Godcard

Shadow of the Mother

All of the school halls were annoyingly packed and tight, hundreds of teenagers swarming around like a sea of human locusts. A quagmire of life and activity, buzzwords, and constant motion that Zane had to wade through.

Ms. Whateverhername, his homeroom teacher, had given him a scrap of paper with the locker number and rough location. It was at a major intersection of halls.

"Hey." A brief pause - it was probably caused by the fact that Zane wasn't paying the slightest attention to the small band of rowdy delinquents approaching him with grins on their faces, too occupied with putting his geography books away in the locker. "Your name's Zane, right? Zane Li?"

"No," he answered firmly.

"Don't play coy," the boy said, voice smarmy. "I'm Spike. These are Brick, Hammer, Plank. We'd like for you to-"

"Join a gang, right?" He twisted the knob on the locker, producing a thunk as it locked firmly. He banged a fist against it, twice, testingly. He turned around to face the boys, a glimmer of violence in his eyes. He was bigger than all of them, broad-shouldered, with only a pair of wireframe glasses to show any kind of vulnerability. "No."

"What's your fucking problem, asshole?" said the biggest of the bunch, probably Brick.

A push came to a shove. A shove came to a punch. Since they didn't take 'no' for an answer, he didn't take them seriously. A fight broke out in the middle of the hallway, but ended before anything serious could happen to anyone. In the aftermath, however, Zane had realized something important.

It'd keep happening. Again and again. He wouldn't have peace, ever.

So he stopped fighting and joined them, instead. He found a measure of friendship, there, even.

But what he wanted, truly, was freedom.

---

Around him spanned the oriental forests of some endless realm, in a kaleidoscopic confusion of intermingling growths and fields; verdant forests and jade-colored plains; pink rivers and sapphire gulfs of water like tear-blurred smears on the horizon, shown as distant landscapes. Closer to himself, Zane could see the details of the plants, and name the species of the flora: Japanese beech, chrysanthemum flowers, and black pines spread in some kind of primeval glory. The experience was overwhelming and ecstatic to the point of mental orgasm; the world's beauty laid bare in a whirl of impossible magnificence, all colors of the rainbow arrayed to delicately caress his senses.

It was an environment better and more fulfilling than sex, and yet ritualistically pure. Everything here was so unutterably close to perfection - it had some quintessential je ne sais quoi that rendered exposure to it into an experience better than any on Earth.

And now he knew, with deep certainty, that his mother's gardening advice had been - if not false, then useless on an objective scale. No human gardening technique could approach this sheer magnitude of beauty; even if he dared to try in the future, he'd compare his efforts to this, and always find them lacking.

As Zane breathed in the air, he found that it was clear and balmy-pure, as if unstained by pollution, and yet filled with an indescribable, electric capacity for animation and vibrant life. Every moment spent here, simply breathing and thinking about nothing in particular, was a sweet paradise.

But he couldn't spend eternity here. There were matters to attend to, ones of great import, and he could feel the land himself working to break him out of his reverie and gently push him to move, at the same time as it displayed its unearthly charm to delight him. It was indescribable, beyond mortal words or comprehension.

He walked the distant fields. His hand was stained by cinder and ash - he brushed it against the infinite, flaxen stalks of wheat and found it cleaned.

A path of cobblestones neatly led up the mountain and circled around it like a wide spiral. He chose to ascend.

Out in the distance, climbing the mountain, he could see endless mountains and the forest valleys surrounding them, with not a sign of civilization in sight. All of the divine tapestry of this nameless land was a feast for his eyes. Above, clouds hung serenely and orderly in the sky as if shaped into puffs by the hands of invisible air-gods. The air itself tickled his skin and cleansed it of its impurities; wiped away the sweat and dirt, filled his lungs up like a holy nectar, and repaired the damage he'd done to them over the course of his reckless life.

As if traversing in a dream, Zane continued up the mountain.

He slowly walked through sheaves of comfortingly-warm pink leaves and cherry blossoms, emerging in a sacred demesne - a small, radiant landlocked cove, with a pool of turquoise waters in the center. There was an eastern-style pagoda off to the side, constructed from gentle but noble materials; firm walnut wood, golden plating, silver hand-carved finishes, and vast slabs of engraved jade. There was a crescent of tall rocks and boulders, carved not by hand, but elemental erosion, made to form granite pillars.

A single, perfect lotus flower of rich, pink-white color rested within the sacred pond at the center of this demesne, a powerful halcyon ray of zenith sunlight shining down on it like a beam from heaven. He fell in love instantly.

Almost instantly, Zane understood there probably wasn't a more perfect spot for meditation in the world.

He'd never believed in his uncle's practice of feng shui - sacred geomancy - but now he did, and now he understood its use, its practicalities.

All of this place had been constructed. Here, every rock and every tree had been placed with painstaking attention to detail, to best channel the energies of the beyond and create a place so sacred a church would burn away into dust if forced to behold its holiness at its full, unsurpassed radiance. There was a deep reign of serene emotion and peace in the air, filling him and making him feel as if he was receiving a shoulder massage.

