuge in our city. The undead overran our outlying towns and we were forced to retreat to the city proper..."
Karhedron trailed off, staring off into the distance for a long moment.
"Yrie... Yrie was something special. The world of Light, they called it, formed by the goddess of the sun. Grawlf made us there, the first of the great races, placing us in the vast southern deserts and encouraging us to grow and expand, which we happily did, eventually coming into contact with the other inhabitants of our world. We were at peace for so very, very long... but such things cannot last forever. A great evil cursed our planet, such that every one who died rose again and attacked their brethren. That, combined with an assault from an old enemy meant that soon our lands were overrun with the undead. We called out for aid from the other inhabitants, but recieved no answer, meaning either they did not care, or were already dead. We were placed under siege, and began to plan our escape, fitting a massive engine to the bottom of our city. Eventually, we were forced to leave, and as we escaped, the earth began to shake. As we watched from above, the world itself seemed to try to come alive, but it could not, and shook itself to pieces. And so we sought out a new home... and here we are."
"You haven't happened to see a large glass ship in the past few years, have you?" Karhedron asked suddenly.
2 PP (1 from Void Matrix): Create Demiplane: Nexus of Life
2 PP (1 from Life-Web): Spawn Moderate creatures: Space Rays
2 PP: Mold Land (Moderate): A small, hollow 'world' forms, as light and riddled as honeycomb.
3 PP: Shape Populaces: Create the Ita, the ancestor race of gremlin-like creatures that roam the honeycombed sub-planet. From these come the Bita and Rita: The Bita are semi-intelligent lizard-like mounts, while the Rita are four-armed brutish creatures. Their sharp and peaceful minds bely their outside appearance, however.
2 PP: Mold Land (Moderate): The Empty Sea: A vast ocean appears in the void between worlds, suspended by nothing yet contained to no specific shape. It ebbs, flows, and grows wildly.
PP Remaining: 0/7
"Changing the land... impressive... but what does the creature and spirits that resided there think about such a change?"
"Its a sad story the death of an entire world... What evil might have caused something like that? And what god could have allowed such a destruction? Maybe it was a test for your people endurance and strenght? Do you seek retribution for such an act?"
"Flying ships of glass, well I have seen none and I don't think that any other tribe living in the hunting grounds at the borders of my own has... Maybe you should ask to the Aszhari of the dominion, they have many explorers and their hunting grounds, even if shared between many, is far larger than the one of any single tribe..."
Verda, Genasi
The genasi has settled in the norhtern regions of the green planet, living mostly in isolation due to the harsh climate of their land, using the blessing of Eshcal and their own ambitious mind to survive and thrive there, Evshan was still with them, following his father orders, even if he crived to come back to the isles in his own domain he could not leave these beings alone.
After a few years however he found a way to protect their young civilization, he travelled to the Hall of Reflection, there he gathered the remnant of Shuras Djinns, these beings commanded enough power and will be perfect guides for the elemental blooeded genasi.
While many among the Djinn at first found the icy regions unsetting, extremely different from the golden deserts that their nation once inhabited they found out that after all, both places where domains of wind, that shaped the snow as it did with the golden sand in their original domain. Following the guidance of Evshan the Djinn begun take the Stormsoul Genasi under their protection, while many became nothing more but servants to the powerful elementals many learned and progressed under their guidance, after a few years the first city was born and they begun to build a prosperous nation.
2/7 +0 +1/2 (Nourish or Shape)
1 PP Guide (from Evshan), the Djinn Nation of Shuras migrate on Verda.
1 PP Nourish, the Stormsoul genasi create a federation of small nation in the northern regions of Verda.
1 PP Nourish, Shuras and the new Genasi nations create a trade agreement, the genasi allow many of their kind to work as servants of the Djinns in exchange for training in various arts and crafts, the Djinns also begun to quickly master genasi elemental magic
"Creatures residing there? We did not see any when we scouted it for our needs, and if we did inadvertantly displace a few dumb animals, surely our need was the greater. As for the spirits, we have had no complaints either. In fact, the spirits here seem strangely quiet. Back on Yrie, we would often share our days with the spirits of the desert, but we have not spoken to any spirit since the calamity."
"A test of our strength? You would not be the first to claim that. We were visited by a race of beings, and eventually a god telling us the exact same thing. I would like to think that we passed the test. We are still here, after all, and all our assailants, undead and foulspawn alike, are dead in the ruins of that place."
"As for who... I am not sure. I was not privy to the discussion, but I saw from afar a whole group of gods meeting over the remains of Yrie, casting blame. They all seemed convinced of one of their number's guilt, although I must say I did not recognize who she was. If it can be proven that she did it, then yes... retribution would be in order. But tell me, Nas Azhen, what can mortals do against the might of the gods?"
"So you have not seen one. My son was working on a great ark to explore the heavens when the siege began. I had hoped he had escaped the planet and made his way here. With your leave, may I and a few of my brethren pass through your lands to speak to this dominion? I am eager for any information that can be gathered."
~Isles of Wonder, Quori Lands~
((Sorry this took SO very long, Durenghast))
A dazed beholder floated up. Words bubbled out of its mouth.
"Hello and welcome to the... butterfly..." it dribbled out, central eye fuzzily staring off into space...
Meanwhile, elsewhere on in the Quori lands, several cyclopsi were debating with one another in a dark cave, kept clear of the dream mists by a waterfall that covered its entrance. Nearby, several beholders, their eyes glazed but starting to regain their focus, were recovering. The Cyclopsi had begun mounting small raids into the dream mists, finding that they were immune to its effects for short periods of time. They would grab some of their Eye-Kin and bring them back to these special places. Many of them did not make it, their eyes remaining glazed forever, but some managed to rouse themselves. Slowly but surely, a resistance was forming... When the Quori would discover it was another matter entirely.
~Lor'Quhan~
The Tasakti were spreading fairly rapidly. Thankfully, the swamps were the perfect place for them, and the recent fecundity only sped their growth. With the abundance of food, several of their number began experimenting with the chemical substances they could create, soon discovering that they could modify their own metabolic byproducts into potent medicines.
One day, a lone Tasakti was roaming far afield, near one of the great oceans of Lor'quhan, when a great being ((A Leviathan)) appeared before it. The Manyu quailed away in terror, but its bottom ring, where the feet were located, was made of sterner stuff and held its ground.
"H-h-h-hello" came the wheezing voice from the Manyu's third ring.
~Vok, Raktem,Kahnda~
The Vok'Dar burst forth from their dark planet, sending envoys to two planets they had visited before. Soon, identical black beings stood before representatives from the Foulspawn and Morisnfra peoples. It appeared to be mostly troll in make, although with distictive features usually seen on various Foulspawn.
"Greetings." A voice croaked out from the dark head. "From the powerful Vok I now come, whose armies have no fear of anyone. You would be quite wise to now hear my call, for those who refuse to will surely fall."
Meanwhile, on Kahnda, the Heart of Kahnda sprung into action, crawling quietly into the dreams of the Iwarii. When the new day dawned, several Iwarii found themselves in an unfamiliar place, an old Foulspawn cave that had been forgotten about when the Iwarii had displaced them. There, they found a temple to Ravnos, and felt compelled to worship as the mind of Kahnda churned beneath them, starting to sow the seeds of dischord in the peaceful nation above.
~City of Bright~
The Titans who had been transported to Bright had spent quite some time cowering into one tiny part of the city, looking around at their new surroundings with no small amount of incredulity. Eventually, they began to explore further into the City, but they always went in groups of two, as they were unsure as to what they might find wandering the streets of the floating city.
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Cyclopsi form The Eye-Kin Resistance
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Several Beholders join the Resistance
2 PP: Guide Populace: Tasakti learn the arts of medicine
1 PP: Guide Populace (Heart of Kahnda): Portions of Iwarii begin to worship Ravnos
2.3/9 +0/2 PP
"For now maybe the gods are beyond our reach, it will be an hard task to bring retribution against such a being, of course, however only the weak surrenders when facing a difficult path... Everything can be defeated in some way, even the gods are not omnipotent or truly immortal..."
"If you want I might help you to reach the Dominion hunting grounds, however mind that not every tribe will accept foreigners into their land..."
The Isles of Wonders, Somewhere.
After helping Evshan in shaping the dragonborn Sarriss has walked for a while in the dominion territory, most of the Aszhari and the other lizard creature still worshiphed her as a living goddess or prophet, like they did with her brother, however she realized that the majority of them has "lost their ways" abandoning their ancient traditions in favor of luxury, power and a life of intrigue, the dominion was soo vast that every single Aszhari can indulge in whatever pleasure they wanted to fullfill and many chose to abandon themselves to a void depraved life... Horrified by this she decided to leave her brother protegees alone to face the demise that she expected will soon come to the dominion.
She retreated among her other children, the free spirited aszhari clans in the south and the various breeds of lizardmen that she has granted life and inspiration during the last centuries, there, she tought, she will be able to rebuild what her brother has somehow corrupted... However she feared that one day the dominion might desire to tame her sons and daughters and conquer their land, knowing that the Aszhari was unmatched figthers above the land she decided to shape a breed of lizard creatures adept in living under its surface, carving tunnels under the stone, too small for the Aszhari that could not stand to stay in enclosed areas for long...
1/7 +0 +0/2
2 PP (1 from Sarriss), Shape Heroic tier populace, Troglodytes
"Well then, I hope you can direct us around those tribes! Thank you."
~Above Verda~
Grawlf had looked everywhere for his sister, but was having no luck whatsoever. His sister appeared to have dissapeared without a trace.
Upset, he drew near to Verda, passing through the location where his Mother's bodies had been found. There, he saw something glinting in the distance.
He moved towards it...
1.3 PP/day: Dvrgr (30), Brinn (21.8), Eshcal (14.1), Lohak (13.9)
1.15 PP/day: The Silent One (96.1), The Harbringer (24.6), Ymalos (21.6), Shry (7.1), Sku'Byss(1.9)
1 PP/day: Cru (56.4), Durenghast (46.6)
Lor'quhan
The Mayor returned the militia to the residential sector, putting one of it's hands to the bottom of it's mandibles in thought.
"Something you can do for me?" it asked thoughtfully... before snapping it's fingers in realization. "Yes, the Stackeyville where everyone's a mayor and no-one is can help the fine citizens of Weapon Town! See, Lindsey Bowhan has been on loan to Rock Town for some time, visiting her friend Reginald. If you could go to Rock Town, and get her back now that her vacation leave is over, I'd really owe you one!" He grinned. "And on the way, could you try to just meet a few trees? Try to smooth this little war over? Maybe blame it all on the Mushroom Squire? They've been trying to invade our borders for- ah, I see you! Don't think I don't!" the mayor shouted at a nearby mushroom. "Our sentries are the best in the land! Corporal Stab Afar, get rid of this scout!"
The mayor threw a javelin at the mushroom, piercing it cleanly and killing it on the spot. "F***ing scout," he muttered under his breath. "Scoping out our land, and trying to take our weaponlings to raise as fungus..."
Khandra
"Lord Dharrox," a goblin mewled, pulling at his divine lords cape.
"Yes, what is it my child?" he asked benevolently, in his righteous justice and wisdom resisting the urge to punt the loathsome creature.
"You spoke onto us and told us to live with grace," the goblin replied. "But LOOK!" The goblin held up torn silk sleeves, brambles and leaves stuck within it. "We toil looking for food, picking food, hunting, foraging, building crude shelters... where is the grace in this?!"
He was tempted to slap the thing, but Dharrox wouldn't be so cruel... besides, he WANTED the goblins to have this kind of complex. He just didn't want it pointed at him.
"You speak true, oh green goblin kin," Dharrox replied to placate his child. "I shall bestow onto you something that will make your life easier by ten fold... something that shall revolutionize your life and secure your future."
"Go on, go on!" the goblin asked, excitement in it's eyes. Before it coughed eloquently. "That is, please continue my god."
Dharrox opened a portal in space, revealing a whirling maelstrom of water and darkness. "Peer into the depths, my child. Peer into the deep, and learn your true potential... magic."
***
Soon enough, goblins no longer climbed trees to claim fruit... they merely plucked them from them with minor enchantments. Not long after they didn't even bother looking for trees, simply hunted for the relatively easier to find ritual components and grew food themselves. And soon after that, a magocracy formed... the goblin with the greatest magical might would rule over the rulers, be an aristocrat among aristocrats.
And so began the fledging stages of the Goblinoid Empire.
1 Guide PP From whirlpool + 1 Bonus PP - Teach Populace (Goblins, Arcane Classes) - The goblins learn to master arcane magic
2PP - Teach Populace (Goblins, Rituals) - The goblins learn magical rituals
1PP - Nourish Populace (Goblins) - The goblins form the Goblinoid Empire
[4/7, 0/1. 1/2]
~Lor'Quhan~
Aside from Three, who was still pouting that he could not destroy his hated trees, this idea seemed lovely to the entire stack. Two and Five, still thinking that the Blattaria could be a friend, were happy to help. One and Four, convinced that the insect was insane, were happy to have any excuse to leave. Six... was just happy that nobody was upset.
"So... where's this Rock Town?"
~Elsewhere around the Universe~
More Vok'Dar representatives landed on a variety of planets, taking on various shapes as they ambushed stragglers and subsumed their forms into the Collective. And so it was that six more races found themselves confronted by odd beings that seemed to share some features with them. Before the Angeloi, Blighted Spirits, Death Dragons, Drow, Illithid and the World Eaters, the same message was spoken, oozing out of black mouths like acid.
"My masters have a proposition for you. Will you send a representative with us to the planet of Vok?"
PP: 6 PP Nourish Populace (SIX TIMES): Vok'Dar take up the forms of the Angeloi, Blighted Spirits, Death Dragons, Drow, Illithid and World Eaters.
1.5/9 +2/2 PP.
It had been fishing for plankton (what little remained, anyway, after the cataclysms) when it heard the voice. It was a long time before the creature did anything, as if thinking had dulled with its other senses.
Slowly, it swivled its body towards the smaller creature.
"He...llo..." it ultimately wheezed.
The Isles of Wonders, Titans
"I'll show you the way, however I warn you to watch out for treachery while navigating the Dominion, they might seem frendly, strong and helpful, but many among their kind are ruled by ambition and lust for power, If you allow me I'll try to show you a map of the land"
The World on the River, Death Dragons
Many of the death dragons surrounded Vok infested one, mostly watching at it with a curious interest, it was not one of them anymore, some of them was intrigued by the strange being, mostly however was furious of his taking over one of them...
One of the dragon looked into the creature eyes, sensing its life force, tempted to call it back to the afterlife, it was strangely connected with many lives, he wondered if he might be able to pull them all together into the river with a single strike... "strenght and weakness of unification" he tought...
Finally the large creature replied, watching torugh its bony mask, his voice, the main tool of the death dragons in rending souls, was calm..
"Indeed we might listen to a proposition from your kind, however not from those who defile our pure form, so before any talk can begin I'll ask to those who wield such a mockery of our shape to abandon it..."
Khandra
The Ithillid turn their eyes to the goblins, having achieved access to their world through the occasional misery mortal generated by... well honestly, them tearing their silk clothes. A goblin wasn't the most logical creature in the universe, or have their priorities the straightest... the result was that the Ithillid learns the all important arts of arcane magic and rituals. The goblins, on the other hand, through the fevered ramblings of the blessed, learnt the powers of architecture, metallurgy, writing, and song. The only problem was, barring writing and song, the goblins were far too uppity to actually DO anything about their new discoveries.
Eventually, however, they decided that they should create a base labor force to perform these tasks for them. This way they could garner the benefits of civilized society, without having to stoop low enough to the dirt to get their silken sleeves dirty. By combing their own goblinoid essence with that of animals through arcane rituals, the goblins managed to create a race of goblinoid that was strong, reliable, and most of all susceptible to their whims. They called this new working underclass race.. bugbears.
Lor'quhan
The mayor looked gravely at the Stackey's, quoting solemnly "Through the darkest of the swamps, hundreds upon hundreds of feet away, lies the solemn town of Rock, through which Reginald and it's mayor rule justly. A town of two, and one, and all the same yet all the different. It's right over there," he added a little more cheerfully, pointing beyond some trees. At least, that was where it was last time... Rocktown moved as much was Weapon Town did. Towns on wheels! What will they think of next?
***
Twist narrowed his eyes at the odd creature. Strange... it gave the same scent as a blighted spirit. As well as many other races he couldn't begin to describe. He didn't know why, but he felt that... this thing wasn't to be trusted. At least, not on face value. Wherever it's face was in that mess...
"I'm afraid I'm going to need to know more than that," Twist replied, forcing himself not to snarl. "First of all, what exactly ARE you?"
The Shadowfell
"Oh?" the Ithillid replied. This... thing had come upon the small group of Makers as they exited a misery portal after a fruitful night spreading their seed to the lesser races. He didn't know whether it was because he'd just made a few more Ithillids come into the world, or if this creature reminded him of the Ithillid, but he found that a deal with this thing could prove... profitable.
"I am interested in your proposal, but you can't exactly expect to simply drop from the sky and have me go along with you," the mindflayer replied telepathically, tentacles twitching slightly with amusement. "You xenos are all the same to us, so I'll keep this simple... what do you want, alien?"
The Mouth
"How did you get in here?!" the World Eater Sovereign had to ask. Wherever 'here' was... they just steered the Mouth blindly, angling roughly in the direction they thought creation might be. So far, they had found none, but they were infinitely patient... a single lifetime was no time for them. A million of them could die at the ship's wheel, be replaced, then die of old age once more, replaced a million times, and they wouldn't care... they didn't care about their own lives. Only the hunger mattered, the hunger of the whole. The hunger of the race. To worry about the individual was paramount to caring about a bug... they were all insignificant, unless taken unto the whole. Perhaps that was why they enjoyed this fleshy plane so much... the hunger, it resonated with their own. It didn't need to eat, but when it did, worlds would loose chunks to it.
A little more calmly, the World Eater looked over the Vok curiously. It looked to have been in a rather unfortunate biomancy accident... "Hm, you don't look particularly appetizing," he admitted, as though talking to a rack of lamb. "And I doubt you'd do much more than sate my personal hunger... tell me, you say there's a whole planet of your kind?" he went on, intrigued by the existence of fresh, if somewhat warped meat.
[sblock= PP Expenditure]
1PP - Nourish trade (Ithillid/goblins) - the Ithillid start chowing down on goblin brains ((seriously, anyone else volunteering to be eaten? Because I'm about ready to stick all the races in creation on a dart board..))
Ithillids learn Arcane Classes and Rituals. Goblins learn Architecture, Writing, Music, and Metallurgy
1PP - Modify Populace (goblins to bugbears) - The goblins use magical rituals to merge their essence with animals, to create a workforce of strong, willing slaves- that is, laborers.
1PP - Nourish Populce (bugbears) - The bugbears join the Goblinoid Empire
[4/7, 0/1, 1/2]
Its... its... so... big! thought Gamma, trying to scuttle away.
Stop that. We're here to talk. Of course it is big. Alpha sent back.
The mouth opened. "Hello. What... are they? They are very big! Do they speak?"
~IOW,Titans~
"Thank you" Karhedron rumbled, picking out a route from the map. "We will not forget this kindness. If you ever need to call on us, know that we will answer."
