[ ] Elves
Create a species of living stars roughly 10 feet in diameter, they can see the future and can generate and control the pale flame that makes up their bodies, when they desire to interact and speak with other creatures they can assume a humanoid form averaging 6'6 ft tall with pointed ears and long blonde hair although they can't fly in this form.
They live for many hundreds of years and are incredibly curious about the world, it's peoples, and it's history, however they are greatly damaged by water when in Star form and prefer to stay well above the clouds in rainy areas.
any thoughts?
I was trying to make stars without actually making real stars
The Great turtle Fleet
Fungimirians
Kelpicorns
A Boarish Grudge
Union Circlet
Aurum the Gold Titan
Whistling Tower
Notos
Naga Birth
A kick in the behind
Ive been working on some of the information stuff, and I think im going to make this moratorium about a week long. I dont want to continue the trend of taking longer and longer on each update, and I need to tend to my other quests. Feel free to converse as usual, maybe tag me if you feel a need for grading
The Powers That Be have done well in all things, and the people of the First Pyramid have done well to adapt and thrive. Though, it'd be fair to say that the time before was the most challenging of visits. A new abundance of food fources, and the presence of Magnolia to boot, was a great boon to all. The naga shifted focus in their farming. They still farmed Prism Kelp, but instead of growing it strictly as a healthy food source, they now would largely be used to make floating matts, to farm the much more valuable Gem Snails. Some of them also have begun to tend to groves of Mushroom Trees all over the island, whose growth has been expediant, thanks to Magnolia making her home amoungst them.
The Aetherians shifted their living arrangements up on their sky islands, designating one of the further ones as a place of greenery, meant to entice the roaming Cloudweaver Koi to return after each rain, and to breed, all for easier management and hunting.
The Sailfrogs multiply rapidly, only encouraging the roaming Pixie population to hunt them and hold more feasts. Infact, as regularly as once a week, a hunting party is organized to get one or even two frogs. Occassionally, their eggs and tadpoles would be gathered as special delicacies and gifts.
Not many hunt down the flying turtles,for most things are much easier to catch or grow. But they are not safe either, with their flesh used for luxuriously fatty stews, and their shells made into new pixie boats, or a type of bowl or basket. Their waterproof feathers are sometimes used for roofing. But the ones that would hunt and use them the most were the Aquariads, who would fashion shells into pieces of armor or shields, joining spears in their hunting arsenal.
Even the Reef Jellies have begun to farm. After the last visit from The Powers, some Aquariads had moved to the fringes of Green city, bringing with them some Glitter to farm. The Reef Jellies now ate a diet of detrius, largely supplemented by the glitter. This led them to poke and prod at the surface, to spread the sparkly crop out, and also occassionally stirring the patches up to get more to sink down into the deeper water. Eventually, some of them would evolve into a new type of Jelly, called a Glitter Jelly.
These Glitter Jellies would be smaller than their Reef bretheren, with shorter tentacles. And though they too would grow a reef within themselves, it would be largely obscured by the sheer amount of Glitter they also grew. And because they would grow a massive amount of their food within themselves, Glitter Jellies were largely self sufficient. There was no need to dig around the bottom of the ocean, so they would spend most of their days lazily drifting in the waves, letting the phytoplankton get the sun it needed to photosynthesize.
One of the large platforms close to the dwelling of Wolf-who-hungers has long been given over to the Light Weaver Wolves, with Ferris adding onto it - creating a large set of caves ontop, and needed support down below. And like all others, this population thrived. Wolf-who-Hungers has taken a mate, and pups were born. Two males, and two females; all of them would be grey. And so, the royal line would also be called the Grey line.
But despite all of this joyous thriving...
...there still was the Mushroom Island.
It has been quite a while since it first appeared, but everyone was still banned from carelessly exploring. And of those who were allowed to go for research purposes, several still died. Even worse, occassionally, the wind would carry its spore clouds across the water, to The Mountain. And so, everyone that lived there migrated to one side of the island, leaving the exposed side to continue to be used as a gravesite. Even Magnolia would eventually move, taking temporary shelter with her brother Titans under the roof of The King.
