Fluffy_serpent
a snake pretending to be human
then let him do it, let's go
Gods of Chaos: a Riot God Quest
- Thread starter Photomajig
- Start date
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- Tags
- god quest riot quest
Pempelune
Fanfiction Deep State
- Location
- Finland
...like, if you don't want to be here, you can just leave. I don't have any reason to kick you out or anything against you. I'm sorry if it's seemed that way. I'm only trying to maintain order in a thread that can get pretty chaotic at times.
Fluffy_serpent
a snake pretending to be human
Nah, no problem, I am the greg veder of SV and SB (I mean I was even permanently banned and unbanned in spacebattle), I also bring chaos and fighting to any thread that enters ... many times unintentionally
Can we please agree to be friendly in this quest? I've seen multiple people call each other names so far and it's getting getting too hostile for my taste. I know this was earlier in the quest, but there should be no circumstances where a post calling someone a "fucking idiot" should get more likes than most other player posts I honestly felt like there was a big shift in the tone of discussion in this quest after that.
Also semi-related, but can we agree to compromise more? A lot of the arguing here seems really pointless because no one wants to compromise in any way at all. I don't know if it's just me but the arguing in this quest feels like it's arguing for the sake of "winning' the argument rather than anything constructive.
Also semi-related, but can we agree to compromise more? A lot of the arguing here seems really pointless because no one wants to compromise in any way at all. I don't know if it's just me but the arguing in this quest feels like it's arguing for the sake of "winning' the argument rather than anything constructive.
I don't know how canon it is, but I at least attempted to answer those questions for her up front. The original authored vote - both the preliminary one and the actual vote included a narrative writeup where the Maker giving Nehu her mission (which I tried to write as being implied but not outright stated to be 'my' in-game equivalent) that described the 'outer gods' as the creation of a certain branch of the Makers who wanted beings of chaos and got beings of chaos who got out of control; Nehu was told she was given the job because of her accomplishments and how she'd already turned down power on a small scale (declining to become a chief as to continue exploration); and the 'outer gods' destruction was explained as needing to clean them up before they cause even more death and destruction than they already have.
So depending on how canon the vision Nehu got is she already has the answers to those questions.
Personally, I'm inclined to question whether you're posting drunk or someone other than the actual account owner because none of what I've seen from you previously suggested anything that lines up with your claims of 'bringing chaos and fighting'.
Admittedly, I too looked at that original post and it didn't make much sense where I would have genuine questions about if it written by someone who knew what he was writing. I can completely understand someone looking at it and having the inclination to write a 'You OK there, man?' response.
That depends on what 'compromise' looks like. Because 'compromise' is not an inherently beneficial thing if what it actually results in is a product that nobody is actually happy with.
If we look at the 'outer gods' situation, which I think is the biggest point of debate, the problem is that we have one side that wants cosmic-scale villains that really only serve to exist as cosmic-scale villains for the sake of 'we need an evil threat to oppose good in the universe and threaten everything' while the other side expressly doesn't want that.
There's not really much room for compromise when two sides want expressly different and incompatible things.
And as stands, there's arguably already been compromise there because the 'answer' to the 'outer gods' wasn't to expressly erase them but to instead create an answer that has ultimately left some of them still alive and with room to still matter to the universe.
But if you're looking for compromise on the two sides coming to an agreement, I'd argue there's not much room for that because the side that doesn't want 'outer god' scale threats doesn't need to do anything other than not support voting for said threats while the side who does want massive threats like that can get them compromise by scaling down the threats to a level where they can secure the votes needed to make it happen.
In short, there's not really incentive for either side to compromise because each side can get the 'compromised' version of what they want without engaging the other side.
If you want another version of compromise, we may well be getting it with the Druyul. Originally Scrivener wanted his race of flying lizard people, but couldn't get the votes because players weren't willing to use a Grand Vote on a second race of flying lizard people. In response, Scrivener looks prepared to compromise by changing the Druyul to a race of lizard people who have some trait other than flying (probably dealing with changing skin) which is may be more likely to go through - I know I for one will be more willing to vote for it provided we don't have three other Grand Acts that I like more and crowd out the Druyul option.
Pempelune
Fanfiction Deep State
Personally, I see no issue with contradictory Acts being enacted. We're supposed to be Gods of Chaos - of course we're going to do pointlessly contradictory things. It's part of the theme. So one Age we create a cosmic threat to the Universe, the next we deal with them, and I'm personally going to vote toward strengthening them next turn.
That said, I really dislike the specific way we chose to deal with the Outer Gods.
Perhaps a vote like this?
[] Allow the Might to be claimed by any who defeat the current holder. If that being is not mortal, they can instead grant the Might to any mortal of their choosing.
That way the Might will create conflict for Photomajig to narrate, and it can be more than just a convenient and overly specific superpower.
Not such what the rank of that Act would be. Greater, since that was the rank of the original Act, or Lesser, since it only slightly modify an existing Act?
That said, I really dislike the specific way we chose to deal with the Outer Gods.
This is so... specific and careful. Tons of safeguard and unnecessary restrictions so that it does exactly what we want it to do and nothing more, no room for it to evolve beyond our initial intent - it's inelegant, and it runs counter to the Chaotic theme of the quest. Countering the Outer Gods is fine, but I wish we had done so in a more organic way.
Perhaps a vote like this?
[] Allow the Might to be claimed by any who defeat the current holder. If that being is not mortal, they can instead grant the Might to any mortal of their choosing.
That way the Might will create conflict for Photomajig to narrate, and it can be more than just a convenient and overly specific superpower.
Not such what the rank of that Act would be. Greater, since that was the rank of the original Act, or Lesser, since it only slightly modify an existing Act?
Maybe some of us don't actually see ourselves as being individuals of chaos.
Pempelune
Fanfiction Deep State
It's about narrative potential. What's interesting about this Quest, more than the Acts in themselves, is how they grow and evolve and interact in surprising ways - like say, the appearance of the Leviathan Riders that no one had specifically made an Act for, but were a natural consequence of existing Acts.
But the more we restrict Acts, the less we let Photomajig the freedom to make interesting and unplanned things with them. Then the Quest just become a list of Acts, rather than a complex, emergent narrative.
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Pandemonious Ivy
Panties, Revolution. Big Drawers. Parachute.
Is it finally time for "Cosmic Act: War in Heaven"?
Fluffy_serpent
a snake pretending to be human
something I would agree with is creating gods with different domains, such as
[] and from the incipient flames of war, he is born, the god of war, the more war he finds in the universe, the stronger will be the
that in this case he would be a god who is not bad because he is bad, but his dominance (war) instinctively presses him to want him to find war. he would not be a bad god for being bad, but he could be seen as bad and it depends on how he matures whether he will be really bad or not.
I don't know if I can explain myself?something I would agree with is creating gods with different domains, such as
[] and from the incipient flames of war, he is born, the god of war, the more war are, more stronger will be the
that in this case he would be a god who is not bad because he is bad, but his dominance (war) instinctively presses him to want him to find war. he would not be a bad god for being bad, but he could be seen as bad and it depends on how he matures whether he will be really bad or not.
I don't know if I can explain myself?
[] and from the incipient flames of war, he is born, the god of war, the more war he finds in the universe, the stronger will be the
that in this case he would be a god who is not bad because he is bad, but his dominance (war) instinctively presses him to want him to find war. he would not be a bad god for being bad, but he could be seen as bad and it depends on how he matures whether he will be really bad or not.
I don't know if I can explain myself?something I would agree with is creating gods with different domains, such as
[] and from the incipient flames of war, he is born, the god of war, the more war are, more stronger will be the
that in this case he would be a god who is not bad because he is bad, but his dominance (war) instinctively presses him to want him to find war. he would not be a bad god for being bad, but he could be seen as bad and it depends on how he matures whether he will be really bad or not.
I don't know if I can explain myself?
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And that chaos is happening regardless.
The OutSlayer is unique in the way it's so specific, but that's because it was created for a very specific reason. When trying to clean up chaos such as the 'outer gods', you do not address chaos with more chaos that could very well blow up in your face worse than the problem you're trying to solve.
To say that we need to leave things like the OutSlayer open to being twisted into another source of chaos completely misses the point of why we created the OutSlayer in the first place.
And to be sure, the OutSlayer didn't even work entirely as planned. It didn't kill off all the 'outer gods', and on a bigger scale, it ruined Nehu to boot by turning her into a sad, lonely angel of death rather than allowing her to have a happy retirement of exploring the universe at her leisure.
I'm down for it! Bring it, let's go!
Epoch 4: The Age of Creatures
- Location
- Finland
EPOCH 4
THE AGE OF CREATURES
THE AGE OF CREATURES
And the Land knew Plenty.
And None went Hungry.
And the People were Many.
And the Makers loved Them.
-Inscription found on prehistoric Myridna ritual bowl
Visible rivers and mountain ranges represent major ones, not all that exist.
Grand Acts
Sea Plants and Algal Expansion:
Green life on the planet diversifies as the evolution of algae and marine plants is pushed forward. Though simple algal lifeforms are common already, this divine blessing brings to life larger forms such as kelp, which create whole new environments for life to thrive in. Kelp forests come to rival the coral reefs in the richness of their life. On the surface, plants increasingly colonize both freshwater and saltwater in forms such as the lily and the lotus. Of note are also mangroves - curious tree species which stand above the sea's surface on coasts and form intricate, sheltering walls. Grand Act: Create Myriad Sea Plants.