Zane could sit down here and rest, and never stand up again, and he'd be perfectly content with that fate. He wondered, if maybe this was heaven.

"Welcome! I don't recognize you."

He turned to the person speaking to him, a few meters to the side, in front of the pagoda. A young man with short white hair and sparkling blue eyes, a bow strapped across his shoulder. A pair of draconian prismatic wings the color of crushed gems were sprouting from his back, splayed and resting on a backrest of bushes, and there were pristine white fangs in his mouth, but none of those features seemed to detract from his appearance. He was sitting on a rock, lounging around, as if casually waiting for something.

"I'm Zane. What..."

"Is this place?" The man chuckled. "Don't fret. I think she summoned you here. Do you see that lotus flower in the middle of the pond?"

"Yes," Zane answered, eyes locking on the flower mentioned.

"There is drinking water in its center. Go ahead and drink from it. Don't worry about the water, it's perfectly warm."

He didn't know why, but he complied with the proposition. He shouldn't have been so trustful, so idiotic as to do whatever a stranger tells him to, but something deep in Zane's heart told him the man wasn't lying. It was the same force that administrated this realm.

He went into the lake, swam across its length, and drank from the petals of the Lotus.

---

And there, he met the Maiden, and she gave him a blessing.

13 Ambrosia to spend. If you desire a powerful boon - and to survive - then I suggest conscientious spending and choices.

You may select one of the boons detailed underneath.

[ ] Refuse Kindness - All of your wounds are healed instantly and you leave this dream.

*I'm not sure why you'd do this after having come this far.
*You can use Godcards as normal. Are they really worth it, though?

[ ] Lotus Child - A single lotus flower, with a sweet fragrant aroma. Above it shines the light of the Isle, and from its waters, you can slake any thirst. Even a thirst for freedom.

*An immediate gain of superhuman strength, constitution, and dexterity, sufficient to crack stone with your fist and to move as fast as a speeding stallion. Also grants bio-thaumaturgical immortality and immense regeneration of injury, sufficient to call yourself "bulletproof."
*A comprehensive suite of moderately powerful but versatile 'superpowers'/spells all centered on the same themes, in the vein of a classical druid: read the stars to divine and rewrite the future, command nature to do your bidding, and heal the broken world with holy light. All of these are a stage above normal Godcard powers.
*All of your capabilities will rise as you perform good deeds, and you can unlock new capabilities over time, not limited by your starting powerset.
*You can still use Godcards, but your compatibility may never rise above 60%, and rarely above 40%. Can't do a quest for Exalted Compatibility.

[ ] Knight's Arm [12 Ambrosia] - Often, the foolish believe the Lotus Maiden to be someone who shies away from war. None of them have ever seen her don the suit of her terrible armor, and pick up the baneful sword that she wields against her enemies in the endless cosmic expanse. Blood like silver dust; a banner like a golden crown.

Allow the Maiden to outfit you with a baneful sword. Violence begets violence, but in the end, it has to be this way.

*Allows you access to a Knight Arm, a highly personalized and customizable magical weapon.
*Unlike a Godcard, this weapon is a part of your own soul and mythos. It cannot be disconnected from you, stolen, or disabled. Anti-magic effects offer, at most, only a modest reduction of power capacity - the only direct counter for a Knight Arm would be highly esoteric magics.
*A Knight Arm starts off as a relatively weak artifact (but surpassing the powers of most Godcards,) and slowly progresses to become a world-shattering implement.
*Next chapter will instead be a Knight Arm Customization vote, choosing its powers, forms, etc.
*You can still use Godcards, but your compatibility may never rise above 60%, and rarely above 40%. Can't do a quest for Exalted Compatibility.

[ ] Esoteric Assumption of Responsibility [25 Ambrosia] - And now, power - to vanquish and to save.

As you arise from the ashes of transformation, the world itself swells and shares in your bounty of holy water. Across Earth, the leylines and nodes shine with newfound vigor. And your soul is at the center of it all - the terminal of the planet which links together the boundary of Golden Truth to Ensilvered Falsehood.

*Become a true magician, and the first - de facto native - magician of Earth.
*Yours is the providence of domains, concepts, and ideas. In the cradle of meditation and knowledge, forge new spells and magics to impose your will on the world. Start with simple and instinctive applications: solid energy blasts, telekinesis, future-sensing, physical reinforcement, etc. All potent enough to combat most physical Cardbearers.
*Eventually, lets you create a novel magic system to express your connection to the world.
*A power with immediate starting potential, and immense endgame might. At the conclusion of this "game," you will be an entity shining with limitless power and omnipotent reach, far above the highest and most exalted of Gods... assuming you survive.
*The Olympus Corporation will attempt to assassinate you with extreme prejudice for interfering in their plans. This is already the case, no matter what you pick, but this option doubles this factor.
*Permanently seals away your ability to use Godcards. As soon as you attempt to connect to one, it will burn into cinders by the might of your soul.

Anyway, it seems like, since the majority of the thread is voting for Knight's Arm (aside from They Who Watch, who's voting for Refuse Kindness as a joke,) I don't see a reason to drag this whole process out. Let's skip to the fun stuff, hm?

