THE SLORG!
World of the gods, fountain of creation pavilion, the present.
"Well, we're not actually sure yet," Seffora admitted, rejoining the conversation. "But we know we'd like to do good things," she added, with a hopeful tone and a smile.
Sapphira looked out towards the image of the world, squinting her eyes slightly as she focused. "I see there's humans there already, where Mark is," the love goddess mentioned.
"Oh, I'm sure he already wants to help them," Seffora replied, with a nod of her head.
"The humans of that world are currently under the care of two other gods," Cato idly mentioned.
The two sister goddesses glanced at Cato, then at each other.
"They might not like him getting involved," Sapphira half pointed out, half wondered, her expression slightly exasperated.
"Right... I should go get him," Seffora muttered, and handed Diana over to Sapphira.
Sapphira took the baby demigod, but had a surprised expression. "You? Are you sure that's a good idea?" she said, watching Seffora approach the edge of the pavilion.
"He's the father of my child; of course I should go get him," Seffora answered, glancing back over her shoulder briefly.
"Yes, but that's exactly why..." Sapphira trailed off, as Seffora had already turned back and jumped out of the pavilion, doing a forward somersault and vanishing. "... He might convince you to get involved," the love goddess muttered, then sighed. She held Diana up slightly, looking at the baby with an uneasy expression. "Your father has quite the habit of getting himself and your mother in trouble. You know that?"
Diana just gurgled slightly in response, looking at her aunt with a confused expression.
Nathan's Human civilization, (016.016) local time late afternoon.
A bit outside the formed crowd, Seffora appeared, finishing her somersault and landing on the ground gracefully, next to where Mark had climbed one of the shorter structures for a vantage point over the crowd. "Oh, hey Seffora," he said, glancing over at her with a warm smile.
"Mark, we may be overstepping our bounds here. We should go," Seffora said, hopping up onto the structure in a single, seemingly effortless bound.
"Hold on, I want to see how this plays out," Mark replied, and turned back towards the scene with the crowd. "The crowd want to see those people bound in metal punished, but they can't seem to agree on how. I've been trying to figure out what they did to deserve punishment," he added, looking through his binoculars again.
"But..." Seffora trailed off, glancing back and forth between Mark and the crowd, then sighed. She looked at the crowd again with her divine senses, seeing what she could glean. "... All the bound ones are inherently capable of using some kind of fire magic. Everyone else in the crowd are not," she informed him.
"Is that so..." Mark muttered, taking note of the woman wrapped in rags to cover her many burn scars, along with others in the crowd who also sported some burn scars.
While the crowd still hadn't really taken notice of Mark and Seffora, the sudden appearance of an unknown goddess was something that would likely get the attention of Rav'nixander's city body, especially as it was trying to be on the alert. Nathan could very well notice her arrival too.
You are reading this.
Fwomph
16.16, The Emissary
"I intend to mediate by providing proper debate and voting conditions. I understand that I am not personally effected, which is why I am not expressing a personal stake in affairs. By establishing a calm and rational situation for voting, the will of the people can become clear and we can proceed from there."
16.16, The City-Body
Meanwhile, the arrival of additional gods into this situation had not gone unnoticed by the ever-vigilant Rav'nixander. Its head slowly turned to watch them, before its voice was projected towards Seffora and Mark quieter than usual.
"The pyromancers of this civilization utilized the power differential of having magic to force slavery on those who did not have this magic. We have abolished the practice and are dealing with the last questions on how to handle the worst of the complicit. It would be advised not to interfere with the process."
It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.
Fool From The Depths
Picans' Fortress (013.007)
The faceless butler took a moment to survey the situation, before stepping forwards, passing through the magic barrier as if it were nothing but mere air. They walked up to Miklav, completely ignoring any attempts by the Hiverfolk vampire to deter them, and grabbed him by the neck. They threw him violently into the back wall of the cavern, and as he collided with the rock, he became frozen in time up to his neck. His head could still move, and he was thus very capable of thinking and reacting to the situation, but no matter what he did, he would be completely unable to cast any spells or escape from his predicament. Something's Fishy Here...
THE SLORG!
Nathan's Human civilization, (016.016) local time late afternoon.
The three people making the leading arguments mainly looked confused, as did most of the crowd.
"... 'Debate'? 'Voting'?" the larger, gruff man said.
"'Rational'?" the scarred woman muttered, both confused and seemingly a little offended at the word.
Their primitive society and language did not have any of those three words. Thankfully, divine power allowed the emissary to say them and be 'translated' to the Humans' minds regardless, but as usual it still took mortal minds at least a few moments to truly understand new concepts being magically introduced to them.
"You mean you want us to decide what will happen to them through this... 'Voting'?" the older man asked, seemingly a little faster on the take than the others.
...
Meanwhile, up on a nearby rooftop, Seffora seemed mildly surprised at the voice, while Mark nearly jumped, wheeling around and reaching for his rifle for a moment, but he stopped before he grabbed it. "Wasn't expecting it to talk to us directly," he muttered, in an apologetic tone.
Mark then turned, a stern look on his face as he stared towards the captured pyromancers. "So, the enslaved rose up against their oppressors... Seems familiar," he commented, in an angry tone.
"Mark, we shouldn't get involved," Seffora said to him, slightly pleading now.
"Yeah, you're right," Mark agreed, his tone still dry.
"I know you-" Seffora stopped, and blinked. "Wait, you just agreed?"
Mark turned his head to look at her, his expression still carrying some of that righteous anger, but easing, as it was clearly not directed at her. "What happens next is in their hands now," he said, glancing and motioning at the crowd. "I just hope whatever power rises next is better than what came before," Mark added, with a slight frown.
