Lords of Creation in the Playground (IC)

[thethird]

Eucle; Neutral Ground

The God had returned to it's body. In his absence things have passed and changed. The most important was that Neutral ground had grown over him, through him and into him. Trees dug into his stone body rooting deep into him. He looked like a puppet tied with tight strings that pulled him and made him move at the city's tune. But he felt more like a spider resting at the center of the net touching each and everyone of the filaments that conected the whole.

He had learned a few things about connections. Those gramaric dreams had certainly been fulfilling. With a paw he reached for the cauldron and dug deep into it. Dreams were just a constructing tool an edge of his mind and city. He extracted some of it as liquid gold flowing and reshaping over his earthern claws. He smeared the golden substance in the trees that branched into him and felt them. The dream stuff ebbed through them like pure energy. He felt the city. He wasn't only connected to it's heart his physical shell had also become it's heart.

And as a heart he beat. His percusion was a gramaric one infused with the knowledge that he had recently acquired pumping through Neutral Ground. Within the physical form of the wealth god were riches of many kinds, after all whatever the rust monsters or anihilators destroyed turned to him, and he let the city sap them from him.

He would not be weakened though. As a demon he would draw substance from the dreams. And there were plenty of dreams through Neutral Ground. The trees connected to him would act as his connectors maintaining him fed on the puissant dream energy.

Around him, as Eucle accepted his new cage Neutral Ground started to change and with it dream neutral ground. It was turning into a humongous biome with the Wealth God carcass acting as the pole. Thick power ribbons connected him to the outer core of Neutral Ground. Lightning pools and healing springs formed where Mezethera's waters pooled before giving him both health and energy. The trees changed some being turned into strong connectors that were able to redirect his will. A thick shell of vines and rock started to form around him hiding him from the world but allowing him to hear everything that went through Neutral Ground. Reeds grew through the city carrying his voice to all corners if it was his wish. Along those Reeds small bodies of water pooled and over them he could spring a perfect image of himself if need be. As the city changed, and he shared his own wealth and essence, he felt less and less contrived.


Eucle, Zahav Zalal; Dream Neutral Ground

Eucle dones the guise of the old man once again wearing the dark cloak the dowsing rod and the cauldron. He slips through his own open maw leaving once again his body behind. There he remains for a long instant looking at his own form being engulfed by the physical Neutral Ground and the echo it carries in the dreamland. He can still feel himself being devoured by Neutral Ground and in turn substaining on the cities dreams. To him it looks like a perfect rebirth cycle, a perfect loop of offer and demand. By this exchange, by this collaboration, all become greater than their parts.

In this guise he wanders the city bringing new knowledge to the inhabitants. His most trusted Gardeners and members of the Syndicate are taught all they need to maintain the city. They prove eager learners and soon learn how to further control the dreams and energies that surround them. To his traders he teaches the secrets of the mind and how to connect to each other in a way not dissimilar than he is now connected to the city. To his gardeners he teaches them the dreamed secrets of wood and how to grow it further with gramarie. Then he leaves each group with a quest, one group is to ensure that they all are connected and their dreams feed their god, the other is to ensure that Neutral Ground grows strong. Satisfied as ever with his followers the old man walks the dreams again.

In his wandering he meets the first human that followed Passaer. The sensation is strange, seeing the city through his wonder is in a sense liberating. Elves, dryads and trees took it as an untaped garden. His followers had grown on the city and were to accostumed to it. It was the visitors that felt awe. And a strange feeling and sensation that the God couldn't truly identify. It was a strong desire of wealth for wealth sake, almost selfish. Being wealthy Eucle was alien to greed, it was something that he had a hard time processing or understanding. He clearly was capable of providing wealth by sharing it why would someone not see it? Trade provided benefits. Money not exchanged was wasted money. Still this concept was... interesting.

Playfully the God gathers their dreams and in his own image he creates a tiny exotic intelligence. It's mind is strong for the wealth god feeds it the greed dreams of those that followed Passaer but also infuses it with a part of its own divinity. He shares some of his mind into the nascent intelligence giving it a spark of its darkest desires. Unity through trade, everlasting commerce, continual desire for more... He rips his own body, tears his own flesh, splits his own mind. He sculpts it like a statue, a perfected mirrored image of himself cast in marble and gold. And he cares for it like a good gardener with the greed of his own followers. Then within the dream, as the prime is not capable to contain it, Zahav Zalal the Greed God is born.

"Wake up."

Spoiler

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AP 4
AP 4 - 0 Nourishment (Using Vault of Plenty): Eucle has turned himself into a transient biome pole engloving all Neutral Ground. Eucle's physical body contains materials of all kinds (as he is the Wealth God) and Rust Monsters / Anihilators are connected to him (anything destroyed by them becomes part of himself). This pole can be maintained by replenishing metals, through Rust / Anihilators, or by ebb expenditure: the Dreamasons of Neutral Ground along with the many dreams there ensure that is so. This has the collateral effect of not letting Eucle move physically in the material world (he can still manifest but unless he moves Neutral Ground he ain't going far).

AP 4 - 1 Teach Populace: Eucle teaches Psychomantics to the members of the Syndicate. He instructs them to use it to connect all within Neutral Ground and Dream Neutral Ground.

AP 3 - 1 Teach Populace: Eucle teaches his Gardeners how to grow through the use of wood Gramarie. He instructs them to use it to improve and ascend Neutral Ground.

AP 0 Beget Player God: Zahav Zalal now exists.

AP 2 Remaining

[Erebus Tekra]

Yggdrasil, The Void

Yggdrasil felt her power growing as she created more and more life. It was as if the more the goddess of life made, the more powerful she became. She began to wonder at exactly how strong she could actually become. She attempted to stretch her powers even further. She looked at the life she had already created. Heimdal had been taken over by monstrous machines. Machines that seemed to be taking organic life and turning it into something else. The result of this process was outside of her purview, it somehow felt dead to her. She watched the few animals she'd managed to create. They devoured one another. The predator and the prey. The prey so rarely won. The balance was maintained but she had pity for the prey. So she gave them a gift. But her power was waning, so when she went to grant the gift it wavered and began to topple. The goddess of life had to hurry to salvage anything from her blessing. In the rush of trying to salvage the blessing it spread to all mundane life. At the end she stood unhappy but not dissatisfied with the results. Now mundane life adapted upon death. The dead were reincarnated with the memories of their last life. The information passed from generation to generation soon became greater and greater as mundane life adapted.

Spoiler

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2 AP
+5 Rollover
-3 Raise DR to 9
-1 Create Concept: Reincarnation of mundane life
3 AP

[Shmee]

Tiamat & Kyre Erebus
"The souls belong to me. Such it was stated when I brought souls into the world. To disturb them would court Death's wrath. I appreciate the offer of dragons. Perhaps they would be better served as servants of shadow on the world? Listening for those who wish to cross into Erebus before death and stopping them. If you wish them to exist here in my home they must stay at the edge. I will not have them interfering with my work. They can serve as border guardians with the Keepers. Make your dragons, I will impart the gift of shadow on them so that they do not perish." With that Kyre holds out his hand, in it rests a dragon egg of pure shadow. "This egg is fragile, if it leaves the plane it will crumble. Place within it whatever spawn you wish to receive the gift of shadow."

"Very well. My Children of the Shadows shall act as you say, aiding your Keepers as a first line of defense. Of course, they shall be free to slip from Erebus into the most darkest places of the Playground where with your blessing, while their brethren rule supreme on the surface, they shall rule as far as the darkness shall stretch. And with that, I have concluded my business. I look forward to the day when you shall unleash Death's wrath, however when that day comes, do keep in mind of my contribution to upholding the sanctity of your Death."

Spoiler

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AP5= 6-1 Create Subrace: Shadow Dragons.

