(IC) Lords of Creation: The Grateful and the Odious (LOC)

[ChaoticHarmony]

Looloodi: the Caldera

"That's ok Sissy! You can, like, just meet up later after you, like, take care of your babies. I can totally thi...." Looloodi says when a new voice suddenly startles her. She turns up towards the sound....did it call her sister?....to see a new strange sight. Perhaps Looloodi was seeing things, but the owner of the voice somehow seemed to be a lovely young woman, a hideously old lady, and an elegant, slender cat of some sort, all at once. Shaking her head slightly, Looloodi gives a shy smile to the newcomer. "Hello Selima, I'm, like, Looloodi. Oh! And this super cute Sissy is, like, Tafeita. She is, like, busy right now with her babies......So, like, how's it going?"

[RolandDeschain]

Selima

The word "sister" danced upon the winds as if it had a mind of its own, dancing first closer then bounded farther away. She glanced over her shoulder warily thinking she had seen something moving on the edge of her vision, but the beautiful woman covered in vines and gems had answered her so she turned back.

"Looloodi and Tafeita...such beautiful names. I am curious Looloodi," motioning with her hand back over the mountains then looking back at the goddess, "is the great tree of light one of your.....children? There is a striking resemblance between you and the tree. Tafeita is this sanctuary yours? Who are these children of yours?"

Blushing, "I'm sorry, but I've so many questions. The world is both ancient and new all at the same time. I feel awash in its creation, and desire....friends."

[TheDarkDM]

In the far north, Creation trembled. The seas boiled against the furthest shard of the First Land, their hissing fume choking out light both pure and profane. All life fled in desperation from the yawning pit that glowed in the deep, but to no avail. With a tortured scream, the land burst open, a gaping wound into the fiery heart of the planet itself. And in the wake of the scream came the searing life-blood of the world. Liquid fire clawed at the heavens in geysers that crashed back to earth in blind hammer blows. With every blow, the rising wall of molten rock took shape and form, rising into a mountain beyond any that had come before. Ash and noxious gas belched from its summit, poisoning the sky even as the land burned, until all was laid waste. With a last, merciful shudder, the onslaught finally ceased, a deathly quiet settling over the echoes of devastation.

And in that quiet, a heart began to beat.

There was a roar from deep in the earth, a desperate press in search of freedom, and the ashen peak of the great mountain exploded. Boulders of molten rock rained onto the ruined plain, and in their wake a surge of magma crested the lip of the crater. Only to reveal a gleaming hand as it flowed downhill. Black fingers tightened upon the rock, and with a victorious cry the imprisoned divinity broke free. Heaving himself atop the womb of his birth, he set his legs astride the crater, gazing down at the burning afterbirth that had once been fertile savanna, and knew it to be right. He touched his chest, gingerly at first, as if unsure of his own existence, until lungs that were no such thing drew in breath and whispered his first words.

"Nemesis. I am."

He stepped forward, heel grinding against solid rock as easily as if it were sand, and the mountain cracked open in his wake. The river of lava that followed engulfed him like a mother's embrace, and he laughed as it poured down around him. Reaching the foothills that had once been coastline, he saw the faint traces of what had been, the last flakes of crumbling bone that he knew at once to be life. In the knowing, a desire sprang to life in his breast, a certainty that if there was to be life then he should be its master. And if there was no more life to be found in his wake, then he would create beings worthy of his magnificence. Bending down to touch the solid wave of a lava flow, he thrust his hand downwards, into the fiery heart of the stone sea to draw forth pliant basalt. Looking down upon his perfection, he saw a pair of legs, a pair of arms, and so began to sculpt the rock in his likeness. Divine fingers moved with uncanny grace, and before the figure had fully cooled it lay complete at his feet. Nemesis lowered an outstretched finger, its tip wreathed in fire as he spoke the words that marked him as a Lord of Creation.

"Live."

The dull grey figure spasmed, sculpted rock transfigured to adamant flesh, wet and newborn eyes gazing up at its maker. Its god. The first giant gaped dumbly in astonishment, and felt its father's displeasure.

"Bow."

At once it understood, rolling up onto its knees and prostrating itself before Nemesis. This too he knew to be good, the proper order of all things, and he was pleased. So he plunged his hand again into the bounty of his mountain and sculpted another. And another. Soon, he was ringed by an army of worshipers, and Nemesis knew the boundless joy of worship. He began to climb once more, that he might address his gathered children, only to stop short. Deep in the wake of his own ascension, he felt a tug at the roots of his mountain. A strength that did not know itself, a greedy thing bereft of guidance. It was a debasement he could not tolerate. He raised his hand, suffused with power and might, and parted the pit of molten fire with a thought. Past even the mountain's heart he saw it, a chrysalis of every precious thing in the vaults of the earth, and with a gentle hand he raised it into the twilight of his dominion.

"Awaken, sister."

Spoiler: Actions

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Free AP = 16

2 AP - Create Land: Karam-Kor, The Mountain of Power (Craft (Metalworking))
Standing at the northernmost point of Creation, Karam-Kar is the grandest peak ever to grace the planet. Rising to impossible heights, the fiery light of its beating heart illuminates the night sky, while the black clouds of its breath shroud the surrounding lands in gentle twilight.

4 AP - Create Mythic Life: Giants (Life (Giants))
Sculpted from living stone, the giants are a people unique in their uniformity. Each stands exactly fifteen feet tall, hairless skin grey as ash, nails and teeth black as soot. Only their shining eyes serve to differentiate one from the other, with hues ranging from golden amber to the ruddy brown of a dying coal. They possess tremendous strength and durability, as befits their elemental nature, and are proof against the ravages of time - death exists for them only as the result of violence or misfortune. Animated by Nemesis' rapacious will, they are both natural craftsmen and natural conquerors, and woe betide any mortal to stand in their path.

[bc56]

Tenebreon: Inventions Uncounted*
*Not actually a large number. It's just that nobody's bothered to count them.

Tenebreon's work was coming along well. That was when he heard it. Far above in the upper chambers, delicate stones were being shattered, his hard work was being undone. He hurried up through winding passageways, ignoring his current project as he rushed to stop the destruction of his designs.
In the second chamber of the Laboratories, Tenebreon found the source of the disturbance. A Vagrant, a creature with a shell like a turtle and a head like a rhinoceros, had wandered into the cave and was breaking the elaborate speleotherms that the cavern god had spent so much time on. Tenebreon picked up the jagged shard of a stalactite and hurled it at the Vagrant, and for the first time, the river which fueled the entirety of the Laboratories was stained pink with blood. Tenebreon knew that this could not happen again. He began his greatest project of clockwork yet, retreating to the deepest laboratory to work. He connected blades of jagged stone and plates of rock together with stone gears and axles, laboring without stop until he was finished. The completed form was a lumbering thing, hunched over, and with its gears in its limbs exposed. Its two arms ended in wicked stone blades. Tenebreon took the blood of the Vagrant and poured it out into his creation. Then he willed life into it. It rumbled awake, and was given its orders. "You are to eradicate any thing, living or unliving, which damages my creations.' The first of the Reavers shuffled off to begin its endless patrol.
As time passed, Tenebreon's techniques grew more precise, and he began to attempt more complicated feats with his clockwork. However, he found it difficult to predict which ideas had merit before attempting them, because it was impossible to tell what was feasible and what wasn't. So Tenebreon began to work with counting. He began by stacking stones to measure quantities, then began designing smaller and less difficult ways of grouping objects. Sliding pebbles in empty channels proved an effective way of doing so; with a simple touch, Tenebreon could separate or unite groups of stones. Tenebreon worked with this design, and made many of them, connected together. He took the resulting abacus, infused with his power, and named it Quadram, his tool of divine engineering. Now, he was ready.
A group of Kobolds passed by the sinkhole which was the entrance to the Tenebral Laboratories. They carried gourds in order to gather fresh water from the river which fed the Laboratories. They passed, and in a voice like the soft rubbing of stone against stone, a voice beckoned, saying, "Come, little ones. I will show you how to make your tasks easy and your burdens light." Naturally subservient, the Kobolds entered the darkness, carrying torches against the gloom. They trembled at the sight of the creatures of moving stone, whose bladed arms were staying rust brown with blood, but the Reavers made no attempt to stop them. Instead, a presence guided them onward, a fluttering of dark cloth just outside the edge of their vision. They followed ever deeper, until they reached a point deep underground. They descended around a waterfall, which fed into a pool deep beneath the earth. There, an enigmatic device sat, a hollow stone cylinder with a corkscrew within it, connected by gears to a hand crank. There, Tenebreon met the Kobolds, coming into their light to speak with them. "Look over my design. It lifts precious water from below and brings it to a more reachable level. I can show you how to build this device and more like it, only stay near here and serve as my hands and feet in the world above."
The Kobolds agreed. They constructed their village on the edge of the gateway to the Tenebral Laboratories, and they were the first Scholars of Stone, learning the secret mechanisms from Tenebreon. Tenebreon sent some Reavers to the surface to protect them, and they flourished and spread. With the screw pump and the other clockwork devices they were given, they were able to bring water to much wider swaths of farmland and their growth only accelerated.

