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Gods of Chaos: a Riot God Quest

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I'm honestly not sure why you want the fauna to be 1:1 with earth? It's more interesting seeing Photomajig have the various clades diversify and carve out/ inhabit various niches. As it is we have birds as the major pollinator and the plants are adapted to them.

It could be interesting putting those clades on the second planet tho. Instead of birds and pigs, having reptiles and insects. We could probably work it so the second planet has a higher oxygen content as well. Giant bugs to go with the rest of the mega fauna
 
Hey, Photomajig! Can I author act "Observe the workings of Custodians" to see what they did?
Also question for other fellow readers. What will the dragons eat on the second planet?
 
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We are maker so taking a peek into the job of our creation should only take a demi act to do.
 
CausalityCircle said:
I'm honestly not sure why you want the fauna to be 1:1 with earth? It's more interesting seeing Photomajig have the various clades diversify and carve out/ inhabit various niches. As it is we have birds as the major pollinator and the plants are adapted to them.

It could be interesting putting those clades on the second planet tho. Instead of birds and pigs, having reptiles and insects. We could probably work it so the second planet has a higher oxygen content as well. Giant bugs to go with the rest of the mega fauna
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I think they want to take account of every possible variety of Earth animal. I think they want, in some way or form, their favorite animals to be part of this world. You know how exciting it could be when your favorite ones appear on TV.

Maybe they just want to share the wonders and creativity nature has bestowed to Earth to here.
 
If folks want to add more Earth animals, they could at least start raiding the Cretaceous or something. I'm honestly surprised nobody has realized that they could add dinosaurs.
 
Actually, likely not. Most dinosaurs are more closely related to birds than reptiles. They also aren't a monolithic genus. So if we want them we'd need to specifically state a subgroup of them to create (ex. Cretaceous hadrosaurs, Triassic theropods, etc.)
 
Razzocnor said:
Actually, likely not. Most dinosaurs are more closely related to birds than reptiles. They also aren't a monolithic genus. So if we want them we'd need to specifically state a subgroup of them to create (ex. Cretaceous hadrosaurs, Triassic theropods, etc.)
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Alright after a quick google search dinosaur are in fact reptiles so yes I say they would count
 
Alright, I'm only an armchair biologist, but this particular thing is one of my pet peeves at times.

Technically, yes, Dinosaurs belong to the Class Reptilia. But, if you go by that, literally all birds are also reptiles, as birds are all descendants of one specific subcategory of dinosaurs. In some ways of tracking things, this might also make all mammals reptiles as well, as it's a bit vague where things split off. Further, dinosaurs, as stated, aren't monolithic. They are split broadly into several categories, each easily comparable to modern divisions such as canids, felines, ungulates, etc., and most of which bear very little resemblance to modern reptiles. You might as well say that all reptiles are actually dinosaurs, because the split happens way back in there somewhere, and biological classification is a massive mess. Modern reptiles are actually Diaspids, distinct from such groupings as Sauropodia and other animals we would recognize as dinosaurs.

It just irks me when people try to reverse-apply biological classifications like this.
 
Okay, I've actually calmed down a bit, so I thought I'd try to clarify things.

The thing that people often forget about dinosaurs is that the category of creatures we call 'dinosaurs' covers such a vast diversity of animal life that it's roughly equivalent to looking at all land life currently alive and just calling it all 'Human-era life'. And that might actually be underselling it, as prehistory extends for a vastly longer time than the human era does.

So if you call any large animal that lived in the past and isn't recognizable as being like a modern animal a 'dinosaur', you miss out on the fact that bipedal dinosaurs and quadrupedal dinosaurs are actually far less closely related to each other than a theropod dinosaur is related to a modern sparrow. That we still are finding out new things about them, and aren't actually sure whether they were more feathery than scaly (though we're pretty sure that at least the bipedal ones were at least some degree of feathery), or maybe even leathery. We don't know whether they were endothermic or exothermic, or somewhere in between. And let's not even get into how we have no idea what kind of behaviors they might have had that wouldn't have left any fossil evidence.

Further, the different eras (Mesozoic, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, and so on) each had their own unique mix of species, and while there are broad similarities one must remember that T. Rex and Triceratops actually never met, and so on.

So calling the dinosaurs reptiles annoys me because it's saying that something like an Ankylosaurus is 'like a crocodile', when they actually share very little in common beyond that we think they both had scales.
 
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Epoch 9 Acts
  • Threadmarks
    • Passed Acts

    GRAND

    [X] Create the Krokerikians (Grand Act)
    [X] The Grey Domains (Grand Act)
    [X] The Mirror Springs Phase 3 (Grand Act)
    [X] Law of Theatrics (Grand Act)
    [X] create dragon powerful, sentient magical creatures, that grow stronger and wiser the older they get (Grand Act)

    LESSER

    [X] Create the Question of Magic, and send it first to the world Aebrirea (Lesser Act)
    [X] Create the Vine Squid (Lesser Act)
    [X] Create the Mechanical City of the Me'vel upon the Second Planet (Lesser Act)
    [X] Create the Lesser Trees of Life in the gardens of Embla and Askr (Lesser Act)
    [X] Create the Coward's Crown (Lesser Act)
    [X] Create the Teller of Tales (Lesser Act)
    [X] Evolve the oldest slime (Lesser Act)
    [X] Create the White University of Wisdom (Lesser Act)
    [X] Create the Green Fairies (Lesser Act)
    [X] Ribbon Foxes (Lesser Act)

    DEMI
    [X] Introduce the elemental salamander to the Sky Ants (Demi-Act)
    [X] A Wise Heir (Demi-Act)
    [X] Whisper to those Burned Ones who regret the loss of the Goliath Bird of his survival, and tell them how they might safely join him in the depths (Demi-Act)
    [X] Create the Liminal Beast (Demi-Act)
    [X] Create the Dirge artifact (Demi-Act)
    [X] Grant a keen, sapient mind, an innate ability to communicate with any sapients it meets, and agelessness to the greatest of the Iktai, and a burning desire to become a master of as many forms of magic as it can manage (Demi-Act)
    [X] Opening the Door (Demi-Act)
    [X] Root a Wanderer (Demi-Act)
    [X] Whisper to the Burned one that they did not support the goliath bird that is still alive and that some of them plan to join them (Demi-Act)
    [X] Sister to the winds (Demi-Act)

    Going to try to update the Lore Compendium, then update.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Well, the whispering to the burned tribe is liable to cause some kind of havoc. Not sure exactly what kind, but whispering to both sides of a divide like that is sure to cause something to happen.
     
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    Omake: Gjöllby and the Blood Horror
  • Sidestory
    • Omake - Gjöllby and the Blood Horror​

    Liv Olafdotter was running for her life.

    An unfortunately common occurrence for the daughter of Reidun. And one she had hoped would become less common after settling in Gjöllby*, a village of fellow humans her small tribe had stumbled across while traveling the Cruel Seen. One which had welcomed them with open arms and surprising insistence, claiming there was strength in numbers.

    Which, in hindsight, should have been the first sign that something was wrong. After all, why would they need strength when the Gjölla**, the loud river after which the settlement was named, kept all manner of beasts away with its violent current and explosive volume. Even, and especially, the Horror Birds.

    But now they knew why.

    As only a month after settling in, the Gjölla's thunderous rapids stopped, becoming a calm stream… as it does every year. And with it went the village's protective noise. The silence was deafening.

    The sound of approaching Horror Birds even more so.

    To say Liv remembered exactly what happened next would be a lie. All she knew was that everything had immediately devolved into chaos as Horror Birds descended on the Village. Maybe, if they had been more prepared or warned ahead of time, they would have won. If the village Elder had chosen to open up to them instead of manipulating them to stay they could have planned together.

    Maybe if one of the Horror Birds hadn't been a giant blood-soaked monster, things would've been different.