Caravan of the Liliputians, Challenge Mountains

From above, the slowly moving train of wagons looked a bit like some sort of rainbow worm working its way across the topsoil. Figures darted here and fro laughing and shouting as the wagons trundled onwards. It had been a long day of travel, but the energy of children in any world seems to be that of its own special category. Even as they finally pulled off into a clearing, settling in to make fires, music, and food, there was plenty of vigor to be had. All kept an eye to the skies. They had spotted winged creatures of enormous size in the area, and such things were the center of not an inconsiderable bunch of curiosity. Many had these mountains pegged as their abode.

One day, a ragged and tired looking Kobold hobbles his way into the camp "Greetings strangers from another land! Would you be so kind as to allow a weary traveler such as yourself to share your fire and some food? I fear however that I have no money to give you, and my sole possessions are the clothes that I am wearing."

[Deadlykire]

Tiamat & Kyre, Erebus

"It is done. I shall give you another month to prepare them further if you wish. Then I will ease their passage across the world." And with Tiamat's gift of shadow dragons Death grew in strength.

Spoiler

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5 AP
5-2 Gain Portfolio: Darkness
3-3 Raise DR to 7 (2AP Dark templates, 2AP Darkness portfolio)
0 AP remaining

[Yeshon]

[Strange Waters]

"An apt enough comparison, for aren't we all parasites upon The World's back?"

Tough crowd to anger when you are trying to.

On the other hand, the avatar dissolves into Aldegund's greater self. And so the duchess addresses those within her with a great burning eye. Her every word makes her body quake.

"So. Little things. I asked questions and await answers."

"... I've been called a parasite twice today, you're fortunate my expectations for elementals are less. And if you're sincerely asking whether a city can reproduce with the ocean... well perhaps some time among the creatures you dream of slaughtering will do you some good."

Helfarch stroked his beard, "The answer is no. I'm an accident intended by neither party (so far as I know) through an action which neither dreamed would give forth offspring. More than that is no business of an elemental."

[Man on Fire]

Neiag, the world

The san shined brightly above Neiag, as he was studying the bones. It irritated him he could not tell to what manner of creature they belonged, but there were only very few, not enough to tell. Was it an animal, master of whatever niche they filled in natural order? Was it one of intelligent races, the great hero of his people? Are his or her children waiting at home, egerly and impatiently looking at the doors, as if daddy and mommy was about to walk through them and let them sit on their lap, as they tell of their last adventures? It didn't matter. Whoever it was, whatever stories it had to tell, Neiag will never know. It made him very angry. He wished to never stumble upon these bones in his travels with Mond. But that was small wish, irrevelant. He had to focus on the real problem.
Death. He just now realized that it is the end of all stories. It comes and cuts them in the middle, without satifactionary ending. The fallen could live in tales told by their commrades, but if there was no one to withness their deaths? What was the point of a death if nobody was going to cry after the dead?
What's worse, he thought of Kyre, mesmerizing godess of death. While he could not deny her style and class, he was worried by her attitude. Sooner or latter she will comsume all of mortal world, one way or another, maybe even some of the gods. And then all the stories are going to end. There won't be anyone to tell old stories, nor anyone to make new ones. And without the stories he could as well himself be dead.
And then new idea sparked in his mind. A wonderful plot twist in great narrative, a tale unlike any other, the greatest rivarly of them all, with him playing a humble supporting role. All he needed to do was to reach into a bone, into a shell of what was once a story. And make a new one ouf ot it. Add some substance, glue it togerther with his dark might, maybe try a bit of....
When all horryfing work of dark magic was done, a new being stood in front of Neiag. A new story, unlike any other. Something the Playground had never seen before.
"My name is Neiag, Spinner of Tales." He greeted the first undead. "Welcome to the Playground, stranger. Or maybe...welcome back?"

[smashingBrawler]

Clora & Neiag - The World

The being which Neiag had shaped into re-being formed into the shape of a great dragon - but without flesh. Bones grew and hardened, and between the wings' bones a leathery substance formed, though with many rips or holes. Finally, a weak light pulsed in the eyes of the entity which had been brought into existence. The light flashed and pulsed into existence, and then held form, filling the maw and the eyes of the being which had moments earlier been a number of bones from at least one long-dead creature, if not several.

The bony form gazed slowly upon the entity which had just given it new life. "Neiag, Spinner of Tales. You who have brought me into this world anew..." The new entity spoke with a raspy husk, of a voice. "I cannot feel, and yet I somehow know I once did." The being's light-filled sockets gazed upon the earth and then the sky.

Before it was even fully aware of what it was doing, it formed a great fragment of bone in its hand, charging it with excess magic leftover from Neiag's frankensteinish actions - charged with the power to create new life from death. The bone, like putty, was malleable in the new entity's claws - and so the entity formed the fragment into the shape of a skull, much like their own.

"If you are as you claim, spinner of tales, then tell me the prologue. Explain to me this world, so that I may know what I must do. So that I may understand why I am." It paused. "And then explain to me what I am."

Spoiler

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AP Expenditure:
Initial - [15]
Expenses:
Create Utility Artifact (Skull of the Arisen) [-3] - The Skull formed from the excess magic left over from Neiag's creation of Clora. The artifact is known as the Skull of the Arisen, and it creates subraces, specifically those which are undead reflections of the originals.
Remaining - [12]

[Zelphas]

Kethneciel, The Visionary

Kethneciel is no longer satisfied with his creation. He sees that some mortals did not care for impartial judgment, lashing out against the judges he had caused to be. The law-givers are organized and efficient, but weak, unable to stand against those with more power and less judgment.

A massive battle-axe appears in Kethneciel's left hand, worn and bloodied as though from many battles. Kethneciel studies it for a moment, and then nods. Judgment is worthless without the weight of punishment.

Kethneciel leaps off of the Visionary, soaring through the void on grey dragon's wings. He arrows towards Oussia, the sun of prosperity. Landing upon the surface of the Cosmic Mother's great eye, Kethneciel's wings suddenly expand, creating a triangular pupil for Oussia. the three corners of the pupil bulge, forming small circles, and two blinks later, the first object falls, as though it is a tear from the left corner of the great eye.

The being that lands on the Playground is humanoid, with a long red cloak and a sharp, straight sword. The being is obviously not a race seen before on the playground; its body is made up of whirling gears and shiny metal, and its eyes glow with an utterly alien radiance, cold and lawful. The being strides through the playground, never stopping to rest, until it comes to the home of a wealthy human merchant named Shekel. Shekel had conscripted poor men to guard his caravans from orc raids, promising restitution to their families in the event of their deaths. When they died, he refused payment, laughing in the face of the judge who ordered him to pay. The mechanical man takes on the guise of a poor fighter seeking work, enters into an audience with Shekel... and enacts bloody restitution for the families of the dead. When the guards are called upon the mechanical man, he identifies himself as Kolyarut I, and speaks with the voice of a god, proclaiming Kethneciel's Judgment: Inevitables would fall on the playground to wreak vengeance on those who scorned the law.

Once every several blinks, a tear would fall from Oussia's eye. From the left corner meant a Kolyarut, a man-shaped being that would punish those who broke contracts and oaths. From the right corner came a mechanical creature like the Centaurs in the woods, with metal wings and long chains, that hunted those who evaded judgment. Nothing fell from the top corner of the pupil... yet.

Kethneciel sat in the center of the triangle that was Oussia's pupil, upon a judgment seat overlooking the world. He had done all he had judged necessary; only time would tell what more was to be done.

Spoiler: Actions

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12 AP

-3 AP (Create Artifact): The Executioner Axe is a Battle Artifact held by Kethneciel, in the form of an immense, battle-stained, two-bladed axe.

-3 AP (Create Plane): Oussia's Pupil (or the Judgment Seat), inside of Oussia.

