The World (IC Actions)

[Eurus]

A sphere of dark gray stone, the size of a world (if size even matters, with nothing to compare it to) floats silently in the center of an endless void. No light, no heat, no sky, no life. Smooth and perfect in a way that no natural thing could be. Nothing but potential, waiting for the hands of gods to shape it.

[HalfTangible]

The Beginning

There is a crackling in the air of the gray, nigh-barren planet. Sclera black and iris gray scanned the world with a more than a modicrum of boredom mixed with contempt. So little was here for him to work with - he didn't want to create a specific race to worship him, not yet, it was too much of a personal investment for him to care. Moreover, if he just plain created a race that worshipped him, it would be easy for his siblings to wipe them out. And worse, they would rely on him completely for their livelihood.

He didn't want that. He wanted the mortals he commanded to be free-willed, with minds strong, hearts true and freedom pure.

Thallas clenched his fists and his eyes flashed from grey and black to bright blue. Lightning arced around his form, and lashed out onto the planet below. Power crackled in the air, in the ground, in every atom that made it's surface. He invoked his energy, and created his first gift to the world below. He gave it Sorcery.

He smirked as he 'saw' with his divine senses the energy now given to all things. Those with the will and strength to take it - from the lowest beggar to the greatest ruler - would have it. It was power, and he would allow them to take it, if they simply had the will to use it.

Thallas sat and waited for his brethren to add their own gifts. He would create mortals later, when he was more inclined.

Create Sorcery, a form of magic (which will, by extension, create sorcerers when there are mortals. Those who use sorcery do so by enforcing their will so greatly on the cosmos that the energy Thallas just released shapes to their will. However, there is no way to limit one's usage of power beyond what they do themselves, nor to tell one's physical/mental limit, so it is possible with each spell cast (particularly powerful spells) to use too much and have the energy rebound, destroying the caster. (Whether or not the spell functions anyway depends on how badly the caster screws it up). It is unlikely sorcery will be used for anything permanent - the spells cast by it are too unstable - but any creature with a strong will can use it.

[Snowfire]

The air ripples beside Thallas's manifestation, blue and silver light spilling out of nothingness beside him and swirling into a slender, robed figure. The colours splay out behind her, forming four wings of perpetually recombining lights and sapphire eyes snap open.

Ceryna watches her brother's power infuse the world below, the power crackling across and through the planet their Father had given them. She nods once to her twin, almost apologetically, and then her divinity explodes outwards into the world below her. Her pupils vanish, their blackness replaced by rings of blazing silver and her wings stretch languidly out into the universe around her.

And in an instant almost too small for a god to notice, silver lances through her wings and Fate becomes real. Ceryna jerks back, wings fraying and dissipating into the world around her, and shudders. But then the nature of her creation filters down into her senses, and she calms.

She has not created what she feared. As a God made it, so can a God defy it. And those with the strength or serenity to see past it will be able to do so on their own. Not without difficulty, but they will. And so she relaxes slightly, moving up beside her twin, and looking out over the world to see what else was to come.

Create Fate. It can be subverted and defied, but mortal beings will find it incredibly difficult. Gods and such...not so much.

[Lord_Gareth]

Merinth

Stone. Dark, cold, barren stone greets Merinth's perceptions as the Dutiful Daughter contemplates creation. Her mind fails to register excitement, or eagerness, or even irritation; just the need to fulfill her obligation to the All-Father, to imprint this world with the things that are her nature and her being.

In the darkness of the Void, there is a great rattling of chains the size of cities.

Great chains of metal plunge toward the fledgeling world; gold and sodium, aluminum and iron and dozens of others. Before they can strike the rocky sphere en masse, they shatter into thousands of rapidly-breaking individual links that strike the surface like a hail of hammer blows. Metal bonds with the rock, incorporating itself into the makeup of creation.

Merinth introduces metal to the world [One Act; Miracle; Metal portfolio]

For all clarification, it's all the metals and semi-metals from Ye Olde Periodic Table of Elements

[LadyGareth]

Voltan looks down on the creations of his siblings and nods as he see's what was and what has been done. he contemplates for a moment, thinking on what he should add to this.

With a decisive nod he smiles and turns to Merinth. He asks her a question and discusses with her for a moment before he becomes a rope of flame that makes straight for the as yet barren world. He dives straight into the core of the planet and plants a seed of fire there.

The seed set, he begins to expand it.

The liquid fire there begins to expand, melting the metal and stone around it. He guides his liquid fire into riverbeds that flow into and out of the center of this planet, lacing the surface with it. The fire, his own fire, is uncooled by the void around the planet as it is not the molten metals and rocks that sit in the center of this barren world. the flow of the liquid fire in and out of the pool of mingled metals and stones causes a spinning motion to begin. He nods, satisfied, and returns to the void with his siblings to watch the effects of his addition to this world.

basically, what he did was place a pool of liquid fire in the center of the core. This liquid fire is not magma, that is around it, melted my the fire Voltan placed there, and has been set into a spinning motion be the flow of the liquid fire in and out of it.

the rivers of fire are the same liquid fire that is in the core, they are not lava. they are divine liquid fire.

[Cogwheel]

For a time, Aeon watches and waits, simply observing as creation unfolds, without making the slightest motion to interfere. Some actions required careful thought - rash, impulsive moves would not do for the first moments of this new world.

First, there is magic - strange that his siblings would rush to create a way to bend the fabric of the world, when they are already quite capable of doing so themselves. What use did the gods have for inferior means? A strange move indeed.

Then came fire and metal, not great acts in themselves, perhaps, but seeds: A base for what may come, from which greater, far more intricate things could be created. Perhaps that could begin with... yes, that would do nicely.