Spoiler: Actions

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Start: 13/16
Create Monstrous Life: Reavers [1]
Reavers are stone constructs. They look like large, hunched-over humanoids with stone blades instead of arms. Stone gears are visible through gaps in their armor. The Reavers exist as guardians, assigned to protect specific places, people, or things by their masters.
[Craft (engineering) 4/10]
Form Society: The Scholars of Stone [2]
Tenebreon gathered a pack of Kobolds together as his servants in the sunlit world. They have constructed a city around the holy entrance to his domain, and have been granted the use of several Reavers for their protection. [Undecided 2/10]
Create Major Utility Artifact: Quadram, the True Abacus (Create Advanced Concept) [5]
The stone abacus is Tenebreon's chosen tool. In the hands of a trained user, it can make complex calculations in instants, allowing less time to be spent on math, and more on development.
[Craft (Engineering) 9/10]
Teach Advanced Concept: Clockwork to the Scholars of Stone [1]
The first to learn of Tenebreon's creations are his servants, naturally. He can only hope that they will spread his creations further for the betterment of all, rather than keep them a guarded secret.
[Craft (Engineering) 10/10]

End AP: 4/16

Claim Domain: Craft (engineering)
- Alter Land: The Tenebral Laboratories [1]
- Create Advanced Concept: Clockwork [2]
- Create Monstrous Life: Reavers [1]
- Create Utility Artifact: Quadram [5]
- Teach Advanced Concept: Clockwork to the Scholars of Stone [1]

Domains:
Darkness (caves)
Knowledge (planning)
Craft (engineering)
Undecided [2/10]

[Nefarion Xid]

Mamona & Nemesis
Somewhere in the North

The hungry spirit had lain in the womb of the earth for centuries now, suckling on veins of precious ores. When one ran dry, another would wind its way here. Like to like, the glittering lifeblood of the planet sustained and loved her. She had been purest fire once, a memory of a lost world preserved in living white flame. Mute and dumb after a millennia of isolation and wantonness, the fire of her soul had dulled to an ember encased in a corpulent, molten mass of gold and slag.

The thing did as bidden. Spurred by the name "sister", the roiling pool grew a pair of arms and clawed its way free of the cavern, laboriously hauling its bloated form to the surface. When liquid gold beaded off of it and fell away as she climbed, each drip lingered only a moment before slithering obediently back.

In Nemesis's presence, the faceless mass halted and used its hands to explore the godling. They grasped curiously at first, taking the measure of his body and the sculpted details of his countenance. Then the hands were longing, then confused and frustrated all in short order. Lurching away in anger, the golden thing strained to produce a torso to fit the arms. A crude protrusion meant to be breasts came first, followed by a pinched waist. Finally, yellow hot metal dripped away to reveal a facsimile of a woman's eyeless face and a rain of hair that melded with her back and shoulders.

Defeated, its whole form slumped and it gave Nemesis a piteous look. A wordless question bubbled up from her throat. Her hands clenched, then began to desperately pantomime either a looking glass or reflecting pool. Directions to the ocean would suffice.

Spoiler: Actions

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Create Mythical Concept - Cosmic Scarcity & Intrinsic Value:

Gold, silver, and all precious metals have been made rare and intrinsically valuable on a cosmic scale. No magic can create these elements ex nihilo. Even the gods lack the ability to create gold from nothing and must expend some of their divine power to transmute precious metals from the ether (typically via Bless, Create Land or Weave Plane). Mortals may learn to transmute precious metals in the future by unlocking the secrets of alchemy or a similar arcane discipline. Appropriately, all the mortal races will desire such metals, knowing instinctually that they should be prized for their beauty and fungibility.

4 AP attributed for Trade (Currency).
12 AP remaining.

[Toxic Mind]

Marah: A Stone's Throw

"Of much. Of Truth."

The Gloam moved closer, their hands weaving together to form a giant screen that ripples with magical power. The Mer swam beneath the waves, their Coral manse much changed as towers stretch to the surface of the waters. These towers are magnificent palaces above the waves as well, races and creatures foreign and alien to the Goddess walked and traded and all was connected. The world hummed and buzzed with languages and songs never again spoken and great vessels ply the skies as easily as they skimmed over seas.

But all is for naught. The skies above turn the color of blood, the winds blew up giant water spouts and whirlwinds and the world shattered. Not the First Lands, not the Shattered Lands. Not even the lands that the Mer Goddess would never walk upon. The World, the First World, rent asunder as magma and molten elemental fire and earth reign down as all is rent in twain. Gods, Gods long dead if they lived arose from beneath and lay all foundations to ash.

"I cannot, will not, accept that." Marah says vehemently. "We are gods, and we have the power to shape reality. There must be a way to alter this Fate." She looks past the Avatars, addressing the Stone directly. "Will you help me change this, so that all that we build is not lost?"

---

Mer: Becoming Mer Than They Were

Every day, Kyton prayed to the gods. He did not know their names, or their faces, but he knew they were real. His grandparents told him stories of the great storms, of the growing of the Forest, the raising of the Tidal Palace. The Palace was far off from Kyton, though. Kyton heard stories from the travelling Mer that sometimes stopped by of groups of Mer making settlements around the Tidal Palace, but he paid little mind to such rumors. He and his family lived near the edge of the Forest, hunting along the barrier. It was dangerous work to hunt the open oceans, but rewarding, and his family did good trade in bone tools and predator-teeth weapons. Kyton prayed for nothing much in particular - safety during the hunts, a bountiful harvest, perhaps even meeting another Mer to share his life with. Today, however, something happened that Kyton had not prayed for. As he was sitting preparing his cod and seaweed sandwich (an afternoon favorite), there came a hail from outside his dwelling. Kyton, like most Mer who lived outside the palace, lived in a burrow dug into the sand. He had a few dug along the Barrier that his family lived in at various times. He emerged from his dwelling to see two Mer, a male and female, both carrying bone-spears. Specifically, they were carrying his bone spears, he recognized the design. "Kyton of the Barrier" said the male with an officious tone "You are summoned to the Tidal Palace. Queen Adira has taken notice of your talents, and wishes to see them put to use for all the Mer. You will come with us." Kyton was shocked. He hadn't even been aware that there was a Queen, let alone that anyone noticed his ability.