Spoiler: The Judgment Seat

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Gravity: Normal
Time: Timeless
Shape and Size: Infinite (Kethneciel's Courtroom and the Inevitable Engines are finite, but the space between them can be stretched infinitely), Divinely Morphic (Kethneciel Only)
Alignment: Strongly Lawful Neutral
Magic: No Magic
Coterminous: Oussia

-2 AP (Create Populace): Kethneciel creates Kolyarut, Zelekhut, and Marut. Kolyarut and Zelekhut are deployed immediately; Marut are kept in reserve.

4 AP remaining.

[Man on Fire]

Clora & Neiag - the World

"You are asking me to tell the greatest tale of them all. This world, this Playground, as we call it, is our home.The first creator gave it to us to govern over, to improve it, make it the best of all stories. Every being, from gods through mortals to simple creatures like spiders, lives their life, every second contributting to their tale in the most pure, unabriged version. And they all contribute to the greatest tale of them all, the world itself. Every tree, every rock from smallest pebble to hinghest mountain, every cloud in the sky, every drop of water, all of it is equally scenery and actor in this greatest spectacle." He spreads his hands wide open, like if he wanted to hug entire creation, becoming more passionate and agitated with every word. But then he pauses, puts his hands down, as in a gesture of defeat. "But it has one flaw. Everything, all of this, one day or another, it's going to end. Every mortal will die. Every tree will wither, even the mountains will crumble and seas will dry. And even the gods themselves can die. Ambitions of one diety, Kyre, can crush this beautiful story, leaving it unfinished, with no one to write the final word and no one to listen to it." He turns back to Clora and looks her in the eye. "But you are the first to defeat her, to escape from her clutches. You overcame the death itself and came back to life. What are you, my friend, is the first undead. Why are you? That I cannot answer. We all shape our purporses and stories ourselves."

[Rainshine]

One day, a ragged and tired looking Kobold hobbles his way into the camp "Greetings strangers from another land! Would you be so kind as to allow a weary traveler such as yourself to share your fire and some food? I fear however that I have no money to give you, and my sole possessions are the clothes that I am wearing."

Caravan of the Liliputians, Challenge Mountains

One of the halflings stood up from his place, bowing to the visitor. His clothes were not of particularly fine material, but they were colorful and vibrant. So were the ribbons adorning his braided beard. As he made his bow, the bells woven with the ribbons made a soft jingling. "Welcome to our camp, wanderer. The circle of the Liliputians is always open the those who travel these paths. I am Swifee, pleased to be leading our troupe along these paths, in search of the flying creatures who make their residence here. Sit, join the circle, make music and tell story!"

Spoiler

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Housekeeping. Apparently I missed posting my Life portfolio earlier, so here it is now.
AP 7 - 2 (Gain Portfolio: Life (Growth)) - 2 (Gain Portfolio: Fey (Music)) = 3

[Shmee]

Tiamat & Kyre, Erebus

"It is done. I shall give you another month to prepare them further if you wish. Then I will ease their passage across the world." And with Tiamat's gift of shadow dragons Death grew in strength.

So it was that Kyre and Tiamat sealed the pact, and the Shadow Dragons began guarding Erebus from the living who would seek to intrude. Yet true to Tiamat's word, the Shadow Dragons began to expand upon the Playground, finding their way into the darkest and sunless places. Their dark and translucent scales would camouflage them, as they seek to dominate from the shadows.

Caravan of the Liliputians, Challenge Mountains

One of the halflings stood up from his place, bowing to the visitor. His clothes were not of particularly fine material, but they were colorful and vibrant. So were the ribbons adorning his braided beard. As he made his bow, the bells woven with the ribbons made a soft jingling. "Welcome to our camp, wanderer. The circle of the Liliputians is always open the those who travel these paths. I am Swifee, pleased to be leading our troupe along these paths, in search of the flying creatures who make their residence here. Sit, join the circle, make music and tell story!"

The Kobold will make its way to the camp, following Swifee and will share the fire and any food that may be offered. However it does not give a name. "It is impolite to take something without giving something in return. Perhaps a story will suffice... but not any story would do. I shall tell you the First Story." As soon as the Kobold is sure that he has gotten everyone's attention, it begins to tell its story.

"The Creator, that being of total chaos, did what it did. It swam through the Void and Created. In its loneliness the Creator formed a companion. This was the Playground. Thus the First of the Three was willed into existence and the Creator saw that it finally had the companionship it had desired. Yet in a moment of carelessness, the Creator separated the elements which was the First, driving the god insane. The First is the Playground.

In a fit of unbridled rage, the First raised its sting against the Creator who in an act of desperation called out for help. The cry for aid erupted, as the Second of the Three flew through the Void as she attempted to pluck the Creator away from the First. However her attempt to rescue the Creator cost the the Second her left eye, as the First tore it off, the eye itself being the Sun of Winter: Phos.

The Creator, seeing that the Second could not best First, willed for a better future. This will was formed as the Third of the Three. The Third sensing a future in which First was not a part of, attacked the World with intent to destroy it. As the Third struck the first blow against First, the Second, sensing an opening lent her power, as the Second and the Third unleashed the full extent of their powers against the First.

The Creator, seeing the destruction caused by the Three, extended his protection over the Playground, and exhausting his powers vanished.

So it was that the First was defeated yet not killed, for the Playground lives and the Playground rages. The Second mourned her failure to save the Creator and in her grief created her First Born, while sacrificing her Right Eye to create the Sun of Summer: Oussia. The Third began its plans to finish what it had started.

Thus the Three retreated. The First rages, the Second slumbers and the Third plans."

The Kobold looks around smiling at Swifee "Those flying creatures you seek, are none other than the children of the Second, whose will is made known by her First Born. So tell me, what does your kind seek from the Dragons?"

[Phobia]

Hagatha - The Dark Grove

"Freedom!" Hagatha croned as her ragged form shuffled through the forest. These movements were her own and not through another. The pleasure she felt was the exact opposite of the torment she had experienced. This was a different sort of joy not based on the suffering of others.

"But if I forced others to endure suffering after experiencing pure happiness.." She plotted with glee. It was much easier to think things through without the sheet madness of the Weirdwoods pulsing in her mind. It was still there tho. It cried out for sadistic pleasure. And Hagatha would feed that desire. Soon.

Spriggins viewed her with curiosity. They were the eyes and ears of the Weirdwoods afterall. She followed one back it's master. Hagatha had spoken to other Weirdwoods through her Spriggins proxies before but never to one directly.

"Kill! Flesh! Suffering!" The tree-thing shouted with it's horrible tree-mouth.

"Hello, Ninmenka." Hagatha said slowly. This Weirdwood she had spoken to often. Of all the Heart Trees he was the grandest and oldest- besides her former self, of course. Many Fruits of the Face dangled from his branches signifying that he had eaten many mortals.

"Hagatha? You're mobile! I should kill you where you stand!" He bellowed.

"Silence yourself. I am Hagatha and with me comes suffering. I am queen of these words.. But you will watch them while I'm away. You can handle that, can't you?" She said with a mock sweetness before touching her staff to his trunk and causing him immense pain. "This pain will awaken you and make you feel alive!"

"Argh! Yes! I feel the rush of suffering! All mortal beings will feel the sting of pain!"

"Excellent. I'm glad we're on the same page." Hagatha said with amusement before moving on through her wood. There was much to love here. Spiders and crocodiles, turtles and toads.. But none were pitiful than the Bogwart. Struggling to survive.

"Hello there. Congratulations. You've become my next selection to torture to death." Hagatha said happily as a Bogwart's song lead her to two of the creatures.

They begged for their life before they agreed to hurt themselves for her amusement. This actually intrigued Hagatha a bit so she allowed it. The two Bogwarts proceeded to self-mutalate themselves to her great glee. The old crone picked up a rock that was known to make open wounds sting and handed it over to them.

"Wonderful! You both put on such a wonderful show! I love the look of fear and pain... I think I'll let you and your tribe live." Hagatha said, surprising herself. She'd throughly enjoyed their degradation and pain so there was no real reason to kill them. They would live to suffer worse another day.