But there were still some expeditons, so some people were allowed to go in that way. Eventually, patterns started to become noticable. Aetherians would be brought to observe the island from above. They would serve as forward scouts, observing the largest mushroom in the middle of said island. Noticing there would be a brief window between one poisonous spore cloud and another, they would then signal a squad to advance. The squad could be any mixture of the locals, but would always be guarded by Air Pixies, or the newest variant, Poison Pixies, whose blood could have antidotal properties to the specific toxins given off by the island.
And combining that blood with the healing properties from the Prism Kelp or a source of Glitter, greater quantities of antidote could be manufactured and distributed.
In this way, research skyrocketed, and many varieties of mushrooms were documented, as well as several new animal species and their daily lives. All of it was documented well...in Emissary's greatest work yet, a series of scrolls written in a written form of the language that everyone already spoke.
Unfortunately for Emissary, and everyone else, this would be the most challenging visit yet.
And it starts with...a thick fog.
But unlike most visits from the Powers, this was not recognised as a sign of change. Instead, everyone of The Mountain, of Aetheria, and of Green City would grow weary of this fog, as it surrounded Mushroom Island. However, they would, for the most part, continue with their everyday lives. Poison Pixies would investigate the outer edge of the fog, and let Air Pixies know that there would be no need to ferry around antidotes to the populous today.
And on one such investigation, they would also notice through the fog...what appeared to be another island. Then, as they went closer, a massive land mass, much bigger than anything before. But before they could report it as such, a large head rose out of the water, creating waterfalls off of itself, and a stirring of wind which knocked the pixies out of the air.
It was not a landmass. It was instead, a massive turtle, as big as an island by itself. And whats more, there were several of them. More than a dozen, as well as some babies. The pixies would revoer themselves from the shock, and news would spread that the Powers were back.
Back in his castle though, Wolf-who hungers is looking thoughtfully at a new gift, his own sign that the powers were back. It was a circlet of etched crystal, with seven slots of top, and three below. Normally, this was when he would have Ferris fool around it it, and tell him how to use it for his rulership...but today, he did not. Emissary was nearby, but distracted by teaching the young pups from their written texts and from their own oral stories. This meant neither the dragon, nor his students, would notice the new item, or the king's odd behavior.
When word reached them of the giant turtles outsdie, who were also islands, Wolf-who-hungers looked to his titan guards and told them that he wished to see these creatures himself. So the wolf was carefully carried by jerimoth as they went to go see. Ferris stayed behind with Emisasary and the pups, bound to protect this generation.
When Jerimoth, the king, and a few curious onlookers arrive at the edge of the territory, they were amazed and in awe, watching these island swim around, and occassionally even disappearing beneath the waves. The wolf was pleased, and when Jerimoth asked about his wish to go there, the wolf only said that he believed it meant they had done well. That the kingdome could expand as far as it wanted to, that they were ready to sustain such cratures, and even explore whatever the world may have for them.
He did not know that there was nothing else, that even though these island turtles would soon begin their journey out to sea, they would be back and in need of food. The ones that stayed would slowly circle this odd fixture in the ocean, taking interest in the plant life, and the creatures, especially the Jellies. The jellies too, were interested in the giant turtles, for their movements would stir up the water and redistribute nutrients. These species would quickly become friends.
Unaware of any of this, The wolf and his titan guard would return to the castle, where the wolf would call over his eldest, his heir...giving him the circlet as proof of his soon-to-be-ascention. This made most everyone pleased. However, though they said nothing afterward, Emissary seemed concerned about the old king. The dragon even needed to be reminded in order to return to their lessons.
That night, Emissary would create a portrait of Wolf-who-hungers, taking great care to draw it as lifelike as possible, down to each grey hair on the old wolf's muzzle.
The next day, the great fog had lifted.
Over night, it seems, a tall tower had been created on the north shore of The Mountain, just outside the beds of gem snails. It's as wide as a titan's shoulders, and as tall as a regular two-story house. Made from a beautiful prismatic material, it has little pixie sized doors and little pixie sized hallways and rooms inside. Its first floors are sunk underwater, while its top most floor has no doors or windows at all. Many of the locals took an interest in the new tower, especially when the wind blew, creating a musical whistling noise. But due to their nomadic history, it would take some time before some pixies would begin moving in, even temporarily. Instead, they began to use it primarily as a trading hub and shipping yard.