Kyton was used to carrying his own burden, but he had to admit it was nice to swim without them. Two knives, two spears, and one longsword made from a whalebone were currently carried by the guard that had come to collect him. They would be tribute, and an audition of sorts, to this Queen Adira. As he approached the Tidal Palace, he realized it looked nothing like what the stories he had been told indicated it would. All around the structure, houses and other buildings had sprung up. He saw an area where many Mer had gathered, trading fish here for bone, or a particular type of sea grass, or even a desired hue of coral. It was fascinating to Kyton, who had at best given his scrimshawed tools away for favors, or just because they were needed.

Queen Adira was beautiful. Otherworldly so, Kyton thought. It was the beauty of a hunting shark, or a whale rising up from the depths to breach the surface, or a sea-storm held in semi-stasis while lightning raged through it. Kyton thought only in metaphor he could understand, but there was some truth in it. Adira, first of her name, seemed to draw the Mer to her. Kyton saw how those around her deferred to the Queen almost instinctively, as though they knew deference was appropriate without being told. He saw this because he felt it himself - he, a hunter who had not even known they had a Queen before two days ago. He presented his goods to her, and she inspected them carefully. Then, picking up one of the scrimshawed spears, she spoke. Her voice was soft, but carried through the water. "These are wonderful, Kyton." He felt like the goddess had just come to his house and declared herself his bond-mate. Nothing could be better than to hear her praise. "Can you make more?" She asks, staring at him. "Of course, my Queen." And Kyton began.

Spoiler: AP Usage

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Starting: 8/16
-0AP Create Concept (Mundane): Tools- the Mer (and other races who come in contact with them) can make the right tools for the job, at least with Materials at hand. This means all non-smithing things, wood, bone, stone, flint, etc. The concept is closed for now, but that's just to encourage people to come visit (I'll open it up once a few people stop by).
-1AP Create Concept (Mundane): Trade - the Mer have discovered that people like things, and will give things for the things they want. Basic barter trading is now a thing. Consider the concept open, though as above I'd like people to come visit the Mer to get it (don't let that hold you back if you don't like fish people though) [Civilization (Community) 6/10]
-2AP Form Society: Mer Kingdoms - Mer society is organized around a single Ruler. This Queen or King rules primarily from the Tidal Palace, though such may not always be the case. A city has begun to form, as well as a few outlying towns. [Civilization (Community) 8/10]
-2AP Raise Hero: Mer Royalty - the Mer always have a Queen or King, and that ruler is divinely recognized by the Mer. They are instinctively drawn to them, towards deference in their presence. There is no guarantee that the heir will be born from the current monarch, but wherever they are, they will be recognized quickly. [Civilization (Community) 10/10]

Civilization (Community): 10/10
Music (Song): 1/10
Life (Nourishment): 3/10

[mystic1110]

The Citadel

When do souls develop? When consciousness starts? Before? After? And what type of consciousness? The scuttling awareness of a rat? The peering eyes of the Mer from below the waves? The slavery of Moss or even the courage of halflings? What about Angels - as the bloom and grow in scum ponds above the sky - as the variety of fungi that make up their forms interact and agree on a single body? As democracy and compromise build them wings? As they whistle and pop their first sounds to the makings of a language? As they walk towards the cloud edge and take a step towards the open air - as they try to take flight?

Some fly and glide down to the ground below - but what about those that fall in an abrupt spiral, their petals failing to catch the updraft directly, they crash in the ground and explode into a plumage of mushrooms, coating the ground in sticky chalky spores of all colors. Did they have a soul?

Angels, their bodies just toadstools and lichen on the material plane, awake newly grown in the Citadel - finding themselves in a strange city built upon a star. They look around at alabaster walls, glass spires - and by look, it is meant that the mycelium that makes their bodies feels, spreads - it doesn't take root but instead inches across the walls like mildew. They stand still as more of their kind blossom in this strange land so far away from the swamp clouds upon which they are born. On the material plane - they commit accidental suicide as they still yet learn to fly, and yet here they are born with their fibrous petal wings newly stitched.

And thus they find themselves a malleable people, a people slowly hemmed together of these lost souls. The Citadel shares a role in their development, after all the point of the place was to shape mortals into a bureaucracy to manage other mortals - not to create a home, but instead a queue over the Lordsbridge to the Hall of Titans. The point of the place was the resurrection, and what understands the cycle of Birth and Death more than a mushroom? What understands the cycle more than an Angel?

However, the Citadel already had a master, The First-Of-His-Name, but a master needs servants. They did not seek servitude, but only because consciousness was just newly blooming right before their deaths, and a consciousness that did not share the umwelt of most other mortal forms - it was the consciousness of spores and slime, of decay and falling, of the beauty of the agreement of the body. And so the angels glided over the alleys, walked upon the streets and grew up on the walls of the divine city until they found the beacon of purpose that was The First-Of-His-Name.

They beseeched it with their almost language of whistles and pops, of flashing colors and dances - in short - they asked to help. Rebirth? It was what they were grown for, it was probably the secret impulse that made them step over the clouds to seek flight. This - in death they may have found their purpose - perhaps they needed to be mortal borne and mortal dead to fully understand the cycle. Perhaps they needed to be fungi to appreciate the cycle.

Perhaps, it was as Eniym wanted, as she swam out of the muck, her slime trailing across the afterlife - secretly following her accidental creations as they petitioned to become stewards of the dead. This was not how life was supposed to go, this was a connection made through adhesion and whim. The caprice of living does not have to be cruel - often caprice is a Nobel as nobility - that is, after all, the point.

[Anubis Dread]

Tafeita: The Shattered Lands

Things had been progressing well since her kobolds had been introduced, though not quite as well as she'd originally envisioned. Even with her children hunting for the halflings and building them shelter the halflings still were more aggressive than she'd like. At least now said aggression was due to arguments and culture rather than raw necessity. Yet it was still clear that further intervention would be needed.

This was not her Caldera. Fire still rained from the sky, lightning struck out from the ground and rocks flew sideways on occasion. It was a hard life, with those hunting or gathering exposed. Yet at least now they were safe when they were resting, for the kobolds new of homes and labor and built domed dens that all could shelter in. The problem was that there was only so much food in any given area, and the dens could not be taken with a tribe when they moved on to new lands. The travel was dangerous in and of itself, with many a tribe running into mighty beasts or devastating weather on the way to fresh lands. Then when they found a good place to settle for a while they had to build a new home from scratch, which took some time and had everyone exposed in the meanwhile. Several tribes had been outright lost during this migration, with some of her kobolds losing their way and resorting to serving whatever beast came their way, abandoning their true path to simply be protected by the strongest creature they could find.

Things could not continue like this. They needed to find a way to continue to make food even when the land itself had been stripped bare. That way the halflings would no longer need to move, and with them her kobolds. What's more it would be yet another thing for the little monkeys to no longer fight about - if everyone had their own land, nobody would ever fight over what land belonged to who. Who would fight over land when it was already clearly owned after all?

And so Tefaita taught her children. She taught them that if they left seeds in the earth they would grow into plants once more. She taught them that if they were to capture creatures of flesh and milk rather than kill them they could drink their milk freely, and save them to eat for later rather than having to hunt every time they needed a meal. She taught them the importance of watering fields, and covering them when a great storm came to shield their yield. And all these things the kobolds would do, and have the halflings benefit.

