Lords of Creation: Interplanetary Edition; In Character [Archive]

Reality Glitch

2014-12-01, 07:20 PM

Ignacius
"Ardent, burning in his power over all damnation. . . he personally burns as the hottest Sun in all the infinite Hells. . . but he himself is a heart of the coldest Void. The cold in his heart is more severe than the harshest of all Winters combined within the infinite cycles of Eternity that ever have, or ever will burn the souls of Mankind with bitterness."

"He is as fierce as the most horrible storm, sending to Judgement all those who are imperfect, requiring mortal kind to be perfect in and of themselves, or suffer eternal damnation. No sin is too small in order for the Realms of Hell to lay claim on the souls of mortals. The intervention of gods is the only thing that can redeem those who die. If they fail in their life in anyway, the only way to secure themselves from unimaginable agony is to cry out to those who would listen".Spooooky, and a bit much I might add.

1 Concept : Damnation (All those who are born with an intelligence higher than an animal, Humans, Elves, etcetera, automatically enter Hell when they die unless otherwise specified. Intervention from a deity is required to reverse this. Legendary Life created by 5 AP can circumvent this rule without really doing anything important, if they specify that the race is immune to Damnation).This isn't a concept this is a curse. Curses are also per species, so you'll have to damn them separately after each one crops up
1 Concept : Death (All mortal life is. . . well, mortal. Anything born of mortals will die. With the exception of demigods. . . of course, people will die, even if ageless, when they are slain somehow).I'd say, "No that's assumed to be the default." but I like the implications of death as something manufactured by the gods.
8 Concept : Curse (All mortal races are cursed from death, from 2 AP to 3 AP, to some 5 AP races, to Damnation on their death, requiring intervention from a deity to save them. Organizing Tribes, Organizations and Even Nations circumvents Damnation under a god's direction, and also increases religious fervor, lending stability to a god's followers, and even slows down the process of death. Following a god's dictates can add years to someone's life and prevent them from joining Ignacius in death.).Sorry to say, but "Curse" is an A.P. action and thus already exists, concepts have to be new things.I have happened upon a relatively new solar system, only a couple million years since the host stars were born. (Trinary, small cold red, medium temperate yellow, and large hot blue.) A couple planetoids orbit each star individually and several others around the system as a whole. Unfortunately, upon investigation, I accidentally smashed several of them into an asteroid belt I have decided to name Arcnia. I have to be more careful about this than I previously thought, less I could blow this place to kingdom come with a stray thought. The farthest planets from the hosts were spared, a few gas giants, a water world, a couple more rocky planets. There is another divine being here, he looks angry, so I haven't been active much. Turns out I can hide inside my mask, it being my true form now, anything else is just a projection of my soul upon three-dimensional space. Hopefully the other god will calm down before he finds me.7 A.P. to begin +2 for November 30th, and December 1st. A.P. at start of day: 9.

CreateShape Land (2 A.P.): Claimed the Arcnian asteroid belt as my exclusive area.

Create Artifact (1 A.P.): The White Mask. Masks it's wearer completely from divine notice. God(desse)s can still use mortal senses with all its limitations to perceive the wearer. (This includes not being able to see under the mask.) The mask has other abilities that will be payed for as separate artifacts when they come into effect.

Create Concept (1 A.P.): Incarnum. The arcane art/science of shaping the ambient spiritual energies of the 'verse or one's own soul in to soulmelds, magical constructs that mimic arms and armorments. The practice is know as meldshaping. and those who use it, meldshapers.

A.P. at end of day: 5.

Reality Glitch

2014-12-06, 02:21 PM

With the calm of the past several "days" (I am unsure of exactly how long it has been since reaching my divine state.) I have taken the time to build up new life in this new world. I started with some basic lifeform, though, knowing me they've been artistically crafted. Strange creatures (relatively, they are the first mortals) some an amalgamation of several I knew from be for and some straight out of paintings.

It eventually hits me that this is the time to make all of my fantasies true; well, most of them anyway. I started with the Jra'Keen, my personal army of psychic-dragon-plants; as the first sentient creature to inhabit Arcnia, it will take some time for them to form civilization, but they are ready to colonize their homeworld.+5 for December 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th. A.P. at start of day: 10.

Create Concept (1 A.P.): Aberrations. Strange beings from out of space or time, or simply warped beyond comprehension.

Creat Least SpeciesAberrations (0 A.P. each): Gléves (singular Gléf). Body of a beetle, head of a triceratops, and tail of a whale; these 2 inch long creature feed of flower nectar.

Various flower species. Flowers of all colors and sizes.

Beffu Trees. Colossal wooden towers, hollow on the inside.

Druve Platform. Relatively massive fungal growth found on the inside of Beffu trees. Their flat tops are perfect for creatures to take rest.

Bloat Sacks. Technically avian, Bloat sacks are terrestrial creature emmbedding themselves in the ground and drawing nutrients from it. only moving when the soil is dried up, or to mate. As they feed, their backs inflate with lighter than air gasses so that when they disembed they float up and drift on with currents.

Clous. Their are two prominent types of Clous: Sand Clous that live in arid Deserts and Snow Clous which live in arctic deserts. aside from differences due to the differences in their respective environment's tempatures, Clous are squat hexapodal land dwelling fish, Snow Clous bloated with fat to keep warm, and Sand Clous are wide, flat, and thin to help keep cool.

Create Lesser Aberration (1 A.P.): Noj Kuku. Actually to separate species in symbiosis with each other, Noj are large aerodynamically streamlined arboreal predators with infinitely rotatable front and back claw-pads. These pads are used to grip onto Ku, pill-bug-like creatures measuring 3 feet in diameter while curled-up. Given the extremely large branches of Beffu Trees, Noj Kuku have evolved to become basically living motor bikes.

Create Legedary Aberration (5 A.P.): Jra'Keen. Anthropoid Plant-Dragon hybrids of varying models depending on what they are bread for. They cannot reproduce except through bio-engineering techniques.

Bless Race (1 A.P.): Biological Immortality. Jra'Keen cannot die of old age and keep growing after hitting maturity.

A.P. at end of day: 2.

ArlEammon

2014-12-06, 02:56 PM

Ignacius

Ignacius looked down on the world below. Kind of beautiful. Creatures of mortality, made mortal. Ignacius would take care of that, if only by just a little. Ignacius looked down on mortals for the fact they were fuel for him to grow in strength and knowledge. He smiled to himself. "I will take what is rightfully mine, if not by force or guile then by both". He looks at the people down below. Heavily knowledge invested. They needed to reproduce through scientific means, not through sexual reproduction like animals.

However, such technology was not available. Ignacius could give them the power they needed to reproduce on an individual basis, for the right price. Requiring souls of specified victims per "offspring".

1 Curse : Damnation, even though Jra'kreen are biologically ageless, they can still die. Whenever they do, they are damned to join Ignacius in the afterlife.
5 Warlocks :
((Concept))
Warlocks, those who have the power to gain magical abilities from Evil gods or entities, as opposed to just any deity, gain strength in magical powers through evil it'self. Warlocks gain greater boons from Ignacius and evil when they work on behalf of them by spreading evil through the world.
Their powers always render them more evil, very slowly.

Reality Glitch

2014-12-18, 04:27 PM

I have noticed the presence of the other deity has radically altered the fabric of existence towards a more diabolical bent, though I try to keep my children safe, their are those that defect. To Help combat this dark power I have elevated their minds to extraordinary levels; they can now use their telekinetic and telepathic senses for more than just perceiving their surroundings, but also to manipulate them. I also gave them the means to pursue civilization, and OH! it is marvelous. They have already mastered the technology that births them and use it for their almost all of their needs, they advance very rapidly, I just can't wait to see them hit their space age. (Though it is to be noted again, I know not how much time has actually passed, as I have neither a frame of reference nor a mortal circadian rhythm. It'd be best if I set up a for of measure.)+12 A.P. for 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th of December. A.P. at start of day: 14.

Create Concept (1 A.P.): Arcane Magic. Manipulation of Cosmic energies to ones will.

Create Concept (1 A.P.): SCIENCE! Knowledge of the laws and rule of existence. These rule and their understandings and loopholes have many applications from the bio-engineering the Jra'Keen use to propagate themselves and their technology, to the building of artifice and edifice, to the use of more .... arcane methods.

Create Concept (1 A.P.): Psychic/Psionics. A Psychic is one who can manipulate their surroundings directly with their thought processes. Psionics are the psychic abilities to preform magic.

Organize Tribes (3 A.P. each): The Room. The Jra'Keen tribe known simply as the Room is, while not Xenophobic, Relatively reclusive. Preferring only contact with others of their kind.

Hands' Reach. Jra'Keen more open to interspecies relations in the event of first contact or successful uplifting of a lower lifeform. The tribe Hands' Reach are, as the name implies, more willing to directly reach their hands towards other species.

A.P. at end of day: 5.

Omegonthesane

2014-12-19, 02:27 AM

In its foul cathedral beneath - beyond - the earth, the Corpse God Gyosatha dreamed. In its dreaming, it understood, half-consciously, the works of beings that walked on the surface, intelligent entities that died and rotted like all their lessers.

Yet, as it began to observe the now-moving surface, its consciousness was drawn to an abomination in its eyes. The first truly intelligent beings were blessed with eternal life, cursed with the inability to breed, and given a motive to harvest souls. The latter encouraged them to cut lives short early, before those lives could sow the seeds of new death and new decay, but it was the first that threatened the Corpse God. After all, anyone who would never become a rotting corpse would escape the service of their ultimate master.

It also saw that an absurd standard had been set, in which a mad god's claim trumped all others. Not content with waiting for others to cry out its name, Gyosatha moved to deny a resource to its rival - it had no understanding of why anyone would care to harvest immaterial spirits, not yet, but they were obviously a resource and were therefore worth taking from potential rivals.

To those who thought Ignatius' sentence unfair, Gyosatha whispered sweet deceptions, half-truths, of the false god Myria the All-Forgiving, who would hear out anyone who confessed of their sins to her, and accept them into her loving arms no matter how great their crimes, even if they were totally unrepentant, even if they committed new sins after first hearing her name, so long as they had once ever prayed to her. The only real deceptions there were in the motive and nature of the god who answered her prayers - Gyosatha cared nothing for the sins of the guilty, if anything being entertained by them, and simply wished to deny a resource to a rival. The fact that it had a chance to do many innocents a large favour, a favour they would owe it in return, was just gravy.

Of course, this assumed that the mortals understood they were being done a favour. Having nowhere else to put them, Gyosatha dumped its collection of souls in the land directly above its body, a place that was not truly part of the world, yet could be reached on foot by the correct winding path. Here, while life flourished in great numbers, all of it - every tree, every animal, even the grass - was sickly and rotting, corroded at the roots by the filth emitted from the Corpse God. The souls trapped here called it the Sick Land, and were immune to the majority of its effects due to no longer being contained in living bodies; thus, they were able to safely observe the area, and found it had a terrible beauty denied to most living beings.

Even as it performed this conscious act, the Corpse God unknowingly seeped its essence into the world, allowing - compelling - the bodies of the dead to be pressed into service. Arcane mages discovered the arts of Necromancy quickly, reverse engineering from the corpses that got up to walk when not treated properly.

7 AP starting player.

1 AP: Create Concept "Benediction of Myria", a cult revolving around a false god who forgives literally everything. Praying this nonexistent god's prayer, even once, places a sexually transmitted mark on your soul, allowing the Corpse God the right of last refusal before you are damned, and extending this to any sexual partners and any descendants conceived after you gain the 'benediction'.

2 AP: Create Land "The Sick Land", the place where Gyosatha's body rots eternally, and claim it as my exclusive area

1 AP: Create Concept "Necromancy", a dangerous but versatile branch of Arcane Magic dealing with death and corpses, equally adept at ending life as at creating mockeries of life.

1 AP: Create Lesser Species "Zombies", the reanimated dead bodies of once-living people and animals, normally raised through Necromancy.

2 AP remaining

Reality Glitch

2014-12-19, 11:07 AM

I now know of third divine presence that stalks these worlds. It radiates Necrocarnum; those poor tortured souls. For Now I remain hidden, but not asleep. My children have their society and I do do what I forgot to before: They no longer suffer ill effects in the afterlife, though this is not a guaranty, if they chose another path, I will not stop them, but neither will I stop the consequences.+1 A.P. for 19th of December. A.P. at Start of day: 6

Bless (1 A.P.): The willpower required for Jra'Keen to not defect is enough for them to Psionically continue as a ghost upon death, their mental processes now disembodied, held together by their immortal soul. Free to rom the lands of the living as they did in life.