Quickly, the Chronicler reaches down, grasping a handful of molten, ever multiplying steel in his endless hands, rolling and molding it into a sphere. He had waited and observed for a long while, and yet, the god of time himself did not know how long he had waited for. This would not do.

The sphere cools momentarily, allowing him to inscribe symbols in a ring around the surface. They were not numbers, as such: No system existed to accommodate them, and none will for a little while longer. The symbols themselves would create their own meaning, and if one were to look to it, it would not take long to read into its teachings.

He sets the new, vast ball spinning, ever so slowly, before setting it on its course around the world. To tell time what to do, one must first be able to tell the time.

Using one act, Aeon creates the sun. The sun is slightly dimmer, but mostly just enchanted, in that looking into it is not going to harm you. This does not impact the properties of blinding light in general, just this particular sun. There are symbols carved into it so that you can easily - especially if you have the basic system of mathematics that will most likely be derived from these numbers - tell the time by looking at it. Of course, this works best if the moon follows the same model. Oh well.

[Buwh]

Envidia

The world spread before her! It was wondrous! Truly, it had become a living thing imbued with the spark of the divine. Her smile widened.

She could feel everything on this mortal plane, and see the effects of her siblings power. Envidia smacked her lips as she received a taste of the magic that flowed through this place. "It's like lightning in my veins. I desire this." Miss Green Eyes said, surprising no one. As she moved to wave her hand she felt a bit of resistance as another of her siblings tried to lock the world into the path they desired. It was like a chain latched to her wrist, however, it was easily cast off. She sensed those weaker would not fare so well.

"Fantastic!" Envidia exclaimed as she examined this fire world more closely, gold, jewels, and other pretty things existed on the surface and deep within the Earth. "Lovely.. But these are earthly things." She pondered what she could make that would rival these beautiful things, and knew that it had to make a deep impression- be there for all to see for all time.

The sun's light blinded her as she floated to it very displeased. "This.. this?" She mused to herself, curling her lip up and looking disgusting. "My idea.. mine!" The voice of Envy echoed in the void. Acting rashly, she grabbed a collection of gems and stones from the terra to act as a base while she attempted to make an exact duplicate- on the other side of the planet.

Crafting gently and referring back to the sun she made a smaller orb of her own whose light would always be seen- but only at night when the sun didn't overpower it. Out of her jealousy bore a moon that, more than create light of it's own, captured and reflected the light of the sun through it's prism. A beautiful jewel hanging in the void that was copied perfectly, symbol for symbol and spin for spin, against her Sun Brother's contribution. An invidious moon that would refuse to show it's full envious face most of the time. A jealous moon that would revolve around the sphere and eclipse the sun rarely despite being smaller.

Using one act, I become Goddess of the Moon! This moon operates like ours, except for where it would conflict with Aeon's stylistic choices or time system. It's very pretty, being made out of stone and precious metals, and it has a complimentary set of symbols to the sun.

[Eurus]

Update -- End of Turn 1

The first God to act is Thallas. Though the explosion of divine essence that binds itself to the universe is invisible by any normal sense, the other Gods can feel it with ease. Power hums silently in every spark of matter, waiting for a will to command it.

Immediately after, his twin moves to begin. Tiny, invisible threads weave through the void, converging on the central planet like some massive loom. And where they cross and knot and fray, nature and mortal minds alike are gently guided along the paths set out for them -- or are the paths formed by the choices they would already have made?

Although the planet yet remains untouched, this changes quickly. A rain of screaming metals blasts the surface, burying itself deep, seeding all the way through the planet's uniform body. The once-perfect sphere is clumsily shaped by this assault, forming irregular craters and hills.

From deep within, the cold planet starts to heat. Divine fire, ever-burning and never-cooling, forms within. Slowly, stone and metal alike begin to melt around this new core, forming a liquid mantle. The effects are remarkable; floating on a sea of magma, the surface begins to fracture apart where it is weakened by the fire-rivers, forming continents that will slowly clash and grind against each other in a spectacular symphony of centuries.

In the sky, sun and moon both form, shining and reflecting down on the surface. The world does not long mourn the loss of matter used for these new companions, shifting easily to fill the gaps. Though delivering less heat than the planet's core, the sun still does its best to warm and illuminate the world.

The previously-airless planet is soon covered by a thin layer of toxic, gaseous clouds, released from the melting and burning minerals. This feeble blanket is not enough to trap much heat, however, so the planet's surface varies drastically in temperature. Near the rivers of fire, it is an expanse of smooth igneous rock and bubbling magma, while elsewhere, it shifts from hot during the day to ice-cold every night.

The moon, by contrast, is utterly cold in the areas not directly facing the sun, but sparkles beautifully in the reflected light of the night. Together, the two take up their solemn orbits.

Each god gets another Act, as Turn 2 begins.

[Snowfire]

Ceryna watched in joy and wonder as her siblings moved around her, shaping and creating the gift that their father had given them. But as she looked down on the world below, on the mist and smoke and fire, her reformed wings drooped.

"How...how can life be in such a place?" She asked, her words echoing out around her in the stillness of the Void. "Fire and metal are all well and good, but...but life needs gentleness to flourish." Her eyes darkened to reflect the in-places blazing light of the planet below her. Then she stiffens, as if in sudden realisation.

"Gentleness..." She trails of, almost wistfully. "All life can grow from a simple seed. But a seed needs more than earth and stone to grow!"

Her proclamation, like her first question, trails off and vanishes into the emptiness. And then her siblings hear it.

It starts gentle, almost imperceptible - even to divine senses. But as this next creation of Ceryna closes in on the planet, it becomes impossible to ignore. A wild shriek rises out of nothingness, dancing between notes. And from all around, walls of mist blur out of the blackness to slam into the planet.

