Remove ads

The Many & The One (Riot God Quest)

Reader mode
Hmm, does anyone have any ideas for the remaining three Spheres? Maybe someone wants to take and reshape them?

If I ever would try something like this, it would be some hellish dimension filled with unconscious things made real. Maybe it's inner volume would be ever growing, depending on the number of thinking and feeling beings in the world, and if there are few of them, then growth stops. Or something else - maybe I'll think about it.

Edit: Wait, I see some interesting idea forming in my head... @Dragonofelder, which types of suffering and evil most common/strong for the world as it is now?

Edit 2: Ok, world is pretty young and wild. So the strongest domains of suffering should be connected to primal fears and ideas: Death, Unknown, Hunger, Pain. Things, which understandable for anything living, even for something primitive. Something, which naturally embody idea of evil and suffering. I am thinking about making hell-like dimention in one of the Spheres. But It would not be static - it should grow with the world, becoming bigger, more complex and differentiated over time until it cannot longer do so.​
 
Last edited:
Andre Chaos said:
Hmm, does anyone have any ideas for the remaining three Spheres? Maybe someone wants to take and reshape them?

If I ever would try something like this, it would be some hellish dimension filled with unconscious things made real. Maybe it's inner volume would be ever growing, depending on the number of thinking and feeling beings in the world, and if there are few of them, then growth stops. Or something else - maybe I'll think about it.

Edit: Wait, I see some interesting idea forming in my head... @Dragonofelder, which types of suffering and evil most common/strong for the world as it is now?​
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I planned to take one for my demons.
 
Andre Chaos said:
Hmm, does anyone have any ideas for the remaining three Spheres? Maybe someone wants to take and reshape them?

If I ever would try something like this, it would be some hellish dimension filled with unconscious things made real. Maybe it's inner volume would be ever growing, depending on the number of thinking and feeling beings in the world, and if there are few of them, then growth stops. Or something else - maybe I'll think about it.

Edit: Wait, I see some interesting idea forming in my head... @Dragonofelder, which types of suffering and evil most common/strong for the world as it is now?

Edit 2: Ok, world is pretty young and wild. So the strongest domains of suffering should be connected to primal fears and ideas: Death, Unknown, Hunger, Pain. Things, which understandable for anything living, even for something primitive. Something, which naturally embody idea of evil and suffering. I am thinking about making hell-like dimention in one of the Spheres. But It would not be static - it should grow with the world, becoming bigger, more complex and differentiated over time until it cannot longer do so.​
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I think @Nigerian Duck had plan that needed one or two of them? I'm not fully certain.
 
Andre Chaos said:
Edit: Wait, I see some interesting idea forming in my head... @Dragonofelder, which types of suffering and evil most common/strong for the world as it is now?​
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Hum hum, difficult question. I can't think of a good answer for suffering. For Evil, there are few beings performing intentionally malicious acts.

Well, there is one Being that is doing some questionable stuff... but we'll have to see where that goes...
 
It is likely that competition and envy will be of great importance in the culture of the Forge. Attention and learning from a powerful spirit elevates you above people. For this, you can stick a knife in the liver of a competitor.
In the Gardens, this probably won't be obvious, but I wouldn't be surprised at dangerous contests like primitive jousting.
 
Remove ads
The Beauty and The Beautiful
  • Sidestory
    • The Beauty and The Beautiful​

    In the heart of a lush forest, there was a small village nestled among the trees. Its inhabitants lived a harsh life as hunter-gatherers, foraging for food and hunting game every day. Among them lived a tribe member, known for their delicate elegance and captivating allure. They were simply known as the Beauty.

    On a particular day, the Beauty found themselves wandering alone outside the village, seeking solace amidst the tranquil embrace of nature. The weight of their thoughts and the burdens of daily life weighed heavily upon them, and they sought refuge among the whispering leaves and dancing sunlight.

    Lost in their contemplation, the Beauty meandered deeper into the forest, feeling the earth beneath their bare feet and the gentle caress of the breeze upon their skin. Suddenly, a stillness descended, and their senses heightened. They turned their gaze toward a patch of sunlight, as if drawn by an invisible force.

    From within that golden halo, a figure stood, their radiance outshining even the sun-dappled glades.Their luminous skin radiated a soft glow, akin to moonlight reflecting on calm waters. Their hair cascaded in waves of silk, its color shifting with each movement, evoking the hues of a breathtaking sunrise. Eyes, deep and captivating, twinkling like the stars in the night sky. Their features were delicate and balanced, exuding an ethereal grace that seemed to defy the constraints of mortal beauty.