***
Ungulate Mammals:The passing of millions of hooves tramples the earth on the continents as ungulates come into being. This broad group includes both terrestrial grazers and myriad cetaceans of the seas. They are a varied order, but common traits are potent digestive systems capable of grinding down coarse plant matter, herd mentality and hardy hooves allowing them to traverse difficult terrains. The vast majority are grazing herbivores, with some omnivorous species. They prove capable of colonizing almost every corner of the surface world and prove tough competition for dominant birds.
In the seas, the hoof-less cousins swim and bask - dolphins, porpoises and whales. They add to the grand tapestry of the seas, consuming fish and plankton in great quantities. Grand Act: Create the first wave of ungulate mammals.
Like the birds before them, the ungulates are brought into the world in a game of competition and survival. A thousand species go rapidly extinct in harsh conditions and facing off against more specialized or more adaptable peers. It is hard to gauge the most successful of such a diverse lot, but the fastest-growing populations are perhaps among the boars of the Arken Lands, the great herds of aurochs and yaks on the plainlands, and the antlered deer of the forests. The mass influx of ungulates causes local extinctions of plant, fish and bird species who prove unable to adapt against their new rivals and predators.
For now, ungulate populations are small, but they grow rapidly. Most of their species reside in the Arken Lands, with large birds still king in the Clouded Lands. Ungulates prove well-capable of outcompeting most avian peers, but large predatory birds prey on them in turn and flourish for it. In the sea, cetaceans come to form a central part of marine ecosystems, preyed on only by large fish such as sharks and by the sentient races.
***
Vigor:
The Law of Constant Evolution spins out another thread to create the power of Vigor. All evolving life gains potential Vigor equal to their physical fitness and realized growth. This innate magical power allows its wielders to resist magical effects and shape their bodies further, though amassing significant amounts of Vigor demands devotion to athleticism and physical mastery. Most living things will never come to understand how to wield Vigor or to host great amounts of it, but heroes and athletes may prove capable of using it to greatly augment their natural capabilities. Grand Act: Create Vigor.
***
Dream Canidae:
The Unseen rings with the barks and howls of a new species of spirit as the Dream Canidae are created. They are made canny and playful tricksters clever enough to fool even the roots of the World Tree into allowing them passage between the Realms. They are formless things of shifting imagination in the Unseen, only to take material form as ethereal canines when they pass into the Seen. They have a natural affinity to serve as messengers, though their wild and fun-loving nature makes them somewhat unreliable as such. Grand Act: Create Dream Canidae.
With their innate talent for traversing the World Tree, the Canidae soon learn the Paths to many different worlds and places. One even discovers the sheltered garden where the race of Men grows, with far-reaching consequences...
***
Lesser Acts
Dandreble Fungus:
The depths of the Clouded Lands bloom with countless small, faintly-glowing mushrooms. The Dandreble Fungi come into existence to feed the dwellers in the dark, being very nutritious and easy to cultivate. They feed on the decay of organic matter, taking on the bounty of the surface world as it descends into soil and stone, or simply falls from the heights into the canyons and ravines. Volcanic warmth and fertile ash provides another cradle for growth at a safe distance from underground pools and streams of magma. Lesser Act: Create an edible fungus (named Dandreble Fungus) to grow in the depths of the Clouded Lands.
The Umbrals embrace this new food with great joy. Risky raids of the surface world under cover of night become less common as the bounty of the dark provides enough on its own. Exile communities and their former hosts alike fall ravenously upon the fungi, and a population boom follows. The majority of Dandreble blooms are in the deeper reaches of the Clouded Lands where exiles wander. They also come to feed a larger variety of cave-adapted fish, birds and small ungulates.
***
The Iktai:A new variety of life crawls into being as the Iktai are created. These burrowing centipede-like creatures dig through soil and rock rubble, consuming minerals and nutrient-rich soil in great quantities as they travel. Their powerful pincers and hardy bodies allow them to dig long winding tunnels underground as they seek out delicious ores and minerals. The Iktai remake their shells when consuming great quantities of a mineral - gold-eaters developing gold-plated shells, for example. Lesser Act: Create the Iktai.
In the Hot Lands, the highland Myridna are stunned to find the ores they mine disappearing as Iktai populations fall upon their mountains. Those Myridna who attack these 'thieves' find them difficult opponents, resisting blows and sustaining injury that would sunder lesser beings. Slowly, a new role develops among Myridna clans - that of an Iktai-hunter, tasked with defeating the ravenous crawlers under the surface.
***
The Questing Beast:
Nehu's rampage leaves decaying god-corpses drifting across the Void and the Unseen. The Makers pluck away one such body in the dark and begin to shape it into new life. Charred black bones are snapped and repurposed; Flame-light rekindled for beguiling power. The Questing Beast is formed as a living tale, a manifestation of the Law of Narrative Satisfaction and the will of the Makers.
This strange entity appears in a variety of bestial forms to challenge and test heroes and villains alike. To see the Beast is to be invited for a Hunt: to find and kill the Beast is to find the power one needs to overcome their obstacles. The Beast is mighty, always powerful enough to pose a grueling challenge to the one challenging it, but never so strong as to make its defeat impossible. Those with the purity of will to triumph will triumph; those who falter may very well perish. No mortal can kill the Beast for good, for that is not its purpose - at the conclusion of the Hunt, it is always reborn in new form within the Unseen. Lesser Act: Create the Questing Beast.
***
The Trident of the Ocean and the Reveal of the Twilight Arc:
The Spirit of the World-Sea is granted a gift by the ever-capricious Makers. The Trident of the Ocean is forged, a powerful artifact channeling and augmenting the Sea-Spirit's magics. Only those the Spirit deems worthy are offered the Trident to be used in its service. The Trident whispers the will of the Spirit to those who wield it. Lesser Act: Create the Trident of the Ocean.
The World-Sea is wary of the works of the Makers, destructive as they are with their Acts, but accepts the Trident after warily observing it. The ocean waves soon deliver the Trident to a Baólian band looked upon with fondness by the Spirit. Their leader, an old female named Siriine, takes up the Trident and its power. The Spirit whispers to her of the world and its creatures, in turn asking her of what she sees on the land as well.
The Spirit is also shown the location of the Twilight Arc in the Arken Lands. It speaks to Siriine and asks her to find the Arc as well. Siriine's band begins the long trek to the shadow of the Great Arch, where the Arc waits for its taker... Demi-Act: Show the Sea Spirit where the Twilight Arc lies as apology for the whole... upheaval thing.
***
The Hrududu and the Nym-Haggis:
The few grazing ungulates who have colonized the Hot Lands soon face strong competition as the Hrududu are created. These hexapedal grazing lizards are hardy and sure-footed, capable of traversing highlands and lowlands alike, with defensive measures that disorient and stun their predators. They outcompete what rivals they have and become important grazers for varied environments in the Hot Lands. They form large herds and soon attract the attention of the lowland Myridna. They learn to hunt the Hrududu, isolating and trapping them so that their combined stunning vocalizations can be avoided. Lesser Act: Create the Hrududu.
In their wake is born another species, the Nym-Haggis. These medium-sized mammalian grazers are excellent climbers and can digest almost anything, much like the Myridna. They seem almost tailor-made to benefit any species that domesticates them, with hides useful for leather, valuable furs, milk, delicious and nutritious meat, rich manure for fertilizer, egg-laying and natural docile herd behavior. In areas where predators and Myridna are plentiful, Nym-Haggis populations are devastated by hunting. Lesser Act: Create the Nym-Haggis.
Though domestication is not a concept known to the Myridna, they have their experiments with raising birds for eggs and experience with taming animals with food and kindness. Domestication of both the Hrududu and the Nym-Haggis begins almost simultaneously in various regions of the Hot Lands - orphaned calves and stolen eggs are raised by curious Myridna, with the animals revealing themselves to be quite affectionate and docile beasts when reared and socialized from birth. While tame Hrududu and Nym-Haggis are the minority of their respective species, semi-domestication begins spreading like wildfire among the lowland Myridna.
***
The Horror Birds:
The Arken Lands awake to screams and howls as the Horror Birds take flight. So to speak, anyway - these large hunting birds are far too heavy to fly, but their great muscular wings are tipped with talons and strong enough to tear flesh and bone with ease. Their strong legs allow them to sprint quickly over short distances when they ambush prey or usurp the kills of others. Their piercing beaks prove all too capable of crushing spines and cracking skulls to kill their prey in one blow. Worst of all, the cry of the Horror Birds sounds on many frequencies of sound and stirs feelings of primordial terror, often paralyzing those hunted before they even glimpse their opponent. Lesser Act: Create a species of grand and terrible predatory flightless birds in the Arken Lands: the Horror Birds.
The Horror Birds face little competition on their way to becoming apex predators of the twin continents. Their coloring evolves to match surrounding terrain. The influx of ungulates and colonization by other birds provides a veritable feast, though they require so much to eat that their populations are relatively small by necessity. Horror Birds rule over large territories, with males intruding on female nesting grounds in the hopes of winning her affections for mating, only to be driven off once their business is concluded.