Spoiler: AP Actions

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AP: 5

Create Monstrous Subrace (1AP) - Boggart: When a group of kobolds go for too long without finding a good race to serve, or loses their chosen people and go mad with grief, they sometimes become feral. Rather than seeking out a village or town of good people to serve, they will instead languish in the wilds until they come across an especially powerful creature, which they will serve on hand and foot as an overlord. These are very valuable to wicked creatures and villains, as though weak and often simple they are completely loyal, and unlike proper kobolds would never voluntarily leave an overlord no matter how terrible they were.[Civilization (Agriculture) 2/10]

Create Mundane Concept: Agriculture: The ability to plant a seed and have it grow. While mundane in its own right, being able to permanently guarantee a good source is the backbone of any non-nomadic civilization.[Civilization (Agriculture) 3/10][/B]

Create Mundane Concept: Domestication: To use animals as a permanent source of meat and milk rather than merely hunting them. To have a bigger animal pull a load to move larger things than would ordinarily be possible. To train beasts to guard things or hunt vermin. Though not a necessity for a true civilization it's greatly helpful, and makes sapient races a true lord of lesser beings rather than simply being another one of them had happened to discover tools and speech. [Civilization (Agriculture) 4/10]

AP Spent

Create Subrace 1AP
Create Concept 1AP
Create Concept 1AP
1+1+1=3AP

5AP - 3AP = 2AP

[Civilization (Agriculture) 4/10]

[LordArgon]

The First Guest
At the edge of The Caldera, a Halfling hunts. His tribes elders had warned him to stay close to the village and the protection of the spirits, but the best hunting spots were far away from the hustle and bustle of the village. Clinging to the safety the spirits provided would make him a coward, and he was no coward. Anyways, he thought that the tales of chained monsters grabbing little halflings was made up by parents to keep their kids inside. The real threat was from the massive beasts that roamed the region, and he was extra careful to avoid their territory. Two days into his hunting trip, a sudden downpour caused him to seek shelter. Seeing what looked like a cave in the face of a sheer cliff, he hurried towards the promise of shelter. Instead of a cave, he found a black door carved into the vertical stone of the cliff. Cursing his bad luck, he almost left to look for better shelter when a voice called out to him. "Welcome traveler. Come now and rest your weary bones for a while."

The black door swung open and reveled a brightly lit entrance hall. The halfling entered, marveling at the magical lights and opulent decorations. As he entered, he felt inclined to head to the front desk and enter his name, check-in, and check-out time. The wraith at the front desk handed him a key, marked with a stylized 1. Since there were only two rooms, 0 and 1, finding the room was easy. The room he entered looked just like his room at home, but the furniture was sturdier, the bed comfier, and the air warmer. Next to the bed was a nightstand and upon searching it, he found a black, leather-bound book. The characters on the cover seemed to be just squiggles to him, but he could understand the text on the inside cover. This book has been placed here by The Esoteric Order of Mefthil. While the characters on the pages were unknown to him, he seemed to be able to understand perfectly what was written on the pages. Magic spells and rituals were engraved into his mind, and as he slept he dreamed of strange beasts and how to summon them.
The halfling was awakened by the sound of chains and the morning breeze. He was standing outside of the door he had entered the previous night and his belongings were beside him, packed and ready to go. Feeling refreshed and ready to go, he whistled to his faithful hound, secured his favorite book, and continued his hunt.

Spoiler: Actions

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Starting AP: 9
PAP: 0
Actions:
Create Minor Artifact(Create Monstrous Life): Necromnicon (3AP): A book of rituals and magic. Reading it allows the user to learn how to control void magic and summon the creatures of the Abyss. The writing is of a strange, squiggly script, but all can easily read it. [10/10Magic(Void)]
Create Monstrous Life: Hunting Hound (1 Artifact Charge): At first glance it seems to be a large black dog. On closer inspection, something is off. The fur is far too black, and the eyes too large. The features of the hound seem to shift and squirm, as if they are unhappy with their current location and shape. The hound has an excellent sense of smell, making it impossible to hide from it. The hound single mindedly tracks its prey, unless called of by its master. If its master dies, it hunts down the last thing it was commanded and anything similar to it.
Weave Plane: The Hotel at the End of Eternity (4AP): A place of rest between time and space. It is staffed by wraiths. Each time a new guest enters, a new room is added. Each room is uniquely tailored to each guests wants and needs. Each guest must sign in at the front desk and specify their checkout time, otherwise they have a hard time finding the exit. As it expands more and more amenities are added. [4/10 Protection (Hospitality)]
Create Portal: The Black Door (2AP): A black door leading to the Hotel at the End of Eternity. Its location is different for all of its guests, but it always takes the form of a black boor waiting to be opened. [6/10 Protection (Hospitality)]
Remaining AP: 0
Domain Added: Magic(Void)

[neriractor]

Daghir, the caldera

The eternal messenger left, defeated. Anger flaring at his foolish approach, at his lack of knowledge and the constant remainder of his precious little echoes, repeating the action without malice...

In his hurry to leave The Caldera a new storm was born amidst the crannies and cracks that split the mountains.

An odd sense of calm took over him in the brutal landscape of the first land, as he tried to work out what went wrong, undeterred by seismic activity nor the profoundly odd fits of static wind.

He stayed alone, as much as he could be while working, until a particularly ugly vagabond caught his eye, one with the legs and beak of a duck the hind of a beaver and a four legged stance, air ran through its holed shape, taking the local life for its sustenance. And there was a candle lit in his brain , in a figure of speech.

He tried to model beauty, and with the wind as a tool carried leafs and earth and many colored flowers shaping them in mimicry, the result was pretty if unable to compare to the standards set by Looloodi. They joined and his eyes opened to the narrowness of that perspective, he'll get used to it. He danced and spun and fought the local beasties and the new body smiled: a good first step

He pondered the next one and came to the conclusion that the answer was in the words, the perfect inflexion, the perfect meaning and he'll discuss with the first speaker and his sisters as equals. He started looking back on all the talks movement and fight and constant disaster... It was no place to think and as if to make a point an angel fell with grace to his side, he noted the crude sounds that would one day be words. He had to carry a loud poof nearby and his new body now was filled with the remains of the dead. Another poof, and more spores joined his being, and he took pity on the beings so prone to explode, guarding their flight.

Daghir, First-Of-His-Name, the citadel

The leafs formed a smile as glowing birds picked up the souls, for they were the one who spoke of barter and peace and he could use the latter now. he followed them and saw the confused souls of the citadel, the fledgling bureaucracy which seemed as chaotic as the landscape below, he also saw a giant slimy eel who was similar, so that was something, but he knew it wasn't the promised peace.

He soon found the First-Of-His-Name, and to the herald he spoke with ease, for mortals knew no perfect words and and he needed them not to speak with them and "Where is the promised peace?" was his question.

Spoiler: AP expenditure

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Alter land, 1AP- the windy maze: a disturbed wind shared its fate with the mountains still surrounding The Crater, the many corridors and caves contrast with changing winds and a fire/moth attraction for Echoes to make the paths through the mountains a temple to the idea of losing yourself. [unknown 1]

bless (or curse depending on view) 1AP, fungal buffer: the wind beneath each slime-based ecosystem in the sky are unnaturally calm and benign, guiding the falling Angels away from storms and safely towards the ground and trees. [unknown 1]

Domain progress:
History (language) 1/10
Magic (truenaming) 1/10

[RolandDeschain]

Selima

To Tafeita and Loolodi, "If it is too forward of me to ask, I beg your forgiveness, but the friendship I propose would be one of more than simple companionship. From your works and actions I can feel a certain...kindred spirit of creation, beauty, and preservation. I sense an opportunity for cooperation and possible collaboration. Would either or both of you be open to such a thing?"