    Their defenses fell. Their greatest warrior Olaf Hakonson, grandson of Askr and father to Liv, was killed by the Blood Horror Bird as he attempted to protect the cowardly villagers, unable to use his Legendary rage***. All seemed lost.

    Until Liv came up with a plan. She would catch the Blood Horror's attention, and lead it away from the village. Granting them space to drive off the remaining Horror Birds or to escape. And that is exactly what she did. Running at the beast with all her might she threw her spear, barely managing a cut where her father had all but tore holes.

    But it was enough to enrage the monster, and so the Blood Horror bird chased her. Which brings us back to where we started.

    Liv Olafdotter running for her life.

    However, it seems that she does not have long. As the terrible Blood Horror's vicious talons begin raking on her back. But even so, she ran. Even as her feet screamed and her back bled, she ran.

    But it wasn't enough.

    Directly in her way was a spring. Too wide to go around quickly, too deep to cross without swimming. It was like a wall. A problem she did not have time to figure out.

    Frozen in indecision as the talons of the Blood Horror finally came down on her and her world went dark as her body. Her body falling into the clear waters in front of her.

    She did not come back up.

    Even after five minutes, she did not come back out. So, satisfied that the one who had wronged it was dead, the Blood Horror left. Heading back to the village and its flock which it had temporarily abandoned.

    And so the tale of Liv Olafdotter ends.

    But not because she was dead. Oh, Liv was dreadfully close. Her body as bloody and beaten as it was. You must be thinking, "Surely she would die from such wounds? Or drown in the waters?"

    Had it been any other spring, you would be right. But no, Liv did not fall into any body of water. She had fallen into the Seen Spring, one of the two Mirror Springs, whose waters undoes all damages and empowers those who bathe in them. And Liv stayed unconscious in those waters.

    Until she awoke in pain.

    And so began the Legend of Liv Olafdotter the Monster Slayer.


    After recovering from her rude awakening, Liv practically jumped out of the pain-inducing waters. An action that utterly shocked her after the fact. "I shouldn't be able to move at all", she thought.

    Examining herself, Liv was amazed to find that all of her wounds, from the smallest of scars gained as a child to the fatal slashes across her back, had completely vanished. Even her exhaustion had vanished. In fact, she was more full of energy than she had ever been before. Yet it wasn't the vigor her father had begun to teach her, no, it was a new energy.

    An energy Liv could only describe as Still.

    Powered by this strange new power, Liv returned to Gjöllby. Or what remained of it anyways. The settlement was in disarray. Hastily raised defenses scattered, huts and longhouses abandoned, and the already picked clean remains of the fallen. A terrible sight for anyone to face. But one that, after counting the corpses, filled Liv with hope.

    There were far fewer bodies than there were people.

    With that burgeoning hope, Liv Olafdotter waited for her people to return. Studying her new energy and organizing remains as she did so. She did not have to wait long, however, as soon after she came Andor Radulfr, a friend of Liv and great-great-grandson of Askr.

    Andor was delighted to see Liv had survived and recounted how her noble bravery had given them time to escape the flocks of Horror Birds. That was when Andor realized that Liv had not a scratch on her. Questioning how that could possibly be, Liv informs him of the painful waters she had returned from.

    Hearing of such a miracle, Andor shouts, "To have such fortune, it is like you are blessed by Askr and Embla themselves!"

    Yet Liv cares not for the praise. "My father is dead and our people scattered. If this is fortune, I do not want it." She responds.

    "You speak true. But do not curse your fate yet. We are not dead, we may yet still recover. It is what your father would have wanted."

    Hearing this, Liv agrees and they lapse into silence, continuing to prepare a funeral pyre for the fallen. As they do so, more of their tribesman begin to arrive. Each silently assisting as they see what's going on.

    Until, just as night begins to fall, the Gjöllby natives suddenly returned. Heralding their arrival is the sudden return of the Gjölla's explosive waves. Sudden too were their demands. Exclaiming that Liv's people had used abused their hospitality and must now leave.

    Given no time to grieve or finish their pyre, Liv's people were furious. They would have loved nothing more than to attack the villagers who had tricked them right then and there, but they were outnumbered.

    With no choice, Andor begged, "Oh please! Allow us to perform the funeral rites. Will you not grant us this, or has your hearts been turned to stone by the Cruel Seen?"

    Despite the fervent request the Elder of the village denied their request saying, "Hearts of stone? We have already been too kind! Your people are an omen. Never before had such a calamity befallen us. Leave! Before you bring death upon."

    The brazenness to call them an omen nearly drove Liv's people mad. However, none were more furious than Liv Olafdotter herself. Yet the flames in her heart were not blazing like her tribesmen. No, her anger was a cold one. Tempered by the Still that flowed through her. She knew she could not win, even with Still. It was the Still itself that allowed her to see that.

    So Liv bid her time.

    Once out of the village, her people were left lost and without direction. Even Andor had no words to inspire the people.

    However, Liv knew exactly what to say. "Do you wish to be powerful?"

    It was a question that stirred at the hearts of all. So of course, one of the youths said, "Yes. But how can we? Our vigor is not good and we know little of the magic."

    "I will show you," Liv responded.

    And so, Liv lead her people to the Spring that had healed her. There the people stayed for a year, bathing in the waters, training their vigor, growing in power. Yet it was a harsh time. As if the spring and the forest around it rejected their existence. They could not use the wood from the trees as it refused to be damaged, there was little food, and even the spring itself killed a number of tribesmen who wished to grow stronger faster. As fast as Liv, who could stay in the spring the longest.

    But they had continued. And a year later, they were ready. They returned to Gjöllby, the village that had coldly taken so much from them and tossed them aside, on the very day the river would go silent.

    Yet they were not there to harm the people of the village. No, they were not villains, and the few that did harbor such thoughts had them doused by year of the Seen Spring. They were simply here to kill the Blood Horror and claim the village as their own.

    I could go into the details of what happened that night. Of intensity of the fight, the genius plan or Ardor that saved dozens of lives, Liv's prodigious skill and power, the kindness of Liv's people allowing the Gjöllby villagers to stay. There's so much I could say. But the only thing that matters, is that Liv struck down the Blood Horror that day. A truly impressive feat at the time**** that became the foundation of Liv's Legend as the Monster Slayer.

    A Legend she continued to build not long after. Not a month later, Liv put Andor and went off to continue her quest of ridding the world of monsters. But as I always say, that's a story for another time.

    The End.

    *Translation: Loud Settlement
    **Translation: Loud River
    ***Fun Fact: Liv's dad could've totally one-shot it if he wasn't holding back his Legendary ability to protect people. Also, I imagine most Legendary people die before their Legend can really get going.
    ****Fun Fact: The Blood Horror isn't actually that powerful. The danger comes from all of the other Horror Birds getting in your way and their ability to absorb and heal with blood.

    AN: So, originally, this was going to be much longer. With a whole segment about Liv going back to Gjöllby, becoming its leader, preparing for the Blood Horror to return for a year, killing it, leaving her friend in charge, and finally going off to kill more monsters. But I ran out of motivation, so you get this instead. I still hope you all liked it! Who knows, maybe I'll come back and write more about Liv another time. Unless someone else wants to do so, in which case be my guest.

    I ended up finishing the Gjöllby and the Blood Horror omake (much to my own surprise). So here it is. I considered posting it separately since it was so long, but honestly, I think it's better to put them together like this. As for the content of the omake, admittedly, it went a bit differently than I expected. But I still think it's good, and I hope you do too!

    @Photomajig
     
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  • Sidestory
    • To anyone who is interested, I updated my omake with a little over 1000 words. I didn't like leaving it incomplete so I wound up finishing it. Read it if you want.

    By the way, @GodIsAlive123 I hope I represented the Seen Spring and Still energy properly.
     