***
Nehu's Rest:
The Makers pity the Void Huntress on her endless patrol and reach forth to create Nehu's Rest, a divine planetoid guarded against unwanted intrusion and protected from magical observation. It holds a constantly-updating projection of her home world and shapes itself to be perfectly comfortable to her at all times. Lesser Act: Create Nehu's Rest.
The Void Huntress is bewildered to find the planetoid at her beck and call, and at first takes it for a trick of the Outer Gods. Her paranoia does not last long, for the bone-deep weariness in her heart leads to her enter the Rest after a time. She does not have much need for comforts any longer, at least at first. Her abode begins as a spartan one, a mere hulk of rock and cold void. As time goes on and the Void Huntress remembers more of who she was as Nehu, the accomodations become more suitable for living beings.
Her mission still drives Nehu to leave the Rest often and continue her patrols, but when she is within, the anguish and hatred in her heart is soothed. The Void Huntress spends longtimes observing the projection of the World - at first seeking signs of Outer God influence, but after some time merely watching the development of her people and homelands. Though the pain of their rejection of her keeps her from returning among them, it gives her joy to see them continue to thrive and grow. Painfully, slowly, the Void Huntress reclaims some of her humanity.
***
Shaping of the Deep Algals:
The Makers go among the Deep Algals and whisper the secrets of the Arts of Shaping to them. Though already experimenting with the strange Art, this divine push grants the Deep Algal civilization a deep understanding of the magic. Effects are immediate. Deep Algal colonies begin Shaping themselves into stronger, hardier and more long-lived forms. Leviathan riders change their symbiotic mounts to make their minds as one. Natural features are empowered to new heights: bioluminescent signals becoming blinding and searing torches, colonies incorporate other forms of life on top of sentient algae, and the poor mobility inherent in their natural bodies is offset by rudimentary legs, tendrils and other limbs stretching from colonies.
The Deep Algals become a varied people, with individual colonies changing themselves in radical and different ways. At times a colony proves too reckless and Shapes a change they cannot control, leading to endless hunger or self-cannibalism as they seek to sustain their new forms. Surviving colonies establish laws and rules on what manner of Shaping is acceptable in the hopes of avoiding the creation of further 'abominations'. Lesser Act: Advance the Deep Algal's knowledge and mastery over the Arts of Shaping.
***
Demi-Acts
The First Moon-Watcher's Enlightenment:
The first of the Moon-Watchers is granted understanding of the Laws of Reality, from the Grand Law of Narrative Satisfaction to the Law of Unseen Reawakening. It ponders this knowledge for a short while, shrugs its stony shoulders, and continues playing with its fellows. This knowledge spreads among the Moon-Watchers and the lunar spirits, though they have no particular need to use it in their carefree lives. Demi-Act: Whisper the Laws of the Cosmos to the First Moonwatcher.
***
The Compass of the One Who Watches The Watcher:
The Watcher's Watcher receives an unexpected gift from the Makers. It is handed the Compass of the One Who Watches the Watcher, a divine tool always pointing towards the owner's heart's desire. It is fated to find its way back to the Watcher if ever lost, and it is almost immediately lost as the Watcher's Watcher absentmindedly discards on the surface of the World. Demi-Act: Create the Compass of the One Who Watches the Watcher.
The Compass is eaten by a grazing Hrududu soon after, then fished out of its guts by a Myridna. It points them in the direction of the target of their unrequited love - after being rejected, the Myridna tosses it away in frustration. So it travels the world, changing hands often, until the Watcher's Watcher once more picks it up.
***
Cracking Fate:
When Nehu hunted Them, the Outer God Vadhu (once Vadhuzalthul of the Endless Dark; names must be discarded alongside flesh if one is to hide from the Void Huntress) fled, fearful, maddened, to the depths of the Unseen. Every moment He feared the lance of the Void Huntress to strike their form and destroy them like so many others.
Vadhu sought refuge, but where? A compulsion planted in His mind by a Maker drew their attention to Vanti of the Rainbow Dream.
The Great Spider ever makes and unmakes. Vadhu does not need the Makers to be fascinated by her ceaseless work. He hid himself within her work and lay there as Vanti wove it over and around Him, trapping Him in the gossamer fragility of that doomed artifice. No amount of cajoling or pleading moves Vanti from her purpose, and though Vadhu could draw upon what remains of His power to destroy her, it would only lead to His destruction at the hands of Nehu soon after.
At this moment, a Maker offers a deal. Let causality be broken; allow Him to survive His destruction. To destroy destruction, to reverse endings. To allow the grand work of Vanti to survive its own destruction - to leave the Truth of Betrayal standing even as it is brought down. To provide a refuge for Vadhu in exchange for Him not destroying Vanti. Demi-Act: Cracking Fate.
Vadhu hates His betrayers, but it is no choice at all. At the will of the Maker, Vanti's masterpiece is destroyed, but is not destroyed. Causality breaks, and the Truth of Betrayal continues to exist where it should not. It becomes a physical location - as much as anything is physical in the Unseen - and the refuge and prison of Vadhu. Nothing has fundamentally changed. Vadhu cannot leave the confines of Vanti's masterwork out of fear of Nehu, but others may venture into the Betrayal, if they come to know of Him.
The breaking of causality gives Vadhu some power over endings - even in His diminished state, He may undo destruction and restore to life those who have perished. As things are, though, the dead must come to Him; He cannot leave the hell crafted for Him.
I realized I'd misunderstood the original Act when I was writing this. It's in a very awkward state, mechanics-wise. I thought the actual Act was merely pushing Vadhu to go to Vanti (perfectly fine, if unusual, for a Demi), but then realized it also includes it being saved from destruction (sure; especially since the post created the circumstances of its destruction in the first place) and giving it the power to resurrect things (not appropriate for Demi, but kind of something Outer Gods can do already?).
And that's if I understood it right! It was a cool and poetic read, but could have used a clearer description of what is actually happening. The description for Vadhu's resurrection powers gave me a ton of trouble as well. He needs to be there when others die to resurrect them? Fine, but as things are Vadhu cannot go anywhere outside of a hiding place without being seen by Nehu or the Custodians.
As such, I ended up interpreting the destroyed-undestroyed masterwork as a refuge and place for Vadhu to stay in for now, and changed his powers so that he does not actually need to be there at the moment of something's destruction. This makes him a cool entity that lives in the Unseen that you can take your fallen brethren to for resurrection, but beware of the cost, et cetera. Great plot fodder.
My first iteration, while I was still working out what was happening, was that Vadhu would end up in an endless cycle of dying and resurrecting himself, but that's even further from the intent as I understand it. Apologies if this went in a totally different direction than what the author would have liked.
And that's if I understood it right! It was a cool and poetic read, but could have used a clearer description of what is actually happening. The description for Vadhu's resurrection powers gave me a ton of trouble as well. He needs to be there when others die to resurrect them? Fine, but as things are Vadhu cannot go anywhere outside of a hiding place without being seen by Nehu or the Custodians.
As such, I ended up interpreting the destroyed-undestroyed masterwork as a refuge and place for Vadhu to stay in for now, and changed his powers so that he does not actually need to be there at the moment of something's destruction. This makes him a cool entity that lives in the Unseen that you can take your fallen brethren to for resurrection, but beware of the cost, et cetera. Great plot fodder.
My first iteration, while I was still working out what was happening, was that Vadhu would end up in an endless cycle of dying and resurrecting himself, but that's even further from the intent as I understand it. Apologies if this went in a totally different direction than what the author would have liked.
The Void
The nothing between worlds and stars.
-Being: The Watcher. An immortal entity perceiving all of Creation.
-Being: The Historian. An immortal entity recording all of History.
-Being: The Watcher's Watcher. An immortal entity trying its best. Sometimes in possession of a compass leading to one's heart's desire.
-Being: Custodians. Powerful divine servants tasked with maintaining and continuing the works of the Makers.
-Being: Abraxas. Divine messengers and servants composed of fifteen greater and four hundred and forty lesser beings.
-Being: Cultivars. Divine caretakers and seeders of life tasked with spreading lifeforms across Creation.
-Being: Sun-Whales. Enormous leviathans dwelling in the Sun's chromosphere, empowered by solar magics.
-Being: The Outer Gods. Godlike, corrupting horrors of the outer Void. Much weakened and in hiding.
-Being: The Void Huntress. The ascended form of Nehu Far-Strider, empowered by the Might of the OutSlayer and hunting the Outer Gods at the ends of Creation.
-Phenomenon: Cosmic Paths. Divine paths of light connecting worlds for travelers.
-Phenomenon: Stars and Star-Trails. Stars marking lives lived by beings of the universe. Characteristics of great beings of the past may be gained in some way from them.
-Phenomenon: The Arising Star and the Triumphant Comet. Cosmic phenomena marking the beginnings and ends of great stories.
The Moon
A rocky moon orbiting the World and existing simultaneously in the Seen and the Unseen. A source of powerful lunar magic.
-Being: Spirits. Native entities of the Unseen.
-Being: Moon-Watchers. Beings of spirit and stone in the likeness of the Watcher's Watcher.
