Lords of Creation in the Playground (IC)

[Man on Fire]

Neiag, Clora & Tiamat - Challenge Mountains

Answering her brother's call, Tiamat lands on the Challenge Mountains "Why have you summoned me?" the Queen of Dragons is rather irritated from being called from one place to another. "Our enemies are on the move, and so I too must prepare for the inevitable."

"Mererly to let you meet a new diety, that I'm proud to cisider myself father of." Neiag makes overly theathrical gestures, as he presents Clora to Tiamat. "Clora, the one who, with o little help on my side, conquered clod hands of death. And you you, Clora, I want to introduce great Tiamat, the Queen of Dragons. I believe you could become valuable allies."

[Shmee]

Neiag, Clora & Tiamat - Challenge Mountains


"Mererly to let you meet a new diety, that I'm proud to cisider myself father of." Neiag makes overly theathrical gestures, as he presents Clora to Tiamat. "Clora, the one who, with o little help on my side, conquered clod hands of death. And you you, Clora, I want to introduce great Tiamat, the Queen of Dragons. I believe you could become valuable allies."

Tiamat's attention turns to Clora, a horrifying feral smile creeping up upon all five of Tiamat's heads. She had found the names she was seeking. "Indeed, I am Tiamat the First Daughter and Queen of Dragons. I have already heard of your accomplishments from a rather reliable source, but I am most curious to hear how you two acomplished this great feat."

Naturally who knew what Tiamat would do with this information. Even as she speaks, Phos begins to set upon the Playground and Oussia ushers the warmth of Summer once more.

Spoiler

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

[thethird]

High Engineer Zok, Caves of Shadow

Zok wasn't the brightest. He wasn't the luckiest. Nor was he the best. Neither was he the most pious. Yet he had a particular set of skills that marked him as favoured among his peers. He was good at saving money. Others might have called him shrewd with good reason but he didn't care. In each penny saved he paid reverence to his God. As such when he found tunnels that could be used as train tracks instead of those constructed with Gramarie, that had a hefty cost in crystal, copper and other materials, he took the chance.

Zok lead his lightning train, 179, into the dark caves building the tracks and energy collectors as he went.

[Toxic Mind]

Purity's Fall

Pernieth asked little of the gods of the world. He had never been particularly unreasonable, he thought. His people lived across the world, and he asked only that their lives be free of suffering. And sometimes mistakes were made, and Pernieth forgave for the actions were in ignorance, rather than malice. But some things could not be countanced.

This living city represented everything that Pernieth despised. It consumed all before it, and while the God of Nature cared nothing for the pathetic fleshlings it extinguished, it had now consumed over half a forest and showed little signs of stopping.

Since the dawn of creation, Pernieth had dreamed of a weapon to combat the insufferable spread of artifice, of un-life that parodied true life in a mockery. He was created with one thing in mind - perfection. And this city was anathema to all he held dear.

Pernieth retreats to the heart of the forest. He communes for many days with the First Tree, and together they forge a weapon unlike any before.

The Omega Seed

It is the end of all artifice, a plant designed for a single purpose - to reclaim the world from metal and worked stone. It was, in truth, insidiously simple, a facimile of the very city it was created to destroy. It consumed all artifice, and replaced it with growing plants, trees, vines and branches.

The first target was obvious. Pernieth stands before the encroaching city, among his trees, and as the city reaches out once more to expand, Pernieth holds forth the Omega Seed. A single spore falls into the street and the effect is immediate. Vines burst forth from the spore, consuming the stone and replicating it in living wood and leaves. And it shows no sign of stopping, for the Omega seed will continue until all of Purity is consumed and transformed.

Pernieth cannot smile, but he is pleased. This was the fate of all who sought to overthrow nature. To be consumed and replaced, and even in defiance, to make nature stronger.

Spoiler

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6=9-3: Artifact: Omega Seed (Alter Land) - the Omega Seed is capable of replacing artificed land, be they cities, factories, or simple houses, with living plants. The city remains similar in structure, save that now it is composed of plants. Purity is the first target of this bio-weapon, as the city is rapidly being consumed by flora, leaving behind a living city of plants, still just as habitable, but no longer stone.
5=4-1: Mold Land - Omega Seed because no charge (yet)

[Erebus Tekra]

Yggdrasil, The Void

And so with her continued creations Yggdrasil grew in power. She felt a strange connection to her first creations, the life that swam within the dreamless ocean. She could feel the presence of more engines in this vast expanse of water, not from the engines themselves but from the avoidance natural life had of the regions where the engines sat.

Spoiler

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2 AP
+5 Rollover
-2 Gain Portfolio (Life)
-3 Gain Domain (Water)
2 AP Remaining

[Zelphas]

Oussia

As the Summer Sun rose over the Playground, Kethneciel observed a world drastically changed. Half of the largest continent was covered in the city of Purity, which was itself being ravaged by sudden plant growth. Skeletons, some glowing and some not, walked about of their own volition, as did fresher corpses that by all rights should be dead.

Kethneciel shook his head. Partiality and emotion had once again held sway over the world while he had been below it. This would have to be remedied. And yet... Kethneciel paused, unsure. Each side had grievances, and each side felt wronged. The Law was unclear; therefore, the first duty of the god of Jugment would be to make a clear ruling.

For the first time in the Playground's history, four mechanical "tears" fell from the top corner of Oussia's Pupil. One of these tears vanished into shadow as it fell, but the other three landed upon the earth.

Purity

In the center of the massive city of Purity, the first teardrop fell, cracking the stone beneath it as it landed. What rose up from the blast point was unlike any Inevitable seen before. The massive shape towered to three times the size of a man, covered in ornate golden armor. The mechanical flesh underneath the armor is as black as midnight, and the eyes beneath it's sculpted helm glow with the power of Law. "Purity. You claim a grievance against Pernieth. My master would hear your justification." The Marut simply stood in his crater, repeating this message in a booming mechanical monotone, until it was addressed by a person in authority.

The First Tree

The Marut that landed on the First Tree landed softly, slowing his fall so as not to damage Pernieth's domain. "Pernieth. You claim a grievance against Purity. My master would hear your justification." The Inevitable spoke as slowly as the trees, waiting once it finished its address for a response before repeating it.

Neiag, Clora, Tiamat--the Challenge Mountains

In the midst of the gods' conversation, the third tear fell upon the playground. The Marut that came from this teardrop was dwarfed by Tiamat and Clora, but was still an imposing figure. "I seek the creator of the...unliving. You have a grievance against the god of death. My master would hear your justification."

Erebus

Kethneciel reached out to the final tear, depositing it at the Gates of Erebus. The MArut looked upon the Gatekeepers, and spoke. "Your master claims a grievance against the creator of the unliving. My master would hear his justification."

Spoiler: Actions

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5 AP

(-0 AP) Mark the Chosen x4: Marut I-IV, sent to gather information on both sides of the two conflicts that Kethneciel can observe. These are Huge Marut, significantly more advanced than the "average".

Just for clarification: Kethneciel is trying to see if he should support one side or the other in these disputes, or simply stay out of it altogether. He doesn't mean to sound high-handed or accusatory, but... he's the god of Inquisition and Retribution. It comes with the territory.

[Toxic Mind]

Pernieth, Marut - The First Tree

When the metal man falls from the sky, he is met by a creature roughly its size, an ent. "Greetings, one of metal. Know that it is only your restraint that buys you the right to speak with the Forest. Follow me."

The ent leads The Marut deep into the forest, where the trees grow ancient and tall, their branches ever upward reaching, where only a faint patina of light reaches the ground. The Forest itself feels alive here, and the whispering of the trees is almost constant. The Marut is lead until it reaches a still pond, crystal clear waters undisturbed by any living thing beyond a single white lotus, that veritably glows with power.