Spoiler: AP Action - Pending

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Propose Forming a Pantheon 1AP pending

As she continued her wondering, she crossed the harsh and rugged Engraved Plains where the elemental storms raged and ravaged the landscape. There was an ancient and primal fierceness to the land as she entered a region of vast pillars etched with strange symbols. Broken and tumbled walls of basalt walls lining the mountaintops stood sentinel over a valley in which stood A Single Stone.

Approaching with much trepidation in heart she saw three robed figures with eyes of elemental fire glowing deep within their cowls standing before a beautiful female water spirit. No this was no spirit, it was a goddess and in this place resided another, of that she was certain.

It appeared as if they were conversing, but in truth she had heard none of it, and felt compelled to announce her presence lest they think she was attempting to eavesdrop, "Hello?"

[Razade]

Marah, A Single Stone: The Engraved Plains

The three Gloam exchanged looks, then back to A Single Stone and then back to Marah. [B][FONT=System]"It is but stone. A stone of somewhen else. Catastrophe has come and will come again. Do you not feel it? The Earth and Fire grieve, already we bare witness to cataclysm. A stone can no more stop the flow of the river than you with your own soft hands. But hark, Goddess, another approaches."

The three Gloam bow low as Selima enters the ring of stones. "Hello." they great, remaining however by the pillar of stone at the center of the place. It was to be their greeting here after, to the Gods. "Two Goddesses, one day."

[The Succubus]

The Great Rat (featuring Looloodi, Marah)

Of Mice and Mer

Many are the paths and tunnels of Tanglenest. Some stretch for hundreds of miles, yet feel considerably shorter to travel. Others, such as the one The Wandering Rat was travelling along, were a considerably more local affair. It had detected the scent of water - a *lot* of water and had chosen to investigate. There was a light at the end of the tunnel, growing brighter as the rat moved toward the exit. The tunnel ended on an embankment, in front of which was a small strip of sand stretching left and right. As the rat's eyes adjusted to the water, it gave an involuntary squeak of surprise. There was water here - it seemed endless, bigger than even the biggest pools in Tanglenest. Cautiously, it looked around for predators before trotting out onto the beach that girded the island. The Wandering Rat looked over its shoulder and saw The Great Tree behind. It was very big as well! The rat looked up and could just about see the beautiful petals at the top, glowing with their gentle yet powerful light. On the air was the same rainbow of scents The Great Rat had smelled from Looloodi, although The Wandering Rat knew none of this, save that the scent was wonderful.

So enraptured with the scent, it almost didn't see the figure stepping up from the ocean waves. It fought its initial instinct to flee, remembering the words of The Great Rat and the feeling of strength purpose it had felt at the time. This strange being carried something in its webbed paw and its skin seemed to be similar to that of a fish. Maybe it was a creature that could think, like the rats.The Wandering Rat thought carefully about how to speak to this being.

"Squeak?"

[Deja Who?]

Janika the Neverfail in Caldera

“What? Yes.. perhaps.” Janika mused at the otherworldly god. Sololond had a good point. Here she was looking for a fight when she could just create one.

“Leave then, bird. Next time I eat you.” She said mirthfully, her idea still fresh in her mind. “I gots a good enough look at that shiny bauble anyway. It was a soul- a piece of pure god-spark. Creations made from ourselves. It was... I think I’ll steal this idea.”

And with that she let nothing distract her as she formed the energy in her hands and molded it anew into a new race. Better than the halflings, better than the kobolds, no simple boggart! This was a true goblin. These were the goblins!

“Yes, yes!” Janika shrieked joyfully as her creations took form. No larger than a kobold or halfling but twice as vicious, they were little monsters with sharp teeth and extremely long pointy ears. They were mostly shades of brown and dark green with hair of all sorts and colors, long and short, male and female. They snickered and prodded at each other for dominance.

“Enough! I am your god! This is your land! Or at least now it is.” She laughed darkly, remembering her own shattered lands. So she’d just steal this one.

“Now.. plunder!”

Spoiler

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AP: 12

Create Sapient Life (2 AP) - Goblins: Goblins are based on halflings and kobolds so they are short and fast and well suited for life in the jungles of Caldera. They give life birth to liters of six and the entire clan raises the children. They are vicious, meat eating and naturally sadistic and cunning. They have short life-spans and many kids and never settle down with just a single mate. They’re green and bronze skinned skinny/spindly little Halfling looking monsters with wild crazy hair and bone necklaces and nose piercings with sharp teeth and comically long pointy ears. [Life (Hunting)]

Create Mundane Concept (1 AP) - Raiding: The concept of going out and taking what others have instead of farming or hunting for yourself. Well, it’s a form of hunting. Goblins will go out and take the hard-earned spoils from any other races and split it among themselves. This includes things like tools or ships, they’ll take it back to their lairs and try to figure it out. Trade (Crime)

Create Mundane Concept (1 AP) - Hunting: When all else fails you can always hunt a beast and take it down as a team. When goblins aren’t raiding they are hunting. [Life (Hunting)]

Create Mundane Concept (1 AP) - Slavery Goblins often take captives back home to their lairs either to sacrifice or use as a slave to do the work they don’t want to do. They also press the unfortunate souls into their raiding parties to use as fodder at the threat of death or worse. Sure there are Boggarts and they are useful but it’s more fun to break a defiant soul. [Trade (Crime)]

Create Mundane Concept (1 AP) - Slings: This is a long range weapon that allows you to hurl rocks or other things really far and really hard. It’s a simple device but this slight weapon advantage will give the goblins an edge. Life (Hunting)

Create Advanced Concept (2 AP) - Bonecrafting: Taking not only meat from the dead animals they hunt they take in the bones as well creating various tools and jewelry and especially weapons. They specialize in huge bone clubs that they crudely assemble, but they will get more they can do in time. Life (Hunting)

Form Society (2 AP) - The Thirty Tribes: Who knows how many. Goblins have a lot of kids and they want to start their own tribes and then the tribes fight. No one really knows how many tribes there are. Goblin society is based primarily on warfare with, quite simply, the strongest goblin being in charge at it’s basic level and leads by fear and martial superiority. Slaves take care of some needs but goblins are known for forming hunting parties that then tackle large prey in a squad like a small village or a wildebeest. The team work usually only lasts till the thing is killed. Raiding parties have been known to come back with only one member who killed all the others in his hunger for the meat. With all the war and hunting and death it’s good that they have litters. Trade (Crime)

Life (Hunting) 10/10
Trade (Crime) 3/10

Gain Domain - Life (Hunting)
Curse (1 AP)
Bless (1 AP)
Create Land (2 AP)
Create Sapient Life (2 AP)
Create Mundane Concept (1 AP)
Create Mundane Concept (1 AP)
Create Advanced Concept (2 AP)

AP: 3

[RolandDeschain]

Selima

Spoiler: Previously

Show

Marah, A Single Stone: The Engraved Plains

The three Gloam exchanged looks, then back to A Single Stone and then back to Marah. [B][FONT=System]"It is but stone. A stone of somewhen else. Catastrophe has come and will come again. Do you not feel it? The Earth and Fire grieve, already we bare witness to cataclysm. A stone can no more stop the flow of the river than you with your own soft hands. But hark, Goddess, another approaches."

The three Gloam bow low as Selima enters the ring of stones. "Hello." they great, remaining however by the pillar of stone at the center of the place. It was to be their greeting here after, to the Gods. "Two Goddesses, one day."

Bowing to the three, "I am Selima, and I am much curious as to the nature of this place and these stones. Are you the keepers of these mysteries?"