Create Concept (1 A.P.): Time. There is now a distinct measurement of time; at least as far as the Jra'Keen are concerned. They go 120 ticks to a move, 6 moves to a step, 6 steps to a Phase, 6 phases to a turn, 6 turn to a round, 21 rounds to a Cycle, 120 cycles to a hypercycle, 240 hypercycles to a game. Their measurements are technically based on Planck-Time, but a move is approximately eighty-three-and-one-third seconds. You can calculate everything else from there. Jra'Keen measure their lives in hypercycles the way most humans use years.

Create Concept (1 A.P.): Counting. Jra'Keen use base 6. (i.e. 1 2 3 4 5 10 11 12 .... etc.)

A.P. at end of day: 3

WebTiefling

2014-12-19, 03:19 PM

The divine essence saw the cosmos spread about, but it all operated without true change or need for oversight. He desired something other than the eternal and predictable dance of the celestial spheres. His drive and hunger demanded more than this ... mechanical and metronomic universe.

His senses examined the universe about him until something caught his attention. A world. Of activity! Through the dusty remnants of long-dead stars, past the roar of young stars and the thrumming of dead stars' spinning remnants. Finally he reached the place which had caught his attention, a world of vibrant and active change!

He could see that there were already deities similar to himself, and suspected that left to themselves they would quickly ruin the world. It needed something to keep the balance - something to keep the world strong.

With a touch of his divine power he shaped an area for the people he envisioned who would do his work to keep the world in balance. Massive mountains stretched to the sky to keep them strong, hardy, agile. Forests of VAST trees exploded from the dirt! A suitable environment for them to live in with variety and challenges to keep them from going soft.

Finally he reached down and took one of the most cunning hunters of this area - an animal which naturally cooperated with each other to achieve more than one could by itself, an animal that was able to live and hunt in almost any environment, an animal that would hunt down the weak to keep the entirety of the land strong. He took that animal and gave it cunning, strength, intelligence, resilience, and wonderful adaptability.

And Viragar, God of Predators and Deity of Nature's Balance, rested after all the work that his hands had done.

Start Date: Dec 19, 2014 (today)
Starting AP: 7.

Werewolves but statted as the D&D SRD WereBEAR (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/lycanthrope.htm#werebear). 3 LA + 6 HD is a Legendary Creature: 5 AP.
Create land of massive tree forests, extreme mountains, and threats: 2 AP.

Ending AP: 0.

Reality Glitch

2014-12-19, 05:10 PM

WebTiefling

2014-12-19, 11:47 PM

Soon after I noticed more salient activity. I went to the world, forested, temperate, lively, but upon arrival my form went dormant. I was trapped within my mask. While not powerless, I was limited while within another deity's exclusive realm. There were plenty of things I could still do, but I decided to adjust my course of action to meet with this new god, who seemed much less grimdark in its motives.

I had convinced a native sentient to don me. Upon doing so I was able to connect with the creature. I consulted my new host about it and tried to comfort it from the shock. In the end I developed a Rapport and successfully arrived to where I could meet with its patron. I have included separate Transcripts.In the lupine form I approached the Lupine God. At this point I decided to drop the guise assume full control of my hosts body. I do not enjoy the stripping of one's freedom, especially in this manner, but it is only for the duration of the conversation after which I would depart completely.

I bowed on one knee and spoke. "O Forest-Lord, I to you to alert you of my presence and ask for alliance. We are out-numbered by those who wish to destroy without creating (or preventing the creation of) something anew. What you see before you is only the mortal vessel I borrow so that communication is possible. My true from is the mask it wears."CreateUpgrade Artfact (1 A.P.): White Mask. Any mortal who wears it are at the mercy of Reality Glitch, fortunately, it prizes freedom very highly.

Something is not right. Something tremors through the forest. Something beyond the ken of mortal-kind. I sense the other who is like me in some ways. There cannot be another master of this land! Ah, this one does not come in challenge. I still give evidence of my supremacy, my form sized to fit the massive trees I have set here.

Alliance. Cooperation. Speaking through another. Wearing a mask. No. The mask. Wearing a person. Strange. The talk of others who would unbalance is surely true, but this one would likely not keep the balance either, at least not as it must be kept. Yet this one opposes others who would be worse.

"I hunt the weaker and cull the lesser that the whole be stronger. The hunters to maintain those they hunt lest all fall through imbalance.

"Your balance is not my balance. Yet you have your own. You speak of beings having none.

"My balance is not to force others. But should one seek to alter your domain, I shall be at your side. Should an imbalancer come here, you shall be at my side."

The wolves around Virigar, dwarfed to less than puppies by his size, howled in accord with the God's pronouncement.

Halna LeGavilk

2014-12-20, 12:34 AM

The Aether Between Worlds
It awoke. A vast mind. Fleeting thoughts racing on trackless ground. As the thoughts gathered, as they assembled, the stream of possibilities closed, died out step by step, thought by thought. After thought, awareness was to come next. Vision and hearing and touch formed, a formless gathering of thought and awareness that touched the world around, brushed the ground and sky and sea with great care. This formless awareness gathered itself, subsuming energy and matter, pulling on its immense power to form itself into something new.

As Khorain stepped into the world, a thousand thousand possibilities collapsed into one singular NOW. He glanced around, taking in all his surroundings with a mere look. He took a step forward onto nothing, saw the worlds and the suns that they revolved around. A sniff brought a hundred scents - all new, all named: forest, wolf, death, sickness, brimstone. He felt in his bones a reverberation, knew somehow that there were others like him other gods that wandered this system.

At once visions flashed before his eyes and he saw their creations: a land of eternal sickness and a forest vast beyond the ken of mortals. These landscapes could be yoked, easily. However, this concept of damnation, this vexed Khorain. Surely this mad god would in the end be yoked, but this ability to simply grasp the souls of the mortals that these others had created... this kind of power was something that Khorain would need to control by the end.

The World of Water, Kaerwa
Striding through the aether to the world of water, he sank down to its surface. The glassy stillness of the world was good in the eyes of Khorain, but he knew that he would need more to work with. He grasped the earth beneath the oceans and heaved with all his divine might. At first there was only the mad rush of sea life glancing away, and then the bubbles that arose from the black of the ocean. At long last the ocean floor itself rose to surface, breaking the water with a mighty spray.

With a sweep of his arms, the land turned lush and green. He descended down to the forest floor and scooped a handful of clay from the ground. Molding the clay, he formed a humanoid figure, but with massive wings extending from its back. As he finished his creation, he pulled a blue crystal, bright as the ocean and clear as a winter's night, and pushed the crystal deep into the figure's heart. With a mighty word, Khorain spoke, and the figure flashed brightly, eclipsing even the sun.

Emerging from the brightness was a creature like Khorain. Though he dwarfed the seven foot tall winged woman, the resemblance otherwise could have been of father and daughter. "Go forth, my daughter. Bring to me the clay of the earth, and I shall make you a cadre of brothers that sisters the likes of which this universe has never seen. Go forth, my daughter, and bring to me the metals of the stone, and I shall make for you shining accoutrements that all the world shall wonder at. Go forth, my daughter, and gather the men and elves and dwarves and all the mortal races of this land and I will build you a empire that will conquer the universe!"

Though his proclamation was joyous, a troubled look befell the beautiful girl. Khorain saw this and stepped forward, shrinking so that he could raise her chin so that their eyes would meet. "What is wrong, daughter? What ails you?"

"Father, what of these other gods? Their power surely eclipses mine! I do not want to be damned!"

He laughed, and touched the spot over her heart, where a blue light shone dully forth. "This light will protect you from their powers, their damnations. If ever you should fall, in battle or else, this gem which connects to my own heart, will bring you back to me where you will be reformed. Fear not, daughter, for you always will be near to my heart, no matter where upon Kaerwa you stand."

With that, the girl flew into the sky, searching for the things her father had commanded. Khorain glanced around, and sat down upon a might, flat stone at the heart of a beautiful grove, where he meditated upon that which Comes After.

Started with 7 AP.

Create land: -2 AP

Create least species: Trees, birds, deer, etc. Yay life! 0 AP

Create Greater Race (Angels): -5 AP. At this point, there's only one, but there will be some more creation of them in the background. As well as the usual angel powers (flight, clerical magic, great fighting prowess) these angels all contain a gem that brings their soul back to Khorain when they die (though the angels are ageless, functionally immune to disease, and very hard to kill. Due to their being, you know, angels and all.

Ended the day with 0 AP.

Omegonthesane

2014-12-20, 05:42 AM

Gyosatha continued to rot as the world around moved, as new deities and new creations arrived. It could not listen in directly, but many seemed oddly worried by its presence, as if they had forgotten what corrosion was - as if they had forgotten that Corpse God or none, their universe would degrade within mere trillions of years, not nearly long enough to plan for anything.

One in particular was at least amusing, whining about the so-called 'balance' of a complicated and easily disturbed system. Whining that the tyranny of strong over weak should be enforced, even to the point of murder, and that this should be called 'balance'. Yet, this amusing thing was still one of those who mistook eventual corrosion for an immediate threat to their precious plan. It had been millennia - perhaps it was time to directly add something to the mix. If nothing else, Gyosatha had had time to design the perfect servants.

It took a set of particularly resilient and fast-breeding rodents from the world, and altered them, creating something more intelligent, significantly larger, and more useful as an active servant. These Imps were still by no means large, barely a foot tall at the shoulder, heavily reliant on the hordes of their kin to get anything meaningful done - a fact which offset their innate selfish nature, since those who were too selfish simply died. The first generation of imps were given the Benediction of Myria from the moment of their very creation, and all the rest inherited it from them; none of them would ever be damned, but would instead go to their creator's realm, or to the realm of whatever god they decided to pick instead. Their days were sharply numbered; the eldest saw fifteen years, while most were dead within six, and only one in a hundred made it to ten. Their mottled hide was reasonable camouflage in the dark, though its red and brown hues might not be so easy to miss in the light.

Having sowed this seed, the Corpse God laid back and watched the harvest roll in.

2 AP leftover, +1 AP for 19 Dec 2014

0 AP: Create Least Species "Rats" if they aren't in the world already

2 AP: Create Race "Imps", very small, mottled, mischievous humanoids more akin to rats than apes, who live for between six and fifteen years and breed ridiculously quickly.

Johel

2014-12-20, 07:16 AM

Birth is pain. As a first step into life, it is a brutal lesson and maybe the most important one : to exist is to be hurt by the rest of existance.
For some creature, this truth takes mundane forms : the chilly breeze scrapping at your soft skin as you exit the warmth of your egg or womb, the blinding light hitting your sensitive eyes that had known only absolute darkness so far, the unfiltered sounds and smells of the world assaulting your conciousness, up to the very air that you are now breathing as a survival reflex but that is hurting your stiff, unused lungs.
All this is, by most of these creatures, trivial and doesn't even deserve to be call "pain" as they have learned to ignore these agressions, live with it and would roll their eyes up if anyone was to try sounding philosophical by using the above examples to illustrate a "birth is pain" statement.
Yet, for other beings, the aggression may be a bit harsher.
So it was for Her as her essence materialized into the world... right in the fiery inferno that was the core of the large blue star.
Her first "breath" consisted of swallowing burning hydrogen, scorching her insides and blasting it away in an instant. Her first sight was a searing light that left its mark even in the ever-regenerating and night-invincible matter She was made of. As for the rest of her senses, the sound of her birthing cries echoing across the void despite the impossibility of such thing were proof enough that this Universe, as all others before, wasn't going to a kind one.

As a reflex, She willed herself away from the pain. A dangerous thought for a divine being whose wishes come true on their own, since life is pain and wishing away from it... can have unexpected consequences.
Yet She survived... and simply collided in full force with a nearby planet, imprinting a continent-sized scar of molten rocks on the surface.
In Her frighten, diminished state, all She could perceive when healing was a single psychic greating.