Even here though, Ceryna is careful where her siblings were not. Her fingers tease out the power within those mists, letting them flow gently into the smog and toxins of the atmosphere. White clouds form above black, crimson and gold, the warmth of her brother Voltan's fire-rivers calling forth bolts of crackling blue-violet lightning.

And then, as the last mists flow free from her grasp, Ceryna exerts her divine will. Silver blazes deep within sapphire, untapped and heretofore uncalled upon strength shining forth to invoke balance. And rain, beautiful, simple, serene rain, starts to fall.

What begins as a gentle patter on the stone soon becomes far more. For whilst her siblings may wish a world of blazing fire and grey stone, Ceryna's nature calls for white and sapphire. And the rain will continue, never stopping, until divine flame is balanced by smooth waters.

"Brother, sister, please forgive me if I transgress," she calls out to Merinth and Voltan. "But balance must hold. As you must create that which you are, so must I."

Create Weather. Wind, rain, lightning, it's all there. And now it always will be. It will also, eventually, cool the continents and form oceans.

[HalfTangible]

Thallas returned to the surface of the world, blinking sulfur out of his eyes even though he didn't really need to, given his status as a divinity. He spread his gaze along the world's lava coated surface, and smirked with amusement as he saw land masses forming. There would certainly be the potential for life one day on this world, but that day was not this. So instead, he pondered what kind of creature to make. He was the essence of Freedom given form, and he wanted a creature that represented that ideal... A manifestation of pure willpower would be the obvious choice. Spirits, he could call them...

...But he had agreed with Ceryna to create life, and he knew that while spirits technically fell within the purview of 'life' it had not been what she meant. So instead he sighed, closed his eyes, and clapped his hands together as a circle of pure magical energy formed beneath him. Energy crackled at his fingertips and in the air around him, and as he opened his eyes they glowed bright blue.

He pulled his hands apart violently, and as he did so, a massive amount of energy was released into his second divine act. Consciousness - willpower incarnate - spread from his hands and began to latch onto all of existence. As they did so, the elements around him began to take shape.

Flames rose into the air and formed together into tiny arrangements of fire, some bright red, some blue and even white. Consciousness took shape in the air as well, and wind began to swirl and form into their own shapes, whose only recognizeable common feature was a pair of glowing yellow eyes within their ethereal, swirling forms. What water there was began to form into serpents that hissed and snapped at their firey brethren, and the fire returned their ire. Last but not least came the earth, which formed into massive, boxy entities with thick arms and legs.

And so did the Elementals first come into the world.

Create the consciousnesses that form Elementals. Elementals are formed from - and therefore able to influence - the elements around them, allowing them to bring balance to the world. They cannot change which kind of elemental they are (fire will always be fire, water will always be water) but they can form new bodies for themselves within the same element. (A tornado elemental can become a breeze or form a cloud, for example). Not all of the elements are part of these Elementals, but Thallas HAS made quite a few. Thallas has charged them to bring and keep balance, but this will probably not last forever since there is still minor conflict between the elementals.

[Catal Huyuk]

The frenzy of its birth waning, it watched/listened/tasted the actions of its siblings. Each dark and glassy limb splayed towards the planet, vibrating to the noise of divine intervention.

...dreaming waking dreaming children waiting dreaming in unbirth waiting will join us siblings among us dreaming waking builders waiting sleeping unbirth will know my name will give them homes among us sleeping stars their destination sing praise in building dreaming waking...

Jerking all seven limbs akimbo, it makes dying, screeching, noise. A sound to pickle the brain in its own chemistry, to herald an act of transition. Clean cut at the base one of the seven tentacles falls away. The main body freezes, as if in dutiful remembrance, as its severed organ writhes.

No longer the arms of a starfish. They are vulture heads, sawtoothed proboscide, and scissor arms. The six fall on the seventh greedily.

They are master surgeons and tailors. They unfold, reshape, and vivisect. The unlucky arm shudders still as it is laid out and hollowed like a skin for drying - the blinding white divine essence scraped away like viscera.

They portion it out carefully, sculpt it to impossible detail, and set them spinning in their station in the void. Like sacred objects, each to its own place. Each an Escher metropolis, a mandelbrot dream of infinite stairs, rooms, hallways, and roads. Empty cities of light and cold flame, numberless and waiting.

Use an act to create stars! That's... pretty much it.

[Lord_Gareth]

Merinth

It's a matter of agreement, really, of debt. Merinth has an instinctive understanding of debt and obligation, both forced and voluntary, and it is upon debt that she meditates. The other gods can hear her murmuring quietly, almost as if to herself, but cannot make out the words; it isn't a language she is speaking, really, but rather a form of raw understanding.

There are no words, but the meaning is clear: this is, that is not, and this shall be so. Laws and bylaws and provisions, exceptions and protections and debts flow forth from her lips and weave themselves into a net that settles down over reality. When she feels she is satisfied with her work, she reaches a hand out clasps it with a phantom hand that extends from the Void, and a small smile creeps up her lips, crooked and jaunty.

"I'm glad we could come to an arrangement."

Merinth alters the laws of reality (One Act; Miracle; Obligation and Binding portfolios; see spoiler, below)

The default assumption in most god games is that the laws of physics function as normal in the absence of divine will/creation to the contrary. Merinth has not changed this overmuch, except to add an additional provision - these laws may be altered by appropriate agreements made between two authorized parties.

An 'authorized party' depends on the kind of agreement being made. Any being or idea (such as stones, love, et cetera) is authorized to make agreements about anything relating only to themselves or within their power (an agreement with Love, for example, might involve altering, creating, or taking away Love, but it wouldn't involve, say, Hunger) automatically, provided they can actually form an accord. As long as both sides hold up their ends, the obligation (and thus the power) continues. Failing to uphold their obligations, for any reason, ends any power granted by the agreement, though any debts owed to the wronged party are still owed, and any sanctions built into the deal will continue to dog the 'traitor' until or unless they either pay back their debts of favor or service, or a year and a day has passed.

