The Light That Blinds
Theri, 011.006
It worked.
It actually worked!
Theri stared at her creation in stunned silence, before a smile slowly grew on her face. She'd done it. She'd made something! She was a real goddess now! She...she...
...she should probably answer their question.
"I'm Theri," she said, bowing slightly. "I'm a love goddess. And...I created you. From snow. You..." She frowned slightly, before a name came to her.
"Can I call you Noel?"
"Kept me waiting, haven’t you? Tch. No matter. Dawdle all you’d like. In the end, your defeat remains inevitable."
Ilkar's Realm
A dark look comes over Ilkar's face as his ruse slips. "As long as we are in agreement, then. You may go." Once Nathan has left, the realm returns to its normal appearance, pillars melting into the dark, stone walls of the war room. Ilkar put both palms onto the table.
"Forgive me for saying this, my liege," began Kadrin, who leaned against the far wall. "But that was awfully… sloppy. You could barely contain your true aura." Meanwhile, Dathrann was the one barely containing, not their aura, but their laughter, and Hrakth had a wicked smile on his face.
"Silence, both of you. We've gotten what we want. That's what matters. Now, there are only a few things left to decide regarding the new civilization. Once that is done I shall go and do as we have planned."
Edited by AmazingGoob on Aug 14th 2023 at 8:47:17 AM
Chug, chug, chug. The machine marches on.
THE SLORG!
World of the gods, fountain of creation pavilion.
After guiding Samauth and Rav'nixander to his orchard, Cato would spend some time of the last two weeks, possibly a lot of it, explaining to them about the new universe they were in, and answering any of their questions. He would happily answer both the wide spanning, cosmological and philosophical questions, and the small, trivial and mundane questions. He wouldn't force either of them to stay, so they were free to leave once they were satisfied with the amount of information they got.
By the end of the two weeks, Cato was back at the pavilion again, (either he'd been there for days already, or had only recently arrived, again depending on how long those questioning sessions went,) and was watching the mortal world as it circled around the pavilion.
Cato looked over at Nathan and gave the god of humanity a small nod of acknowledgement, and a friendly wave. Cato did the same when Icon arrived, then addressed the god of deviousness. "You are only late if you feel you are late," the eldest god said, and looked back at the world. "There is still much of this world that has not been shaped by any other god."
When Tarna and Ruviel arrived and spoke of his ascension, Cato turned with much the same gentle smile as he almost always had. He let his walking stick rest against his shoulder for a moment so he could gently clap his hands. "Well, congratulations Ruviel," the eldest god mentioned sincerely, then gripped his walking stick again. "You have been an immortal in Tarna's service for long enough that I believe you already know most of what there is to know about being a god. Of course, if there is anything you would like me to explain, you need only ask," Cato added, and turned to look out of the pavilion at the mortal world again.
Theri's tundra, (011.006) mid morning.
"... Theri... Noel," the figure repeated after a short silence, their tone and expression still almost totally neutral, save for some continued confusion. "... Noel is fine," Noel decided after another moment, and continued to stare at Theri.
"... Why?" Noel then asked.
Edited by FirockFinion on Aug 14th 2023 at 11:30:04 AM
You are reading this.
Fwomph
The Fountain of Creation
At the fountain, amid the gods was... Well effectively a floating glyph. A red shape resembling several nested crenelated circles spun lazily in place. When the good news of Ruviel's ascension was laid out, the glyph turned to regard both Tarna and Ruviel in turn.
Representative welcomes. Query: personal domains? Introduction as Rav'nixander. Domain of works.
20.16
The visor of the titanic construct lights to red, with all the effort of its massive frame the head turns to regard the tiny visitor and the god in turn. Its voice is... Surprisingly soft, as though the sound was coming from a relatively human-sized mouth somewhere close to the fairy and god fragment in all their inquisitive exploration.
"Correct. Who are you? I am Rav'nixander."
Edited by Pentigan on Aug 16th 2023 at 2:18:10 AM
It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.
Samus wasn't the first.
Ebrinada Dynasty Capital - 005.019, a little after 'almost dawn'
Pleased with the resounding success of his gesture, O'Keanu immediately begins to give his decree. It is as follows:
"When the time is right, you'll know."
Sonny looks up suspiciously when O'Keanu says this. The immortal follower knows better than anyone that his deity rarely uses such vague ways of speaking.
"That is to say, when you need my guidance, it will be given to you. Though you may not need it for some time, know that it will come when it is necessary. In the meantime… feel free to honour me in whatever way you and your people wish."
O'Keanu considers what parting words he should leave the Ebrinada with. After a moment, he settles on "Go forth, live long, and prosper in my name, for you are my people."