"Welcome the world, Valga"

--------------------------------------------------

The Blasted Waste is a place that most lifeforms avoid. Behind the sharp teeth-like mountains of glazed stone that surround it, a rocky desert extends endlessly, its flat ground, cloudless sky, harsh sunlight and cold nights offering neither shelter nor sustenance for plants and beasts.
It is a barren place where water and wind are scarce, freshness being brought only a few times every decades by the occasional storms bashing at its mountainous border.

At its center lays its lowest point, the Salty Pond, a inner sea which coastline fluctuates by several miles as water accumulates and evaporates in a continuous cycle, letting only a deposit of mineral dust. There, along the ever-changing salt beaches, life endures : mosses and fungus, small molluskes, a few fishes like the Sand Clous and even flowers... and like any place where there are flowers, Gléves follows, along with R'ubards
While the day is as harsh here as in the rest of the Blasted Waste, the night is much more lively, with the thousand glimmering lights from Attar'ik colonies and creeping Sn'aals making a splendid counterpart to the night sky and its billions of stars.

STARTING: 7 AP

CREATE LAND: 2 AP
The Blasted Waste
A continent-sized crater.
It is delimited by high, sharp teeth-like mountains of glazed rock.
Inside is a rocky desert with a inner sea at the center.

CREATE LEAST SPECIES: 0 AP
Attar'ik :
A parasitic species fungus that normally feeds on salt and other mineral but whose spores readily attach themselves to animals and then colonize skin, fur, feather and scales. When spreading spores, mature Attar'ik emits a light blue glow during the night to attract large insects and birds so as to spread their spores further.

Sn'aal :
A 5-inches long, double-headed snail that feeds on Attar'ik and, as a result of the chemical build-up, also glow during the night.
Very tasty but has a toxin in it that can have an very strong hallucinogen effect on most vertebrates.

R'ubard :
2-feet long Hexapodal flying purple lizards that eats Gléves as their main diet.
Unlike most of the fauna originating from the Blasted Waste, it is active during the day, where the heat helps its reptilian metabolism.
The species is also the main carrier of Attar'ik fungus because of the contaminated rocks under which the R'ubard spend most of the nights.

REMAINING : 5 AP

Halna LeGavilk

2014-12-20, 11:38 AM

The Common Planet
Khorain felt the rumble heard the primordial scream, saw the bright light as something streaked through the atmosphere. Focusing on the object, wrapping it in the cradle of his senses, he saw a burning bright figure in the midst of the rainfall of light. As it crashed into the planet, Khorain left his workshop, left his angels-in-waiting and began to run, sprinting across the world in a blur.

The Blasted Waste
As he reached the crash site, he surveyed the damage. Stepping through the mountains, he drew his sword quickly and quietly from its sheath on his back. He quickly ran through the land, reaching the shores of the salt ocean. He felt the presence of something, some other god. "Who would crash into this planet? What god would break the crust in twain?"

Johel

2014-12-20, 12:14 PM

The Blasted Waste

From the morning mist hanging above the water, a light appeared, its changing colors harmoniously shifting to bath the area in a rainbowish hue.
A message echoed through Khorain's mind, mixing a lot of emotions and meanings that transcended language.
"-I did"

To the eyes of Khorain, a humanoid shape revealed itself, stepping carefully ashore. The being's skin was still yet too bright to see clearly but the god could clearly see hesitation and maybe even fear in the demeanor of the unknown creature and so did her words, her tone revealing confidence in her own abilities but worried caution as to those of her visitor.
Not that it stopped her from speaking some more, her words rolling like waves along the visitor's spirit, singing into his very being.
"-I am Valga. And you... look like you might be trouble."
The light surrounding Valga dimmed a bit, only to reveal two dots of pure white light, fixed with interest on Khorain's sword.
"-I really hope you are not"
This sounded like a greeting as much as like a warning.

Halna LeGavilk

2014-12-20, 12:37 PM

The Blasted Waste

Khorain cautiously sheathed his sword, but pushed outwards on his soul, locking her influence away from his self. "I apologize for my warlike demeanour, but I knew not what force hit the planet. I am Khorain. I welcome you to this world, but I warn you that I will brook no attempt to influence my soul. Though I know not what the other gods do, I find it unpleasant for someone to try to speak so directly to my soul."

He yoked the duke beneath their feet and rose a stone table and chairs from the ground. He sat upon one of the chairs and bade her sit in the other. "Please, I apologize if I acted in haste. Tell me if yourself, if you will."

Johel

2014-12-20, 01:18 PM

The Blasted Waste

The light adapted, making itself warmer and welcoming as the now distinctively feminine figure sat at the table.
"-Fair enough. Please accept my apologies for intruding upon your emotions. It only felt... natural to do so."
Her words were still edging on Koraine's concience, though only touching them, like the feather brushing the stone.
It felt a lot more like sharing rather than the suggestive or even commanding influence of before.

"-As for myself, I... don't have much to tell, for until recently I wasn't even aware of my own existence or capabilities.
And though I am learning a lot with each passing moment, there is much I am still not aware.
This place..."

She gestured to show the desert around them.

"-... is proof enough of it. I created it almost as a reflex. Had I done so with a clearer mind, I might have done things differently. I might still one day but I can feel that my strength might have to be directed at other priorities.
You know of it too, right ? Something wrong is going on. Something malicious and vile.
As I said, I don't have much to tell about myself but I can tell you I will stand against this... once I know what and where it is.
What is your stance on it, Khorain the Swordman ?"

Halna LeGavilk

2014-12-20, 01:43 PM

The Stone Table, The Blasted Waste

He stared at her, wrapping her new form in the cradle of his senses. For only the smallest of moments, his gaze became intense, an all-encompassing possession of her form and figure, the landscape beyond, the air around and the earth underneath.

His gaze relented as he tilted his head downwards in thought. "As of this moment, two gods compete for the souls of all mortal creatures. One seeks to damn all mortals, torment them for eternity. The other casts a deep mark into the soul of each mortal that utters a prayer to a false god, taking their souls if no other god does so."

He looked back up into her gaze. "It is good that you have sensed these corruptions. There is much work to be done if we are to protect ourselves, let alone this universe."

Johel

2014-12-20, 02:23 PM

The Stone Table

Eternal torments, trickery of one's faith, herding of souls like if those were mere baubles... the enumeration of these acts brought mutted fury in Valga's hearth.
Yet, for all what Khorain's words carried, she could not act on it alone. He was, after all, a stranger and could be himself the source of the taint and trying to trick her.
She felt his honesty but couldn't be sure of what the god was capable of. What power she did know he had was tremendous, at least equal to her own.
Friend or foe, she would have to learn more before she could even consider acting.

"-You sound sincere and I like you. Not that I have met others to compare with but still...
We might indeed work together one day. But not yet.
I know very little of the world we live in.
I also sense you have an interest in what you called mortals.
Show me the world.
While we visit, you can count me as an ally against whatever peril present itself.
Show your vision for the world.
If I like it, or at least do not dislike it, you might count me as a friend."

ArlEammon

2014-12-20, 09:23 PM

Ignacius
Ignacius knew that one day, his creation of death and damnation would be countered. It kind of was, in a way, already. So Ignacius thought of a way to counter this. . . countering, of his curse on mortals. He would try to do something counter-intuitive. The creation of a genuine paradisical afterlife for mortals after death, made by the harbinger of all evil should be confusing and worst of all, beneficial in genuine ways for the people in the world down below. Ignacius thought of his idea some more. He liked it, so he formed a magical place from his dark soul. A place of pleasure, a place of existant, but limited pains and troubles. . . That would make it bearable for Ignacius to exist there, knowing that there could be tragedy even in a brilliantly beautiful place of comfort and tranquility.

-5 Concepts : Paradise. . . a dimension made with all the pleasures of life with far fewer of the pains in life. People who die under certain circumstances can make it here. . . try to tell others how to get here, and thus accidentally mislead mortals, possibly bringing far more evil in the mean time onto the world below trying to get them to make it to a better life in the hereafter. Paradise has a peaceful atmosphere everywhere. Death does exist but people commonly live over a full thousand years (IN our Human 365 days per year)). Their soul is then absorbed into a pleasant limbo state before they are reborn an unknown number of years later into Paradise. People here can have babies, etcetera. . . Evil, like I said, does exist but it's hard to get away with. Someone who secretly commits murder is likely to be ratted on by talking **** roaches before getting away with it. Women have no pain in child birth, and the fertile soil is enormously productive. Etcetera. Technically the land and entire world is illusionary but it's technically real too. ((-2 create land action, but -3 Concept)) Paradise is available to all races. This is technically a blessing, but it's up to the GM if it's a curse or not.

Sephir

2014-12-21, 10:31 AM

War, War never changes.
Skarn knew that simple, all consuming truth. War was eternal, war followed life through all it's pace. Where there is life, there is war. Where there was death, there was war. There are as many sources of conflict as there are beings in the universe. Jealousy, rage, sport, hunger, political advantage, territory, possessions, or even the simple, innate thirst for domination all breed and foster conflict. It is inescapable. There has never been a time or a place free from it. Even those races claiming to be enlightened and peaceful cannot escape the basic truth that without conflict, their progress would come to a halt, with challenging new ideas being left unconsidered. The victims and beneficiaries of conflict are not limited to emerging only from simple personal struggles. In the grandest scales, systems of government, even entire cultures and civilisations, are destroyed by stronger ones, often as easily as a warrior reaches out with a war hammer and crushes the frail frame of a goblin. It is through conflict that the mighty rise and the weak fall. At its most basic level, conflict is the survival of one thing at the expense of another.

He gazed upon the empty space, seeking for an patch in the outmost reaches of the universe. He then uttered a single, mighty roar of fury and rage. THe Realm of Battle was born, shaking reality itself.

It was a realm unlike any other. Storms raged perpetually across crimson skies, sending gale-force blasts seemingly composed of pure rage whipping across the plains and mountains. These angry winds teared into the land itself and ripped up great chunks of stone and blood-drenched earth, tossing them violently back down hundreds of leagues away in explosions of raw destruction. The land, for its part, fought back against the brutal assault of the heavens. Earthquakes sent gouts of molten brass skyward, burning up the storm clouds, temporarily ending their rage until the winds re-gather to begin their assaults anew. New mountains erupted from flat land in an instant, some thrusting into the sky like gigantic living swords, others acting as shields against the advance of the storms.

Rivers of boiling blood criss-crossed the hellish landscape. The blood-flows were not content to allow the conquered lands to rest idle. From deep below the ground, new rivers strike through the surface, splitting the lands as easily as an axe opens the bloated gut of a lazy bureaucrat. Each crimson flow sucked down all that once occupied the space. As with its war against the sky, the land retaliates, pushing the banks of the rivers to close in upon themselves. The brass-spewing volcanoes sent liquid metal into the rivers, evaporating the blood within and sealing the wounds with burning fury.

Each piece of the realm of battle constantly fought to obliterate the others. Each acted like a living servant of Skarn wanting to prove to the master of the land that it is the most worthy of his rewards. A visitor to this nightmare realm would surely be driven mad, knowing that every rock, every breeze, and every drop of what should be water is an enemy, looking to kill him with just as much purpose, desire, and violence as Skarn himself. To witness the carnage of the realm of Skarn is to know that conflict is a living, breathing thing and not just a curse that troubles the worlds of mortals, machines, and others. It is to know an eternal truth and, thus, to know despair.

Create 4 Concepts (The realm of battle, a place where the land itself is in constant war. Souls loyal to Khrone go there in to wage war for all eternity in his name, Only to be resurrected at the end each day. Paradise for all who wish to wage war for all eternity)
Create Land 2
Create lesser species (Living terrain) 1

Omegonthesane

2014-12-21, 04:54 PM

In the land that Virigar had created, it was if anything harder to find places without corpses than to find places where a suitable corpse could be animated. Thus, observing from afar, Gyosatha chose to exert its claim over the corpse of a Werewolf, since it could afford to be picky and even the mightiest beings fell now and then. Especially in such a dangerous environment as what the balance-seeking god had created.

Even a normal werewolf might have had difficulty chasing down its creator, but this one had the power of a god behind it; no mountain was too high, no distance too far, for it to claim audience with the being who had originally created it.

"...I have felt your coming... You who seek a certain path, and call it balance... You who fear me, for embodying a part of that balance... I, Gyosatha, the Corpse God, have exerted my claim over this corpse so that I may seek audience.

"Because seriously, my physical body is stuck under a ridiculous amount of packed earth, and I might have all eternity but not everyone is that patient."

