LoC: Chains of Aeon - IC

[Rizban]

As far back as any being could recollect, there was the Sun, in the presumed center of a vast emptiness and set against a backdrop of stars. Perhaps they were suns like their own, thought the gods. But, the stars were intangible, even to the mightiest of creatures. Either they were simply too distant, or the pull of their own Sun prevented them from journeying too far.

In this time beyond reckoning, there were three little god and their mother. Her name had passed out of all memory, perhaps even to her children. Then again, maybe they chose to simply forget. Each was an inheritor to an aspect of the void they inhabited. One was given dominion over the Light of the Sun, another the Darkness beyond, and the last the sliver of Twilight between.

As a final act of beneficence, and a gift to her offspring, she drew up a sphere of roiling elemental chaos from the core of the Sun and flung it far into space so that it would cool. After, she retreated deep within the impassable reaches of her Sun, occupied, they thought, by a task with no name, but of gravest importance.

The three gods set upon their inheritance, a churning mass of fire and stone and vapor adrift in the Astral Sea, and began the laborious process of simply sorting things out...

This was the birth of the world.

[Rizban]

And so Tanafriti set about ordering the world, drawing together the lightest of the elements and placing them in the topmost layer of the world, creating the Air. From this act, the god Alemar was born and granted dominion over the Air.

The Imp King collected the Waters from the chaos, creating an endless layer ocean beneath the Air. From the Waters was born Naraldi, who was granted dominion over them.

Finally Tresnaya gathered together the heaviest of the elements, creating the Earth and placing it at the core of this new world. Skaldi was birthed from this and granted dominion over the Earth.

The knotted mass which was leftover was then discarded from the world. From this chaotic mass emerged the god Tome-La.

Having been born from the initial chaotic mass itself, Apocos watched the ordering of the world and was not entirely happy with the way things had been apportioned.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

Tresnaya, the Astral Sea

Tresnaya looked at the world, and turned away. The Astral Sea beyond was dark, lit lightly with stars, so close she could almost touch them, and yet, too far to ever reach. It was pathetic, really, that such a thing could be so far away.
The world itself was not much better. It was stagnant. The airs moved amongst themselves, the waters moved amongst themselves, and the land just stayed where it was.
No, nothing was happening there, and Mother had gone into the Sun...
Now, the sun was interesting. It flared occasionally, sun-spots moved across its surface, it was continually changing. Who knows, it could be completely different in a few thousand years.
Hmmm... What would it be like if the world was like that too?

She reached down, past the swirling winds, through the churning waters, and held in her hand a clump of mud. She withdrew, and threw it into the Astral Sea, her eyes closed. It flew up, but than halted, not quite past the atmosphere, but on the edge of it. There, it was, for a short period, dried by the sun, and infused with the air, before falling again, into the water.
But it did not sink back to the bottom. While in the air, it had become riddled with pockets of air, and great caverns only half-filled with water, until it was more air and water than it was earth. And thus, it stayed on the surface, and floated.
Tresnaya saw this, and frowned. Not quite what she was hoping for, but it would do. She was hoping for it to stay in the sky, but, still, she could work with this.
She shaped the land, flattening it out a bit, so that it was not a ball, but more a slightly flattened oval. In the middle, she molded the land until it had a peak, and then pulled back from the world, and watched her little floating mountain isle bob on the world-wide seas.

[AP=2=6-3(Greater Shape Land: the isle itself)-1(Shape Land: the mountain on the isle)]

[Ipphli]

Alemar, The Atmosphere

"Where am I? Who am I?"

These were the questions that the godling awoke with. After looking about himself for awhile, it came to him: Alemar. Yes, that was his name. That one settled, he focused on his surroundings. Beneath him was a large amount of water in a big globe shape. Around him blew the air.

After several long moments taken just to enjoy the feel of the wind blowing past him, Alemar looked up. And stared. The sun, and those distant pinpricks of light. It was beautiful. But the wind was better. Just then he noticed another being throw a big chunk of mud into the sky. He watched it closely as it dried, and then fell back to the waters below. He observed the other being mold the land into a tall mountain.

Curious, Alemar went after the being as it left the planet. He stopped a few feet away from it before speaking. "Greetings! I watched what you did there. Very interesting. I am Alemar. What's your name?"

[Nefarion Xid]

*The Imp King and Tanafriti: The Astral Sea*

"I just got that sorted..." says the Imp King with a certain exasperated chagrin as the first mark on the otherwise perfectly ordered globe was made. He and his other sibling watched the world from above during a long respite.