After that, he disappears back to the fountain pavilion, leaving a cloud of teal mist in his wake that dissipates as soon as it was created. Sonny does the same thing, giving the queen of the Ebrinada a friendly wave goodbye right before vanishing. Of course, at the pavilion they assume their regular shapes and sizes once again.
O'Keanu's realm - The world of the gods, during the interim
O'Keanu has been spending most of his time invisibly watching over the Ebrinada, and is pleased with how they have chosen to pay their respects. The use of symbols represents him nicely without being annoyingly overzealous.
He is, however, troubled by one Hasso Nuadu's reaction to the aforementioned symbols - namely, his refusal to follow his queen's orders until they're removed. The problem stems from the fact that he likes the symbols, but he also considers Hasso to be a talented man and doesn't want to see those talents wasted in prison.
"Any ideas, Sonny?" O'Keanu asks from upon his boat.
"Maybe we should go see a production at that new theater," O'Keanu's giant squid responds from the water.
"And how exactly would that help?"
"It could give us some inspiration. And it would be fun."
O'Keanu thinks it over. "Fine... but only one. And if it's boring, I depart."
"Yay!" Sonny exclaims as, with another cloud of mist, they're transported straight to the location of Stella's theater.
Stella's Theater - 011.011, during the interim
O'Keanu and his giant squid, both in more modest sizes (the sizes that fit in theater seats), are moving towards the theater, keeping their eyes peeled for any kind of staff to help them get settled in.
Ay, you! It's Gold, and I'm noble!
THE SLORG!
Rav'nixander's city body, (020.016) mid morning.
"I'm just a fairy; we don't really name stuff," the fairy said, clearly relieved. "I was just confused; last time I was here it seemed from my magic like you were really confused about something," she added, then glanced down towards the shore to see Nathan.
The fairy swooped down there, gently coming to a stop some ten feet away from Nathan, a few feet higher than his head. She tilted her own head as she looked at him. "Huh, you have the same kind of powerful energy as Tarna... Though, different," she noted, in a curious if somewhat confused tone.
You are reading this.
Quedrands, 004.015
The preparations were finally complete, and now only the task itself was left to be done.
Ilkar descended, deeper and deeper into the ocean, the sun fading above them as he sunk into the deepest, darkest depths possible, nearly to the deepest part of this half of the world (if not the entire world). Here, he came across a cluster of hydrothermal vents, which constantly spewed superheated water and a cloud of dissolved minerals that mimicked a plume of black smoke.
Ilkar let the black smoke flow through his fingers, the substance suddenly acting not like smoke but instead like silk, twisting and folding into the water above the chimney with a length emerging from each space between the war god's digits. He then took the ends of these lengths (which had now grown down to the entrance of the chimney itself, giving the appearance that instead of spewing smoke it now spewed black silk) and began to wrap them around each other, slowly forming a humanoid figure.
Once he had this humanoid figure, he began to mold it into the shape he wished. A massive, foldable mouth, a pair of tiny eyes, two arms and a tail- all became of flesh. He made sure to make sure their bodies were both resistant to the crushing pressure of these depths and able to survive the more lax upper layers of the ocean, once they traveled away from the abyss. And finally, he took the heat of the vent and infused it into the limp body.
And thus, the first of the Bakaal was born. And, using them as a template, Ilkar created another, and another, and another; until the sea around him was alive with activity, filled with enough of the new people for a city or perhaps two (though, they would end up spreading out a bit more evenly across the basin than that.)
However, despite their numbers, the sea was still pitch black and Ilkar had masked himself from detection through any other senses, and so the newly born people could not see their creator. "Go," said Ilkar. "Take what is yours, which is all that you wish to have beneath the waves, and serve no other god but me."
"But what is your name?" the Bakaal collectively asked, using their language for the very first time. "How are we to distinguish you from other gods?"
"You may give me a name, if you wish, and know that if you encounter a god you can see with your eyes, or one that is already in possession of a name, they are not me." And with that, Ilkar returned to his realm, and the Bakaal knew of their god's absence. And thus they pondered; what would they name their god, if they could not ask them of their opinion? There was much disagreement- but soon, they came to a consensus that their god would be dishonored by giving them only a single name, and thus the debates and discussion on the infinite possible and legitimate names of their god became a central tenet of their theology.
Not that the imposter behind their god would care.
Edited by AmazingGoob on Aug 16th 2023 at 7:50:57 AM
Chug, chug, chug. The machine marches on.
For the Horde!
Ruviel smiled and lowered his head in reverent thanks. He looked back towards Tarna, then smiled at her before turning back towards Cato.
"Thank you, Cato," said Ruviel. "If I have any questions, I will certainly let you know." He turned his attention towards Nathan, nodding and shaking the god's hand. "We may call it that, if our goals be aligned," Ruviel responded. "I do not believe we have met. What is your charge?"