"I'll even teach you little frogs something useful." She continued to the gleeful croaking of the Bogwarts. Hagatha plucked a berry from a neary bush that was known to the Bogwarts as unpleasant to eat and dipped it in the blood. It was a ritual of mixing things that she showed them.

Spoiler

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AP: 4

Mark the Chosen (Ninmenka the Demon Tree) [0]: Now that Hagatha is leaving a new Weirdwood has arisen to be the baddest one around. Though no different from other Weirdwoods he is quite large and evil. But he might be more reasonable than Hagatha.

Nourishment (Salt Rocks) [1]: These rocks can be crumbled and flaked off to create salt. They also fizz and pop when exposed to the water. They can be eaten but taste rather bad by themselves. It hurts to step on them. They are white sharp rocks.

Pestilence (Bitterberries) [0]: Many normal unintelligent bushes produce black bitter berries. They can be eaten and taste bitter also causing a horrible stomach ache that lasts for hours. It also causes extensive diarrhea. The bushes often have thorns.

Create Concept (Alchemy) [1]: Alchemy is a semi-magic/semi-scientific knowledge that consists mainly of potion making. It deals with the mixing of various mundane and magical things found in the world to create effects better than any of the base ingredients. The five main magical ingredients (Fruit of the Face, Weird Mushrooms, Weird Woodbark, Salt Rocks and Bitterberries) can be combined with blood and other mundane ingredients. For instance, now the Bogwarts have knowledge of how to brew Bitterberries and blood into a concoction that tastes just as bitter but warns the body and doesn't cause a stomach ache. In fact it keeps you alert and awake! It's a black beverage called Bitterbrew.

Create Concept (Rogues and Rangers) [1]: Bogwarts naturally attack from the shadows and go for the weak points. So they naturally formed a fighting style based around stealth and fighting dirty. However, some Bogwarts are more good aligned and dedicated themselves to leading travelers safely through the woods. They still attack from afar but use their knowledge of the wood for a better purpose.

Create Concept (Ninjas and Witch Doctors) [1]: Ninjas and Witch Doctors are both classes based around using alchemy. Ninjas often use the brews for smoke bombs and more offensive uses, while Witch Doctors create healing potions and tend to wounds preferring more defensive alchemy options.

AP: 0

[DukeGod]

Israken, Challenge Mountains, Three Dragon Thrones

Israken is...pleased for now. He doesn't think he'll ever be satisfied. He has taken more power for himself, with the creation of his creatures. But he also identifies with the humans. What an amazing people...

Yet, he believes it is time to leave the playground. He'd be too tempted to meddle if he stood around. Not that there was anything wrong with it but...

It was something he thought he shouldn't do. So, Israken roars out a final time, before taking flight, disappearing in wisps of light like stars.

Leaving the Playground, for the higher planes

Spoiler

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Just realized I actually used the AP From the Third Rollover to get the Life Domain. I have 3 AP from the Fourth Rollover, and as such while I was planingo n also creating an Artifact or Avatar...my only action this time is going to be
Raise Divine Rank (3 AP, 0 left)(do I need to state what AP I have spent?) Israken is gonna raise his Rank to 6, he has two domains and thus can rise to Lesser Deity.

[spoiler]

[Toxic Mind]

Post Incoming - Reserved for Edit

Spoiler: AP

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5AP-2 Create Race: Ents
3AP Remain

[smashingBrawler]

Clora & Neiag - The World

The bone-dragon craned its neck and listened to its creator's oration. When the tale spinner was done, it spoke "My purpose is my own... well, then it is time I decide upon my story. I am Clora, the Unliving, and I will create those who are akin to myself." Clora observed the surrounding area, looking for bones and flesh.

"First those the most like me" She put her claws together, forming magic in the open space, and then she raised her hands upwards, pulling a humanoid skeleton from the earth, and granting it unlife. It seemed different though - while Neiag's act must have imparted intellect of some kind to her, this skeleton seemed lacking, its hollow eye holes stared blankly. "You lack thought. That will not do." Clora channeled energy into the skeleton, giving it a mind held within necromantic magic. "You are my first, skeleton, you are Vek'nul". She then searched for something different, coming across a much more fresh corpse, flesh still attached, and she rose this too from the earth. "You are the second, I will call you Cho'zak, you are the first zombie." She paused, thinking.

"To you, Vek'nul, I teach the art of which has allowed me to create you, and will allow you to create more of our kind. To you Vek'nul, I grant Necromancy." She turned then to Cho'zak "Cho'zak You will be different. You will restore our kind when they are damaged - You are to be the first of what I shall name Clerics, and I will allow you to channel my power"

Clora saw it all, and felt it was good - though there was something more that was needed. "And for any mortal who wishes to become like us, I grant to you both the knowledge of immortality in undeath, should mortals come seeking it, tell them of becoming a Lich - Binding their lives to objects of great meaning and cost which will preserve them, and keep them safe from the one I have been warned of." She placed a claw on each of their foreheads, and imparted this magical understanding.

"Now go, and expand our numbers from the fold of the forgotten dead, do not disturb cities - Look for the lost bodies, who died away from other peoples."

Spoiler

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AP Expenditure:
Initial - [12]
Expenses:
Create Populace (Zombie, Skeleton, and Lich template) [-2] - Clora has created the first zombie and the first skeleton - though with a retaining of intelligence that could be unseen in other worlds, thanks to Clora's nourishment. She has also granted the two an understanding of the process required for a mortal to attain the lich template.
Nourishment (Intellectuals!) [-1] - Clora has granted normally mindless undead the capacity for intellect.
Teach Populace (Immortality) [-1] - Clora has introduced the idea of immortality to her two first undead, so that they may share it with the world.
Create Concept (Necromancer and Cleric)[-1] - Clora has created classes capable of creating undead, though a Necromancer does so by channeling whatever strange magic it was that Neiag use to create Clora, and the Cleric by use of divine magic. Clerics may spread and their powers may change drastically should the followers of other deities come across them. (Healing the living rather than Undead and different domains and such, of course.)
Remaining - [7]

[Alber]

Yusri, Northwestern Demiourgia, then the Underplayground

The procession finally makes it to the westernmost point in Demiourgia, the very tip of the peninsula only a few miles away from the edge of Zalsaram. This is the spot Yusri, now an old man, well past the natural lifespan of his race, has been urged to go for so very many blinks. Yet...nothing. Nothing was there was there to greet them, or even signify that there was anything to be found. The people were confused, angry, desperate to find some indication that over a generation of travel wasn't for naught.

Yusri, meanwhile, was unfazed. He had kept his faith this far, and he knew Passaer would not simply abandon them like this. However, he was also quickly failing to pacify the crowd, as blinks upon blinks passed. Finally, just as Yusri was on the verge of losing control of the dwindling crowd, they saw the sign they were looking for.

From the heavens poured a cascade of pale ***, billowing down as if an enormous chunk of the sky itself had fallen before them, and then began to condense. Several shapes started to form within the fog, and eventually emerge. Hundreds of creatures came out of the fog, a third of them seeming to be made in their god's own image, massive hulking creatures floating just over the water's surface, their almost mournful cries echoing out for miles around. Another third seemed similar, but much smaller; gracefully flitting about high above the group's heads, cackling and chittering like madmen as they did so. The final third was silent. A massive sheet of black swarming out of the cloud, each one seeming to be in the shape of the world itself, flat and sprawling, forming a sheet of blackness, blocking out the rays of the Cosmic Mother.

The first creatures set themselves down at the coast of the penninsula and opened their mouths wide, beckoning the weary sould inside. At the urging of Yusri, and with few other options, a portion of the crowd quickly took shelter into the bellies of the great beasts. Many more, however, found the prospect of running into the waiting jaws of a creature they knew nothing about to be insane. They found their escape blocked by the other two types of creatures, who made threatening motions back to the whales. Some heeded them, and begrudgingly entered. Those that did not were allowed to run, but the second creatures followed them, chirping and giggling all the way, prodding them with painful shoves, toying with them until their legs could no longer carry them. The ultimate fate of these souls was not something those who had taken refuge inside the belly could see, however, as they were no longer on the material plane.