((No mechanical action))

Sephir

2014-12-22, 09:31 AM

Skarn looked upon his Realm, and found it wanting. Empty of true life, true war. He bellowed another scream, as he took in his huge palm blood from the rivers, and shaped it to his will. Thus, The Warbringers were created.

Their horrific appearance was an assault upon mortal sensibilities. Their skin was the colour of hot blood, and their angry eyes resembled burning coals. Warbringers are possessed of an inhuman strength; they can rip a mortal apart with cold-blooded ease .Sharp, needle-like teeth stud a Warbringer's slavering jaws. Its serpentine tongue constantly flickers with bloodlust. Rippling muscles lie barely concealed beneath the Warbringers’s scaly red hide, knotted sinews that give the strength sufficient for its jet-black claws to pierce the most unyielding armor This might is guided by a killing instinct that surpasses that of mortal men. Simply put, Warbringers are violence and murder given physical form and purpose within the Realm of Battle by the will of the Skarn.

Skarn looked upon his vassals, and uttered his command, THe voice booming in the wastes .
"Slay without pity; triumph with honor. You are the legions of Skarn, my favourite warriors. You shall bring defeat and death to my enemies. You shall crush their worlds under your heel. Soon you shall be ready for your task. Until then, be prepared. War is coming, my sons. Scatter across the land , and prove yourself to me"

Create Greater race-3 AP

Halna LeGavilk

2014-12-23, 03:02 AM

The Stone Table
Khorain nodded. "This agreement is acceptable." He waved his hand and a portal opened. "If you do not mind, I will be doing some work while I show you." With that, he stepped through the portal.

The Risen Continent
On the other side of the portal, a small workshop stood, nestled in the snowy mountains, surrounded by a cadre of tall angelic beings, all of them lithe and beautiful. They foraged in the snow through the mountains and valleys, bringing in different materials that they laid on the doorstep of the house. "These are my angels. As of now, there are perhaps three hundred of them, no more, all of them born by myself. Their flights largely consist of those they were born in the batch with, although they do change flight occasionally." He pointed off into the sky, where a group of ten flew towards the small house. "That is The-Flight-Of-Bright-Wings, the third flight created. They have been searching far and wide for material." He wandered to a nearby cliffside that overlooked foothills that smoothed into forest. Stretching out an arm, he grinned fiercely. "Civilization can begin here. Mortals, working in unison, side by side, building monuments, cities, nations, empires!" He turned and smiled at her. "One day, if we let them, they'll be greater than us, I fear."

Omegonthesane

2014-12-23, 12:36 PM

The Imps spread far and wide from the planet where Gyosatha had first made them, infesting anywhere they visited, spreading more like a vapour than a people. For all this, their work was almost tragically inefficient, as many had difficulty working too closely with enough strangers to actually get anything done.

The exception was the Skull Takers, who happened upon a quite hierarchical system which engineered the imps within it to obey their "betters". Thus, they actually coordinated rather than merely all going for something en masse, and retrofited small primitive houses to the trunks of trees wherever it was sensible. Partly in fear of the serpents that crawled the surface world, mostly because they didn't like rain (due to the shee rnumber of warm bodies inside, warmth was rarely a top priority in an Imp dwelling).

Their uncaring god only briefly acknowledged this event to note the irony that such puny beings were the first rudimentary civilisation, instead of the mighty angels.

2 AP +1 20 Dec +1 21 Dec +1 22 Dec = 5 AP

2 AP: Bless Race (Imps) with Fecundity. What the Imps lack in strength and wisdom, they make up for in sheer unstoppable numbers, to the point it counts as a blessing.

0x3: Create Least Species "Vipers, Cobras, Anacondas"

1 AP: Organise Tribe in the Imps "'Skull Takers", a primitive early tribe initially based around the rule of the strong over the weak. While this is a horrible system its's an improvement on "anarchy" for geting anything done.

2 AP remaining

Johel

2014-12-23, 05:14 PM

The Risen Continent

The sight of the Angels was a marvel to behold, though the creation of sentient creatures brought its own questions :

Had they truly free will and, with it, the capacity aspire to something beyond the whims of the god that created them ? Could they truly become greater than Khorain on their own ?
Or were they only willing slaves, unable to question or even defy their creator, simple tools and means to an end, cursed to achieve and dream just enough to be more than animals and puppets and not too much so they could master their own destiny ?
What measure of responsibilities had a creator to the sentient beings he gave life to ? What rights and duties should he have ? How far could he "engineer" their love and obedience for him into them, if at all ?
How much could he tinker with them after he made them sentient ? Should he have then their agreement ? And how much of said agreement was truly their will when their very mind had been created by the very being that now wanted to twist them again ?
Could they, lesser creatures, even understand the implication of letting their nature being reshaped ? If no, then was it right to do so at all ?

A lot of questions that came maybe a little too soon, for as of now, these angels were spiritually to gods what an ant would be to an angel.
Yet all these and more, Valga and Khorain would have to talk about eventually if they were to work together in harmony.

But for now, approval was the dominant sentiment in Valga's mind.

I see your work and it is good.
I shall grant all your angels with two boons of my own, helping them without teaching them.
But while the first one is free, the second is not without a price.
I feel a strong, direct connexion between the souls of these creatures and your own, something nearly unbreakable.
While I can understand that it is to keep them away from the darkness, it also prevent them from ever leaving you.
Should you sincerely give them the choice to cast away that link, I shall bless them again.

------------------------------------------------------

What Valga saw on her travels with Khorain inspired her and from this inspiration, new life sparked into the world.

STARTING: 5 AP (last action) + 3 AP (3 days)

CREATE LEAST SPECIES: 0 AP

Mn'kie
The Mn'kies look like purple chimps with swan wings.
They are migrating animals, following the seasons in large flights to find fruits, roots, insects and other sustenance.
They sleep and live mostly in trees, though they don't mind coming on the ground for short periods.

Tol'rok
The Tol'roks are fat, 20-feet large horned wingless birds whose strong, shovel-like beak is used to dig out roots and insect nests.
Meaty and nearly defensless, they are however quick runner and can easily outrun the largest predators.
Because of their sheer mass, they can also trample the smaller agressors.
They are good surface swimmers.

Kas'kas
Chicken-sized poisonous frogs that feed mainly on small bugs.
Their name comes from the sound they make when mating... which they do all year long in ponds, rivers and marshes.
Their explosive population tends to vary according to the amount of bugs available.
Their colors change according to their emotions and exposure to the sun.

BLESS RACE (Angels) : Aura of Optimism (2 AP)
In addition to all their "natural" powers, angels radiate of a warm aura that bring clarity of mind, strong resolve, invigorating hope and fiery courage to those exposed.
This result in people being a little more able to act and to resist whatever perils they face.
The more angels they are, the more powerful the total effect is on each affected creature.
Angels themselves are affected by the aura of other angels.
It is hoped that they will eventually realize that things are much easier when cooperating with each other.

REMAINING : 6 AP

ArlEammon

2014-12-23, 08:14 PM

"Warbringers. What tools of destruction. They bring blood, war and strife, but I foresee a good use for them by the forces of good. This does not make me pleased. I therefore curse them with damnation all the same. As they are born, every dishonor, from soiling themselves with their own body, other's blood, the rusted sword, cowardice, domination over the innocent, pride and any and all imperfections inevitably infect them forever with the curse of Damnation. Ever screaming, dying on the swords of their enemies, burning alive in executions, control over the mind, slaying the helpless without battle, having no will of their own, no glory, starvation and the facing of enemies that cannot be beaten or even fought, diseases, eaten alive, bound, inescapable torment awaits all of the damned. The bringers of war are no exception".

Ignacius

-1 Curse Damnation : Warbringers
6 AP remaining

Halna LeGavilk

2014-12-24, 01:48 AM

The Risen Continent
Khorain nodded. "I understand your worries. However, I fear that in the hands of the darker gods, the souls of such powerful beings would become weapons of great evils." Khorain picked clay out of the soil, and began to mould it in his hands. "I was in the process of creating a race that would spread much faster than angels could. I was going to grant them the same boon I granted my angels, but I shall change what it was I was planning." With a gentle flourish, Khorain molded the clay into a figure very much resembling himself, yet much smaller, standing only six feet tall. "This will be man." Scraping out the eyes and mouth, Khorain passed divine energy through his fingers into the sculpture. The creature, a male, nearly a miniature of Khorain, stared around, blinking. He looked up as Khorain kneeled down and spoke to him. "You are Man. You have all the drives of a mortal, but you have not the controls others would put in. You are completely and totally free to do as you wish."

The man looked around, in awe at the world around him. "But what is there to do? I have never been alive before."

Khorain smiled. "You will go with one of my flights of angels, and they shall teach you what it means to be alive. Before you go, I will create for you a cohort with which to go. And I have a boon for you and all you wish to share it with." Khorain said, pulling a silver chain out, a dark blue crystal attached on the end. "As long as you or any wear this chain, or bear the marking of it upon your skin, when you fall from battle or age, you will not go to any afterlife. Instead, you shall go to another, new life. Your soul will accumulate knowledge and skill little by little. As your soul grows older, your kind will only grow more powerful, as long as you continue to wear these gems. Keep them close to your heart and never let them go." With that, Khorain sent the man off with a flight of angels as they constructed more of the smaller mortals.

Khorain turned to Valga and smiled. "I will have my angels teach them how to survive in these wilds, how to find the metals and stones of the mountains, how to mine them and forge them. It shall be simple, to start off, but as my children grow, I have more things to teach them."

5 AP (5 days accumulated.)

2 AP: Create Humans. Man is a highly curious, intelligent race. Other than that, there is no limit upon them, for the most part. They are the same as modern humans physically, though mentally they are somewhat more robust and have a slightly higher natural intelligence and curiosity. Each human has a need to control the world around them. The vast majority of humans are perfectly fine trying to control only themselves and their own personal space. There are those, however, who seek... more. To control everything they lay eyes on.

1 AP: Create concept: The Benediction of Khorain. Any creature that dies while wearing a reincarnation crystal, or while having that mark tattooed on their body, will reincarnate into a new life upon death. They will have no direct memories of their previous lives, though each life lived gives the soul that lived it takes a small measure of the unconscious knowledge and skill and uses it in any previous life. Souls have some choice where they reincarnate, and so most choose to reincarnate in places where they can continue to do so.

1 AP: Create concept: Industry. This includes mining, logging, forging, tanning, etc, etc. I felt like it'd be kind of boring to have to invent each thing differently, so I just went for the whole kit-and-kaboodle.

Sephir

2014-12-24, 04:40 AM

Skarn Screamed in fury, a terrible howl that filled the empty reaches of space. His children were corrrupted, by the curse of a cowardly god. He would have none of this ! He picked a a puddle of molten brass, fresh from the volcanos in the Realm of Battle ,and manipulated it to his will. A Huge Greatsword was made, golden and crimson colors shifting in an eternal Dave between hellish flames ."Blade, I name you Angrath, The Breaker of Divinities! Born to Punish the Coward God who would Curse My Kin!". The last utterance was heard all across the planets, making mortals Shiver in fear.

He looked down on his people, now damned with dishonor, and picked up rocks from the ground, crushing them to his hand, when he opened his palm, countless of stone collars fell to the earth. A curious Warbringer picked it up , and put it on its neck. Suddenly , a the curse was lifted from its soul, purified by pure wrath. It howled in joy, beckoning other to wear those too." This shall be my collars, protecting you from damnation . But take care , as they make you able to resist magic, s you will be unable to use it. Not that my spawns need it! Go forth my children, hone your skills, and spread these collars to your kind. We march to war soon enough"
Create Artifact- 1AP
Bless Race, Collars of Skarn-2 AP
AP Remainig :0

ArlEammon

2014-12-25, 12:38 AM

Ignacius
"And so came the next mortal kindred." Ignacius took note of their potential. Weaker than they should have been, Ignacius thought. But that flaw of a lack of physical strength was irrelevant compared to their sharper minds. "A loss of strength in the muscles is acceptable if the mind is stronger." Ignacius looked to them, in their crude natural dwellings. "They also reproduce appropriately quickly for a race of such lacking attributes. Even their intelligence is not as strong as the first race. Yet I can't help but feel something special about them."
Ignacius looked to them and smiled wickedly. "Their first generations will be spared Damnation. I will then enable their thoughts and guesses on why they were able to make it to Paradise to make into the world of mortals down below. This will mark Humanity's ancestors as blessed, and serve to deceive even more."

