Gods of a New Star [IC2]

[Fan]

(Oh, no I believe you need a proper education in what Banishment can do. Banishment works against Outsiders, and Summouned creratures NOTHING else. Also if you fail the will save of Baldiers heightened epic conjurations They deal full damage if DO fail then they only deal 80% real damage as per the sahdes spell. ))
Baldier continues to conjure his duplicates both halves of his split mind working together to do it. (minor act reinofrcing the spells.)

[Virgo]

((My nigh unlimited armies that I care nothing for will be inconvenienced, I'm sure. In the meantime, Calix will remove your duplicates and while your focus your mind on replenishing them, I'll destroy ships.))

[ArlEammon]

Saradinus
Saradinus transforms the Life Tree into a giant living Treant. The giant thing should be able to protect Teke like it never has before. The other dimensions are being explored in the hopes of spreading the ways of the Sages.

[Fan]

((Too bad there are hundreds of them, and Baldier has twice as many actions as him due to him not being Schismed like I'am. Also Minor act does make it rather difficult for a artifact to pierce through it, and I also have a artifact desinge for the SAME THING that failed against defic magic.)

[Smiley_]

The Moon

Calix felt a rumbling from the sphere. He heard a few disjoined words from the orbiting craft.

ORB...ALL...NOTHING...LATER...FOOL...GODS

The orb glowed several times before unleashing it's full power. It had remaied dormant for the entire existance of the planet before, but now, it would pursue it's ultimate purpose.

The anti-supernatural fields swelled in power and intensity. Psionics were disrupted, portals from both sides strained under the force, and even the magic and psionics used on both sides was dampened quite a bit. Arcane casters found that their weaker spells fizzled and their stronger ones considerably diminished. Even the gods felt diminished in the fields.

A voice sang out from it.

Calix, my dear. Did you think you could controll me? You did, to an extent, but I am driven by purpose. You may not be able to find Baldier, but I am. The power I hold is all or nothing. You failed to understand this, calix, taking me for a simple bauble. Oh, well. What is done is done, but these god powers you sling around are quite troublesome. I am sure you can manage without you magicks for a while, though.

((Minor act or no, I know this orb's powers. It was described as being able to mess with gods. Also, Calix is only trying to use it to target localized areas. It was never meant to do that. It affects everythign in range or nothing.

Of course, this will balance things out some more and allow the protoss technology to actually do something (considering the poor protoss are being whailed upon quite a bit by seemingly infinite droves of undead, demons and shadow creatures). We might be able to get Alrinach and Baldier to fight one onother, instead of being invisible and shadowy or using portals to sneak around everywhere.))

[Fan]

((Does the orb mess with a Triple fortified domain?)

[Smiley_]

((It dampenes even deific powers, so yes. Magic from fortified domains are more powerful and will still be stronger than non fortified domains, but they will still be weakened. Other aspects, such as sneaking around will be affected in the sense that invisibility wil be more difficult to maintain, but swiftness of foot and skill for hiding behind rocks is not diminished. Same for Alrinach's portals. They will be shrunken or damaged, but they will still be able to shuttle through perfectly servicable demons. It only targets supernatural powers that are distinctly magical or supernatural such as psionic blasts, mind control, bolts of evil power, and bending of reality.

At least, that's how Ikassi first made it to be. Anything that doesn't mess with physics is completely unaffected.))

[Fan]

((So.. yeah glad I have my psionicsw triple fortfied, so whiole it wont be as powerful as normal it will still be as powerful as say atwice forified domain?))
Luckily for Baldier he was acting within his domain when he was conjuring those Shadow conjurations ((Epic power using the shadow, and conjuration seeds! Using Shades as a base example!))
So, now with both sides having lost their magic, and the Hero deities now trapped on a random ship I will have that particular (minor act over my technology domain.) to force the ship to explode once within enemy ranks (like an atom bomb!).
Also his weakened sahdow conjurations sill fought on against the enemy forces, but pulled out once the atom bomb type of explosion was coming towards them.
The tide of the battle had turned.
Also Baldier focusing on his conjurations is now visible!

[Virgo]

Nemerensis refused to be trapped anywhere; walls buckled as a black-caped missile pushed through bulkheads and vanished with a wave of corruption to continue its malignant mission on the moon itself.

Ships are still falling towards the surface of the moon, and more demons swarm from portals as Alrinach sees Baldier in the sky and appears at his position, resuming his brutal transplanar attacks as tendrils of evil energy try and force themselves through Baldier's eyes and skin, and as the corruption inside the god's body wells outward to meet them.

The black gem glitters hungrily.