A being can only make agreements on the behalf of other beings if it can claim some manner of authority over them. A king could make an agreement on the behalf of his nation, a god on the behalf of their worshipers, a parent for his children, and so forth. As always, the nature of the deal determines the exact debts owed and the benefits gained; scale is the only significant change in these sorts of arrangements, though if the deal is made unwisely it can be much easier for an errant follower to break it. As always, sanctions are determined by the oath-making parties (indeed, the oath might even be made to punish the individual oath breakers and leave the rest untouched) and last until the debts are repaid or for a year and a day.

Oaths made between a living being and an aspect of reality require that said aspect of reality exist in the first place; one cannot make a deal with Law if there are not yet any laws, or with Ice if ice doesn't exist. After that, the enterprising oath-maker must then find a 'representative' of his chosen facet of reality, which may be as simple as finding a rosebush or as hard as seeking out a legendary glacier and communing at its summit, depending on how much the aspect of reality 'wants' to deal and how powerful it is - more prevalent or potent aspects of reality are harder to find and demand more.

Upon deciding to seek out an aspect of reality, it personifies for that being only. Though the aspect of reality isn't truly possessed of intelligence, it temporarily takes on attributes familiar to the being seeking it and gains enough intelligence to be able to make a deal in its favor. Once the negotiations are over and the deal is struck, the aspect of reality settles back into its normal role for the being in question - unless he calls upon the power of the deal, at which point it gains personification relative to that being once more, though this may not necessarily do much (if he calls upon Air to dry him off, it might just seem like the breeze is laughing, as opposed to a deal to get Earth to serve him, creating an intelligent, albeit temporary slave of dirt and stone). These personified traits permit the aspect to exist beyond its normal state (such as by making waves of earth rise up to crush the oath-maker's enemies or causing Law to bind her enemies in shackles made of broken promises), but not to act outside of its nature - for example, Peace could not be used for violent purposes, or Fire cannot be made to heal wounds.

Though the aspect in question is not truly intelligent, it deals as though it is, demanding favors and tasks that will further itself in exchange for its aid. Fire might ask for a building to be burnt down, or for a huge statue of wood to be made and then burnt, or it might just request that its partner in debt never put out any flames that they see. Though these aspects, by their nature, cannot have an agenda they may appear to do so through inherent opposition (water might demand that its oath-partner douse fires, for example, creating the illusion of conflict).

Gods have a harder time arranging oaths in this fashion; any attempt to do so will call for a task in the name of that aspect of reality that will expend at least one ACT and/or a large-scale action by that gods' worshipers, and that's if the aspect will even deal in the first place - aspects in opposition to a God's Portfolios simply won't speak to them, remaining un-personified. Even then, any deals made in this fashion must directly benefit mortals, and not just the God in question.

Eurus, go ahead and tell me if anything else needs clearing up!

[Eurus]

Update -- End of Turn 2

The planet, hills and canyons of stone etched by flowing fire, is suddenly wrapped in blankets of clear air and cool rain. The effect is remarkable, but quickly shifts; the new layer of gasses allows the planet's surface heat to stabilize to a degree, but with the planet heated from both internal and external forces, it steadily grows hotter.

Most of the water becomes vapor, until the atmosphere can hold no more; liquid pools in the less-volcanic areas, forming wide lakes, but the constant cycle of evaporation results in high humidity, thick haze, and slow, perpetual drizzles of condensing rain.

As air and water are introduced, so too does Thallas create their physical embodiments alongside those of earth and fire. These creations have a noticeable effect on the landscape. Elementals of water gather around the natural pools, jealously hoarding them but preventing them from boiling away. Elementals of earth feud with elementals of fire over the creeping encroachment of magma onto solid land, while elementals of air drift around with little regard for those landbound. A few are killed in skirmishes, and while the elementals do not need to consume food, neither are they capable of reproduction through mundane methods.

In the sky, a vast chandelier of stars is carefully placed, their gentle twinkling hidden by the world's thick clouds. Reality itself shifts, as the concepts of exchange and obligation are bound into every aspect of it, but no creature yet notices this change.

Turn 3 begins

[LadyGareth]

Voltan settled himself into the core of fire, looking around at the mantle of Magma surrounding his fire. This he liked, this could be a good thing. This liquid rock would spread and bring new metals and stones and ores to parts of the planet that had never seen them before; but that was for later. Right now he had something a little more pressing to worry about.

He considered carefully what he wanted to do. After several hours he nodded, his decision made. The body would be long, with vertical fins on the tail, to propel them through the magma. They would have large wedge shapes heads, rounded at the mouth, with flexible fins that could open up behind them. Legs, four of them, and lungs that could be adjusted to breathe air.

These creatures would live in the fire, going up onto land near the rivers and lakes of fire where they lived. They would mate on the land, and come into the very core of the planet to lay their eggs. They could tunnel through the magma, but the liquid fire would be their lifeblood. Both their food and their air, the magma would not provide either to them, it served its own purpose.

They would intake this energy and use it for their own life, very little would be wasted, but that tiny amount that was not used would be converted, to keep the planet from overheating again. This 'waste' would move in the liquid fire until enough of it collected in a single spot to form a bubble light enough to leave the fire, thrown high into the air by the heat once it finally escaped. This 'waste' would be pure inspiration. the kind that would create wonders for the world, innovations of technology or song, great artistic wonders, architectural genius, literary masterworks, or even cultural movements that bring about a new period of enlightenment.