"After the first generation, Mankind will find that any ethical and moral imperfection will be met with heinous retaliation. An eternity of starvation, diseased wasting away that shall never pass. An eternal crematorium, freezing in an endless winter bereft of covering, without shelter. . . Eyes looking into Paradise from mystically frozen water, while the blessed roam freely forever, unable to help them."

Ignacius continued. "The damned shall face eternity being eaten away by the carrion, beasts and creepy, crawling vermin, with every gasping breath of air risking the inhalation of sulfur and searing heat, and every exhalation an eternal loss of nourishment. The Wisest of the Virtueous shall face eternal loss in the same manner, forced to live eternal cycles of rebirth as irredeemable monsters, always conscious of their actions, never able to prevent themselves from violating their own ethical codes. They shall waste away until their souls become whispers in the winds down below on the world's surface, crying out to the living in order to save them, yet having no power or knowledge to do so. Their very existence will be insanity from the beginning of the shuffling from their mortal coil, and only lead to an insanity in comparison to their already heinous madness."

-If there is a way to escape death when you are under Ignacius'es curse, escape your death, even if you must live an agonizing toil for centuries of torment, whatever god that could free you of his curse is worth petitioning before falling under Ignacius'es eternal torment.

-1 AP Curse : Humanity Damned

Omegonthesane

2014-12-25, 04:22 AM

The lakes and seas of the Sick Land bubbled, moving physically as the Corpse God roared with laughter deep beneath. The mighty Angels had a special caste of lesser beings made for them, beings that stood between Angel and Imp in might... and in numbers. Khorain, who had seemed so full of irrelevant concerns, had created a benediction similar to the cult of Myria - he hadn't made his Benediction as contagious or tenacious, but he had made it at all. Ignatius, first to hoard souls, had picked the most bitter and vengeful of all his rivals to pick a fight with, and Skarn had raged adorably in return, creating slave collars for his pet butchers rather than simply remove the curse directly.

Skarn and Ignatius would likely keep eachother busy, and would not make useful allies - the former could not help but serve Death, so they had no need to actively collaborate, while the latter was a liar and proud of it and therefore a terrible choice of ally. True, Gyosatha had also lied to mortals, but not about anything it considered important - some had been disappointed with the Sick Land, but none said they did not get the forgiveness they asked for, even though that forgiveness was from a being quite unlike the fairytale Myria.

Thus it was that a dark portal appeared in the Risen Continent, and through it stepped the fresh corpse of an imp, with a boar's skull tattooed on its chest. Its stature and posture were not consistent with a mere zombie, and the colour in its eyes was enough warning that it was an emanation of the Corpse God's consciousness, an impossible hue simultaneously deep blue and completely black.

Yet as Gyosatha arrived, it felt the change in the law of souls, as Ignatius made a claim on the souls of Khorain's new puppets.

"Maker of angels and humans, I don't believe we've been introduced. I am Gyosatha, maker of the Imps and the Sick Land. I wish to congratulate you - you were first to follow my example, and deny souls to Ignatius, even before he made his claim on your mortals.

"...Ooh, and not a moment too soon. Yet, your benediction is flawed. What if a man's crystal is taken before they die, or their skin flayed to remove all tattoos? What of those stillborn, who never had a chance at tattoo or crystal? Let me fix that for you, a token of my good faith."

And fix it Gyosatha did, spreading a weakened Benediction of Khorain to all humans who already were and who would ever be, from the instant before their body got a soul so that no being could possibly cheat them. This blessing would not grant them Paradise, but if they had lived a life without malicious deeds, they would reincarnate the moment there was a suitable foetus, granted only five minutes to decide their circumstances or else be literally thrown into the first available human body. Those who had performed malicious deeds could still escape Ignatius altogether, if they had already suffered retribution for those acts in life; for every malicious act they had got away with altogether, they would be damned for three years if the victim was a human, one year if the victim was any other intelligent race, and one day if the victim was a mere animal or plant.

In rebirth, the humans learned nothing of why they had failed to reach Paradise, for the Corpse God was not interested in giving them Paradise, only in denying them to the one who cared most about this resource. It failed to comprehend - why go to such effort to mislead humans? Why not simply let them all into Paradise, which was Ignatius' realm to begin with, if either way they were in his hands? It was time to get the measure of the Lord of Damnation.

A whole family of imps had the Benediction of Myria stripped from them - because it would override the new blessing the Corpse God had in mind. As small, weak, and short-lived as they were, Imps could not possibly reach the depths of purity that were meant to be required to get to Paradise. Yet, with their new blessing of Innocence, they were counted as being without imperfection for the purpose of entering Paradise. Neither deceived into thinking they were safe, nor forced to work for it, these beings nonetheless received Ignatius' reward - time to see how that being would react.

2 AP +2 23-24 Dec = 4 AP

2 AP: Bless Race (Humans) with Reincarnation. ALL humans reincarnate - not one is damned forever to any afterlife. While the slightest imperfection is still enough to deny them Paradise, and they don't get knowledge of what they did wrong to not get the top prize, only active malice against other intelligent beings gets them a stay with Ignatius, and even then only a temporary stay, one year for every malicious deed they performed for which they were never punished in life.

2 AP: Bless Race (Imps) with Innocence. Any imp not subject to the "Benediction" of Myria or similar effects goes to Paradise.

Sephir

2014-12-25, 09:06 AM

Skarn Looked upon his people With pride, Cured of Damnation. THey needed no other sustenance than battle. But he looked upon other worlds, and saw the trap Ignacius and he Corpse God had set for the Mortals. He saw their pain, their damnation. Yet, He felt something else…..Fury at their fate, rage against an uncaring Universe . He Let out a loud laugh as he hatched a plan. Let those with Anger and Vengeance in their hearts suffer not against Foul Trickery. Let Blood Wash over THier Damnation. Let them Overcome their pathetic punishment with the Blessing of the Blood God!

This declaration echoed in the plane of punishment. The took weak did not hear it…..But the other…..They laughed. THey laughed as their muscles Swelled, as their writhed in mutation of their forms, their skins turning blood red. THey laughed as they became warbringers, And rose with Cries of "Blood for the Blood GOd! Skulls for the skull throne!" against their oppressors

Create Concept 1 : Whoever gets vengeful and angry enough at his damnations becomes a full-adult Warbinger

Halna LeGavilk

2014-12-26, 11:44 AM

The Risen Continent, Khorain's Workshop

Khorain stared at the intruder, the abomination. "What do you hope to achieve by this, Rot God? You meddle in the affairs of others, constantly. Why do you think that I will accept your 'gift'?"

ArlEammon

2014-12-26, 12:15 PM

Ignacius

Ignacius looked on the world down below. Humanity had been rescued from it's utter horrors in the hereafter. No matter. There were other ways he could inflict horror and despair on the world down below.
"So Ignacius lost the first two generations of Humanity to reincarnation. Their immunity to Damnations of the hells would not last. After the first two generations passed, Ignacius glared on the world with seething hatred. A plan came to mind. He would create a magical city that shifted in form and substance, absorbing the souls who died within it. The city was filled with all manner of edible vegetation and fruits, gardens of fields that grew exceedingly large crops were between the buildings, and animals could flock to the city naturally, awaiting death at the hands of butchers and hunters. Inside the city, there were glyphs of lies, telling people of an ancient civilization that came before, that knew how to traverse dimensions and travel through the stars. Warlocks could learn magical spells by reading inscriptions on the walls of Red Sigil, learning some power without having to make pacts with dark gods."

-3 Alter Land - A magical city, Red Sigil appears in the world. Knowledge of medicine, agriculture, and the smelting of metals, along with other practical guides to knowledge already exist here, but memories of their use vanish once they leave the city grounds. Weapons/Armor might still exist after leaving as well as medicine, but that's up to GM discretion, and they cannot be studied from in order to be reproduced. Life inside the city is much better than anywhere else in the world, and due to sanitation and hygiene, people here have much greater standards of living. The city may eventually become crime ridden, but even then it would be a First World city compared to the rest of the world being something like a Third World country. Non-Evil warlocks may learn powerful magic here without learning from Dark gods. Red Sigil is also capable of teleportation. All of these advantages, although unique, are not as helpful as it sounds, since the Red Sigil is incapable of outside contact with the rest of the world other than through immigration, permanent emigration (leaving forever), or trade with goods the rest of the world already has.

-1 Concept : Soul Forfeit - Mortals who give their souls to Ignacius have full access to everything in the Red Sigil regardless of it's geographic location. Making it possible for advanced metal using warriors, with steel weapons, for example, wandering the outside world while the rest of the world is still in the Bronze Age, penicilin during the Dark Ages, etcetera. The only way for others to learn this knowledge other than it being in the world already is through giving their soul. In addition, Humans already have access to significant powers of Ignacius once their souls are given, without having the Warlock occupation, and they may learn more spells by visiting the Red Sigil. Any mortal can forfeit their soul to any god, but each god's boons is different, and of course, will only be as powerful as abilities can get without spending AP.

-1 Blessing - Humans - Humans are automatically granted positions of authority if they forfeit their souls to Ignacius. Ignacius may advance their occupation at any time he wishes, or scale it down. Such as head of a tribe, a village elder, a town, etcetera. Along with their positions of authority, they gain LONG life, and permanent youth, until Ignacius'es whim is sated.

-1 Blessing - The Cult - Mortals who spread Ignacius'es religion to forfeit their souls, receive generally better circumstances in life. Recovery from sickness, not getting sick, longer life, more children, etcetera.

Johel

2014-12-26, 12:40 PM

Khorain's Workshop

The Angels had been born strong of body, nearly immortal and blessed with many gifts. While one could admire what they were, it was obvious that they would have a hard time to become more than this on their own, facing no challenge and therefor having no reason to seek to better themselves.
The humans, frail, short-lived and with nothing but their wits, would HAVE to adapt to their surroundings, to spread far and wide, to learn and to innovate while cultivating the lessons of their experiences across innumerable lifes. Their story would be a harsh one but it would be interesting.
As Khorain granted life to the first couple, Valga granted them the will to live.

"-To the sons of Man, I grant dominion over the lesser creatures.
May their good will be heard by all and help them share their strongest desires.
May their determination cast fear and doubt away from those that choose to follow them.
Their kin shall tame the wilderness and pave the way for others to follow in their steps.

And for them to thrive, she willed more creatures into the world while also shapping whole landscappes.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She was, however, blissfully unaware yet of the rest of what was unfolding around the world :
Souls being tricked, stolen and traded through a hundred and one pacts whose terms were often unknown of those that were concerned.
Places of wonders and assorted honeypots laid bare for the unlucky to seized.
Blessings that were nothing but curses in disguised, words of power to bind mortals to the petty whims of egomaniacs.
Time would make her feel those things, as the balance of the universe was slowly tilted.

As for the intrusion of the Rot God, Valga stayed silent.
She was host in Khorain's land and the intruder was not hers to challenge or to welcome.
But as agreed, she stood by Khorain's side, ready to act as The Swordman saw fit.
Again, her voice rippled against her ally's mind, a wind of confidence and righteous courage.

"-Stand strong. I can feel the taint of corruption on this one.
As long as you keep away from the darkness, my arm shall do as your wish."

STARTING: 6 AP (last action) + 3 AP (3 days)

CREATE LEAST SPECIES: 0 AP

Ur'sy
At five feet high for only two feet long, the Ur'sy looks like six massive hoofed legs arranged around a thick furry ball.
The Ur'sy is without eyes or nose but his ears are finely tuned to spot any noises from miles away.
The species is known to live a fearful life in large herd across the great plains and steppes, fleeing any sound of danger with great speed.
It eats grass using his mouth, situated right on his belly.

Bee'laf
Shorter version of the Ur'sy, the Bee'laf is a small fellow, made up of a large ball of wool surrounded by six small legs more adapted for jumping than running.
The wool take the colors of the various flowers and plants that the beast eats, even making the tints more vibrant as a way to scare predators away.
This isn't baseless threat, as the Bee'laf is known to be as aggressive as the Ur'sy is cowardly, often killing the overly noisy neighbours by jumping repeatedly over them.
Their meat is tender and tastier, though, explaining why predators keep trying despite the bruises.