Something new could also be seen on Mushroom Island. Movement, from a species never seen before: Humanoids with green or brown fur, and a mushroom on their head. From a distance, they seemed to shuffle about, performing duties of maintaining the landscape on which they tread. But any ensuing investigations would be met with a change in attitude and fervent chases off the island. Sometimes even for the Poison Pixies, which these beings seem to at least tolerate. Liekly, due to how they have adapted to the ecosystem. Research slows to a crawl, but eventually the public at least knows these beings as Fungimarians, a religious community which views Mushroom Island as sacred land.
Due to the difficulty of such research attempts and the Fungimarians natural distrust of outsiders, Mushroom Island is considered its own community outside of the kingdom of Green City. Trade will likely be slow to develop as well, and probably headed by a community of Poison Pixies.
The next day, a flurry of changes were made, the pace picking up from the previous days. A gentle whirlpool forms amongst the kelp fields, from which spawn a form of equine. Each body would be of greyish white color, with manes and tails made from the same Prism kelp growing around them. And they also each would sport a spiraling horn made of prismatic crystal. many of them arise but they seem simple in nature, and mild in temperment, mostly spending their time either nibbling on the kelp, and starting short races through the water, being surprisingly adept at swimming even in the dark depths of the ocean.
Amongst thewir many races, some Golden Fish scales that have so far been left undicovered on the seafloor swirls together, before melding and forming a new titan. This one was made of a body of pure gold, humanoid in form like his brothers, but with the head of a bull. Aurum, the gold titan, would look around himself and explore with a sense of wonder, before finally hauling himself out of the water, where he would be met by Emissary and the Titan Guards.
After getting the kings permission to join them, he is handed his own trident, which he covered in a coating of gold, imbedding a piece of amethyst gem snail shell. He requests nothing else from Wolf-who-hungers for the next week, not even shelter. Instead, spends some time under the tutelage of Emissary with the pups.
Meanwhile, the Powers that be have gotten testy. One dawn is met with a booming voice from above, waking every creature above the water, shaking entire structures, and even causing waves in the ocean.
"What do you fucking think you're doing?! Get your fucking cowardly ass collective down there and fucking meet people! Do something!"
And so, in fear of of being deleted by whoever had seen and spoken to them, the majority of lights in sky slowly drifted down, careful to not get hit too much by the ocean spray. Eventually, they would gather before the gauking masses, and take a more physical form. They are tall, lanky creaures, of an average of 6'6". They are very humanoid, having blonde hair and pointy ears. The leader amongst them, named Eldaernth, came forward to introduce themselves as a race known as the Elves. He also requests Emissary by name, suprising most everyone.
The potential dragon is, of course, sought after and rushed to meet these new peoples. Eldaerth greets them, and politely wisks them aside for a private talk...where he explains their race, their societal preferences, and their abilities. As part of this information, naturally, he explains their ability to see the future. Therefore, they know that Emissary themselves have time related abilities, and some of the trials and difficulties on their way.
What they were not able to foresee however, is that these trials have already begun.
From Above, an visible spirit comes into existance. Its job it to meerly observe those in the area, and to grow stronger with any negative feelings. At the moment, however, ill feelings were minimal. Some from the Fungimarians towards the outsiders, and some from everyone else towards the Elves, for incurring the wrath of the Powers.
From Below, movement stirs in a forgotten corner of the ocean. Two eggs begin to crack.
With the elves' warnings, Emissary takes the leader, and a small procession to see the king. But the king is not on the throne. Instead, he is in bed. The crown is next to him, as he's having a private conversation with his queen and heir.
he manages to relay what he knows about the core inside the pyramid, how they might be able to be used in tandem with the gifts from the Powers that be, and what he has learned in his time as king. And at that moment, it was decided that the Queen, She-who-loves, would take the throne, until the heir was old enough to not be considered a pup. And it was also in that moment that said pup took on the name Wolf-who-rises.
When the titan guards, Emissary, and the elves crashed into the meeting...Wolf-who-hungers was annoyed, yet still rose to greet them. Introductions were made, Eldaernth made the case for Elvish freedom, and warned of the upcoming dangers for the populous.