Tarna, meanwhile, focused her attention on the mortal world of Quedrands, where the Rainbow Butterfly had been trying to get the attention of the goddess all day.
"Lady Tarna, the fairies are asking for permission to visit a... theater? Of some kind? I don't know what they're talking about, is that the doing of another god?" the Rainbow Butterfly asked, telepathically messaging the goddess from the surface of Quedrands. Tarna examined the world, eyes narrowing upon noticing Stella's contribution to the world. She cleared her throat.
"Ordinarily, I would quash such insulting requests. But the fairies are not my charge anymore," Tarna explained.
"Milady?" the Butterfly asked.
"Ruviel has ascended to godhood. I have granted him stewardship over the wild creatures, including you and your butterfly progeny," said Tarna. "It is up to Ruviel whether he allows the fairies such... heinous frivolity. It is no longer my concern."
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
The Light That Blinds
Theri
"Oh, well..." Theri looked over at the tundra surrounding them. "It seemed lonely here, and...I thought I should bring some life into this land."
She left out the part where she'd done it to see if she could. That seemed a poor thing to tell.
"Do you...not want...?" She could hardly bring herself to finish the sentence.
"Kept me waiting, haven’t you? Tch. No matter. Dawdle all you’d like. In the end, your defeat remains inevitable."
Druid Dude
Fountain of Creation
"I understand this may be awkward, but I watch over humanity and civilization. Nice to meet you two anyway!" he smiles and shakes Ruviel's hand despite his... worry over how two nature gods will react to him.
Meowing's Island, 022.009
"Nice to meet ya!" Nathan grins. "I kinda just got here, so I'm hoping to learn more about... well... here." he chuckles awkwardly. "I just started on my own species." he points vaguely in the direction of his first civilization.
Rav'nixander's Body, 20.16
"Sorry to interrupt." Nathan waves towards the fairy and Rav'nixander. "Nathan. Nathan Munsen, god of civilization and humanity. What's your domain?" he whistles at Rav'nixander's... unconventional mortal form.
Theri's Tundra, 011.006
"Pretty good work." Nathan couldn't stop himself from commenting, and mentally hit himself as some snow blows onto him. He holds up his hands in surrender. "Not hostile. Just curious. Sorry to spy." he says quickly. "I have to say, the Noel are pretty cool-looking!" he laughs.
If his sudden appearance scares anyone, his eyes widen and he coughs in embarrassment. "Very sorry, again, for the scare." he mutters awkwardly.
Edited by Jules-Firenze on Aug 31st 2023 at 10:31:04 PM
You piss off the Venom T-Rex. Roll initiative.
THE SLORG!
Theri's tundra, (011.006) mid morning.
"Life... To combat loneliness," Noel said, their tone still mostly neutral, but now with a hint of understanding instead of confusion. They gave a little nod to Theri, then blinked and looked around, slowly turning to get a full 360 degree pan of the surrounding landscape.
Then Nathan spoke up, and Noel looked over towards him, but didn't show much expression in response. Noel then looked at Theri, with that bit of confusion back in their expression. "Not alone?"
You are reading this.
Fwomph
20.16
"I am of the same kind as Tarna. Though our forms and specific fields differ greatly. Last time you visited. I was likely attempting to discern the location. Of something that does not actually exist. Confusion on my part. Yes."
The metal head turns again to regard the fellow god, though not before its red lit gaze flickers just slightly.
"I am of the domain. Of mortals and their works. Arts. Sciences. Civic. We share much territory it appears. Nathan Munson."
Fountain of Creation
Query:
The cogwheel glyph states, its innermost layer turning to Cato.
One of your insects is monitoring my physical form. Elder Cato. To what purpose?
It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.
I'm helping!
Meowing's island
"Ooh, your own species? What are they like?" Without waiting for an answer, Meowing tilts her head, checking the world herself with god senses. "Wait, that's just humans, those aren't new. ... Wait, humans weren't here already‽" Trouble Cube continues to be a general-purpose forum for those who desire such a thing.
THE SLORG!
Rav'nixander's city body, (020.016) mid morning.
The fairy looked back up at Rav'nixander with a curious expression. "Oh, you're like Tarna too? I thought the amount of energy you had was just because of your size," the fairy replied, then looked a bit confused. "But, why would you be looking for something that doesn't exist? That doesn't make a lot of sense... Was it supposed to exist?" she wondered, in a perplexed tone.
World of the gods, fountain of creation pavilion.
Cato turned his attention to Rav'nixander, looking a little surprised, but not bothered. "Oh, detected one of them, did you?" Cato said, keeping his voice a bit down, then let out a friendly chuckle. "Well, they're not there for you specifically. They're monitoring the mortal world for me, helping me keep apprised of what happens there," the eldest god explained, then glanced aside to check if any of the other gods might be trying to listen in. Then, he leaned a little closer to Rav'nixander.