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    [ ] Teach the enlightened Iktai the bare basics of all those methods of empowerment that can be grasped with effort alone (such as the arts of Shaping, Ardency, Legend, and Vigour) and speak to it of how to obtain those abilities which require more than a determined mind and body (such as the Flames of the Ziggurat, the ichor of the World Tree, the favour of the Sea-Spirit, and the Twin Springs). (Demi-Act)

    Does this seem feasible as a Demi-Act? I thought that since I'm just teaching bare basics and giving directions it should be okay. Also, I specifically didn't want to teach the Iktai I'm empowering this turn more than the basics because the idea of it travelling around and learning magic from people is part of the fun. Sorry if it's obviously bad, I'm on morphine right now.
     
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    Squamous Deity said:
    [ ] Teach the enlightened Iktai the bare basics of all those methods of empowerment that can be grasped with effort alone (such as the arts of Shaping, Ardency and Vigour) and speak to it of how to obtain those abilities which require more than a determined mind and body (such as the Flames of the Ziggurat, the ichor of the World Tree, and the Twin Pools). (Demi-Act)

    Does this seem feasible as a Demi-Act? I thought that since I'm just teaching bare basics and giving directions it should be okay. Also, I specifically didn't want to teach the Iktai I'm empowering this turn more than the basics because the idea of it travelling around and learning magic from people is part of the fun. Sorry if it's obviously bad, I'm on morphine right now.
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    It should be fine since you're just giving a single creature knowledge. The fact that the magic-related info is basic should especially make it work as a demi-act.
     
    Epoch 9: The Age of Wonder
  • Threadmarks
    • EPOCH 9
    THE AGE OF WONDER


    ​


    Grand Acts

    The Krokerikians:

    A new species arrives in Creation. Far from the crude and half-formed reality of the First Races, they arrive to a rich and diverse realm with countless things to discover - and many dangers, as well. The Krokerikians are created on the Second World. This race of small toad-like creatures is at home in wetlands, estuaries and lakes, which sees them thrive along Avoroth's rivers and waters in the interior.

    Their small size and physical weakness makes them easy prey for larger animals, not to mention the Yamas, but there are exceptions. Some Krokerikians are born with immense affinity to magic, staggering intellect or in very rare cases, both. They are a particularly hierarchical and ruthless race, banishing and killing weaklings and dullards as hindrances to the tribe. They cannot be said to be very brave or daring, as the weakness of their physiology punishes reckless behaviors. Grand Act: Create the Krokerikians.

    The Krokerikians benefit from the quietness of their world in this age. Their only predators are a variety of large fish, which for large bands are not existential threats, and the Yamas, which may be fearsome, but are also few and far between. The Me'vel largely leave the newcomers alone save for when it amuses them to confound them with time loops and distortions.

    There are no great many prey animals either, but the Krokerikians are content with fishing and the endless bounty of plant life around them. They multiply rapidly and settle into hundreds of competing tribes. Powerful sorcerer-toads are elevated as masters of their tribes and war against their peers in small but bloody conflicts. They become particularly adept in shadow magic after encounters with Yamas using the same power.

    ***

    ​
    The Grey Domains:

    Above the growing settlements and first cities of the world, the Grey Domains come to being. These planes exist between Seen and Unseen. They feed on the thoughts and imaginations of their towns, drawing on their concepts to shape themselves into dreamlike reflections of the settlement below. The grey domains connect to the Seen through liminal spaces such as crossroads, piers, and bridges which may only be accessed on certain times of transition.

    Each Grey Domain has an overarching theme, which further directs how the city reflects into it. As of their creation, there are eight grey domains: the Domain of Passionate Fire, the Domain of Lurking Water, the Domain of Free Winds, the Domain of Steadfast Earth, the Domain of Guiding Lights, the Domain of Splitting Lightning, the Domain of Empty Cold, and the Domain of Ringing Metal.

    The Domains are cousins of dungeons, with dangers and wonders around every corner, sigils built into their very structure. Those who explore and map out these planes may draw some power from them. They linger for a time over one city before drifting away to find and parasite upon another. Grand Act: The Grey Domains.

    ***​

    The Growth of the Mirror Springs:

    Yet again, a divine hand pushes the Mirror Springs into ever greater changes. The Mirror Phase enter their third stage with many new effects. The Spring of the Seen becomes a healing pool, removing all flaws and pools from anything immersed in it. Natural growth is empowered further and the trees begin bearing healing fruit. The Unseen Spring's effect of detachment becomes more pronounced, as those traits removed are filled by spirit-stuff instead. Its darkness becomes tangible and collectible and it reflects the other Spring with dark withered trees with their own blooms.

    Those immersed in the Springs are granted the gifts of Stilling and Flowing - those immersed in both combine these into the Gift of Balance. The power of Stilling is the power of Perfection. The power to remove flaws and to prevent flaws. However, Stilling is also the power of Stagnation. The power of Flowing is the power of Imperfection. The power to embrace flaws and create them. However, Flowing is also the power of Instability. Grand Act: The Mirror Springs Phase 3.

    ***
    ​
    The Law of Theatrics:

    Ritualistic magic is empowered further with the coming of the Law of Theatrics. Performance and ritual now allow magic to be enhanced to a greater degree, such as through re-enactments of Legends with theatrics, song, costumes and other referential elements. The more emotions these performances evoke in watchers, the greater the effect. Grand Act: The Law of Theatrics.

    Magical rituals are already practiced by many of the magic-using races using symbols of Artistry in places of magical architecture: Theatrics now brings the final touch to this kind of ritual magic.

    ***​

    Dragons:

    The Second World receives new life as dragons are brought into existence. These large sentient flying beasts grow stronger and wiser the older they get. They take to elemental magics from birth, imbuing it into impressive breath-spells, but no magic is beyond the most intelligent of them. Grand Act: Create dragons.

    The Yamas find themselves with a competitor. Young dragons are outmatched by the giants in open combat, but they prove the toughest prey yet for the devourers. Dragons themselves feed mostly on the fish growing plentiful in the world's seas, though some see no issue with catching the occasional Krokorikian or even a Me'vel to swallow whole. A minority satisfies themselves with munching on plant matter instead.

    This dietary distinction eventually comes to be a cultural and geographical one as well: the sea dragons come to live on the coasts of Avoroth, the high dragons on the Avorite-clad peaks of the interior, and the smaller peaceful minority of the green dragons in forests and wetlands.

    ***​

    Lesser Acts

    The Question of Magic:

    Aebrirea receives a curious gift. A divine puzzle box archiving all the magical wisdom of its world and condensing magical energies into Wishstones is created, the Question of Magic. It appears in a magical-rich place on a world and drains it of magical energies, casting out Keys around the world to be found by mortals. Each key contains a fragment of the Question's knowledge and power, and may be absorbed by its finder - however, resisting the temptation to break one's key may be worth it, as the Question itself offers far greater rewards to those who come to it with keys.

    On opening the puzzle box one is given a single spell of their hearts desire, perfected to the greatest degree that the gathered knowledge and wisdom of the Question of Magic is capable, learnable by any with the potential for use of magic. Once taken, the box will disappear and move on. The Wishstones it creates allow even those without magical potential to perform spells like a divine battery. Lesser Act: Create the Question of Magic, and send it first to the world Aebrirea.

    ***​

    Vine Squid:

    The Sky Sea is seeded with new life as the Vine Squids come into being. These massive flying squid follow the roaming Sky Sea, attaching themselves to its underside and catching birds, wyverns and other flying creatures with their long coiling tendrils. They form small pods with their own territories and nest on islands of the Sky-Lands when the Sea reaches their shores. Lesser Act: Create Vine Squid.

    ***​

    The Mechanical City:

    The Makers see the Me'vel and wish to give them a true city to live in. The Mechanical City of the Me'vel is created on the Second World, a massive city of bronze and gold adorned with spires of crystal built around a crack in time. This mechanical city is tailor-made for the Me'vel, shifting and changing with every passing hour and epoch. It contains a grand library maintained by a Maker's hand that contains tomes on all manner of subjects of Creation. In its heart grow Hour-Stones that the Me'vel may harvest for their crafts.