Dug'ho
A ball of black fur... with a LOT of teeth and a massive trumpet-like snouth.
This eyeless pack predator hunt by sound and smell, moving on six short but powerful legs with sharp thick claws.
It uses them for running but also to dig extensive galleries, where it spend most of the daytime.
The pack communicate mainly using smell, as the beast is gifted with several glands that can spread a large variety of musky fragrances.

CREATE LAND : The Sunny Meadows (2 AP)
A succession of plains and low hills covered with grass and flowers as far as the eyes can see, the Sunny Meadows are a haven for many creatures, a land eternally bathed by gentle sunlight during the day and blessed with frequently rainy nights.
The ocean of light green is only broken by the occasional patches of dark green woods and the rivers that creep at the feet of the hills.
The Sunny Meadow surround the South-East of the Blasted Waste.

CREATE CONCEPT : Domestication (1 AP)
A mutually beneficial relationship between a sentient species and a least species is possible.
It can take several generations but it will eventually work.
While the sentient species will usually have a dominant role, it doesn't have to be the case.

CREATE CONCEPT : Free Will (1 AP)
All sentient species are completely free to choose by themselves what is right or wrong.
They can also willingly choose to do right or wrong in any circonstances.
No god can force loyalty, love, admiration, respect or affection of any kind upon mortals
Those feelings have to be earned through acts or values that the mortal can admire on his own.

BLESS RACE (Humans) : Aura of Friendship (2 AP)
Humans have an easier time with lesser creatures, who can feel whether or not a human has a friendly intent.
If the intentions of the human are friendly, the beast will tolerate his presence and even show some degree of friendliness.
This shall help them to tame animals.

REMAINING : 3 AP

Omegonthesane

2014-12-26, 05:18 PM

"Do I?" asked the Corpse God's vessel, genuinely confused. "Between the Benediction of Myria and this very day, I haven't done a thing to interfere with your works. The blessing is already done - you will accept it because you have no reason to reverse it. Because taking my gift away would benefit you not at all.

"You accuse me of meddling in the affairs of others - but every part of this star system is the affair of every one of us. Only a fool would pretend otherwise. Decay is everywhere; thus my juristiction is everywhere. Civilisation can spring anywhere, thus your jurisdiction is everywhere.