As the Marut stands, it can feel a presence behind it. Pernieth himself, towering over the Inevitable, easily twice its height and made entirely of bark and leaves and vines. It taps the Inevitable on its head with one long tendril-finger. "Life" Pernieth says, gesturing around himself to the expanse of trees and woods, the lake and the ent. He picks up a handful of dirt, which even before the Marut's eyes becomes a miniature forest. Then, a wave of stone and metal overtakes the forest, replacing it with buildings and roads and streets. "Stagnation" he says of the scene. Then a green blossom from within the city, replacing it just as the Omega seed had to the true Purity. "Restoration." Pernieth says finally, then waits.

[Gunhaven]

Grenzo floating about in the void.
Grenzo bathed in the effects of the summer moon as the effects of the harsh winter gave way to celebrations, His Rix Maadi insuring that everything was done in excess. He turned an eye toward the Playground and learned then that what was a party without fuel? He drew upon His disciples experimentation with the firewater, especially interested in the Aram that had decided that the best way to get around was by strapping themselves into unstable engines and shooting off of Dur'Kala. With a cackle He turned His gaze upon the Aram busy working on bigger, faster, more reckless rockets.

Dur'Kala the Jagged Spire
Tuk has spent months trying to outdo his comrades in their unending desire to build bigger rockets that could connect all of the Playground. In his moment of despair the bonfire that every Aram had in their warrens blasted to life and a voice that they had only dreamed of hearing again boomed forth. "My children! You have pleased me with your use of My holiest of liquids! On this day let it be known that the Aram will spread My word to all corners of this world and any others!" Amongst cheers from the Aram "scientists", Tuk felt the warm Kiss of Grenzo upon his forehead. It was then that he knew how to create an engine capable of breaking free of the grasp of their world. In a fevered pace he quickly constructed the first prototype and launched it in a week. Amongst cheers of the entire Aram horde teeming on Dur'Kala the rocket lurched into the air and into the void.

Of course the Aram hadn't worked out all the kinks but from that first mighty step they set their eyes on the stars and moons above, coining the term "Aerialists" to unify them. Those rockets that were no longer necessary were shipped throughout the Playground to aid the other races in the Aerialist vision of a future where one could get drunk on fuel and dreams while not held down by gravity.

Spoiler: AP

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8=5+3 Rollover
6=8 - 2: Gain Portfolio "Ethanol", that which fuels the arson and feeds the gluttony!
4=6 - 2: Create Organization "Aerialists" Taking Rocketry to the next level, the Aerialist have the singular goal to punch through the air and into the vast nothingness of the Void. To go boldly where no Aram has gone before...except those already on Neutral Ground.

[Lady Tialait]

The Ur-Priest Council, Purity

The council is aghast with the actions of a divinity attacking their city with such an attack. This had created discontent and strife among it's factions.

"This is unacceptable! Out city of iron and stone turned into a garden by the hands of some upstart minor God! We hold the power of Zalasram and The Visionary, with the blessings of the Cosmic Mother! Show him his error! Send the Red Dragon Adepts to burn his tree down! Hire the Orphaned Kings and build a second city on his outrageous tree!"

"We cannot risk a war with all of nature! We must retreat to Challenge Mountains and the protection of the holds! By Zalasram, we cannot win something like this."

"We have Dred Olg captured! We let that abomination attack this new problem, we can destroy all of them with the power of the Avatar!"

The argument raged for some time, attack, retreat, pray. All those options weighed on the council for hours, debating and yelling. Till one of the students of Agni spoke up, not an Ur-Priest, but a lowly Artificer who had read the teachings of Agni, and learned under one of the sacred twenty.

"I am a simple craftsman, but I do not see the problem. According to the tome of Agni, the best channel of pure Gramaistic energy is plant matter. This attack has not harmed anyone, why not simply send in the Gramarists to set up a massive power system? You can broker peace with the nature Lord, and perhaps even gain the alliance instead of a foe?"

The Council stopped arguing, and dismissed the Artificer. He was found dead a few hours later, it was ruled natural causes.

Gramarists moved throughout the city quickly adding Heiristic circuits, and Arcanodynamic alterations on the buildings creating a massive power network within the city. What they had learned from the Goblins was added, Ethonal engines were used to power the whole city. Quality of the advantage citizen's life was increased. Haggatha's pestilence making food sources low was now countered. The city was on edge of becoming thankful to Pernieth. Again, the Ur-Priest acted upon the populous.

"Our Grand City of Purity, rumor has it that you thank Pernieth for your new boons. That would be an incorrect assumption. We of the Ur-Priesthood took a portion of his power, and made this great new advancement for you! Rejoice Purity! The Ur-Priesthood has shown you, Gods are simply power sources for our use. Nothing more, and nothing less."

Cheers boom across the gathering courtyard till they fall silent with the arrival of the Marut. The Ur-Priests have the creature escorted to their chambers to discuss what had been said.

"Our Grievance? We can only assume you mean the bringing of his weapon against us. We were suffocating in dark caves, unable to expand. So, we took wild lands and built city. Purity required living space."

[smashingBrawler]

Clora, Neiag & Tiamat - The Challenge Mountains

"I greet you, Queen of Dragons. Originally Neiag bound me from a number of bones into the form I take now - I am held together with his divine magic. I very quickly learned I could use the magic he invested into me to raise the forms of the dead - soulless they may be. I also realized something, an option for mortals to become like us without losing their knowing - by binding-" She was cut off before should could finish as it was then that the teardrop fell.

Marut III asked its question, and Clora responded. "This interruption is uncalled for, however you will be answered. My 'grievance' with the god of death is simple: as more creatures die, their souls will inevitably arrive in her domain. The numbers of these souls will invariably outgrow the living - My actions are intended to ensure a balance between the living and dead. By creation of the undead, I have created a third party, with a goal to ensure that no one side ever outnumbers the other two combined. Even now I am certain the ratio is distinctly in favour of Kyre." Having completed her reasoning, she turned back to Tiamat, the eternal glow in her sockets remaining, as always, completely the same.

"By allowing them to bind their souls. If the soul does not depart, the body can reform eternally. So far all actions my creations take are directly in aid of the living for the reasons I just told the interrupter - The numbers of the dead vastly outweigh those of the living, I simply wish to better balance the scale.

Vek'nul & Ironbark - Forest (Demiourgia)

"This makes sense. Almost. As you have said, your souls do not return. The souls of all creatures go to one deity's realm. The cycle forces life to need to create eternally, but allows death to simply watch, wait, and grow in power. Death limits your kind in order to empower itself, does it not? - Would rebirth even be needed if you were not made to die in the first place?" Vek'nul could understand where Ironbark was coming from to an extent - but even now he began to understand his creator's plight. What death gained from life, was souls. These souls would grow in number so long as anything that existed died. This was unacceptable.

Spoiler

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Initial AP: [0]
AP Expenditure:
Utility Artifact (Tendrils of Restorative Light [nourish]) [0] - The tendrils glow, and continue to aid the living.
AP Gain:
Rollover [+3]
Remaining AP: [3]

[MetaKnightFan]

The Keymaster, Oxid, Zahav Zalal, Eucle, Yhrzallus - Dream Neutral Ground, The Moon

As the ground started to shake, being yanked from under their feet Eucle moved. Fast. His calmed static pose flowed into swiftness. He yanked one of his hands pressing it against the screen with force. The image readjusted as he went through it and started tampering with the data rich information cables behind.