Karhedron reached a hand towards his other arm and selected a small sliver of glass, pulling it out and handing it to Nas. "Present this when you come across one of our kind and they will know what it means."
With that, the titan party thanked their hosts and set out, traveling through the lands of other tribes until, at last, they came to the lands of the Dominion.
~Death Dragons~
"Very well," came another voice from behind the dragon. Moments later, the dragon's head was severed from its body and on top of its corpse stood another Vok'Dara, this one looking like an oversized troll. It opened its mouth and spoke.
"Thank you. My masters feel that you and they share some goals in common, and wish to invite you to meet with them and other like-minded individuals. I am told to promise you that your time will not be wasted. If Two of you would be willing to come with this one, the meeting place is ready."
~Blighted Spirits~
"We are the Vok'Dara. We are you, we are others. I have been sent with a message from my masters." Suddenly, its voice changed and another voice emerged from within itself, the same voice that had spoken from the Troll.
"Thank you. My masters feel that you and they share some goals in common, and wish to invite you to meet with them and other like-minded individuals. I am told to promise you that your time will not be wasted. If Two of you would be willing to come with this one, the meeting place is ready."
~Illithids~
To the Illithids, the same message, in the same voice, was spoken.
~World Eaters (this is going to be a mistake ;))~
The being pointed silently to its craft that was embedded in one of the walls of the Mouth, then spoke, relating the same message as above.
Lor'quhan
This time, Twist didn't suppress his growl. Him? Others? What sort of game was this thing playing? And it smelt far too much like those space monsters that had descended from the sky on the day the clouds of toxins had dispersed..
"First off, I'm not going anywhere with something that refuses to give me a straight answer," he snarled. He was about to go on, when he remembered his run in with his ghostly counterpart... his rashness had cost him a valuable opportunity there. He didn't want to do that again. "And what are these 'goals' you speak of?" he went on a little more calmly.
The Shadowfell
The Ithillid frowned in thought, tentacles twitching. Meet with xenos? There was some precedent for it... those god mother abominations had managed to create a very beneficial symbiotic relationship with their kind. But.. this was different. This was on the xenos' own terms, and not their own. They needed more information before they could even begin to decide...
"Tell me," the Ithillid asked curiously. "How would we get to this place? And is there any other of your kind accompanying you?"
The Mouth
"This... meeting place would be your world then?" the World Eater Sovereign asked. "And other like minded individuals would mean many other races would be gathering there?"
A banquet! How perfect! But only two could go there apparently... The Mouth would have to follow along behind to devour whatever world these creatures inhabited.
"Speak?" it wheezed. "Of course I speak". It was then that the giant went into a coughing spasm, the force of its torso's contractions creating small waves and eddies.
It eventually turned its head and spat, a white, vicsous gob of phlegm flying far into the distance, to eventually kerplunk onto the distant ocean surface.
"I do not speak for a "we" though. That would have been our leader, Thetis. I speak only for one -- me."
The Eyes of the Manyu, six arranged in a ring around the uppermost torus, peered with great interest at the Leviathan.
"What is a Me? Is a Me a They that is not a they?"
Elsewhere, Stackeyville was moving in the direction that the mayor of weapon town had pointed them.
Why, WHY are we going this way? One asked.
Because anything is better than that one. Four replied.
But why towards ANOTHER one?
Maybe it will be less insane.
~Blighted Spirits~
"Why, the furthering of your people and your... type of life... across the universe. Surely you feel jealous of your fairer brethren. Come meet with my master and learn of his plans for the universe."
~Illithids~
The Vok'Dara turned and pointed to the black ship that he and his brethren had come down in.
"There are more of us, yes... but that ship will be the way we travel. Come, my master wishes to talk with you."
~The Mouth~
"Yes, that is exactly right. Will you come and meet my master?"
Lor'quhan
The blighted spirit snarled. Fairer brethren? Pah! They were as much a part of nature as their primal kin, even if they didn't acknowledge it... though he confessed, he was jealous of them. Jealous of how Brinn smiled down on them and spat at him, jealous of their influence, jealous of how they were accepted and they were shunned.
Twist had little interest in whatever this thing had in mind for the universe, but if only to sate his curiosity he decided to go with the thing for now. "Very well, I'll come," he replied.
***
After a while, the Stackey's came to what could only be described as a haven of junk. The water of the falls flowed freely here, and many pieces of rock, metal, wood, and even flesh could be seen jutting above the swamp. Around a dozen blattaria could be seen skittering about, seeming completely oblivious to each other as they rifled through the garbage.
One blattaria, however, jumped out at the Stackey's, proudly proclaiming "I'm a tree!" as he did so.
The Shadowfell
"Ah, good," the Ithillid replied. "Then you're expendable."
With no more than that, the Ithillid wrapped it's tentacles around the emissaries head, probing it with it's vaccuum like mouth before penetrating and consuming it's brain whole. Wiping it's tentacled mouth as the lifeless corpse crashed to the ground, the Ithillid probed through the memories of the thing. Interesting... VEEEERY interesting... it seemed these Vok gained the physical traits of those they consumed, rather like the Ithillid gained the mental knowledge of the brains they devoured. What's more, they had a means of moving to other planets without misery portals... he tried to determined what the Vok knew of whatever the meeting was about, but those more specific memories would take a little more time to study.
Producing a vial from it's clothes, the Ithillid spewed a silvery blue substance from it's mouth, handing the swirling magical liquid to one of it's associates. "Here, take this to the Scribes," he urged. "It's a copy of all the information I got from this Vok... a truly fascinating creature I must say. We haven't come accross anything like it before. I now possess the knowledge to operate this creatures ship, and the location of it's planet... it should be no difficult feat to get to this meeting without it's aid."
The Mouth
The World Eater Sovereign didn't even think about the answer. Wherever this thing came from, there would be ample food for it's kin.
"Very well," it replied. "But I ask that instead of taking your odd craft, we follow yours in our own... I don't want to leave my kin."
1PP - Nourish Trade (Ithillid/Vok) - The Ithillid's meal of the Vok establishes trade between the Ithillid and Vok of a sort ((Toph, what techs do the Vok actually know?))
[4.7, 0/1, 1/2]
Finally after many years Eshcal was content with the actions of Shuras and the nascent Genasi nations, his son was ready to return among his chosen brothers. Evshan willed himself back to the dominion, watching their thriving civilization, however he was capable of sensing growing tensions among the Aszhari, most of them still had their ancestor predatorial nature, but as hunting was no longer needed to survive, the natural aggressivity of the race found no satisfaction. Without Evshan involvment, he tought, the dominion risked dissolution due to the internal pressure, with the Aszhari overolrds turning against each other.
In secret Evshan begun to watch the Dominion from the shadows, as he always did, attempting to find a solution, a war might have being an efficient way to channel the bloodlust of his people, they already controlled most of the isles whose climate was suited to their life and he did not want to turn their attention against his sister Aszhari protegees. The other worlds that he visited was so full of life, powerful empires and worthy enemies, if only he could find a way to grant his people access to these realms, with the Djinns it was easy, but being elemental spirits crossing the void was not harmful to them, but the Aszhari was, at least partially, made of flesh and could not easily abandon the Isles.
At first he begun introducing gladiatorial games, many Aszhari was willing to fight in massive arenas built and tended by the Masaren, where many environment could be simulated. Many among the dragonborn soldiers, created as an army for the dominion but never really used in battle, fought there, against each other or faced by powerful beasts captured in the Isles. The Aszhari packmasters and overlords used these simulated battles to test their strategies and with a growing frequency to prove their own fighting skills agains each other.
Quite soon staged fights proved to be insufficient for the dominion Aszhari, so Evshan decided to work on another aspect of their mind, most of them found pleasure, refreshment and relaxation while absorbing the power coming from the storms, lightnings nourished them as they did with the aszhari bestial ancestors, most of the temple cities was built in places where storms was frequent and shaped so that the energy could be channelled directly into the Aszhari. Evshan refined this practice, using metal extracted from deep Masaren and occasionally dragonborn worked mines, to direct and concentrate the power, he even designed primitive devices that could create static electricity (not unlike real workd Baghdad batteries). While this artificial source of lightnings provided temporary pleasure and allowed the Aszhari to recharge their internal power source more easily these "fake lightnings" lacked the touch of Eshcal and so did not really provide the powerful sensation of real storms.
Such a technology however proved quite useful in allowing the Dominion to design new weaponry, expecially metal rods shaped to allow an Aszhari wielder to better channel his own inner supply of electrical energy, or enchanted lances for prized dragonborn warriors, expecially those who can channel or breath electricity, the practice of electroplating was also introduced allowing the creation of extremely fine jewels.
IoW, Titans, Aszhari Tribes
"I thank you for your generous gift, my friend, you shall always welcome in the lands of my family, I wish you good luck for your treck to the dominion"
IoW, Titans, Aszhari Dominion Borders
The Titans traversed the clanslands without any harm, Nas Azhen suggesions allowed them to avoid the most aggressive tribes or packs of larger beasts, like the titan sized behmoths or the few savage Eshcal Beasts.
Unlike the clansland hunting grounds the Dominion borders was well guarded, dotted by small fortress for the dragonborn guards and patrolled by the youngest hunters in the retinue of borderland overlords. These patrols, flying high on the back of their Eshcal Beasts mount noticed the titans a few day before they stepped into the actual territory of the Dominion.
The local overlord (the title is not diversified by gender), a powerful azhari lady named Sarìa Ulf Aszhad (Aszhari gain new names by moving up in the social ladder and overlords have three names), ordered the couple to escort the visitors to her hall of power in the temple city of Naszhien, meanwhile she called for her advisor, Evshan who was hiding in the Aszhari courts using false identities.
Following their lady commands the two hunters approached the titans envoy at the borders of the dominion... The two Aszhari was dwarfed by their mounts, massive black scaled winged reptilians with two pairs of bat like wings and an evil fanged grin on their serpentine faces.
"Welcome stranger" shouted one of the hunters "You are currently transpassing in the domain of Lady Sarìa Ulf Aszhad, blessed Overlord of Naszhien, daughter of Eshcal first Daughter, my lady desires to know your names and the reason of your coming, before we can escort you, should you decide to come, to see her in person..."
Death Dragons and Vok
"Destroying that insulting thing was a good step in gaining at least a bit of our respect, creature. I have decided that we might listen to your proposition, however I'll not come in person, as my respect does not yet mean my trust, I'll send you a spirit, among the many that I have called to me during my life, to act as my eyes and ears into your realm..." replied the Death Dragon.
4/7 +2 +1/2 (Shape, Nourish)
2 PP Guide (1 from Evshan), the Dominion learn "Ligthningcrafting" (Fantasy tech)
~Vok, Raktem,Kahnda~
The Vok'Dar burst forth from their dark planet, sending envoys to two planets they had visited before. Soon, identical black beings stood before representatives from the Foulspawn and Morisnfra peoples. It appeared to be mostly troll in make, although with distictive features usually seen on various Foulspawn.
"Greetings." A voice croaked out from the dark head. "From the powerful Vok I now come, whose armies have no fear of anyone. You would be quite wise to now hear my call, for those who refuse to will surely fall."
The troll representative felt a strange tingling sensation as Ymalos spoke through him to the Vok'Dar. "I hear your call, stranger. I shall go with you." Then the troll god spoke directly to his mind, saying "I name you Prayog, messenger of Ymalos. Go with these Vok and see what they have to say."
3 PP create exarch: Prayog, Messenger of Ymalos. Provides guide PP.
5/8, 1/1 Fountain of Life PP
Eventually, the great beast began to shake with somber laughter.
"Yes. Yes, I suppose a me is a 'they' who is not a 'they."
The giant bent down to get a closer look at the Manyu.
"But why are you a they? I see only one of you. And one is a me, not a they."
"We... don't, really. It has never been the same since the Tides of Death, when Bel the Destroyer brought ruin to our world, slew our god, poisoned our waters, and left us for dead."
"May I ask where you six come from then? And how? I don't recall seeing your kind before."
Motes of light swirled around the strange sea, eventually coalescing with one another to form new life. Whales, fish, aquatic dragons.. all numbers of strange beasts appeared one after another, and the Sea began to expand. Not through the void, though, but through the planar fabric it teetered upon. On Lor'quhan, near the leviathan's homes, a massive and eternal waterfall appeared out of the sky and fell heavily upon the land, flooding much of the forest-choked land. In The Mouth, spouts of water appeared in similar fashion, sending water rushing everywhere.
Verda
Araiyo sat listfully not far from The Grotto. Life was becoming dull here.. the people of Verda grew and prospered, yet she didn't feel excited. Ankirega and Brinn were both gone, had been gone for a long time, while she waited for nothing. Sighing, she stared up at the stars, wondering.
2 PP: Spawn Moderate Beast: Aquatic Dragons
1 PP: Nourish Empty Sea: Various aquatic life appears within it.
2 PP: Mold Land (Moderate): The Eternal Falls appear in Lor'quhan's sky, rushing endlessly to the ground.
1 PP: Nourish Land: Water covers The Mouth, rushing in from nowhere.
1 PP: Nourish Land (Araiyo): Verda enjoys a peaceful time of growth.
PP Remaining: 2/7 + 1/2
Lor'quhan
The blattaria had seemed totally unmoved by the panick of the stack, but when they claimed it wasn't a tree, the creature huffed insulted.
"Of course I'm a tree! What else would I be?" the blattaria asked. "Look, I'm photosynthesising as we speak! And check out these fronds," it went on, waving it's arms like branches in the wind. "Seeeee? Seeeeeeeee? I'm a treeeeee! As for theeee, you'd beeeee to theeeee West of the Junk Falls," it replied, as though that explained everything.
The Mouth
"I see," the World Eater Soveriegn replied thoughtfully. "Very well, I and one other will accompany. Allow me to just.. make sure this one is up for the task."
Walking deeper into the throat of the ship, the Sovereign eventually arrived at the place they kept the spores before they released them onto a hapless world. Grabbing out a likely looking on, the World Eater Sovereign coaxed it into an ordinary World Eater, before dumping it's body into a bio-vat to dissolve. The creature screamed horribly as it's molecules were torn apart to provide fuel for the new creation. Deciding one wouldn't be enough, the Sovereign repeated the process with another World Eater, before looking into the vat thoughtfully.
Holding it's arms over the vat, the World Eater Sovereign intoned a sinister sounding spell. The liquid from the vat frothed and churned, turning and turning until... a massive beast popped it's head out. Around 1.5 times the size of a normal World Eater, the Sovereign had apparently decided that if it didn't know where it was going, it would prepare for everything. The thing had wings for flying, claws for burrowing, chainsaw like arms for rending, a mouth that could cut air with it's teeth, and what looked like a small organ designed to spit pools worth of caustic acide at the enemy. He also made a subtle addition... a small organ that secreted a scent only the World Eaters could smell that could last for millenia. They would get to that world, one way or another... all they had to do was follow their noses.
"Alright, I'm ready," the Sovereign told the Vok'dra finally. "Show me this world of yours."
Vok
"I doubt I need much introduction," Twist decided to start. "We're the mold that grows on the trees to rot them and cause them to collapse onto the ground. We're the toxic plants that kills that which consumes it. We're the instinct in the best that causes it to kill for fun. We're the flip side to the primal spirits... the blighted spirits."
"That seems an ample description yes," Stagnate replied. Twist could only bring one partner... and he decided to go with the one that was most likely to look into the subtleys of the meeting, and least likely to make everything blow up in their face.
"I feel no need to introduce ourselves to xenos," the Ithillid represenative vomited with it's tentacled mouth. "Any more than I would tell cattle my name."
~All those coming to the meeting (save the Mouth)~
As each ship, both Vok'Dar piloted and comandeered, traveled, soon the delegates to the meeting began to notice how very black it was outside. Vok lay beyond the reach of the Orbs of Flame, beyond the reach of the stars, in the bleak blackness nearly beyond time itself. Above them, the anchient form of the Shepherd swam a lazy circle around the visiting ships, using its flukes and mighty tail to push the Void Amoebas away from the dark planet. Soon, each ship landed in the black city of the Vok'Dar, and the delegates emerged and walked on raised platforms above the roiling masses of the dumb Vokdara to a large spire, where a meeting space had been hollowed out. If fewer Vok'Dar returned (or none, in the case of the Illithid envoy) than expected, the delegates saw no signs of anger or even concern on the Vok'Dar who greeted them.
The delegates sat in silence for a long while until a Vok'Dar, in its natural semi-humanoid form and wearing a large silver-lined cloak that dazzled the eye, ascended to a podium and spoke.
"Greetings, mighty delagates from afar. While others come, could you share who you are? My name is Webweaver, I am Vok'Dar."
Vok
"I am Prayog, the messenger of the great god Ymalos himself."
The spirit envoy sent by the death dragon stood up, a couple twin girls of some unknown race. They spoke in an aerie chorus.
"We have being sent to deal with the Vok by the masters of Death, we are here to listen to your offer..."
IoW, Titans
"I have not seen anyone of your kind, nor I have ever heard about the coming of such a being in our land, however If such a thing happened my lady will know that for sure... follow us, she is already waiting..."
IoW, Lizard people
Under the watchful eyes of Sarris the scaled people begun to prosper, even if the various tribes was composed of different species soon they discovered the benefit of cohoperation, the larger lizard men acted as hunter and guardians, the koblod became crafters, while the troglodytes acted as explorers of the depts and skilled workers. In order to protect themselves against the predation of the terrifying beasts that lived on the Isles they begun to form larger communties and finally an alliance of tribes emerged as the ruling power of the scaled people. Sarriss secretly manipulated them to migrate into the land of the Aszhari Tribes, the scaled people begun to worship the aszhari packs that protected their lands as god like beings, offering them sacrifice and loyality but counting on their protection from the strongest beasts among the Isles.
Sarriss also shaped a flying breed of lizard people, calling them Pterran these beings was weaker than the other scaled ones, as their bones was desiged to allow the air to sustain them, their wings was not strong enough to carry them in long flight, unlike the aszhari blessed ones, but allowed them to glide with ease.
1/7 +0 +0/2
1 PP Nourish, the lizard men form the Scaled Federation, an alliance of tribes and clans, with many other scaled people.
1 PP Nourish, the kobolds join the Scaled federation
1 PP Nourish, troglodytes join the Scaled federation
2 PP Shape (1 from Sarriss), Pterran (flying lizarmen, the original concept is from the Dark Sun world)
2 PP guide the kobolds (and so the federation) learn woodworking.
1 PP Nourish, the Aszhari clans and the Scaled federation form a "trade agreements" the "gods" protects the scaled ones in their territories while they offered sacrifices in their name and support while in time of needs.
Lor'quhan
"Thisssss isssss getting ridiculousssss!" the yuan-ti anathema declared, shattering the table it stood at with it's snake hands in a rage. "We are losssssing citiesssss under thisssss unnatural growth! Our people are too ssssscared to forage for the poisssssonsssss and herbssss that make our cssssssivilization grow and prosssssper! What are we doing about thissssss?!"
"Um," the yuan-ti servant began nervously. "We are cutting down the treessss assss quickly assss we can, but... they grow fasssster than we can chop them down. And there isssss now water added to the issssssue that-"
"Sssssilence!" the anathema interrupted, constricting the hapless yuan-ti in an arm full of serpents. "I sssssay we need a new sssssolution, and by the grace of Yuan, you sssssshall bring it to me! Now GO!"