Those survivors instead found themselves in a massive, sprawling labyrinth of flesh, organs, and winding intestines. Inside was a nightmare of noxious odors and foul tasting meat carved from the walls, but it was livable. They did not want for food and they were sheltered from the harsh elements of the material plane. It was here that Yusri and his followers resided as the convoy of creatures made their way further west, flying over Mezzethera, then the edge of Zalsaram himself, and finally to the ocean of Yggdrasil on the other side of the playground. Eventually, the creatures touched down on an island devoid of nearly anything but sand and a few scattered bits of flora and fauna.

They opened their maws and the people within the dimension of their interconnected inner workings stepped out into the blinding light of Phos. However, an entire generation had lived and died inside that terrible gut, and so when they looked over the barren wasteland they now found themselves in, they cried out in joy to the clear skies above, the fresh air, the clean sand beneath their feet, and the joyous waves of the ocean behind them.

Spoiler

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Rollover AP 2 +5 = 7

AP 7 - 3 = 4 Create Plane: Lungut: A winding maze of tunnels and huge cavernous areas with qualities similar to that of the inner workings of a living, organic being. The Lungut is the interconnected workings of the creations of Passaer, as well as Passaer himself. Anything those creatures swallow or eat that either cannot be digested or that they eat in excess of what they can digest, is transported to the Lungut. The plane is infinite, but layered, and every individual creature has their own seperate layer of the Lungut. Within the Lungut, magic is limited, gravity is increased, and the plane is sentient to a degree, being able to be somewhat sensed and controled by the creature who is connected to the particular layer of the plane.

AP 4 - 2 = 2 Create Populace: Monsters:

Fei Jing - Massive, whale-like creatures capable of "swimming" through air as well as water. They tend to stay near water and feed on fish and other water organisms that stay near the water's surface, but have a tendency to attack and swallow whole things not normally in their diets, such as livestock, sentient races, and even boats or houses, should their attention be drawn to them. If something enters their mouth that they cannot normally digest, it is transported to the layer of the Lungut associated with that particular individual Fe Jing.

Tonduka - Smaller versions of Fei Jing closer in appearance to dolphins or porpoises. They have similar diet and habitat tendencies to their larger cousins. However, their interactions with sentient races is less predictable. They may circle and fly closely around an individual playfully, then dart away harmlessly, or they may torment the creature, continuously pushing the creature down, taking bites out of them with their sharp teeth, or occasionally tearing them to shreds. Also unlike Fei Jing, they tend to travel in small groups, rather than alone.

Juba - Large, manta-ray-like creatures that tend to travel in very large swarms, and are highly aggressive. They do not feed on anything from the sea, and instead seek out land creatures. When they find one, they latch onto the creature's head, enveloping it in their black, leathery forms. They will then suffocate the creature, feeling off of the air from the creature's lungs. This process, although agonizing for the victim, is not always fatal. If the victim survives, the swarm will usually let the creature catch it's breath for a moment before another Juba latches onto the creature's face and starts the process over again. They will continue this until either the creature expires, or until the entire swarm has eaten its fill.

[Gunhaven]

Dur'Kala the Jagged Spire
Grenzo looked upon His creation and smiled. The Aram had started to spread from their humble beginnings upon the Jagged Spire while the Rix Maadi slowly spread throughout the Playground like a fire; bringing warmth and joy to those villages touched by them. In the last few blinks of this month he felt the call of the Sun and flared forth in those campfires of His followers before ascending to that higher plane of existence.

Spoiler: AP

Show

Spending 3 AP for DR6 and Lesser God. Got Gluttony and Trickery; spent 1 on Aram, Jagged Spire, and Aram Airlines. for the requisite 3.

Leaves me with 2 for Rollover!

[Shmee]

Rollover
Dawn of the Fifth Divine Month

[Deadlykire]

As the new divine month started Kyre kept the promise made to Tiamat. The darkness returned so the spread of shadow dragons across the world might be eased. Kyre's deals with Tiamat had increased the death and darkness in the world and so Kyre's strength increased.

Spoiler

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0 AP
0+5 Rollover
5-3 Gain Domain: Death(Darkness)
2 AP Remaining
Use Artifact Cloak of Shadows: The Long Night begins again

[Erebus Tekra]

Yggdrasil, The Void

Yggdrasil rests and rests. She feels her strength returning. She returns her focus back to creating new life. She creates the jungle wildlife, including dinosaurs, on Heimdal. But the life soon begins a chaotic cycle. As the forges replace organic life with metallic structures, it returns to Yggdrasil before being reincarnated. Her gift of reincarnation helps slow the process, but the life is no match for the great engines. So she blesses her life with a new gift. The gift of camouflage to the engines. She doesn't wish to completely corrupt her creations, hoping the natural may triumph again one day. The mundane that dies and is reincarnated has a chance of returning as non-organic life.

Spoiler

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3 AP
+5 Rollover
-2 Create Populace: Jungle Life
-1 Create Concept: Inorganic Reincarnation

Spoiler

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1d10 chance for mundane life to be reincarnated as gems, stones, or metal

-3 Raise DR 10 (Mundane reincarnation 1Ap; Jungle Life 2 Ap; Inorganic Reincarnation 1Ap)
2 AP

[Gunhaven]

Grenzo above the Playground
As night fell, Grenzo gazed upon the land He once inhabited. He could make out the huddled masses in their towns, afraid of the cold and dark land they inhabit, the swamps full of despair and pain, the jungles where life struggled to continue on, and He hated it. Yet it wasn't all gloom and doom; He saw on the pathways of the land the merriment that His disciple and company brought to their stops. Still they moved only as fast as their horses allowed, beasts prone to fear and death, and turned His gaze to find a possible solution.

He found it in the foundries of Purity. There the dwarves had engines powered by technology, faster than any natural beast, and doing such mundane tasks so far away from all the fun and partying! Yet when He tried to interact in person He found that His way was blocked. Through observation He felt he understood the concept well enough to improvise the rest.

Atarka and Rix Maadi, on the Playground
Grenzo whispered to Atarka the means to wretch life from the jaws of winter and spread His joy to the far corners of the world while she dreamed of fire and food; both of lower quantities than desired. Summer had turned into Winter and with it a lower excess within the Rix Maadi. The Cauldron gifted to them still kept the group fed and the party goers, those who gave into the welcoming bonfires lit by the group's arsonist beginnings to herald their arrival at least, intoxicated yet it did little more than that and dread soon returned as the Rix Maadi left. Yet Grenzo provided for His devotees and the next morning Atarka gathered the entertainers to her warm embrace.

To the huddled masses she said "The Cackling Flame provides! Through His guile He has glimpsed at a new marvel to excite and surprise the partiers! He has taught me the basics of it and now I ask you, as the Ringleader amongst this caravan, to aid me in realizing His vision!" After a cheer through the individuals bonded with fire, Atarka raised her wings and continued "Those of you who can work steel I call upon you! Those of steady hands I need you! Finally those of you who are strong I beseech you! The rest of you will aid those who are tasked with improving our caravan to suit His vision!"

Another cheer rang out as men and women moved about camp and set to work building the first prototype engine and rails for it to ride on. While it took several errors it was soon revealed that the Cauldron had a secondary use as the flames combusted under the right circumstances. Trials and errors passed after this discovery as a railway was created, formed of stone and wood, that could support the caravan's new wheels. A dozen blinks of His eyes, a few months of unending winter, and the Rix Maadi began the slow process of laying down the framework of a railway along the common paths between villages, partying hard all the while, and somehow not causing horrific accidents yet.