[Ipphli]

Children of Cyrus

The two flowers were carefully preserved in a new substance, clear as glass and hard as steel. Unwilling to tamper with the gift from their god, the flowers were set in a block at the base of the Statue of Hope.

******

The four leaders entered the inner sanctum carefully. They'd received a summons from Crogin, and came as soon as they could. There before them stood a statue of Cyrus, wearing or holding all the artifacts of legend: the hammer Cyrus used to forge the world, the armor that no force could pierce, and the necklace that made rune magic unstoppable.

Crogin stepped out of the shadows, stopping next to the statue. It spoke slowly, as if reciting something from memory. " Although He has left us, he has not abandoned us. Before He went, HE imparted on me knowledge of new devices that will aid the Children in the coming days." He gestured to the statue. "There he left for you. It is left up to you to decide how to distribute them. I must go now and begin teaching the others."
With that and a small bow of his head to each of them, he stepped out.

After looking at each other for a moment, Riedel the dwarf spoke what each was thinking: "There are only 3 artifacts, and 4 of us. Do we give them all to one then?" The other three look at Kenova, the ogre leader. Kenova just smiled and shook his head. "You may take them. We ogres have the Statue of Hope after all."

He went over and took the hammer, then presented it to the dwarf. "It is only right that the finest craftsman amongst all the Children should have our lord's hammer." As Riedel marveled at the hammer, Kenova picked up the amulet and gave it to Nobu, leader of the Prora and finest sailor in the land. "You are the great runemaster ever known. You above all others have a claim on this."

After slipping it around her neck, Kenova turned towards Razien. The massive minotaur looked the ogre in the eye before he nodded. "I suppose you're going to present me with the armor? Maybe tell me I'm the best warrior in the nation?" A smile slowly spread over his face. "Which is good, because the armor is what I had my eye on anyways. And I am the best, aren't I? He laughs before gesturing towards the statue. "Now help me put it on."

A little later the 4 walked out to stand on the top step of the High Temple. They looked out over the city as the crowd that had gathered in the plaza cheered. The future seemed bright for the Children. Work began at once to incorporate Crogin's designs and ideas into new and useful objects that were quickly put into production. The Children would not go to war, but they would be ready if it came to them. A delegation was sent to convey the happenings of the last few days to the Free People to the north, especially Ressal.

[Fan]

Virgo finds out that there are suddenly Twenty real as can be Baldiers at full capacity wailing on him as hard as they can mentally (Shadowcraft mage . Powerful shadow magicks any spells with the Following descrption are : WWhen a shadow craft mage reaches 5th level (meaning becomes a master of the class.) Any spell he casts with thwe shadow descrpitor is 20% more "real" against creatures who make their will save (resist the magick... which if he doesn't its 100%) against the spell. (In this case its an epic power using the Shadow, and conjuration seeds.)
So, yeah 20 baldiers wailing as hard as they can at the Law god all of them at 90% power of him at full strength.

[Lord_Asmodeus]

Shilliax Armies

With the weakening of their divine and arcane magic the Undead had lost much morale. This didn't effect the mass foot soldiers, who had only enough of a mind to shoot the gun they carried and follow the orders barked straight into their feeble minds, but it worried their commanders and the operators of the more delicate equipment. They took heart that their allies had come, and in force, and that even now reinforcements poured onto the moon, guns ready to kill and slaughter their foes.

However, it was not until the shadows loomed overhead that their morale truly rose from it's falling place, and ascended to new heights. Massive shadows emerged from the gloom of the advancing dark side of the moon. The ships had come at last.

Lacking the superior engines of the Protoss the ships were slower and could not move even close to the speed of light, and while their technology was inferior, they made up for this loss with an impressive increase of mass. The fleet was, all told, a great deal smaller than the original Protoss fleet, but it was matched, if not completely evenly, far better against the current size of their foes. The ships themselves were massive, bloated, baroque monstrosities. They were forged of bone and steel, with pulsing muscle and organs deep beneath the surface. Ships of the damned crewed by the dead and the dying. Most of their number boasted large hammerhead prows, or large wings broken to the sides. Others looked vaguely like ships of the sea, curved on the bottom as well as the top, and still others resembled the void ship of Abraxys.