Their matings would be something to behold, that would inspire artist of all varieties for aeons to come. Full of all the colors of flames, blue, green, red, orange, purple, yellow, and all shades in between. Their songs during this time would bring joy to the hearts of he hopeless, and bring even the bravest, stoutest, and most heartless of men to tears. The beauty would be something to see, but if the hearts of any looking on their mating, excepting those of the Gods themselves, was so moved by what they were seeing and hearing that they were frozen in awe, his creatures future would be protected.

Voltan looked at his work and was proud, these would be good creatures. he would have more use for them in the future, he was sure of it.


Voltan - One Act
Voltan Creates the Inspiritors

the 'Bubbles' don't each carry something specific. It's like an inspirational kick in the ass. If a bubble hit a painter, he might be inspired to paint the great mural of the Sistine Chapel. At the same time, if that self-same bubble were to hit an architect instead, he might be inspired to create something along the lines of the great pyramids. A farmer might be given great idea's on breeding a new crop that will have five times the yield of the ones he's currently planting. I'm sure you get the idea. It takes one hundred years, give or take two or three, for enough of this 'waste' to accumulate for it to leave the Liquid fire, and it looks like small rivulets of rainbow color moving through the flames. Once it leaves, most people probably wouldn't notice it, as it looks like a bit of heat haze floating through the air.

Also, they look kinda like this http://www.axolotl.org only make the tails much longer, make them about four-five feet long, and bright shades of red, orange, pink, blue, and purple, with the very occasional white or yellow one, those being so rare that you might go a whole lifetime and never see one.

[HalfTangible]

Thallas saw the elementals begin to compete for the dominance of their respective forms. The earth and fire tried to create more land to swallow the sea, and the sea responded by constantly washing away the rock and sediment. The air, feeling hatred for the fire that ate it, aided the water by helping to create tsunamis and greater storms to put out the fire and wash even more away.

Thallas watched the "wars" with amusement for some time, but he frowned when he realized that these were not petty spats between children - he saw that they were attempting to annihilate each other. He gritted his teeth.

ENOUGH!!

All the elementals on the planet ceased their fruitless battle, from the wind spirit's fearsome tornados to the fire's smallest sparks, and they gazed upon their creator with fear and wonder.

I did not create you to squabble like children. Thallas growled coldly. I charge you, my firstborn children of the elements, to safeguard this world and shepard it into a world of life and beauty. Bring balance, and cease your battles with one another. Though I am the god of freedom, He continued, his eyes flashing, But freedom is nothing but chaos without compromise. Work together with your siblings - find common ground, and bring stability to this new world.

He prepared to ascend, when suddenly one of the fire elementals (he mentally named it Will-o-wisp) Raised one of the sixs balls of fire that made up it's form and crackled a question.

Because Chaos brings only death and destruction, Thallas laughed and turned to the creature, placing a hand on it's 'head'. And with balance, my child, comes life and creation. And you, my children, will be there to see all the wonder creation can bring, so long as you exist.

He then ascended back to the Divine Pavilion, to rest and recover his power.

As he left, the elementals began to carry out his charge. Earth elementals allowed water to cut through them in exchange for covering more of the planet - fires still sprang up, but they only took what they needed from the world, and the air fed them when it could without destroying the flames.

And so stable landmasses began to form, capable of supporting life, as fire, earth, wind and water separated and found balance.

Communicate with the Elementals and tell them their mission in existence (if Eurus allows it this turn - if not, he will do it next turn)

[Buwh]

Envidia

"The world in the palm of my hand!" Envidia gloated, running the vast tendrils of her power over the burning rock ball. Creatures had started to exist on this death world somehow, struggling and fighting to survive. The thought of non-God intelligence was odd to her but she felt them want more, and she felt the Earth wanting more.

"It isn't being beautiful.." She continued, genuinely surprised. "When Father gave me this gift I wanted it to be beautiful!" The Queen of Mean shouted louder, stomping and glaring at the towers of fire and hard earth, till she walked to the edge of one of those small pools of water struggling to come into being in this world. The soft dew on her face was nice as she lay next to the pond, running her fingers over the surface of the water. "I enjoy this concept." She stated, dipping her finger in and slightly swirling the water.

Moving her hand down she lay it on the ground wondering how she could use this new source of joy to her advantage. Her power struck out for her and underneath her hand.. life existed. "Oh my. How wonderful. How glorious. How beautiful!" Miss Green Eyes exclaimed, kneeling further down to examine the gorgeous flower that had sprung up. With it's delicate petals and soft looking presence.. "This is my gift," She stroked down the soft petals of the flower, "My gift to the world."

Standing up she willed it so. From her position flowers and plants burst from the ground all around her spreading outward across the world at incredible speed. Most of the gorgeous new foliage only existed around the ponds and small rivers that had formed in waters attempt to retake the Earth making them incredibly beautiful spots, but some of the hardier plants grew in harsher areas. Soon there were species of them more able to survive next to magma and some next to water.

The Queen walked about personally making each one to perfection. There were wild shrubs and fruit trees which contained things like bananas or apples, only alien and unknown and certainly not called by those names. The trees would grow tall and all of them would produce delicious fruit. Seeds and small wild plants existed now that could one day be used to farm as well, wild plants that could be tamed into alien versions of corn or what have you and certainly those that could one day be made alcoholic. And certainly were there flowers of every shape and size throughout the world. With one impulsive decision she had made the world as green as possible.

As she doted over her new beautiful creations, adding some to her current ensemble, she realized more power was flowing out of them. "Oh my yes." Within every thing that grew here resided the power to heal the body. Fruit provided nourishment for every creature, but each one was also infused with the divine power of healing. Some plants healed sickness, others enabled wounds to heal faster if you used the sap, and within all that grew here existed the power to make healing and harming potions and the building blocks of alchemy and herbalism. The great power was such that anything that ever grew on this planet would have it. Whatever grows here from now on has the divine magic to heal mortals.