Spoiler: AP

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2 AP Rollover + 5 AP for Lesser God = 7 AP
Artifact, Cauldron of Endless Firewater (Nourishment): Beat back the cold and darkness of winter with firewater!
-1 AP: Teach Populace/Create Concept: Combustion Engine powered trains. Turns out Firewater is good for more than drinking! Through guile and some patience the basics were stolen by the dwarves and given to the Rix Maadi where it was experimented on until eventually it worked. Through further experiments it was found that a pathway for this new engine could be created by stone with wooden wheels to ride on. It hasn't blown up yet and slowly spreads from village to village.
6 AP remaining.

[Shmee]

The Playground

Once more the Cycle continued. Phos ushered Winter to the Playground, while the Underplayground enjoyed its long summer. With Winter gripping the Playground in its icy clutches and the Long Night blocking out Phos' sun, the situation for the mortal races would be dire indeed. Crops were failing, plants were dying, game and food slowly become scarce as the temperatures continued to plummet.

Spoiler

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Use Phos Charge: Pestilence on the Playground: Winter
Use Oussia Charge: Nourishment on the Underplayground: Summer

AP8= 10-2: Buy Portfolio: Seasons
AP5=8-3; Buy Domain: Sun
Actions done: Created Artifact Phos (3), Created Artifact Oussia (3)

[Alber]

The Vagrants eeked out a hard living on the island of Joro, farming what little they could and subsisting primarily on the bounty of the sea. Wanderlust had gripped many of the citizens, as generations of travel had left many of them uncomfortable with staying in one place for so long. Even from within the Lungut they frequently had to migrate to find new areas where detritus might shore up, so moving around was now simply natural to them. It was through this that they discovered the other islands, and subsequently ran into both breeds of Engine. While terrifying, the Vagrants managed to find that the Engines had useful qualities, particularly the First Engines, which could provide not only wood, but also metal without having to tunnel into the loose sand and dirt of Joro. So it was that a hardy few traveled to Vioarr, and slowly began mastering the art of fighting the devouring trees, felling them and developing more and more effective tools to their craft.

Meanwhile, Yusri was having a crisis. He had been elated when his long journey had finally came to an end, and of course he was happy to see his people surviving, but they were not thriving. This land, as he was the only one of them who had lived long enough to remember, was certainly not paradise; it was not even better than what he had come from before. Passaer continued to whisper assurances into his soul, but they were starting to come off as hollow. He needed something different, something to show him that this community could become something great, something better that the motley collection of outcasts they started off as.

And so, Passaer provided.

Before Yusri's eyes, something massive fell from the sky, embedding itself deep into the ground before him. It's sheer black form, towering straight and proud seemed to be trying to claw it's way back up to the void from which it came.

Yusri ran to the hulking stone, his hand reaching out to touch the cool, smooth surface of the glass, as if to convince himself what he was seeing was real. As he touched it. Words suddenly began to inscribe themselves into the side of the tower, creating bright white lettering topped of at the highest point by a carving of an eye. The words themselves were instructions, codes and rites to live by. They emphasized the importance of hardship and strife as things to make one strong, and detailed rites for those most devoted to Passaer to follow. Finally, and most prominently, dead in the center, were a group of virtues for all of Passaer's people to live by, no matter their station or role.

Yusri read these virtues out loud, as a crowd started to gather around him, themselves curious as to the nature of the strange thing from the sky. Meanwhile, Passaer thought quietly to himself of the true nature and purpose of each quality as he heard Yusri read them.

"Restraint: So that you never give in to impulse or whimsy."

Repression: So that they may never have an outlet for their frustrations.

"Loyalty: So that you never raise hand against those you owe your allegiance to."

Obedience: So that they may never escape their shackles.

"Duty: So that you may never fail in your responsibilities."

Obligation: So that they may never shirk the service of their betters.

"Honesty: So that you never speak falsely against your fellows."

Contract: So that even their words will bind them into servitude.

"Etiquette: So that you may show proper respect at all times."

Pettiness: So that they may insult themselves for the most minor of slights.

"Thrift: So that wealth may never be squandered."

Greed: So that wealth may never leave the hands of the wealthy.

"Courage: So that you may never flee from that which you should stand against."

Brashness: So that they may feel fear, yet be unable to act upon it.

"Faith: So that you may take solace in that no matter what happens, it is for a greater purpose."

Delusion: So that they may allow themselves into suffering through the lie that it has meaning.

Yusri was heartened. With these rules unifying them, giving them purpose and identity, he believed they could grow into something more. He stood in front of the black wall and spoke to the crowd. "Our days of stumbling in darkness have ceased! From this point forward, we are no longer cast-offs and wanderers. With these words, we shall become a unified collective of people all working to tame this new land! We shall conquer it, we shall master the metal forests, the seas, the desert, all will have no choice but to bend to our unwavering resolve. No matter the trial, they shall not break us, for we have already endured the worst this world can offer. Just as this tower stands firm in the shifting sands, so shall we stand firm against anything that opposes us."

Yusri takes off the sack of stones from the fissures of Demiourgia, the first time since then he has ever done so. He takes one of the smooth rocks and holds it up, showing to the crowds that the material many of them still carried with them was the same as the tower now before them.

"We have carried this tower on our shoulders. We are linked to it. We know the burden of carrying it and it has now been lifted! Let this tower symbolize that end. No matter the hardship, one day it will pass. It will be lifted from you and pass into memory. We are this tower. We are these stones. We are perseverance itself!"

The crowd cheered at the words, the speech speaking to the heart of a culture defined by pain and suffering, and elevated by the exuberance of Yusri. Yusri then gathered everyone who could be spared from keeping the town fed to modeling carving the giant stone bolt, crafting a sprawling, multi-storied interior, all the while keeping the words inscribed on the outside wall pristine. The process took many, many blinks, during which the land passed from winter to summer, and with the summer came the 2nd Long Night. As such, the awaited respite from winter never truly arrived, but this did not discourage the new nation. They searched far and wide for food wherever available, and looked inward towards their holy words. Through them, many found a connection to them, seeing a larger wisdom told, even where there had been none intended by Passaer. They began to draw power from the words and the rites inscribed there, some taking the power from Passaer and others taking power from the ideas and dreams of the peoples thoughts of the words themselves. These new powers allowed them to continue working, eating, and surviving even into the Long Night.

Spoiler

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AP 2 + 5 = 7 Rollover

AP 7 - 1 = 6 Create Concept: Bushido - Monk and Wu Jen classes made

AP 6 - 1 = 5 Create Concept: Codified Rites - Favored Soul and Shugenja classes made

AP 6 - 1 = 4 Mold Land: The Black Glass Tower

Vagrant organization is now remodeled into the Obsidian Kingdom with the capital city of Journey's End, located on the desert island of Joro in the Underplayground.

[DoctorGlock]

Spoiler

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Eucle, Zahav Zalal; Dream Neutral Ground

Eucle dones the guise of the old man once again wearing the dark cloak the dowsing rod and the cauldron. He slips through his own open maw leaving once again his body behind. There he remains for a long instant looking at his own form being engulfed by the physical Neutral Ground and the echo it carries in the dreamland. He can still feel himself being devoured by Neutral Ground and in turn substaining on the cities dreams. To him it looks like a perfect rebirth cycle, a perfect loop of offer and demand. By this exchange, by this collaboration, all become greater than their parts.

In this guise he wanders the city bringing new knowledge to the inhabitants. His most trusted Gardeners and members of the Syndicate are taught all they need to maintain the city. They prove eager learners and soon learn how to further control the dreams and energies that surround them. To his traders he teaches the secrets of the mind and how to connect to each other in a way not dissimilar than he is now connected to the city. To his gardeners he teaches them the dreamed secrets of wood and how to grow it further with gramarie. Then he leaves each group with a quest, one group is to ensure that they all are connected and their dreams feed their god, the other is to ensure that Neutral Ground grows strong. Satisfied as ever with his followers the old man walks the dreams again.