The old wolf listened quietly, then looked over at the crown by his bed. "...I have already taken off my crown, but I will acknowledge your independance. I also ask that you work with Emissary and my guards to see to these dangers. Tell everyone to take shelter, create walls and rooves for any who need it. Tell them to store as much food as they are able. If the Powers are testing what we have built, then we should give ourselves the best chances possible...but now with these orders, this is no longer my fight. Do these tasks, and leave me to rest...and I am sure you will find favor within my kingdom."
And thus, he slowly lowered himself to lay down. Emissary, seeing the old wolf's resolve, and the tasks needed to be done, moved over to raise the crown to the queens brow, bow, and excuse themselves.
Word travels quickly. More housing is made for the Naga, and all of the pixies of every type within Green City gather and take shelter in the whistling tower, blocking the doors and windows with temporary means. Most farms are harvested, and the surface of the water is skimmed. All production is rushed into any form of preservation that can be done. Even fish, snail, and frog meat are cured with salt. messages are sent to Aetheria from the Queen, with anouncement of her new status, the impending dangers, and a request for an immediate meeting.
That night, Wolf-who-hungers dies.
His body is covered with a prismatic veil, and a meeting between Green City royalty, aetherians council members, and Eldaernth is held. Alliances are forged between them all, with the Elves being appreciated for what they are - distant observes of both present and future, willing to give proper warning to any who need it.
It is agreed that during the preparation for worse times, they will begin a campaign to have Wolf-who-rises' ascension to the throne turned into an event of hope for the future, so that there will be as little resistance and ill feelings as possible.
Finally, they decide to create a crypt for Who-who-hungers, to freeze his body, and to hold it until solid plans are made in how to proceed. Currently, the most likely suggestion seems to be to throw his body into the cracked pot without any additions (or with the addition of some blood from a more magical being) and to dump his essence into a nest. The hope being that it would form an egg to initiate a form of reincarnation.
When the Elves return to the skies, there is another decision reached. Several balls of fire drift towards each other, and begin a dance, spiralling around each other faster and faster...until one or both of them split into half. Thus, there came more stars in the sky.
But The Powers were not done yet.
Nagiri, who had swallowed a seed from Magnolia, gave birth to a litter of eggs. But perhaps this, the sense of incoming doom, and a bit of magic from the powers, essentially spurned on a massive wave of breeding, where everyone coupled up, and according to their magic, would give birth to many new clutches of eggs. Yet, since all of them were clones of Nithenia, so too would be their children. All of them, except for Nagiri's clutch. Or so one would expect, if it weren't for the mutative properties of the green phytoplankton from the Salt of Life. But no one knows that yet.
For their final act, and perhaps another test, The Powers create a single bird. This one, in the form of a fisher Tern, is also bright red, and upon his creation, and whole new heat wave is set upon The Mountain. This drives away the Chill Penguins, seeking shelter elsewhere. In this case, some of them took refuge on an island Turtle. With the penguins gone, the fox would be forced to cover their cold huts with rocks to keep the coolness constant. Meanwhile, the naga find themselves more comfortable. Temperature-wise, anyways.
This new red tern, secretly known as Notos, would be an angry one. Therefore, likely to attack the Aetherians, as the bird people would occasionally hunt down his brethren or keep them from eating the cloudweaver koi. At first this was annoying, but then the Aetherians would wage full scale attacks on the strange new bird, only to find out that it was immortal. These constant battles would mean they would not be able to prepare as much food as they would otherwise, ands this might put them at a disadvantage later on.
Make Eurus, Likely a Aetherian with the power of winds who causes a large windstorm in the AOE. Either that or a Cloudweaver Koi with immortality and the windstorm effect.
Either way they get wind, might think about adding some symbiosis/connection with Notos to make the connection between them clearer.
Hmmmm…I was planning on doing this for later, but okay.
[] The Stella Anima
Taking the form of a titanic sphere of fluctuating ghostly light, the Stella Anima collects the souls of the departed, be of natural or unnatural causes, drawing them into its embrace. Within this Star of Souls, the deceased souls are put into a deep sleep and giving dreams of their individual forms of paradise, though those bearing particularly strong wills can choose to wake up and ask to be sent back, where the fluctuating light of the Stella Anima will eject the soul in the form of a shooting star, or at least that is what it will appear to observers, in a form of reincarnation. The Stella Anima is placed as high up as possible into the sky.