With that, the anathema tossed the yuan-ti out the door, slamming it behind them.
Picking themselves up and brushing themselves down, the yuan-ti grimaced. He wished his 'lord' was less careful about what he ate.. he wanted that crown, and certainly didn't want to have to grovel down before it anymore. But without the poisons that made their world go around, there was little hope to ever claim his rightful place as an anathema... they needed a way to stop this cursed growth!
Wait... growth. Wasn't there reports of some kind of spirit that did the exact opposite not so long ago? If he could... maybe their civilization wasn't as doomed as it seemed.
***
"Boomo, mind running that by me again, boomo?" Toadstool asked, trying to wrap his mind around it.
"It isn't that simple you idiot!" Cinder shot back. "This fine despoiler of nature wants out help with a little issue... and I think we should help them."
"You would," Bloodfrenzy replied with a snarl. "You want these yuan-ti to cause as much damage as possible. Isn't there toxic swamps enough?"
"Perhaps I do," Cinder replied. 'But do you consider this to be TRUE blight? To cause twisted forest to grow on barren ground? To tear well built and nature-less cities apart with growth? That seems far more primal than blight, brother."
"Boomo, and we don't need to do much boomo," Toadstool chipped in. "All the snakey wants of us-"
"Yuan-ti," the 'snakey' chipped in.
"Right, yuan-ti boomo. All the yuan-ti wants is us to lend them some power to blight the growth into nothingness boomo."
"I really wish Twist was here to make this decision instead of gallivanting around the stars," Bloodfrenzy growled.
"We know his answer though don't we?" Cinder asked. "Twist always was willing to help out our neighbors for little reason at all, let alone doing so and spreading blight in the process."
"Boomo, he is a softy," Toadstool agreed.
"Fine," Bloodfrenzy growled, turning to the yuan-ti. "We shall allow you to channel our power... and to stop this growth."
"Thank you, spirit," the yuan-ti bowed in thanks, before retreating.
***
With the power of the blighted spirits in their hands, and knowledge of rituals past on by dreams of those who soon disappeared mysteriously (ie those infected by Ithillids), the yuan-ti performed a great ritual that calmed their jungles and swamps. The trees stopped growing so quickly and unnaturally, allowing them to once again forage for herbs in peace. The swamps no longer overflowed, the water instead restricting itself to stagnation beyond their lands. All in all, things returned to how the snakemen had come to like it.. though many of their cities remained dead and choke in jungle or drowned in swamp, ruins that would become in the future infested with monsters, bandits, or worse.
2PP - Teach Populace (Blighted Classes) - The yuan-ti learn the Blighted classes. These are just the primal classes, but they draw their power from Blighted Spirits instead of Primal Spirits. Might draw up some alternate class features for them or something, but at the moment they only have different names... Druid = Blighter, Barbarian = Berserker, Shaman = Witchdoctor, and Warden = Abomination.
0PP - Teach Populace via trade (Rituals) - The yuan-ti learn Rituals through their 'trade' with the Ithillid.
1PP - Denourish land - The unnatural growth of the jungles and swamps cease, at least short of the yuan-ti lands.
[3/7, 0/1, 1/2]
1.3 PP/week.
Dvrgr (35.6), Brinn (28.3), Eshcal (21.1), Lohak (15.5), The Silent One (4.9)
1.15 PP/week
Ymalos (27), The Harbringer (25.4), Shry (7.7), Sku'Byss (2.6)
1 PP/week
Cru (57.3), Durenghast (47)
With Lohak seemingly lost, Grawlf floated through the void, cursing himself that he had not been able to know what was going to happen to Yrie, Lohak, the rise and inanity of the Emoticons, all the events that had subsumed and subdued the gods of the universe.
A memory floated to the top of his conciousness, one of the first conversations he had had with his mother, Para, when the universe had just barely begun to form and Grawlf had barely figured out how to create.
"How can I know what is to come?" He had asked back then. And it had been Panna who had answered in a riddle, a riddle which the eye had, in his younger state, falsely assumed to be full of wisdom. And it had provided him with some comfort at the time as he had forgotten his desire to know the future as well as the present and the past.
No. Not forgotten. Purposefully ignored. Grawlf suddenly remembered the compartmentalizing of his mind and the idea of 'duty' firmly taking hold, pushing what he thought he should not do from his mind. Now, he opened the door once more, letting the need to KNOW wash over him.
And the first thought that he had was that if he was going to suceed in this, he was going to have to become the master of the very thing his mother had been master of: Time.
Grawlf rushed to the Eternal Clock and watched it in its progression, watching as the fabric of the universe flowed in, was imbued with time, and flowed out. Eventually, the god reached out and touched some of the gears, feeling and examining them and discovering their function. Several months later, he emerged, knowing what to do next.
He traveled to Verda, and, settling to the earth near the Grotto, began to pluck at the fabric of reality with some of his arms, pulling out strands of precious time and, under his intense gaze, reversing it. He then pulled at the threads, pulling out the future, still inacessible to his eyes, but to the eyes of his creation... hopefully not so.
He gestured with an arm and the Codex of Intelligent Thought appeared before him. Flipping open to one of the first pages, one that had been heavily used, he quickly fashioned a humanoid figure from some dirt before him, making it tall and lithe. Finally, with delicate precision, the god threaded the thread of time through his creation, fixing it in place before allowing the thread to blend back into the background.
Spinning his arms around him, Grawlf turned his attention back to his creation, the Deva, only to see a very odd thing occuring. Where the thread of time had entered the being, the Deva had begun pulsing, a throbbing that soon spread to the entire nacent being. It grew greater and greater until with a resounding BANG and a brilliant flash of light that momentarially blinded Grawlf, it ended.
Opening his eye, Grawlf was surprised to see not one, but a multitude of beings staring back at him.
"What is to happen next year?" He asked the nearest one. It turned and replied
"I am not sure. I last lived fifty years from now."
Grawlf had not considered this, that his future-sight might be limited by the life-span of the being it was tied to.
"Has anyone seen what happens in the next few years?" He asked the crowd.
"I have. And you must beware. The black ships are coming and the body-stealers are within."
Grawlf nodded. This was certainly something. Perhaps his tool did have merit.
"No! They are red. Blood Red. But the Alliance of Identity prevented them from landing" another Deva said.
"Alliance of Identity? You mean the Coalition of Self-Image." came a third voice.
More and more voices came, each slightly correcting or contradicting the one before it, and soon Grawlf realized that Panna had shown some wisdom. The future could not be known for certain, and each of these Devas came from a unique timeline.
Grawlf watched as the argument raged on, and noticed several Devas in the back slip off, some in the direction of the great Grove, others in the direction of the Orcs.
~Vok~
The Speaker nodded to each delegate as it introduced itself in turn. When they were done, it glanced towards the door as if waiting for one more, shook its head, and began to speak.
"Thank you all for your kind acquiescence, The Vok'Dar do now welcome your presence."
The Webweaver opened its mouth to continue, frowned, and with obvious concentration, began speaking again.
"I wish to make myself... clear. As to why I have invited your presence here. I feel that we all share some desires in common. Namely... The desire to see our influence... spread."
The webweaver looks visibly pained at not speaking in rhyme, but continues.
"Spirits Tainted but yet strong, are you not jealous of the power and dominance of your kin? Mind-sucker, you who share so much in common with my own race, do you not wish more cattle? Messenger-of the Slaughterer, does your master not wish to further his power and further his calling? Do not his trolls thirst for the chance to prove their mettle? Faded-spirits of the world of the dead, do you not wish to add to the number of souls in your care? Seprately we are doomed to be second-rate threats to the worlds of light, but together, we will make our voices heard."
"If this would be acceptable, as the beginnings of this alliance, we would be willing to share with you the secrets of travel between the stars in ships such as the ones that brought you here."
~Lor'Quhan~
I KNEW IT WAS A TREE!!!!!!! Three shouted, causing the mouth of the Manyu to emit a short squack.
Its still not a tree. Its just crazy. Four muttered.
Actually, I think you were right about the one back there... Six said.
Oh, NOW you agree with me.
"Junk Falls. Thank you." The Manyu managed, scooting around the 'treetaria' in the search of a potentially sane member of the race... if there was one to be found.
~The Ocean~
"We come from a far away planet due to magical forces, only arriving a short time ago. I take it from your words that you have been here for a long, long time?"
~Elsewhere in the swamps~
A small village had begun to form as the Taskati decided that it was time to settle. They named their village Id.
~Isles of Wonder~
"Lead on." Karhedron said to their escort, pushing himself to his feet and preparing to move out to meet this "lady"
1 PP + 1 PP (Codex): Shape Populace (Heroic): Devas appear on Verda.
3 PP: Claim Domain(Greater): Time
1 PP: Mold Land: The Foundries of Vok.
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Taskati found the city of Id.
3/9 PP + 1/2 PP.
Vok
Twist growled deeply. "Jealous or not, I don't like the way you're trying to play to our weaknesses," the blighted spirit replied. "I'm not sure what exactly it is you can offer to us... your world is already so empty of life blighting any of it would be a waste of time. And we already have the means to travel through the stars, even if it's a slow way to... we don't need air, or are bound to gravity like the mortal races."
The Ithillids tentacles twitched thoughtfully. It was true that their races had a fair bit in common... even though they already knew how to construct ships from the knowledge the mind flayer had extracted from the messenger, an alliance would make sense. The Vok needed only the body, and the Ithillid usually just threw that away once they were done... and if these Vok were far reaching enough to reach all of these races (he'd have to ask where they came from, the Ithillid needed to suck the brains of these xenos scum), the knowledge and brains they might lead them to...
"You have peaked our interest, xenos of Vok," the Ithillid vomited out.
Lor'quhan
It... was no easy task. As they passed through the blattaria, it was clear to see that though they were many different levels of it, they were all mad in one way or another... one ran around on all fours barking. Another constantly complained that it was 'rolling too low on it's skill checks' and should 'get another dice because this one was rigged'. Yet another was in the fetal position rocking back and forth, muttering something about 'the candy is gone, the candy is gone, the wonderful candy world is gone'.
Eventually though, they found a blattaria that seemed relatively sane. He simply rummaged through the rubbish peacefully, humming as he worked, a worn looking bow strung over his shoulder. Nearby, Reginald sat and watched, content to sit there in all his rocky glory and let his friend do all the work.
Khandra
Goblin society continued to grow and thrive. With the blessing of Dharrox, iron began to appear in the mountains, tinting them red with the massive amount of metal within. The goblins (or more accurately their bugbear servants) dug in eagerly, forging the metal to make tools for building cities, and tools to mine even deeper into the rock mountains.
One would think the bugbears would be stupid, or animalistic from their origins. But really, they were rather intelligent... wise, perhaps would be a better word. Perhaps that was why they enjoyed working so much, as they could easily ponder the workings of life and the ways of Dharrox while letting their bodies go on auto-pilot. Eventually, the bugbears came to a startling conclusion... the elegance that Dharrox praised as being so high was not about clothes, or not working. It was a state of mind. An elegance of spirit, and a refusal to let the 'silks of the soul' be dirtied.
When a bugbear coalition presented the proposal for a formal church of Dharrox to their goblin lords, they were hesitant, but what harm could it do? Though the goblins themselves preferred to avoid such affairs, soon every camp and town the bugbears lived in had some kind of small church in it, where bugbears went to hear sermons, and think of the ways of Dharrox. Of course bugbears also acted as the priests of these places, and in blessing of their new way Dharrox blessed these priests with the ability to channel his divine power.
In truth, he didn't care what they did, but if they were content to ponder and pray it was less likely they'd try and topple the goblins. Which would burst like an overripe fruit if they did. As much fun as it would be seeing those arrogant green midgits get their just deserts, he needed goblinoid society in tact.
[sblock = PP Expenditure]
1PP - Nourish land - The mountains of Khandra where the goblins live grow rich in iron
2PP - Teach Populace (Goblinoid Empire, Divine Classes) - The goblinoid empire learns divine classes, composed almost entirely of bugbears.
[4/7, 2/2, 2/2]
[/sblock]
Can we leave... like... now? I'm worried that this one will start pretending to be a tree or something. Four said quietly, trying to make sure that Three did not hear him. No use.
Tree? Where? I hate trees! Trees are bad! BAD!
You had to say the word, didn't you? You couldn't have used a synnonym or just said 'one of those things.' Curse you and your mind, Four. No tact at all. One muttered grumpily.
Hey, be nice, Grumpy-face.
Shut up. And my name will not ever be 'Grumpy-Face,' so get that straight.
Dears, dears. Lets stop fighting. We're not getting anywhere with fighting. Five chimed in.
Speak for yourselves. I'm moving us along just fine. Six said smugly, carefully sidestepping a young Blattaria who was doing his best 'turtle that can't get up' impression.
Eventually, Stackeyville reached the "sane" Blattaria.
So... why did we become our race's diplomats? One drawled.
Shush. Now go introduce ourselves.
"Hello, we ourselves are Manyu." Stackeyville! Shut up, Two. We're not Stackeyville. "Do you have a name?"
~Vok~
The webweaver smiled a horrid smile at the Morinsfra and Illithid delegates.
"Excellent." It whispered through pointed teeth.
Immediately, several Vok rushed forward and began explaining the mechanics of Void Engines to the two delegates, although they were slightly surprised to discover that the mindflayers already knew all there was to know about the engine's construction.
The back doors opened once more as the final delegation of World Eaters came through the door. Several lesser Vok quailed away at the sight of the scourge, but an equal number eyed both them and their Eater-form Vok escorts with unmistakable hunger. It was highly likely that one or more, perhaps all... of the Eater-Vok would be killed and eaten tonight, spreading the powers of the World Eaters into the rest of the population.
"Ah..." Webweaver breathed a sound of appreciation at this, its greatest catch so far.
"The scourge in darkness, the horrid Eaters. We have great need of your unique features."
1 PP: Guide Populace (Morinsfra): Morisnfra now can use and construct void engines (fantasy tech sharing)
4.6/9 + 1/2
~Vok~
The back doors opened once more as the final delegation of World Eaters came through the door. Several lesser Vok quailed away at the sight of the scourge, but an equal number eyed both them and their Eater-form Vok escorts with unmistakable hunger. It was highly likely that one or more, perhaps all... of the Eater-Vok would be killed and eaten tonight, spreading the powers of the World Eaters into the rest of the population.
"Ah..." Webweaver breathed a sound of appreciation at this, its greatest catch so far.
"The scourge in darkness, the horrid Eaters. We have great need of your unique features."
Prayog looked up as the world eaters came in. "You!" He gasped "slayers of my people!" Shouted the messenger "I shall not work with them, EVER!" Prayog felt divine energy surge to the tip of his right claw, forming itself into a spear which he hurled directly at the delagates. It struck home, impaling all of the world eaters through the head. Prayog stood still for a minute, shocked at the power the he now possessed, then crumpled to the ground, red energy crackling all over his body.
+3 PP (new days)
1 PP de-nourish: The world eaters.
7/8, 1/1 Foutain of life PP, 1/1 Prayog PP
Vok
((Um, that was odd, but it's physically impossible to impale both of the world eaters in one shot, if only because of the massive height disreprency... also, very mature))
The massive World Eater behind the Sovereign collapsed as it's head was blown up, collapsing to the ground. The impact it made doing so actually made the ground shake, thought the Sovereign appeared unmoved as the creature that had attacked eliminated his minion. The reason soon became apparent... a new head quickly emerged from the destroyed cavity, and the huge beast struggled back to it's feet.
"Do I know you?" the World Eater asked, resisting the impulse to smack it's lips at the sight of so many delicate morsels... it was the hunger of the whole, not the one that was important.
Lor'quhan
The blattaria looked up at the new comers, ceasing it's humming but giving a friendly wave. More visitors! He'd been afraid he wouldn't have any more once those armored fellows left.
"Well hi y'all," the blattaria greeted them. "My name is Vagrant, least that's what people call me. And this 'ere is Reginald," he added, gesturing in the direction of the rock. The rock attempted to wave, but had no arms, so settled on looking stoically. "Sorry if any of the others in these here parts gave you trouble," he apologized, before leaning in close and whispering "they're little... crazy. Isn't that right Reginald?" he asked louder so the rock could hear. After a few moments of silence, he added "Reginald says yes."
1PP - Nourish World Eaters
[4/7, 2/2, 2/2]
The Vok'Dar looked on impassively as the fight broke out. This sort of thing happened all the time in their society.
~Lor'quhan~
He's talking to a rock.
I know he's talking to a rock. But at least its just ONE rock.
Or is it?
"Hello, Vagrant... Reginald. Tell us, what is this place?"
~Verda~
In general, the people of the Grotto eyed the new beings with some level of confusion and another level of pity as they stared into their haunted eyes. To know the future was one thing, to be certain that your future is the right one, and have no one else believe you, not even others of your own race, was something else entirely. In general, the Devas tried their best to integrate themselves into the society, but often found themselves drawn towards one another instead, the only ones who really understood their situation.
Grawlf had continued to watch them from above, hidden and invisible. Every once in a while he would probe one of their minds for information about the future, but each time it was infuriatingly different!
And then something horrible happened.
Of all of the Devas, one was in the unique situation of having last been born only a few weeks after her new 'birth'. As the weeks went by from the creation of the race, the gap narrowed. Now, in her future life, there had been a great building project that had been shut down due to a storm that had shaken the trees of the Grotto. One day, a great storm, the same one from her future life, swept over the Grotto, but, unlike in her future life, in this life, a brave soul rallied the builders to continue working, and they were able to protect the house from damage, finishing it a few short days later. The moment the last nail was driven into the doorframe and the house declared finished, the Deva was hit by an overwhelming headache, forcing her to sit down on the ground and rock back and forth in response to the pain. As she rocked, the pain spread, first down her neck, then gripping her heart like a vice and squeezing it until she thought it would break. The pressure built along her arms and legs and it itched, so she began to scratch, harder and harder and harder until she broke the skin and was alarmed to see a tuft of orangish fur pop out from under the torn layer. Her mouth and face burned as she felt it shifting and changing. As she stared at her hands, her vision momentarially blurred, then returned better than ever before, which was no comfort as she saw her hands physically turning 180 degrees so that the palms now faced outwards instead of inwards. With a sickening ripping sound, her skin burst apart, revealing the fur that now covered most of her body. Those around her stared in horror at the new being, who snarled at them and raced away into the darkness.
One by one, more devas began transforming, and eventually it was realized that it occured when a significant contradiction existed between this timeline and the one they had come from. Immediately, the Devas set out for the lands of their next birth, and began proclaiming and cajoling and wheeling and dealing in order to make sure that their future became true, for otherwise, they would become Rakasha.
One thing was consistent among all of their stories, an invariant truth of the near future. Ships full of bad things were coming, and they were coming soon. To any and all who would listen, the Devas told of the ships and the doom that was coming.
((Okay, time to get some 'good' races interacting. Who is still out there? Hunter?))
PP:
3 PP: Shape Populace (Moderate): (Rakasha): The Rakasha are Devas who have seen their future turn into an assured false path in the multiverse. If there is a way back to becoming a Deva... it is unclear.
1 PP: Guide Populace (Devas): Devas spread to the corners of the universe
1.9/9 PP, 1/2 PP
Vok,
The twin children listened carefully to the Vok and waited for all the others to reply... Then together they spoke...