Seffora looked at him with a sad understanding, and reached out to gently take his hand. "Let's go then," she muttered, then turned towards Rav'nixander's city body. "I apologize for our interruption," the goddess said, making a bow. With that, she then stood, looked at Mark and gave him a nod, then the two jumped together into the air. Seffora did a somersault, though Mark didn't, and both of them vanished as she completed it, returning to the World of the Gods.
Picans' mountaintop fortress, (013.007) local time late afternoon.
As the faceless butler walked through the barrier and charged towards Miklav, the Hiverfolk scowled and launched a wave of icicles at the butler from the floor. Even as an immortal, it was not immune to the vampire's magic and still took damage from the attack. Regardless, that did not stop the butler from powering through and grabbing Miklav as intended, throwing him to the wall and freezing him in time.
Miklav took a moment to attempt struggling, but he soon determined it was pointless. With no other recourse, he just scowled at the butler, and said nothing.
Outside the cave, the two Picans who had been maintaining the barrier were quite surprised by it all. "Wh-what just..."
"I believe, it was sent, by Picoceles," the Pican who had rung the bell said, having to pause for heavy breaths as they had just finished running to try to catch up.
World of the gods, fountain of creation pavilion, the present.
Seffora and Mark reappeared, landing through one of the openings at the side of the pavilion. Sapphira looked over, mildly surprised. "Back already? That bad, huh?" the love goddess asked, slightly sarcastically.
"Everything's fine... I think," Seffora replied, still holding Mark's hand.
"Well, not everything," Mark muttered.
"I meant, neither of us are in trouble, so far as I can tell," Seffora elaborated.
"Wow, that's surprising," Sapphira quipped.
You are reading this.
Druid Dude
016.016
"The way I see it..." Nathan pops out from a cloud of feathers and stretching with a little groan. "Well it's only human to want revenge. Rav," he turns to the emissary unit. "You have that super logical mind. I just got back from Civilization, and my Guide to Justice is kinda occupied there with the new souls." "If we're gonna 'try' to bring peace to them, which is the best way to do so?" Nathan starts stroking his chin. "Personally, while exiling or killing the pyromancers would appease the masses, that would leave them open to attack by the more... advanced civilizations here."
Edited by Jules-Firenze on Jan 16th 2024 at 11:22:59 PM
You piss off the Venom T-Rex. Roll initiative.
Fwomph
16.16, The Emissary
"Correct. Shall we begin the process? A simple raise of hands should suffice."
16.16, The City-Body
"It is only three casters. More than made up for with an improvement in arms technology or the emergence of further pyromancers that are not connected to the slaver's regime. If worst comes to worst, I assume you will take the field alongside the forces of humanity?"
It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.
The Light That Blinds
Theri (Fountain of the Gods)
"Did something happen?" Theri asked in concern, looking at Seffora and Mark. "Um, do you want my help...?"
She couldn't believe she, of all people, was offering to help someone much older and more experienced than her...but life was strange.
"Kept me waiting, haven’t you? Tch. No matter. Dawdle all you’d like. In the end, your defeat remains inevitable."
THE SLORG!
Nathan's Human civilization, (016.016) local time late afternoon.
There were some murmurs in the crowd after Nathan appeared, but nobody clearly spoke out until after what the Emissary Unit said.
"As simple as that?" the older man asked, raising an eyebrow. "What are the choices?"
World of the gods, fountain of creation pavilion, the present.
Mark shook his head. "Not us. The humans, down there," he said, then after a moment realized he should motion towards the image of the mortal world to be more specific.
"But the matter is already being overseen by a couple of other gods," Seffora added, turning to Theri. "Unless you have some sort of rapport with them, I think it would be equally as inappropriate for you to get involved as it was for us?" she continued, though in a slightly uncertain tone, and glanced at Cato.
The eldest god gave a simple, small nod in response. "Though our customs do not forbid directly interfering with the affairs of other deities, it is generally frowned upon," he explained, leaning on his cane. "Of course, it all depends on the context, as well," the eldest god added, turning to face the image of the mortal world outside the pavilion.
"For example, detaining and imprisoning one mortal created by another god is not usually cause for concern... Unless that mortal has some sort of great significance, or is being sought out by a god for some reason. Say... Answering for a transgression," Cato went on, still facing the image of the Quedrands.
"... Is it just me, or is he referring to something in particular?" Mark quietly asked Seffora after a moment of silence.
"I... I honestly wouldn't know," Seffora replied, also keeping her voice down.
You are reading this.
Druid Dude
016.016, Nathan Munsen
"Rav, you do have a point..." Nathan taps his chin. "I'll only intervene in the worst, worst case scenario of possible extinction, but I guess three casters wouldn't matter all that much in the grand scheme of things." he says this last part in a hushed tone so only Rav'nixander can hear.
Raising his voice again, he roars with the flair of an emperor at the gladiator games, "A choice! Will these masters of fire meet exile, death, slavery, or freedom?! Show of hands!" He then names each choice, waiting for the votes and mentally tallying them before roaring the next vote. While keeping the people's eyes on him, he manifests a clone of himself on Rav's city body, away from the public eye.
"That democratic enough for you?" he asks Rav'nixander, stretching out for a nap.
You piss off the Venom T-Rex. Roll initiative.
Theri (Fountain of Gods)
"W-well...I couldn't just let them be miserable like that." Theri looked back at the view of the Quedrands and smiled again. "Love is meant to help people...not hurt them."
There was a silence, then.
"Have you decided what you plan on doing for this world yet?" she asked. "It's still fairly young, so there's room to grow."
"Kept me waiting, haven’t you? Tch. No matter. Dawdle all you’d like. In the end, your defeat remains inevitable."