    To the Me'vel, the most wondrous of the City's gifts are the many Observatories found atop its high spires. With them they may marvel at the light of stars and distant planets through time, at galaxies winding their luminous tapestries, at the lighting of the Unfrozen Sun in the the first moment to ever come. It is a dream realized for a race that loves the stars. For such a treasure they will forever love the Makers. Lesser Act: Create the Mechanical City for the Me'vel upon the Second Planet.

    The Me'vel come to live in the City from its moment of creation onwards to the future as far as they can safely tread. Many names they give it, and of those the most famous are inVanAnaVni, 'the City of the Starborn Many'; oMuIuMo, 'High House of Secrets'; inVel'M'leVni, 'the City of the Me'vel'; aKotSaEaStoKa, 'the Gear That Moves Time'.

    The City is a refuge of the Me'vel, but it is not hidden from the other denizens of the Planet. The first to come are the Yamas, but their violent intention sees the City close its ways to them. The giants are led astray and cast adrift through time. Even the most bestial of them learn to keep a distance from its walls.

    The second to arrive are the newest race of the planet, the dragons. Those of the high dragons who hunt the Me'vel do not find much of a welcome and suffer similar fates to the Yamas, but some green and sea dragons make more peaceful contact with the Me'vel and are allowed to see the City's marvels for themselves. Soon Krokorikians from the surrounding area arrive as well. They marvel at the endless knowledge in the City's libraries, and though they depart in peace, their minds are consumed with a growing hunger to seize the City's treasures for themselves. A deep resentment at the Me'vel and the Makers begins to spread among these Krokorikians.

    ***​

    The Lesser Trees of Life:

    In Askrheimr and Emblatha, the Makers bring a memory of the Garden to the Father and Mother of Men by creating the Lesser Trees of Life. These shining fractal trees are lesser copies of the World-Tree itself, their branches and fruits giving off hints of the Legends in their lights. Its roots wind down and into those of the World-Tree, and shallow pools of ichor form at their base as memories of what Men once knew. Lesser Act: Create The Lesser Trees of Life in the gardens of Embla and Askr.

    In the island paradise of Askrheimr, the Tree is received with great joy and astonishment. Askr decrees a week of festivities in honor of the Makers; fruit and animals are sacrificed in their name in great quantities. Afterwards, the Tree becomes the centerpoint of rituals and ceremonies in the settlement. Bowls of ichor are gifted to those who grow into adulthood, give birth, plant their first sapling, bond with a Dream Canidae companion, master a magic, or accomplish any number of other milestones in the lives of Askrheimr's people.

    In mighty Emblatha, it is taken as a blessing rewarding them for the creation of the Walls and the founding of the city. A special temple is made for it, a domed structure of mudbrick and earth incorporating the Tree as an organic part of it. Some humans of the original Garden still live, given centuries of life by their diet in that time, and they now pass in contentment having tasted its ichor again after so many years. Their bodies are buried in the roots, to be absorbed into the World-Tree in time. A priesthood forms to venerate the Tree and its far greater progenitor, guarding access to the ichor on Embla's behalf so that it reserved for Emblatha's protectors and its sick and injured for its nourishing power.

    ***​

    The Coward's Crown:

    A new artifact is forged by a Maker's hand. White-hot starfire is tempered and cooled to create a circlet of silver, the Coward's Crown. The divine crown shapes itself to the head of whoever wears it. In golden runic letters of the Divine Script it promises safety from all that might harm its owner. It is a powerful artifact, but perhaps too powerful - if its wearer is in danger of harm, the Crown will teleport them to a random but very safe location, be that on another continent, planet or plane entirely. Lesser Act: Create the Coward's Crown.

    The first to discover the Crown is a Krokorikian sorcerer-toad. They learn of the full extent of its power when an attack by a carnivorous fish-amphibian sends them hurtling through space to land on the other side of Avoroth, confused, nauseous, but utterly safe for the moment. When they realize that they have lost their tribe and their power base, they are furious and throw the Crown into the waters as a poisonous gift.

    The Crown drifts on the waves until it is picked up by a Yama noticing its glint over the black waters. Brutish-minded and young, the Yama simply eats the Crown whole. It spends years in the giant's belly until the Yama is ambushed by a pack of sea dragons who slay it with talons and magic. Their leader picks up the Crown and settles it on his scaly head. Some time later he is challenged by another and at the first blow is propelled across the Void to a distant planet, which, by good luck and the grace of the Cultivars, has developed a basic ecosystem capable of supporting it.

    The dragon eventually figures out that self-harm will trigger the Crown and after some dead ends finds himself on the First World, where he decides to stash it in a secret hoard for now. Soon enough, it shall no doubt travel onwards again.

    ***​

    The Teller of Tales:

    A divine hand shapes a new being to bring wonder and joy to the peoples of Creation. The Teller of Tales is created, a whimsical figure who seeks out those in need of inspiration, pride, humility, courage and anything else needed by its audience. It dresses in bright colors and wears a comical mask, appearing at campfires or small towns to tell tales, sing songs and recite poems of the Legends that have come before. Lesser Act: Create the Teller of Tales.

    ***​

    The Slime Mother:

    The oldest slime in existence - which is not very old, given the generally short and unexceptional lives slimes lead - is touched by a Maker's hand and granted intelligence and a desire to protect its brethren. It is the first Royal Slime, but its new power allows it to spawn new slimes of its own. With effort, a great many more greater, noble or royal slimes can be made. The Mother's children multiply rapidly as the years go by. Lesser Act: Evolve the oldest slime.

    ***​

    The White University of Wisdom:

    The first winner of the Tournament of Life and Death is reborn in the Seen as a Myridna of the highlands. He is named Unzo, and is in all respects an ordinary male of his species. He lives his first decades as one of the most renowned and respected builders to arise in his village. When he reaches his thirtieth year, however, a Maker's strange compulsion seizes his mind, bidding him to travel to the distant Clouded Lands and there erect his eternal masterwork. Lesser Act: Create the White University of Wisdom.

    For a while, Unzo seeks to resist his visions. To abandon his village would be grave disloyalty - but the dreams plague him until he can bear it no more. Unzo explains his divine inspiration to the chief and begs for leave to go. The chief grants his blessing and orders his best warriors to accompany Unzo on his perilous journey, then gifts him tools of bronze and shares the secrets of metalwork with him. So armed does Unzo leave for the distant Hive Coast. They leave at the end of spring, hopeful of a swift voyage...

    ***​


    The Green Fairies:

    A mischievous gathering of Makers manifests myriad beings of their devising, creating the Green Fairies, creatures of addiction. These invisible tricksters manifest addiction, driving folk to indulge in pleasurable poisons and all-consuming passions for their own pleasure and amusement. They do not mean harm, but have limited understanding of the consequences of their mischief. They are things of shadow magic and the Fleshless Moon, gathering under its light in fairy rings where great treasure may be found by those in the right place at the right time. Lesser Act: Create the Green Fairies.

    ***
    ​
    Ribbon Foxes:

    A curious new creature is made with the upper bodies of foxes, the lower bodies of snakes and butterfly wings of sunlight. These Ribbon Foxes are clever animals of Void and cousin to the Dream Canidae in that they partake both of the Seen and the Unseen. They live in the Seen, but physical matter does not touch them, only magic does, and they delight in passing through physical beings for their own amusement. Ribbon Foxes eat sorrows and pains, though they cannot steal them away entirely, and are attracted to displays of joy and amusement. Lesser Act: Create Ribbon Foxes.

    ***​

    Demi-Acts

    The Salamander's Flight:

    A humble elemental salamander goes through great ordeals as she chases the flying Hive of Rumtamat, dreaming of soaring through the skies as the Sky Ants do. Divine blessing lends her strength, but it only barely that she survives to make an unlikely leap onto the floating stones of the Gale-Home. Discovered by Sky Ant soldiers, she is brought to Queen Kinsatha.