"Oxid. To the council room. Now. Implement all safety protocols. Divert power from wherever it's necessary."

The Wealth Dragon extended his wings and raised flight. He had taken turns, lefts and rights, ups and downs, to reach the point they were now. This time though he just moved in a straight line. The city itself appearing to fold as Eucle's chosen delivered his will. Outside as Neutral Ground leaves the ground the city changes too.

"Plans take time and preparation Yhrzallus! Next time make sure all the citizens are in and that the city can wistand the void before doing something like this."

Despite his words the wealth god sounds almost excited. Perhaps he hasn't had as much time as he wanted to implement it but there was a plan in place. As the city ascends a stony webing starts surrounding the trees. Black, red, orange and purple coral starts to shape around Neutral Ground enclosing it.

Such colorful display takes power and lightning starts to fail within the Dream room of Neutral Ground.
Unconcerned Eucle extends his free hand. As he does a reed springs from the wall forming from the tree itself. He takes it within his hand and starts speaking.

"Citizens of Neutral Ground worry not. Connections to the ground will be made momentarily. I apologize for the waiting and I'm truly sorry if any of you got separated from kin. To those on the ground keep calm and carry on, we are coming for you. To those on the city would you kindly relocate to safe dreaming areas, don't stand outside unless you've got an Indigo security clearance."

Imachinary indicators start to form around the wealth god, oxygen level, temperature, power and coverage start to display complex numbers and percentages that only a God of Accounting can process at such blinking speed. When Neutral Ground finally reaches the Void and a Bismuth Moon starts to form under it the indicators are stable. All seem to be within acceptable parameters for the God sighs relieved.

"Master, there are two problems." Oxid voice sounds distant. "We've got you-know-what staring at us."

"Guns?"

"Guns"

"Divert as much power to the engines as possible within reasonable parameters. Wait. Get some engines. We will need some orthogonal engines in the four cardinals and ascending engines at the bottom. Magic can work too... Wait. You know that. Don't you."

"Yes. Might I make a suggestion?"

"Sure."

"Send the one responsible as a diplomat. It won't hurt more."

"Good. The other problem?"

"Nothing bad, we've got some non dreaming visitors on board. I'll deal with it."

"Good. Keep calm and carry on."

Eucle then turns at Yhrzalus making sure that the reed is far enough not to catch his voice.

"Problem one of being here. Mortals can't survive on the void. I dealt with that one. Problem two of being here. Other things can and might be territorial. You deal with that one. I suggest diplomacy."

The wealth god smirks.

The Keymaster, Oxid, Zahav Zalal, Eucle, Yhrzallus - Dream Neutral Ground, The Moon

Yhrzallus nods to Eucle. "Future Secrets shall be warned. Though this Secret was meant to be told now, even if nothing forced it to. It is the unexpected that allows something to flow uninterrupted." With those words, the Sorcerer King simply ceased its presence in the Neutral Dream Ground.


The Keymaster, Oxid, Zahav Zalal, Eucle - Dream Neutral Ground, The Moon

With Yhrzallus gone, the Keymaster bowed respectfully to Eucle. "Worry not, Wealth God. A dialogue will be established with the other. We will be neutral, even when Neutrality is an affront. We shall become more than we are, even if we already are that in our own eyes. All shall see our premise." And so, he turned around and began pacing out of the Dream. "Until next we meet."


The Keymaster - Neutral Ground, The Moon

Now, out of the lucid dream of the city, the Keymaster made its way through the real world and its surprised inhabitants in the chaos created by the sudden shift, finding in his way those who had communed with Yhrzallus, who quickly flocked to him, seeing the Chamberlain return.

"My stay shall be short, but there is much work to do in behalf of my king." He spoke. "We are neutral. We are part of this city, but the city is now part of this new land. Our land. A place neutral and uninhibited by what lies outside its bounds. Even if all that lies outside may still inhibit us. Freedom has been given, for you to ascend into a new state of being. This new land, this Moon now resonates within you, as the World once did. My King requires one of you to listen to it. The first to let the power of the Moon within you, the same way you've accepted the Secret of Yhrzallus, and the Secrets of Wizardry and Witchcraft within you."

A woman amongst the Listeners stepped forth. "I will listen to the Moon." She was a witch, as appearance would suggest, having fully embraced it within herself.

And with that, the Keymaster reached for a key within his chain necklace, and crossed the mortal's chest with it, going all the way to her heart, as he then twisted the key and unlocked the power within the witch. The process did not harm her, for the key and its crossing through her body was nothing other than energy at that point, no longer tangible matter as the rest of the avatar's body seemed to be. And within her, the moon resonated, and made her shift into a different state of being. Her humanoid form shifted, twisting itself until it assumed the form of a large bird. And so, one of the first of Yhrzallus' lycanthropes had been created, the Raven Mother.

The Keymaster, Raven Mother - Neutral Ground, The Moon

The mortal experienced her new form by taking flight and soaring through the city, only to later land back near the other Listeners who observed this new being quietly but in awe.

"I am thankful for being gifted this Secret, Keymaster. What is to be done with it?" She asked.

"The secret is a gift, perhaps a curse. And as the first of those bearing it, you are tasked with offering it to others, others who accept our philosophy. Others who revere the moon and my liege for its creation. You shall be the harbinger of a new state of being for those willing. Never shall one unwilling either be turned or deserve it, though some may. For we are neutral, and to make it a pestilence would make your condition a sickly one. A banality, spread to any and all. It is not what my king wished when he imparted that Secret to you. As the one to hold it, you must be as him, and gift only the worthy and willing. Punish those who would seek it for pure self interest, with no notion of the weight of what they carry, of how different they shall be even if they remain at heart the same. That is your task, Raven Mother." He then presented the large raven with a feathered adornment upon her head, and gave her an approving nod.

"Now, other matters are pressing. You must carry on without our whispers for some time. Though he can and shall whisper to you, in due time, perhaps." With that said, the Keymaster moved to leave Neutral Ground.


The Keymaster, The Moon

As he stepped outside the bounds of the city, the Keymaster gazed towards the Visionary in the void, its cannons pointed at the newly formed Moon. It was a threat to neutrality, and so, he was to be the one to speak to it, if it could speak when he got there, and was willing to respond.

Gazing down at the soil, the Keymaster seemed to allow his body to once more surpass the material and become energy, his feet and cloak melding into a fluctuating gathering of energy, his head then once more pointed upwards, as he took off into the void.

The Keymaster, The Void

The Keymaster moved himself closer and closer to the Visionary, stopping close enough to speak to it, though distant enough to not trespass. "I greet you as the Keymaster, Chamberlain of the Sorceror King of Insanity, Yhrzallus, the one to ascend Neutral Ground and creator of the Moon that now floats so high above. My arrival is not a hostile one, and I seek peaceful talk in behalf of my liege and Neutral Ground."


The Raven Mother, Neutral Ground

With the Keymaster gone, the Listeners flocked to the Raven Mother who assumed once more her human form. Amongs the listeners, some were already willing to accept the Secret of Lycanthropy into themselves, and being loyal to her god, she extended them the gift. Those who watched the creation and had not yet joined with the Listeners, and those who had their interests piqued were also welcome to join and seek a part within Yhrzallus' cult, as a crowd began gathering around the Raven Mother.

Spoiler: The Raven Mother

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Spoiler: AP Expenditure

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11 AP = 6 + 5(rollover)
9 AP = 11-2 (Create Populace: Yhrzallus' Lycanthropes)
9 AP = 9-0 (Mark the Chosen: Raven Mother)

Spoiler: More Detail on Yhrzallus' Lycanthropes

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Yhrzallus, God of Madness and Secrets unleashed the Secret of Lycanthropy upon the Playground, allowing mortals who learn this Secret to attain a different state of being, and transcend their original forms and embrace an animalistic persona.