He was wrapped in layer upon layer of black and green bandages as if some great injury had befallen him. Or perhaps the light of the sun stung his delicate skin. Or perhaps he simply chose to look that way. All that left bare were his crown and his left eye. One beautiful, tender, soulfully green eye that looked on with more compassion and emotion that other beings could muster in their whole form. It was both terrifying and heartbreaking to look upon.

His hair was shoulder length, wavy and a rich dark golden color that belonged on a handsome youth. A pair of small, even comical bat-like wings sprouted from his shoulders, and even in the stillness of space they beat fervently to keep him "aloft".

He, like his mother before him had lost his name to the ages. If his siblings yet knew it, they dare not place it on their lips, nor pass knowledge of it to the new gods.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

Alemar, The Atmosphere
Curious, Alemar went after the being as it left the planet. He stopped a few feet away from it before speaking. "Greetings! I watched what you did there. Very interesting. I am Alemar. What's your name?"

Tresnaya, The Atmosphere
"Alemar, of the Airs, yes? Ah, and yet no one sings you airs, not yet. Hm. I am Tresnaya, how-de-ya-do, though you can call me Tress. As for the little isle, it may yet grow bigger. But it is still barren, and probably will remain so, for a long time. Oh, it is necessitated: what are the chances of anything happening on a barren lump of mud, clay and rock?"
She smiles, and her eyes twinkle as she says that last sentence, putting a stress on the word chances.

[Moose Fisher]

Tome-La, Careening through the Astral Sea

Globs of the chaotic mass broke off as it whizzed though the Astral Sea. Some of these shards remained flying through the Astral Sea; others were returned to the world, splashing into the sea.

The largest chunk nearly crashed into the land, rising from the sea in a twisted imitation of its larger cousin. From this chunk came a rumbling, followed by a great burst and shout of, "TOME-LA!!!!"

The nude human-looking god rose high, leveling with Alemar and Tresnaya. He bared his needle-like teeth in a smile above his fiery goatee and bowed. Noticing his lack of covering, Tome-La garbed himself in white shirt, green doublet with shifting golden designs , and black breeches. He tried to finger comb his fiery hair, but gave up and continued smiling.

"Greetings! That was quite a ride, quite a ride indeed. And look! I seem to have added to your project down there. Hmmmmyesss,"
Tome-La pointed down to the world below. After making a figure eight with his finger several times, he spoke up again,
"But there needs to be more color than grey, brown, and blue.... Another G perhaps? How about gingersnap, gargoyle, or gangrene? Oh, I know! We need some green! Don't even try to stop me, my first work must not be interrupted."

Tome-La clenched his fist, gripping whatever may have appeared in his palm. He threw his hand wide, numerous seeds falling onto the world below. They absorb the nutrients of the water, the warmth of the sun, and the residual chaos from the land. The seeds germinate. In an instant mighty trees and shrubs cover the land, while kelp and algae color the nearby sea.

Tome-La continues to smile as he looks up to the other gods. He opens his mouth in realization of something in his mind, "I forgot to properly introduce myself," he bows and warmly says, "Greetings again! I am Tome-La. You'd better introduce yourselves, not wanting to be rude as I was before."

2ap = 6 -1(shape land: The cooled chunk of chaotic mass near the isle (complete with a crater where Tome-La emerged))-3 (Shape land: The forests on the lands and the kept forests surrounding them)

[Mike_the_Mystic]

Skaldi: The Rock-Binder
Skaldi was birthed into this world, by his beloved mother, who dissapeared afterwards. Hmm, The Rock-Binder Said, there is so little land on this world, I must make more, so that we may rest, all of us. He took a bit of sand and mud from the bottom of the sea, and made it hard, stony. He laid it around the small island to make it grow, and grow and grow. Soon,it grew to the size of a small continent, then retired to ground he made and began to rest, waiting for some other god to talk to him and whatnot.

AP: 3 to use Greater Shape Land 3 AP left.

[Ipphli]

Alemar, The Atmosphere

Alemar looks down at the island, then shrugs. "That rock isn't very interesting. Not bad work though..." He trails off as Tome-La makes his entrance. Smiling at the god's antics, he watches in fascination as the various plants bloomed. He nodded politely to Tome-La after the god introduced himself. "My name is Alemar, of the Airs. All that green down there makes me want to create a few colors of my own."

And so Alemar swooped down to the mountain and gathered up a bit of dirt. He studied the dirt in the palm of his hand. Then, with a great breath of air, scattered it across the land. As the dirt flew through the air, all kinds of bugs and insects were created that fed on the plants.