The largest was twice the size of it's current matching Protoss ship, and the smallest dwarfed the Protoss escorts. They all had hundreds, maybe even thousands of guns. Massive gun-prows and cannons loomed from the hull, made of bone and flesh and tipped with screaming demonic skulls or open claws. They lacked the shielding of the Protoss ships, but had far thicker hulls and armor. When they opened fire, shields quickly fell and ships plummeted toward the Protoss ranks, their hulls afire with blast damage, and still others merely exploded. Some of them received massive shots like huge seed pods. Some of them burst open after breaching the enemies hulls, releasing noxious gas or unleashing boarding crews, armed to the teeth, on protoss vessels. Still others caused huge explosions, or washed the enemy ships in Bluefire napalm, and some even acted as their looks implied, bursting with rapidly growing plants that grew to monstrous proportions and could survive even in the harsh vacuum. They pulsed with evil and sucked the energy from the ships, and they grew at a rate that would have given the enlightened a run for their money.

The battle had once again begun in earnest, as some ships unloaded smaller craft which launched attacks on the protoss ships and armies, and others that ferried down huge brigades of troops.

[Fan]

he fleet itself was damaged, but still incredibly fierce, and it coutnered the seed pods, and the like with Huge Immortals that while vulerable to the lesser pin prick of claws, and blades were immune entirely to the fire of the Rifles before them their blue dome like shields flickker with each explosion, and protecting the smaller zealots underneath them as they charged passed the warp technology bringing them upon their enemies within seconds as the Phasers, and Power Sword collided forcefully with chitin, and claw.
Meanwhile on the outside what the carrier lacked in fire power was brought up by the ir ability to make new Robotic ifghters infintely, and the ships of Gargax found themselves being literally bombarded with the corrosive nets that their fighters had become famous of them, except with a few alterations it now burned through the hulls exposing the undead with to the elements of the void as Huge elemental explosions went on around ,adn inside the ships. (Anti matter missile!)
Then a lone unmanned ship was seen plummeting towards the Gargaxian captial ship at near lgiht speed its hull begining to swell in places.

[Lord_Asmodeus]

Shilliax Armies

The tanks began bombarding the troops as they attempted to close, as they ran outside of the immortals shields massive explosions rocked them, and many times when the explosions blasted Undead as well as Protoss, the corpse-corps rose once again to their feet and renewed their charge. The tanks fired their powerful machineguns at the troops as well, strafing them and cutting down large numbers, when they noticed that, while tank fire was blocked by the powerful shell-like shields, the machinegun rounds often found their way through. And so the tanks began cutting away at the Immortals, the chatter and blaze of their machineguns becoming a beat of destruction as several immortals began to falter, and then fail. Troops streamed forward and tanks rolled up to fill the gaps, and soldiers began joining the machineguns when they could, firing their powerful rifles at the tank-like immortals, as shells from the artillery screamed down behind the Protoss lines to devastate their support.

In the skies, the Gargaxian ships also mobilized their fighters, not as cheaply produced as numerous as the Protoss Drones, they made up for their deficiency with speed, skill, and improved fire power. Many of the drones began to fall, screaming fire, to the earth or exploded in the skies. Many a protoss ship found their shields meant little if an enemy small enough to bypass them got inside and blasted at their hulls, and carriers began to be targeted over the others, a number of the mighty behemoths plummeting from the skies. The fighters also found their task when they surrounded the unmanned kamikaze, and, with powerful weapons chatter and the screaming of living missiles, brought it down. The Gargaxian ships and fighters fired missiles into the Protoss in return, which, when they exploded, sent out clouds of white-hot shrapnel to tear through steel and horrible unliving leech creatures to latch onto hulls and drones and sap their energy, before gaining mobility of their own and attacking other ships and fighters. The Gargaxian Capital Ship, a massive ship among behemoths, opened up it's numerous and highly powerful guns, and huge explosions racked through the center of the Protoss armada, a number of smaller ships falling, their shields depleted and hulls torn to shreds, and the larger vessels shields began to falter, and those whose shields fell, fell prey to the mighty guns of the capital ship, Corpse Saint as it blasted ragged holes in their hulls and armor.

[Virgo]

Alrinach

When Alrinach was faced againt 20 shadowcrafted Baldiers, he did one one would expect him to do: he moved.

Flashing from location to location around the crowd he vanished and reappeared faster almost faster than the eye could track. As he did so, he reached out to Baldier's duplicates: each one was a copy, very real, of its creator, and each one carried within it the massive corruption that their creator did, and Baldier had unwittingly increaded its concentration in the area twenty-fold.

With a wreching motion, Alrinach commanded the corruption to animate and burst fourth to attack the real Baldier like a phage.

[Smiley_]

The star behemoth roared two words over the battling fleet.

HAPPY DAY...

When a craft was destroyed, it would pull its wrecked fuselage up with an invisible force. These, it would carry off and dismantle away from the chaos of the battle. Whenever it got a larger ship, it would return, slightly, but noticeably larger than before.