The First of his kind of Lycanthropes was the Raven Mother, one of Yhrzallus original Listeners, and also amongst one of the first witches. She has been tasked with extending the mad god's offer to mortals willing to embrace the ways of Yhrzallus. During the long nights, a form suited to withstand the cold is a tempting offer to most, although the contract comes at a price.

Lycanthropes do not sleep, for they are now both themselves and a Beast, sharing the same consciousness, but different forms. The Mortal poses as the 'day' form of the Lycanthrope, whereas the Beast is their 'night' shape. As such, when shifting to either form naturally (through the passage of day to night), the Lycanthrope is considered as if they had slept eight hours, and is once more invigorated to continue their activities.

However, Lycanthropes can still shift form at will (Under same DC's as standard Lycanthropes), though doing so will not restore their energy the same way as the natural cycle does.
Yhrzallus' Lycanthropes are all considered natural ones, not afflicted, as theirs is not a disease, but rather a different state of being. Therefore, Lycanthropy cannot spread to others by being harmed by one of their kind. (Essentially, the Curse of Lycanthropy feature is replaced by the Sleepless homebrew feature)

Yhrzallus' Lycanthropes are also permitted a form that is Hybrid, a combination of both forms, as other Lycanthropes are capable of achieving, with varying visual degrees of which form is most predominant. As such, some may choose to look more humanoid (Have less fur/feathers, beaks, snouts, etc) though they do retain the abilities of this form regardless, while others may chose to look far more feral though with a vague humanoid bearing.

Lycanthropes who mate amongst themselves must be of either a compatible animal form or a compatible mortal form in order to bear children. In case of matching animal, the child will be born of the mortal race of either the parents, but not both, though will share the same Animal form, while parents that have compatible mortal forms will have a child that is a hybrid of both races (if possible) or of the same race as the parents (in case of them being both of the same race, of course), though will have a random Animal form, most befitting of the personality of the child.

For all purposes, animal forms should be considered Neutral in matters of Alignment, as Yhrzallus does not see any animal as inherently evil or good. Aside from the changes listed here (the Neutral alignment, Hybrid form fluff and the switch of the Curse of Lycanthropy feature with the Sleepless homebrew feature, consult the 3.5 DnD info on Lycanthropy for stats, DCs and so on.)

[Deadlykire]

Kyre Death's Citadel, Erebus

And so Death had its answer. The dragons wanted no part of it. In fact they demanded a bribe to become involved. "So be it," Kyre thought to itself. And so The Long Night persisted, "I will find the immortals one way or another." So Kyre sat within Death's Citadel thinking on a punishment for those that dare spurn death. It did not take long before one came to mind. Then another. So Kyre was left to decide, how would death show all that it was needed, essential to the world.

Spoiler

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2AP
2+5 Rollover
7AP Remaining

[Man on Fire]

Neiag, Clora, Tiamat, Marut - the Challenge Mountains

Neiag kept quiet, observing and gathering informations. The events he set in motion already started to be interesting.
"Maybe my magic held you together at the begining, but its no longer true. You quickly cast that away and sustain yourself with your own divine power. Would I perish, you will live on, my child."

[Shmee]

Clora, Neiag & Tiamat - The Challenge Mountains

"I greet you, Queen of Dragons. Originally Neiag bound me from a number of bones into the form I take now - I am held together with his divine magic. I very quickly learned I could use the magic he invested into me to raise the forms of the dead - soulless they may be. I also realized something, an option for mortals to become like us without losing their knowing - by binding-" She was cut off before should could finish as it was then that the teardrop fell.

Marut III asked its question, and Clora responded. "This interruption is uncalled for, however you will be answered. My 'grievance' with the god of death is simple: as more creatures die, their souls will inevitably arrive in her domain. The numbers of these souls will invariably outgrow the living - My actions are intended to ensure a balance between the living and dead. By creation of the undead, I have created a third party, with a goal to ensure that no one side ever outnumbers the other two combined. Even now I am certain the ratio is distinctly in favour of Kyre." Having completed her reasoning, she turned back to Tiamat, the eternal glow in her sockets remaining, as always, completely the same.

"By allowing them to bind their souls. If the soul does not depart, the body can reform eternally. So far all actions my creations take are directly in aid of the living for the reasons I just told the interrupter - The numbers of the dead vastly outweigh those of the living, I simply wish to better balance the scale.

Normally Tiamat would have been fuming at this uncalled for interruption, however she keeps calm as this interloper gives her the opportunity she was seeking, as she continues to smile at the newcomers.

Erebus

As Kyre is busy brooding, a Shadow Dragon approaches with a message for his eyes only. Its opens its mouth and speaks in a familiar voice.

Spoiler

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A name was whispered in the wind sooner than I expected:
Neiag.
Naturally... you also picked this up from the wind.

[Phobia]

Hagatha - Where Neutral Ground Once Was

"People come and go so quickly here." Hagatha said, not amused by this disappearing act many pulled on her. "Without even the curtosy of a goodbye. And they call me the savage one."" She said in her raspy voice.

"Nice of that lady to leave me a little present, though." Tha old crone laughed and clasped a now solid snowflake in her hand. Though she'd destroyed one in the timestop she'd kept one with her as well. A snowflake out of time that would last forever. And just maybe give her a little of the Visonarys, well, vision.

The snowflake left a burn in it's shape to her hand so she created a necklace for it and put it around here neck. Her eyes flickered at the pain but, honestly, she loved the burn. A snowflake so cold that it burned the flesh.

Then she pressed on. Many things to do after all. But first she must find this place called Purity. Or not. Whatever she felt like doing.

"Interesting." She remarked dryly before walking through what looked like a piece of the land itself had been ripped off. Water was pouring in at places but there was land in others and her normal sister-trees still stood. From the ground she looked straight up at the new moon.

"I admire your rampant destruction." Hagatha spoke a sincere admiration for this. The mortals still here on the ground were frantic and terrified. It was pretty swell. But she spotted something even more intriguing to her divine eye; strange little creatures practicing a crude version of her alchemy she'd taught to her Bogwart followers only monthes before.

"What are you building there? Maybe I can lend my, heh, expertise."

Cho'zak & Nimneka - Deep Dark Grove

"Of course my friend, of course. What are you in the mood for? This is my forest and I rule it's happenings." Nimneka boosted as he allowed the various undead passage, for the first time having the undead walk in these dark woods.

Using Spriggins he beckons then onward until they reach the true form of the monstrous Weirdwood. His horrible tree-mouth widens into a terrible grin as he spots them with his own eyes. Spriggins stand around unused. Up close they almost appear to be another type of undead themselves: a dryad zombie.

Bodies lay in a pile, tortured and discarded but well-preserved by the bog. There isn't anything living around this area besides the mighty tree himself. "Make yourself at home." He says before laughing madly.

Gurgle-Gurgle, Ôl , Bogwarts Tribe, Gardners - The Dark Grove

"No, new friends, my place is here." Gurgle-Gurgle said with a smile while shaking his head. "Let this heartache and suffering lead you to a better understanding of yourself." He suggested before looking over at the excited Bogwart who had been close to him most of the conversation. "You should go.."

"Me? But father, I'll miss you." He croaked out a reply sadly. But he didn't exactly look like he wasn't curious. The Dark Grove was a pretty harsh place.

