Lords of Creation: The World Madly Spins (IC Thread)

[Gnomes2169]

Spoiler: Previously

Show

Kerima - Revenant's being attacked
She had noted that the new deity of the south had began to offer some protection to her people and so had not interfered - but now two other deities were simply destroying her creatures, one in the south and one on her own land.
She pondered this for a time the serpent curse was intended to force conflict and so the deities might not be in control - if she responded she would also be feeding into the curse, it was a troubling dilemma for her, she likely could simply tear the curse from the fabric of reality and use it for her own ends the dead serpent could hardly complain after all but it would require a fair amount of power and effort to do so and the consequences might be unknowable - particularly if the deities were infact operating on their own rather then at the behest of the curse, after all the wind entity had began to bother her prior to the serpants attack.

The soul stuff of the Revenants on Corrla she did decide to gather up for later however, the punishment for lack of faith was intended to be temporary not permenant and so the creatures likely deserved some peace at some point - after she determined what to do to have them pay off the rest of their sentance.

Traveling first to the site on the southern land she collected the remnants of the fallen revenants and then traveled back to Corrla to do the same - but as she did she noted that in the blighted lands there was a creature like The Saorsa - something lifted above normal mortals or even archons and tied to reality in some way - and acting as a guide to those who lived in the blighted areas, her voice was calm and quite but the creature would hear her and note displeasure in her voice "explain".

The Lord and Tyrant - Blight Lands of Corrla
The Suzerain had been helping members of the new perish erect a hut, his immortal flesh and power making him a prime candidate to hold the logs that would serve as the central support pillars for the structure, but at Kerima's whisper the Archon of Night would tilt his head to the side and tell them, "Idayle, Kenst." An elf and a goblin looked to him at the mention of their names. "The goddess talks to me. See that this is finished in my absence." Using threads from the Strands of Night to keep the foundations in place, the Suzerain would then leave the mortals to commune with Kerima.

It wasn't a lie. He just didn't specify which goddess he'd gone to talk to.

Once he was separate from the mortals of the blight lands that worshiped Renarr, the Suzerain stretched his arms and he answered the question. "Kerima, I presume? I am doing as my goddess commanded, and I am helping these mortals. They have rejected you, and because of that they live hard lives in harsh lands, and my lady would rather not see them suffer needlessly." Holding up a finger he points out, "We have not forced or compelled them to join us. We merely offered to help and a place to live without persecution, and many of them have rejected that offer. In fact, those who have accepted are in the startling minority. And I have taken steps to ensure that your faithful will not suffer violence because of Renarr's fledgling faith in these lands. So. What can I do for you today?"

Renarr - Experiences with Mana
During her wandering, Renarr would find that the First World was now far, far more infused with mana than she had at first realized. What she thought had been a byproduct of some property in Corrla was revealed to be a universal thing, that background radiation of divinity pouring from every star and from Solace itself. That was... well, that was going to cause trouble. Mortals, being imperfect vessels, were always striving and grasping for something to elevate themselves, and mana was a seductive source of power and ascension. This trickle of divinity would be... intoxicating to them. It would consume every aspect of their lives, driving mortals to grasp for more, and in doing so they would grow jealous, spiteful, divisive.

This mana rain would sew seeds of discord and fuel the Serpent's curse, and it would do so by creating terrible, undying mortal tyrants.

But this mana was also a tool that was open, spread freely among all the mortals in the world, and it was a power that she herself used. It was, after all, just the unrefined form of her divine essence, and the essence of every god. The only reason it was a problem for mortals was that it was an unrelenting tide of power that their bodies were not designed to accept, battering at every creature's psyche whether they tapped into the source or not. Slowly, of course, subtly, but the influence was still there.