-Being: Dream Canidae. Mischievous canine spirits capable of traversing between Seen and Unseen at will.
The Unnamed World
The first world and hub of all Creation.
-Being: The Merchant of Hope. A wandering being offering gifts to those in need to be paid through good deeds.
-Being: The Questing Beast. A mysterious monster existing to test those of great destiny and ambition.
-Artifact: The Twilight Arc. A legendary weapon channeling both lunar and solar magics.
-Artifact: The Trident of the Ocean. A legendary weapon channeling and augmenting the powers of the Sea-Spirit for those having its blessing.
Sea: Unnamed
Saltwater sea, blessed with nutrients and life. Microbial, simple multicellular life, algae, aquatic plants, coral, fish, leviathans, cetaceans, K'orlannsch. Sentient algae.
-Being: The Spirit of the World-Sea. The awakened genius loci of the World-Sea, possessed of great magical power.
-Being: Vixith the Volcanic Turtle. An island-sized turtle with a volcano on its back. Every 500,000 years, erupts in volcanic fury and is reborn.
-Place: The City of the First Children. A great coral city by the central island. Settled by the sentient algae of the Bãsn-Shaal-Khlomet.
-Place: World-Song Stones. Stone circles emanating beautiful otherworldly song. Also allow for communication between the Seen and Unseen.
Central island: Unnamed
Barren rock. Microbial and simple multicellular life, plants, trees, birds, fish, cetaceans, ungulates, K'orlannsch, Iktai. Ixnix, Hollows, Baólians, Dream Canidae, Humans.
-Being: Ik'Shar. An old and friendly, furry creature inhabiting the island.
-Being: Nix'Shar. An old and friendlier furry creature inhabiting the island.
-Being: Nahesa, First of the Sea-Serpents. An amphibious serpent inhabiting the island.
-Place: The Memory Pool. A mysterious pool of black liquid. Allows one to view their memories in vivid detail.
-Place: The Comfortable Cave. A sentient and telepathic cave where the temperature is always comfortable.
-Place: World-Song Stones. Stone circles emanating beautiful otherworldly song. Also allow for communication between the Seen and Unseen.
Isolated island: Unnamed
A rocky island dominated by a massive tree. Microbial and simple multicellular life, plants, lichen and fungi, birds, fish, cetaceans. White Ants.
-Being: Crataegus, the Guardian Tree. A great divine tree covering most of the Island, growing rich fruit of many colors. Awakened as a guardian of the Island.
-Being: Kaileah the Dryad. A guardian and child of the Lonesome Tree with powers over nature.
The Hot Lands
A volcanically active continent in the southwest of the world. Microbial and simple multicellular life, plants, trees, lichen and fungi, volcanic flora, fish, cetaceans, birds, ungulates, K'orlannsch, Iktai, Hrududu, Nym-Haggis. Myridna, Hollows, Baólians, Dream Canidae, Humans.
-Place: World-Song Stones. Stone circles emanating beautiful otherworldly song. Also allow for communication between the Seen and Unseen.
-Place: Ironmount. A small settlement and royal seat of the highland Myridna, made up of dwellings carved into the mountainside.
-Artifact: Holystone. A curious divine mineral absorbing energy from its surroundings.
The Clouded Lands
A landmass of extremes in the southeast of the world, made of high peaks and deep ravines side by side. Microbial and simple multicellular life, plants, trees, lichen and fungi, Dandreble Fungi, fish, birds, cetaceans, K'orlannsch, Iktai. Skrayt, Umbrals, Hollows, Baólians, Dream Canidae, Humans.
-Place: World-Song Stones. Stone circles emanating beautiful otherworldly song. Also allow for communication between the Seen and Unseen.
The Skylands
A collection of floating islands of varying size high above the surface world. Microbial and simple multicellular life, lichen and fungi, plants, trees, birds. Hollows, Dream Canidae, Humans.
-Place: World-Song Stones. Stone circles emanating beautiful otherworldly song. Also allow for communication between the Seen and Unseen.
The Arken Lands
A great twin continent in the north of the world. Varied terrain. Microbial and simple multicellular life, lichen and fungi, plants, trees, birds, fish, cetaceans, ungulates, Iktai, Horror Birds, K'orlannsch. Baólians, Dream Canidae, Humans.
-Place: World-Song Stones. Stone circles emanating beautiful otherworldly song. Also allow for communication between the Seen and Unseen.
The Northern World-Pillar
A divine pillar in the north pole of the World. Time spent atop it passes faster than in the world below.
The Southern World-Pillar
A divine pillar in the south pole of the World. Time spent atop it passes slower than in the world below.
The Unseen
A realm of dreams, imagination and spirits.
-Being: Spirits. Native entities of the Unseen.
-Being: The Outer Gods. Godlike, corrupting horrors of the deep Unseen. Much weakened and in hiding.
-Being: Vanti of the Rainbow Dream. A great spirit ever crafting and destroying her masterworks.
-Being: Dream Canidae. Mischievous canine spirits capable of traversing between Seen and Unseen at will.
The World-Tree
A spiritual reflection of Creation. Its roots prevent easy passage between the Seen and the Unseen.
The Shifting City
A city of dream-stuff shifting and changing with the imagination of its inhabitants.
-Being: Spirits. Native entities of the Unseen.
-Being: Dream Canidae. Mischievous canine spirits capable of traversing between Seen and Unseen at will.
The Truth of Betrayal
A place-phenomenon in the Unseen, once a masterwork of Vanti.
-Being: Vadhu. One of the Outer Gods. Hiding within the Truth of Betrayal with powers of resurrection.
Laws of Reality
Law: Narrative Satisfaction. All laws of reality may be broken and bent for the purpose of narratively satisfying outcomes or for the pure of heart and will.
Law: Constant Evolution. All of Creation strives to change and evolve. Mutations in living beings are common, forces of change are more potent, and intelligent creatures tend to oppose stagnation.
Law: Unseen Reawakening. All living beings reflect spiritual counterparts into the Unseen. When they die in the Seen, they awaken in these forms to new lives in the Unseen as new spirits.
The nothing between worlds and stars.
-Being: The Watcher. An immortal entity perceiving all of Creation.
-Being: The Historian. An immortal entity recording all of History.
-Being: The Watcher's Watcher. An immortal entity trying its best. Sometimes in possession of a compass leading to one's heart's desire.
-Being: Custodians. Powerful divine servants tasked with maintaining and continuing the works of the Makers.
-Being: Abraxas. Divine messengers and servants composed of fifteen greater and four hundred and forty lesser beings.
-Being: Cultivars. Divine caretakers and seeders of life tasked with spreading lifeforms across Creation.
-Being: Sun-Whales. Enormous leviathans dwelling in the Sun's chromosphere, empowered by solar magics.
-Being: The Outer Gods. Godlike, corrupting horrors of the outer Void. Much weakened and in hiding.
-Being: The Void Huntress. The ascended form of Nehu Far-Strider, empowered by the Might of the OutSlayer and hunting the Outer Gods at the ends of Creation.
-Phenomenon: Cosmic Paths. Divine paths of light connecting worlds for travelers.
-Phenomenon: Stars and Star-Trails. Stars marking lives lived by beings of the universe. Characteristics of great beings of the past may be gained in some way from them.
-Phenomenon: The Arising Star and the Triumphant Comet. Cosmic phenomena marking the beginnings and ends of great stories.
The Moon
A rocky moon orbiting the World and existing simultaneously in the Seen and the Unseen. A source of powerful lunar magic.
-Being: Spirits. Native entities of the Unseen.
-Being: Moon-Watchers. Beings of spirit and stone in the likeness of the Watcher's Watcher.
-Being: Dream Canidae. Mischievous canine spirits capable of traversing between Seen and Unseen at will.
The Unnamed World
The first world and hub of all Creation.
-Being: The Merchant of Hope. A wandering being offering gifts to those in need to be paid through good deeds.
-Being: The Questing Beast. A mysterious monster existing to test those of great destiny and ambition.
-Artifact: The Twilight Arc. A legendary weapon channeling both lunar and solar magics.
-Artifact: The Trident of the Ocean. A legendary weapon channeling and augmenting the powers of the Sea-Spirit for those having its blessing.
Sea: Unnamed
Saltwater sea, blessed with nutrients and life. Microbial, simple multicellular life, algae, aquatic plants, coral, fish, leviathans, cetaceans, K'orlannsch. Sentient algae.
-Being: The Spirit of the World-Sea. The awakened genius loci of the World-Sea, possessed of great magical power.
-Being: Vixith the Volcanic Turtle. An island-sized turtle with a volcano on its back. Every 500,000 years, erupts in volcanic fury and is reborn.
-Place: The City of the First Children. A great coral city by the central island. Settled by the sentient algae of the Bãsn-Shaal-Khlomet.
-Place: World-Song Stones. Stone circles emanating beautiful otherworldly song. Also allow for communication between the Seen and Unseen.
Central island: Unnamed
Barren rock. Microbial and simple multicellular life, plants, trees, birds, fish, cetaceans, ungulates, K'orlannsch, Iktai. Ixnix, Hollows, Baólians, Dream Canidae, Humans.
-Being: Ik'Shar. An old and friendly, furry creature inhabiting the island.