Knight Arm Mechanics

"It's something of a logical conclusion that he'll only find serenity in the world once he cuts a path to it."

A Knight Arm is a magical weapon crafted from divine and aetherial essence, entrusted to the Knight-Champions and Knight-Aspirants of the Lotus Maiden. When not in use, it can be hidden within your metaphysical heart ("Xin.")

There are six Ranks of Knight Arm: [Common], [Noble], [Royal], [Imperial], [Divine], [Heroic]. Rank defines the power level of a given Arm. It's not possible for the Knight Arm of an Aspirant to fall below Noble Rank, nor is it possible for the Knight Arm of a Champion to fall below Heroic. At the same time, an Aspirant can't access the Heroic Rank. Although this holds true in every universe and regardless of the central paradigm, not every user of a Knight Arm has to be an Aspirant or Champion. Random mages who use Knight Arms usually can't access Imperial Rank, and can never hope to reach Divine Rank, which is reserved solely for the greatest and most faithful Aspirants.

If you can't tell, you're an Aspirant.

A Knight Arm also has:

*At least one [Form] which defines its physical aspect. It's uncommon for a given Arm to have more than one; rare for it to have more than two; almost unheard of to have more than three, outside of specific circumstances. It's often not worth it to develop too many Forms - choose instead one which is close to your heart!

*At least one [Concept] which defines its metaphysical aspect. It's rare for an Arm to have more than six, and most users prefer to condense their Arm to a pool of no more than three Concepts to draw on. There is some wisdom to such a choice, as too much metaphysical diversity can dilute the powerbase unacceptably.

*At least one [Inspiration] which defines the source of its providence. Almost 90% of the cases will have, "Self" or "Maiden" as their source, but some Knights prefer an external source. It's generally not recommended for people who value rugged practicality to use an external source. It's unheard of to have two.

*Any number of [Invocations] which are derived from the interplays of the elements above, and are, quite simply, the superpowers a given Knight Arm grants. Often, more can be developed via further extrapolation of the elemental interplays or simple training.

Here are several functional examples of Knight Arms. The Invocation descriptions are short for brevity, they'd normally have more complete write-ups. Also, Invocations often have an associated cost, limit, cooldown, etc, which have also been omitted for brevity. The below is only meant to illustrate how this system works.


---

As of this moment, you have 3 Ambrosia. A paltry sum.

Knight-Aspirant, please, select the [Rank] of your Knight Arm.

[ ] Noble - A level of power appropriate for the rookie-Aspirant. A Noble Invocation, trained to the uppermost level of mastery that pushes the bounds of this Rank, might wipe a building from the face of the earth, or perfectly defend against such an attack.

[ ] Royal [25 Ambrosia] - A level of power that sunders civilizations which have been deemed unworthy. Although its lowest capacity is barely any higher than a moderate-power Noble Invocation, its uppermost level of mastery will allow you to sunder a city like a nuclear explosion, and shrug off a blow of similar might. A particularly crafty and adept Knight of Royal Rank might be able to push this even further beyond, although this would require truly exceptional workloads and mastery, which might be better directed for attempts to reach a higher Rank.

[ ] Imperial [100 Ambrosia] - The Mangler stands no chance and perhaps never did. Even the lowest of Imperial Invocations can often provide a challenge for a strong and competent Knight-Aspirant of the Royal Rank; decimate entire city blocks with individual and overtly casual swings of the blade, and when focused and serious, cleave a whole planet in half and turn its surface into an ashen wasteland of dead civilizations and city-tombs. Its uppermost level provides a capacity of power that contests solar systems and rivals the powers of similar entities.

[ ] Divine [250 Ambrosia] - Indescribable power, with almost no upper limit. At its lower level, affect individual star systems, and then build yourself up to affecting whole galaxies and regions of the universe. At a high level, a flick of the kingly rod immediately creates a small galaxy, complete with teeming life; a strike of the blade undoes it in a conflagration of supernal and impossible force; a shield perfectly defends against such an attack while letting its user yawn; a ring grants awesome power to assert one's will over the uncaring universe and force it to care.

And there is, of course, the Heroic Rank, but I'm afraid it is barred to you for now - even in theory, let alone in practice.

And now comes the fun part:

Design your Knight Arm. The voting for this section is to be done by plan, and is completely write-in.

[ ] Name:
-[ ] Form(s):
-[ ] Concept(s):
-[ ] Inspiration:

Recommendations for Zane Li Black. Use and discard as you please.

Form: Cestus, Gauntlet, Armor, Zweihander, Angel Wings, Rocket Launcher, Airship
Concept: Martial Arts, Combat, Freedom, Conviction, Willpower, Ruthlessness, Wrath
Inspiration: Self (if you desire external entities, the QM can provide fitting examples)

All Invocations will be invented/practiced later, and the starting number of Invocations will be rolled for. However, if you desire, you can put down propositions to be endorsed. Any such propositions will also count as fanwork for the purposes of Ambrosia generation but must have a cohesive theme as instructed in the sections above.