"Good. Take the pain of loss and use it to build something beautiful." The tribe leader said before looking back at Ol. "This is my son, Squick-Squick. He's a little excitable but he a good boy. Maybe you can both build a better life. And remember that if you ever find yourself back in the Dark Grove you have friends in the Murkfin tribe."

Glowing Skeletons, Oxid, Ôl, Squick-Squick - Dream Neutral Ground

Squick-Squick gathered up many supplies and a small group of as many allowed, including the curious child Bogwart from before, and went through with the elves taking the secrets of alchemy with him. He was a trainee Ranger/Witch Doctor too, after all.

He croaked in surprise at the chaos here. It was unlike anything he's ever seen in the bogs. Sometimes he'd hit the mushrooms too hard but this place was true insanity.

"How can I help? I didn't come along just to lay on a lillypad!" Squick-Squick said boastfully and with a grasp on the common tongue than his father.

Spoiler

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AP:0
Roll: 3
AP: 3

Create Utility Artifact (Enlightenment through Pain) [Teach Populace] [3]: Perhaps infused with the Visionary's vision? Basically it's a snowflake that is so super cold it burns the flesh to touch but that pain spawns mad ideas and abstract concepts.

Mark the Chosen (Gurgle-Gurgle Murkfin): Leader of the friendliest and only officially met tribe of Bogwarts, the Murkfins. Nice older (for a Bogwart) guy. He's a Ranger/Witch Doctor.

Mark the Chosen (Squick-Squick Murkfin): The still young and able-bodied son the tribal leader, a great warrior. Ranger/Witch Doctor like his dad. Left the Dark Grove because the Dark Grove sucks to live in and to experience the world.

AP: 0

[Toxic Mind]

Vek'nul & Ironbark - Forest (Demiourgia)

"You understand little of Death, then. He cannot gain power by the souls of the dead, for were he to do so, all the gods would rise to strip their souls from his care. He is a gatekeeper, little more. To become else would defy one of the oldest pacts in existence. No, we do not fear death. When our lord creates the Endless Forest for us, our souls will join him there, for Death himself has no claim to us beyond that we must pass through his gate." Ironbark is confused somewhat by the vigorous hate that this creature seems to demonstrate towards the Lord of Death. He wonders if there are creatures out there that share a similar hate for his Lord, and how their hatred manifests itself against all of nature.

Spoiler: Kyre

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This is Ironbark's understanding of Death, ported from a partial understanding by Pernieth.

[thethird]

Aram, Glowing Skeletons, Hagatha, Yueh, Kli - Where Neutral Ground Once Was

As people keep working on their things a small rift appears over the lake. At first it just looks like an optic trick but when a pair of hands sprout from inside it and start pulling it open revealing Neutral Ground's familiar visage behind. A dwarf peeks out of the hole and smiles brightly.

"Move it fourty feet to the left. Twenty feet down."

Then the Neutral Grounder closes the rift. On the shore people start to gather. Thirty minutes later a new rift appears this time on the shore. The dwarf jumps from it onto the ground. He picks a reed coated in copper and speaks into it.

"Connection stablished."

Then he waves to the masses gathered.

"Sorry for the wait, to those of you who want to go back into the city please follow me."

Ôl, Glowing Skeletons, Squick-Squick - Dream Neutral Ground

Neutral Ground had stabilized soon enough, most citizen had gathered in safe havens and dreamed. Yet there were the few who had risked outside, and the fewer that had had an accident. Ôl moved fast always keeping an eye on Squick-Squick and making sure the Bogwart and the skeletons followed him through the dream areas. Neutral Ground's geometry was complex at the best of times and with so many dreamers the overlap was bigger. Yet the elf knew many shortcuts.

"This..." he said as he reached a tall boxy building lacking windows or doors. "is a safe haven. Here kin can dream safely and connect to the city. Mellon."

As he speaks the word a silver lining erupts atop one of the walls surface and it suddenly vanishes along with a portion of the wall.

"Come in."

Ôl conjures a vial from his pouch containing a shining substance and walks into the darkness. There are many people there. Humans, elves, dwarves, kobolds, genasi... They all seem to have gathered in groups and are talking in Neutral Ground's trade tongue a smattering of languages. When they see Ôl they turn to him. Surrounding him some even get to close and pass through him. Squick - Squick is looked suspiciously and the skeletons aren't even looked at. Several Neutral Grounders stand where the skeletons are as they aren't even capable of sensing their presence.

"Dreamer Ôl is it safe now?"
"It almost is, don't fret. Yet the city can use more happy dreams in this time. Are you happy?"

A silence encroaches the room. There are some shy nods and whispered affirmatives but for the most part they are silent. When Ôl looks at them they avert their gaze.

"Five of kin didn't make it to the haven Dreamer. And when the ground moved the roof did too. We lost four under a log. Two more have received irreparable damage. They are in pain we can feel it."

"Bring us to them. To their bodies."

A few of them start to move but they suddenly stop and gaze upon the Bogwart. Ôl puts his hand on Squick - Squick shoulders protectively. The elf also reaches for one of the Skeletons touching him.

"It's fine he is friend. Squick - Squick would you cover your ears?"

When the Bogwart does a human and a kobold touch Ôl's arm and whispers an untillegible word. Suddenly the room is devoid of everyone else. Well, they are there. They simply are in metallic tubs, curled upon themselves sleeping. A heavy white wood log has falled onto some just squating them flat. There are two others that have received injury. A kobold has a thick sliver through his abdomen and a man has lost his legs under the debris. They are the same two that stand with Ôl, Squick - Squick and the Glowing Skeletons.

"You are in pain?"

"Plenty."

Responds the Kobold.

"Squick - Squick would you kindly prepare the mushrooms you gave us on the grove?" He turns to the Skeletons "We've been told you are capable healers would you kindly aid us?"

Son, Mal, Eucle - Dream Neutral Ground

Son was one of the few Dryads that had been born in Neutral Ground from a Dream Tree. Her bark, like the trees that formed Neutral Ground, was white as snow. What her bark lacked in pigmentation her leaves more than made up for it. A metallic rainbow of color sprang from her temples in a ferocious mane.

Son was angry, as angry as a dryad can be. Many trees had died upon Neutral Ground's ascension. Her own tree among them. Someone was going to pay for it. She would make certain of that. In fury she was preaching for anyone to listen. Speaking against inaction. Demanding retribution. Asking for vindication.

Her irate discurse had gathered many followers. Humans, elves, dwarves. They listened to the dryad and nodded to themselves strengthening their zeal. As she spoke the dream changed around them accomodating their new perceptions. At first it was something beyond normal sight, then it was a small change there and another. Changes started to snowball ascending in tempo and when Eucle reached them they were changed. Garbed in simple pristine armor made of dreams and wood, armed with long everflowing prismatic staff of bismuth they were ready for vindication.

Not even the god's presence calmed them as they clenched their fists and pounded the ground with their sticks.

"Silence. You speak of things you don't understand. It was necessary."

"Show us! Explain it to us dreamer!"

The crowd roared demands. The wealth god looked at his followers behind his mortal guise. Sometimes he doubted that Neutral Grounders recognized him without his draconic shape. It was a blessing and a curse. Yet he complied. He weaved an imachinary image. The illusion showed Demiourgia being taken under Purity, and then before the extending mechanical metropolis reached Neutral Ground it show how it flew to the moon. The next image was of Purity being smitted by the First Tree and turned into a forest.

"Necessity."

"Father fights alone we can't allow Purity's deeds to go unpunished."

"We follow a path of Neutrality."

"Kin was killed by Purity. Our city has been forced to the void by Purity. We cannot stand iddle."

"Don't you fear the Wealth God's reprimand?"