    The Sky Ant Queen is a ruthless and vindictive soul, but she is not cruel or beyond love. She is enthralled by the salamander and its remarkable abilities. Kinsatha takes the salamander for her own, and soon the lizard is at all times by her side, fed a luxurious diet and kept in the finest gilded cage around. The salamander loves the air, but in time grows lonely. Her animal mind aches to have others of her kind with her, and the Makers heed her desire. Elemental salamanders are brought to the Sky Ants of Rumtamat en masse. Demi-Act: The Salamander's Flight.

    The Makers' power has its price. The salamander is drained and brought to the edge of death. Queen Kinsatha is struck by horror at the prospect of losing her companion, and so she draws upon all the lunar magic at her disposal. The Queen's powers invigorate the salamander and fill her with new life; the spent magics of wind are replaced by those of the moon, creating the first lunar salamander.

    As for the rest, Kinsatha has them penned, cared for - and trained for battle. Though they are small, the salamanders provide an edge of magic in any combat. The loveable salamanders are thus turned into precious beasts of war, which makes them no less adorable, but all the more dangerous.

    ***​

    The Wise Heir:

    The Druyul are blissfully unaware of the divine conflict raging on about the heir to the Prophet's throne. In the end, the results are very modest. The heir of Draszi-Jast Ominor, Zainul-Jast, is blessed with an immunity to manipulations that would push him on a path not of his choosing. The Druyul princeling goes on ignorant of the change in his life's path. Demi-Act: A Wise Heir.

    ***
    ​
    The Whispers of the Burned Tribe:

    Divine whispers fill the dreams of the Skrayt of the Burned Tribe. One Maker speaks of the Goliath Bird's survival, calling upon the faithful to find it, while another voice reveals their potential treachery to those loyal to the new leadership. Demi-Act: Whisper to those Burned Ones who regret the loss of the Goliath Bird of his survival, and tell them how they might safely join him in the depths & Demi-Act: Whisper to the Burned one that they did not support the goliath bird that is still alive and that some of them plan to join them.

    Though the followers of the Goliath have not yet made any move, suspicion and fear poison the minds of the tribals. Rashru orders the suspected traitors to be captured and put on trial. The great tragedy of the matter is this: without such a threat, those faithful to the Bird may never have made any move against the tribe. The harshness and violence of the 'free' Skrayt galvanizes them to take up arms in their defense, and so a vicious civil war is fought in the heights.

    There are no winners in such a conflict, but the followers of the Goliath Bird are in the end driven out. Their survivors find their way into the depths to their once-master, and into the court of the Hollow King, now the superior of their still-wounded god. They find the King's deep dwelling a place preparing for war...

    ***
    ​
    The Liminal Beast:

    A new creature is made between all present forms of life.     This Liminal Beast eludes description and classification, resembling all creatures and none. Those who meet it either marvel at its strange fluidity or are driven mad by their doomed attempts to identify and pin down the thing. Demi-Act: Create the Liminal Beast.

    ***​

    Dirge:

    From death and gore is forged the wicked blade of Dirge, a sword made of vertebrae and monstrous teeth. It is terror to even behold, and its divine bite sunders armor with ease. It howls with bloodlust and glee when it slays a foe, drinking of their foe to restore its wielders health. Magical attacks against it may be parried, generating bursts of flame, and wounds inflicted by its teeth heal with far more difficulty and more slowly than they should.

    This power comes at a price. The blade drives its wielder into battle and seeks to seize control of them if they resist. Without a steady diet of sentient beings killed, the blade turns upon its wielder and seeks to kill them instead. Rage and visions of carnage begin to plague the owner over time, and only massacres may banish the screams in their head. The blade is the twin of the Mask of Madness and seeks to be joined to it when possible. Demi-Act: Create the Dirge artifact.

    The original owner of the Mask of Madness, the Dream Canidae berzerker Starpaw, is long dead, driven to fight against impossible odds in her Mask-caused rage. It has passed from short-lived bearer to short-lived bearer, with its latest owner a nomadic Sura warrior named Argigal, a blood-soaked wanderer of the frozen waste of the northern Arken Lands. Already deep into the violent cycle of the Mask, Argigal is only pleased to discover Dirge waiting for him one day. With both artifacts in his grasp, he is made an avatar of destruction of death; the peoples of the northlands speak in hushed tones of the monstrous Lord of Carnage who roams the tundra.

    ***​

    The Great Iktai:

    A Maker seeks to give a blessing to the greatest of the Iktai. They find a suitable candidate in a successful and large Iktai in the Hot Lands, who has already Evolved through the Law of Metamorphosis several times to become a clever Magical Beast. They are blessed further with keen intellect, immunity to aging, ability to communicate and an affinity for learning magics. They come to self-awareness with a new grand ambition. Demi-Act: Grant a keen, sapient mind, an innate ability to communicate with any sapients it meets, and agelessness to the greatest of the Iktai, and a burning desire to become a master of as many forms of magic as it can manage.

    ***​

    Opening the Door:

    A colony of the Deep Algals is guided to a Cosmic Path leading to the Second World. They bring many of their kin to pass through and begin to settle the depths of these new oceans alongside their symbiote leviathans, though most are unwilling to come so far from the embrace of the Sea-Spirit. Demi-Act: Opening the Door.

    ***​

    Sister to the Winds:

    A great-great-great-granddaughter of Askr by the name of Dagrún is blessed with powers over the elementals of the air, the Nepheles. Her word is not law for them, but it is very persuasive. Dagrún is one of many scattered humans living in the high islands of the Sky Lands, where elementals of the air are a common sight. The Nepheles are enthralled by her blessed presence. Many of them come to dwell with her people on the island that is thereafter named Vindskálir, the House of Winds. Demi-Act: Sister to the Winds.

    ***
    ​
    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: Star Eater. Small void-dwelling creatures feeding on stars to sustain themselves. Transports others across the Void for a price.
    -Being: Lineals. Rapidly evolving terraforming creatures used by Cultivars to seed new worlds.
    -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.

    -Artifact: The Void Scythe. A divine artifact providing protection from vacuum and instant transportation between the World and the Void.

    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 Fleshless Moon
    A moon of obsidian and brass, formed out of the remains of an Outer God. Invisible in sun- and moonlight. A source of powerful hidden magic.

    The Cosmic Forge
    A cosmic furnace and forge feeding upon planets to create powerful divine artifacts.
    -Being: The Forger. A divine entity in the flesh of a massive Sura, master of the Cosmic Forge.

    Aebrirea, the First 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.
    -Being: Oech-Rul, the Monster of Many Faces. A servant of the Questing Beast, existing to test its hunters.
    -Being: The Elder Rift Serpent. A great sea serpent curious for tales and learning. Can communicate with and create a pathway to its young sibling.
    -Being: Ünnarae. A creature of shadow that traps sinners within its magic mirror and forges their souls into items of power.
    -Being: The Teller of Tales. A whimsical being regaling those in need with songs, tales and inspiration.

    -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.
    -Artifact: The Mask of Madness. A cursed mask granting its wearer strength and fortitude but slowly driving them mad with berzerk rage.
    -Artifact: The Seared Spear. A spear of burned wood and rusted iron made more powerful the weaker its wielder is.
    -Artifact: The Question of Magic. A puzzle box of magical power and mystery.
    -Artifact: The Coward's Crown. A magical crown erratically teleporting its wearer away from danger.
    -Artifact: Dirge. A bloodthirsty magical sword driving its wielder to carnage.

    -Phenomenon: The Sky Sea. A wandering floating sea in the upper atmosphere.
    -Phenomenon: Hour-Stones. Time-distorting stones arising in places of change, ruin and warped time, allowing for prophecies of the future.
    -Phenomenon: The Grey Domains. Dangerous demiplanes found at cities reflecting their qualities and those of elemental themes.