"Now, I won't try to stop you if you decide to tell the others, nor will I hold it against you. Though, I would appreciate it if you kept this between us, for now," Cato mentioned, then stood back up straight and turned towards the other conversation going on, curious to see how Tarna and Ruviel would respond to Nathan.
You are reading this.
For the Horde!
When Nathan mentioned his domain, Tarna shot Nathan an icy look but said nothing. Ruviel simply shook Nathan's hand and let go.
"It is nice to meet you as well. I am invested in peaceful coexistence. For the sake of mutual understanding, as long as your charges do not interfere with our charges, we will have no trouble." He let go of Nathan's hand and turned his attention to Tarna. "The fairies? They may do as they wish," he explained to his partner. "As long as they give respect to the plants and creatures of the woods, it is no concern of mine what they do with their time."
Tarna nodded, still stone-faced and glaring at Nathan. She turned her attention away from the god of civilization and back towards the nascent mortal world.
"This world— I intend to shepherd the natural places of this land. But I am sensing a disturbance. Something of great power in the trees..."
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
The Light That Blinds
Theri, 011.006
Theri let out a small gasp at Nathan's sudden appearance, before recognizing him. "Oh, well...thank you." She smiled a bit, Khione rubbing at her ankles.
"Though 'Noel' is only this one's name...I can make more, but it would take a while." She looked over at Noel. "Would you like me to make more?"
"Kept me waiting, haven’t you? Tch. No matter. Dawdle all you’d like. In the end, your defeat remains inevitable."
CG for short
Stella Rosa - Stella's Theater - Of Fairies and Sea Creatures
Stella lunged at her seat in her very special state box in the theater that overlooked all the other seats. She was relaxing, dangling some grapes over her mouth while Myra took a lil nap by her side and Claire was fixing her bob as she looked at the mirror.
"Claire, love," Stella turned to Claire. "You remember those little fairy people that visited a while back?"
"Yes, dear."
"They said that they're gonna tell their friends about the theater, which means more guests to show up at our plays!"
"Oh, right, that'll be very wonderful, isn't it?"
"Yup! Do you still have that map?"
Claire casually pulled the map out.
"I do, did they say where they're from?"
"I don't think so."
"Well, this map is magical, maybe it can answer questions or something."
Claire stared at the map intensively, expecting something to happen. Only little wisps of magic came out of the map and moved around it.
"Map, map in my hands, where are those fairy people from?"
The 013.018 hex on the map grew brightly and Claire smiled, pointing at it. Stella looked at what Claire pointed and smirked.
"And we have our answer."
Suddenly, O'Keanu and his giant squid companion manifested in the theater's seats. Right away, three Lovelies arrived to try accommodating to them.
"Welcome, welcome to the magnificent theater of the Wild One, Stella Rosa!" The first Lovely exclaimed.
"Here, we hold plays and performances as rituals for our beloved goddess," The second Lovely said. "And as you watch the performances, you'll be given lots and lots of alcohol, especially wine, all for you to indulge in to your heart's content."
"AND IT'S ALL FREE!" The third Lovely shouted. "We have lots of plays, from This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, Tender Is the Night, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and so on."
As the Lovelies chatted with the sea creatures, Stella and Claire watched on, observing them.
"Would you look at that, we got our first God visiting this theater."
"What about the fairies? Don't you want to get more of them to show up?"
"True, but I got a solution to that, 'hun."
Stella snapped her fingers and a second Stella manifested.
"I'm Stella 1," The original Stella pointed at herself before she pointed at the clone. "And you're Stella 2."
"Alright cool," The Second Stella responded. "What do you want me to do?"
Stella 1 handed the other Stella Claire's map.
"You see the glowin' thing?" She pointed at the still glowing 013.018 hex. "I want you to teleport there, chat with the fairies and convince them to go to this theater."
"Okie, dokie." The second Stella snapped both fingers and teleported away.
Stella 2 - Tarna's Fairy Trees - Deez Clone Meeting Up with Dah Fairies
Stella 2 teleported to the Fairy Trees, where she saw all kinds of fairies just doing their own thing.
"Heya!" Stella 2 greeted as she summoned a harp and began playing it, hoping to catch the fairies' attention. It is I, Stella Rosa, the goddess of alcohol, madness, partying, music, theater and a couple other things! As you might've heard from a couple of your friends, I have a nice, glorious theater somewhere in um, 011.011 I believe. There, you can watch wonderous performances hosted by my lovers, the Lovelies, and you can drink to your heart's content! Oh and it's free by the way, all I want you is to come and have the time of your lives there."
As Stella 2 promoted the theater to the fairies, she spotted a peculiar rainbow butterfly.
"Hey, butterfly, can you tell me if somethin' excitin' just happened? Like somethin' worth throwin' a party for?"
