Animus Ex Nihilo - A God Quest

Long did you ponder the best way to interact with the people. It seemed sensible to help them where you could, for if they prospered, so would likely you, but how would you know what they wanted? The gentle nudges that you could give the world were tiring, quickly draining what little of that ephemeral thing the people had bestowed on you, so above all else, you needed to make sure not to squander it. There was no guarantee that they would keep making offerings to you and going back to be only able to observe the world was a horrendous thought.

Instead, you listened closely whenever they spoke to you. When the fishers offered some of their catch, you made sure to chase the fish towards those that had dedicated the finest ones to you. When the hunters burned a fine stags head for the kindly watcher, you followed them for a few moon turns and pushed the wind and the leaves to keep distract their next quarries. Slowly, the gifts grew larger and more lavish as the people learned that they would be reward in return, and with them slowly grew the power that you drew from their efforts.

Soon enough, you did far more than just to spook the beasts of forest and bay. Every time they asked for something new, you gave it your best efforts, pushing and stretching your power as far as you were able. You could not make the winter milder for them, but you learned to push against the clouds to keep the worst of snow and wind from the peoples village. You could not stop their bodies from becoming frail and weak with age, but you sooth their fevers and make their wounds heal better. And each time you did such a thing for them, they carefully took note and made another story to tell about it, so that their children and their children's children would know what to offer the kindly watcher to turn a fever away.

After just a few lifetimes, the people had grown greatly in number. Hide tents had slowly been replaced sturdy wooden huts and as they had learned more about the land, they became ever more skilled at living from it. The hunters of fishers these days were much craftier than the ones you travelled along with so many moons before, even without your aid, and other trades had sprung up too. Some people had begun to do nothing but make tools or sew clothes for others all day. And a few had taken it up to make offerings to you on behalf of others.

Shamans they called themselves and they said they had collected all the stories of old and knew exactly what the kindly watchers wanted in exchange for their favours. It was amusing at first to see them posture as they did not know or do anything all that different from everyone else, but soon you noticed something strange about their efforts. As they kept telling tales about themselves and repeated the old ones all the people told each other, their offerings became better in some fashion.

It made no sense at all. Certainly, you had noticed that a finer fish or deer empowered you much more than lesser offerings, but what the shamans gave you was greater than it was supposed to be. When a hand full of people made their offerings all on their own, you gained much less from it than if they all came together and had a shaman make the exact same offerings. Of course, that meant you perform greater acts for them in turn and so it took not long until the practice caught on among the people.

When the shamans had their next idea a few lifetimes later, you were sceptical yet again. Instead of making offerings wherever it was convenient, they wanted to make a place where they could perform all the great rituals that they had developed. A shrine they called it and while it seemed just as silly an idea as the last one, you were quite curious if this idea would turn out so well too. On the other hand, it might also have meant a great chance for you.

As time passed, the rituals changed. New ones were made all the time and old ones fell out of use, either because the offerings gave you little and so you gave little in return, or because the people simply forgot about them. Some things they only asked for rarely, while others were constant requests and those began to come easier to you. Maybe the shrine could have helped further with that? The shamans sure seemed to think so, talking endlessly where it should be put so that certain rituals would work better, but thankfully, you were not at their mercy. When they could not settle the matter among themselves, they decided to hold a ritual on each site and to see where the kindly watchers would prefer the shrine, thus leaving the choice to you.



Your guided them to build your first shrine…

[] [Shrine] … on a meadow in the forest. It was made of wood and deer antlers to thank you for your aid to the hunters and gatherers. (Gain Forest Domain)

[] [Shrine] … on a tiny island in the bay. It was made from driftwood and sea shells to commemorate your aid to the fishers. (Gain Sea Domain)

[] [Shrine] … on a small, windswept hill. It was made from wood and adorned with ribbons of cloth to honour the one who moved the winds and the clouds. (Gain Weather Domain)

[] [Shrine] … on a high rock near the village. It was made from shiny stones and chalk drawings on the stone to praise you for the warmth of the sun. (Gain Sun Domain)

[] [Shrine] … on a small hill giving a good view of the snow-covered mountains. It was made from dead wood and moss to show deference to the one who made the winters mild. (Gain Winter Domain)

[] [Shrine] … in the middle of the village. It was a small hut kept furnished for you to show gratefulness for your healing and other aid to the people. (Gain Hearth Domain)



The improved rituals of the shamans left you with enough power to do more than just answer their requests. What did you spend it on?

[] [Power] Keep putting it all toward answering requests. It will strengthen the peoples faith in you.

[] [Power] Learn more about the nature of your powers and how you gain it.

[] [Power] Invest the power into your shrine to strengthen it.

[] [Power] Overcome whatever keeps you near the people for a while and explore the world.