"Our masters are intrigued by your proposition, as only the souls matter for us, as they understand that by killing and devouring your kind is just doing good to the unfortunate mortals that lives an existance of pain and loneliness, bringing them all to the bliss of the afterlife and then to the final rest that is denied even to the gods..."
The couple of ghosts then sent visions to the mind of the beings present at the meeting, brief glimpses of the afterlife, all of them could see an indealized version of their future existance in death, a quick burst of immense pleasure... The vision was only there for a split the second, tempting those who sensed it with the bliss that lies beyond...
IoW, Dominion
The Aszhari has always lived for millennia, accumulating experiences and learning from the previous generations all they needed the history of the past and the discoveries of their elders, keeping the memory of their race up with oral traditions for ages, it worked at first but as their story grew and the complexity of their lives increased they soon found out that large throves of knowledge was lost due to the inability to transfer all of them between generations. After a while they decided to "set in the stone" what they learned, finding some substance that might exist longer than an aszhari to carry the notions and memories of the past. So they begun carving symbols to represent tought and words, Evshan, interested by such kild of actions, soon helped his kind in turning an extremely complex language based on thousand of different symbols into an alphabet based one, he even used it to transcribe the history of the Aszhari birth on the room of the Oshan Gaar temple. Soon most of the temple cities begun hosting halls of stone designed only to store knowledge, becoming throves of ancient and modern lore...
IoW, Titans
The hunters escorted the titans to the city of Nashzien, the town built on a natural plateau, was a jungle of stone towers, columns and canals, massive gardens of lush vegetation and ancient threes, many as tall as the towers, intersected with the the stone structure, the religious symbols, the massive metal spikes used to channel the lightnings from the sky above, many kept crackling with the stored energy, the wind howled among the roads and the columns, as the city itself was designed to channel the currents to grant the Aszhari a better feeling of being in the open, the lesser breeds of scaled people that inhabtited the city navigated it trough smaller tunnels and corridors carved in the walls and column, safe from the lightnings and wind. Most of the buildings, while massive for an Azhari, was still too small for a titan to fit, and the streets to thin to be navigated without damaging the buildings, however a few single large roads that led to the Temple of Eshcal was large enough even for such a mighty being.
The temple itself, was a small mountain of stone with massive columnades that allows the wind to freely flow trough the building. The structure was designed to grant the feeling of not being inside to those who lived there, while at the same time celebrating Eshcal with a grandiouse monument. Among its highest spires dwelled flocks of Eshcal's Beasts, that danced between the lightnings artificially channeled by the Aszhari architects...
The Titans leader was allowed to enter the structure, its roof was tall enough even for a being so high... the hunters escorted him on the back of their dragon like mounts. The room, filled with statues of Aszhari and icons of Eshcal, was illuminated by a dance of lightnings in the ceiling, occasionally these burst of electricity deviated from their course to burst on one of the Aszhari, but most of them focused on a figure that was waiting for them on the back of the room.
Overlord Sarìa Ulf Aszhad, waited there, dressed in silken clothes, wearing many metallic finely carved jwels.
Behind her another robed aszhari stood in the shadows, at her side a court of aszhari and Masaren was waiting, all watching the titans with a mix of awe and curiosity.
"I wellcome you here traveller of the worlds, I'm Sarìa Ulf Aszhad, stewart of this domain in the name of Eshcal, I know that you seek something in this land and I wonder if I might help you somehow..."
Shuras
The Djinn empire kept prospering, served by many genasi, they built beautiful and aethereal homes for them to inhabit and enjoy an existance of luxury, many, however, crived for the desire of visiting their families that was stranded in the elemental Chaos, others wanted to witness again the power of that place.
After a few years their wizards begun to work on a way to allow a faster travel to their realm of origin and even bring with them the genasi, as they was partially made of mortal flesh and was unable to navigate the void. Their research produced a few ships that could traverse the elemental chaos unharmed, these vessels, powered by several elemental forces, could protect its crew from the ravaging effects of the plane and even allowed to cross into and from reality to the Chaos.
Eager to share this discovery with their allies the Djinn sent a few of their kind to train the craftsmen of the Genasi nation, unable to naturally wield as much power as the Djinn of Shuras the Genasi required much more time and an harder training to build such arcane wonders, however after a while even them nanaged to create the first Chaos Vessel.
Using it the Genasi decided to explore the realm where their father resided, seeking Eschal and at the same time fullfilling their drive to experience and explore that they shared with him. To ease their explorations they built a fortress in the chaos, where to restock and enjoy the company of their friends and families while sitting in that realm, slowly the outpost grew, becoming one of the largest Stormsoul Genasi city, thriving with life...
Kandras, Zang
After centuries of study and experimentation the Zang learned how to channel the essence of their plane core, using it to lift themselves from the surface of their planet and colonize the world above, settling at first in the lower part of a few isles, living with the Kandras dragons that they once spawned by mistake during their first attempt to learn about those who lives in the sky.
4/7 +0/2, +0/2
2 PP Guide (1 from Evshan), the Aszhari Dominion learn reading and writing.
2 PP Guide, Shuras learn how to forge Chaos Vessels (F)
1 PP Guide, The Djinn train stormsoul Genasi in the art of building Chaos Vessels
1 PP Nourish, the genasi nation create the outpost of Dolfir in the elemental Chaos
1 PP Nourish (from the Hart of Kandras), the Zang begun to colonize the lower regions of the IoW.
Vok
The World Eaters did indeed stay dead... though they seemed oddly dispassionate as they were torn to bloody pieces. Their deaths didn't matter, it was the hunger of the whole that was of concern. Any single World Eater or Sovereign was but a mere cell of the Great Hunger. And the smell of the deceased World Eater would still mark this world for consumption alive or dead.
Ithillids had a great deal of mental control. They HAD to, since they gained the memories of all they ate. However, classifying this as mere will was rather like classifying a fish as just having a lot of lung capacity... it actually had a whole new mechanic to do what it did. An ithillid could thrust memories aside, bring them up, bring them up and detach the part of their brain that provided emotion, remove the visuals of the photographically memorized scene and simply listen to the sounds of it, pause live memory, and generally other things that would make an editor jealous.
So when the visions of the afterlife assaulted the Ithillid delegates, they could easily simply look at the images and suppress any yearning they felt, attempting to dissect the meaning of this afterlife, how it would affect them, and what the other delegates reasons for bringing the visions up could be.
"Interesting," the Ithillid vomited aloud. "And you say this is the place souls go to?" Hm... they hadn't been aware that souls could have such a fate... or be so desirable. Maybe they could find a way to recycle the souls of their slaves once they passed on? It was a shame for such filth to have such bliss just because they gave up on life.
Twist was too distracted by the blood and violent execution of the World Eaters to really focus on the vision... besides, it wasn't like they had souls, they were living representatives of a physical and non-sentient manifestation. Them having an afterlife would rather like a projected image having one.
"What in Brinn is wrong with you?!" Twist asked aloud at the troll. "Do you typically blow people up when they come into a room?!"
Khandra
"All done!"
"Nowhere near done!"
The Brothers beamed proudly at their finished work. Some time ago, the Silent... er, that is, Dharrox had called them to perform a little task for him. Not having received any orders or even mention from him for some time, the exarchs were only too happy to rush to the scene. It had been an odd request, but it catered to their skills and seemed like a fun project.
"Good worketh mine squires," Dharrox congratulated his two followers, wrapping an arm around each of their shoulders. "With thine project, and mine new gift to mine new people, we shalt issue a new age of grace unto the greenest of the races."
The project was, to put it simply, astounding. And priceless. The Brothers had studded an entire mountain with every jewel imaginable. Ruby's sprouted out of the ground like common shrubs, emeralds littered the ground like grass, sapphires bedecked the top of hollow caves like an artificial sky. You could see the whole thing glimmering from miles away, and it shined with every color imaginable.
A goblin stood in awe at the structure. "Holy sh- I mean, how astounding! Jolly good show my god!" the goblin told Dharrox, somewhat abashed at almost loosing it's poise at the sight of the mountain. "But if I could be so presumptuous, what is this to for us?"
"The same thing silk doeseth for thy people, oh greenest of goblins," Dharrox explained, holding out a gold bracelet studded with jewels. "This is what thine people shalt know as 'jewlery'. It is valuable, almost without worth, and thine people shalt wear it proudly to show thine natural place at the top of yonder social order of thine universe."
"Oh thank you oh god!" the goblin declared, gleefully taking the necklace and wrapping it around it's neck. "Where does this jewlery grow?"
"Nowhere. Thine people musteth mine gold from the mountains that I hath put there, mine gems from this most beautious of placeseth, and forge and cut them together to show thine mastery over nature."
The goblin looked crestfallen. "That... sounds like a lot of work."
Dharrox smiled benevolently down at the goblin. "You hath servants, doth thou not?"
***
Not long after, jewelry became the new goblin obsession, as well as the silks they wore and their mannerisms. Bugbears would toil all day and night mining jewels and gold, cutting the gems, and crafting fine jewelry for their masters to wear tackishly. They really didn't mind though, it gave them time to ponder the ways of Dharrox and the universe.
1 Mold PP from Brothers - Mold Land (Lesser, Gemhold Mountain) - Gemhold mountain is a mountain (and some surrounding canyons, valleys, caves etc) in which one can barely go two steps without running into a priceless gem. The goblins guard it jealously, though leave all the gems there except for crafting their jewelry, ornate staves and the like.
2 Bonus PP - Guide Populace (Goblinoid Empire, gemwork, private) - The goblins (mostly bugbears) learn how to mine, cut, and utilize gems.
1 PP - Nourish land - The mountains the goblins live in become rich with gold.
2 PP - Guide Populace (Goblinoid Empire, Jeweler, private) - The goblins (mostly bugbears) learn to craft fine jewelry from gold.
5/7, 0/2, 1/2
Webweaver Vashtok was disheartened that the best soldiers he had been able to recruit had been destroyed by what had amounted to basically a temper tantrum, but years of navigating the politics of Vok'Dar society had hardened him from showing any emotion he did not wish to display... not that the delegates would have been able to notice in his composite face if a flicker of annoyance had actually passed across it. A single glance to one of the Vok'Dar standing by the door and the member of his Web ducked out to arrange another ship to travel back to the Mouth. He would have these powerhouses and nothing was going to stop him.
But aside from that glance, he remained perfectly still, waiting to see what happened next and calculating what his next best action would be.
~IoW, Casaka~
The Titans were going about their business when suddenly the Lens spun in its place and sent light cascading across the blackness towards another one of the planetoids.
~IoW, Lower Reaches~
When the Zang had moved upwards, the beholders, sensing an opportunity to begin a reclamation of their homeland, had come as well, showing their friends how to survive on solid ground as opposed to the gassy expanses of Khandras. It certainly helped that they were being bathed in a soft invigorating light that encouraged them every waking moment. It was coming from another planetoid, but... it was too far off to make out any details.
((Nerdzul, I'll get to the Titans/Dominion tomorrow, have to run))
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Beholders flourish in the lower reaches of the IoW
1 PP (from Lens of Casaka): Zang are invigorated by the power of the beam of light.
2.2/9, 0/2
"Yes little ones. We were the first of this world. We have not endured the changing times well though, I'm afraid. One thoughtless action from a single god and we find our race doomed."
"I pray that your people are not so unfortunate"
Vok
Twist was too distracted by the blood and violent execution of the World Eaters to really focus on the vision... besides, it wasn't like they had souls, they were living representatives of a physical and non-sentient manifestation. Them having an afterlife would rather like a projected image having one."What in Brinn is wrong with you?!" Twist asked aloud at the troll. "Do you typically blow people up when they come into a room?!"
Prayog spun around to face Twist. "Silence, fool, or I'll do the same to you." Said the exarch, "do you know what those things did to my people? They attacked my planet and killed hundreds of us, including my family. They exterminated the animals we hunted. We trolls have not eaten for years. We are kept alive by the will of our god!
1.3. Dvrgr (44.5), Brinn(29.7),Eshcal(28.5),The Silent One (10.9)
1.15 Ymalos (29.6), The Sculptor (26)
Ymalos walked through the tunnels that his trolls had dug and touched the walls, turning them into metal. Tommorow the Morsinfra would discover it and figure out how to use it and then they would make weapon and armor from it and then they would fight and there would be slaughter. Ymalos walked out of the tunnel and into the night air. He sent a dream to a random Morsinfra troll telling him where to find the metal and how to use it. Then the slaughterer clapped his hands and dissapeared in a burst of red light.
PP
1 PP nourish land (From fountain of life): Metal appears on Raktem
2PP guide (1 from Prayog): The Morsinfra learn to mine ore and make it into weapons and armor.
7/8, 0/1 nourish, 0/1 guide
Vok
"Sounds like a night on the town to me," an Ithillid mumbled to no-one in particular.
Twist however, looked at the goop that had formerly been the World Eaters, then back to the trolls. "Those two in particular?" he asked. "Or are you just a racist ba-"
"Twist!" Stagnate interrupted. "Perhaps a little more diplomacy is in order?"
"Right right, of course," Twist replied. "Though I wouldn't be complaining if I didn't have to eat... oh wait, I don't. But the point stands."
Lor'quhan
"Why, these are the feet of the junk falls!" Vagrant replied, as if that explained everything. "Some time ago, a couple of odd fella's came through these 'ere parts, and made a magical waterfall that draws trash throughout the universe! Now me and Reginald here can search for good trash all day long, and have a good chance of finding it! Isn't that right Reginald?"
There was a silence.
"Reginald says yes."
Khandra
The goblins were troubled. They had fine silks. They had gold and gems by the wagon load. And they had extensive lands with a myriad of servants. So, like all people that obtain such wealth, they became extremely paranoid that someone would try and take it away. The bugbears, though strong in their own right, were hardly WARRIORS of any caliber. And the goblins own arcane might would fall under a more mundane threat.
So, eventually, the goblins had an idea... they'd created servants, why not soldiers? However, rather than make them by combining animals with goblin quintessence, the goblins decided it might be better to find a better source... and there HAD been rumors of odd, twisted looking humanoids on the outskirts of their land...
By combining the foulspawn with their own essence in dark rituals, the goblins created a new off shoot of their lineage, hardy warriors that had a natural ability to intimidate the foe into quivering fear. Afraid these new members of the Empire might attempt to overthrow them, the goblins attempted to imbue them with a sense of duty and servitude since the moment they were born, even going so far as to name them 'hobgoblins', literally translated to 'the chosen of the goblins'. The strict training regime seemed to work... despite being physically and diplomatically powerful, the hobgoblins considered it their sworn duty to obey their smaller, squeaker rulers. As a side note, due to their natural charisma goblins used the hobgoblins as more than just soldiers... many a goblin took a hobgoblin attendant to balls and the like, whispering in their ear so they might speak their thoughts in a firm, proud voice rather than the goblins own scratchy, comical one.
A hobgoblins interpretation of Dharrox's Grace, as it had become known, was naturally different to both the bugbear and goblin interpretation. While goblins interpreted it to mean to be elegant, and wear fine clothes, and bugbears defined it as being a state of mind, hobgoblins viewed it as to simply strive to be the absolute best at anything and everything. If you were the fastest, that was elegant. If you were the best swordsman, that was elegant. If you were the best diplomat, that was elegant. To fail though, was inelegant in the extreme, those that failed consistently and were not the best at anything at all were considered to be lower than dirty, and to be looked down upon or pitied depending on the individual doing the looking/pitying. This made hobgoblins even MORE likely to serve the goblins, and to vie for their favor... being the best servant was another thing to strive for, after all.
With their new three pronged society, and the hobgoblins constant military drills to further their strength, the Goblinoid Empire simply flourished, and had a period of unparalleled good fortune and growth.
1PP - Modify Populace (Goblins to hobgoblins) - Hobgoblins are created by the goblins from Foulspawn. They are strong, charismatic, and utterly devoted to their goblin overlords. They serve as the Goblinoid Empires military.
2 Bonus PP - Guide Populace (Goblinoid Empire, Martial Prowess) - The Goblinoid Empire, especially the hobgoblins, become fine warriors, allowing them to outfit much of the competition in melee and giving them access to martial classes ((Sorry shadow, but STILL haven't received any clarification whether this is how it works or not...))
4PP - Nourish Nation (Goblinoid Empire) - The Goblinoid Empire grows strong
[2/7, 0/2, 2/2]
The Fane of Fury rose from his seat in the cave, looking out over the continent he had reset upon. Sighing, he lifted the hammer from his side and threw it into the air, watching it vanish. "Sorrow must have gotten what she wanted."
-----
The Despot of Desire settled down to watch the strange creatures work before looking skyward. Sorrow must have gotten what she wanted from Brinn and Grawlf. For a second, he grimaced in pain as something inside of him began to burn, bursting forth and flying off. Clutching the gaping hole in his chest, he went slack, too exhausted to do anything beyond continuing to watch these strange creatures called goblins.
-----
The Tyrant of Terror stopped in mid movement, far away from any world as he glanced around. "Damn you, Sorrow. Suppose I'll need to keep a lower profile for a while."
-----
The Arbiter of Apathy stood silently in the shadows, watching Sorrow intently. "She really intends to do it. Suppose it's her business if she wants to give it up though."
Ignoring Apathy's whispers, the Sovereign of Sorrow watched quietly as Brinn finally drifted off, the goddesses mind dispersing into the area as she watched. When Brinn had finally fallen deep enough into her slumber, Sorrow nodded. "She'll be fine." Without hesitating, she plunged her arm into the goddesses chest, pulling out a pulsing orb of energy, holding it aloft.
Drawing the energy into herself, she cast off the diving spark she had called to herself, feeling the armored skin she had once used to defend herself pull free to float over the center of the chamber. Grimacing in the pain the separation had caused, she watched as various objects pulled their way into the chaos. The Kavaca, Lohaks armor. The Primordial Eye. The Heart of Chaos. Valimandar. They hovered in place as the long sleeping presences began to stir in the depths of the plane.
Feeling the awakening mind bearing down upon her, threatening to tear her apart from it's intensity and fury. Reaching out and grasping a single item that did not belong, a book she only vaguely remembered, she vanished from the Heart of Chaos, fleeing before the mind shattering force that she had awakened.
Reappearing on the world of Lorquan, she finally felt releaved as she looked at the object she had grabbed. The Book fo Renewal. Forgotten for so long. Nodding, she slipped up to a sleeping leviathan, finally delivering the package so long delayed, placing the knowledge necessary to use it within the slumbering creatures mind.
Exhausted, Sorrow crumpled to dust, blowing wildly across the worlds. Where the particles landed, a new creature arose, creatures reminiscent of Sorrow herself, feeding on grief and despair. As others began to encounter them, these new creatures would be known as Sorrowsworn.
-----
As Apathy watched, ignoring the pain running through his mind as he ignored most things, an echoing how burst from the hovering armor, long, piercing, otherworldly. The sound avalanched through the air. Throughout the Heart of Chaos and beyond, stone shook, water danced, and flames swirled about. Slowly but surely, the very air danced and began to move.
The howl sounded off again, and the titans across the chaos cowered with fear that their world was ending.
But the third sound was worse as the magic invoked tore through the fabric of the air, and elements nearby began to lift from their places as if it were pulling them upwards and towards the heart. The air turned about the assembled artifacts, great clouds of dust, flame, and vapor rising into the air at it's passing.