[GSisco]

Nasigune

It has been quiet in the fort since the appearance of the rat. The knowledge that there are others out there made Nasigune nervous. Were there beings more powerful than her? Would they seek her destruction? She needed a place to hide. A place where she could grow her power in relative safety before making a mobe against the world.

She began manipulating the tunnels under her fort and several of the other ruins near by. She turned them into a winding maze meant to distract and confuse anyone who came by. As the tunnels moved, Nasigune and her pedestal sunk deeper into the earth until she was in the grandest chamber at the very end of her new series of interwoven tunnels.

This is where she would set to work. She focused her power to draw creatures in that would defend her and help her power grow. At the same time she focused on enchanting the entire structure with defenses.

This would hopefully keep her safe while she came to understand who she was and what she needed to do.

Spoiler: AP

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Starting: 10
Alter Land-The First Dungeon-Under a series of ruins on the first land lies the first dungeon. Filled with secret passages and twisting paths to get one lost. The ruins serve as entrances and at the bottom lies Nasigune.

Bless-Monstrous creatures or other life seeking a safe haven will be drawn to the dungeon to serve as defenders of the dungeon.

Curse- Traps such as pit falls, spike, or rock fall traps appear and activate in the prescence of those who would do harm to the dungeon or its occupants. As Nasigune's knowledge grows, the possible traps will increase.

Domain: Dungeons (Loot) 3/10

[Razade]

A Stone Throw: Engraved Plains

The three glance once more between them, then extend an arm each towards the Stone and then about themselves and the Goddesses in conference. "These are ancient lands." Each intones. "The Stones were here before us, before you. We keep no mysteries, stones have no mouths and thus can share no secrets. But we were born with eyes to see oh yes, eyes of flame to pierce the shroud of darkness that surrounds all that which is Divine."

Each move to en-triangle the two Goddesses, fingers fresh with dust as they drag about the ground in stilted movements. "When we awoke, the Gods fell from the heavens like stars but we were given no powers. But in that moment we saw the Stone and our sight was rendered in flames. There was a world once, here, with vast castles and working hands. Forges made merry with the sounds of hammers and a people flourished in such a span to make enemies with the Gods out of envy. They erected these Stones and buried the ancient ones beneath. They are a prison, but the prison is empty. Your doom, their doom, is upon you now."

[ElFi]

The Ascension of the Angels

The Citadel gluts with souls as the First Land grows and life along with it. Halflings, kobolds, and now giants and goblins as well walk its avenues and populate its buildings. The Lordsbridge has become an endless queue of souls waiting to plead their cases for reincarnation. And then there were the angels - primal, overgrowing, full of life in a way that the other mortal races are not. Parts of the Citadel become a spore-spawned jungle as mycelium spreads and the angels stake their claim on the city. And then, in their own odd but well-meaning way, they proposed to lend aid in a way the other races could not, or would not.

First-Of-His-Name considers their case in the tallest palace of the Citadel, One-Of-Many perched attendant on his shoulder. He listens to their primitive language, then, after a period of contemplation, silently stretches out a beckoning hand. The closest angel steps forward, and with a flash of silver and gold it is condensed into a soul once more, a scintillating sphere of light and life that floats forward and falls into the clasped hand of First-Of-His-Name. The avatar places the soul into one end of the scales that make up his symbol. Placed into the other dish is a single crystalline feather, plucked from One-Of-Many. God and avatar, raven and halfling, watch as the scales tilt and balance, until the scales finally tilt in favor of the angel.

The shepherd nods, and the soul becomes an angel once more. Their case has been weighed and approved, and the angels become the core component of the afterlife's bureaucracy. By the next season their hives have taken over many of the temples and towers surrounding the palace of First-Of-His-Name, strands of fungi dangling from building to building like clothesline. The Citadel is full of beautiful lights and melodious noises, and Many-As-One feel a significant burden lifted, their attention freed to attend to other duties.

The rest of the flock is elsewhere, following a trail of cosmic slime that streaks across the darkness of space. Eniym is not alone; Many-As-One have arrived to parley with them. "Cloudmother," They ask in unison, voices clear and strong even in the absence of oxygen, "We are grateful for your aid. Tell us, what do you see from your place at the top of the sky?"

A Question of Peace

For the first time in history, another god has arrived in the Citadel. First-Of-His-Name levels a considering stare at the new arrival, calm even as angels flock the room, dripping slime from the ceilings and conversing with one another in whistles and squeals. First-Of-His-Name has been sworn to a vow of silence ever since his ascension to demigod-hood. He does not break this vow now, but instead sweeps an arm as if to say, Perhaps it is all around you.

One-Of-Many sweeps an unknowable gaze across the new arrival. It is a moment before it speaks. "Sky Whisperer," It finally says, "You have traveled far to come to this place. Why?"

[ChaoticHarmony]

Looloodi: The Caldera

Looloodi gives the desert Goddess a wide smile. "I would totally love to do that! This is, like, SO awesome! With all of us working together, we can, like, TOTALLY make this wor...." She suddenly stops speaking, as though paralyzed. Something.....something is wrong......it feels as though.....something beautiful was just born into this world, without her help. While she doesn't know how she truly feels about this, Looloodi cannot help the sudden liquid that drips from her roots, a small wisp of purple vapor billowing up when it hits the bare ground. Many flowers and plants seem to grow more colorful the more liquid falls from her body.

"I-I'm sorry....I, like, have to go.....but I DEFINITELY want to team up! If you can get Sissy Tafeita to agree to it, I'm, like, TOTALLY yours Sissy Selima!" Looloodi says, snapping out of her strange funk. The strange liquid seems to have stopped as well, her diamond roots sparkling beautifully clean, as though nothing was out of sort. With a quick hug and a big kiss on Selima's cheek, Looloodi starts wandering North, towards where she could swear the strange sensation was drawing her.

Spoiler: AP Usage

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Started with 6/16

Curse(1): Envy's Poison
This purplish liquid was created by Looloodi's unconscious Envy of something/one being as beautiful as her. Incredibly Toxic, this natural venom can easily kill most mortals and even make other deities sick if consumed. Plants of every type are outright immune to this poison however, with many of them capable of absorbing and reproducing it. [Used for Nature(Poison)

Domains:
Nature(Plants)
Earth(Gems)
Life(Beauty) 10/10
Nature(Poison) 1/10

Ended with 5/16

[RolandDeschain]

Selima - The Caldera

At Looloodi's kiss, Selima bowed at the goddess' parting. Lifting her hand to her cheek, she discovered a beautiful diamond gem from the Beauteous Bloom...a promise of sisterhood. Her heart soared, as for the first time in her existence she did not feel...alone.

Selima - The Engraved Plains

Timidity and humility flew from her as the words of doom were spoken...be they warning or be they folly. Her eyes flared a fierce turquoise, and the finely woven fire of her gown shimmered white-hot as she was liberated from her self-doubt. The journey here had been long, but a pilgrimage of self-discovering and actualization it had proven to be. A Single Stone had set her free, wittingly or not, it was impossible to know.

Turning to the water goddess, "Sister I name you, and sense in you a kindred spirit. Would thou hear these portents and proclamations and not be...moved?"

[TheDarkDM]

Nemesis, Karam-Kor

Moved by the newborn god's frustration, Nemesis took her formless golden mass into his arms. Cradling her like a babe, he moved south, away from the steam-choked coast of his mountain and into the badlands only lightly touched by his birth. For a mortal, the journey would have been one of weeks, months, but the titan that was Nemesis made the trek in barely a day. With every shuddering step, he saw the lifeless vast that awaited his people, and grew wroth at its imperfection. But Nemesis was a creature of fire, and could not yet conceive of growing things. Finally, they reached the ocean, and he lay the being that would be Mamona down upon the sand. Heedless as his presence turned beach to glass, he spoke once more in gentle whisper.