    -Place: The Gate of Trials. An enigmatic gateway which tests those who venture inside for great rewards, appearing at random around the world.

    Sea: Unnamed
    Saltwater sea, blessed with nutrients and life. Microbial, simple multicellular life, algae, aquatic plants, coral, fish, leviathans, cetaceans, slimes, nymphs, sea serpents. 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.
    -Being: Nahesa, First of the Sea-Serpents. An amphibious serpent roaming the world's seas.
    -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.
    -Artifact: Horizon. A small, divine fishing boat devoted to the mortal reflection of the Great Vanti of the Unseen.

    The Island of Ouroboros
    Barren rock. Microbial and simple multicellular life, plants, trees, birds, fish, cetaceans, ungulates, felines, slimes, elemental salamanders, nymphs, wyverns, Ixnix, K'orlannsch, Iktai, Green Fairies, Ribbon Foxes. Hollows, Baólians, Dream Canidae, Humans, Ogres.
    -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: The Tree of Evolution. A tree bearing potent fruit evolving and improving the physical qualities of those who eat them.
    -Place: World-Song Stones. Stone circles emanating beautiful otherworldly song. Also allow for communication between the Seen and Unseen.
    -Being: The Liminal Beast. An indefinable liminal creature bewildering those who it meets.

    Isolated island: Unnamed
    A rocky island dominated by a massive tree. Microbial and simple multicellular life, plants, lichen and fungi, birds, fish, cetaceans, felines, slimes, elemental salamanders, nymphs, Green Fairies, Ribbon Foxes. 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, felines, slimes, elemental salamanders, wyverns, nymphs, K'orlannsch, Iktai, Hrududu, Nym-Haggis, Sphinxes, Green Fairies, Ribbon Foxes. Myridna, Hollows, Baólians, Dream Canidae, Humans, Ogres.
    -Being: Glacis the Mountain-Carver. An enormous serpent slowly moving around volcanoes in the Hot Lands and pulverizing everything in its path.
    -Being: Slime Mother. A divinely blessed Royal Slime.
    -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.
    -Place: Emblatha. A grand city in a fertile volcanic valley and home of the demigod Embla.
    -Artifact: Holystone. A curious divine mineral absorbing energy from its surroundings.
    -Artifact: Holystone Crown. A magically potent crown allowing its wearers to enter into a state of emotionless clarity.
    -Artifact: Staff of the Stone Dancer. A divine staff allowing its wielder to shape earth, rock and metal through dance and performance.

    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, felines, slimes, elemental salamanders, wyverns, nymphs, K'orlannsch, Iktai, Green Fairies, Ribbon Foxes. Skrayt, Umbrals, Hollows, Baólians, Dream Canidae, Humans, Ogres, Myridna.
    -Being: The Goliath Bird. A massive avian monster wielding solar magics and consumed by endless greed.
    -Being: The Tyrant of Gold. A monster of gold and light ruling over Sol Mountain.
    -Being: The Lizard of Potential. A lizard that grows and absorbs qualites after eating living things.
    -Being: Melkiades, the First Undead. An unliving creature spreading slow death with their touch.
    -Being: The Hollow King. A monstrously ambitious and powerful Hollow seeking dominion over all of the Clouded Lands.
    -Being: Chitterhulk, the Great Iktai. An unaging titanium-plated Iktai seeking mastery of all magic.
    -Place: Field of Floating Stones. A plateau of high cliffs where floating stones grow and drift through the air.
    -Place: Lost Swamp. A large wetland area to the north of the continent where it is easy to lose yourself.
    -Place: White University of Wisdom. A sprawling university-fortress enhancing the intellects of those within.
    -Place: Tamvatra. Or 'Salt-Mound'. A large Sea-Ant colony in the eastern Clouded Lands, home to many species.
    -Place: World-Song Stones. Stone circles emanating beautiful otherworldly song. Also allow for communication between the Seen and Unseen.
    -Artifact: Floatstone. A strange divine rock that may be moved and manipulated with lunar magic.
    -Artifact: Tamvatra's Shield. A divine shield of animated quicksilver capable of deflecting any attack it faces.

    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, felines, slimes, elemental salamanders, wyverns, nymphs, vine squid, Green Fairies, Ribbon Foxes. Hollows, Dream Canidae, Humans, Ogres, Skrayt.
    -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, felines, slimes, elemental salamanders, wyverns, nymphs, Iktai, Horror Birds, K'orlannsch, Sphinxes, Green Fairies, Ribbon Foxes. Baólians, Dream Canidae, Humans, Ogres, Druyul, Suras, Myridna.
    -Place: The Ziggurat of Ascension. A ziggurat in the western Arken Lands allowing for a mortal to ascend to minor divinity every ten years. Capital of the Draghai Druyul.
    -Place: The Temple of Broken Angels. A ruined temple currently in the western Arken Lands and a maker of corrupted angelic creatures.
    -Place: The Unreal Lake. A lake reflecting the Unseen and providing a gateway to the spirit realm. Inhabited by spirits.
    -Place: The Mirror Spring. A hot spring reversing imperfections and improving those who bathe in its waters. Has a counterpart in the Unseen.
    -Place: Floatwood Swamp. A small swamp, home to an interconnected system of floatwood trees.
    -Place: Askrheimr. A sanctuary-garden growing with divine plants of the Garden of Men and home of the demigod Askr.
    -Place: World-Song Stones. Stone circles emanating beautiful otherworldly song. Also allow for communication between the Seen and Unseen.
    -Artifact: Claíomh, the Orb of Purity. A magical orb focusing the energy and will of its wearer.
    -Artifact: Floatwood. A rare and curious kind of wood that floats in the air and may be manipulated further through the use of Vigor.

    Stromhiem
    An arid continent in the southern hemisphere divided by countless rivers into fertile floodplains and hostile desert. Microbial and simple multicellular life, lichen and fungi, plants, trees, birds, fish, cetaceans, ungulates, felines, slimes, elemental salamanders, wyverns, nymphs, Iktai, K'orlannsch, Sphinxes, Green Fairies, Ribbon Foxes. Baólians, Umbrals, Humans, Myridna.
    -Place: World-Song Stones. Stone circles emanating beautiful otherworldly song. Also allow for communication between the Seen and Unseen.
    -Being: The Two-Headed Sphinx. A divinely blessed Sphinx with the second head of her Umbral lover.

    The Caverns
    Elaborate networks of caverns running under the landmasses of the World. Mostly flooded and inhospitable. Microbial and simple multicellular life, some lichen and fungi, some Dandreble Fungi, slimes, nymphs, deep life.

    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 World-Fable Stones atop it read of Legends past and future.

    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 World-Fable Stones atop it read of Legends past and future.

    The Second World
    The second world, further from the Sun. Circled by a luminous belt of magically imbued space rock and crystal.
    -Being: The Younger Rift Serpent. A great sea serpent curious for tales and learning. Can communicate with and create a pathway to its elder sibling.
    -Being: Dien, the Mirage Turtle. A divine turtle feeding on the roots of the World Tree and capable of crossing Realms at will.
    -Being: Ünnarae. A creature of shadow that traps sinners within its magic mirror and forges their souls into items of power.
    -Being: The Teller of Tales. A whimsical being regaling those in need with songs, tales and inspiration.

    Sea: Unnamed
    Saltwater sea. Microbial and simple multicellular life, algae, coral, aquatic plants, fish, cetaceans, Yamas. Me'vel, Sentient algae.

    Avoroth
    A large rugged continent with varied terrain and great quantities of Avorrite. Microbial and simple multicellular life, plants, lichen and fungi, fish, birds, Green Fairies, Ribbon Foxes, Yamas. Me'vel, Dragons, Krokerikians.
    -Artifact: Avorrite Crystal. A potent and rapidly-growing crystal with broad magical properties.
    -Place: The City of the Me'vel. An ever-shifting divine city and refuge of the Me'vel.