-Being: Nix'Shar. An old and friendlier furry creature inhabiting the island.
-Being: Nahesa, First of the Sea-Serpents. An amphibious serpent inhabiting the island.
-Place: The Memory Pool. A mysterious pool of black liquid. Allows one to view their memories in vivid detail.
-Place: The Comfortable Cave. A sentient and telepathic cave where the temperature is always comfortable.
-Place: World-Song Stones. Stone circles emanating beautiful otherworldly song. Also allow for communication between the Seen and Unseen.
Isolated island: Unnamed
A rocky island dominated by a massive tree. Microbial and simple multicellular life, plants, lichen and fungi, birds, fish, cetaceans. White Ants.
-Being: Crataegus, the Guardian Tree. A great divine tree covering most of the Island, growing rich fruit of many colors. Awakened as a guardian of the Island.
-Being: Kaileah the Dryad. A guardian and child of the Lonesome Tree with powers over nature.
The Hot Lands
A volcanically active continent in the southwest of the world. Microbial and simple multicellular life, plants, trees, lichen and fungi, volcanic flora, fish, cetaceans, birds, ungulates, K'orlannsch, Iktai, Hrududu, Nym-Haggis. Myridna, Hollows, Baólians, Dream Canidae, Humans.
-Place: World-Song Stones. Stone circles emanating beautiful otherworldly song. Also allow for communication between the Seen and Unseen.
-Place: Ironmount. A small settlement and royal seat of the highland Myridna, made up of dwellings carved into the mountainside.
-Artifact: Holystone. A curious divine mineral absorbing energy from its surroundings.
The Clouded Lands
A landmass of extremes in the southeast of the world, made of high peaks and deep ravines side by side. Microbial and simple multicellular life, plants, trees, lichen and fungi, Dandreble Fungi, fish, birds, cetaceans, K'orlannsch, Iktai. Skrayt, Umbrals, Hollows, Baólians, Dream Canidae, Humans.
-Place: World-Song Stones. Stone circles emanating beautiful otherworldly song. Also allow for communication between the Seen and Unseen.
The Skylands
A collection of floating islands of varying size high above the surface world. Microbial and simple multicellular life, lichen and fungi, plants, trees, birds. Hollows, Dream Canidae, Humans.
-Place: World-Song Stones. Stone circles emanating beautiful otherworldly song. Also allow for communication between the Seen and Unseen.
The Arken Lands
A great twin continent in the north of the world. Varied terrain. Microbial and simple multicellular life, lichen and fungi, plants, trees, birds, fish, cetaceans, ungulates, Iktai, Horror Birds, K'orlannsch. Baólians, Dream Canidae, Humans.
-Place: World-Song Stones. Stone circles emanating beautiful otherworldly song. Also allow for communication between the Seen and Unseen.
The Northern World-Pillar
A divine pillar in the north pole of the World. Time spent atop it passes faster than in the world below.
The Southern World-Pillar
A divine pillar in the south pole of the World. Time spent atop it passes slower than in the world below.
The Unseen
A realm of dreams, imagination and spirits.
-Being: Spirits. Native entities of the Unseen.
-Being: The Outer Gods. Godlike, corrupting horrors of the deep Unseen. Much weakened and in hiding.
-Being: Vanti of the Rainbow Dream. A great spirit ever crafting and destroying her masterworks.
-Being: Dream Canidae. Mischievous canine spirits capable of traversing between Seen and Unseen at will.
The World-Tree
A spiritual reflection of Creation. Its roots prevent easy passage between the Seen and the Unseen.
The Shifting City
A city of dream-stuff shifting and changing with the imagination of its inhabitants.
-Being: Spirits. Native entities of the Unseen.
-Being: Dream Canidae. Mischievous canine spirits capable of traversing between Seen and Unseen at will.
The Truth of Betrayal
A place-phenomenon in the Unseen, once a masterwork of Vanti.
-Being: Vadhu. One of the Outer Gods. Hiding within the Truth of Betrayal with powers of resurrection.
Laws of Reality
Law: Narrative Satisfaction. All laws of reality may be broken and bent for the purpose of narratively satisfying outcomes or for the pure of heart and will.
Law: Constant Evolution. All of Creation strives to change and evolve. Mutations in living beings are common, forces of change are more potent, and intelligent creatures tend to oppose stagnation.
Law: Unseen Reawakening. All living beings reflect spiritual counterparts into the Unseen. When they die in the Seen, they awaken in these forms to new lives in the Unseen as new spirits.
A moratorium on Acts is now in effect. You may begin Voting for the next Epoch in 12 hours. The following Epoch shall be the Age of Monsters. Acts to create or empower monstrous creatures shall receive a free +1 Vote.
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Epoch 4: The Age of Creatures (Part 2)
- Location
- Finland
Developments
Shravu's Hunt:
The first to cross paths with the Questing Beast is Shravu, a Skrayt warrior of the Mist Isle tribe, who seeks a cure for a disease afflicting the tribe's chieftain. The hopes and desires of his tribe mark Shravu out as a figure of great destiny, and the Beast finds purpose.
Shravu first encounters the creature while traveling to meet with Imsamrta the Wise for advice. They take shelter in a storm only to come face to face with a monstrous two-headed bird of luminous pale feathers and void-black talons. It throws him to the ground and takes off. The Beast calls out to Shravu, but he is unable to keep up with its monstrous wingbeats.
When Shravu asks Queen Imsamrta the Sea-Ant of the strange apparition, she is unable to answer. Yet she senses something of the purpose of the Beast and its connection to the young hero before her. Shravu is advised to track and slay the Beast in its lair. Over the following months, he does just that, finding and fighting the Beast two times inconclusively before tracking it to its high den on the third attempt. Their battle is ferocious and long - the Beast spitting lightning and frost from its two beaks, Shravu finding strength in the growing Vigor in his veins - but at last it ends with Shravu piercing the heart of the Beast with his spear and casting its ruined form against the mountainside.
Within its heart, Shravu finds a strange seed. When planted in the soil of his homeland, it grows a luminous tree that bears fruit that not only heals the chieftain, but strengthens the health of all in the tribe as well. Shravu is celebrated as a great hero and adopted as the heir of the chief - and in the Unseen, satisfied, the Questing Beast reforms into its second incarnation...
The champion of the Sea-Spirit, the Baólian Siriine, travels from the southern end of the Hot Lands north to the Arken Lands. Her journey is a tale of its own. The great oceanic crossing is demanding for the amphibious species, but the Trident in Siriine's hands allows her to propel them onward and keep them safe where others would perish. When they pass the City of the First Children, long thought cursed by the local Baólians, she is beseeched for aid. The locals say that their children have disappeared in the waters near the City, taken captive by the strange Algal horrors living within. Siriine knows them for dangerous fools who have scorned the Sea-Spirit and agrees to enter the City on her people's behalf.
The Spirit guides her past Ardent Algal sentries and into the depths of the City. It is not a rescue, for the taken Baólians are long gone - sacrificed to appease the Great Bãsn or fed to the nutrient pools for new Algals to grow. Siriine is horrified to discover this and repulsed by the cold and alien minds of the City's leaders. Angered and emboldened, she ceases her skulking and calls on the Ardent Algals to meet her and answer for their crimes.
The Masters of Ardency no longer have no useful conception of what a 'crime' or 'wrong' might be, but they come nevertheless, sensing the power the challenger carries. Seven Masters crawl out and fall upon her, each more advanced in their studies and pure in their will than the last. Siriine draws upon the might of the Sea-Spirit and repels the first six, dispersing or repelling the colonies with whirlpools, tidal waves and deadly currents.
The Seventh, the First of the Masters, a monstrous creature bloated and strong with Ardency, proves her equal - in a cataclysmic struggle, the City itself shakes as they throw themselves into the fight. Towers topple and domes crack open, but at last the Ocean's strength is spent, and Siriine collapses into the waters. The Sea-Spirit carries her to safety, and when she tells her people what has come to pass, they swear not to rest until they have justice for those taken.
Once she has recovered, Siriine continues her journey to the Arken Lands. She is joined by far more Baólians than before, her followers seeing her with something like religious devotion. There are other heroics still - a wrestling match with Nahesa the Sea-Serpent, a night spent in the belly of a Leviathan, a week spent learning the strange living language of the Cultivars from one of their number - before she arrives at last in the shadow of the Arch where the Twilight Arc should lie... only to find it already taken, by the strangest of creatures...
The Dream Canidae are a curious species indeed, but high in the canopy of the World-Tree they find one almost as strange. The walls of the garden created for Askr and Embla have been impenetrable - so far. The Canidae are a race created to run freely across all worlds and they may slip through any barrier. A pack of the Canidae finds a way into the Garden and encounters the race of Men to the mutual astonishment of both.
The two peoples find a great affinity for one another - both children of the Seen and Unseen, both blessed with boundless curiosity and love of freedom. The Canidae are horrified to learn of the humans' confinement, however pleasant it is for them. Soon a pact is made - the Pact of Freedom, bidding the two species to friendship and to help each other to freedom for all of time to come. They teach Humanity how to breach the walls of their prison and offer to guide them out into the outside world.
Askr and Embla are content to stay, but many of their children are not. They agree to follow the dogs out to freedom.