Darkness began to gather, the magic invoked taking the very light away, pulling the darkness as it was pulling the wind. Light and dark swirled around the Heart of Chaos as the energies gathered.
Slowly but surely, light was sucked from the chaos, leaving only darkness to fall about a place where darkness had rarely been known. Lightning tore violently across the sky, flashing rapidly in every direction, forking, doubling, over and over until the sky burned. Thunder rolled through out the plane, coalescing into a continuous fury, mixing with the howl, becoming a part of it.
The ground shook as the screaming thunder went beyond sound, to something else entirely. All across the Elemental Chaos, the stone and rock cracked open in jagged ferocious tears and shafts of violet light shot burst into existence all around and the bluish purple curtains of light vibrated, danced, and with gathering speed were sucked into the vortex, sucked nto the Heart of Chaos. The tomb was a glowing form in a sea of darkness, It was the only thing in existence; all else was nothingness, devoid even of light. There was a horrific impact to the air all about as the slumbering god finally awoke. Pure destruction exploded outwards in a murderous blast. The very air screamed as it burned, and the area ignited in a blinding flash of twin magics, opposites twisted in a deafening discharge of wrath, as the fabric of reality seemed to rip. For those unprepared for it, even the gods, it seemed as if reality itself were torn and collapsing under the pressure of creation and the void.
As the vanished light and air exploded outwards. In a brief, tremendous flash of light, the Elemental Chaos was twisted and shattered, reshaping under the force of the power unleashed. A wall of dust, water, fire, and sand followed behind, feeling as if it would strip the very flesh from the bones of those titans it collided with in it's explosive passing. The ferocity of the concussion tore the darkness away, and the light was returned.
The world stood frozen, watching, as the five elements reunited within the hovering armor, floating silently in the air, pale blue light coalescing into a jagged egg shape around it, gathered in intensity, purpose, and somehow, violence. The light suddenly bled away into the surrounding area, then faded. Reaching out and grasping the hammer solidly in two hands and grasping the primordial eye in another, the four armed looked around quietly, a confused expression on it's face.
PP Expenditures
3 PP - Ascend Exarch - Sovereign of Sorrow (Spawn PP)
4 PP - Shape Populace (Greater) - Sorrowsworn
1 PP - Nourish Populace - The leviathans
Karhedron bowed low before the lady, his shards ringing against one another much like an oversized wind chime in a strong breeze. It never hurt to be courteous.
"My lady, thank you for welcoming us into your lands. When we landed our city after fleeing from the destruction on Yrie, we never would have guessed to find such a warm reception. My purpose for visiting your lands are two- no, three fold. First of all, we Casakans hope to meet our new neighbors and ensure them of our intentions to live in peace and harmony with all those on these isles. Secondly, I seek any news of a ship which may have passed by here perhaps a decade ago, a great ark of glass carrying my son and the first wave of refugees from our homeworld. And finally..." Karhedron smiled, "I have come to marvel at your fair city. We have always been facinated with construction. Perhaps we could share our methods with one another?"
~IoW, Eye-Kin mountain and environs~
Hidden by the curtain of water, the caves within Eye-Kin mountain were beginning to seem quite full. Repeated raids, as well as the complacency of the Quori overlords had allowed the number of rescued beholders to grow immensely, and although still roughly 3/4 of those rescued died from dream-withdrawal, the resolve of the Eye-Kin grew greater by the day. In fact, if the Quori had deigned to notice their efforts, they would have seen that in the regions surrounding the Mountain, productivity had dropped dramatically, and there had been several mysterious disappearances of Quori citizens
~Lor'quhan, Ocean~
The Manyu looked sad for a moment, then asked
"Maybe we can help? We have great powers of healing."
~Lor'quhan, Junk Falls~
He's still talking to that rock.
Yes, Yes he is. Just be glad thats all he's doing. This entire race seems to be slightly... off.
One chuckled and returned to the conversation.
"Thank you Vagrant... Reginald. So, junk from anywhere in the universe comes here? But we Manyu have a saying... 'One Stack's useless bimodal redundant sensory ring, another stack's unimodal sensory survival core!' Do you agree?"
~The Grotto~
The continued presence of the Devas, as well as Grawlf's gaze, was leading to the slow introduction of his worship into the members of The Grotto, as well as a few souls joining with the Devas in proclaiming the looming apocalypse
~Vok~
Webweaver smiled. He knew that the world eaters wouldn't care about this next part, and the conversation appeared to have lulled.
"Very well, now that I have gained your word, I ask you: who is first put to the sword? Is there some target, be it great or small, which can be said to be target by all?"
~Kahnda~
The Great Library had laid at peace for several years while the machine waited for its master, who was not even aware of its existence, yet.
What was aware of its existence was a colony of ants, which happily set up shop within the cool walls. The ants explored every nook and cranny of the library, which was still mostly empty as most of the great tales had yet to be written. All was well until some of the ants found an old book and crawled within it. A few moments later, the book shook with an inner power (for it was in fact the Codex of Intelligent Thought, which returned here to its 'home' when it was not being used by the gods) and with a flare of white light, all the ants in the room, a good hundred in number, were suddenly turned into a writhing pile of halflings, stacked high from floor to ceiling. When the gnomes finally unentangled themselves, they began to explore the library from a new perspective.
1 PP: Guide Populace: The Grotto begins to worship Grawlf
1 PP +1 (Codex): Shape Populace (lesser): halflings form from ants which have infiltrated the Great Library
1 PP: Nourish Populace: The Eye-kin resistance grows in power
1 PP: Denourish Populace: The Quori are having a little bit of trouble keeping ahold of their slaves.
2.1/9, 1/2
First, all Dreamtouch Beholders heard a call in their minds, and traveled to the center of the Quori realm. The few under care of the Eye-Kin tried to follow the call had to be killed, for they would not stop trying to leave. Soon, they had all arived at the center. There they stayed, for while the Quori would not care much if the slaves revolted, they did wish to keep some, to study for further interests in the future, like the occasional Azshari and the small population of Jeraca.
Secondly, all the Mindtouch Crystals grew bigger, as power flowed into them. This was not expected, but examination of them showed that they had been linked to the Psionic Eye, letting them channel its power. It was presumed that the Dream Lord had done this in secret.
Finally, all of the inhabitants of the Mountain suddenly fell unconsious. They woke up in a few minutes, and there seemed to be no change, nothing had happened. But deep within their minds, profound changes had taken place. Firstly, they found themselves unable to dream. Initially rejoicing, the discovery was later deepened by a horrible truth. With the loss of these dreams, they could not imagine things as much, did not have the creativity as before. This loss hampered their efforts to revolt. Also disturbing was the giant Mindtouch Crystal, fully a hundred times the size of a normal one, floating over the Mountain.....
In the backdrop of these events, more numbers of the lesser quori were being spawned. Their higher numbers improved the Quori strength and dominance.
1 PP: Guide Populace(Lesser): Dreamtouch Beholders travel to the center of Quori power, there "protected" from the "dangerous insurgents."
1 PP: Create Artifact(Lesser): Improve the power of the Quori Mindtouch Crystals, by linking them to the Psionic Eye.
1 PP: Denourish Populace(Quori Dream Lord): The Eye-kin lose much of their ability to imagine things.
2 PP: Create Artifact(Intermediate): A giant Mindtouch Crystal appears floating over the mountain. Basically, it's a very powerful Mindtouch Crystal, almost like a satilite.
2 PP: Nourish Populace: The Quori grow in strength due to the increased numbers of the lesser Quori.
2/8 PP: 1/2: Artifact Uses
Vok
"Hold it, I didn't offer my word to anything!" Twist snarled at the Vok'dra. "And if everyone here considers the other races cattle or blows up diplomats because they had a tiff with their entire race some time ago this entire meeting can kiss my-"
"Diplomacy, Twist," Stagnate reminded him.
The fox growled for a few moment, before huffing reluctantly. "Don't suppose anyone on this council is fair game are they?" he mumbled, not really expecting himself to be heard.
"Any xenos is as good as any," the Ithillid delegate vomited. "Preferably as many kinds as possible... too long has our supply of knowledge stagnated."
Lor'quhan
"I don't be reckonin' I know what you just said," the blattaria replied, scratching his head. "But trash is mighty useful for a whole bunch o' things... if only for keeping back the crazies," he added, gesturing to a makeshift fort he'd erected from old buckets and bricks. "Me an' Reginald don't like gatherin' trash with others around... never know what might set 'em off. Though some are harmless," he admitted. "Like Squirrelchaser."
"Squirrel?!" a voice called eagerly from somewhere close by.
"False alarm Squirrelchaser," Vagrant shouted back. "Right Reginald?"
There was a silence.
"Reginald says yes!" he shouted in the general direction of Squirrelchaser.
Khandra
It was a typical day at the iron mines of Gregok. The bugbears happily toiled away, chipping the iron out of the deep shaft and hauling it back up to the surface even as they pondered just why they were given the ability to do so, or the ability to wonder why they were given the ability to do so. The hobgoblins lazed around in full armor and fully armed, waiting for an enemy that wouldn't come... there were hardly any other races on this rock after all. A few shouted encouragements to the bugbears, wanting them to finish mining for the day so they could head back to camp and unwind. And of course the goblin in charge squeakily yelled at everyone who didn't do their job well enough, and loudly complained that the rock chips were dirtying up his glorious silk clothes.
Today, however, was a little different. Normally, the odd scouting party the hobgoblins sent out didn't encounter anyone or anything. Today, however, a small band of the soldiers encountered an odd looking entity doubled over in exhaustion. Being wary of this odd... thing, the hobgoblin sergeant walked up to it cautiously, poking it with the blunt end of it's spear.
"Oi, you alright?" it asked.
[4/7, 0/2, 2/2]
Desire looked at the odd creatures with a blank expression, his hand alling from the gaping wound in his chest. "No, I'm not alright. My heart is gone."
~Vok~
"O ye great spirits dark and all of blight, your true reward comes at end of twilight. For when the prey has gone the River's way, Spirits, that will be when you have your say."
Webweaver grimaced, then explained.
"We care only for the bodies, the mindflayers care only for the minds, the trolls care only for the slaughter and the death dragons only for the souls. You, spirits, can have the land that remains to mold as you see fit, which, as I understand it, is what you spirits desire to do regardless."
"You might find friends in our dominion titan, however you must know that our people is looking for more land to colonize and conquer, each pack need a vast domain and the youngest amoung our kind are no longer content to serve as stewarts of the overlords like myself, many wants their own hunting grounds and who em I to deny them this right? So you might find some occasional aggrassions if you push the boundaries of your territory too much..."
"I have see no flying ship of glass in the sky, neither has my packmates or their servants, however I might be able to help you in seeking your friends, if you help us shaping similar vessels I have armies of followeres ready to go and look for that missing vessel..."
IoW Dominion
Finally, after centuries of hiding safely from the eyes of the dominion the scaled people was discovered by a small patrol of the Aszhari, when the news of the existance of other cold blooded inhabitants of the isles many packs decided to "prove their worth" in bringing this beings and their land under their heel, carving their own hunting grounds. And so they begun hunting for slaves among the independent scaled ones tribes.
Sarriss, however, helped many of the younger lizards to escape, hiding away from the eyes of the dominion she allowed her weaker sons and daughter to survive the initial onslaught. However many was taken and forcibly integrated in the dominion society.
The Temple of Winds
Enraged by the actions of the Aszhari against her people, but unwilling to fight directly with her brother pupils Sarriss went to visit her father in his thronehold, the god has being quiet recently, content with watching without interfering, aware of creation but somehow bored of it...
When his daughter came to him he decided to help her with her desires he will help the scaled ones in finding a new home... But for a price... The god liked his Genasi and the many creature he has shaped, however he was aware that all of his creations carried a small shard of himself a touch of his power, while Sarriss lizard creatures did not, wishing to have a new breed of people to worship him that did not somehow share his power he asked her to visit Verda and create a new breed from the Genasi, free from the boundaries of his own divine power...
After Sarriss left Eshcal called her brother and ordered him to bring the Scaled Nations to a place where they will be safe from the predation of the immensely stronger empires of the Isles. At first Evshan was against his father request, he wanted the dominion to conquer the scaled ones, however Eshcal showed him that a fight against an unworthy opponent will not ease the harts of the Aszhari, but just bring them weakness and contempt... Finally he agreed to carry with him many among the scaled ones and a few Aszhari tribesman that decided to stay with their protegees to Verda.
To a selected number of these Aszhari he tought a powerful spells that allowed to travel in spirit to the land of their ancestors in the Isles of Wonder, in order not to exile them in a foraign land cut away from their own people.
Verda,
While her people settled in the southern emisphere, away from the genasi and shuras cold lands, Sarriss studied the inhabitants of the north, trying to figure out a way to make from them a breed that held no shard of Eshcal power.
After a while she finally succeeded, the new breed was weaker and lacked the natural connection to the elemental planes of the Genasi, however they had a strong will and a sharp mind, with the natural ability to adapt and thrive everywhere. The first tribes of humans begun to appear...
2/7 +0/2, +0/2
1 PP Nourish, The Aszhari Dominion enslave many lizardmen, most of them are kept as personal servants, menial workers or just pet by their owners.
1 PP Nourish, the Aszhari Dominion enslave many Kobolds that soon become fine craftsmen for their owners and an expencive property...
1 PP Nourish, the Aszhair Dominion enslave many troglodytes, some are trained to fight under the earth, in order to bring the aszhari armies against enemies that try to exploit the dominion weakness in enclosed spaces.
2 pp Guide (1 from Evshan), the Aszhari learn a ritual that allow them to "spirit walk" to the Isles of wonder, to commune with their people and homeland even when they are far and diveded by the void.
1 PP Nourish, a few of the aszhari packs integrate within the Scaled Nations
1 PP Guide, Evshan teleport a portion of the Scaled Nations to Verda
2 Pp Shape (1 from Sarris) Heroic Populace - Humans.
"Very well. That seems like a fair warning, and a fair promise of help. The mechanics of the void engines are somewhat difficult, but if you could bring some of your scientists, I will be able to teach them the necessary skills..."
A few hours passed as Karhedron taught, and soon the sun passed behind Kandras, turning the day into night.
"Gracious lady, is there anywhere we titans may rest our heads until tomorrow? We will likely move on towards other civilizations on these isles. May we pass through your lands? Also, what else lies on the other isles? The clansman we met before suggested you would be a better person to ask."
~Lor'quhan~
Can we please go home now? Three asked quietly.
Yes, lets go. Five said
"Well, thank you...Vagrant... Reginald. We should be getting back to our people. Please come visit us in the future. We should be right over there."
Three waggled an arm in the direction of Id as the Manyu began making its way away from the Junk Falls.
~Kahnda~
It had been a very long time since Grawlf had visited his experimental world, but he could see as he swept over the desert portion that it had turned into something quite like what he expected... fluctuating boundaries of energy cutting up the world and its inhabitants into a wide assortment of subgroups. In one, he could feel the prayers of some of the Iwari as they floated up towards him. In another, he had seen foulspawn stalking some unsuspecting prey. But here... here was something very special.
Long ago, he had intended to settle his Casakans here in the deserts, but that plan had gone to naught. Instead, they had gone off to the Isles of Wonder. Grawlf would have to check on them soon. But first, he was examining this strange beast that had appeared out of seemingly nowhere... A giant mechanical construction that made Grawlf wonder if Sonel had finally returned from his workshop and made him a present. He had looked around for some time for his son, but, finding no one, he had entered and explored, finding it full of shelves and empty books, tended by a race of small humanoids called 'halflings.' Grawlf chuckled as the halflings showed him some of their precious handiwork, for they did not know how to read or write, so their 'histories' looked like stick figures. Opening up his arms, he bestowed upon them the gifts of literacy, commanding them to fill the library with knowledge.
Then, he reached out and called for his son.
"Secret-Keeper. Come and see this thing that I have found!"
~Quori~
The Eye-kin were worried. Pinned in by the crystal above and finding its effects dulling their creativity, they began wondering when the Quori would come in and end their rebellion entirely. It was in this time of despair that a mechanical beholder appeared out of nowhere.
"Come, Kindred, it is time to cower no more." Samtaana said, looking around to the other eye-kin. "It is time to work."
~Verda~
Among the Devas, one deva in particular had a very interesting vision of the future, where three beings of golden light struck back against the dark ships as they came down upon Verda, striking and driving them back into the inky blackness where they had come from. For all her searching, though, Svasas could find no record of any force or god that would match her vision. And so, knowing the fate of those who did not see their vision come to pass, she set out into the forests to search for inspiration through prayer to Grawlf, the lord of knowledge.
It was as she was resting, her back against an ancient tree and dangling her feet into the river flowing by it when she noticed the sun glinting off of an object in the bank. Curious, she climbed down the muddy side of the river, grabbing ahold of roots when needed, until she placed her hand upon the object and pulled it out. It was a long and jagged, but not sharp, and made of an irridescent substance. Svasas fingered it for a moment, rolling it over and over in her hands before putting it in her bag. Perhaps someone back in the Grotto would know something more about something like this.
~Casaka, Iwari, The Grotto, Foulspawn on Kahnda~
In all the places where worship of Grawlf had taken hold and civilization had begun to flourish, various worshipers began wearing cloaks emblazoned with a great white eye. They gathered in groups, calling themselves Those who Gaze.
1 PP (from Karhedron): Guide Populace: Aszhari Dominion learns to create void engines.
2 PP: Guide Populace: Halflings learn to read and write.
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Casakans form Those who Gaze
3 PP: Nourish Populace: Iwari, Grotto, Foulspawn all join Those
1.3/9, 0/2 PP
We are not comfortable. This dark dank, cramped place is cold and we do not like it. We feel each other moving in the space, this small, cold place. Once, we felt our breath, hot and humid, upon the backs of our necks, upon our arms and our legs. Once we felt our blood, pumping through our veins, warming our hands and thawing our feet. Now there is nothing, no warmth, no sweet, sweet promise that we are alive, nothing to tell us that we are anything more than cold lumps of flesh and bone. When we shift, we feel our flesh scraping against the stone. It draws blood, yes, blood that paints the walls and floor with its foul ichor, but this blood has long since stopped pumping, long since halted its interminable passage. We can feel our bones moving beneath our skin, grinding against each other, sliding easily within ourselves. We lick our lips and taste blood, a memento from ages long since passed. We are tired here, so tired. We are dying here, or perhaps we are already dead, in this prison of stone and promises.
And we are hungry. Oh, how we hunger for something, anything that will provide us with respite from this crushing cold, from this crushing darkness. Our heads hum with the hunger, our veins throb with it. It is our all, our universe. There is little else but the hunger; only the cold, the movement of our bones as a distraction. We try to remember a time when this was not so, but cannot. There was always the hunger. Sometimes, we find ourselves running our tongues along the stone walls that surround us, searching for something to sate our hunger. And now you call to us, the sweet siren call of your blood, your precious, warm, flowing blood...
And so we answer...
That was the first of the dreams. Svasas woke with a start, heart pounding, her mind racing with what she had just heard. And for a moment she faltered, should she carry out her plan? Was the future still how she had seen it? Or had events spun so out of control that none could even hope to make sense of them? Her eyes fell upon the shard sitting on her bedside table. A beam of moonlight lanced through the intervening space and fell upon the shard, causing a sort of enchanted phosphorescence linger about it, and Svasas felt her mind become tranquil once more. She must do this, she had to. And, her mind made up, she returned to the embrace of sleep, her dreams untroubled by haunting voices. All was calm.