Medicine! I've used Two Solid Acts to create plants of every shape and size and decree that all growing things heal and are under my jurisdiction! If there are plant elementals after this, they should be the nicest ones of all.. or plants should at least chill the Earth elementals out a little.

Take that death world! Enjoy being as green as Earth!

[Snowfire]

Obligation...

Such a strange thing to see created in a world only beginning to flourish. And yet, it gives her something to use. Something to mold the fabric of her own, terrifying creation. Ceryna glances down on the world below her, pondering for a long moment. The world spins, once, twice. And then Ceryna's head rises, eyes alight with sudden intuition.

Fate was wild, untamed. A force of its own. And she did not want to change that. But...perhaps it was possible to give mortals an easier way past the bindings that would seemingly be set upon them. And what better way to create that, then to simply allow them to ask. To be able to persuade and cajole...something into letting them take another path.

It couldn't be easy. No. Not easy. But it could exist! Fleeting, invisible footsteps carried her outwards, shooting across the heavens towards the cities of light created by her sibling. She would not take them all, that would be the height of selfishness. But some, at least, she could turn to her purposes. For what better place to put the arbitrators of Fate itself the on the very edge of Eternity.

Her lips moved, liquid gibberish falling into the emptiness around her, and the loom of Fate twitched in its rise and fall. Slender hands, almost glowing in the pale starlight, spread unintelligible scrawls of light across the void.

Out of the writhing light and impossible sound, there rose a twisting, crackling column of white fire. From within came the sound of chiming bells and wind flutes. Ceryna smiled slightly, then her hands dived into the divine essence she had pulled forth, shaping and molding it into a shape that could give her thought form.

Then she pulled back.

As her hands fell away, they revealed a slender - almost translucent - figure. It was humanoid, at least as she saw it. To an elemental it would appear differently. To an Inspiritor, even more so. And to her divine Sight, it was still a whirlwind.

As her creation rose into waking, Ceryna imprinted certain things upon its mind. Its purpose, to act as a Guardian and Arbitrator of Fate. To stand witness to and judge any who wished to Alter their path. And to aid in that task, she reached into the aether around her and pulled forth a shining Instrument.

To play the melody of Fate, eternal and unending. To change that song as your brothers and sisters decreed. And to allow freedom to exist, even in a world seemingly full of omnipotents.

She thought simply, eyes dancing in their sockets, before sweeping her hands out around the single creature. Suddenly the city was full of them. And Fate, at least, was ready.

Ceryna uses one Act as a Miracle to give the aspects of Fate 'created' (I know that's not exactly the way it works, but it functions for these purposes) by Merinth both physical form and sentience.

Also, through the creation of the Aspect's Instruments, she may have just created music as well. I hope that's all right...

[Cogwheel]

The vision comes to Aeon in a flash as he exits the Pavilion. Endless towering spires and gleaming cities of pristine glass. Strange crystalline creatures flit between towers and walk the streets so far below. Slowly, the spires crumble before his eyes, as do their inhabitants, a rain of feather-light sparkling dust drifting towards the ground. The future? The past? Another present, or none of those? A time that was meant to be, would not be, or should never be?

The vision is gone, but thoughts remain. He pushes all but one of them out of mind for now. They had no place here. Would they? Did they?

No. Enough.

Closing a mass of whirling paper sheets into something approximating a fist, he takes a boulder and smashes it into the finest sand, letting some fall through what passes for his fingers. This would not do. Not yet. This is not enough.

With the heap of sand in his hand, the god flies towards one of the few fiery rivers still remaining, and plunges his wispy, loose-paper hands into lava. In an instant, the god bursts into flames, smoke spewing from his form, and yet he remains unharmed. Simple fire cannot mark a god, though it might consume the shape he takes.

Slowly, triumphantly, he lifts a globe of flawless glass from the achingly slow river. A second later, he has taken to the air again, speeding over the planet. Some time passes before he finds a suitable spot: Half barren rocky wasteland, half open sea. Yes, this would do nicely.

The past must never be forgotten.

And once again, the glass multiplies endlessly in his hands, flowing forth in a great molten flood. Where it touches the sea, water turns to steam instantly, and brush crackles under its weight and heat. Soon, the glass cools, forming a large range glimmering, lifeless plains. Lifeless save for thought, save for history.

A place of reflection for the world to come.




Aeon - One Act
Aeon creates the Plains of Reflection

The plains of reflection draws on the thoughts of those who enter it most of all, their memories second, and major world-shaping events third. That last one refers to the event's eventual effect, not scale: If something minor sets off major changes in the world through a snowball effect or some manner of chain reaction, it counts as this.

If you're just passing through, you can stop the field from affecting you. To do this, you need to have a good deal of willpower and mental control, and be aware of what the field does. Complete prevention is very rare, though I imagine prophets can probably pull it off. Chances are, you'll delay the memory's appearance for a few years.

Note that the plains drawing on you is entirely harmless unless, of course, you've done something major and want to hide it. The end result for what it does is this: It projects illusions constantly, all over the plains, of the various events it's observed, while filtering out anything minor or unimportant. In other words, only the significant historical stuff. The illusions are insubstantial, harmless, and tidily partitioned by their place in the timeline. The further south you go, the less significant the illusions get. Similarly, the older memories are in the eastern parts of the field.

In short, it's a giant mirror plain that serves as a sort of 24/7 mind-reading history video.