    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.
    -Being: Muses. Embodiments of artistic beauty and achievement inspiring mortals to create great works and performances.
    -Being: Monument Makers. Canine spirits devoted to the building of strange and bewildering monuments and dungeons. Capable of traversing between Seen and Unseen at will.

    -Artifact: The Master Dungeon Sigil. An arcane crystal sigil from which all Dungeon Sigils are derived.

    The World-Tree
    A spiritual reflection of Creation. Its roots prevent easy passage between the Seen and the Unseen. Home to myriad spirit realms born of Legend and dreams.
    -Being: Tenders. Caretaker spirits of the World-Tree.

    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.
    -Being: The Dominion Tree. A sapling of the World-Tree with a powerful will inevitably subsuming others under its power.

    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.
    -Being: Clayborn. Spirit-animated scraps of clay serving Vadhu.

    The Unreal Lake.
    A lake reflecting the Seen and providing a gateway to the material world.
    -Being: Spirits. Native entities of the Unseen.

    The Mirror Spring.
    A hot spring bringing imperfections to and changing those who bathe in its waters. Has a counterpart in the Seen.

    The Arena of Life and Death
    A grand arena near the Truth of Betrayal. Within is held the Tournament of Life and Death every year.

    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: Metamorphosis. Non-sentient creatures accomplishing unlikely feats may rapidly evolve into magical or monstrous forms.
    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.
    Law: Legend Cultivation. Mortals, animals and inanimate things that overcome great challenges are empowered by Legend, granting them powerful and self-correcting narratives. Legends of the glorious dead may be emulated by those who come after them.
    Law: Artistry. Magic is empowered by the use of symbols, references, meanings and mystical architecture reflecting its nature or purpose.
    Law: Theatrics. Magic is empowered by performance, dramatics and re-enactment.
    ​
    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 Horror. Acts to create or alter things that evoke fear, anxiety, paranoia and shock in living beings shall receive a free +1 Vote.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Epoch 9: The Age of Wonder (Part 2)
  • Threadmarks
    • Developments

    The Heir of the Prophet:

    It was not the will of the Architect that Draszi-Jast Ominor should live forever, however potent the fragment of the Flame inside his skull and the grand powers bestowed upon him. With over a century behind him, the Prophet of the Druyul finds life growing grey and heavy. The affairs of his growing empire interest him less and less, and the grand mission given unto him feels increasingly distant. For many years he uses his knowledge and mastery of magics to alleviate these effects and prolong his lifespan, but in time he comes to understand that his existence in the Seen should be stretched on forever.

    Outside the Ziggurat, the Prophet's City grows. In truth it scarcely deserves the name, but thousands of Druyul now live in the shadow of the Great Ziggurat. The barren earth surrounding the temple is marked by streets and footpaths pounded into the dry soil by the passage of many Druyul feet. Huts of leaf and branch have given way to simple houses of wood or mudbrick, some of them boasting foundations of stone. Pens of domesticated tapirs and docile ungulates form noisy additions to their backyards. The faithful speak of the Shadow of the Prophet - the perimeter inside which nothing grows, which they now claim is there at the will of the Prophet to hold the jungle at bay.

    Beyond its terminus rise hundreds of small, walled plantations - tended to by the Prophet's hand to produce grand harvests of yam, taro, banana and cassava. They are patrolled by stray jungle cats - tiny, wild spotted creatures who have come to tolerate the presence of the Druyul - who fall in loud yowling packs upon seed-stealing birds and felinoid vermin.

    The tribes are far from united. Beyond the territories of the Draghai, they go on much the same way they always have - living nomadic or semi-nomadic lives, raiding and fighting one another, knowing only butchered interpretations of the stories of the Architect and His servants. But they answer to the Prophet all the same; they venerate Him as a holy leader, heed his advice, come to him to have their quarrels and disputes settled. They send their strongest warriors and wisest elders to serve at the Prophet's dwelling. The northern tribes bring tribute of copper ore and precious stones from their shining hills. Small villages dot the banks of the Three Sisters - the great rivers of the Druyul lands - and their many tributaries; canoes bring trade goods and raiding parties up and down their lengths. It is a civilization taking shape - slowly, to be certain, but surely.

    The Prophet stands upon the apex of the Ziggurat and perceives all of this, and knows it is time for him to depart. He has done enough. Those who come after can carry on his legacy and the holy mission of the Architect.

    Draszi-Jast Ominor gathers his advisors and summons the chieftains of the tribes. One by one, forfeiting blood feuds and laying down their arms in the middle of battles, they all come. He orders the Draghai to gather and calls out those from their number who he knows to be his children. For days he challenges his spawn to games of wit and might, testing each one until he knows who will be worthy of following in his footsteps. In the end, it is the unclouded mind and powerful will of Zainul-Jast that draw the Prophet's attention, and the godtouched son is chosen as the Heir of the Prophet.

    There are festivities for days. The visiting chieftains can only gawk in astonishment as the plenty of the Prophet's City is made plain. Tens of thousands of Druyul arrive to pay tribute to their spiritual leader, and though they feast as if it were the last day, the granaries and pens of the City do not go empty. Acolytes of the Prophet lead their people into feverish rituals in His name. Thousands of new eggs are laid and fertilized as the fervor takes hold; tribal lines and norms of behavior are forgotten in the zealous atmosphere of the Week of Ascension.

    The spectacle draws unwelcome visitors as well. An Ogre-led raiding party seeking to claim the treasures of the Ziggurat for themselves are caught and executed before furious crowds. A Monstrous yak of the highlands is driven to seek the Flame by animal instinct and nearly succeeds in trampling its way up to the top of the Ziggurat before it is brought down. A mischievous Dream Canidae breaches forth from the Unseen straight into the Chamber of Flame, ready to claim divinity on the appointed day, only to be discovered and obliterated by the Prophet himself.

    These intruders are dealt with. The Week of Ascension draws to an end. On the final night, the Flame condenses into its purest form; a power of divinity to be claimed by whoever can reach it. To the clamor of adoring crowds, Draszi-Jast Ominor leads his son and chosen heir to the seat of the fire - and lets go of his life. In his passing the Flame within him is released to awe-inspiring effect. The Prophet's form burns like a heavenly flame atop the Ziggurat and night is banished for many days after. The son says his farewells to the father he never knew and steps forth to claim the Flame of Ascension.

    A new Prophet is born. His godhood takes after that of his father, but without the hand of a Maker weighing it down, the Flame of Chaos manifests pure and unbound in his hands. Pure creation is his birthright, if only to the extent that his mortal frame can bear it. The Prophet Zainul-Jast returns from the Ziggurat garbed in celestial fire and speaking with a voice heard by all gathered below. The faithful go into raptures to be blessed so.

    He speaks, and his vision is clear. He will continue his father's work, unite the Druyul and forge an empire to stand the test of time. He commands the gathered chieftains to kneel and swear fealty to him, and if some harbor resentment and treachery in their hearts, they dare not disobey. An empire is not made in a day, but in the annals to come, that day will be known as a beginning: the first day of the First Year of the Druyul Counting, and of the Reign of the Celestial Fire Emperor.

    ***​

    The Legend of Unzo the Builder:

    The travels of Unzo, destined builder of the White University of Wisdom, are a journey of Legend. Like all great journeys, dangers threaten it at every turn. Unzo and his companions are scarcely out of the lands of the Mountain Kingdom when the ground gives way beneath their feet. They tumble headlong into a warren of tunnels and deep chambers, with the tell-tale gnawed walls of Iktai burrowing, only three times as large as any of them have seen. Its creator is soon revealed as a monstrously large Iktai in impervious titanium plate surfaces to greet them.

    To their astonishment, it speaks - for it no ordinary beast, but the divinely blessed Great Iktai - and demands to know their business in its territory, or be eaten. Unzo speaks then of his quest and the visions driving him. The Iktai is astonished and sees in Unzo's quest great potential for itself - for it seeks its own Legend and mastery of all the world's magics, and what better path to it than helping create a place of such wonder as Unzo dreams of?