Renarr could not justify removing the magic entirely from the world, because it would be wrong and spiteful of her to do so. It was just a tool. Nor, in her still weakened state, could she justify changing its nature to remove its addictive properties, as that would stretch her far too thin for far too long, and she needed to accomplish other tasks. But she could still shield some mortals from the more corrupting aspects. And she would do so gently, remembering Dia's words back in Solace about the fragility of life. Renarr would not change the nature of her chosen mortals, but instead, she would enhance the benefits they gained from holding faith in her, regardless of which aspects they worshiped or even if they worshiped her in a way that would let them channel divine power, granting her mortal followers protection from Mana's corrupting influence. And, unbeknownst to her, granting those same followers ways to influence mana in their own special ways, depending on which aspects they chose to give faith to.

Sighing as her blessing took effect, some of the burden from protecting the minds of her faithful in Corrla already being felt, Renarr took a step, and walked the First World. Now. To make some more followers, so that this blessing actually meant something.

Renarr - Elsewhere
The goddess of the Sun wandered the world. From the coldest places in the land of Cliffs and Spires, to the highest peaks of the Skysea, she wandered and looked for signs of life. And she found it aplenty. While the world was damaged by the rains of blood and the floods that had been born of the War in Heaven, the peoples who populated it were already beginning to rebuild. Of course, she hadn't yet returned to the Circle Continent, where the most damage had been done... but she could delay only for so long.

In the full light of day, Renarr stood above the land and surveyed the damage from afar. The rents that lead down into the darkest places, cracks that had flooded with water, the north, where a massive glacier still stood, and volcanic islands where great birds of fire now resided. It was... not as bad as it could have been. There was, after all, still a continent to look at. And despite the blight spots, there was still plenty of livable area to make use of. If a problem with the land needed to be fixed then Renarr would leave the other gods to do it.

So she went to the people. And here she found... well, nothing short of remarkable progress. Communities, trade, cooperation, these peoples were already well on their way to fully recovering. But there were a few obstacles to their lives at this point. The blight of the wasted dead, blight lands where serpent's blood had fallen, and conflict between peoples were still present, though Renarr did not know how much of that last problem was caused by the serpent's death curse. And then there were the monstrous forms of life, the great phoenix and the wandering clay dragons, and even here some small pockets of revenants.

Her Solars were trapped on Solace, and the Lands of Light were barred from any who might seek shelter. The portal that currently lead to that realm had been made inaccessible by another of the serpent's curses, but the presence of the Void had proven to be too much of a barrier for non-divine travel even before that. So Renarr would fix this mistake.

In the southern part of the Circle continent, Renarr floats down from the heavens and sets foot just at the edge of the swamps. She looks back into those overgrown lands, and then looks away. Lor had this place well in hand. Instead, following the coastline, Renarr approached Marreill. These mortals... she hadn't seen any of their kind outside of Corrla except on ships and here. Their journey must have been long, incredibly hard, and after all the events of the Serpent's assault upon the First World, and the tyranny of the goddess that they had fled, Renarr was certain that they would want nothing to do with the divine. Only, there was divine influence here. Subtle, more of an impression than an overt demonstration, but still present. And some of them still remembered the Dawnstar's strike against Wan'shi... and did not reject her out of hand.

Yes. This would have to do. Renarr entered the mobile community with her divinity masked, and she just watched the comings and goings. For just a few moments she was just a barefoot albino human woman, witnessing the hustle and bustle of people simply living their lives in a fledgling community, and she would cherish that memory for a long, long time. But she had a gift she needed to give them, and shortly after noon her true form would be unveiled.

Standing among them in a robe of flowing gold, the goddess drew a few wondering gazes and a congregation of mortals, but she did not address them directly. Instead, looking to the distant forms of the Spine Aerie to the east, she lifted her hand and created a beacon. A portal now stood to Solace on the first world in reach of mortals, shining like a star, even in the light of day, but much smaller and safer than the first portal that she'd created that now dominated the sky. A few harpies would be the first beings to gain access to this area, since it was built about half-way to the peaks of their home territory. And that nest of harpies would be the first witnesses to the twelve archons that surged from there moments later, and they would be the first to see those archons traveling towards the Circle Continent's southern peninsula.