Smiling to himself, Alemar next went up into the air and gathered up some of the clouds. He began molding them as though they were solid. After several attempts, he gently tossed them towards the island. Suddenly the air was filled with a myriad of different birds and their songs.

Laughing to himself, Alemar went back towards Tome-La and Tress. "Now there are some that sing."

4AP=6-1(create animals-create bugs)-1(create animals-create birds)

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

Tresnaya, The Atmosphere
Tress looks down at the world, watching isle bob off over the horizon, followed closely by the new, smaller isle.
"Yes, what are the chances of change..."[/QUOTE]
She says quietly, almost entirely to herself.
A large humanoid with a massive mask grew up from her question. "There is no chance. Change is a sure thing, mother."
"Change is a sure thing, but things will not always change. The chance is not in whether there will be change, but will there be change right here, right now." Tress retorts.
COLOR="seagreen"]"You misunderstand me, mother. All is always changing. Take, for example, this cloud."[/COLOR] Pohloh points to a huge thunderstorm. He etches into a stone all that he sees. "Now watch it again." He etches the storm into the rock again. The two pictures are wildly different. "Look at the mountain." He casts his gaze to the floating island and its large peak. "At all times the wind and waters beat down on it, changing it slowly but surely. The question is not if, but how."
The masked figure argues back.
"Big and yet miniscule. Small, and yet immense. I don't think you are ever understandable, are you, Pohloh." Tress shakes her head, smiling.
"Someday, mother, you will see. All is a cycle. A circle. Everything must change, must be change, must not remain the same. Circles that do not turn fall apart. And no, I don't expect I am very understandable...Farewell, mother Tress. I have things I must see to." Pohloh retreats from the conversation with a wave.

[Mike_the_Mystic]

Skaldi, the Land Below
No gods talked to Skaldi, which made the Earth Primordial saddened, so he decided to make a being or two to talk to. The only thing he wondered about was what to make them with. But then, it dawned on him, the land! He took a clump of land, and crafted it into a being, short, with a beard, and placed him on the ground next to a mighty mountain. Then, he took another piece of earth and made it into a short woman, hair down to her shoulders, not fat, but thick, hearty like her mate. He placed her next to her mate and breathed life into both of them, suddenly, a few of each popped up next to the originals, all living! He was overjoyed and went to talk to them. However, they couldn't talk, or at least understand his divine language. But this was only a bit of a hinderance, and he wrote in the dirt. The mountain, stick figures represnting them, and an arrow to the mountains, to a little hole. A cave. The little people understood. They walked the way to the mountains, guided by Skaldi, until they reached a cave. He led them inside, then dissapeared from view. He watched as they looked in awe of his dissapearance, and then their beginnings of lodging in the cave. He smiled as he walked out of the cave and sat under a tree and, once again, waited for someone to talk to him.
AP: 3 to make the first Dwarfs, so Beget Race (Stone Dwarves) 0 AP left.

[Moose Fisher]

((Guys, post your Final AP totals after your actions. We all start with 6))

Tome-La, the Atmosphere

Tome-La pulls up one of the birds from below, letting it fly around the gods and perch on his shoulder.

"Ah yes, wonderful colors! And the sounds, ah, they stop things from being quiet,"Tome-La laughs as he claps his hands in joy.

He then takes the bird into his hand, and continues clapping. Feathers fly as the bird is crushed and its song is replaced with a dying gasp. Tome-La stares at his blood stained hands and holds them up for all to see.

"More colors, and new sounds! From this we can make more wonderful things. AHA! Tome-La laughs and shakes his hands dry. The blood falls onto the earth, from which emerge beasts of burden. They graze on the plant life, begin to attract bothersome insects, and provide a resting place for birds who also eat the insects.

1=2-1(Create animals: Beasts of burden (Equines, Bovines, and ELEPHANTS!))

[Rizban]

Tanafriti looked upon the world, and upon seeing the new forces of life beginning to teem upon it, created new beings two of whom she named Alraxar and Nemo and a third who flew away before he could receive a name.

[Ipphli]

Alemar, The Atmosphere

Alemar watches in shocked outrage as Tome-La kills one of his new creations. But then, after seeing what he does with the remains, he calms down. He still looks at Tome-La a bit leerily."I can't say as how I liked how you did that, but at least it helped the rest."

Watching the going-ons below, he notices the land growing bigger. He glances at the others, gesturing towards the land. "Did either of you do that?"

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

Tresnaya, The Atmosphere

"Oh, Tome-La..."

She looks reproachfully at Tome-La, but still, she nonetheless is still smiling.