"Make of yourself what you will. There is much yet beneath this sky that I must know, but I shall return to you."

Turning away, he tested the air. Life abounded beyond the horizon, of that he was sure, bearing the alien scents of salt and spring. That so many existed beyond his grasp only fueled Nemesis' quiet rage, a rage that demanded action. He strode forward, sinking beneath the water's surface with naught but devastation in his wake. Caustic gasses billowed from undersea vents, narrow fissures widened to disgorge liquid fire, and the oceans above him boiled. The Great Reef withered before such an onslaught, Nemesis' passage reducing a vibrant band of the coral wall to lifeless char. But even as it burned, he began to know it, and all it touched. The ocean floor rose towards the First Land, but rather than meet the sun Nemesis dove deeper still, parting the crust of the earth and forcing his way through.

He felt the tunnel networks all about him, warrens both meager and monstrous hidden away from the sky above. The edges of his fingers brushed against the domain of the rats, sending thousands scurrying for their lives as the air caught fire. He caught a caretaker between thumb and forefinger, its elephantine body little more than a gnat before him, and watched the animating moss burn with curious delight. The land rippled like air upon a summer's day, reshaping tunnel, hill, and mountain. Until finally Nemesis beheld the roots of the Tree of Light.

Of all he had seen in his ranging, Ilianthos enraptured Nemesis most of all. It was the first object in his long ranging to endure his touch, and as iridescent bark cracked against his touch he felt all that it touched. Caldera and Savage Land, God and Goddess, he was suffused with the stolen knowledge of the sacred tree. His anger vanished, for in knowing he gained understanding, only to be replaced by something far more dangerous - hunger. There was more upon Creation than he had dared dream in his northern sanctum, and he would have dominion over all of it.

He withdrew from the Great Tree, mind spinning with possibilities, and continued south. He emerged from the coastal cliffs with a crash, his terrible face looming over the Coral Forest. He smiled at the sight of it and the teeming multitudes of Mer thriving within, growing ever more joyous as he felt their sudden terror. Looming over the hapless mortals as they floated in stupefied horror, he slammed down upon one of their outlying villages, devouring every soul that lived within before receding into the earth.

Spoiler: Actions

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Free AP = 10
Spent AP = 6

1 AP - Curse: The Inferno
Nemesis' passage wreaks havoc on the First Land. Above his winding path, earthquakes and volcanic activity bathe much of creation in an unintentional firestorm.

[Draken]

[New Tunnels]

[The First Dungeon]

There was a ruin in the eastern hills, and in that ruin was a book. That was known to a rat or two and to the ruins themselves. And then, the ruins sank. Why? They certainly did not know.

All around Nasigune, a presence filled the walls. Maybe she had felt it shifting in the distant depths before, but now it flooded in and filled the ruined keep she had taken for herself, staining the walls with ancient muck.

But it said nothing.

[The Tenebral Laboratories]

A river had carved its way down in many chambers, and on occasion broken into the tunnels of the moss. It was now haunted by the sound of rocks grinding against themselves in circles and earthen feet stomping in rhythm.

The banks came to be covered in the old plants, and the presence came with it. Clinging to columns and seeping around floors. Looking about the works of the god within with curiosity.

But it said nothing.

[Nemesis' Way]

A molten tunnel was dug from north to southeast, the world's blood seeping into it, and a great many old things lost to the flames. Some more lost to the boiling seas where the tunnel began as well as where it ended. But much more gained. The depths were then bound to the First Land, now the way was open like never before, thrown wide by the striding giant. Was a thanks in order? Later, maybe.

A presence came to the north and seeped into the volcanic halls. Inspecting these young rocks.

A presence came to the south, amid kicked sand, and befell the palaces of the mer.

But it said nothing.

[Toxic Mind]

Marah, Selina, A Single Stone

“Sister” Marah says, as though testing the word. “We are divine both, so the term seems accurate.”

“I have heard the words of this one. It speaks of doom and fate - a fate we cannot avoid. I cannot accept that, but perhaps that is fate too. All I can do is continue onward.”

[Nefarion Xid]

Mamona, On the Shore of Karam-Kor

The golden bulk lumbered towards the sea, pausing once to turn its face back to Nemsis with a placid expression resembling gratitude. When the god had gone from sight, all pretense of elegance was cast off as the thing clambered down the beach and into the deep waters. For a time, the sea boiled as a mountain of gold was tempered beneath the waves.

Mamona emerged hours later, caked in salt and broken slag. Born of fire, the boundless treasures from the womb of the world and been forged, quenched and made glorious flesh. A monument to excess and desire itself, her body was overgenerous. Her visage was near harrowing in its exquisiteness, though still round and cherubic enough to create a veneer of innocence. It was difficult to hold her in your gaze, but it was a worse fate to look away. Her lips were ruin and her eyes burned with a cruel eagerness. A heavy pair of black horns formed a crown, curving from the sides of her head to just above her brow -- her only truly inhuman attribute, if the goddess could have been mistaken as human.

She plucked a bit of pumice free from her hip and let out a petulant sigh. The god who had delivered her was nowhere to be seen, nor were the brutes he'd fashioned. It was just as well. Apotheosis was exhausting and she lacked the strength to properly enjoy anything. Instead of pursuing them, she sat on the glassy shore and fashioned a golden comb to untangle her sea washed hair. When she'd finished, she stretched out to let the sun dry her and toyed idly with the only thing she wore or owned: a ruby pendant on a delicate gold chain.

Spoiler: Actions

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Create Major Utility Artifact (5 AP, probably attributed to the Trade (Currency) domain. Give me a bit to decide.)

Amulet of Ardor & Avarice - Ardor takes the form of a pear cut ruby, nearly the size of a real pear. The gem is set in an elegant gold frame, suspended on a delicate looking byzantine chain called Avarice. While the gem produces no light of its own, it is masterfully cut and so brilliant as to mesmerize those who gaze into it. The greediest creatures are the worst for beholding it, driven near to madness to have glimpsed such opulent perfection that they can never possess. Mamora keeps the amulet safely concealed between her breasts to prevent her mortal visitors from being reduced to howling despair.

Though the chain is forged from the literal tons of gold and silver Mamora consumed in her embryonic state, Avarice is deceptively light. When worn by a good and charitable creature, the amulet grows heavier over time and the chain constricts until it the wearer is burdened to the point of immobility if not strangled first.

Thanks to the Ardor’s presence, the wearer’s charisma is greatly increased as they are assured of their leadership and imbued with sensuous grace. They grow in confidence and physical beauty, eventually developing humanoid and female characteristics, regardless of their original or preferred form.

Avarice has the ability to store and transmute precious things. Though no power can create gold from nothing, the chain can hold all the wealth of all the planes. First, the wearer can store and retrieve objects of value at will. Second, some of the accumulated value within the chain can be expended to transform objects, turning lead to gold or limestone to marble. Mundane things are rendered masterwork, lovingly wrought and sculpted by will alone.

As a Utility Artifact, the amulet reduces the cost of the Bless action by 1, contributing to the culture, prosperity, or even fertility of a civilization.

7 AP remaining.

[mystic1110]

Spoiler: Previously

Show

The rest of the flock is elsewhere, following a trail of cosmic slime that streaks across the darkness of space. Eniym is not alone; Many-As-One have arrived to parley with them. "Cloudmother," They ask in unison, voices clear and strong even in the absence of oxygen, "We are grateful for your aid. Tell us, what do you see from your place at the top of the sky?"