Reset.
1.3 PP/week: Dvrgr (52.9), Eshcal (36.2), Brinn (30.2), Lohak (22.6), The Silent One (16.3)
1.15 PP/week: Ymalos (33), Shry (11.2)
"It is a generous gift of knowledge that you offer to us, we will put it to use soon enough to help your kind in your quest...
If you need shelter you can stay at my city, however I fear that no building but my temple can accomodate you, so I'll offer you to stay here if you need rest... I'll also write for you a document of passage, that will put your envoy under my protection so that you will be able to freely walk the hunting grounds of the other Overlords, but I'll ask you not to share your secrets with them, not everyone might be so helpful as me..."
"There are many other on the isles, to the north there are isles shrouded of mist, there lives powerful masters of dreams, capable of turning your mind against you. Under many of the isles reside strange creatures from the red world below, gifted with many eyes and tentacles. Finally there are other smaller nations of scaled beings, dragons or inferior breed of our kind, some might be scared by you, but others will probably be in awe and offer you help if you need some..."
Vok
Twist looked at Stagnate with a barely suppressed snarl. "NOW can I tell them off?"
Stagnate sighed. "If that's what you wish, first of blight."
The fox gladly turned on the Vok'dra, teeth bared as he snarled out his response. "Look, whatever the Brinn you'd like to think you are, your offer doesn't interest me. So what, you'll tear the great cycle of nature apart so we can have a barren wasteland to live in? Thinking we'll like just rotting world after world away until there's nothing left? Well... maybe you were right a while ago, but that's not the case now. I made a mistake a long time ago on Verda, but I learned from it... you can't fight nature, especially when you're a part of it. Blight isn't some malevolent entity devoted to bringing down the natural cycle, it's a part of it... the rotting tree provides the building blocks needed to foster more growth after all."
The fox turned on it's feet, beginning to walk out the door. "We're done here... do whatever the Brinn you want, just make sure to leave the natural cycle in tact, otherwise the last sight you all see will be me ripping out your own heart with my fangs."
Kahnda ((I have been spelling this wrong for a LONG time...))
The hobgoblins looked at each other for a few moments puzzled, before one of them finally asked "If your hear is gone, then... how exactly are you still alive?"
***
Dharrox was just putting the finishing touches on his new creation, and fondly watched the savage looking wolf type creatures play fight in the dirt... and real fight in the dirt. He was a little sadistic. These wargs would no doubt prove valuable to his goblins, if they learned to tame them...
It was then that he received a message from Grawlf... and sighed. Looks like it was time to drop the disguise for a bit. Focusing his power, the lions on his armor turned to living eyes, his black metal shell became purple, tentacles began sprouting out and spreading along the outside of his armor, and his helm melted away to reveal a pale, membranous, mouthless and noseless face. There, much better... hm, the breeze on this planet felt good on his tentacles.
Disappearing in a flash of darkness, the Silent One reappeared beside Grawlf... surprised to find he was still on the same world, if on a different section. Well, he'd find reason enough to be in this area eventually... he'd designed his goblins to be able to adapt to almost any environment with ease. This world would eventually be flooded with green, orange and fur.
"I was kind of in the middle of something Maker," the Silent One greeted Grawlf warmly... well, his version of 'greeting' and 'warmly' anyway. "What is this thing you've claimed to have found?"
[sblock = PP Expenditure]
1PP - Spawn Creature (Wargs) - Wargs spread across Kahnda, especially in it's mountainous regions.
[6/7, 2/2, 2/2]
[/sblock]
He shrugged. "Couldn't tell you myself. I suppose I didn't need the heart to survive. Not that I really would have ever expected to lose it. I know it had to be returned eventually, but it was awefully painful. Where am I, anyways?"
Webweaver shook its head.
"Very well, you may go, let none say it wasn't so. But if we meet again before the end, you are warned that you will not be considered a friend."
As the Blighted Spirits left to the jeers and catcalls of the attending Vok'Dar, Webweaver turned to the others, the new members of the coalition.
"To those who remain, you precious few, look out the window, see what we've built new!"
He gestured and a wall turned translucent, revealing the Foundries of Vok, just finishing up the first batch of blood-red ships to carry the Vok and their allies towards the Hot. Within the council, the Vok hooted and cheered. Webweaver smiled, gesturing to the ships.
"To those in need, we can provide, ships of red to carry you inside. Witness our fleet!"
~Khanda~
Grawlf smiled as his son joined him.
"I have honestly no idea where this came from, but it seems like something we both can use."
Grawlf quickly showed the Secret-Keeper around.
"I figure we can use this place to both store sensitive knowledge. Firstly, while it hasn't while I have been here, the halflings tell me that the entire place moves beneath the desert sands. Second, this place is full of books. What better place to hide information than exactly where it belongs?"
~IoW, Titans/Dominion~
Karhedron nodded.
"Thank you. Of all those, the lands of mist seem the most interesting. Could you lead us there?"
~IoW, Eye-Kin Mountain~
Samtaana had been hard at work, aided by the Eye-kin as he tried one method after the other to counteract the effects of the Quori, whose mindtouch crystals were able to penetrate the waterfall that kept their mist out of the cave system. In the end, he had come up with two methods, both of which needed testing. One, a dozen helmets made of black metal, mostly lead, that should deaden the effects of the mindtouch crystals. Already several of the leaders of the Eye-Kin were wearing the objects, and the results were promising.
The other was a complex series of tubes and hollow orbs, much of it borrowed from the expertise of the Glass Titans that covered the entirety of the mucous membranes of the beholders. It looked ridiculous, but tests showed it was effective. In fact, at the moment one of the prototypes was being tested by a beholder who was on his way to one of the old dreamtouched pens to see if there were any more beholders to be freed from dominion... they weren't very hopeful, but... it was worth a try.
2 PP: Nourish Populace: Vok build ships of war!
2 PP: Guide Populace: Eye-Kin learn to create suits to protect themselves from the mists.
1 PP (from Samtaana): Create Artifact: Helms of insight. Protects the wearer from the effects of the Crystals... very limited in number.
1.2/9 + 1/2 PP
Khanda ((There seems to be some erratic spelling of this going on...))
The hobgoblins still seemed... confused. And slightly disturbed. They knew biology well enough that all this talk of unnecessary hearts was odd to say the least.
"Why, you'd be in the lands of the Glorious First Goblin Empire of Khanda!" the hobgoblin replied. "Odd you could somehow manage to enter our lands without knowing where you are... everyone knows about us." The truth practically no-one knew about them, but the arrogance of their goblin leaders was somewhat contagious.
***
The Silent One was shocked on at least two different levels... the first being that these little people had somehow managed to create the same technology the Ithillid used to record knowledge. He didn't know how, they certainly didn't LOOK particularly smart... or non-squash worthy. Still, he'd best keep an eye one them... if they recorded too much knowledge, and it spread out among the world, the Ithillids task of hoarding it away for no-one to find would be in vain. Perhaps his creations had found a new enemy?
The second level made him chuckle. It was so rare for him to get the one up on his Maker... especially by such a large margin. But in this case, his idea for a place to store knowledge had already been implemented by himself well before even Yrie destroyed itself. Still, best not to tell him that... the longer he kept the Ithillid a secret from gods, the longer they would remain a secret from man.
"An excellent idea, Maker," the Silent One replied, idley picking up a book and seemingly flicking through it randomly. So, they used a different script and ink than the Ithillid. Interesting. "I tend to simply memorize knowledge rather than commit it to writing, but it seems an excellent use of these... things... skills."
Shadowfell
The Ithillid now knew how to create powerful fleets of ships designed to span the void... so reverse engineering that technology to create something a little different wasn't too difficult. Soon, the Ithillid had create shells of constructs, powerful mechanical creatures designed to serve them even better than a mind slave could... though they lacked a means to move. After some thought, the Ithillid resolved to merely use the souls of their dead slaves and victims as the constructs power core.. they were just going to waste anyway. Eternal peace nonsense their foot.
However, this made the Ithillid realize just how wasteful they'd been... they could harvest the souls, and the brains, but what about the bodies? Seemed a waste to just leave them lieing around... and so, the Ithillid created the craft of necromancy, drawing on their brief glimpse of the world of the dead, so that they could resurrect their slaves as undead servants. This way, no part went to waste! How effective! In a fit of inspiration, the Ithillid even crafted their constructs with tools to extract the brains of creatures, before jolting them with a necrotic shock that would resurrect the corpse as undead. The fact the constructs had limited speech didn't help matters... where before there were only stories at night of tentacle horrors, now there were also metal monsters who cried "Extract" and "Necromisation" in deadpan, inhuman voices.
[sblock = PP Expenditure]
2PP - Teach populace (Ithillid, Constructs) - The Ithillid learn to create constructs
1PP + 1PP from Whirlpool - Teach populace (Ithillid, Necromancy) - The Ithillid learn necromancy
2 Bonus PP - Moderate Spawn (Extractors) - The Ithillid constructs are fearsome things, with a clamp and vaccuum like hand to suck the brains out of their still living foes, and another hand to administer a painful necrotic shock to maim a living enemy or resurrect a dead one as an undead servant.
[4/7, 1/2, 0/2]
[/sblock]
The Silent One barely heard Grawlfs last question... because he was too busy mentally "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"ing. He'd have done it aloud, but he didn't want to arouse his Makers suspicion. Those deva... were perfect for what he intended. Absolutely perfect, he was surprised he hadn't thought to make them himself. For while they WERE useless if one merely wanted to know what the future held, they were incredibly useful if you wanted to CONTROL what the future brought. So... all he needed to do, was to find the deva who belonged on a time line in which he was absolutely lord of creation, and... follow the map.
"Hm?" the Silent One asked, lost in thought. "Oh, well I guess if you wanted to know the future from them, just record all the futures you can, then cross off each one as it becomes obsolete. That way, eventually you'll have one true future... although with the way Deva time lines connect with each other, a map of futures will look more like an incredibly convoluted tree rather than a group of lines..."
At the next question, the god simply shrugged. "Like I said, I've been busy. I tend to just let my people fend for themselves once I've set them on the right track, so I wouldn't know if one of them started wiping out their whole planet." Well, he wouldn't, though he WOULD be pleased... of course the World Eaters killed entire planets, but that was beside the point.
Cracking his neck with a quick twist, a simple motion, really, he suddenly seemed to project an aura of power, as if he had drawn a cloak about him. "I'm feeling a bit better now." he whispered as he looked at the strange mortals, trying to sift through their thoughts to decipher what desires might hide within their minds.
The Aszhari Overlords offered their hospitality to the treavelling titans and pointed them to the land of mist, warning not to loose their minds within that dreamy domain.
Verda
Sheltered by Shuras and the genasi nations the humans thrived, under the leadership of a single tribe that forged the nation of Norkh Dar, ruled by the eldest sons and daughter of those given life by sarriss, a few even committed blood sacrifice in his name upon building of stone inspired by the Genasi architecture. Like their "guardians" the humans built a society based on castes, however many among the youngest and poorest castes found themselves strangled by the pressure of the ruling ones, after a while a charismatic leader took with him a large portion of slaves and workers, moving even more to the south to found their own nations.
The Genasi watched that division, puzzled about how to react, they have forged many city states in the north, however they alwayws was unitary in intentions, while the humans seeks to divide from each other...
Meanwhile the Genasi in the Chaos begun to study the energies of that domain, learning to use a combination of magic and primitive science to channel such a power in the structure of their city and to power their tools and crafts.
The Isles of Wonders, Lower Isles
As the Zang begun to interact with the fleshly inhabitants of the isles southern portion, without a lot of success with in diplomacy with the non aberrant ones, they begun taking prisoners, even if they called these beings, friends, and studying them... Some discovered that they could manipulate their minds and desires by inserting their tentacles under their head...
1/7 +0 +2/2 (nourish, guide or shape)
1 PP Nourish, The Humans form the first nation of Nockh Dar
1 PP Nourish, Nockh Dar thrive and expand its borderers
1 PP Nourish, the Genasi form a trade agreement with the humans
1 PP Nourish, a vast portion of Nockh Dar humans of lower castes escape the nascent nation to the south, and found a new nomadic nation.
2 PP Guide the Genasi discover artifice
2 PP Guide (F), the Zang discover how to manipulate mortal minds by inserting their gaseous tentacles into their brains.
He lifted up his hands, and a small orb of light appeared just before him. A small doorway took the place of the light point, and he opened it up.
On the other side was a blank canvas of white; white floor-- white walls-- white ceiling. The room had no dimension to it, and the figure raised his hands. Two pillars thrust up from the floor of the room and the ceiling grew darker. The room was given a little more dimension, and he grabbed the floating card and flung it out towards the white space in front of him. The card did not stop, and it returned to him. It stopped just inches from the figure's hand, and he shrink it down to a normal playing card's size.
The figure puts the card in his pocket and begins to think deeply. He opens his mouth and speaks for the first time. His voice is clear and jovial. Hmm... I might need a strategy to help plan this place out, and to construct tricks well. He clenches his hand, and a blue aura appears around his fist. As soon as he eases the tension, the aura sinks back into his hand, and his mind clears. The chaotic syndrome of displaced tricks and riddles begin to fall into place, and he stabilizes himself. "That's much better."
2PP- Create Moderate Artifact: Jack of Spades (Provides +1 Combat bonus to attack)-- An oversized playing card with a blank face on one side, and a strange symbol on the other. The card has the basic intelligence as its user, and can be thrown as a shuriken. It has the the ability to shrink to 1/6 its size.
2PP- Create Lesser Plane (Demiplane): The Neverending Hall-- Nothing but white can be seen in this seemingly empty space. Created by Kevmet, the doorway to the hall is located on an isolated, vacant space rock in the Isles of Wonder. Currently, the hallway is open to any god. Whenever a god other than Kevmet enters through the doorway, they appear in a random spot in the hall-- away from where Kevmet slumbers and spends some of his leisure time.
2PP- Claim Moderate Domain: Strategy-- Kevmet's ability to plan and construct old and new tricks becomes much easier, and he is now able to focus more clearly on what is at hand.
Current PP- 0
"I think that is an excellent idea. Let us go strike against them on Lor'quhan."
Vok ran out from the room, heading in the direction of the great ships and telling the builders to begin the great void engines. Back in the meeting room, the delegates could feel the ground shake and a dull hum filled the air, slowly ramping up to a low drone as the engines grew stronger and stronger.
As the hum grew, Webweaver felt something change within him, some evolutionary process reaching its conclusion. Within himself he felt a pulsing force, a dark force that felt like the lifepulse of the entire Vok'dar population moving deep in his core. His vision sharpened, his arms felt stronger, and Webweaver began to laugh, and laugh, and laugh. His Evolution was finally complete, his final form obtained, and at last he could stop looking over his shoulder. He was the leader of the Vok'Dar from now until the last one of them was wiped out. He was Vok's will made flesh, and he would lead his people to greatness.
Webweaver barked an order and the Vok'Dar began making their way onto the ships, prodding the dumb Hunters before them. Finally, they would come in from the dark.
~Khanda~
"Write them all down and... Son, that is a brilliant idea. I knew I liked you."
Grawlf turned to the wall and stabbed one of his arms through it, causing the metal to ripple and warp. Slowly, fine tracings began appearing on it, thousands upon thousands of tiny broze lines weaving in and out between one another, annotated by tiny letters. Each one represented a Deva's vision of the future, and in their complexity, they did show the future... or at least possible futures. As Grawlf watched, a line flickered red and vanished, and the god knew that a Deva had been transformed into a Rakasha.
For the most part, the lines made up many different paths, but at one point, every single future fed into a great hub, a hub that said simply 'The ships of darkness come'
~IoW, the Resistance~
It was pitch darkness when Samtaana and several cyclopsi and beholders, all wearing protective suits and half of the Eye-Kin's stock of Helms of Insight, made their way up the sides of Eye-Kin mountain, using the cover of Khandras' bulk between them and the sun to hide their progress. Their goal was the great Crystal that floated over the mountain, placed there by the Quori to keep the rebellion under control without any additional effort on their part.
Eventually, they made their way to the peak, just below where the crystal hovered. At this close range, even their helms were struggling to keep the dulling power of the crystal from completely overwhelming them.
With motions that had been drilled into them through weeks of practice, they began to assemble a primitive ballista, using equipment they had carried up with them.
"Now remember, we only have a few shots. Lets make these count." Samtaana warned the others, setting the first metal-tipped missile into the weapon before floating back and letting the Cyclopsi work it into position.
As it turned out, it only took one shot. The blow from the weapon caused cracks to appear all along one of the faces of the Crystal, which rapidly spread all across the object. The attackers fled down the mountain as quickly as they could as the cracks spread, reaching cover moments before the entire crystal broke into a thousand pieces and came raining down all across the landscape. The Crystal, and its pervasive effects, were gone.
~IoW, edge of Quori lands~
Karhedron eyed the mists with great suspicion. Turning to one of the other titans, he ordered him to return home and bring back some more titans as backup.
3 PP: Ascend Exarch: Webweaver: The Vok'Dar leader reaches his final phase of evolution, the first Vok to ever do so and becomes filled with Divine Power left over from Grawlf's creation of the race. He also, incedentally, provides guide PP.
2 PP: Create Artifact: The Future Web. Displays the sum futures as seen by the Deva race. Often reports in riddles.
2 PP (one from Samtaana): Decreate Artifact: The Great Mindtouch Crystal: In a daring raid, the Eye-Kin destroy the Mindtouch Crystal above Eye-Kin mountain. Great joy and happiness abounds!
1 PP (from Karhedron): More titans join Karhedron's party.
3/9 +0/2
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Quori were busy occupied with two projects. The continuing unrest with the Eye-Kin was an annoyance, but it still took away some attention. One of the projects was nearing completion. In the Dream, the Quori had found a strange anomale. While they could only divine so much from the Dream, they could devise a device to call it to them. That device was quickly assembled. The call was sent, and then they merely waited for results. They were not long to wait...
1 PP: Denourish Populace: Many of the Eye-Kin die because they are trapped in nightmares.
3 PP: Mold Land: The "sticky planet" moves to orbit around the gas giant. NOTE: Please let me know if this is the wrong action, or the wrong amounf of PP
Kevmet spoke to the being. "This worked out quite well. You know what must be done, right?"
The figure nodded.
"Good. Please keep a watchful eye out on this place. If anything mysterious pops up, you take care of it accordingly."
3 PP: Ascend Exarch- The Shadow: The Shadow is an exact replicate of Kevmet that has a featureless body. The Shadow is a silhouette of Kevmet, in a way. The Shadow is capable of combat, and is solely combat- oriented when it needs to be.
2 PP: Create Moderate Artifact- Club of Fate: The Club of Fate is a slightly weaker version of the Jack of Spades that Kevmet wields. The Club of Fate is made specifically for The Shadow to use.