She watches, confused, as a spot of land appears in the waters, spreading. "It is not my doing, no."

[Vadin]

Pohloh

Pohloh steps down onto the rocks that Skaldi had made. He looked around and thought them barren, so he chose a section of it to be his own. He raised up lush trees ripe with fruit, and brought forth springs to keep his verdant lands alive. Pohloh looked around for life, but found only the little things.

While the little things of the world could be amusing, none could be his. And so Pohloh took his very soulstuff, a lightly colored shapeless mass, and gave it a form not unlike his own. It had a head, two arms, two legs, and stood just tall enough. It was bendable and adaptable; when exposed to cold, it took on icy properties, and around fire it also burst into flame. Pohloh then breathed his life into it, and so were the Munok born, the second race to walk the Playground.

6 AP - 1 AP (Shape Land- the southernmost square of Skaldi's continent is rainforest) - 3 AP (Beget Race: Munoks)

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

Tresnaya, The Atmosphere

Tress swooshed down from the sky, towards the Isle, which had just gone out of sight, over the horizon. She touched down, gently, on it's soil, and wandered the lower slopes of the mountain, marveling at the flowers and sparse trees that covered the area.

[Moose Fisher]

Tome-La, the Atmosphere

"Then I propose we investigate... Or not. I, for one, will investigate the growing land. You two (three? one?) can investigate where ever else.

AWAY TOME-LAAAAA!!!

Tome-La falls toward the land Skaldi expanded, landing near the tree the god waited near.

'WHAT HO!," he yelled in greeting, "You must be the one that made this land bigger, didn't like the size it was before? Yes, 'things are better big' as many say, can't appreciate things starting small.

On the other hand, 'things are better big', so good job expanding this land! I am Tome-La, and here I roam...la.... Finding you."

[Nefarion Xid]

*The Ocean: At Night*

The Imp King spirited away to the dark side of the world where he could bask in the peace and tranquility of the night. He alighted on the surface of the ocean and bid it be calm for him; and so, it still and smooth as glass as he walked atop it.

He breathed deeply of the crisp, cold night air. Already he could smell the tiniest forms of life working to carve out a niche and survive. The world was changing quickly. Life breathed life into the stagnant air.

It wasn't that he particularly disdained the presence of his kin. No, every man just needed to retreat to his study once in a while. He had labored ever since his accursed "mother" had thrust this spherical burden upon them. And, he was not much like them...

Perhaps some suitable companionship would be in order. He reached out with his magic and drew up the waters and the shadows and shaped them in an exquisite female form. The perfect beauty of his work made him swell with resentment and in a flash of rage he drew back his fist and went to sunder his creation, but compassion and composure stayed his hand at the last moment.

He hid his face in his hands for a long while as thought on the nature of beauty and this thing he had fashioned. Reaching an epiphany, he tore off a length of his own black wrappings and bound them around the eyes of his creation to make a blindfold. Then, drew down the bandages from his mouth and pressed a loving kiss to her forehead, granting her the spark of life.

"Aarshiya..." he whispered into her ear. "I have made it so that you will remain with me in darkness, always. Our eyes only deceive us and beauty itself is a cruel lie. Look within. Listen. Think. Savory every sensation. Do not be fooled by the facade. Do you understand?"

The bandages were replaced about his mouth...but his fingers tarried on her porcelain shoulders.

[Mike_the_Mystic]

Skaldi, Under the Tree
Well great to meet'cha, Tome-La! I be Skaldi, the Stone-Binder. I am the one who made the land grow, a resting place for all who do not swim or fly! It is an honor to meet another god such as myself, what do you do, my friend?

[Moose Fisher]

Tome-La, Under the Tree

"I do what I want, when I want, and it doesn't matter what gets in my way. I colored the land with green, and made those four legged hairy things. I even made that little land off the coast before I woke up!

If you're looking for other gods... They're somewhere. Try coming up into the sky and watching for anything odd. Being odd or going against the flow seems to attract a lot of attention."

[Mike_the_Mystic]

Skaldi, Under the Tree
Ah, then you are free? That's the good life, Neh? Roamin the land and seein the sights, its a good life. The sky is too far from the land for me to be at, I like it here, its good and solid.

[Moose Fisher]

Tome-La, Under the Tree

Tome-La levitated himself off the ground, smiling at Skaldi's naivety.

"Do I look like I have wings? Unless they're invisible, which they are not because I would feel them, you can fly too... Maybe. Perhaps you can throw your eyes and ears up into the sky? Because unless you can feel things through your feet, you're going to be a bit limited.

Tome-La walked himself higher as if climbing stairs, holding his arms open and turning a few times.