"And you, sword maiden..." The dead imp's body turned, addressing Valga directly. "I do not know exactly what you are, but whatever it is, I rather suspect it is everywhere. Nor do I see why Khorain should have to choose between us; I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement. Before you say you can't trust me, think - surely you are great enough, strong enough that trading your friendship for your enmity would always, in every possible way of things, be a stupid move on my part. Why would I ever have a reason to break your trust?"

~~~

The various imps thrown into Paradise came to outnumber the combined other beings there. They might well have anyway simply by numbers, but all the other races had to earn it, while the Imps were getting it for free. Peraps this caused bitter resentment among the "deserving" people of Paradise - but in turn, though the Imps had a long afterlife there, they did not have an eternal one. Many of them came back to the material world, and preached of the things they half-remembered from their not-quite-eternal reward - the things that other peoples did that might make their own groups work better. The self-styled Halos formed around these ideals, imitating what they had seen of the people who had earned Paradise.

The Corpse-God did not sense any reaction from Ignatius to this gift of souls. Perhaps this Paradise was merely a catalyst, and there was a fashion in which souls had to be processed to be a power source - but if there was a reaction going on in the land of the damned, it was not a reaction that Gyosatha knew how to replicate, and its position was not secure enough for blue sky research.

1 AP: Create Tripe in the Imps "Halos", a bloodline of imps who imitate the half-remembered ways of non-Imp people who get into Paradise.

ArlEammon

2014-12-26, 05:54 PM

Ignacius wondered of the past. In eternity's past, he was literally and entirely different person. Or god. He didn't even know what he was anymore. He wondered of the past. . . death, blood, the reapers. Taking loved ones. A fire, pain, the smell of searing flesh. Infants eaten alive in front of their parents by other children. . . horrifying. Ignacius was surprised. Even shocked he had any emotion for what he began to remember. He did not care for the pain of others. In fact, he found it infinitely more pleasurable even than physical intimacy. Immeasurably so, the eternal torment of the damned had so many benefits.

Yet this was . . . personal? How. . . nostalgic? Was I ever mortal? How? How was this possible? The world had just began. He could not change. He had no desire to change. As a strange tiny compulsion suggested he change his ways, he came to the female warlock, the Witch, Udar. She had been murdered personally by Ignacius when she exchanged her souls for an eternity in his bed. She got what she wanted but he went on for too long and too harshly. He entered physically into her skeletal remains. . .

"Udar. You have displeased me. You know what I am capable of out of sadism. Do not dare tempt me to rise into new heights of depravity through anger." Udar turned away. "I know what happened. I know what you are." Ignacius walked in his Human form while they were in his spirit sphere. He walked to Udar as her incorporeal form tried to shrink back in terror as the god of evil neared. . . "I know every fear and terror you possess. You were wrong to use my powers of concealment from me. Now tell me, how did you hide it from me? The memories. . . they are mine. They are not mine. You have done what no god should know is possible from mortals, and from such a primitive time in Man's era on the world. Udar. . . what have you done?"

There was a great hearth in the torture chamber. . . He looked at the searing flames where Udar's remains constantly filled her nostrils. "How dare you attempt to change my very being into something redeemable. Do you want me to feed yourself to you again?" Udar screamed in primal terror. Normally Ignacius would be rapturous in sadistic joy. . . but he spat onto the ground. "With all of your terror and weakness as a mortal, you still somehow hide myself from me? What have you done Udar?" The woman could not stop screaming, and Ignacius turned from her. "You are an enemy goddess. There is no other explanation." He turned to a fine porcelain plate to his side, with her heart on it.

"Udar. . . Let's start with something very minor. . . " She screamed in primal agony as she saw the plate, there was now a gaping wound in her chest, and she was still living. "Oh, come on. You've been here long enough to know how I don't care" Just then, her tears began to accelerate, and her tears and sweat came out as a mystical source of blood. Ignacius stepped back in surprise. "What the hell?" The plate shattered on the stones as her heart rolled across the ground. He felt a very weird source of. . . what? He felt sympathy? He stared at her for what seemed like millenia for him, and then he turned around and left her soul. . . Ignacius returned to the void.

He entered into slumber. He must rest.
"I must rest. I must".
Who is Udar? What memory is Ignacius trying to reclaim? Does he want to know?

-1 AP Concept: Mahaman
The spell of Mahaman is capable of reaching into Ignacius. It exhausts the spirit of the mortal completely, causing them to partially fade away. The spirit will return eventually through centuries or even millenia worth of time. In the mean time, torments of damnation begin immediately and last for centuries. Eventually however, Mahaman immunizes the soul from Damnation, the soul is released mysteriously from Ignacius'es domination, and the soul ends up in Paradise. Ignacius does not know about this. Udar has entered Ignacius memories and taken a piece of his past out, literally. The spell of Mahaman is named after Ignacius'es name in the last Cycle.

The spell is dependent on certain factors. Power, innocence, love, etcetera. Mahaman isn't a spell that most mortals could cast. It would be a surprise if more than one in a few million people in the population could cast the spell at all. But it's something.

Johel

2014-12-27, 06:09 AM

Omegonthesane

2014-12-27, 06:44 AM

Khorain's Workshop

Flattery will lead you nowhere with me.
And neither will half-truths and arguments built on them.
The stench of your deception is even stronger than the one of your current body.

Speaking of which, I cannot assent to the parody of life you are making here.
While I do not know the full extent of the forces at play in this foul magic of yours, it doesn't feel natural for dead flesh to walk around, devoid of life and soul.
Explain to me why you believe it to be a good thing for the Universe.

The Corpse God snickered. "Flattery?... Okay, good point there, but deception? Half-truths? Do you even know the meaning of these words? If you did, you would surely know that not a single word I have spoken here was based on either one!

"And to answer your question - Humans use the dead bodies of others all the time. The skins become their clothes, the flesh becomes their food, the bones become their instruments. When they are not using the dead bodies of animals, they use the dead bodies of plants. Clearly, the use of dead bodies as a resource is acceptable; thus, how is it anything but a blessing if there are more uses for dead bodies?

"In any case, I am manifesting like this because I cannot do otherwise. It is not a matter of choice. My physical body is trapped beneath the Sick Land, and has been since before I first awoke to consciousness. You who whine about 'nature' and 'good' should not begrudge me for a state I did not choose.

"Which reminds me, I have a question for you. Why should what 'feels' 'natural' be the basis of any moral judgment? Rot, decay, and corrosion are more natural than all the blessings in all the universe."

Johel

2014-12-27, 09:14 AM

Khorain's Workshop

The arguments sounded good. From a purely logical point of view, the goddess couldn't find a single fault in them.
Yet the simple vision of the rotting imp was all it took her to cast them aside. Somewhere, somehow, the logic was flawed.

I will give you that transformation of matter and energy is a natural fact of the Universe. It has been the rule for far before any of us was even born and I do not question it.
What I do question is the value of your fool sorcery that animates flesh and bones.
The walking, soulless abominations born from your spells are spreading nothing but destruction. They have no spark of inspiration, no will to create beauty and do not care for anything safe the whims of their master and annihilation of the living.

As for your analogy to the use of animal parts by mortals, I have yet to witness a mortal that use his brother's remains as tools.
If simply out of respect for the being that he knew and once inhabited the mortal shell, these things are not done by sentient creatures... or even by animals. They have a form of instinct that prevents it, safe for the direst situations.

This also brings the question of the source of this magic and of its inner workings.
Is the spell just animating matter like a puppet, much like we can warp the elements ? Or does it call the soul of the corpse's previous owner, enslaving it somehow ? Or is it yet something else ?
Maybe my distrust is simply born of ignorance... but then you should enlighten me, Scavenger.

Omegonthesane

2014-12-27, 11:42 AM

"You clearly know nothing of animals if you think they have any great respect for one another. They eat one another all the time. They kill eachother for fun, all the time. Many of them have specifically developed for the purpose of killing and eating their animal 'brothers'. Don't claim it's my influence, blame the god who made the werewolves if anyone.

"Have you really not seen a single person wearing leather, or hiding from the elements in a rawhide tent, or blowing a horn, or killing their quarry with a bone-point spear? Never seen a bone spike used in the process of making clothing? And if by some magic you have avoided seeing any of these things, tell me - how is it less respectful to use a permanent, lasting reminder of a dead being to help the group it died for than to let its corpse go to waste after destroying as much of it as you can for food?

"You've been making rather large assumptions about the zombies, too. Why would I be foolish enough to make something dedicated to annihilating the living? If the world runs out of living beings, it will also inevitably run out of dead beings, and then it would only be a matter of time before I starve into nonexistence. The zombies do the will of their makers, and the will of their makers alone. They are without souls, and do not call on souls - though I now wish I'd thought of that when writing the rules. It'd let me yank souls from Damnation, after all. Still, understandable mistake.

"And you still haven't answered me about why 'it feels unnatural' is a valid criticism of, well, anything."

Johel

2014-12-28, 09:42 AM

Khorain's Workshop

Are you trying to convince me or simply to make a point, Corpse-God ?
If the former, twisting the meaning of my words won't help.

I have already answered your question :
I believe that mortals using the dead remains of their kin is unatural and offensive.
No angel is wearing another angel's skin as clothes or sculpting another's bones into tools.
Same goes for most species, except for the direst of circonstances.
By the same token, having them animate their companion's corpse to use as servant is even more offensive.

I asked in return how does your sorcery work, only to be met with the same half-truths you swore you do not use.
And while you did teach me a bit more about that sorcery, relieving some of my bleakest fears, the fact remains that it is still an unefficient method of making "tools".
If zombies are nothing but automatons made of flesh and bones, they would make only for weak and undurable servants.
A shorter, easier and maybe more seducing way for mortals than the true mastery over matter... but at the price of letting go of certain sensibilities and all for what ?
An ephemeral rotting tool that required to defile the body of someone's loved one.

Omegonthesane

2014-12-28, 10:39 AM

"This whining about nature gets us nowhere. You have not even attempted to answer the most pertinent question of all - why should what 'feels' 'natural' be the basis of any decisions? Are your own plans weakened by the existence of new tools? Are societies weakened by the power to recycle? Are you gathering some resource, which is - as you see it - somehow polluted or consumed by necromancy? Or are you nothing more than a beast, to think only in instinct and emotion?"

Johel

2014-12-28, 11:20 AM

Khorain's Workshop

I have no "plans", as you put it, Scavenger.
I do what I believe to be right, acting upon others based on how I wished to be treated by others.
And I sure as hell wouldn't want some other god animating my empty husk to use it as some glorified puppet.

I answered your question :
What is unnatural is offensive to most creatures.
Since I don't like to be offended, I consider that doing anything unnecessary offensive to others is wrong.
Should this not be clear by now, then you might be right : we are wasting time.

You might feel otherwise and choose to see living beings as just tools to transform matter and energy into souls, raising and breeding them before slaughtering them to harvest what's useful and discard what is not.
But then what would you think if learned another god saw useful to use you in the same way ?
Deceiving you in thinking your deeds would grant you a future reward while it would only further his ends ?
And what of his plan to, once you are of no more use alive, to suck you dry of all your essence and then using your dessicated shell as a mindless servant ?
I could find some reason to criticize such action...

Omegonthesane

2014-12-29, 02:58 AM

"What is unnatural is to be defined by the creators of nature - gods, like yourself. There does not appear to be any higher authority or definition than you, even if there are equal, competing ones; if you want to define it one way, then you should know that you are in fact defining it.

If you would not claim a right to a sword you have given away as a gift never to be taken back, or which you have discarded never to take up again, then you cannot claim the same right to a body that you have left behind never to inhabit again. Not if you value consistency in the slightest. And do not falsely claim that this is a 'half-truth' or a 'lie' just because you are uncomfortable with it - if you are dead and have vacated a body, never to enter it again, never to use it again, then that body no longer belongs to you. As it is not your belonging, it is no longer yours to decide anything specific about.

"Any dispute you have with my logic would only prove my point. The idea that someone might be 'offended' is not a valid criticism - from all that I have seen of mortals, they take 'offense' at the most peculiar things - some take 'offense' if their neighbour, or even their hitherto beloved child, has a lover of the wrong skin colour, or of a kind that cannot reproduce, or of the wrong arbitrary faction. Some take 'offense' merely at the existence of the wrong skin colour or the wrong arbitrary faction, even without actually evaluating whether these divisions pose them a threat. Some even take 'offense' at the idea that their sister should be allowed the same chances as their brother. I therefore claim not only that passion is a completely invalid starting point for a value system, but that this can be empirically proven - indeed, that my Imps have already empirically proved it." The Corpse God did not mention that it actually had a rational reason to whine about one of its own examples - a couple of the same gender could not reproduce, and thus could not add to the harvest. It had not whined about such petty things, because the effect on its yields was immaterial, and in any case such mini-factions seemed willing to make exceptions so that they could have children and thus add to the harvest anyway.

"And to answer your final question, if a being existed who was as far above me as I am above mortals, and it had any reason to grant me a full and long life, the fact that it only wished to take my leavings once I was gone would not even make me less grateful, let alone actually critical. I will also note, your example is a strawman - all those who think Myria has promised eternal reward have received the eternal reward they asked for, the fact that they got it from me seems immaterial. Nor have I stolen anyone's essence before their time, you're thinking of Ignatius there."

Johel

2014-12-29, 06:11 AM

Khorain's Workshop

How can you be as arrogant and self-serving as to claim yourself "far above" mortals and to demand mortals to be "grateful" for the gift of existance ?
How can you assume, knowing that most mortal creatures are ignorant of our existance, that there are no being greater than us that we do not know of ?
And should this be the case, mere power would not grant rights over the powerless, if only because power is a shifting tide whose exact measure is difficult.

You ask me not to claim of you using half-truths or lies yet your answers, while logical at first glance, are put a entangled pit of such things, evading my questions and attacking my statements by twisting words and meanings.

I asked how you would felt if a fellow god, an equal and brother of the same blood, was to use your skin as a mantle, your bones as sticks or your very corpse as a puppet.
You answered that you would be grateful to be given life by a more powerful being even if it meant to be only a transformed good to be consumed and discared... which is just changing the premises of the hypothesis so as to make your answer look rightful.
It is not, first because you postulated previously that there is no such more powerful being and second because my question never addressed such being to start with.

I told you that most mortals do not use the remains of their brothers and companions, safe for exceptional circonstances, because some higher law of natural order, existing since before we started to meddle with creation, tells their instinct to avoid doing so.
You hammered that mortals use the skins and bones of other species all the time... which is very different, unless you want to claim now that all beings are equal in stature, despite you claiming the opposite a moment ago, styling yourself as "far above" mortals !!

While trying to understand the Corpse-God, Valga was also being slightly annoyed by him.
Taken alone, his cold utilitarian logic wouldn't be too bad.
But most of his words sounded dishonnest.
And with the egoistical goals of that being and his high opinion of himself, she couldn't help but to dislike him.

You speak of so many things mortals take offense of... yet most of them, while a clear possibility, haven't even happened as of yet.
"Your" Imps might be battling each other to the death over skin color and other small quirks... yet if it is so then it is a defect born of your work more than anything I have yet to witness in the animal world or with Humans, Angels and whatever other sentient species inhabit the known world.
Yet I know most humans and angels are disturbed with the idea of seeing a dead loved one being enslaved to the will of a perfect stranger, let alone enslaved to their own will.
Same goes for animals, which are already fleeing your "zombies" if only because the stench would attract predators, scavengers and the corpse itself would eventually become a walking plague carrier... and therefor a destructive force rather than a creative one.

Reality Glitch

2014-12-29, 10:50 PM

Something is not right. Something tremors through the forest. Something beyond the ken of mortal-kind. I sense the other who is like me in some ways. There cannot be another master of this land! Ah, this one does not come in challenge. I still give evidence of my supremacy, my form sized to fit the massive trees I have set here.

Alliance. Cooperation. Speaking through another. Wearing a mask. No. The mask. Wearing a person. Strange. The talk of others who would unbalance is surely true, but this one would likely not keep the balance either, at least not as it must be kept. Yet this one opposes others who would be worse.

"I hunt the weaker and cull the lesser that the whole be stronger. The hunters to maintain those they hunt lest all fall through imbalance.

"Your balance is not my balance. Yet you have your own. You speak of beings having none.

"My balance is not to force others. But should one seek to alter your domain, I shall be at your side. Should an imbalancer come here, you shall be at my side."

The wolves around Virigar, dwarfed to less than puppies by his size, howled in accord with the God's pronouncement."I am glad you are accepting of my offer, and will help you to sustain your balance should it be threatened. Mind you I do not 100% agree with it, but what is balance for one is a tipped scale for another, so to each their own."

With that, the mask pops off the wolfir's face lands on the ground and fades away.There was a gathering of gods elsewhere, and I went to purpose similar, but first I check in on my children. They have advanced far, but still have far to go.

Upon arriving on the Planet of Gatherings I notice that no one god has claimed it and thus I have full power, or at least near-full power. I decide to use my previous tactic though, so as not to give that fact away; a task made easier by my invisibility to divine senses. Even so, the Angels minds were reinforced by their soul being directly connected to their patron. The smaller one however .... A HUMAN? I would think in the next cycle they'd be at least a little different, but this one at least is exactly as I remember them. The angels intervened before the human donned me, but they listened when I "spoke" to them and returned to their patron to grant me audience to him/her/they/it/etc.+10 from 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27, 28th and 29th of december. A.P. at start of day: 12

Organize City (5 A.P. each; -2 for two tribes, +2 for Legendary race): The Room and the Hands' Reach are advanced from tribes to cities. Cities built inside Beffu Trees.The angel approached its patron deity and presented the mask which composed my form

"I wishes to speak with you, but to do so it must speak through me. I am scared, but should I let it?"

Omegonthesane

2014-12-30, 12:03 PM

"It is absurd to propose that a being equal in power to myself could treat me as a resource to be used up and discarded. You were obviously trying to get me to see things from a mortal's point of view, therefore I assumed you were asking me to put myself in a mortal's... position, rather than to pretend that a being of my order could deceive me in such a way. Nor do I feel that this changed the meaning of my answer in the slightest - I do not care what happens to a thing that I have discarded. I have no reason to care what happens to a thing that I have discarded, even if that thing is my own dead body.

"Now I might object to them actively hastening my departure, but as I said, that's not a valid comparison to my own actions."

The thought that a god could be so arrogant as to think itself greater than other gods seemed, to Gyosatha, to be so absurd as to be out of the question, even to the eccentric being it was talking to. How a god could be so attached to principle, so opposed to reason, was utterly beyond the Corpse God's comprehension. Indeed, it was only in that instant that Gyosatha began to wonder about Ignatius' collection of souls - if one god could be irrational, then perhaps two gods could be irrational, so perhaps the father of damnation was not simply gathering souls as a resource.

"If the humans and angels have particular traits, then we know who to blame. Or to thank. Their creator is right here, listening to us blather on while the threat that I originally came to talk about grows in power. If I am to blame for all the traits of Imps, then Khorain is... responsible for all the traits of Humans. If a higher power has dictated the nature of Humans, it stands to reason that the same higher power has dictated the nature of Imps.

"In any case, there exist passions which are not a valid reason to get offended. How they have come to exist is irrelevant - even one is enough to prove that 'being offended' is not reason enough to claim something is wrong. If you want to claim something is wrong with any weight at all, you must look deeper than first impressions.

"You complain of the offenses of reanimated dead tissue, yet what of the offense of souls unjustly damned? The offense which my Benediction of Myria was created to prevent? A power exists who would see every mortal ever created damned to be tortured for all eternity, a power who - until Khorain - only I had really tried to thwart!"

Halna LeGavilk

2014-12-30, 12:04 PM

Khorain's Workshop

"Gyosatha, Valga, as much as I appreciate philosophical banter, I think in the end the flourishing of the mortal races is a good thing for all of us. There is more than enough room for all of our mortals to live unimpeded. I think the true obstacle that faces all of us are Ignacious and the the vengeance god. They will be the true threat to any semblance of civilization we attempt to create, and if they had their way, all life would be blasted from this earth, so there would be no rot to rule over, either." Khorain stepped towards the edge of the cliff, his eyes unfocusing for a moment as he blazed the uncertain paths of the future. "I do not know what you came here for, Gyosatha. You seem to be a manipulative entity, and though I hope you came in good faith, I cannot know you did. My hope for the future is to form an alliance against the gods of destruction, but I'm unsure if we'll be able to form an alliance from what I've seen."

The angle approached its patron deity and presented the mask which composed my form

"I wishes to speak with you, but to do so it must speak through me. I am scared, but should I let it?"

Nearby, an angel approached. Khorain heard its plea, and split off an avatar to talk to it. "If you would allow this, child, I would be grateful. I will protect you against harm, and ensure your safe passage."

The Gathering
Once a year, the human nomads had begun to gather at one of the great freshwater lakes that were common in the Risen Continent. Angels, too, congregated there, largely in the sky or among the great trees that were found along the water. Tales were swapped, goods and techniques traded, knowledge pooled amongst the various family groupings. As the proceedings were going on, an avatar of Khorain appeared in the sky above them.

Looking amongst the crowds of human and angel, he scanned their minds, their souls and feelings. On a deeper level, he was disturbed. Many, not a majority, but maybe one tenth of humanity had given themselves over to another. To Ignacious. He crossed the innumerable pathways of the future, his eyes unfocusing just the smallest amount as the possibilities collapsed, the many roads of the future merging into one.

"My peoples!" He cried out, his voice silencing the crowds below. "Do you not believe? Do you reject my gift? I gave you the crystals, I gave you life that lasts forever, but you give your souls to the FATHER OF DAMNATION?" His voice roared out, a wave of fear cascading through the crowd. Many looked around in confusion at their loved ones and elders, wondering Who? Who could it be? "You wish to know how I know who gave themselves to the evil that stalks this earth? Here!" He waved his hand and magic rippled through the crowd, blinding everyone in it.

As their eyes cleared, they saw that those who had given their souls over to the gods of damnation were hued in red, and looked mysteriously, fundamentally wrong. A great cry rushed through the crowd: anger, grief, and rage. Those hued in red looked around in fear as the rest of the crowd began advancing towards them. "Stay your hands, my children! Khorain cried out. "Let them leave. Though they are damned, you need not damn yourselves as well. Let them go, let them live their own lives." As the damned were pushed out, filtered through the great crowd, some with their families, most without, Khorain stared in silence, calculating probabilities.

He began to descend to the ground as he spoke, his tones pushing on the crowd's stress, melting it away, replacing it with exultation. "I have gifts for you, my children. One day you will be the strongest race that walks the universe, stronger even than the mighty angels. But there will be trials and tribulations along the way. Many will end their paths, give themselves over to Ignacious, the Father of Damnation, or Myria, the False Goddess. Be strong! Be wary of the traps that lay in wait for you, for your children, and for their children. Your path to knowledge, to control over yourselves and your environment takes hard work, but more than that, patience!"

As he touched the ground and began to walk amongst the crowd, he touched the heads of some humans, imparting knowledge into them. "I will give you gifts, my children. Strong magics to tell you of the future, of far-away lands and of the people and places around you. This divination magic will allow you to know the agents of the the evil gods, the agents of damnation, of war and vengeance. It will allow you to keep your souls safe, to move forward into the future without fear of losing your step."

"More than that, children, I give you two more great gifts, whose mysteries you must fully explore yourself, as the seeking of knowledge is the greatest path to salvation. First amongst these is artifice. All can learn artifice, all can experiment with the great gears and runes and sigils that will power our inventions. With this, you will travel the world, and conquer the stars."

He stood in the midst of the seething crowd. He saw awe and exaltation before him. "And though I united you, here I divide you. Three shall be the tribes of humans, for three is the least number of legs that create the strongest base. Those from the west, with their fair hair and dark skin, are the tribe of Asgilioch! Descendents of the first of my creations, you shall be the first of the tribes, most curious and far-reaching. Second of the tribes, the Entorak, tall and fair of skin, are those from the southeast, the strongest and bravest of my children. Your warriors shall make the earth tremble and throwback all invaders from our shores. Third are the Ailorani, , the most prodigious and industrious of my children. You shall make mortals weep with the splendor of your cities!"

The humans looked around each other. The different clothes, skin, hair, eyes... What would it mean for them? "Do not let this divide you, my children! You are all still my children! The divisions between you are nothing compared to the divisions between you and those who chose damnation over eternal life. Nothing! And now, go forth, be fruitful in your works and in your children! I will be watching, protecting you from those who would damn you!" And then Khorain disappeared from the roaring, cheering crowd.

As he did, in midst of the crowd, a great fortress arose, a library built of stone and metal. As it grew, a voice appeared in the heads of all at the sea-side. This is the Great Library of Koraeth. It will be your fortress, your port in the storm. Use it well, my sons and daughters. Let it be the place of your gathering. Let it be the start of a new era.

7 Total AP (1 stored, 6 from previous 6 days.)

1 AP: Create Tribe (Human): The Asgilioch

1 AP: Create Tribe (Human): The Entorak

1 AP: Create Tribe (Human): The Ailorani

1 AP: Create concept: Divination Magic. Any divination magic that detects a being that has given their soul to Ignacious, or any that has taken the Benediction of Myria, as somehow being fundamentally wrong.

1 AP: Create concept: Artifice. Anyone can learn artifice.

1 AP: Alter land: The Great Library of Koraeth. It stands on the shores of the Meoth Sea, a great fortress-library that is open to all beings who have not given themselves over to Ignacious or Myria.

0 AP: Create least creature: Guardian Bats of the Library. These creatures are generally peaceful, acting more like cats than bats. They do pest control in the library, and eat fruits, bugs, and small animals like rodents and the such. They also swarm those who worship Ignacious, Skarn, or Myria, raking them with talons and biting them with sharp fangs.

0 AP: Create least creature: taurangs. Great beasts, these cow-like creatures are generally used for food, and are scattered about the plains of the Gathering World.

0 AP: The Red Trees of Meoth. These trees are massive, growing over one hundred and fifty meters in height.

Reality Glitch

2014-12-30, 03:06 PM

Nearby, an angel approached. Khorain heard its plea, and split off an avatar to talk to it. "If you would allow this, child, I would be grateful. I will protect you against harm, and ensure your safe passage."
1 AP: Create concept: Arcane magic.I already created that concept.Upon its patron's request, the angel places me over its face. Its mind is too strong for me to overwhelm, but it willing gives me control, so I speak.

"O-Angel Lord, O-Civil Mentor, O-Corpse God; I beseech thee three for alliance, for there are those who wish to condemn us and our respective children."

Johel

2014-12-30, 06:09 PM

Khorain's Workshop

As the master of the House spoke, it was the signal for Valga that nothing more was to be added to that specific discussion.
Gyosatha's arguments were logical, good food for the mind too and although she suspected them to be potential poison, she could only object them out of raw intuition rather than out of actual well-thought reflexions.
She had the feeling that undead were a bad thing for creation and she had already decided to make sure they do not spread too easily into the world. But this could wait a few mortal generations, if only to prove or disprove her doubts. She could afford to talk rashly to the Corpse-God but actions had to be carefully considered.
Right now, there were other priorities, such as the talking mask that just got glued to an angel's face and talked, much like the Scavenger, of alliance against this "Ignacius" and yet another god she didn't know yet.

While I do not readily refuse to join forces against those who threaten the balance of Creation...

Her luminous gaze lit briefly the rotting body of the Imp.

... I want to know more of those who request my help in such a quest.
It would be vain and even counter-productive to help fight one evil if such victory only serve another one.
Speak, Masked One. Tell us about you, about your hopes for Creation, about your fears and, most of all, about your actions.

-----------------------------------------------------------

The Gathering World

Of her will, they spread unto the world. Small and hungry for flesh, rotting flesh more specifically. They were not the first scavengers to roam the land but they would be among the most efficient. Barely the size of a sparrow but signing no song in the fresh morning, the Spitting Flees were as grotesque and repulsive as their main prey.
Their bloated bodies carried itself through the air with the unsavory grace of a drunken moth as they always seeked the strong perfume of rotting flesh. A meal of choice for them and one more readily available in some areas than others.
Like around the freshly opened graves where necromancers found the raw material for their servants. The Spitting Flee would not merely land on its prey to consume it. It would spit a strong acid onto it and let the mixture works its way, accelerating the decay of the corpses and letting the flee's maggots gorge itself of the delicious resulting slime.
While a single flee would not do much to a given corpse, a whole swarm would make short work of most carrions... or undeads.

But Spitting Flees weren't the only one to be attracted by the bittersweet smell of rotten meat. Vuk'toors, large beasts that could reach up to nine feet long and six feet high, roamed the lands in search of such meal. Their body looked like a six-legged rhinoceros covered with black feathers all along it and four large bony protrusions rising out of their upper shoulders. Their head looked like the one of a giant scavenger bird, with a hard beak to forage through carrions.
The beast wasn't a cowardly as the birds it had the head of, though, as it was confident in its size and strength to prevail over most of its preys... which it often did, following the smell of the mucus of the Spitting Flees and charging at the affected undead to make sustenance of him once trampled.
If something was to be left, the flees and their maggots, spitting or otherwise, would have it.

Plants were also on the alert for the walking deads, as those were, after all, perfect vessels to spread their seeds... or even to grow them.
The Grieving Vine was therefor known to grow quite well around graves... as well as into their inhabitants. The Vine's pollens was known to grow easily on rotting flesh, secreting a strong toxin to kill most other plants while burrowing deep thorned roots inside the corpses.
Normal corpses were nice but walking ones were a must, as they would travel vast distances tirelessly, before their skeleton collapses because of the growing roots messing them up.
At this point, the plant would flower and spread its pollen.

----------------------------------------------

Khorain divided his people and told them of his vision for each of them.
And to each of the human tribes, Valga granted a different blessing.

To the The Asgilioch, true to Khorain's words, she granted the wisdom and intelligence needed to structure their curiosity toward altruism, pushing them to seek experiments that would bring about opportunities of a more hopeful future for their children rather than an immediate benefit for themselves.

To the Entorak, the bravest of the lot and most likely to seek trouble, she granted luck through reflex and resilience as long as they would be defending themselves rather than attacking others.

To the Ailorani, she granted vivid dreams of sounds, pictures, smells, movements and tastes that would inspire their creativity, encouraging them to do their best to artistically give substance to the product of their minds and to seek excellence in all their pursuits.

STARTING: 3 AP (last action) + 5 AP (5 days)

CREATE LEAST SPECIES: 0 AP

Spitting Flees
A sparrow-sized flee that spit a necrophagic acid on corpses and undeads so that its maggots can feed more easily.

Vuk'toors
A six-legged rhinoceros covered with feathers and with the head of a marabou stork that scavenge on carrion and undeads.

Grieving Vine
A vine whose grains burrow themselves in corpses and undead, then grow thick thorned roots before flowering to spread more pollen around.

BLESS RACE (Humans/Asgilioch) : Orderly Thoughts (2 AP)
Wise and smart regarding intellectual pursuits.
In D&D terms, that would be +1 to all their knowledge and craft skill checks

BLESS RACE (Humans/Entorak) : Lucky Bravery (2 AP)
Lucky against physical threats.
In D&D terms, that would be +1 to Reflex saves and Fortitude saves

BLESS RACE (Humans/Ailorani) : Inspired Hands (2 AP)
Get dreams with inspirational sensations
In D&D terms, that would be +1 to all their craft and perform skill checks

REMAINING : 2 AP

Omegonthesane

2014-12-31, 06:48 PM

Upon its patron's request, the angel places me over its face. Its mind is too strong for me to overwhelm, but it willing gives me control, so I speak.

"O-Angel Lord, O-Civil Mentor, O-Corpse God; I beseech thee three for alliance, for there are those who wish to condemn us and our respective children."

"Yes... It was to coordinate efforts against the father of Damnation that I came here. While I will grant that the wrathful one should not be ignored, I do not think him the same kind of threat - if nothing else, he too opposes Ignatius, though in a different way, and for a different reason.

"Khorain... I have seen what your gift has done. It was... unfair, and possibly counterproductive, for you to mark out those claimed by 'Myria' in the same light as those who sell themselves into damnation. The benediction is not only gained by the Prayer of Myira, but transmitted by the act of procreation, because I wished to deny Ignatius as many souls as possible. I would suspect that at this point the majority of those 'blessed' do not even know they carry Myria's blessing, instead being descended from someone who prayed the prayer.

"That, and Myria's benediction only gives me last refusal - I had to accept some drawbacks to make room for its contagious nature. The call of reincarnation is stronger than the Benediction as it stands; thus in humans, the benediction has no effect."