[Kaiser Omnik]

One of the Archmagi of the North traveled in the etheral plane to Baldier. Empowered by the power of his pairs (and an Immanent God), the Archmagi shared some of his energy with the Protoss God. He got a slight boost to all his abilities (think ability scores, saves, BAB, DCs, etc.). All this is divine in nature, so it works even in an antimagic field.

[Fan]

empowered even more so the Shadow duplicates began tio rip the Law god apart swiftly not taking the time to ensure pain, or suffering.
Also once they recieved the support The Demon Prince felt even MORE Psionic power begin ripping him apart. Where he had thought he had the advantage baldier had trumped.

The Ship
As the Immortals began to Falter they sent in the Dragoon, and the Collousi who sent ravening beams of destruction upon tanks, and infantry alike searing through the dark chitinous armor like Carbonic acid would shred tissue paper, and they will find that THESE units shield worked just fine against both of the creatures weapon both tank, and infantry alike. then as if vieled by a unseen force until now a force of stalkers came out from behind the forces two lineso f them both cutting off reinforcements, and dealing otu deadly destructionwith their dual phase disruptor cannons catching the Gargaxian forces in a deadly pincer manuever.

[ArlEammon]

Saradinus
Saradinus appoints the very first dragon ever made, who is still alive, into a great creature, the second in command of Saradinus'es outsider faction. This dragon, once named Adamus, is now called Ragnarok.... Ragnarok, the Dragon, is to be the Commander of Saradinus'es forces. First and definitely by far the most greatest of all of the twice great dragons of the entire race....

[Kaiser Omnik]

The Rycean gods appear at a safe distance from the moon and once again turn it into a holy ground. No more undead can be raised there and all those who are currently fighting are severly weakened.

Baldier received a telepathic message from them.

"Thank Cyrus and Ikassi for this. We are only helping you because we have made a promise."

[Smiley_]

Ikassi

The lands of the ensirex saw something terrible, and traumatizing. a patch of corrupted land, without the influence of Gargax (he was eaten by Abherru, right?) began to sport several patches of flowers. These patches were filled with dancing , disturbing lights that shone through the darkness. For the first time in Millenia, uncorrupted creatures began to be born. Such things must have come to the shock of many Ensirex who knew little besides the corruption.

Ikassi spoke to the Rycean gods.

Best to do a thorough job of it. Would you like to help me drive that walking city off your continent?

[Kaiser Omnik]

Ryceans

You are right. When there are bugs in the garden, you better kill them soon or they'll reproduce!

[Fan]

"That I will Ryceans, and may the Titan bless your souls."
He, and his weakened clones (even if its only a fifth its still 6 gods workign together.. not a problem.) continued to dismantle the Law god, takign away his portals first, then evil. then souls, then, and lastly corruption.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The ship

The Portoss seeign their foes greatly weakened blasted them straight out of the sky, and used a regular ole bomb to send it in the direction opposite the moon.

[Lord_Asmodeus]

Shilliax

The Spirit of the Ensirex Lands, the Earth Warden of Shilliax, was concerned. The Corrupted Land supported his people, without it he did not know if their way of life would survive, and many of them would die. And besides that, their land was sacred to them like a treant and it's forests. And so he walked out to the land, and he began healing it, reversing the horrible taint that changed his beautiful land to that of flowers and meadows, and made it as it was before he and his kind had come. He beseached the Earth that he could commune with: Mother Earth, Great Ikassi, Voice of the World, why do you do this to our lands? I have faithfully defended the land and it's sanctity as you commanded me to do! I have defended the natural state of this place as was your will? Why do you go against your will now? What have I done to earn your misfavor?

Moon

Fighters strafed down, and horrid spikes of bone shrieked through the sky. Missiles. They impacted in Collossi and sent them crashing down into Protoss Ranks, killing dozens. And, as the invisible beings attacked, they too were beset by ghosts and spirits, shadows and shades. They could smell the Protoss souls, and so could the many Changed, and they hungrily attacked those who cloaked themselves from mortal sight.

Meanwhile powerful circles of Necromancers attempted to fight through the holy blight and raise their fellows once more.

[Fan]

The Protoss continued to wreak havoc with their surpioer weaponry, armor, and technology against the weakened enemy (sorry, but I got a pwoer boost, and you got weakened.) AAnd then some of the Protoss clerics came out doing abttle with the fell necromancers, and using their great power against undead to fell many in their way.

[Smiley_]

Ikassi

Ikassi responded.

Oh, shush. Like children, you fought.. I gave the civilizations that could possibly appreciate or make use my gift. The protoss warden did not use his powers for protection, seeking to change that which ws out of his jurisdiction.