Current PP: 1 (because it's actually been about 1 week since I've last posted)
The swamps were a peaceful place for the most part, with only the occasional loud crash when a particularly large or heavy piece of junk fell from the Junk Falls. Blattaria and some of the Manyu scurried/muddled their way across the piles of junk, the Blattaria looking for inanimate trinkets, the Manyu looking for and digesting any organic wastes that had come along for the ride. It was a perfectly lovely relationship that resulted in the near total recovery of the falling junk. The work fell into a repetitive rhythm, and the Blattaria and Manyu found themselves able to tune out the outside world and feel the satisfaction of hard work.
And so it came as a shock when the black ships appeared overhead, surrounding the Junk Falls. Ships too numerous to count filled the sky in an ordered fashion, screaming in through the atmosphere with technology that those below couldn't even begin to fathom. The Blattaria and Manyu scattered into the swamps as the ships began settling lower and lower...
~The Cult of the Eye, various locations~
Across the great civilizations of Verda, Kahnda and the Isles, hooded and cloaked figures took to the streets, cloaks emblazoned with a red eye.
"The darkness moves inwards from the night! Only those who are the strongest have any hope of survival. Do your duty, protect your own people, for the rest of the universe is lost!"
To those who attempted to contradict or demand more explanations, the robed figures would hold forward a hand, palm facing towards their questioner. The sight of the blinking eye embedded in their palms tended to make most of those questions disappear for some reason.
~Cult of the Eye Warrens, Underneath Casaka~
Ravnos looked out over the gathered priests and missionaries of the Cult.
"And now we move on to the next phase..." he hissed, turning his gaze upwards at the great mechanical engine that hung overhead. He turned to a switch on the wall and pulled it, bathing the area with converted energies from the Lens high above. Those gathered here felt stronger and more invigorated as the energy flowed through them.
1 PP: Guide Populace (Webweaver): Vok'Dar ships move to Lor'quhan
1 PP: Guide Populace: Troll ships move to Lor'quhan
1 PP: Guide Populace: Illithid ships move to Lor'quhan
1 PP: Guide Populace: Death Dragon ships move to Lor'quhan (am I missing anyone?)
2 PP: Create Template: Eye-touched. Abberant Group Template created for higher-up members of the Cult of the Eye favored by Ravnos
1 PP: Nourish Populace (Lens of Casaka): The Cult of the Eye grows stronger.
0.4/9 PP, 0/2 PP
No change again.
He gives them a second look and produces a set of dice and cards for them to use. The voids in their arms now become stuffed with the dice and cards that they seem to have some affiliation with fingers. The Jokers have no complete control over their given limbs, so Kevmet uses his Deck of Cards to reassure them of how to use these items effectively. In return, the Jokers can now use these items as limbs and as minor weapons of the sort.
Kevmet examines the rock surrounding the doorway to his domain. He flicks his wrist and small plant life seem to bloom from the ground before him. The plant life is small, but proves to be more worthwhile during his construction of the new home. For now, he shall keep it the way it is until he can figure out what to do.
3 PP: Shape Moderate Populace (Jokers)- As strange as they may be, these figures possess some strange abilities that Kevmet provides for them. They are tall and slender and have black, featureless heads. They have black voids for hands, and seem to have the strangest array of clothing.
1 PP: Create Lesser Artifact (Cards + Dice)- Used for the Jokers, these artifacts pose as the Joker's way of handling various things as well as being used as weapons. Less intelligent than any of Kevmet's artifacts, they still retain their duty around him and his handless cohorts.
0+ 1 PP: Guide Populace (From Deck of Cards Artifact)- Kevmet trains the Jokers how to use their new peripherals in a fluent and defensive manner.
1 PP: Nourish land: Minor plant life, such as grass, small flowers, bush balls, and saplings grow on the Lone Isles.
Current PP: 1
The Harbinger slowly retrieved her hooded robe, pulling it over her ichor-splattered form.
Now then. Are there any else who would contest my power?
The demons and devils said nothing; many stood with their mouths agape; the only sound in the room was the *tick* *tick* *tick* of the varying clockwork mechanisms throughout the plane.
The Harbinger swept her baleful gaze across the space, but none dared to look her in the eye. Excellent.
Like a wave of falling dominoes, the fiends collapsed onto their knees, proving their acquiescence with their bodies, if not with their voices.
Now form up. We will start with Verda. We leave in less than an hour.
The Horde overran the pitiful defenses of the defenders of this world with ease, washing over them like an avalanche, the Morinsfra and Vok hordes leading the way, followed up by the Illithids and Vok'Dar overlords, who chose choice mortals for their own purposes. The first to fall had been the Blattaria, who had been slightly too busy trying to salvage useless rubbish from a most curious geological feature to even notice the approaching armies, much less mount any sort of coordinated defense. The few that had stood to fight had been cut down mercilessly, a score more had been captured, and the rest had been driven off into the swamplands, where reports were that many had taken to burrowing beneath the mud to hide from the invaders, which ended up being a surprisingly effective trick. If the World Eaters had been here, they would have been found quickly, but as it was, the Horde was forced to allow them to live.
Some among the Vok'Dar overlords that had accompanied Webweaver on the great March were dubious that such a race could serve any purpose in their collective, but the god-Vok reminded them of the rules that their people had passed down since the earliest times when the first glimmers of intelligence, not granted by any God but wrested from the universe through sheer force of will and tenacity, had burst upon the minds of the then-dumb Vok. All were to be incorporated, and the nature of the Vok would sort out the rest. And so it was that two score of the Blattaria were faced by two score of the Vok, who tore the beings limb from limb, devowering them completely before begginning the transformations that would incorporate portions of the anatomy and phisiology of the Blattaria into themselves. Antenna on some, segmented carapaces on others, the addled minds of the Blattaria in yet others, soon the Vok rejoined the throngs milling beyond the edges of the light.
The next were the mighty Leviathans, who dove deep under the surface of the poisoned planet to avoid the invaders as their ships came to hover over the oceans. It was this quick thinking that saved the majority of their race, although some were captured and subverted.
~Lor'Quhan, Taskati Main City~
"This will not do. I do not feel we can win. Without Assimilation, do we know sin?"
These Manyu, as they called themselves, were proving very, very difficult to subvert. The ways of the Vok were clear. One had to eat the entire organism in order to gain portions of its power, yet these Manyu were proving very, very difficult to ingest, seeing that, as far as Webweaver could see, they were not one organism, but many... and yet one. Eating all of the rings produced a very unpleasant reaction within the Vok who was told to eat the captive Manyu, typically involving death by rampant mutation or, in one case, division of the Vok into several component clumps. However, only eating one ring seemed to have no effects at all, the same as if the Vok had eaten a plant or a shrub.
Webweaver paced over to the next captive, leaning down to stare at what he now knew were the things 'eyes' on the third ring from the top.
"Give it up, you cannot hope to win. How many rings do we eat to let us in?" The Vok'Dar hissed.
The Manyu stared back before blurbbling out from its second ring.
"We do not see the point of answering them's questions. We do not know the answer. Why are they here?"
With a cry of rage, Webweaver swept a clawed hand across the Manyu, leaving the deflating being wheezing in pain as the Vok'Dar turned to look at the other hundred captives lined up for experimentation. Not far off, he could see the Illithid leadership muttering to one another, arms folded beneath their tentacled faces as they cast angry glances at the rings. Webweaver knew that they too had had less than ideal results... not only were the Manyu made of up many rings, they seemed to be made of many minds as well, a quality which was proving very difficult to control. Feeling his gaze, one of the Illithids looked up and nodded. Webweaver turned to the Morinsfra captain.
"Kill them." He whispered.
The captain smiled viciously and gave a gesture to his men. As one they brought their blades down across the Manyu, leaving them to die from their wounds as they set off into the swamplands to hunt down as many of the rest of the Manyu race as they could... if the Vok'Dar and Illithids had no use for them... then they were only good for one thing, as far as the horde was concerned... they were good as prey.
~Lor'Quhan~
The devastation of Lor'quhan complete, the Vok'Dar Hordes, led by Webweaver, set off for a glimmering green orb in the distance... one that was known as Verda. Several ships remained behind on Lor'quan, however... finishing the task that the Horde had begun.
~IoW, Edge of Quori Lands~
With a eruption of earth, a black pit appeared not far from where the Titans had entered the Mist-lands. A cyclops and a Beholder cautiously emerged, bodies covered in dirt and slick from exertion, but great smiles on their faces. They had made it... they had found a way beyond the Quori lands to new resources for their rebellion. The Cyclops turned and whistled, and dozens of Eye-Kin emerged from the tunnel, fanning out into the surrounding areas and starting to gather resources.
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Blattaria-forms emerge in the Vok'Dar horde
1 PP: Denourish Populace: Blattaria are forced away from the Junk Falls and into the swamplands
1 PP: Nourish Populace: Leviathan-forms emerge in the Vok'Dar horde
1 PP: Denourish Populace: Leviathans are driven deep into the oceans by the Horde.
2 PP: Denourish Populace: Frustrated that their efforts to incorporate the Manyu seem to have failed, the Horde decimates the Taskati people, driving them to the edge of extinction.
1 PP (from Webweaver): Guide Populace: Vok'Dar hordes head to Verda.
2 PP: Mold Land (moderate): Eye-Kin resistance manages to complete a tunnel system leading from the Eye-Kin mountains to past the edges of the Quori-ruled lands.
2 PP: Nourish Populace: With a conduit to the outside world, the Eye-Kin are able to flourish, increasing their activities both within the fog and without.
10/20 +1/2 PP
Once again, Verda was burning. As Demons, Devlis, and all manner of Revenants, Judicants, and Malevolants scoured the planet of life.
The Gigotaur kingdom, long left isolated by the rivers that had protected it from Bel's Hungering Flame, was no barrier, and the demonic and vengeful hordes paid no heed to the Gigotaurs "Most refine-ed and justeth systeme of honour", slaughtering all in their path. Ironic it was, that the gigotaurs were finally able to unite against a common foe -- only to be mercilessly cut down in spite of their unity.
The orcs and unbound ones were likewise woefully unprepared for the wave of vengeance that swept the face of the earth. Former Orcs, now risen as Taintblood Malevolants, lead the assault against their former nations. The orcs were actually driven away from the tree of corrption, the artifact itself being excised by the demons and carried away as a trophy. The unbound ones fared noticeably better, their innate "elsewhereness" making them elusive foes. But the Harbinger's armies were not concerned with the few individuals that avoided detection. Their homes were burned, and then the army pressed on.
The first real defense for Verda was mounted at the Grotto -- some Deva had frantically rushed to the city to inform the inhabitants of the impending assault (less they find themselves Rakshasas), several bloody hours of battle left the two groups at an impasse -- the grotto had weakened, but the Harbinger's forces were as strong as ever -- every primal spirit that fell rose as a revenant; every demon that fell became a vindicant; and every mortal arose again as a Malevolant, the hatred and drive that allowed their revival twisted against their former goals.
The sun set on Verda, but the planet was not dark -- for Verda yet burned.
Lor'quhan
The forces of the Vok had made a grave error in assuming Lor'quhan beaten. They had not even touched the Blighted Spirits, despite their grand proclamations of doom to Twist and the one they could only remember as "boomo!". The Yuan-ti were likewise left alone, though the snakefolk took offense to the whole affair: there was killing, maiming, backstabbing, and annihilation going on? And they weren't part of it?! Of all unjust..
The leviathans too had only been mildly rebuked -- afterall, Lohak's return had brought about great change for their dying race -- with the unadulterated power of renewal, each Leviathan that was consumed by the horde of Vok rose again the next day at dawn. Deep beneath the oceans, where no vok cared to go, the Leviathans carved great orbs out of basalt and ammortized pearl. These "Soul Beacons" channeled the Book of Renewal's power directly -- any mortal who attuned with the artifacts (an arcane, and somewhat random process that took many hours) would revive at the beacon, within a day of their unnatural death.
Though they were loathe to do so, the Leviathans grudgingly allowed their necessary allies to attune to the artifacts as well (They were admittedly, curious to see what effects such magic would have on Yuan-ti society - those they backstabbed would, for once, be able to return the backstabbing ad infinitum)
Their first assault freed many of the Taskarti from the Vok's sci-labs and mutification facilities. The Vok were taken completely by surprise -- in fact, some of the Leviathan forms that remained were astonished to see the very beings they had felled to fuel their mutations, had returned to exact their vengeance.
The Yuan-ti had created a new poison specifically to combat their dark invaders, saturating the area, killing Ithillid, Vok, Death Dragon, and the rest of the vok hordes, and it was proving startlingly effective.
Though their first fight was unmistakably decisive, it was only the first in a long series of skirmishes to come.
PP Expenditure
-1 guide populace (Volumbra Aegis pours through the Whispergates to invade Verda)
-1 guide populace (Demons and Devils also pour through to invade Verda)
-3 denourish populace (Gigotaurs, Orcs, and Unbound ones are driven from their ancestral lands. Some flee towards the Grotto, others flee into the wilds, or into the Eladrin/Drow nation)
-3 Create Artifact (Greater) -- The Soul Beacons of the Leviathans, +1PP to denourish attuned races. (Currently, Leviathans, Manyu, Blight Spirits, and Yuan-ti)
-1 denourish populace - Vok hordes are taken by surprise as the Leviathans direct a sudden resistance to their forces.
-1 nourish populace - Manyu are rescued by the Yuan-ti.
10/20 + 2/2
The forces of Vengeance were taken by surprise, and lost much ground in the first few minutes, nearly pushed back against their very own fortifications. But then, lead by the exarchs Karii and Fulrit, the tides began to shift back into an uneasy equilibrium.
The marilith, Karii, was a whirling dervish of steel and hewn limbs, cackling madly as blood, ichor, and worse stained her scaled skin. She dove into entire regiments of mosinfra and vok, her massive size allowing her to slay dozens with a single swipe of one of her many swords.
Fulrit too was a fearsome sight, though his power was more subtle, and less overbearing. Any who found themselves fighting the wolf could only gape in horror -- their strikes often hit true, but caused no injury to the wolf, their blows reflecting back onto their own bodies instead. As Fulrit howled his dirge of death, all he had to do was walk towards the enemy -- it was a long time indeed before word of the demi-god's "trick" spread, and the Vok hordes would rather retreat than face him.
Fulrit finally ended his spell as a massive Vok, towering above all others finally approached him, his forces scattering out behind him to form a small ring. Several scores of malevolants, firstborn of their dark god, mirrored the action, leaving Fulrit and the Vok encircled, but otherwise alone.
Ah, finally, a worthy challenge... This will be fun, I think.
The wolf crouched, bearing its fangs.
But Webweaver felt no fear, merely calm. What was the point in being afraid? Fear, Love, any emotion. What was the point? Plans were best executed without any feeling at all. And he planned to evicerate this being and absorb its power, growing even more powerful... perhaps even becoming a God.
Webweaver smiled back at the Exarch, white teeth glinting in the pitch black face as his four extra arms swiveled out from his carapace, claws sharp and gleaming, each capped with razor-sharp metal.
"Oh what is this, my dears, my dears. Oh what could you be, my dears..." the Vok'Dar hissed, swaying side to side on his four legs in a hypnotic pattern.
"Come to my web, my dears, my dears. Come to my web. And Perish."
And hey, why not start with you?
The wolf paced a few steps forward, then lunged forward abruptly, fangs flashing. It wasn't sure the best place to strike, so it bit everywhere, tentacles, carapace, head, leg -- the exarch managed to rip one tentacle off with its teeth, but in the process became entrapped by three more. Nonplussed, the exarch flexed, the tentacles engorging, bulging with the strain of trying to keep the great wolf contained.
What do you think you can do to me anyway?
Fulrit, despite his immobilization, leaned forward, intending to continue his attack.
"Purge the Void, my dears, my dears? We're doing that too, my dears, my dears." The Vok'Dar said, bringing up one of its hands to its mouth and licking off Fulrit's blood in a deliberate act of provocation.
Webweaver's eyes widened as the blood hit his tongue. Such power! Such mighty, mighty power within the blood of this beast before him.
"Let us dance, my dears, my dears. I want to taste more of your blood, dears." The Vok'Dar began running towards Fulrit, opening its mouth and spitting a glob of vile acid towards the wolf...
... who was not there. Out of the corner of its eye, Webweaver saw a blur of motion, and turned just in time to raise an arm to block the lunging exarch. What would have been a killing blow was turned into merely a very painful one as the wolf bit down on the arm, causing black ichor to fly in all directions while Webweaver tried its best to throw the beast off, only succeeding after the arm had been rendered completely useless.
Webweaver threw the Wolf to the other side of the ring again before taking a moment to check its spasming arm. Nothing he could do about that now. It was nothing he had not anticipated... his foe was powerful... but the reward for victory was too great.
Around the combatants, the battle had paused as the armies of both Devils and Vok turned to watch the single combat between the two exarchs. Whoever won this fight would win the battle.
Slowly, accompanied by a series of disturbing cracks and crunches, the tentacle disappeared into the wolf's gullet.
That's funny -- you taste like... failure. Unrequited arrogance and longing. It must be such a piteous feeling -- to know that you are about to die; and to know that there is *nothing* you can do about it.
Fulrit began to stalk around the edge of the circle. Better to attack where he had already wounded it.
Another howl, and Fulrit lunged once more.
If he had thought the blood of the beast was something, the flesh was heavenly! His tentacles went slack, dropping Fulrit as all of its brain became preoccupied by the taste in his mouth. He could feel the power within this beast.
"And you, my dears, my dears, you, my dears taste like you belong in my belly." He said, slowly regaining his senses.
The wolf exarch shuddered, looking for a moment lost and confused. Mere moments later, he snapped his head around, scrabbling away from the monstrous vok monstrosity as he regained a sense of his situation.
Karii, now!
As Fulrit retreated into the hordes of Malevolants, the massive Marilith erupted from the ground in front of Webweaver, her six swords quickly driving the force back.
Very well, Vok! I'll retreat for now. But you're a fool if you think you won this battle.
Fulrit slunk away into the embrace of his waiting forces, and Karii too, her surprise assault serving its purpose, moved away to find other, less defensible flanks to assault.
The fighting was pretty much a deadlock all around the circle of the grotto, and the forces, both Vok and Aegean, were retreating, leaving a 300 meter swath of "no man's land" separating the two forces. It wouldn't stay such for long, obviously, but for now the fighting had ceased as both armies began to feel the true extent of their rival's entire power.
With the invaders squaring off against one another, the defenders of the Grotto itself were hastily setting into motion a great ritual, passed down from the days of their ancestors and their ancestor's ancestors, to when the great flames had swept across much of Verda. Words were spoken, blood was spilled, runes were drawn... and then it was done. Far off in the forests, a single cry of anger split the air.
~Vok'Dar Forces~
Webweaver, frustrated that his quarry had managed to escape, had retreated to the rear of his lines, conferring with the other leaders of the Horde as to the best way to trap the Wolf and Marilith. A plan had been mostly worked out when the cry sounded in the forest, and the sound of something coming closer and closer rang throughout the Grotto.
And then Cragnas, great defender of Verda, was there, beams of energy lancing into devil and Vok alike. The footsoldiers of both armies began to panic, running from the huge beast. Webweaver himself felt a twinge of fear flow through his body. This... was... big.
"Go and find someone to offer a temporary truce to the other side" one of the Illithid mindlords said to an underling. Webweaver nodded, and added to the Mindflayer's instructions: "And tell my dears, my dears to meet me. It is up to me and my dears, my dears to defeat this."
"Wait, no! We come in askance!"