    They are joined by a new ally, then. The Iktai, which calls itself Chitterhulk, promises to meet them in the Clouded Lands one year hence. It takes to the Caverns then, while the Myridna of the group head down from the mountains and to the coast, where they buy passage on a Baólian catamaran headed west across the Fire Sea. The light-sensitive Myridna have a miserable time on the voyage and come to regret not finding themselves a shadowy and covered Myridna ship to carry them on.

    They regret it even more when two days off the coast the catamaran is boarded by a raiding party of surface-hating Deep Algals on Leviathan-back. The raiders are after goods, not lives; things are tense but peaceful until one of Unzo's companions makes the mistake of revealing their destination as the Hive Coast of the Sea Ants. The Algals know the Daughters of Imsamrta to be most hated in the Sea-Spirit's sight; they conclude that the Myridna are in league with the Ants and thus only deserving of the Spirit's mercy - that is, being tossed overboard to drown in the deep.

    One by one, the Myridna plunge into the ocean waves. None of the highlanders know how to swim. The catamaran leaves them behind and they begin to sink. Even the natural instincts of the Myridna cannot keep them afloat forever. Just as they are about to give up hope, however, a most curious sight appears in the distance. It appears to be a fabulously swift and beautiful fishing boat, captained by a tiny and excitable spider.

    So are they rescued by the Fishing Boat Called Horizon and its diminutive arachnid captain. The Boat is eager to hear of their journey and destination. She confers with her captain and they agree to convey them to the Clouded Lands. There are no further interruptions, and the passage over the great volcanic sea proves rather uneventful. Thirst and hunger prove the most dangerous companions over the rainless expanse of the Fire Sea, but they are able to replenish their supplies on small volcanic islands that come and go.

    When they at last sight the northernmost point of the Clouded Lands, they have grown quite fond of their hosts. It is with great dismay, then, that Unzo accidentally steps on the Fishing Spider when going ashore. The Boat does not discover this until the party is safely ashore, but then predictably goes berzerk and swears to hunt the Myridna to the ends of the earth. It eventually finds the spider reborn and is mollified; but that is another tale.

    Unzo and his companions venture bravely into the swamp waiting for them in the interior. They are still not free of misfortune, however, for this is no ordinary bog, but the terrible Lost Swamp. Its strange effects take over them and they are hopelessly lost within the day. The Swamp seems to wind around forever in circles. Weeks pass, then months. It is horror; the native species of the Swamp are delighted to prey on these unwary newcomers, and so ravenous bog pigs, stalking swamp leopards, clever vine wyverns and blood-draining muck fish make themselves known. Six of Unzo's companions fall to beasts, two more to disease, and it is testament to their skill as warriors that the rest survive more or less untouched.

    After observing this desperate effort for months on end, the Swamp Baólians living there take pity on the travelers. They have learned the tricks and paths of the Lost Swamp and are able to lead the Myridna survivors out. Unzo asks them to accompany him and be rewarded for their aid, but the Swamp Baólians refuse; they are quite content in their strange, bewildering wetland.

    From there, Unzo's party treks overland south. They marvel at the strange terrain of the Clouded Lands with its high peaks, deep chasms and floating islands between them. They are amazed also to meet Skrayt and Umbrals, who they have never met before. The Umbrals the Myridna make fast friends with - both are creatures of the dark, though the Umbrals take it to a far greater extent than the shade-preferring Myridna. Those they meet are happy to guide them to the Hive Coast and the great bastion of Tamvatra.

    So it is that at last, Unzo the Builder comes to the gates of Tamvatra. The Myridna companions are a rather more ragged sight than they were leaving their homeland, but they are received with great fanfare even so, for spirits have whispered from beyond the veil of the coming of the Legend of Unzo. Queen Kimirta has the weary visitors greatly honored and cared for. In the high halls of Tamvatra, they regain their strength, and Unzo begins to explain his vision of a great tower to be built in these lands.

    The Queens are intrigued, but such a structure is beyond any of their kenning. The tower is to be of marble - to be sure they know of the stone and where it may be found, but mining is not a practice they make much use of or on such a grand scale. With what tools could they dig and sculpt such a material with any real success? It is then that Unzo reveals the secrets of metalwork to the Queens of the Hive Coast, who waste no time putting this grand gift into use. But one does not transform a civilization overnight. Months pass as ore is identified and refined under Unzo's guidance, his teachings and the tools of the Myridna's forge spreading throughout the Coast.

    Unzo's companions grow restless, however. It is the King's secrets that Unzo has so casually revealed to this foreign people. The mysteries of working bronze and gold belong only to the highland Myridna, or so many of them grumble. One of them, a scarred warrior known as Hizu Twaintongue, comes to resent the great praise heaped upon the Builder everywhere he goes. He hatches a plan to be rid of Unzo and seize command of the Myridna himself. Hizu waits until he is alone with Unzo in the mountains to fall upon him with murderous intent. The Builder is outmatched and scrambles away, and though he should be easy prey for the hardened warrior, Unzo's growing Legend is once more that of unlikely survival. Just as he is about to fall, the earth shakes, and Chitterhulk the Iktai surfaces in a fury - for he has come, as he promised, one year from their first meeting. The great magical beast seizes Hizu in his jaws and pulps him into red mist, and so Unzo is saved from certain peril once more.

    Chitterhulk's coming is of great utility in the building of the White Tower. He works to find and break marble alongside the Hive Coast miners, carrying great quantities of it in his mouth for the grounds of the construction. He shapes the earth into a great plain for miles around the Tower.

    The stores of marble grow - alongside long trunks of wood, bars of copper and bronze and rolls and rolls of flax - on the plain, but still nothing is built. Unzo counts every new block of marble and every bundle of material he receives - helping develop a written language and system of numbers for the Hivers as he does - but refuses any suggestion to begin the work of building. Only when the last needed shipment arrives from the mines does Unzo feel satisfied. A strange certainty fills him. To the bafflement of his audience, Unzo lets his tools fall from his hands and simply walks up to the nearest block of marble and touches his palms to it.

    The Act of the Makers did not give Unzo mere inspiration. The power of Creation now surges through him and the marble begins to float. One by one each block rises on invisible strings and soars into the sky. They form a thunderous hurricane of spinning stone five hundred paces high. Many flee then, but Unzo knows all is transpiring as it should. He speaks to the stones and they begin to settle into the places and shapes he ordains for them. The vision of his dreams takes shape as all the gathered materials of construction fly up to join the chaos, finding its own place and adding to the great structure, adding smaller towers, wings and sprawling halls around the central spire. The marble shines brighter than ordinary stone should; intricate patterns break out on the bronze gates; divine strength fills the foundations and shores up the walls.

    So is the White University of Wisdom built. When the last stone falls into place, a white flame erupts atop the structure. It stimulates the minds of those present, a divine blessing of intellect. Unzo breathes out in relief, his great work done - and is immediately assaulted by a cacophanous storm of barking, yipping and howling canines, as hundreds of Monument Makers surge through from the Unseen to swarm and celebrate him. They explain to the bewildered Myridna that he was in a past life one of the Makers. In a flood, the memories return. The reunited pack celebrates through the night.

    Unzo is pleased enough at the legendary structure he has built, but knows now it cannot be the masterwork he has sought. He came to live as a mortal of the Seen to build something without the assistance of greater strength than that of his own muscle and mind. The University is grand, but the work of the gods as much as him. No, indeed - the work of Unzo the Builder is only beginning, and so the Myridna turns his back on the University, and begins to wonder what else he could make in this vast new land...

    ***
    ​
    The Book of Maker Support:

    The Book of Maker Support is found once more. This time, it comes to the hands of a fat and savage Ogre, who demands of the Book: BRING ME TO GRANDFATHER ASKR OR GRANDMOTHER EMBLA SO I MAY EAT THEM!

    ***​
     
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