[Lord_Gareth]

Merinth

Merinth nestles herself in a hollow between two forming mountains, a place where the rising rock shelters the new-formed plants from the heat of the magma flows and the Divine Fire. She sends her nature forth, a subtle twisting of Metal around the plant life in a spreading wave. Organic matter is replaced by twisting metal of a fey aspect, with trees and plants forming themselves into delicate steel replicas of themselves. Leaves of glittering, multicolored chrome shine in the reflected light of the sun, and fruits of all shapes and sizes droop low, bending the branches upon which they rest. The plant life grows thicker until it becomes a jungle of sorts, the reflected light and shadows forming odd splashes of light and color intersected by areas of absolute darkness where not even the memory of light remains. Satisfied with her work, Merinth returns her attention to the Pavilion.

Merinth creates the Wraithsteel Jungle (One ACT; Miracle; Metal portfolio; see spoiler, below)


Wraithsteel

Wraithsteel is a metallic substance infused with life energies; living metal, in other words, capable of growth and change. Wraithsteel is/will be the basis for metallic life. Wraithsteel lifeforms still expend energy to survive, reproduce, et cetera, though they are largely immune to the negative effects of electricity. Extremes of heat can cause the Wraithsteel to come unbonded; extremes of cold can freeze Wraithsteel lifeforms to death. Wraithsteel is remarkably flexible, though it may be cut or bludgeoned in a fashion detrimental to the life form composed of it. Lightweight and flexible, Wraithsteel life forms often have a delicate, fey-like cast to their being. Wraithsteel may be melted down and re-forged into tools, weapons, and other things; products made from Wraithsteel retain some of the former life form's essential nature, which might be beneficial to the tool, harmful to it, or simply non-relevant (a healing herb reforged into a knife would be a poor weapon, but if it were reforged into a medical tool it would do much better).


Wraithsteel Plants

Wraithsteel plants tend toward delicate curves, graceful arches, bladed leaves, fruit, nuts, and flowers. They are wind-pollinated (though pollen isn't precisely the correct term, it will serve) until or unless some form of life comes along to do the job for them.

The substance inside Wraithsteel fruits is edible to more organic lifeforms, provided they can actually open the damned things. Wraithsteel plants still require air, water, and sunlight, though electricity (created through the photon effect) is the main source of energy for their metabolisms. Beings touching Wraithsteel plants will get a mild tingle that is, at best, annoying if the plant is still alive.

Wraithsteel plants, like all Wraithsteel life, may be melted down and reforged once harvested.

[Eurus]

The planet seems almost to ripple and writhe under the concentrated attentions of the Gods, as its surface changes with remarkable speed. Greenery bursts forth, spreading across lifeless stone and sand like a tidal wave, until the planet is almost unrecognizable from the place it once was. The more inhospitably volcanic areas remain relatively barren, unable to support fledgeling growth, but they are a relative minority. The elementals of earth are initially shocked, but soon adapt to this new state; many begin wearing a coat of moss or ivy, to better reflect their environments.

The creation of the Inspiritors, while less obvious at a glance, has an equally significant effect on the environment. With their ability to pull heat out of the environment, the temperature starts to stabilize, leaving most of the planet relatively temperate. The essence of inspiration that they produce slowly begins to pool, until such a time as it can eventually be claimed. Some fire elementals eventually settle near these creatures, enjoying their beauty while protecting them from the world's few threats.

In a lush valley, unremarkable by most standards, the plants begin to change into new forms. A jungle forms, as beautiful as it is alien; leaves of bright wraithsteel glitter in the canopy, while lead-black roots wind through loamy earth. The elementals seem to avoid this place for now, unsure what to make of it.

Elsewhere, a wide desert of flawless glass is spread carefully across the ground and infused with the power to carry the memories of an entire world. For the moment, the only thing it reflects is its own creation; the glorious visage of a burning god watching as his project takes form.

Turn 3 begins.

[Buwh]

Envidia

With their creator gone, Envidia could since the chains of obligation loosen on the elementals and knew they were free to manipulate. If there was one thing she hated it was being.. indebted. "How could she create such a concept." The jealous goddess sighs with frustration, shaking her head at the very idea.

"I enjoy this concept." She parrots herself from the generation before, laying in a bed of her own flowers next to one of the few lakes battling against this volcanic-based landscape. The goddess manipulates and runs her fingers through the water gleefully, manipulating it freely and playing in her own peaceful garden.

She could hear them. They were still jealous. Very jealous.

"I hear you; I hear you hear you my pretty little dumplings! Pretty dumplings." Miss Green Eyes coos. They may have spread from their former status but the still inhospitable areas told volumes. And some Water Elementals were not happy about it at all. They cried for help- a miracle from the divine.

"Ask and you shall receive!" She tells the wandering Water Elementals, although they can't hear her. "Pretty dumpling.. pretty pretty pretty dumpling~!" Envy sings, drawing water from all of the lakes on the planet. "Hehehehe!" She cackled with malicious glee as the massive ball of water sucked up several Water Elementals as well joining them to the monstrous construct. Pouring into this creature all of her glee at stealing some precious thing another created and hatred for her siblings, forming and manipulating the Water Elemental to it's breaking point and molding it into a massive Titan, a walking humanoid construct of water, a destroyer.

The creature groaned with semi-intelligent thought as Envy created the gargantuan creature and then unleashed it from her control onto the world. A true monster, this Water Elemental was large enough to one day sustain life as an ocean.

Envy creates the Wandering Ocean; One Act
Basically, this is just an epic water elemental large enough that it could be called an ocean. One day it will sustain fishy life! It's an ocean that walks around. You know, a divine Great Flood in humanoid form that can travel the globe.

I'm creating it as an Endowment; either as a Prophet or a scared place. Although it can problem solve and smash things and possibly create valleys and mountains with it's thrashing about it doesn't have great intelligence, and I don't intend to really interact or communicate with. Just kinda letting it do as it pleases, generally to really tick off the fire guys. :smalltongue:

[Lord_Gareth]

Merinth

The clinking of Merinth's burning chains echoes across the Wraithsteel Jungle; the Dutiful Daughter has returned to her domain to shape it once more. A phantom breeze stirs the plants, and all over the jungle a chime-like ringing calls out.