It is a valiant effort, but the humans are not as skilled in avoiding the attention of the World Tree's roots and branches as the Canidae. They are only half-way through the walls when the Tree shakes and convulses violently. Realms collide and Paths open at random. With a heave of its vast branches, the Tree shatters the garden and flings the Humans through gateways to every corner of Creation. Their unlucky Canidae guides are thrown with them.
This exodus is a chaotic and deadly one. Most Men land alone or in small groups in the Void or on barren worlds where their lifespans are counted in seconds. Those lucky enough to be deposited onto the World are not always lucky enough to avoid falling into deep ocean waters, volcanic magma or dangerous ravines. Mankind suffers a great exodus, scattering small groups across the breadth of the World. The shock of the ordered and rigid Seen, unyielding even to great imagination, is hard on these survivors. Yet fed on the fruits of their garden and with the blood of Askr and Embla still hot in their veins, they are strong and adapt quickly. In time, they might multiply into many distinct peoples of their own.
Askr and Embla are separated by the breaking of the garden. Askr finds himself on the islands between the Arken Lands; Embla in a volcanic valley of the Hot Lands. They grieve for their separation, but gather up the remnants of the garden that landed with them and begin planting its seeds in their new homelands. Many of their children find them in time and settle with them. In these small sanctuaries, the memory of the garden endures.
One of Askr and Embla's children, a strong and fierce-hearted woman called Sigren, awakens alone in the Arken Lands. She barely survives her first days in an unfamiliar land that stubbornly refuses to adapt to her imagination in the way of the Unseen. She is fortunate, though, to soon meet a similarly lost Canidae by the name of Shimmerer. Together they learn to navigate the Arken Lands, surviving attacks by Horror Birds and treks across treacherous swamps and sweltering jungles. Then, at last, in the shallow waters underneath the Great Arc, they see it - the Twilight Arc.
Sigren takes up the Twilight Arc only days before Siriine the Baólian would arrive to claim it. In her hands, it shapes itself into a sturdy spear. Her companion warns her of Siriine's approach and she leaves for the north before the Baólian can find her, making her way at last to her father's abode in the archipelago of Askr's Garden. Siriine, feeling age press on her bones, decides to leave the hunt for her descendants - the Baólians with her settle in the region, determined to claim the Twilight Arc for the Sea sooner or later.
Shravu's Hunt:
The first to cross paths with the Questing Beast is Shravu, a Skrayt warrior of the Mist Isle tribe, who seeks a cure for a disease afflicting the tribe's chieftain. The hopes and desires of his tribe mark Shravu out as a figure of great destiny, and the Beast finds purpose.
Shravu first encounters the creature while traveling to meet with Imsamrta the Wise for advice. They take shelter in a storm only to come face to face with a monstrous two-headed bird of luminous pale feathers and void-black talons. It throws him to the ground and takes off. The Beast calls out to Shravu, but he is unable to keep up with its monstrous wingbeats.
When Shravu asks Queen Imsamrta the Sea-Ant of the strange apparition, she is unable to answer. Yet she senses something of the purpose of the Beast and its connection to the young hero before her. Shravu is advised to track and slay the Beast in its lair. Over the following months, he does just that, finding and fighting the Beast two times inconclusively before tracking it to its high den on the third attempt. Their battle is ferocious and long - the Beast spitting lightning and frost from its two beaks, Shravu finding strength in the growing Vigor in his veins - but at last it ends with Shravu piercing the heart of the Beast with his spear and casting its ruined form against the mountainside.
Within its heart, Shravu finds a strange seed. When planted in the soil of his homeland, it grows a luminous tree that bears fruit that not only heals the chieftain, but strengthens the health of all in the tribe as well. Shravu is celebrated as a great hero and adopted as the heir of the chief - and in the Unseen, satisfied, the Questing Beast reforms into its second incarnation...
***
The Mistress of Three Magics:
The champion of the Sea-Spirit, the Baólian Siriine, travels from the southern end of the Hot Lands north to the Arken Lands. Her journey is a tale of its own. The great oceanic crossing is demanding for the amphibious species, but the Trident in Siriine's hands allows her to propel them onward and keep them safe where others would perish. When they pass the City of the First Children, long thought cursed by the local Baólians, she is beseeched for aid. The locals say that their children have disappeared in the waters near the City, taken captive by the strange Algal horrors living within. Siriine knows them for dangerous fools who have scorned the Sea-Spirit and agrees to enter the City on her people's behalf.
The Spirit guides her past Ardent Algal sentries and into the depths of the City. It is not a rescue, for the taken Baólians are long gone - sacrificed to appease the Great Bãsn or fed to the nutrient pools for new Algals to grow. Siriine is horrified to discover this and repulsed by the cold and alien minds of the City's leaders. Angered and emboldened, she ceases her skulking and calls on the Ardent Algals to meet her and answer for their crimes.
The Masters of Ardency no longer have no useful conception of what a 'crime' or 'wrong' might be, but they come nevertheless, sensing the power the challenger carries. Seven Masters crawl out and fall upon her, each more advanced in their studies and pure in their will than the last. Siriine draws upon the might of the Sea-Spirit and repels the first six, dispersing or repelling the colonies with whirlpools, tidal waves and deadly currents.
The Seventh, the First of the Masters, a monstrous creature bloated and strong with Ardency, proves her equal - in a cataclysmic struggle, the City itself shakes as they throw themselves into the fight. Towers topple and domes crack open, but at last the Ocean's strength is spent, and Siriine collapses into the waters. The Sea-Spirit carries her to safety, and when she tells her people what has come to pass, they swear not to rest until they have justice for those taken.
Once she has recovered, Siriine continues her journey to the Arken Lands. She is joined by far more Baólians than before, her followers seeing her with something like religious devotion. There are other heroics still - a wrestling match with Nahesa the Sea-Serpent, a night spent in the belly of a Leviathan, a week spent learning the strange living language of the Cultivars from one of their number - before she arrives at last in the shadow of the Arch where the Twilight Arc should lie... only to find it already taken, by the strangest of creatures...
***
The Exodus of the Humans:
The Dream Canidae are a curious species indeed, but high in the canopy of the World-Tree they find one almost as strange. The walls of the garden created for Askr and Embla have been impenetrable - so far. The Canidae are a race created to run freely across all worlds and they may slip through any barrier. A pack of the Canidae finds a way into the Garden and encounters the race of Men to the mutual astonishment of both.
The two peoples find a great affinity for one another - both children of the Seen and Unseen, both blessed with boundless curiosity and love of freedom. The Canidae are horrified to learn of the humans' confinement, however pleasant it is for them. Soon a pact is made - the Pact of Freedom, bidding the two species to friendship and to help each other to freedom for all of time to come. They teach Humanity how to breach the walls of their prison and offer to guide them out into the outside world.
Askr and Embla are content to stay, but many of their children are not. They agree to follow the dogs out to freedom.
It is a valiant effort, but the humans are not as skilled in avoiding the attention of the World Tree's roots and branches as the Canidae. They are only half-way through the walls when the Tree shakes and convulses violently. Realms collide and Paths open at random. With a heave of its vast branches, the Tree shatters the garden and flings the Humans through gateways to every corner of Creation. Their unlucky Canidae guides are thrown with them.
This exodus is a chaotic and deadly one. Most Men land alone or in small groups in the Void or on barren worlds where their lifespans are counted in seconds. Those lucky enough to be deposited onto the World are not always lucky enough to avoid falling into deep ocean waters, volcanic magma or dangerous ravines. Mankind suffers a great exodus, scattering small groups across the breadth of the World. The shock of the ordered and rigid Seen, unyielding even to great imagination, is hard on these survivors. Yet fed on the fruits of their garden and with the blood of Askr and Embla still hot in their veins, they are strong and adapt quickly. In time, they might multiply into many distinct peoples of their own.
Askr and Embla are separated by the breaking of the garden. Askr finds himself on the islands between the Arken Lands; Embla in a volcanic valley of the Hot Lands. They grieve for their separation, but gather up the remnants of the garden that landed with them and begin planting its seeds in their new homelands. Many of their children find them in time and settle with them. In these small sanctuaries, the memory of the garden endures.
One of Askr and Embla's children, a strong and fierce-hearted woman called Sigren, awakens alone in the Arken Lands. She barely survives her first days in an unfamiliar land that stubbornly refuses to adapt to her imagination in the way of the Unseen. She is fortunate, though, to soon meet a similarly lost Canidae by the name of Shimmerer. Together they learn to navigate the Arken Lands, surviving attacks by Horror Birds and treks across treacherous swamps and sweltering jungles. Then, at last, in the shallow waters underneath the Great Arc, they see it - the Twilight Arc.
Sigren takes up the Twilight Arc only days before Siriine the Baólian would arrive to claim it. In her hands, it shapes itself into a sturdy spear. Her companion warns her of Siriine's approach and she leaves for the north before the Baólian can find her, making her way at last to her father's abode in the archipelago of Askr's Garden. Siriine, feeling age press on her bones, decides to leave the hunt for her descendants - the Baólians with her settle in the region, determined to claim the Twilight Arc for the Sea sooner or later.