The dryad stands silent for a moment and most of the crowd looks down. Armors start to vanish and spirits start to calm down. It is then that a small child stands forward.

"Grandmother said, "Neutral Ground is everyone. No Gods, no masters only kin." Grandmother was kin. They was lost on a trade contact with Purity. We fight."

As one the mass steps forward armoured again this time with full cuirasses solid as conviction. Eucle looks at them. His dark cloth eyecover failing to hide the pride in his expression. There is the potential for loot and prosperity, there is always of course the benefit of a common enemy a common cause. Economy would rise. Neutral Ground would prosper.

"You are an uncorregible lot. Listen well. Remember, always remember where you come from. Neutral Ground shall be in your hearts and minds." Spheres of bismuth shape on their chest armor over their heart. Equal spheres form over their helmets at eye's level filtering the world through a multicolored lense."You will always remember the Wealth God and his lessons for you carry his symbol." The bismuth sticks bifurcate at the base, forming a dowsing rod. "You will bring prosperity to Neutral Ground through fair trade and neutrality. You will offer your services to the people and the gods. Payment will be asked and given. It will be a transaction. A good transaction. Understood?"

"Aye!" They beamed in martial unison.

"Then go now before I change my mind."

Son, Mal, First Comradery - Forest (by The First Tree)

As a gramaric way tears itself close to the First Tree the Neutral Ground's First Comradery moves towards Pernieth shade. They advande in orderly ranks, humans, dwarves and elves. At the front there is Son with her head bare holding her helmet in one of her hands, around her neck hangs a chain with many accorns what little remains of her tree. By her side marches Mal busy with a collection of reeds covered in bismuth. Behind them comes the Comradery proper and behind those rust monsters have been rellegated to pack beasts carrying crates of dream wood and bismuth. The group stops before reaching the forest canopy and Son and Mal enter alone in the plant's god domains.

Spoiler

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AP 0 + 3 from rollower
AP 3 - 0 Mark Chosen (Son): Son is a dryad and member of the Gardeners she is also the First Comradery comanding officer. She is a business oriented person, while she used to enjoy growing plants since her tree died she is more worried with making those responsible respond for it.
AP 3 - 0 Mark Chosen (Mal): Mal is a young human, the youngest of the Comradery, and acts as communications officer and standard bearer. His youth and boldness have also maken him the Comradery's lucky charm.
AP 3 - 0 Nourishment (from Vault of Plenty): Moon bismuth is specially afine to gramarie. It can count as any one planetary metal.

AP 3

[MetaKnightFan]

Raven Mother, Neutral Ground, The Moon

After having gifted a few with Lycanthropy, the Raven Mother found herself wishing for more. For in Neutral Ground, there'd be those who would inherit her god's gift, of course, but far below lied the Playground, and many of those within it hadn't yet heard of Yhrzallus, or of his gifts. It would not do. The witch took her raven form and took flight once more with little warning as she swooped into the portal and traversed into the world itself.

Raven Mother, Aram, Glowing Skeletons, Hagatha, Yueh, Kli - Where Neutral Ground Once Was

Arriving at the former site of the city, she landed on the ground and once more took human shape, the act itself drawing attention of a few. The witch cleared her throat. "I have come to tell those willing to listen of Yhrzallus, God of Secrets, Sorceror King of Insanity and Maker of the Moon. I am the Raven Mother, mortal thrice-blessed by my liege with secrets that have ascended me into a new state of being. Those willing to accept Yhrzallus' ways may too have a chance of being as I am."


Yhrzallus, The Void

The newly formed moon resonates with the Sorceror-King's power, as Yhrzallus binds further power into it, whispering chants of hidden power, the words projecting themselves as a strange aurora that could be seen over the neon grass fields of the astral body. From that point onwards, the bismuth moon would be tied to the god, and he tied to it just the same. It was a place of transformation, as shown by the rise of his own Lycanthropes. It would be the birthplace of many other things, or perhaps the demise of them, in time. All that could be said with certainty is that this was the bedrock of grander things to come. For though now it lied nearly lifeless, more designs were to be woven upon this place, to whatever end that might lead things.

Spoiler: AP Expenditure

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7 AP = 9 -2 (Gain Portfolio Element: Change)
4 AP = 7 -3 (Gain Domain: Moon)

[Toxic Mind]

Son, Mal, Oak - The Pulse of the Forest, The First Tree

It would have taken many weeks to walk from the edge of the First Tree to the Forest where Pernieth resides, where the oldest trees other than the First Tree herself grow. Fortunately for the Neutral Grounders, they travel my dreamways, and thus are deposited past the many villages and forest dwellings of dryads, and on the stepstool of the Forest. Upon arrival, one of the trees uproots itself and steps towards the group. "I am Oak, first of my line. You bear the countenance of the sons and daughters of my mother and father, yet you are strange to this land. I do not know you. So tell me, sister-sons and daughters: Why have you come here?"

Spoiler: The First Tree

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Just for clarity, the First Tree is the continent. The Forest (Pernieth's and the first one ever) is at the center of the First Tree's branches. There are countless forests and villages across the First Tree, populated by elves and dryads and ents and trees (obviously)

[Ralasha]

Ignus,
The Burning Lands, Ravenglass

Ignus inscribes runes on her hammer, and glances about at the various mortals now inhabiting her city since she last checked it.

Elves, Dwarves, what genasi remained behind... Even humans.

A sad state of affairs really. All of these different peoples living in one of her greatest creations.

At least they appreciate it. The streets are clean, the buildings maintained... and her peoples on the other side have a different race with which to trade.

She steps out occasionally, making her presence known, and doing this or that minor divine deed. Telling stories of ages past, or of the creation of this place, and it's origins.

Curious children find themselves being taught to read and write at the feet of the Eternal Flame.

Why do they gather here? The security of the walls? Is it the relative safety of an isolated place? How did they discover it, or know that is was here? Where do they come from?

Ignus begins asking her questions of them.

Spoiler

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+3 AP -3 AP=0 AP
+3 AP: Rollover
-3 AP: Gain Domain Rune

[Gunhaven]

Aerialist in the remains of Neutral Grounds
In classic Aram fashion, the engine that they were trying to fix up exploded shortly after they started it. Those Aerialist who were watching over nodded enthusiastically before they discussed among themselves for a minute. It was during this heated discussion that Hagatha approached the remaining Aram and made her proposition. With toothy grins they couldn't decide who would confirm their desire to accept aid, each trying to yell louder than the last. Their moment of merriment was cut short as the portal to the moon above was created.

When the portal was stabilized one of the Aram stepped forward and punched his comrades to stop infighting. With a proud smile he said up to Hagatha "We Aerialist! We going to pierce the heavens with rockets given to us by mighty Cackling Flame! Testing stage though. Rockets are dangerous!" The Aram around the speaker nodded enthusiastically.

[Lady Tialait]

Dwarven High Chief, and Court, Challenge Mountains

Ikino had been silent to much of the world for a long time now. Only his favored children knew what had been happening, the God of Purification had fallen ill. The greatest healers the dwarven lands could find had been employed, liquid from the spawning pools of the Kraast had been used as a elixir to heal their dying creator. None of this ended up mattering, Ikino had passed beyond the veil his body immolating upon his divine spark leaving him. The High Chief was there when this happened, he watched a divinity die before him. The patron of his race was dead leaving behind only two things, sorrow, and his weapon. A weapon best not touched by mortal hands, a weapon that the Fire God had pronounced true flame, never to cool. He decided to announce the death of their divine to the masses. This was the second great gathering, the first was when the Artificer Agni started the philosophy of Purity. The High Chief had a pair of Ur-Priest flanking him on either side and ten Dragonfire Adepts stood before him. He had worn his finest, with his glorious crown.