Merinth is creating and shaping Wraithsteel, but on the smallest of levels; graceful, fey-like little insects whose wings let out sounds like miniature bells and miniscule flutes. Some of the creatures she makes are peaceful (brightly colored ants that live in colonies, butterflies with crystal wings held together by a frame of Wraithsteel), while others are predatory (spiders that weave baited nets of barbed wire, leaping tangles of spiny Wraithsteel that drain the electricity from their enemies), but all of them are built to withstand the incredible heat of this world.

One species stands out; a small, delicate race of sprites, humanoid in form but with six wings that help support them in the air. Their small hands have four fingers and a thumb, all of which come with retractable claws, and their head is graced with a mop of hair-like wire that serves them as antennae. They aren't sapient - not yet, anyway - but they gather in nests made of wire and gathered scraps for mutual protection and hunt creatures smaller than themselves, eating Wraithsteel fruits to supplement their diets. Merinth grins at them, the current apex predators of the Wraithsteel, and retreats once more to contemplate her actions.

Merinth creates Wraithsteel insects, including the Flute Sprites (One Act; Miracle; Metal Portfolio)

Wraithsteel Animals
Wraithsteel animals are not very different in nature from Wraithsteel plants. Wraithsteel animals can prey upon (and be preyed upon by) organic life, though they tend to prefer the taste of metallic animals and plants. Like Wraithsteel plants, Wraithsteel animals may be slain and re-forged; tools made from their bodies tend to retain part of the essence of the creature (a spider-sword may cause swift infections that lead to blood poisoning; a beast of burden beaten out into a plow may till fields with ease).

The Flute Sprites created are cunning omnivores, but not necessarily sapient. However, Merinth believes that the presence of thumbs and the communal instinct will eventually lead them to sapience, unless she decides to take matters into her own hands.

[LadyGareth]

Voltan watched the world grow, and thought contemplated his new alliance with Merinth. After some though, and a brief conference with Merinth he decided on a course of action.

Voltan descended to the planet and gathered to him in the core, every fire elemental there was. Once he had them all in the core he began his work, this was going to be a large change, he had much to do.

To start with, these things needed some mental alterations. Patiently Voltan worked with them, altering their minds. Sapience and a long memory were the first things needed. Carefully he changed them, granting them sentience and sapience, and weaving a genetic memory into their beings. With this memory he placed a knowledge in them, setting it in their memories gently, so as not to overwhelm them.

Finally, he altered one last thing. He gave them the ability to reproduce. He did not make this one as flashy and elaborate as the Inspiritors, but he did make it intimate. A deep bonding of both mind and body, to create a new, infantile life. With the gift of life came the gift of death, and the fire elementals would now know age and death. A life span of a few hundred years, a low to moderate birth rate, enough to expand, but not to overwhelm.

Voltan nodded, content with his work this day.


Voltan uses 2 Acts. One Act to change the mental nature of the fire Elementals and One Act to change the physical nature of the Fire Elementals.

The knowledge that he gave to them with their memories is a knowledge of who and what they are, and a purpose. They have a duty. They are the guardians of Voltans worshipers and races, acting as guides and guardians to them. Their genetic memory will allow them to maintain his and Merinths dogma without corruption or degradation, and their long lives and genetic memories will grant them wisdom. Along with the knowledge he granted them is a single promise in his voice. If they served him well, if they understood their duty and fulfilled it, they would be granted more power, as the populations of the world grew, as Voltan and Merinths worshipers grew, they would be granted new powers to fulfill there duty.

The genetic memory does not work like a computer bank, the memories are there, but something has to trigger them. An Elemental learning how to spin glass for example, won't remember his great grandfather sitting in front of the furnace with a blowpipe, but he will have knowledge of the technique and a deep understanding of the ways it is done, as well as a fleeting glimpse of the satisfaction said ancestor drew from it. Much like normal memory, it doesn't come up until it is triggered by a thought, event, sight, scent, or sound.

[Eurus]

The sudden shifting of water is a wonder to the planet's inhabitants, who watch as an ocean's worth of liquid is combined into one powerful elemental being. To those looking on it from the ground, it is less of a creature than an enormous terrain feature, moving glacier-slow across the land as its whims take it. Some water elementals flock to it, while others avoid it out of fear, and any creature with even an animal level of intellect quickly learns to move from its path as it slowly grinds mountains down over the course of years.

The Sprites quickly flourish in their environment, easily hunting the smaller and slower of the jungle's lifeforms with harvested metal thorns while building hive-nests of their own to share. They quickly learn through experience which creatures are poisonous, which fruits are palatable, and which aren't worth the trouble.

Slowly, the borders between the wraithsteel jungle and the medicinal plants begin to blur and mingle. While the wraithsteel plants have an advantage, their sharp edges allowing them to choke and cut back softer plant life more easily or take root in solid rock, the non-metal plants prove more than capable of adapting, winding through the unoccupied spots or growing taller to drink in the sunlight. The insects adapt easily enough, able to feed on and lair inside natural plants with relative ease, and the sprites quickly notice the healing properties of these lush green growths.

Finally, the fire elementals are uplifted to sentience, and touched with mortality. However, in the absence of other sentient creatures, many of them feel unable to fulfill the purpose given to them, and mournful. Some continue to take up guardianship of the Inspirators, although the existence of the Flute Sprites remains entirely unknown to them, since they avoid contact with the more verdant areas for fear of causing damage. The rest begin to congregate in small tribes near the fire-rivers, hoping for a future day when their purpose can be fulfilled.

End of turn, next turn begins.