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Fluffy_serpent
a snake pretending to be human
autor act
[X] create the winged lizard of potential (lesser-act)
non-autor act
[X] Create slimes (Lesser Act)
[x] Implement Legend Cultivation (Grand Act
[X] Prevent the Might of the OutSlayer from being corrupted as to be stolen simply by its wielder being killed or being bound by fate to some counterpart power. (??? Act)
[X] in the east side of the twin continent create the suras a race of reddish bronze skin color humanoid with six arms and three eye and white hair they are as intelligent as a normal human. Their third eye is vertical in the middle of their forehead. Standing at 10 feet tall on average they are blessed with dense muscle and tougher bone they have even greater physical strength and speed than their already substantial physique would suggest. but they are entirely incapable of using magic. ( lesser act)
[X]Create elemental salamanders (Lesser Act)
[x] Create the Mantle of the Breaker: See this postfor details. (Cosmic)
[X] Create a broken temple site. Carvings and writings to gods that never existed sit throughout, as well as a haze of faint wrongness and corruption that lingers. The site itself sits on the border of the seen and unseen, travelling around by hacking through the roots with the creatures that it creates. Broken angels form in this temple, armour bound around a sickly core, corrupting all it approaches. These forms, numbering only ever two dozen, fight those around them, seeking to spread their filth and restore their temple, however this is impossible as it was not created whole. When these forms are destroyed the spirits within depart the armour and draw back to the temple, coalescing another body with which these crusaders of anathema can charge out once again in. (Lesser Act)
[X] create the winged lizard of potential (lesser-act)
non-autor act
[X] Create slimes (Lesser Act)
[x] Implement Legend Cultivation (Grand Act
[X] Prevent the Might of the OutSlayer from being corrupted as to be stolen simply by its wielder being killed or being bound by fate to some counterpart power. (??? Act)
[X] in the east side of the twin continent create the suras a race of reddish bronze skin color humanoid with six arms and three eye and white hair they are as intelligent as a normal human. Their third eye is vertical in the middle of their forehead. Standing at 10 feet tall on average they are blessed with dense muscle and tougher bone they have even greater physical strength and speed than their already substantial physique would suggest. but they are entirely incapable of using magic. ( lesser act)
[X]Create elemental salamanders (Lesser Act)
[x] Create the Mantle of the Breaker: See this postfor details. (Cosmic)
[X] Create a broken temple site. Carvings and writings to gods that never existed sit throughout, as well as a haze of faint wrongness and corruption that lingers. The site itself sits on the border of the seen and unseen, travelling around by hacking through the roots with the creatures that it creates. Broken angels form in this temple, armour bound around a sickly core, corrupting all it approaches. These forms, numbering only ever two dozen, fight those around them, seeking to spread their filth and restore their temple, however this is impossible as it was not created whole. When these forms are destroyed the spirits within depart the armour and draw back to the temple, coalescing another body with which these crusaders of anathema can charge out once again in. (Lesser Act)
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Pempelune
Fanfiction Deep State
The scattering of mankind is very cool. Can't wait to see how the Law of Constant Evolution changes these communities as it did the Algals.
Authored Act:
[] Allow the Might to be claimed by any who defeat the current holder. If that being is not mortal, they can instead grant the Might to any mortal of their choosing. (Lesser Act)
Let's make the Might of the OutSlayer something mortals can fight over. If they manage to defeat someone empowered by it, they damn well deserve to win it!
Other votes:
[] Carve out caverns in the deep, mostly filled with water. (Grand Act)
Authored Act:
[] Allow the Might to be claimed by any who defeat the current holder. If that being is not mortal, they can instead grant the Might to any mortal of their choosing. (Lesser Act)
Let's make the Might of the OutSlayer something mortals can fight over. If they manage to defeat someone empowered by it, they damn well deserve to win it!
Other votes:
[] Carve out caverns in the deep, mostly filled with water. (Grand Act)
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Ghost in a wall
Just a bit spooky
I'll admit, I didn't expect that to happen with the canines. Now I need to figure out what might be a good act to author.... hn...
Good to see humanity got out though! I do want to see if we can reunite Askr and Embla... maybe some sort of compass that would guide the two to one another, shortening distances? hmmm
Good to see humanity got out though! I do want to see if we can reunite Askr and Embla... maybe some sort of compass that would guide the two to one another, shortening distances? hmmm
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Easter
Laziest lazier
- Location
- Bed
[] Create the Tyrant of Gold, first of the Solar Elementals and Lord of Sol Mountain.(Lesser Act)
Lets see if I can finally get this guy out and about.
Lets see if I can finally get this guy out and about.
A loud bleat can be heard near the peak of a towering mountain as a being seemingly made of liquid gold and light stretched on a flat section of white at the top of a mountain. The great beast seems to bathe in the strong sunlight hitting the top of the mountain tops, seeming more liquid than solid as it rested within the warm light. The only truly discernable trait about the entity was two great curling horns made of what looked to be pure gold curling out from within its body. Glistening in the light and yet not reflecting it as one would expect, it almost seemed to absorb the light that hit it with it only reflecting enough to tell the item's color.
The peaceful air was shattered when a quiet clang was heard down below near the base of the mountain. The being's horns seem to swivel from their original position to face the noise as its entire body shifted upright. The light and gold moved in such a way that no creature of blood and bone could replicate, sliding, rolling, and unfolding more like fabric or liquid than anything truly solid. The being seemed to just keep stretching upwards as it reached a size slightly taller than two teratorns wing spans put together. Even standing fully straight the being is clearly one that cares little for the limitation's of the biological, with legs that tapering to such a point as to be more blade than the leg and full and thick golden "fur" that looks more like liquid moving a constant series of waves than any real hair or fur.
With it's peaceful sunbathing interrupted the being's solid onyx black eyes swirled from where they had been resting within its body and moved to their proper location in its muzzled head. Blinking once, more as an instinctual reaction than any real need for it, the creature raised one spiked leg before seemingly appearing in a patch of sunlight further down the mountain in a blink of the eye and with the ringing of what sounded like bells left in its wake. Continuing this trend the creature rapidly descended the mountain this way towards the disturbance in the distance.
Finding the source of the disturbance was rather easy as the interlopers had never stopped making noise, the screams, yells, and clanging of stone on wood noticeably even from a distance. A group of four winged creatures with long sticks seemed to be swooping down and attacking against a smaller group of taller, fish like beings with strange rocks attached to sticks along with pieces of wood strapped to their arms. Though it mattered little to the golden creature, both groups had intruded on its territory and thus would be dealt with as all undesirables are so that it can continue its sun-bathing. Appearing in the middle of the fight with one last ring of a haunting bell the unnatural creature doesn't even give the intruders time to recover from its sudden appearance. Out of its "hide" a number of lances seemingly made from the same material as its horn shot out and stabbed into most of those fighting, leaving only a small number who had been fast enough to deflect or dodge the tendrils, though even they didn't come away fully intact. As the remaining fighters scrambled to either attack or run the creature tilted its head in seeming confusion at something surviving its first attack. It was at that moment when one of the winged fighters lanced its way from up high and slammed its stick through the Ram's forehead and out the back of its head.
The creature stilled, even the motion of it's "fur" that had been moving on its own and never stopped even during its sunbathing stilled, before slowly a crack seemed to grow from where the spear hit the creature and straight down its head, down its muzzle and neck, before ending right around where its ribs would have ended if it had any. The invaders started cheering in the preemptive belief that they had bested the beast.
They didn't have much time to recognize the grave mistake they made. Faster than they could react the crack in the creature opened like a great mouth and outshot from it jagged tendrils tipped in horns similar to the one on the creatures head before they impaled the being who had tried to hurt it first and then the rest of the creatures, both living and dead, on the battlefield and reeling them in the blink of an eye.
From the crack, the screaming of the two sides can be heard as the ram turned away from a skirmish it had no stakes in outside of it being held on its territory. As it turned away it raised a foot and began to move back up the mountain, each time the crack growing smaller and the screams a little more muffled. By the time it got back to its bone-white platform, the screams were little more than whispers in volume and the opening was barely noticeable. Finally reaching the center of the platform the creature spun languidly as it seemed to unfold, shrinking down back into its amorphous form in the center of its throne. With one final shift and a faint series of snaps all was quiet and the being was an unblemished blob of gold and light once more. A few seconds later a cloud of white particles exploded from the being and settled down onto the platform, the throne of the Tyrant in Gold had grown just a bit more, just as it has with any intruder arrogant enough to attempt to harm it or take its territory since its birth.
The peaceful air was shattered when a quiet clang was heard down below near the base of the mountain. The being's horns seem to swivel from their original position to face the noise as its entire body shifted upright. The light and gold moved in such a way that no creature of blood and bone could replicate, sliding, rolling, and unfolding more like fabric or liquid than anything truly solid. The being seemed to just keep stretching upwards as it reached a size slightly taller than two teratorns wing spans put together. Even standing fully straight the being is clearly one that cares little for the limitation's of the biological, with legs that tapering to such a point as to be more blade than the leg and full and thick golden "fur" that looks more like liquid moving a constant series of waves than any real hair or fur.