    The Beauty's breath caught in their throat as they beheld them. Clad in garments that draped their form like whispers of the wind, flowing with an effortless elegance. It shimmered with an iridescence that mirrored the colors of the forest, reflecting the greens of the leaves, the blues of the sky, and the golden hues of the sunlight. The Beauty was spellbound, transfixed by the living art before them.

    Then like stepping out of a painting, the Being began to approach. As they moved, the air seemed to stir with a subtle fragrance, a tantalizing blend of wildflowers and ancient forests. Their footsteps were light and barely audible, as if they danced on the edges of reality itself. Each gesture they made was infused with a grace that spoke of celestial origins, as if they had been sculpted by the hands of divine artisans.

    The forest stood witness as the Being's eyes met the Beauty's, and in that instant, it was if a connection blossomed between their souls. It was as if the forest itself whispered secrets of fate and purpose, intertwining their destinies. The Beauty, with eyes widened in awe, could hardly fathom the enchantment that unfolded before them.

    The Being, their features an ethereal tapestry of grace and allure, approached the Beauty with measured steps. Their voice, carrying the melody of the wind, reached the depths of the Beauty's heart as they spoke words laden with profound meaning.

    "I have traveled far and wide, in search of the purest essence of beauty," they said, their voice a gentle caress against the Beauty's ears. "In you, I have found a reflection of the world's wonders. Will you allow me the privilege of sharing my life's journey with you?"

    The Beauty stood alone, mesmerized and humbled by this unexpected encounter. Their heart swelled with a mixture of trepidation and excitement, for the path that unfurled before them was unknown and uncertain. But deep within their core, they sensed an inexplicable yearning, a desire to step beyond the boundaries of familiarity and embrace the enchantment offered by the Being.

    With a voice that trembled slightly but resonated with a resolute strength, the Beauty accepted, their gratitude echoing through the forest. In that moment, the Beauty and the Being became intertwined in a dance of love and discovery, their spirits merging like the interwoven roots of ancient trees.


    AN: Wasn't sure how inhuman the Sainted of beauty would be so I mostly described them in metaphors that you can probably take literally in their case. If there's anything that needs changing just tell me and I'll try to fix it.
     
  • Sidestory


    • Tartarus​


    Greetings, my dear reader! In this piece of work, you will find information about the idea of Tartarus. I wanted to write down all my thoughts in a (somewhat) ordered fashion about a sudden idea I had so that it may be implemented somewhere later. With introductions done, let's start with the first question: "What is Tartarus?"

    Tartarus is a hellish dimension created by the Choir of Ruin – the primordial embodiment of evil. It is not known for certain whether it was created from one of the empty Spheres above the Primordial Sea or whether they only served as inspiration for creating the place. In any case, the dimension is very similar in structure to the previously mentioned creations. Tartarus is a reflection and physical embodiment of the ideas of the Choir, which are manifested in reality. It grew and changed over time, building up new layers and parts because the world was changing, and with it, the concept of evil was changing and evolving too. However, the older structures of this sphere were preserved and did not disappear with time. It is known for sure that it is possible to physically enter this place or project oneself into it. Also, this place has its own rules, and its far end is connected with the Far Shore, where the traces of the Ruin lie. It was this place that became the concentration of the residual influence of this specific primordial after the completion of reality creation times; all the power of the Dark Arts is concentrated there. Tartarus is just a threshold to enter the Ruin domain.

    From the inside, it looks a lot like Gardens, but with a twist. When the Choir created this place, it was divided into areas that replaced each other as one walked farther. Each such area embodied some kind of evil that was predominant in the world at that primitive time. Initially, there were only four biomes that replaced each other sequentially: Hunger, Pain, Death, and Unknown. The border between the second and third area was the place of growth. If some new strong idea of evil appeared in the world, then its embodiment at some point pushed the central border and occupied a new place. It always occurs in pairs, so there is always a central boundary. And the new biome increased the area of the entire dimension – this is how Tartarus grows. We'll start with the last one of the areas because it affects all others.