"Our lord has passed from a wasting that has been afflicted upon him. It was our fault, our piety faltered, and our Divinity passed as a result."

He turned to the Ur-Priest on his left, "It was you! Your ways have doomed our deity to this fate! I decree the penalty for such blasphemers must be death!"

The Dragonfire rained down from the mouths of the adepts stood in front of the Chief, destroying the pair. Panic in the holds ensued, and hundred died. Ur-Priests, Artificers, and Gramorists slaughtered, enforcers killed by the magical engineers protecting themselves, and some killed simply in the crossfire. During this chaos, Ikino's weapon went missing. The end result of this chaos is that not a single trace of Agni's legacy remained in the holds.


The Ur-Priest Council, Purity

Again, the Ur-Priests gathered in secret, the rejecting of Agni in the dwarven holds had caused some unsettling among them. They could never go home again, but not all was lost. A few had escaped, and brought them a new power source. A massive stone case was opened so the Council could see their new acquisition. The Tetsubo of Ikino, it glowed with the last ruminates of his divine spark. Quickly they had the divine weapon placed into a generator, harvesting it. The glowing hot metal rod now being drained of it's powers slowly began to cool and stop glowing.

Purity now had everlasting power.

The Keymaster, The Void

The Keymaster moved himself closer and closer to the Visionary, stopping close enough to speak to it, though distant enough to not trespass. "I greet you as the Keymaster, Chamberlain of the Sorceror King of Insanity, Yhrzallus, the one to ascend Neutral Ground and creator of the Moon that now floats so high above. My arrival is not a hostile one, and I seek peaceful talk in behalf of my liege and Neutral Ground."

The Great city of the Visionary turns to the Keymaster, echoing through the streets the Visionary's voice rings out. "What business do you have with me? Elemental."

[Alber]

Yusri, Journey's End

Yusri's focus was divided twofold for the next few hundred blinks. If he was not working to make sure the new transition of powers ran smoothly (the priesthood were not happy at all about being relegated to a single aspect of government. Worse, one of the newly founded noble families was comprised of merchants with strong ties to the Syndicate, with several being Syndicate members themselves) then he was working with Passaer on a new concept of power. Through very careful control of one's breath, formed in the lungs and then expressed through the movements and vocalizations of the mouth, mortals were able to tap into the greater network of interconnectivity of the entire world. Through this, their words could move mountains, control the minds of others, change the way things worked on a fundamental level.

Yusri thought these concepts a good match for the newly established bureaucracy, as their rules, regulations, and restrictions also shape the world on a grand scale, and this power would allow those words to resonate within the laws of reality themselves. Thus, the bureaucrats became the keepers of this new power. These advancements proved well timed, as the seemingly endless night was taking a great toll on the people of Obsidian. Fishing was quickly becoming more akin to mining, as thick sheets of ice needed to be painstakingly chipped and melted away to allow access to the life-giving ocean underneath. The power of the Truebreathers allowed food to be more readily available, and the bureaucracy was able to much more efficiently organize and ration the distribution of food when scarcity did arise.

Satisfied with the state of things, Yusri made his final preparations. Through the new power of truebreathing, he had managed to subdue a tonduka, one of the flying dolphin-like creatures that had been created during the Journey, long enough for him to tame the beast. Loading it with a relatively small amount of supplies, Yusri headed topside, to the Overplayground, to see what had become of the land of his birth.

Spoiler

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AP 6 - 1 = 5 Create Concept: Bureaucracy: Classes - Truebreather and Nunsame

These are simply classes from Kellus Truenaming with the fluff slightly adapted, with Truebreathers taking the place of Truenamers, and Nunsames taking the place of Lexemes. Mechanically they function exactly the same to those classes. If we get another wiki or other centralized point for information I will go into greater detail on how these differ from a lore perspective.

[MetaKnightFan]

The Keymaster, The Visionary - The Void

"The business of negotiation. My lord values neutrality, and wishes no particular harm to you. Therefore, speaking in the name of the god of madness, I ask what must be done for your hostility to not be directed at those who dwell in the Moon." The Keymaster responded, giving a respectful bow. "Whatever devices you might have, our presence is unlikely to influence them, for my liege and I dwell in Secrets. I am beholden to those, and nothing else."

[Rainshine]

Caravan of the Liliputians, Challenge Mountains

Swifee thanks their guest, nodding as he elucidates. “So these.. what was it, Metallics? They live here, make the mountains their home? Never hurts to have more friends, and it sounds they might have a more favorable temperament to such as we travelers. Aye?”

Mianmi

Turns brought change to the lands. Cities grew with unnatural haste, and the world seemed a smaller place, and yet, far busier. The mortal races had swollen, and the time had come for a different approach. It came to pass that Mianmi murmured the tender words that brought forth another gnome onto the face of the Playground. This one was possessing of a matronly figure, with wide hips and a welcoming face. A long intricate braid cascaded down her back, twined with colored ribbons. This was not a normal one of the halflings, though, for she was incomplete. A shell only, with no consciousness, no animus, a vessel for the breath of a god -- or goddess, as it was.

Spoiler

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AP 2 + 5 (Rollover) - 3 (Create Avatar: The Traveller) = 4

[Phobia]

Hagatha, Raven Mother, Aram - Where Neutral Ground Once Was

Hagatha had seen many interesting things in this once-place. She wanted to acquire a few of these creatures for her own collection. Some of them she had already. But these strange creatures were nothing compared with the portal being constructed. That would lead her to the new moon, would it? An interesting prospect.

She had considered fixing this place. Maybe putting in some dangerous beasts. But she decided she liked the devastation as it was for now. It was quite the gash in the earth. Her thoughts were interrupted then and her gaze was drawn over to the witch, the Raven Mother, and her speech.

"Oh, my, what a predigee." That wicked crone said huskily while her ragged frame leaned hard on her staff. Hagatha, a witch herself, took back the hood of her cloak to reveal her haggered face and the wood wrinkled and worn. The ancient dryad laughed lowly. "''Maker of the moon, hm?' My compliments to your master on the suffering. It's not as good as mine.." She looked around at the destruction a bit more. The old witch couldn't help but imagine what bitterness they were experiencing on the moon. "Not enough spice!" Hagatha mocked while kissing the tips of her fingers and making a smacking noise with her lips. "But from one cook to another not bad at all. And I'm very interested in what you have to say."

Then the Aram finished their little fight and approached her. She'd seen the explosion earlier and while it had caused her to crack a smile it wasn't quite enough to keep her attention. Still..

"What a marvelously stupid idea!" She said with almost delight, "I do hope you're using the right mixtures and measurements my new little friends. You do measure, don't you?" She chided like a mother lecturing a child in baking. "But I will be very interested to see what you're making. It explodes! How absolutely delightful. But I'm going to have a little chat with my new favorite person over here first." She gestured over the Raven Mother with a smile.

"Glub! Where the devil are you? Glub! Show them how to measure!" She demanded loudly before her Bogwart followers rushed over. She pointed a rotten finger at of them and he approached the Aram while Hagatha turned her attention back to the Raven Mother.

"Things that explode, huh?" Glub said with a balk. "Show where you mix. Maybe we make it not explode quite as much if we fix the mixtures from the start." He croaked out before adding, with a hearty chuckle and a promise, "But it'll still explode enough to be fun!"