To the mortals who had stopped and witnessed her action, no matter how large or small that group might end up being, Renarr states, "You have struggled. Suffered. Have been driven from your homes for your choices. And despite all that, you have made your own lives and your own small miracles." Gesturing to the new, distant portal, the goddess states, "I created Solace to be a sanctuary. A place safe from the serpent... but it is empty. Without life. And has been left this way by my own foolishness and the serpent's curse. No more. Should you wish it, should you need it to escape persecution once more, this place is now safe" Thank you for that, Dia, "and it is open to you, and to any other who can find it." And with that, Renarr sat herself down in the center of town and waited for her archons to arrive.

And, like a teacher, if anyone had questions for her, the goddess was willing to talk to them and answer. A few misconceptions of the Dawnstar faith might be cleared up on this day, at least among the Marrellie peoples. Those who talked to her would come to know her as a protector rather than the cold judge that so many thought her to be, and as that image became concrete in their minds, so too did it become a mantle that cloaked Renarr in power.

Spoiler: AP actions

Show

Starting AP: 0
Rollover: +4 AP

-2 AP Create Portal; Solace -> The Circle Continent: A safe portal crafted into the side of the Spine Aerie mountains, this portal connects Solace to the First World in a way that does not require travel through the Void. This portal also allows mortals to enter Solace itself at a point that is about 5 kilometers from Renarr's throne on the solar plane, and is wide enough to allow twenty elves standing shoulder to shoulder to enter the portal at the same time.

The area that opens onto the First World is kept safe by a combination of Renarr being careful and the Strands of Night that already existed. Therefore, the portal never sheds so much heat that it can become so much as unpleasant, let alone dangerous, but enough heat leaks through to keep the area warm and illuminated with a soft white-violet light even should the portal be completely enclosed within a glacier.

This portal provides no special protections from Solace's environments to creatures that pass through it, though Dia's Sun Spots are able to protect non-aligned mortals that enter.

-2 AP counter bless; Faith's Shield (countering Mana Flood): Any being that worships Renarr, whether it's as a primary deity or not, is protected from the addictive properties of mana, though the temptation to claim more of that addictive magic is still there for all but the most devout. In addition, depending on the specific aspect that a creature worships, a creature that worships Renarr and that channels mana is able to interact with the magic source in one of the following ways:

• Dawnstar Worshiper) Creatures that worship Renarr's Dawnstar aspect are able to channel more mana, though actively doing so makes their resilience to the magic's addictive properties less effective. The mana feeds on the Light that they channel, like Wan'shi was so desperate to do, amplifying the amount of energy that can be expelled at once. Dawnstar priests also tend to be magi because of this, and Dawnstar mages tend to gain renown because of this heightened capacity.
• Eternal Night Worshiper) Creatures that worship Renarr's Eternal Night aspect become more resilient to magic in general, especially mana-based spells, and can reduce or negate the effects of magic entirely around themselves. This also makes them highly resilient to the corrupting influence of mana, since the mana they channel is often just used to deny mana's influence. Wan'shi was already a god of night when Mana was born from it, so channeling Nocturne's power only increases the hunger inherent in the mana, causing it to cannibalize itself when channeled.
• Twilight Goddess Worshiper) A being that worships both major aspects of Renarr gains the benefits of both sides of the blessing, though they maintain the baseline resilience to mana's addictive properties, since their worship of the Light makes the corruption a bit easier and Dark makes it a bit harder in roughly equal measure.

Total AP expended: 4

Remaining AP: 0

Domain Progress:
Realms (the Heavens): 10/10 (Create plane: Solace, portal to Solace (in void), create plane: Nocturne) (Purposefully not taking this until ready to ascend)
Protection (Mercy): 10/10 (Create portal to Nocturne, Blessing; Strands of Night, Solar Archons, Counter-bless; Faith's Shield, portal to Solace (in Spine Aerie)) Domain obtained!
Order (Retribution): 4 (Create hero: Suzerain of Night, the Stars in the Sky, the Serpent Moon)