"A Ceasefire! Ceasefire!"
Too more illithid underlings vanished under a storm of hellfire arrows and retributive magic.
One of the Balor generals bellowed through a war horn, his magically augmented voice piercing the battlescape: "Give these dark hordes no quarter! Fall back, a fighting retreat! Let them deal with nature's fury unleashed."
Slowly, those manning the grotto began to cheer as the dark tides of vengeance slowly withdrew from the area surrounding The Grotto. It was a bitter, half-forced thing, as the Vok'dar and their foul ilk yet remained in force -- but if nothing else, the retreat of one army and the arrival of Cragnas raised their morale immeasurably.
~The Susurrus~
For the first time in a long, long while, the inside of the planetoid was quiet. Most of its inhabitants were elsewhere in the void, with only a skeleton crew "manning" the cities enclosed within.
Outside the demi-plane was another matter entirely -- Gaerth was restless and agitated, shaking and squawking, breathing plumes of radiance every so often. It would have been clear to any observer (had there been any) that the beast was unlikely to remain subserviant for long. The Silver Phoenix narrowed its eyes, and beat his wings, flying further towards Avanii.
~Lor'quhan~
The Leviathan's coalition was finding the Vok to be a indomitable threat. The two groups often found themselves deadlocked -- territories changed hands repeatedly. One Leviathan, calling itself Ralakal, dared to do something unthinkable -- even for a people accustomed (by now) to powerful renewal magic.
Deep within the Strait of Fangs, a presence stirred.
Okay, that hurt. I'm going to kill someone for that. Maybe a great many somethings...
It had a few possible options.
One, it could order a retreat, leaving the inhabitants of this place free to rebuild, his foes free to regroup and that THING alive to fight another day. Not the best option.
Two, it could attack the monster, leaving the horde's flanks open for attack and giving his foes a chance to regroup. The beast would be dead, though.
Three, it could press the assault against the mostly defenseless Grotto, and likely be able to crack its final barriers, assimilating new and varied forms into the Vok. In the meantime, the beast would be free to rampage through their back lines, likely causing massive amounts of damage while allowing the Wolf to rebuild his forces.
Four, it could chase the retreating Devils, kill them, gain the power of the Wolf, and return to kill the beast and break the Grotto. Recalling the taste of the Wolf, the choice was simple.
"Follow the Devils. Leave the field to that beast!" Webweaver cried, gesturing with his good arms towards the retreating army. The Combined Vok Horde needed no encouragment to move away from Cragnas, and gleefully chased their retreating foes through the trees, cutting down Mariliths, Balors and All forms of malevolents and revenants. Through it all, Webweaver made it clear that if anyone spotted the Wolf and Marilith that were leading these armies, they were to report it to Webweaver... there was some unfinished business to attend to.
18/20 +1/2
More Vok'dar were lost to Karii's blades than any other, the fiend completely mad with battle lust, carving a bloody swath through the horde. A squad of vindicants and demons followed in her wake, mopping up those who had merely been 'grazed' by the archdemon.
"And now I have you, my dear, my dear. You fell into my web, my dear." Webweaver crooned to Karii before leaning down and beginning to feed on the exarch, taking massive bites from the devil's torso as its struggles grew less and less and less and finally stopped entirely. With a cry of triumph, Webweaver lifted the exarch's carcass from the earth, holding it in four arms as the other two reached into the Marilith's eye sockets, ripping the skull in half before scooping out the brain of Karii and slurping it down before throwing the carcass to the ground before the stunned vindicants and demons. Webweaver could feel the power, not nearly as sweet as the wolf, but still substantial flowing through him, and felt himself growing larger and stronger. Ever since he had taken that bite of the Wolf, he had been feeling better and better with every passing moment.
"Time to run, little ones" it said, smiling wickedly at the demons.
And run they did. The death of one of their leaders would have been taxing in the best of cases, but Fulrit as well seemed to have vanished, and without leadership, the demon hordes broke and fled in every direction. Webweaver had no illusions that eventually the Wolf would reappear and reassert dominion over some fraction, or perhaps all of the army, but by that time, the Vok would likely be done with this pitiful place.
For now, however, it was time to deal with that monster following them. Even from here Webweaver could hear its roars and feel the ground shake. Webweaver gestured to a nearby Illithid, who approached, awaiting a message to be sent to another part of the battlefield.
So, it came as a bit of a surprise when Webweaver instead ripped the creature's head from its body and ate it, feeling the necessary changes occurring within him nearly instantaneously. Webweaver raced into the forest, moving towards his foe. He had never felt so powerful. He could do anything he wanted.
Coming upon the beast from behind, Webweaver scrambled up the creature's craggy legs, leaping from place to place as it scaled the beast. So far, the beast seemed to not notice the Vok'Dar climbing it, paying far more attention to the Morinsfra forces which were trying in vain to damage it.
Finally reaching the back of the monster, Webweaver moved forward towards the head, folding four of his six arms back under his carapace and willing the transformation to begin. He began to feel pressure building beneath his shell as he reached the beast's head, coming to a climax as he reached the apex.
Two huge tentacles burst from Webweaver's back, nearly five times as long as the Vok'Dar itself. It concentrated, and the tentacles flew down into the beast's head, pushing through the organic matter until, at long last, they reached what passed for Cragnas' brain. While the beast writhed in anger and pain, Webweaver went to work, using the skills he had picked up from the Illithid to alter the beast's mind. It saw right away that the beast would never be completely controllable... Its brain was just too large. What Webweaver could do, however... was...
There. A final bellow, and the beast was silent, standing there docile as Webweaver extracted itself from the creature's brain and began to climb down as the beast started moving into the woods as if nothing had happened. Webweaver had weaved into its brain the concept that the Vok and their allies were part of the forest, and needed to be protected just as much as the forest itself. Webweaver smiled as his feet touched the ground. A clever solution if it had ever heard one.
Feeling more powerful than ever, Webweaver noticed a feeling spreading over him. He was about to transform again, to ascend to a higher level of being. And there was only one thing above his current station: Godhood itself. Smiling, he opened his arms outwards, preparing to receive the soon-to-arrive glory.
3 PP: Deascend Exarch: Karii is killed by Webweaver, and eaten.
3 PP: Modify Superior Spawn: Cragnas the Green becomes Cragnas the Black, now tasked with defending the Vok as well as the Forest.
12/20 +1/2 PP.
I think not -- You fell into my web, "my dear, my dear".
Webweaver could only look down in a strange mix of emotions at its body, which was turning a strange, glossy, pale green color. Like algal...ice?
Massive cracks appeared upon the Vok's massive flanks, leaking a blue-white light. His body swelled, doubling, then doubling again, engorged and bloated. But--- something was wrong. Webweaver didn't feel more powerful, he felt... unstable. His entire, bulbous form began to shake. Violently. The cracks widened, and super-heated gas began to stream forth, causing a sharp whistling noise that could be heard even among the sounds of panic below.
"This is power, is it not, is it not? Then why does it feel like I'm going to burst, to--- *ghurk*" Webweaver's hissing was abruptly cut off as the inflated form of the Vok burst. Dark ichor spewed everywhere, dyeing Cragas' back a deep ebony. Despite the quiverring remains of horribly streched and torn vok flesh, Webweaver felt that he was still alive. Somehow.
He used what little energy he had to activate some of the World-Eater's biomancy, forming a single eye. At first, the eye was pointed out towards the battlefield, where Vok had been slaying the marauding demons with impunity -- but now, the Vok hordes seemed to be in as much chaos as the demons they fought.
He reached out with his thoughts -- or tried to -- using the assimilated telepathy, but no matter what Vok mind he found, it was always a feral, addled thing, concerned with only three things: kill, assimilate, survive. Normally, this wouldn't be 'cause for alarm, but none of the minds had even a hint of intellect anymore. The Vok might assimilate all they pleased, but without that intellect, they would never again rise united to consume the void.
Worried now, the eye spun around, taking in the splattered remains of his body. In the center of... well, himself really, there was a brilliant void of blue-white energy. Webweaver knew, knew like he had never been so certain of anything in his life, that this was the entity responsible for his feelings of serenity and omnipotence. He knew this was a god, and he knew too that he himself had somehow allowed it (him? her?) a rebirth into this world.
"Wksy? ejp str upiz?" was all that came from his tattered maw.
The void of light solidified, manifesting smooth legs of ice as it stepped out of the air and onto the back of Cragnas. It reached down a hand, tenderly removing the eye from the rest of webweaver's flesh. Cradled in the being's hands, Webweaver realized that all his consciousness had retreated to the eye -- there was nothing more of him but this!
Foolish, little creature.
The voice wasn't vindictive, but seemed to scold, like a parent would do to an errant child.
I was hiding within my exarch's flesh, and when you bit him, you allowed me into yourself. Your mind. Your heart. Your very being. You are an ingenious creature, truly, but I doubt even one such as you could completely assimilate my power.
Webweaver's eye quivered, blinked twice, and was still.
Oh, but the secrets you showed me. Do you see what has become of your horde? Never would I have been able to understand their physiology so as to act on them in such a precise way without your insight. We gods may have created you, but I assure you, we are as baffled by you mortals as you are us.
The figure stepped off Cragnas' back then, floating above the battlefield.
Look -- even now Fulrit rallies what remains of the Wave of Vengeance. They shall retreat from this place to Kahnda, leaving Verda to the mercy of your mindless Vok'dar. They will turn against all, even themselves and their allies -- Verda will become a scourged place, a graveyard of races and ideas, and also a prison, trapping what remains of your people here for the foreseeable future.
Ah, but you, Webweaver. I find death to be too simple a release for you in the end. No, better that your knowledge, flawed, slanted, and perverse as it might be, find use. This space has no more use for gods, you see? You may have noticed that one by one we vanished. This realm has become a place for mortals, and so to mortals I shall entrust you.
The being slowly closed its hands, and Webweaver knew no more.
PP Expenditure
-3 Modify -- The Vok'dar, all their forms, devolve, becoming a spawn instead of a populace.
-1 Guide -- with the "ascension" of Webweaver, and between pressure of the feral Vok and the retreating demons / devils / 'ants the Vok hordes collapse in upon themselves, and scatter across the face of Verda.
-1 guide -- the non-vok remnants of Webweaver's armies retreat, fleeing from verda back to their respective homes.
-2 modify -- Webweaver becomes a Greater Artifact, "Webweaver's eye", an amulet of great knowledge that allows its wielder to draw upon an ecycolpediac knowledge of the physiology and psychology of any of the varying Populaces throughtout Lightvoid.
-1 guide -- The rest of the demons, devils, and Volumbra Aegis retreat to Kahnda.
8/20
As Webweaver felt the darkness close in, his mind... or at least what passed for his soul's mind, railed against the end that was approaching. He had been so very, very close to godhood. So close, yet so far. From the eye, a single black tear beaded and fell, rushing down to earth and crystalizing into a small black gemstone, lost among the bodies scattered across the battlefield.
The lights began to dim as his conciousness fled, but Webweaver knew that the last laugh would be his, for in that gem was his eventual rebirth and, hopefully, full ascension.
And then Webweaver was gone.
3 PP: Create Artifact: Webweaver's Tear. Small black gemstone, which, if held or worn for too long, will lead to the eventual transformation of its owner into a sentient Vok'Dar Overlord such as Webweaver himself.
~Lor'quhan~
The revival of the ice exarch, Hrinori, has been a great boon against the Vok'dar forces inhabiting the place. Unaffected by the same curse that slew Webweaver, the Vok still on the planet are locked in conflict with the other races of the world. The place still remains a font of poisons and venom.
~The Susurrus and Avanii~
As the Silver Phoenix passed near Avanii, it finally strayed from its purpose of pulling the demi-plane in order to fight the dragon guardian Visagara. Avanii and the Susurrus continue to drift farther away from the center of the void, a forgotten place of massive dragons, titans, and other primeval beasts of immense strength and power.
~Kahnda~
Kahnda remains a place of conflict as well, though it was planned that way from its inception. The Foulspawn, Volumbra Aegis, and Goblins maintain a three-way conflict for dominance, the Forces of Hell defecting from Volumbra Aegis after the fall of Karii, scattering across the cosmos. Somewhere here, Faeros the Grim licks his wounds, and plots a course of conquer for the bastion of Malevolants that remain.
~Verda~
Verda is a pale, broken shadow of what it once was. The entire world stinks of death. What little civilization there is exists solely in the remains of the Gigotaur and Eladrin/Drow cities. The mighty Gigotaurs suffered immensely under the onslaught of the world, and are much changed by the conflict, becoming smaller, frailer creatures. These so called "Minotaur" can only look upon the vast architecture of their ancestor's Labyrinthine Castles with sorrow. The teachings of Dharrox have been mostly abandoned in the chaos, but the bull-men maintain their sense of honor and decorum. In the wilds it is not safe -- the animalistic Vok lurk in every dark shadow, ready to devour anything that dares approach, even each other.
The exarch/false-god Ravnos had been hiding underneath the city of Casaka for some time now, slowly gaining converts to his 'religion', the Cult of the Eye. Only a few of the higher order priests, all heavily modified with several additional eyes... first in the palms of the hands and then, upon attainment of the highest order, the tongue was extended and a final eye embedded into the end. Through an underground smuggling network, Ravnos had managed to procure a supply of beholder eyes from the distant Quori, so among the highest echelon, their added eyes added fantastic new abilities.
Deep in the vacated lava rings, near the intake for the great Void Engine, the Oculani were meeting, hands covering their faces, palms out to reveal the additional eyes. One by one, the Oculani opened their mouths, revealing their ritual fifth eye, proving they were a true follower of the God.
"Brethren, it is finally time. Our great benefactor, Ravnos, long ago revealed that he wished for us to rule this city instead of the followers of Grawlf. Tonight, we make our move."
~~~
Night fell over the desert, and, using forgotten conduits that ran throughout the underbelly of the entire city, the coup was altogether simple. With Karhedron and a sizable portion of his closest followers gone searching for signs of the Ark, there were too few who cared to fight against the Cult. By morning, Casaka had new leadership.
Ravnos stood on the steps to the Ziggaraut that held the Lens of Casaka, looking down at the gathered citizens of his creator's first jewel. Several steps down stood an honor guard of Cultists, guarding him against any remaining loyalists to his Creator's preferred order.
"Titans." He said, looking out across them. "Too long have you cowered here on this pitiful excuse for a planet, afraid of what occurred back on Yrie. Fear no more, for I am here to protect you, now and always. Do as I order, and we shall form a wonderful partnership, for just as I created you long ago, I shall lead you to your next glorious phase now."
Ravnos saw a few confused glances.
"But I did, you see. Grawlf and Ravnos are the same. Two sides of the same coin, two sides of a greater truth. But I have chosen to remain as Ravnos forever, and reside with my chosen people."
Under Ravnos' guidance, the Titans prepared for a massive wave of expansion, forming up armies and marching to the cusp of the nearby planetoid, one that carried members of the Aszhari Clans. Several years prior, members of the Cult of the Eye had spread to both these lands and the lands of the Aszhari Dominion, recruiting local members and instructing them to be vigilant for their opportunity to help the Oculani in their endeavors. The converts from the Dominion would prove especially useful in the future, as they had spent their time seeking out positions of authority over the defenses of the cities of the Aszhari.
Meanwhile, back in Casaka, one of the Occulani threw the great lever that controlled the lens of Casaka. Light shone outwards, streaking past the Titan army and striking the planetoid, turning a sizable portion of it to desert over the course of several weeks. When the beam finally stopped, the Titans moved in, shouting their war cries as they ran across the new-desert towards the disorganized clanfolk.
~Borders of the Quori Lands~
To the surprise of Karhedron, here on the borders of the Quori territory, he had found someone who he could call a friend.
"Samtanna, is that really you?" He asked, marching with quick strides across the landscape towards the smith as the beholder emerged from the tunnel.
"Karhedron? How did you get here? I thought you were headed to Avanii, following the Ark?"
"Avanii? I thought that he had come here."
"No, no. You see over there? That little smudge of blackness amongst the stars? Thats Avanii."
Karhedron looked into the void. So far away. He did not want to bring his entire city with him once more.
"My friend. Would you help me to build a ship? I must find him."
"On one condition. I am currently helping these beholders and cyclopsii to fight a terrible war against the Quori, who have enslaved most of the Beholder race. If you will leave me the titans with you, I will build your ship."
Karhedron nodded, and went to inform his people while Samtaana began to work. Soon, the Titans were descending into the tunnel and Karhedron was climbing into his ship. With a rush of fire and smoke, the ship left the Isles of Wonder, traveling to Avanii, and to Kythandrin.
State of the Worlds
~Isles of Wonder~
The Isles are in a state of Flux. War seems inevitable between the Aszhari Clans, slowly being pushed back towards the Dominion and the Titans. Whether or not Ravnos will direct the Casakans to attack the Dominion as well remains to be seen, although given the level of infiltration of the Dominion military by cultists, that seems quite likely. On the other side of the Isles, the long-simmering Eye-Kin resistance has expanded into a full-fledged rebellion, striking out and destroying Mindtouch crystals whenever possible.
~Khandras~
Far below the Isles, the Zang and Beholders continue their peaceful existence, growing closer and learning to understand one another better with every passing year. Although completely different in origin and chemistry, the two find themselves to be kindred spirits, and soon, at the encouragement of the Beholders, the Zang begin to reach out to other races and nations, offering their unique perspective on the universe.
~Vok~
The death of Webweaver stunned all the sentient Vok'Dar, and sent the homeworld into a state of chaos as the old ways reasserted themselves. For now, the black cities of the Collective are lit by fires as rival groups of Vok fight for supremacy. Such disarray will not last forever. While the people of the Inner Worlds may have a reprieve, eventually a new Overlord will emerge, and the eyes of the Vok'Dar will once again be directed inwards towards the Hot.
~World Eaters~
Far out in the Void, the Mouth moves through space aimlessly. Within the World Eaters wait for when, in their wanderings, they will find a new world.
~Shadowfell~
Most of the Illithid armies returned to the hidden planet after the death of Webweaver and the dissolving of the horde, bringing back new thralls. There, they began a process of dramatic expansion, spreading across the surface of the planet and digging deep into the crust. In a dark cavern below the surface Failure twitched in its eternal slumber as the sounds of digging grew closer...
~The River~
Along the river, life went on much as it had for the past millenia. The Tos Arai always had souls to guide down the River, and the changes on the Prime went by with barely anyone noticing.
1 PP: Guide PP: A massive Coup occurs in Casaka as the Cult of the Eye takes over from the civilian government.
1 PP: Guide PP: The Casakan people gird their loins and begin expanding.
1 PP: Nourish Populace: The Cult of the Eye spreads to the Aszhari Clans
1 PP: Nourish Populace: The Cult of the Eye spreads to the Aszhari Dominion
1 PP: Denourish Populace: The Aszhari Dominion's defenses are infiltrated by the Cult, making them less effective.
1 PP: Denourish Land (from Lens of Casaka): Portions of the Aszhari Clans planetoid are turned into desert.
3 PP: Nourish Populace: Eye-Kin gain the support of the Titans that Karhedron brought with him, as well as many more supplies.
2 PP: Create Artifact: Karhedron, with help from Samtaana, creates a ship to attempt to find his son, and sets off towards Avanii.
3 PP: Create Artifact: The End.
0/20 +0/2