    Unknown is an area around the far pole of Tartarus. It embodies the ideas of fear of the unknown, the concept of oblivion, and destruction as evil in its purest form. It is an almost empty space without earth, air, or gravity, filled with rare shifting debris and impenetrable darkness. At the center of the Unknown is the Black Sun, radiating Black Light. This is the antithesis of energy, a phenomenon not like normal brightness of the world, which has substance and brings clarity. Black Light creates darkness and shadows wherever it falls. Directly near the Black Sun and in the Unknown itself, it is so "bright" that its effects become highly notable and dangerous. This light takes heat, greedily cooling everything around. It destroys ordinary light, drowns out sounds and electric currents, prevents any manifestation of energy, slowly erases and devours material things without a trace. Within such concentrated Black Light, the transmission of any information begins to be disrupted and slowed down, which can cause hallucinations, temporary memory lapses, and insanity. Fragments flying in the void are absolutely cold, stopped in time, and constantly changing their place, shape, and speed. They are able to refract the Black Light like lenses or prisms, generating invisible, thin, and dangerous rays that penetrate nothingness like a web. If one gets to the Black Sun, they would be in front of the Choir of Ruin, in its domain. One would have amnesia after entering though the Black Sun; only skills and personality will remain. The memory will return, but only when they leave this horrible place.

    The Black Sun illuminates all of Tartarus with its Black Light, filling it with darkness and cold. However, the farther away one is from it, the less its effects are felt. Usually, only darker shadows and the need for brighter light to dispel the darkness are observed. Fortunately, if the Black Light is weak, it disappears around a being with a soul, giving rise to a faint glow of normal light. Therefore, at the entrance to Tartarus, one will never find oneself in pitch darkness - there will always be a weak aura of light. It can be both good and bad thing, because it is easier to see and be seen in some radius. However, the deeper one goes, the weaker this aura becomes. At the very beginning, the dimension was small enough that even at the entrance, it was completely dark and terribly cold. Only the properties and rules of biomes kept things from spontaneously collapsing under the Black Light's entropic might. Soon, however, the division intensified and stabilized, creating a gradient of the Black Light's power from one region to another.

    On this note, let's talk about the other pole of the sphere - the Entrance - the area of Hunger. Anyone who somehow finds themselves in Tartarus will be in the vicinity of this pole and in this zone. Hunger looks like a barren wasteland filled with withered dead plants and starved rotten corpses. There are many ruins, no clean water, and no food. Any normal edible stuff there rapidly rots on contact with air or crumbles into dust. A dry, cool wind blows there, and it smells of autumn. One cannot stay in this place for a long time because over time, hunger will come faster and faster. The feeling itself will become more and more intense until it goes beyond what is possible to feel in the normal world with the physical brain. On the third day in this biome, the feeling of hunger will be debilitating and mind-numbing in itself, and the body will be reduced to the state of a skin-covered skeleton within an hour. One needs to hurry to the next zone, and one cannot let the food come into close contact with the air. But sometimes, people really want to eat, don't they?

    The closer one gets to the Hunger border, the taller and weirder the vegetation becomes, making it harder to traverse. One can also encounter lonely flying creatures trying to satisfy their eternal hunger more and more frequently. This place is similar to the Ocean of Trees, but all the vegetation that appears there is dead and it is much smaller area. Only lonely Dearth, which wants to eat any living stranger, flaying around. It would be wise to hurry and go towards the border of Pain because abominations will start splitting and hunting one specifically at some point. However, they cannot travel too far into other parts of Tartarus. Nevertheless, it is possible to find ways and workarounds to shorten the journey. In Tartarus, altars and holy sites are scattered everywhere, performing rituals at which one can shorten the path, return to the normal world, receive blessings, and so on. But, of course, there is always a price to pay. Like, one altar near the Ocean of Trees in Hunger require sacrificing a part of one's body, while others will only answer if one sacrifices someone they care about. There is always some price to pay, but it is not easy to decipher the meanings of rituals or their consequences.​
    Place could look something like this. It is not all of the Tartarus, but basic idea. I may change and expand it in the future.​
     
    Last edited:
    Of Dogs and Rice (Semi-Canon)
  • Sidestory
    • Of Dogs and Rice​

    She held her broken arm as she ran from the sound of screaming and carnage behind her. The wailing of those damned to the rice, her people had been foolish. If they were ment to trust the rice they would have awoken among it not next to its great plains. They hadn't understood what the rice was, a lure a trap words laid out so that they would give themselves to the monster shaped like rice. She broke the edge of the field falling stumbling as she ran her people left in ruin from the betrayal of rice. Her body carried her as far as she could bare to walk.

    When she fell she tried to crawl but the pain in her broken arm lanced through her with hot streaks of suffering. She wanted to cry out but her voice was to hoarse. She rolled over panting and staring into the unforgiving sky. "Why?" She croaked out unable to understand the cruelty of the rice of the malicious mind behind the devilish trab that cast her away from her people in fear and terror. As she laid their sobbing she hear something padding close, she had not come across another creature in her short time awake but she figured they were as monstrous as the rice was.