Stella 1 - Stella's Theater - A Play for Ocean Life
After the clone teleported to the Fairy Trees, the original Stella teleported to O'Keanu and his giant squid companion, sitting right next to the octupus.
"Hello, and welcome to my theater, 'hun," She greeted the two. "I'm sure you gotten a rundown of what this theater is like from my Lovelies. I don't think we met before, so I'm Stella Rosa, the Decadent Goddess that likes drinkin' and partyin'."
Stella 1 then extended a hand towards O'Keanu for a handshake.
"And I'm suppose you're here for a play, isn't that correct? I'm thinking of The Great Gatsby, so I'll get my Lovelies to set it up."
Six or so Lovelies then enter the theater, pushing a wheeled table that has loads of wine bottles, glasses and beer on it.
"Oh and would you look at that, the beverages are here already," Stella commented. "Thank you loves~"
"Tehee, you're welcome, dear," One of the Lovelies responded.
Stella 1 got off the seat and went to the Lovelies, whispering into one of their ears.
"After you give our guests, drinks, get ready to prepare a performance of Gatsby."
"Of course, my dear!"
Once the Lovelies served the aquatic guests their drinks, they headed to the backstage, recruited more Lovelies and began production on The Great Gatsby play. Stella 1, meanwhile returned to her seat and lunged over it, facing O'Keanu.
"Sometimes, it takes a while to get the show going, since my Lovelies aren't particularly sane folk and they do get distracted as a result, but a show is still guaranteed nonetheless."
Victor of HGS S320 | "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember."
THE SLORG!
Meowing's island, (022.009) mid morning.
Around Meowing and that copy of Nathan, the portals were starting to do their work in drawing in wildlife. From both the one nearly at the opposite end of the world, and the other one far to the South West (005.017 and 014.018) came things like squirrels, deer, and a single wolf so far, though these creatures looked a little ill suited for the colder air on the North side of Quedrands. They could probably adapt though; or Meowing could do something to them or to the climate of the island about it. From the one more straight West (012.009) came similar creatures, though these ones seemed like they were just fine with the climate, as the other side of the portal was equally as cold for them.
The portal Meowing had put North West of the island (014.018) was actually over part of the ocean, but it was still drawing in seagulls and other birds who had flown into it.
From the portal to the jungle straight South (022.015) brought a large multitude of insects and some monkeys of a few different species. Like some of the other creatures, they seemed a little bit ill suited for the climate.
Though it was the creatures from the desert far to the South (017.020) that seemed worst suited to being brought to the island so far, sparse as they were. There were some insects like scorpions, and a couple of desert lizards.
... However, it was definitely the other portal to the thicker jungle (016.014) that was proving the most trouble. It had seemed alright at first, and had been drawing in lots of insects like the other jungle portal, but as Meowing and Nathan had started talking, the portal had begun flickering. Arcane energy on the other side was starting to disrupt it, though it seemed like it was probably not intentional, but instead a side effect of a massive arcane storm. Though the portal probably wouldn't close completely, if nothing was done to magically stabilize it, there was no telling what might happen to the mortal creatures that tried to enter it from the other side. Anything from manifesting several yards from away from where they were supposed to, manifesting with momentum upon them as if flung through at a high speed, manifesting inside a tree or inside the ground, or even manifesting with magical alterations or mutations could potentially be possible.
World of the gods, fountain of creation pavilion.
Cato let out a curious, "hmm?" and approached the side of the pavilion where Tarna was looking upon the mortal world. "A great power in the trees, you say?" he said, and looked at the world for himself for a moment.
"Ah, you mean that there, in the jungle?" Cato guessed, pointing his walking stick towards the arcane storm over the jungle, close to the center of the world. "That would be the work of Arcellex, god of arcane elements, secrets, and stories," the eldest god explained, in a casual, light hearted tone, turning his head to Tarna and adding with a smile, "a friend of mine." Of course, the eldest god would probably say the same for about half of all the gods that existed in this universe, so that wasn't necessarily saying much.
Cato then returned his gaze to the mortal world. "I would expect that right now, his living ichor is starting to change some of the wildlife of the jungle. Though, which ones, and to what end, I could not be certain from up here," the eldest god continued, and gave a slight shrug.
Theri's tundra, (011.006) mid morning.
Noel stared at Theri for a moment, with that usual mostly neutral expression, then looked around again. "... If made to combat loneliness, wouldn't more be the most optimal?" Noel then said, turning back to Theri; even mostly neutral as their tone was, Noel was not asking rhetorically or sarcastically, but sincerely.
Tarna's fairy woods, (013.018) mid morning.