In his wandering he meets the first human that followed Passaer. The sensation is strange, seeing the city through his wonder is in a sense liberating. Elves, dryads and trees took it as an untaped garden. His followers had grown on the city and were to accostumed to it. It was the visitors that felt awe. And a strange feeling and sensation that the God couldn't truly identify. It was a strong desire of wealth for wealth sake, almost selfish. Being wealthy Eucle was alien to greed, it was something that he had a hard time processing or understanding. He clearly was capable of providing wealth by sharing it why would someone not see it? Trade provided benefits. Money not exchanged was wasted money. Still this concept was... interesting.

Playfully the God gathers their dreams and in his own image he creates a tiny exotic intelligence. It's mind is strong for the wealth god feeds it the greed dreams of those that followed Passaer but also infuses it with a part of its own divinity. He shares some of his mind into the nascent intelligence giving it a spark of its darkest desires. Unity through trade, everlasting commerce, continual desire for more... He rips his own body, tears his own flesh, splits his own mind. He sculpts it like a statue, a perfected mirrored image of himself cast in marble and gold. And he cares for it like a good gardener with the greed of his own followers. Then within the dream, as the prime is not capable to contain it, Zahav Zalal the Greed God is born.

"Wake up."

Can a dream dream? Certainly mortals had them... dreams of wealth, of power, though the distinctions were oftentimes very blurred. Of desire for more. Common strains throughout these dreams. Dreams that often translated into waking nightmares of treachery, deceptions, exploitation and the feverish sweaty beating of countless hearts in tandem: more... more! MORE!

And from enough wills and hearts, a perverse form of worship can arise. Idolatry in a primal sense, faith focused towards a goal, a purpose... an ideal.

Zahav-Zalal swamp through the mindscape, touching eddies of corruption, sullen gold in the red glinting of the womb of will... so close, and with a desire to touch them. For... more.

'Wake up'

Less words than sensation flickered through the dreaming, but guided by an impossible will, the rogue Idea was grabbed and torn towards one of those eddies. Close! Closer! More!

He woke.

Gold veined marble eyelids peeled apart, revealing eyes of purest opal with irises of ruby. Diamonds crystallized at their corners as the light of existence burned his eyes and he poured from the cocoon of dreaming in a wash of molten gold and platinum.

It hardened with an effort of will, coating the floor with expensive gleaming as the newborn god desperately froze it, determined to prevent... value... yes, that was the concept... from running away. Even as he thought it, the realization struck-- here, it was no more than than thoughts and dreams, it's value no more than a phantasm. But he could feel the disparate contrails of mind, singing to him a familiar dream, longing for him to touch them, weave them together into something far beyond their frail strains of self...

His purpose flickered dimly though his eyes as he opened his mouth to speak his first words, molten metals bubbling from his lips as he coughed them up.

'Where am I? Who are you? And where is my... stuff? Value? Wealth? Yes, that. Wealth!'

[smashingBrawler]

Color & Neiag, the World

The shadows covering the world, along with the loss of warmth from the new sun were all foreign concepts to the newly 'born' Clora. "What are these shadows, tale spinner, what is this cold? What has caused them to appear?"

"My newborns will be fine in this chilled time – we will spend eternity cold, but what of others… what will happen to those who are unlike us?" Clora’s glowing sockets looked to Neiag for insight.

Spoiler

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Initial AP: [7]
AP Gain:
Rollover [+3]
Remaining: [10]

[Zelphas]

Kethneciel, Oussia, The Underplayground

As Oussia dipped below the Playground and Zalsaram was shrouded in the Long Night, Kethneciel observed the Underplayground. He reached out his hand to those travelers who had come by Passaer's guidance, but found that the whale-like god had already given them laws and ordinances to follow. Kethneciel was pleased; instead of creating law, he instead gave them prosperity, so long as they followed the laws of their god. Inevitables fell once more from the Cosmic Mother's eye, reaffirming Passaer's dictums upon those that disobeyed.

Kethneciel sat in his judgment seat, feeling the power of law grow.

Spoiler: Actions

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4 AP + 5 AP (rollover)=9 AP

-1 AP (Nourishment): Rather than simply surviving, the Obsidian Kingdom finds itself able to expand and establish more outposts, spreading its strict legal system.

-3 AP (Raise DR to 7): Actions taken: Create Artifact (3 AP), Create Concept (Impartial third parties) (1 AP)

5 AP Remaining

[thethird]

The Black Glass Tower

As Yusri and his Vagrants had gone through Neutral Ground many had stayed behind. Still the numbers of the migrating group hadn't diminished, if at all they had grown. The wealth god had an interest in trade and so did his followers. Thus many Gardeners and members of the Syndicate had elected to follow the humans. Travel had been long and trivulations plenty. But when they finally reached a destination they thrived with the knowledge and gifts that Eucle had provided them.

The dream trees, that had been saplings when they had left were grown and cared for. Far from the dream goddess' waters they grew only through careful dedication by the gardeners. The trees grew thin in sinuous curves, white wood topped by hued leaves. Tended dutifully by the Gardeners they provided shade, fruit and a vivid image of all the virtues Yusri had preached.

The Syndicate followed suit, trading the few resources they had sparingly growing the trees and starting to stablish networks. They had since their inception been masters of coin and trade. Travelers and wandering merchants. While the Gardeners tended the home the Syndicate went beyond. Financing and ensuring expeditions to gather new resources and form outposts. With time and the blessings of the Law god there will be a dream tree at each outpost providing shade and fruit.

Eucle Zahav-Zalal, Dream Neutral Ground

Eucle smiles as he does so he reaches for his hood and pulls it backwards. He reveals his head, an average male human head, who is covered in trimmed white hair but doesn't feel old. There are no marks of age in his skin and the only thing that could reveal it is hidden, for his eyes are bandaged with a black cloth. Still it looks squarely at the new formed god.

"You are within a dream. A fragile dream of what I'm trying to create. Careful more than a whisper will break it. As for who I am... I am Wealth. Your stuff? Your stuff is desire, vacuum and void intention. You are the striving hunger for more. You don't need stuff and yet you crave it. Others will do so too. You are the thirst and I'm the drink, brother. Will mortals be bettered by it or grow flawed? I wonder."

Spoiler

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AP 2 + 3 AP from rollover
AP 5 - 2 Gain Portfolio (Psionics Lucid Dreaming)
AP 3 - 3 Gain Domain (Psionics)
AP 0 Nourishment (from Vault of Plenty artifact): Make dream trees from The Underplayground (near the Black Glass Tower) grow and become central parts of the flourishing community. Their fruit, wood and dreams should provide light and warmth even in the Long Night.
0 AP remaining

[Gunhaven]

Rix Maadi Trainlines, among the trade routes and toward Neutral Ground
It was inevitable. The first Playground Railroad slowly connected first far flung villages and then the more central towns. In a dozen blinks of His eyes the arsonists turned entertainers turned engineers found themselves in contact with those outposts aligned with the Syndicate. Atarka took the guise of the fiery haired woman that had first tempted that far off village to commit arson together and approached those Syndicate agents who were tending the tree, a keg of the Firewater under her arm. With a loud yell she said "Hello hard workers! I have a deal for you! But first, drink deeply of Our Firewater and be merry!" Without waiting she produced two ivory mugs and filled them with the clear liquid, shoving them at the Syndicate agents.

[thethird]

Rix Maadi Trainlines, among the trade routes and toward Neutral Ground

The members of the Syndicate not knowing what else to do drink. They are good drinkers and enjoy the booze. As they do so others see them and approach them. Seeing a potential trade opportunity, which beggets a celebration, they go for their own crude alcohol. Fruit licour distilled and mixed with salty dream water shines with the rainbow colours. There is a note of magic that threatens to push anyone drinking it into a deep comma. They pass a bottle to the fiery woman with drunken smiles in their faces.