    A narrow face with dark glistening eyes looked over her it's gray hair drinking in the light as it beared sharp white teeth at her. The woman's desire to die melted away in that moment and she struggled back to her feet hand grasping a stick she chucked at the hideous figure. Her aim was horrible and the stick flew off into the distance. The creature. Flexed two hairless almost human arms and tensed ready to pounce. Then it leaped rushing off towards the thrown weapon, confused but not willing to let this chance be missed she stood and ran on weak legs until she was pushed over by the beast.

    It licked its drool drenched jowls and had two sticks in its hands held up ready to end her. It reached down massive paws pinning her and with a snap it yanked on the broken arm, making her scream and squirm as its hands held the sticks to her arm and tied it with some kind of plant. She whimpered watching it work, eyes locked on her. When it finished the beast backed up and yipped causing her to scramble back and reach to rip off the strange bondage. The beast jumped forwards with a growl a hand pushing hers away from the contraption on her arm.

    She cried out waiting to be eaten but it slowly backed up again, this time she just stood eyeing the beast nearly half her height it's large tail swinging each beat counting the remaining moments of her life. The sun was setting and surely the beast would eat her in the dark, but she way too tired to fight it anymore.

    When she awoke in the morning she found the beast resting next to her hands resting next to its head as it curled up around its belly. She considered grabbing a rock from the ground and smashing its head while it slept but she stayed her hand, she could have just as easily been killed as she slept but it didn't. It was enough for the lost woman to wait and see. It lead her back to the edge of the rice fields her terror growing until she saw dozens more of her kinsmen. She spoke with them and learned that the rice while deadly had only killed two, far more was lost to the panic, crushed underfoot, or fled into the wilds never to return.

    She told them of the beast that even now was eyeing the fire where rice stalks were being burned to boil water and the rice in divioted rocks. The beast moved grabbing two stones and started to drive one into the other carving off chunks and slivers. Soon the rock has become a basin far better for boiling rice than the dented stones of earlier. She smiled and wondered at the beast. What could make the world have something that seems so nice as the rice be evil while this horrifying beast was far too kind?
     
  • Sidestory
    • [] Aetherius Aeterna, The Realm of The Fiery Heavens

    An extra layer upon creation, beyond the confines of the material, separate yet connected. A vast desert of pearlescent ash beneath a burning sky of everlasting chromatic flames. Here, Spirits may manifest in tangible form, crafting bodies from the the desert in whatever shape they desire from the mundane to the esoteric. They may craft entire domains in which they may live, crafting great palaces and kingdoms or humble huts and cabins for themselves to reside and retreat from the busyness of life and purpose. From the multicolored conflagration above, iridescent embers will descend along more grayish monochrome cinders. The more vibrant remnants of flame will birth forth Spirits, nameless at first and bereft of purpose, but with a mind and will of their own that desires to seek out a place in the order of the world. The more somber sparks will inside take residence within mortal life, growing alongside them, becoming like them like molten metal taking the shape of a mold, emerging as upon their host's death as an Eidolon of the mortal's core values, memories, and all that made them who they were in life. Their prismatic siblings meanwhile find their purpose by inhabiting places and objects, elevating them through their possession and gaining purpose and power from doing so. A Spirit inhabiting a sword will make it sharper, tougher, and guide the wielder's swings to strike true. Meanwhile, the Spirit of a home will keep things tidy, bring a sense of safety and comfort, while protecting those who dwell within with all they have.

    The power of a Spirit, and thus their ability to manipulate the realm of Aetherius Aeterna, is connected to their influence in the material world. The Sword Spirit that was helped turn the tide of a hundred battles would have more control than one that barely contributed, while a Home Spirit that helped raise the founder of a national religion would trump even them, and a Spirit whose holds dominion over one of the Gardens or an Island of Order, or whose knowledge and Wisdom guided the development of a civilization, would trump them all.

    This Spirit Realm is typically inaccessible to most mortals, but those ones with a deep connection with Spirits or the Unseen could gaze beyond the veil and see visions of it. It also allows for Spirits to move beyond where they typically reside and visit each other. Spirits of sufficient power, such as the Spirits of Creation and the Gardens, can even transport people and objects through the spiritual world, though this requires focus and a degree of finesse to pull off.



    Revised the Spirit Realm idea I had. What do you all think?
     
    Reader mode
    You must login or register to reply here.
    Remove ads
    Back
    Top