Ôl, Glowing Skeletons, Squick-Squick - Dream Neutral Ground

"Crazy! Have you ever seen anything like it?" Squick-Squick croaked with awe to his brothers as they rushed along after the elf trying not to get caught up looking at the overlapping dreams. He'd had many mad dreams himself when he was younger but this many dreams at once was still almost overwhelming. But the Bogwarts were so taken with the scenery around them they barely even noticed the skeletons.

Squick-Squick looks awkward in the room with all the strange foreign races. Many types of races didn't often come to the Dark Grove: dryads, Spriggins, humans, sometimes an elf.. But that lizard-thing he had no idea! And it wasn't the only one.

"Gak!" He said, startled when Ol addressed him once more and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Yeah sure Ol. What's going on?" The warrior Bogwart questioned before putting his hands over his ears. "Dreaded Hagatha." Squick-Squick gasps at the devastation here once Ol was finished.

"Maybe you'll learn something from the pain. I'm sure Hagatha, dreaded lady of suffering, has a plan in mind for your suffering." Squick-Squick said, trying to reassure the Kobold. He still didn't know what a Kobold even was but he wasn't not going to wish him a blessing from his goddess.

"Oh man. I didn't know I'd be put on the spot like this. Man I wish Father was here he was always a great mixer of potions.." Squick-Squick said discouraged. But he still got out a few Weird Mushrooms. "But just maybe.." He said with a sudden flash of inspiration. The Bogwart pulled out a crude bowel and cut up two Weird Mushrooms into bits before adding a small measured mixture, then he pulled out a few more items: the bark of a Weirdwood and, with a gulp, one whole Fruit of the Face. "These fruits always creep me out a little." He offered sheepishly before dicing up the face fruit quicky. He mixed all these up quickly with special alchemy moves before he was finished.

"Do you have any fresh water? Mix this in with it." He said happily before handing over the mixture. "This won't heal them up all the way but it'll give them a good headstart, that's for sure. And I've diluted the Weird Mushrooms with just enough bark to keep their effects but to a reduced degrees. It won't numb the pain but they'll sure feel better about it." He laughed. "Still have many weird dreams.. Less drool though, maybe."

[thethird]

Son, Mal, Oak - The Pulse of the Forest, The First Tree

Son nods and kneels in front of Oak, seeing her do it Mal soon follows. The young man is holding both gramaric rods while the dryad takes a club made of orange coral and places it in front of the Oak tree.

"I'm indeed a daughter of the forest. But my forest is far away. I come from Neutral Ground which has now been pushed out of the playground by the machinations of Purity. I, and those that follow me, have come to the forest because The First Tree opposes the evergrowing city as we wish to do."

The young human by her nods and raises his look warily at the tree. In Neutral Ground most, if not all, trees spend their time dreaming and it's rare for one to speak to someone not from the gardeners.

"The master of the Neutral City doesn't wish to discard neutrality yet he understands our pleas and qualms. As such he has allowed us to fight if we can get a patron. This is what we have come for. I'm a gardener, a grower of life, but this has gone too far. Allow us to carry the tree banners and exact retribution on the Dwarven hold. We will turn them into compost and grow the forest."

Many People (you know who they are) - Where Neutral Ground Once Was

Few Neutral Grounders remained in the remains. The few that did had split between the two groups, the Aram working their rockets were aided by gramaric engineers and the Raven coven was engrossed with wild travelers.

Ôl, Glowing Skeletons, Squick-Squick - Dream Neutral Ground

The Kobold seems to be slightly conforted by the Bogwarts words.

Ôl smiles and pats fraternaly Squick-Squick shoulders. He is sure that the Bogwart will do a good job. The elf walks deep into the room and stands by three spigots on the wall at the end. At his side there are several copper tubs, distinctively filled with water and with a white robed and masked body. Producing a glamor he covers them in shadow. Ôl hopes to spare the young Bogwart from seing what happenes when a Neutral Grounder gets lost to the wake world.

With a sober expression he returns to the Bogwart and offers him two containers.

"This water." The water he holds is irised with multicolored hues that shine on the light. "Is for dreaming. This other." He shows him the second container which is crystal clear liquid that seems to have a slight glow "Is for healing." He passes both containers to the Bogwart and keeps observing him do his alchemy.

[Gunhaven]

Aerialists, Ruins of Neutral Ground
With a big grin, the Aram show their field lab. Dozens of engines have been created, each big enough to move a sled but not much else, and arrayed on a ramp with several broken sleds littering the side, marking the failed attempts. The "leader" motioned to a couple of Aram who poured ethanol into the tank from a jug and said "First fuel!" The test subjects then dump in a handful of orange rocks and start the engine, which lurches to life and manages to push the contraption off the ramp before crashing. Dejected, the leader added "Then rocks. Not enough that time, too much last time! Ib! Work on engine! Zozu work on sled!" Two Aram that could pass for artificers in any other culture started tinkering with the next sled.

Rix Maadi Trainlines (Scout Division #372), Challenge Mountains
Rumors spread and in the height of drunken revelries the partiers of the Rix Maadi hear of chaos and change in the former Dwarven holds from the whispers of Grenzo seeking further arson. They make it to the lower holds in time for the best part: the burning of an artificer's lab. Quickly ethanol is produced and handed out to the already angry dwarves as the Rix Maadi stoke the flames of the fearful, the angry, and the drunken until they manage to convince several dwarves to join them in the spread of flame and fuel to the other holds. By the time Grenzo blinked again he could hear the sounds of dwarves singing his praise as they burned and drank themselves into a stupor.

[Lady Tialait]

The Keymaster, The Visionary - The Void

"The business of negotiation. My lord values neutrality, and wishes no particular harm to you. Therefore, speaking in the name of the god of madness, I ask what must be done for your hostility to not be directed at those who dwell in the Moon." The Keymaster responded, giving a respectful bow. "Whatever devices you might have, our presence is unlikely to influence them, for my liege and I dwell in Secrets. I am beholden to those, and nothing else."

The city shakes, "Your Lord is elemental, and cannot be trusted. You by extension cannot be trusted. There is no place in the future for neutrality, sides will be selected. You have chosen to serve the past, and will fail."

[MetaKnightFan]

Hagatha, Raven Mother, Aram - Where Neutral Ground Once Was

Upon seeing Hagatha, the Raven Mother nodded, looking up at the Moon. "Suffering happens because most are not ready for change. My liege offers a different state of being for those willing to make sacrifices. Willing to exchange secrets, and bear the consequence of learning them as well. I've been sent here to tell the world of the Secret of Lycanthropy, of the shape-changers like myself, who now live our lives unlike we did when we were but ourselves."



The Keymaster, The Visionary - The Void


"I assure you, my lord is not attuned to the elements. Madness and Secrets have risen from the city of dreamers as paranoid, fearful thoughts. My lord given shape by the destruction that was suspected, and made reality." The Keymaster affirmed. "My lord's ties are not with the past, but with all that is, was and may come to be. Change is everlasting, and as such there is no interest in remaining tied to a definition of a bygone time. But if Neutrality is unfit, it is unfortunate that it is so to you. But it remains true that we hold no grudge nor hatred towards you at this time. Even an alliance is still a possibility to be entertained, in my liege's view."


Yhrzallus - The Void

While the Keymaster spoke to the Visionary, the mad god, having his avatar to act on his behalf slowly slipped into a short slumber, for after having unleashed so many Secrets, the god would seek deeper insight within the depths of his own mind, for the conscious merely held a fraction of his knowledge, and Yhrzallus knew that in slumbering, the realm of not only dreams, but also nightmares could be reached and used to attain more things of interest...

As he did so, the moon resonated a soft hum, heard only by those attuned to the mad god. It was but a prelude, a sign that change was coming....