Boggart Village, The Dark Grove

Some Gardeners reach the Dark Grove. At first they await far from it. But as winters grows worse they venture into the dark woods of the forest. They carry with them sapplings and fruits. Some of those fruits are those that Hagatha cursed but treated by the Gardeners to be even more toxic and venomous. They seem to be really interested in Heartwoods and will show a great deal of attention to alchemy if shown to them.

Caravan of the Liliputians, Challenge Mountains

A small trader's group reaches the caravan and asks for permission to share fire and shelter due to the harshness of winter. They carry with them small trees, that they kept in safe pots, along with several goods to trade. If admitted on camp they will try to create a trading agreement with the Halflings, accepting most esoteric forms of payment such as songs or secrets as well as proper material wealth.

[Burden King]

Whispers.....such gentle whispers....they speak of suffering....of pain....they feel....fear...?

Spoiler: The Daemon's Appearance

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An inky shadow swam through the dreams and nightmares that made the great ocean of Mezzethera, gliding across the bubbles of both godly and mortal minds that held within the gifts and curses of the great Dreamer. The shadow stopped, every so often, to latch itself upon a nightmare, preferring it's taste over all else. Euphoria was such a sweet taste, so sweet it burned the creature away from it. Light, happiness, hope, beauty, all these things tasted of the most foul concoctions to it. But nightmares, oh nightmares. Dreams turned sour from the stresses of mortal life, from the horrors within the world, from doubt....and from death....It was all such a magnificent feeling to consume.

There, that one. The shadow creature attaches itself to one dream bubble, belonging to a young mortal human girl whose mind is saddled with the sounds she hears in the dark. Her imagination is running wild with fear, and the nightmares gifted to her by Mezzethera are amplifying it so beautifully. The fear was....no, not fear. Fear was to weak for this divine, pleasurable flavor to be called. No it was....terror.

The shadow being shook if ecstasy at the word and flavor, the two feelings mixing together to a near orgasmic level of enjoyment. The power of it is so great, the mute demon of dreams lets out the first sound any being within the cold waters had ever heard out side of dreams. The sound even reached the child's dream, which only added to her terror that something was taking pleasure in her torment. The shadow creature calms, it's mind fuzzy as it begins to long for more of the Terror she had tasted....

.....She.....I....I am a 'She'....

The demon thought, which was accompanied by it looking at itself, then the dream bubble

....I am a 'She'....and....I desire....desire....terror....such sweet Terror I wish to feel....It is not enough....

The demon launched away from the little girls dream bubble, flying through the water at unseen speed an purpose. HEr wake popped many a dream bubble, waking both god and Mortal before they were meant to. She had smelt it many times before, a dream to create suffering....but that suffering always made the sweet sweet smell of Terror arise. It was time, the shadow would attack the bubble, feed on it until it was dry. It would feast and gnaw and suckle and consume until nothing was left and nothing could ever more come from the being to the world of dreams.

The impact shook the gods dreams, sending a rumble throughout the dream scape as the walls were assaulted by the parasitic creature that desired the power and pleasure of it all so much. It drained and drained from the dream and the Divine creature, taking everything from both. Spiders, poison, darkness, doubt, pain, suffering....Terror.....It was all hers. Hers to consume and create. The shadows form began to solidify and take shape, being dragged into the mind and the mortal realm of the Suffering Goddess. A roar of pleasure was heard throughout the void, the throes of creation of the newest goddess being heard by all within it's ignorant consumption of the dreams.

and in an instant, it was done. The dream self of the Goddess was taken, and consumed completely and utterly, severing the goddess from Mezzethera. And, within the bowels of some caves touched by Hagatha's poisons and disease, a single spiders egg hatched, and the Demi-goddess of terror open her eyes for the very first time.

.............Hungry............

Aoir'Yian, The caverns of Shadow

Aoir'yian, her body small and young for now as she grew into her new physical form. She couldn't swim anymore, the waters of her mother gone from her senses. She was still hungry, and feed again. She groaned out into the darkness of the cave, then began to screech out into the darkness. The screech echoed out through out the cave, and resonate din every shadow and every dark veiled land in the world, able to be heard by all. Hear by all, even those just now born.

From the shadows, born from the cries of the goddess of terror, creatures sharing her daemon heritage formed in the shadows. Their shapes were each unique, but all shared a few features that would become the hallmark signs of their race. hey were daemons of shadows, encased in a veil of shadow and darkness that held back what they truly were made off.

Some were made of a swarm of spiders clinging to each other in the shape of a human, some made of the rotting corpse of a loved one, and some even still made of the still screaming faces of unknown victims.

Spoiler: Yian-Kin Example

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These forms were illusions, pulled from the nightmares and fears of those their creator had feasted upon when she was no more then a feral daemon in the void. Their very presence oozed the residual terror they were forged from, and it soothed their Goddess.

As she began to grow in power, she flicked her hand out, commanding them to go out and gather her more sustenance, and to spread it as thoroughly as possible so it may be farm later on. The shadows melted away, the darkness squirming with movement for a short time before all was still once more.

The age of terror had begun, and it would only grow more and more powerful as the centuries went on.

Spoiler: Divine actions

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13 AP=15 AP-2 Ap Create populous: Terror Beasts (or the Yian-kin" )
Despite their name, Terror beasts are not any less intelligent then other races. They are named such because of early on contact with other races being highly negative, as the Terror beasts went out into the world soon after their creation and began to terrorize the populous in any way possible. They are highly effective at this, due to their natural affinity to shadows and skill at stealth. They also hold a distinct ability to change the way they appear, to better breed terror in their targets. Terror beasts, after explaining from a rather passive one to researchers, feast upon terror, and it is near like a drug to them. Much like their progenitor, the Terror Matron Aoir'Yian, they desire terror more then any other emotion to feed upon. Doing so enhances their powers for short periods of time, and the more they have the more powerful they can become.

However, all Terror beasts know to bring a fair share to their mother goddess, who desires the sweet taste of it more so then any single Terror beast. It is said amongst the population that Aoir'yian's hunger is equal in measure to the entire population of the Terror beast people on the planet.

Their bodies are quite mortal and physical, however due to their nature as magical creatures their biology is vastly different from normal creatures. Each Yian-kin unique in that their bodies are made of select items and materials that will aid ether powers later in development to instill terror in people. Commonly this includes various kinds of vermin, Decaying flesh of various age and composition and origin, and rarely materials that are so uniquely terrifying, they defy any other categorization. They aren't very strong, usually weaker then a human of equivalent age, but they are incredibly quick when moving within darkened areas. Also, due to their Daemonic origins, they are not entirely tethered to this plane. For brief periods, Yian-Kin can become incorporeal, allowing them to move through solid objects, or avoid damage from attacks directed at them.

These abilities would make for a deadly creature to face, but surprisingly, much opposed to widely held belief, Terror beasts rarely cause intentional physical harm to others. While they delight in causing terror and fear in people, they avoid killing people. Partly because they do not wish to kill their source of Terror, but also because they are largely pacifistic in nature. However, like all creatures, there are those who do kill and do so often. These creatures are usually for more powerful then normal Yian-Kin, and reviled fo both their blood lust and their tendency to hoard terror for themselves and not share with other Yian-Kin and Aoir'yian.

12 AP=13 AP-1 AP for Creating a Pestilence:
Aoir'Yian and the Yian-kin begin to Terrorize the long night, appearing as phantoms, ghouls, monsters, and other aberrations to the people of the world to Terrorize them. People traveling at night, walking about their home alone, showing fear to something within their lives, anyone is a target, and therefore everyone is a target to the Yian-Kin to feed their Terror matron and mother. The effects are variables, but anyone who becomes a target is routinely harassed by the Yian-Kin, and forced to feel as much Terror as possible so they may feed upon it.