Birds and Hagfish

Connections were meant to be forged and glued and subsequently torn apart - the glue at the seems ripping along the edge, forcing a slight unevenness. What was once connected would never truly let go, potentially it will feel the loss of its missed connection, a slow grind of personality as it scratches the itch of what was once. The hag smiles with its fish mouth made with no jaw, its pinkish leathery skin wrinkling. Tit for tat, her slime had led to a connection in heaven, her storm should rend one on earth.

But here was an opportunity, another connection - a storm could be more than the battering of elements. It could be words. And so she speaks, for the first time, and it would not be a surprise to any future worshipers that her first words were a lie for no purpose other than wreckage. But entirely a lie lies mixed in with truth, and empty articles, such that if you would map the sentences they would appear as a tempest. She speaks, the lack of bones giving her a drawl, the slime that covered her providing a thin film that burped occasionally as the air left her windpipe.

Well met Lord of the Stars. And no need to . . . brrlplop (the slime catching the air, turning into a small bubble and poping) . . . thank me - I merely came to observe. I have come from the ocean and the clouds and just wanted to see how my light touches would work. Isn't . . . brrlplop . . . it interesting to see that when a fish flicks its tail in the ocean a tsunami covers the land far away from him? These little actions that build and build and then break. From my clouds, I see much of the land below and I've seen some such small action that in my peerage I sense the premonition that could endanger your works. I've . . brrlplop . . . seen two goddesses of beauty, one of the light of the world and one of its safe houses, meeting. They are no doubt innocent beings, but even innocence could lead to actions and into other actions and eventually the divine city breaks. If you would save the angels and everything you worked for then you would see to it that those . . brrlplop . . . two grow to hate or fear one another.

[GSisco]

Spoiler: Previously...

Show

[The First Dungeon]

There was a ruin in the eastern hills, and in that ruin was a book. That was known to a rat or two and to the ruins themselves. And then, the ruins sank. Why? They certainly did not know.

All around Nasigune, a presence filled the walls. Maybe she had felt it shifting in the distant depths before, but now it flooded in and filled the ruined keep she had taken for herself, staining the walls with ancient muck.

But it said nothing.

The earth was shaking. Something was going on with the world at large, beings throwing about immense power. Nasigune was not to be deterred. She had made it undergroud and as some tunnels shifted, shook, or even collapsed, she held on. She would build her power. When she emerged herself, she would be able to defend herself against such monsters. She continued her experiments and self reflection. They would respect her soon enough. All she needed was a worthy sacrifice and she could set out to properly begin her work in earnest.

[RolandDeschain]

Selima, Marah, A Single Stone

Spoiler: Previously

Show

Marah, Selina, A Single Stone

“Sister” Marah says, as though testing the word. “We are divine both, so the term seems accurate.”

“I have heard the words of this one. It speaks of doom and fate - a fate we cannot avoid. I cannot accept that, but perhaps that is fate too. All I can do is continue onward.”

Shoving aside one of the robed figures, Selima moved to stand before the Water Goddess, the fierceness of her gaze emboldened by Marah's words, "Yes Sister...onward....together. For what are these things that you hold dear? Life, Love, and Beauty are but fleeting....fragile and ephemeral without strength of will...determination, resilience and perseverance."

Opening her hand to reveal both a turquoise cat's-eye gem and a beautiful diamond, "Know you that there are others like us sister. Know that they, as I, would name you friend and ally," sweeping her other hand around, gesturing at the basalt pillars, "in this place of oaths."

[bc56]

Tenebreon: Gathering Material and Seeking Minds

Time passed, and Tenebreon began to receive more materials for his work. First, the Scholars of Stone delivered to him a log of cedar as tribute. That night he appeared to the priests, carrying the timber and saying, "I want more like this." They delivered more timber to him, and he brought it into his laboratories to work.
At the same time, the passage of another god, far below, broke an opening leading between the lowest chambers to the heart of the planet itself. The molten blood of the earth bubbled up through the crack, and where it met the river which fueled the laboratories' mechanisms, new types of stone, never seen before, were formed. Tenebreon began to mine the black glassy strata and the porous, buoyant stones for their unique properties which could add to his designs.
And then something entered his chambers from below. He followed the presence and found a breeze blowing into an unfamiliar passage, lined with moss. Calling two of his Reavers forth, he stationed them at the entrance, and set off to explore the fortress, rendering himself unseen to it's inhabitants.

[ChaoticHarmony]

Looloodi: Edge of the First Land, South of Karam Kar

Pain......that is the only word to describe the burning sensation Looloodi feels growing on her side. Something is attacking Ilianthos, her first and best creation, her BABY. She screeches in fury, the poison of before almost spraying out of her glorious root, spreading across a large portion of the ground beneath her. One of her diamond thorns drops from her body, still brimming with the venom of its former body, and pierces the ground.

Before Looloodi rushes off to her precious Tree of Light however, the burning sensation suddenly ceases. Suprised by this, Looloodi focuses her mind on Ilianthos, and senses no malevolent near her former body. Still angry, she returns her attention to the sensation of beauty she felt before, and begins her travel once more.

Spoiler: AP Usage

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Started with 5/16

Alter Land(1): The Dasos Dilitirios.
This now lush and colorful section of forest sits on the most northern edge of the First Land. Do not let its inherent beauty fool you though. Every plant within its boundaries is incredibly poisonous, to the point that even breathing the air for too long can cause permanent damage, if not outright death, to nearly every mortal creature. It could be considered worth the risk, however, due to the rumor of a fantastically precious and beautiful treasure said to lay at its center.[Used towards Nature(Poison)]

Domains:
Nature(Plants)
Earth(Gems)
Life(Beauty) 10/10
Nature(Poison) 2/10

Ended with 4/16

[neriractor]

Spoiler: Previously?

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A Question of Peace

For the first time in history, another god has arrived in the Citadel. First-Of-His-Name levels a considering stare at the new arrival, calm even as angels flock the room, dripping slime from the ceilings and conversing with one another in whistles and squeals. First-Of-His-Name has been sworn to a vow of silence ever since his ascension to demigod-hood. He does not break this vow now, but instead sweeps an arm as if to say, Perhaps it is all around you.

One-Of-Many sweeps an unknowable gaze across the new arrival. It is a moment before it speaks. "Sky Whisperer," It finally says, "You have traveled far to come to this place. Why?"

A bulb of spore and earth moved to be the body's eyebrows just so it could be raised at the avatar's gesture. Daghir looked around, there was no fighting to be certain, and there was something to be said for the monotony (or lack thereof) of the angels at work, it was a peace but not his.

The new body almost lost shape with the leafs threatening to scatter in pair with the startled god, but it held together and he paused, contemplating One-Of-Many and thinking what he would say to another of his kind "Peace, my sister..." he paused again, sister and its variants were easily the word most used amongst the gods when speaking to one another but it was off now, he was careless "...brother..." not any better, as far as he was concerned "...colleague?" and now he was questioning and seeking aid, not one minute after meeting a supposed peer, he became flustered and took a moment again, resenting his seeming eagerness to err.

And then he repeated, for a lack of a better idea "If you wish to discuss your disputes, do so in the place we have specifically prepared for it." "words... the perfect names it is in my interest to see,preserve, gift to the world, to know what else there is I need peace"

Spoiler: AP actions

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Curse 1 AP (shame): For things done which cannot be undone, deviance from what is considered right and basically all that is seen flawed in the self or its actions, almost as all-encompassing as hunger, it can cause in the wrong times far more pain and is now unleashed upon the world.[unknown 1]

domain acquisition:
-[Magic (truenaming) 1/10]
-[history (language) 1/10]

13 AP -1 AP: 12 AP left