The fairies had been talking to each other when Stella's clone arrived, but looked over and got excited as she made her little announcement. "Oh yeah, we sure would like to!" one fairy said, followed by a chorus of agreements. "It seems like we have the go ahead, but it doesn't seem like Tarna- or Ruviel I guess? Well anyway it doesn't seem like either of them will help us setting up the shortcut, which could be pretty hard for us to do on our own, so could you help us?" the same fairy continued, then both he and at least a dozen more tried to give the Stella clone the biggest, pleading puppy dog eyes they could manage on their relatively tiny heads.
You are reading this.
For the Horde!
The immortal butterfly that presided over the magical woods fluttered down at the arrival of the goddess of wine, flapping its glistening wings in the sun.
"Lady Stella Rosa, your timing is most fortuitous. I have wonderful news. Lord Ruviel has ascended to godhood! This is cause for celebration indeed!" it insisted. As if on cue, Ruviel arrived down, taking the form of a fairy, but still obviously him.
"Ah, Stella Rosa, greetings," he said to her. "I have been granted dominion over the Fairy Trees, as my first charge as a new god. My lady is focusing her attention elsewhere at the moment. What is it that the fairies are requesting?" He turned towards them, listening to their request for a shortcut to Stella's theater. He frowned, looking unsure.
"My lady would rather keep the forest pristine if at all possible, so I cannot grant your request for a shortcut to the north," he explained.
Tarna raised her eyebrow, trying to keep a neutral expression as Cato explained about Arcellex. Her neutral demeanor broke when he explained about the living ichor. She swung a fist down in subdued fury, trying to keep from shaking.
"How dare... how dare that Arcellex..." she growled. "How dare he blight nature in such a manner! I will defend my charge from his foul taint!" At once, she swept her hand over the image of Quedrands. "I, Tarna of the plants and trees of the worlds, hereby swear to protect these lands!"
Tarna, in an astral form, brushed her hand over the tropical rainforests in the center of the world disc. Not much seemed to change, but the woods south of the river started to shimmer with vitality and protective magic for a moment.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
CG for short
Stella 2 - Tarna Ruviel's Fairy Trees - Two Different Plans
"Alright, everyone I—" Despite being overwhelmed by the Fairies and their Puppy-Dog Eyes, Stella 2 was able to hear what the Rainbow Butterfly said and witnessed Ruviel's arrival.
"Heya, Ruviel!" She greeted back. "Congratulations on the ascension! Do you want me to throw a party for y'all? That's one of my specialties and I'll make yours the wildest there is! And since you wanna keep these forests clean and all, do you want to throw the party at the Fountain of Creation or in your Realm?"
Stella 2 then whispered into the nearest Fairy's ear, trying her best to be quiet as possible so Ruviel doesn't hear her.
"Pssh, I'll still gonna give ya that shortcut, but you might have to do a little walking as I plan to put it in the nearest non-forest area since Ruviel and his gal are tree people and they wouldn't like it if I put one in their tree territory. Can you give me a map please, so I can find the perfect spot for the shortcut?"
Edited by Cutegirl920fire on Aug 27th 2023 at 7:08:52 AM
Victor of HGS S320 | "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember."
The Perfect Organism
The World of the Gods, Fountain of Creation Pavilion
In the time since his conversation with Cato, Samauth had been preparing Valdash for its grand re-opening. Records of now-irrelevant mortal souls from Aezha were archived, unlikely to ever be unsealed. Legions of skeletal menials were created to tend to basic bureaucratic duties. A temporary measure until such a time as they were replaced with mortal souls who'd been too bad for paradise but not bad enough for real torment.
The God of Death himself appeared in the World of the Gods as he had before, expanding from a microscopic speck on the surface of his planetary fragment, to his full size relative to the other gods in the blink of an eye. Samauth's armor clattered as he strode toward the fountain. He glanced around at the other gods, noting for the first time that he didn't know what most of them were even gods of. Cato had said that gods here were less fundamentally defining of this universe's rules, such that mortals would perish, with or without Samauth's own existence.
No matter, introductions could wait. If any of the assembled deities met his gaze, Samauth would at least politely nod in regard. Reaching the fountain, Samauth set his sights on the mortal world. He knew just where he wanted to establish a headwater for the River Uthvar. Samauth's body then disintegrated into a fine, quickly dissipating ash, leaving only the blue flame of his eye which descended upon the mortal world as a blazing comet.
Quedrands, the volcano at 006.016
The morning sky of the mortal world was lit with a blue light, so bright it hurt to look at as the burning projectile sought its target. It landed with an almighty crash upon the peak of a great mountain on the southwestern peninsula. The impact disturbed the mountain's slumber as smoke and fire plumed into the sky. The glow of lava lit the scene an angry red for a brief moment before being replaced with an unearthly blue as Samauth's essence permeated the mountain. The skeletal figure himself emerged from the caldera.