Hmm, lure the Bird into Crackpot. And turn it into something else. It is not death, this is an irreversible change. Also, melting corpses in the Crackpot may be a bad idea. Because what essence would be inside of the Cauldron? Concept of "Wolf Corpse". And when you pour it into the nest it might create something like undead.
Nooooo the Chill Penguins! Also glad that the Wistling Tower served of a commercial center and a shelter at the same time. I guess its like living in a mall?
Poor Wolf, may he rest in peace. Seems we will have another food problem soon with the Turtle Fleet . Hmmm for my Pre-Last Act I may continue with the Fairy-tale Theme and go full sleeping Beauty.
Great chapter, I really like how you describe how each Titan is born into the world
Now for my idea this turn.
[] Emathion the Sand Titan.
Emathion is born into the world as another immortal being. His appearance is that of a giant scorpion with a lizard like face. His body is mostly a light brown with a few grey or white spots. Emathion possesses the ability to create, control and transform into sand, he is also able to drain all liquids from a creatures body, leaving them as dry corpses. Emathion will upon his birth immediately seek out the First Pyramid to become its guardian, as he knows that it is his duty. Emathion takes his duty very seriously and will not allow anyone that he deemed unworthy to enter the First Pyramid. Emathion have no problem killing those that tries to enter or harm the First Pyramid, after he have already told them that they can't enter the First Pyramid.
Make him able to turn water into dry sand! Even inside of living beings via touch! Maybe even into calcium carbonate and normal salt, becuase piramid? Oh, maybe he can manupilate and animate corpses, which was mummified in this way. Or fill already dead bodies with sand, or salt, or carbonate to take control over them too.
Edit: Maybe turning water into powdered substances like salt, sand and carbonate would be a way to get materials for him to manipulate later.
Make him able to turn water into dry sand! Even inside of living beings via touch! Maybe even into calcium carbonate and normal salt, becuase piramid? Oh, maybe he can manupilate and animate corpses, which was mummified in this way. Or fill already dead bodies with sand, or salt, or carbonate to take control over them too.
[] Nithenia teach
All Naga are able to use snake language magic. The warning given by the elves has Nithenia divide to teach the naga of this ability. She will teach All
naga are willing to learn. This magic is only good for healing, poisoning and snake constructs. A Naga first start using it by calm meditation slowly over the course of a week learning the grammar rules of the language. This is done by listening to the subconscious whisper all Naga hear while they sleep the meditation help remember these whisper. The first rule of this magic is that the more you use this magic the less words you need till you use no word for the same affect and minimum energy. The second rule is you need to specify were the energy is coming from and how much you are using. The third rule is words and grammar words of healing and poison are on different by intention. A Naga can exelorate it magical development by increasing her understanding of tue physical and metaphysical laws. The written version of this magic language can also help increase learning speed. The written version is complete mundane.
Thought's ways to improve the act
Thanks @Andre Chaos
Anymore improvements?
How they can start using it? And does written language counts, if they have it?
Edit: These Islands feel like paradise and some fae kingdom combined...
Edit 2: Actually, why not make this place into some Fairyland?
Hidden Paths - sometimes in abandoned and forgotten parts of Fairyland islands, hidden and unreal paths can appear. These paths connect Paradise part of the world to an abandoned and forgotten place near another pyramid. Only creatures from these islands are capable of sensing the location of these paths when they step onto them, and travel on the other side. They have an advantage in navigating these paths. Groups from the outside world will likely get lost and end up back in their original location. These paths allow people from Paradise to occasionally venture into other places and return to their homeland.
What about making the written version work, but only if it involves the use of Naga blood? For example, it should be written in blood, or the carvings should be filled with fresh Naga blood in order to activate it. This method can produce larger and more complex effects, but it heavily relies on calligraphy and the precise arrangement of text, blood, and sacrifices. Additionally, a clear and strong-willed message is necessary for the magic to take effect in the right way. Ritualistic aspect to the original ability. Stronger, more flexible and capable of creating more permament effects (like weak enchanted objects), but requires a very long learning curve and experimenting with it without an experienced teacher can be dangerous for caster.
. Hmmm for my Pre-Last Act I may continue with the Fairy-tale Theme and go full sleeping Beauty.