"Just imagine you're on solid ground. The only thing stopping you is yourself. Look past what you see, and start seeing what you WANT to see.

Tome-La walks into the tree, lowering himself upside down and whispering into Skaldi's ear, "I can sing you a song if you want, Skaldi Baldy. Something inspirational about putting one foot in front of the other. I can get the birds to sing along too."

[Mike_the_Mystic]

Skaldi, Under the Tree
Hoho, My Friend! You are a little bugger, but I'll try my best! He concentrated on the earth, and thought of invisible stone steps in the sky. He walked up them, not falling or anything like that. He opened his eyes, and say that he was up in the air. A long ways up, he had been running. WHOA! The Stone Binder yelped as he saw that he was in the sky, and he fell, and where he hit, a crater was formed. In time a pond would form there, in the shade of the tree, and would be known as Skaldi's Dent. He got up, and laughed a hearty laugh as he walked back to his Hovering friend. Ho! This will take a bit, eh?

[Ipphli]

Alemar, The Atmosphere

Alemar watched Tome-La and the new god talk. Then he saw Tome-La try and teach this earth god how to fly. He laughed as Skaldi fell out of the sky. Swooping down, he hovered just above the two. "As Tress found out, earth doesn't really belong in the air. Hello, my name is Alemar, of the Airs. What's your name lowly one?" The wide smile on his face as he said all this seemed to indicate he was teasing his fellow god.

[Vadin]

In the depths of the jungle, screeches were heard. At night, large shapes could be seen swinging through the trees overhead. It would happen occasionally that a munok would dissappear in the night, and Pohloh would simply tell them, "You should have protected yourself." The munok were often dismayed with his answer, but there was little they could do. Or so they thought...

On night, a particularly brave and powerful munok stayed out to investigate the monsters that took his kinsmen. While he was watching them, however, they were watching him. One thought it could get the drop on him, but just as it was about to reach out and take him in its clawed hands, the munok turned around, took a deep breath, and devoured the choker! When he spit it out a few seconds later, the munok had disappeared...

The morning came, and the brave munok told the others of the miraculous event. They finally understood what Pohloh had meant! This was how they would protect themselves- the powers of others would augment their own.

0 AP = 3 AP - 3 AP (Spawn Monster: Cavern Choker)

[Mike_the_Mystic]

Skaldi, In Skaldi's Dent
"I'm doin fine, oh high one", Skaldi retorted with a tease of his own, "I think that me and my little people will be just fine on the ground, but hopefully my chaotic little friend here might find it a challenge to help me float like one of these little blighter bugs". He got up and tried again, but this time only went up a bit. "That's better, not too far from the land, but far enough, for the time being".

[hi-mi-tsu]

~Aarshiya: The Night~

There was darkness, here. She opened her eyes and saw nothing, but she could feel the faintest brush of air and hear a low voice in her ear.

"Aarshiya..."

Her name. She knew it, with a certainty, felt it and tested it in her mind and judged it to be well enough.

"I have made it so that you will remain with me in the darkness, always. Our eyes only decieve us and beauty itself is a cruel lie. Look within. Listen. Think. Savor every sensation. Do not be fooled by the facade. Do you understand?"

She did as he asked her to, this mysterious, formless voice in this darkness that surrounded her; she felt the fingers on her shoulders and lifted her own hands, tracing up his arms, to his shoulders, over his neck and to his face.

"I see you..." Her voice was low, rich, and the faintest smile quirked her lips. "Without seeing you. You have made me, and you know me, and you have given me a name. But I do not yet know you, and I do not know your name...am I to call you Father?" Now her voice was faintly amused; she dropped her hands down to his shoulders once more.

"Where is this place...? Why have you made me?"

[Nefarion Xid]

*Aashirya & The Imp King*

"I'm not like the others," was the reply. "They are impetuous, innocent...brash, naive. They do. Do they think? Do they feel?"

He walks behind her and rests his chin in the cradle of her shoulder.

"You're like me though. Imperfect. Full of understanding...you're, curious. Soon enough you'll appreciate what I've done for you, after... after you've seen what this world is like."

He sighs and retreats a few steps. His wings flutter half heartedly, but he does not rise from the surface of the water. "You may call me 'Father', if you wish. I claim no name, no titles."

[Ipphli]

Alemar, The Mountain

Alemar watched Skaldi for a little while, but eventually grew tired of the earth-bound god. Flying up to the clouds, Alemar settled down on top of a thunderhead and watched it lash the ocean below with rain, lightning, and thunder. He made himself comfortable and just watched.