From the peak, he spotted where he would begin his work. In an instant, he'd disappeared from the crater's edge and now stood at the rocky shore of a large, volcanic hot spring. Samauth spread his arms and focused, his power spreading out and causing the mountain to quake again. As he willed it to happen, the stone around him began to flow and reshape itself. Shaped into large, gray bricks, the stones began to form an imposing fortress, built into the side of the volcano. Samauth's eye flame had shrunk to a pinprick of light as he concentrated. He remembered how Manril, the God of Earth Magics made such feats seem effortless.
Outside, the fortress was made to be defensible and imposing, to dissuade more foolish mortals from trying to take this soon-to-be-sacred place by force. While the building itself was a sturdy and practical bulwark against attack, the walls and grounds would be decorated with statues of monstrous skeletal imagery, to play on the mortals' fear of death. Nonetheless, a stone stairway wound itself down to the base of the mountain. Statues of indeterminate, veiled figures bearing blue-fire torches lit the path, like a procession of mourners. Within, there would be many chambers, furnished for potential mortal occupation. Worship was not something Samauth sought out, but nonetheless, any faithful would find shelter here.
The grand, central chamber of the fortress contained the volcanic hot spring, untouched by any geological reshaping. Samauth held his hands out over the seething waters and the flame of his eye roared into a great inferno. He guided wisping embers towards the water and as each one sank into the spring water the surface churned and boiled. "Uthvar, rise anew from these waters. Your services are needed," Samauth called out. In truth, he had never given thought to the need to recreate a being like Uthvar. Yes, she was a part of him, an extension of his will, but so too was she steeped in traditions and worship from a mortal land, now impossibly distant.
The hot spring's waters spiraled, not into a whirlpool but an inversion, gathering above the surface. This water writhed, every twist and turn resolving its shape into that of a feminine figure. With a final flourish of her arms she was clothed in reeds and ferns, plants from the bank of a desert river in another world. Uthvar looked around the chamber, her indistinct face somehow conveying her confusion. "This is not Galandaar," the river spirit noted, her voice clear and gentle.
"Nor is it Aezha," Samauth said, gaining Uthvar's undivided attention. "I believe that I exist here as a duplicate, and that our original selves continue on in Aezha. I know not why I am here, but so long as I am then the souls of the dead will flow unto Valdash, under your protection."
Uthvar bowed to Samauth. "As it was for the Six Peoples of Galandaar, so shall it be for the lost souls of this new world. I shall see one and all, safely to the halls of Valdash," she vowed. After looking around the room again she added, "Lord Samauth? This is not a river..."
"One moment," Samauth said simply. He pointed his open palm at the untouched cliff face that made up the far wall. Right where the wall met the water cracks began to form. The cracked section of cliff fell away, back into the dark depths of a new cave, as though pulled in by some unseen force. The hot waters of the spring met the cold waters of a river within the cave with a hissing plume of steam. "There you are," said Samauth with some satisfaction.
"Thank you my lord," Uthvar said respectfully, though the ripples upon her featureless face gave one the impression of a playful smile.
"I would place upon you another responsibility, however unlikely it may be," Samauth instructed. "Should mortals come to this place, seeking knowledge of death, teach them of my ways. My expectations of their conduct in life and what rewards, and punishments can be expected for certain behaviors."
"And if they are not here to learn?" Uthvar asked. Samauth said nothing as a great deal of splashing could be heard coming from the dark side of the portal in the wall. Two towering figures waded through the water before stepping out and taking positions flanking the pool. The colossal, winged knights stood still as statues.
"Then the natural order of life and death will be preserved," Samauth promised as his physical form began to turn to ash, blown away in an ethereal wind. From the peak of the volcano, a single brilliant blue fireball ascended into the heavens above. After his departure, a dizzying swarm of Seers, bat-winged eyeballs, flew from the portal to Valdash. As they left the fortress grounds they seemed to disappear, invisible and intangible to the mortals they were meant to observe, but trivially simple for other gods to detect.
The World of the Gods, Fountain of Creation Pavilion
As he had disappeared, Samauth returned from the mortal world as a relatively tiny flame. Now fully in the World of the Gods, that fireball expanded until Samauth stepped out of it. Hesitating for just a moment, Samauth coughed into his fist as though clearing his non-existent throat.
"It would seem I have been neglecting the formalities of a proper introduction," he said, addressing the present deities. "I am Samauth, God of Death. I have just created a connection between this mortal world and my own, to ensure departed souls may be properly reborn."
The cyclopean skeleton continued, "Should any of you have a particular vision of paradise for your mortal followers, a reward for a life lived virtuously, I can see about accommodating the afterlives of your faithful."
Higher beings, these words are for you alone.
THE SLORG!
Ruviel's fairy woods, (013.018) mid morning.