With it's peaceful sunbathing interrupted the being's solid onyx black eyes swirled from where they had been resting within its body and moved to their proper location in its muzzled head. Blinking once, more as an instinctual reaction than any real need for it, the creature raised one spiked leg before seemingly appearing in a patch of sunlight further down the mountain in a blink of the eye and with the ringing of what sounded like bells left in its wake. Continuing this trend the creature rapidly descended the mountain this way towards the disturbance in the distance.
Finding the source of the disturbance was rather easy as the interlopers had never stopped making noise, the screams, yells, and clanging of stone on wood noticeably even from a distance. A group of four winged creatures with long sticks seemed to be swooping down and attacking against a smaller group of taller, fish like beings with strange rocks attached to sticks along with pieces of wood strapped to their arms. Though it mattered little to the golden creature, both groups had intruded on its territory and thus would be dealt with as all undesirables are so that it can continue its sun-bathing. Appearing in the middle of the fight with one last ring of a haunting bell the unnatural creature doesn't even give the intruders time to recover from its sudden appearance. Out of its "hide" a number of lances seemingly made from the same material as its horn shot out and stabbed into most of those fighting, leaving only a small number who had been fast enough to deflect or dodge the tendrils, though even they didn't come away fully intact. As the remaining fighters scrambled to either attack or run the creature tilted its head in seeming confusion at something surviving its first attack. It was at that moment when one of the winged fighters lanced its way from up high and slammed its stick through the Ram's forehead and out the back of its head.
The creature stilled, even the motion of it's "fur" that had been moving on its own and never stopped even during its sunbathing stilled, before slowly a crack seemed to grow from where the spear hit the creature and straight down its head, down its muzzle and neck, before ending right around where its ribs would have ended if it had any. The invaders started cheering in the preemptive belief that they had bested the beast.
They didn't have much time to recognize the grave mistake they made. Faster than they could react the crack in the creature opened like a great mouth and outshot from it jagged tendrils tipped in horns similar to the one on the creatures head before they impaled the being who had tried to hurt it first and then the rest of the creatures, both living and dead, on the battlefield and reeling them in the blink of an eye.
From the crack, the screaming of the two sides can be heard as the ram turned away from a skirmish it had no stakes in outside of it being held on its territory. As it turned away it raised a foot and began to move back up the mountain, each time the crack growing smaller and the screams a little more muffled. By the time it got back to its bone-white platform, the screams were little more than whispers in volume and the opening was barely noticeable. Finally reaching the center of the platform the creature spun languidly as it seemed to unfold, shrinking down back into its amorphous form in the center of its throne. With one final shift and a faint series of snaps all was quiet and the being was an unblemished blob of gold and light once more. A few seconds later a cloud of white particles exploded from the being and settled down onto the platform, the throne of the Tyrant in Gold had grown just a bit more, just as it has with any intruder arrogant enough to attempt to harm it or take its territory since its birth.
Scrivener
The Femme In Yellow
- Location
- Don't Leave Me Here You Bastards
- Pronouns
- She/Her/They
Looks like there's even more reason to give the Druyul chameleon camouflage.
Can someone explain the semantics of this to me? I don't really understand what the heck just happened.
Also, @Photomajig, is it alright if you put the various species and factions on the world map? I'm having trouble finding out what's happening and where it's happening.
I think that Vadh was fated to die to Nehu by alerting her through destroying Vanti's prison, then the Act gave Vadh the power to defy fated destruction and not destroy Vanti's prison?
Act for this Epoch:
[]Call an Unseen God to the Unfrozen Sun, and once there, bound it. May it be the Star's Flames, to tend and be strengthened by it. Its hunger will be sated far in excess, its mouths made shut. In exchange, it will be blessed with meager command over the Flame of Chaos, to breathe it without end, and will it to take the Unnamed World as their visage. (Lesser)
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- Location
- Finland
It was a pretty confusing Act, in my defense. Starman got it. Essentially one of the Outer Gods was saved from destruction by a Maker and is now staying in a place in the Unseen with the power to resurrect dead and destroyed things brought to it. It was a lot of words for something that didn't really require an Act in the end.
I can make a political map when more organized states and such form. There's not many yet. You can look at the World Information spoiler to see where different races are. Currently, of the major sentient species, the Myridna live in the Hot Lands, the Algals in the oceans and in the City, the Skrayt and Umbrals in the Clouded Lands, Baolians and Humans in nomadic groups everywhere.
If you want to know something specific, just ask. I'll also try to get the lore compendium in the second post up to date soon.
Since we are essentially editing a Cosmic Act there, I think we are looking at a Grand Act at the least.
Easter
Laziest lazier
- Location
- Bed
So I have an idea @Photomajig and was curious about weather you would want to actually deal with the results.
I was thinking of making a Room of Acts, where essentially all the acts that have been passed not only recorded but they also show who authored the acts. While I have other ideas to spice it up and fill it out I wanted to know if that was an act you would want to even bother with since it would give more individuality to the makers and kinda put a focus to certain makers due to them having a record of influencing(or making) different races and continents.
I was thinking of making a Room of Acts, where essentially all the acts that have been passed not only recorded but they also show who authored the acts. While I have other ideas to spice it up and fill it out I wanted to know if that was an act you would want to even bother with since it would give more individuality to the makers and kinda put a focus to certain makers due to them having a record of influencing(or making) different races and continents.
Scrivener
The Femme In Yellow
- Location
- Don't Leave Me Here You Bastards
- Pronouns
- She/Her/They
redone Druyul proposal
[] Create the Druyul (Grand Act)
29. This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the ARCHITECT made the earth and the heavens.
30. Now the ARCHITECT and all the great deities had created life and seeded it throughout the world, and the ARCHITECT had seen fit to give life to the Arken Lands.
31. Then the ARCHITECT formed the first of his mortal creations from the clay of the ground, and shaped the first of the Druyul, his chosen people.
32. And so HE took his creation to the Void, and gave his creation life with fire taken from the Fires of Creation.
33. And the ARCHITECT turned to his Children, the Abraxas, and said "This is your duty; to serve my Chosen People and protect them from their adversaries. For the World is a constant battle for survival, and my Children must survive if they are to bring about the Final Peace between all that is good and evil."
34. And the Fifteen Greater Abraxas and their Four-Hundred and Forty Lesser brothers and sisters bowed, and accepted this duty.
35. Then the ARCHITECT reached into the depths, and formed a companion for his creation, and sent them to the Western Reaches of the Arken Lands.
36. And the Abraxas watched over them, and marveled as his Children grew fruitful and multiplied, and created wondrous cities.
The Architect has finished perhaps his greatest project in the history of Existence: the Druyul, a humanoid bipedal reptilian race. Standing in at a height of nearly six feet, capable of camouflaging themselves from predators (see: Horror Birds) like chameleons, and featuring a tail that can detach when caught by predators and regenerate, the Druyul are built to hunt and survive in the harsh enviroment of the Western reaches of the Arken Lands. The Druyul are an omnivorous species, and prefer to feed on tough vegetables or meat from birds, fish and ungulates such as pigs. The Druyul are industrious and heavily motivated, and have begun to start moving out of the caves they sleep in to crudely constructed habitats. They've also discovered fire and have a rudimentary writing/number system.
The Abraxas in the meantime are watching over the Druyul in secret, and will take great pains to report and record anything and everything that happens to the Architect (me) and the Makers.
[] Create the Druyul (Grand Act)
29. This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the ARCHITECT made the earth and the heavens.
30. Now the ARCHITECT and all the great deities had created life and seeded it throughout the world, and the ARCHITECT had seen fit to give life to the Arken Lands.
31. Then the ARCHITECT formed the first of his mortal creations from the clay of the ground, and shaped the first of the Druyul, his chosen people.
32. And so HE took his creation to the Void, and gave his creation life with fire taken from the Fires of Creation.
33. And the ARCHITECT turned to his Children, the Abraxas, and said "This is your duty; to serve my Chosen People and protect them from their adversaries. For the World is a constant battle for survival, and my Children must survive if they are to bring about the Final Peace between all that is good and evil."
34. And the Fifteen Greater Abraxas and their Four-Hundred and Forty Lesser brothers and sisters bowed, and accepted this duty.
35. Then the ARCHITECT reached into the depths, and formed a companion for his creation, and sent them to the Western Reaches of the Arken Lands.
36. And the Abraxas watched over them, and marveled as his Children grew fruitful and multiplied, and created wondrous cities.
The Architect has finished perhaps his greatest project in the history of Existence: the Druyul, a humanoid bipedal reptilian race. Standing in at a height of nearly six feet, capable of camouflaging themselves from predators (see: Horror Birds) like chameleons, and featuring a tail that can detach when caught by predators and regenerate, the Druyul are built to hunt and survive in the harsh enviroment of the Western reaches of the Arken Lands. The Druyul are an omnivorous species, and prefer to feed on tough vegetables or meat from birds, fish and ungulates such as pigs. The Druyul are industrious and heavily motivated, and have begun to start moving out of the caves they sleep in to crudely constructed habitats. They've also discovered fire and have a rudimentary writing/number system.
The Abraxas in the meantime are watching over the Druyul in secret, and will take great pains to report and record anything and everything that happens to the Architect (me) and the Makers.
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- Location
- United states of america
Hey @Photomajig what rank would creating the Tainted Coil be. My version is creating a traveling Heavy Metal "army" from the remains of a dead Old God or two