Know this. The Ryceans hate you and your kind. These patches of the outside world are all that will be created. You must understand. Perhaps, you will come to love the outside world. In any case, they are there to protect you, to help your people. Gargax and I, we were doing swimmingly, until it changed. I bear no grudge against your people. The only way to make the changed lands accepted is to prove that it does not change your essence. If you do not face the world as it is, the Ryceans will have been right.

I will guide the rest of your people here from across the sea. It is what must be done. Your god has gone missing. So has the other that resided in him. There is an ogre named Ressal. You may wish to speak with him.

[Lord_Asmodeus]

Shilliax

I do not claim to speak with the wisdom of a god but... I have seen many things. I am old, and I though I was a humble bonecrafter before... I began to know not only the Earth, but more of Gargax. The Ryceans are bigoted and arrogant. Too long have they known isolation and peace, it is THEY who cannot accept change. We do not fear change, and we do not fear death, but we fear those who avoid our lands because of what they are. Perhaps... I stared into the Heavens as well as into the heart of the Earth, and I felt the passing of Gargax, before and now, and I had learned of the events. If you and he were so close, and Cyrus and he viewed eachother as brothers among the gods... why did noone act when Alrinach attacked him? Why did nobody defend his right to protect his people, when Alrinach played his trick? All that came Gargax's way were insults and accusations flung by his destractors... but where were his friends? Where were you when GARGAX needed you? I speak not with the wisdom of the gods... but I am old... and I have seen much... I will see to this... Ressal, but I do not wish for my peoples way of life to die with our god. It is not that we cannot change, and it is not that we resist it... but rather we like our lives as they are. Everyones needs are met, all have a place, and death holds no fears for us... people of this world look upon us and call us abominations, but they deceive themselves... this place... is a paradise for us. I do not wish to see that taken away from my people.

---

The Moon

The superior numbers, brute power, and vicious and unwavering loyalty, combined with a total lack of fatigue, evened the score. The Necromancer circles continued to work their communal magic, but now much of it was targeted at the clerics and psionics of the Protoss. Great numbers of them fell screaming as various horrible fates befell them. Few knew the myriad paths to death like a necromancer, and few could carry them out with such brutal efficiency.

[ArlEammon]

Saradinus
Suddenly, hundreds of dragon born, transformed into Wisemen through the Ascension, charged at the necromancers, after teleportation, with futuristic armor, and with their mage knights, would mow down the chanters and slaughter all the enemy they could find, riding on celestial wyverns.

[Fan]

The Protoss responded with a complex defenseive spell that should turn the tide of the battle.
Hide from undead.
A good portion of the army was now undetectable to the undead armies before them,and then with a burst of light the Protoss Archon emerged the Hero diety himself come to smite the enemy.
"POWER OVERWHLEMING!" FOR AUIR!"
Soaring Morale turned the tide of the battle, and a pair of strafing corairs, and a Protoss Battle ship managed to down another Gargaxian ship with fex causalties as they adjusted, adn adpated.

[Smiley_]

The Protoss continued to wreak havoc with their surpioer weaponry, armor, and technology against the weakened enemy (sorry, but I got a pwoer boost, and you got weakened.) AAnd then some of the Protoss clerics came out doing abttle with the fell necromancers, and using their great power against undead to fell many in their way.

The great space beast voiced some more words.

HAPPY...TIME...NOW!

Absolutely immense from cannibalizing other ships that had been taken out it turned towards the protoss.

FUN...NEED...RUN...FATTIES!

With that, it charged into the protoss Armada. It shot several of the thick purple death rays at some of the smaller ships, scouring their shields. Still other, light blue beams were being fired from its sides, weaker than the main purple ones, seemingly bypassing the shields of some of the smaller ships. Ocationally, it would fire a large, red, plasma torpedo at a larger ship, causing far more damage than a cluster of the protoss antimatter missiles.

MOM...AND DAD...AND DAD...AND MOM WOULD BE PROUD OF ME!

Ikassi

She replied to Sixrael

The time of gods is over. The planet is evolving. Soon, all may very well be silent. The old cultures will inevitably fade into nothingness. Even now, the protoss are no more on this planet. The Myrmici have long forgotten the shrieking spire and the earth mother. Do you think they took it kindly? Of course not, but they were stronger for it. This you must know.

And is life simply supposed to be peace and food? Hah! There are great deeds to be done, my child. Hardships to overcome, pains and fears that must be faced. You are to live your life as it should be lived and tell the world that Gargax had created this mighty race, a race that will live on for ages to come. If you want to keep your land, so be it. It will not change, but if you continue to face it, you or your people will never grow.