The fairies did seem a little disappointed about what Ruviel said, but there was also a bit of murmuring afterward. A couple of fairy women then approached a bit closer to him.
"Um, if you want the forest to be pristine without our shortcuts... Should we get rid of the other ones we have around the forest?" the first one to speak asked.
"Yeah, we don't keep any right here because we don't want stuff following us home, but we keep them not far away," the second one added. (As in, they're still in the hex, they're just not immediately around the fairy tree grove.)
The murmuring among the other fairies grew a bit more then. Was there perhaps a bit of discontent over the notion of losing their other shortcuts?
Meanwhile, the fairies closer to Stella 2 glanced at each other, then huddled up and whispered to each other, just out of Ruviel's view. The group of them grabbed a fallen leaf and messed with it for a bit, then one of the fairies broke off and flew over to Stella 2.
"Don't know if they care about grass, but there's some grassland just Southwest of here. Or if you want to be more sure, there's some desert out West, or down South and Southeast; both are about the same distance away, but farther than the grassland," the fairy whispered to Stella 2, while tucking the leaf into her sleeve; a little map had been drawn on the leaf.
World of the gods, fountain of creation pavilion.
Cato gave a shrug, though spoke with a slightly understanding tone to Tarna. "Such is technically his right to do as a god. Just as it is yours to oppose it, should you choose," the eldest god said, leaning on his walking stick. "Just do try to remember our customs, Tarna," he added, then looked over with one eyebrow slightly raised as Samauth reappeared and spoke of creating afterlives for mortal followers.
"Why, I dare say that sounds wonderful, Samauth," Cato replied in a proud kind of tone, with a little smile on his face. "Though to my knowledge, it would only be O'Keanu and Ruviel to speak with about that," the eldest god added, but then paused with a glance at the mortal world again. "... My mistake, Theri and Nathan as well. Perhaps even Arcellex, later," he corrected himself, turning back to Samauth.
You are reading this.
The Light That Blinds
Theri, 011.006
Theri frowned a little. Was it...normal, for creations to not feel very much? Or was it because she'd made them out of snow, that it had chillled their emotions? She shook her head, deciding to focus on that later. "I'll make some more, then. This...may take a while."
The next several hours were spent carefully sculpting more snow people, each crafted as delicately as possible. These ones, she put a bit more of her essence into, hopefully to give them more emotion than Noel. Still, it was long work.
Once she was done, each was brought to life.
"Kept me waiting, haven’t you? Tch. No matter. Dawdle all you’d like. In the end, your defeat remains inevitable."
Druid Dude
Nathan Munsen
Theri's Tundra, 011.006
"They seem a little... dull." Nathan murmurs, but blinks in embarrassment. "S-sorry for that, I spoke without thinking. Maybe it's the material. Maybe they need time to grow, to evolve." his voice grows softer. "How do they work? You need any help?"
Meowing's Island, 022.009
"I'm... guessing that's not supposed to happen?" he mutters, pointing towards the flickering portal. "You expect anyone coming through?"
World of the Gods, Fountain of Creation
"Gee, didn't expect a warm welcome like this, especially from a nature duo." Nathan chuckles, rubbing his head. I hope that didn't sound racist. he thinks to himself. As Cato begins talking about Arcellex's ichor, Nathan internally cringed, expecting Tara and he to fight. "Well, that's not good." he mutters to himself. Then Samauth came in, and he tilted his head curiously. "Sorry, I already have my own afterlife. Thanks for the offer though!" he shrugs.
Human Civilization, 016.016
The Guides of Humanity look at the first civilization. Robert, Guide of Architecture, taps his head, transmitting his thoughts to Nathan. "Hey, uh, boss? Aren't these people... a little too advanced? They'll start questioning things. Maybe we start earlier." he mutters. "Hmm... I guess that makes sense." Nathan sighs. "What do you suggest?"
"Perhaps... Stone Age. They aren't as smart yet, and they will follow your orders." Robert muses. "They will be much more agreeable to gods." "...That works." Nathan amends, and snaps his fingers. Slowly, the Civilization reverts itself, and small caves pop up throughout the territory. Soon, the humans were in loincloths and holding spears.
"Alright, I'll leave it up you all to get them up to speed. Try not to piss off the other gods." Nathan reminds them, and the Guides nod, changing their forms to better match the civilization.
You piss off the Venom T-Rex. Roll initiative.
Meowing's island
"They call me the Grand High Goddess of Meowing!" Meowing says, striking a regal pose. "Or just Meowing for short, if you prefer. And soon, I shall be the ruler of this island! ... I mean technically I already am, there's just not much on it yet to rule. But there will be~ I've opened up some portals to let in more wildlife, and after that I'll see what it takes to get people to immigrate here..." Trouble Cube continues to be a general-purpose forum for those who desire such a thing.