~~~

It was the nature of life to develop, to adapt. That which adapted survived, and passed its adapted nature to its children; that which refused to adapt paid with death.

Mammals of various forms thus sprung from the original few. None of them were perfectly designed, but all were better adapted to their chosen niche than any predecessor had been. Many plants similarly developed, though all were doomed to be eaten by "superior" beings eventually - indeed many survived because of it, cultivated by Imps or Humans to provide food.

As it was in the nature of life to adapt, so it was in the nature of people... including necromancers. Gyosatha would have been perfectly happy, even amused, with the cycle of reanimated tissue coming to feed a whole set of custom species, but those who raised the dead would not simply bow down to circumstance. It would be generations before the many innovations that followed were collated and correlated to form a coherent new discipline, but one stood out among all others by dint of succeeding.

For many years, Grieving Vines served to obstruct the creation of zombies, but in the end, they were simply worked into the art. Zombies were still the easiest of undead horrors to create, but now the truly skilled raised Children of the Vine, walking corpses infested with Grief Vines and bound with spells that caused the vine to be part of the horror instead of a parasite. As vine was a more flexible connecting tissue than flesh, the Children of the Vine were far less vulnerable to a Vuk'toor charge - although they rarely came out unscathed, neither could they count on being destroyed. Spitting Fleas could still eat their flesh, but a Child of the Vine did not need flesh to remain animate, and Spitting Fleas had no interest in plants.

~~~

A tribe of Imps was forming in the dangerous, but fertile lands of the werewolves. Though their numbers were strong, they felt that they had to really change their land permanently in order to tame it, in order to feast from it in a lasting fashion without fear of being eaten themselves by wild animals. Thus, these imps cut down trees all around them, for fuel or for building material or just so that their home would have a large area around it where hostiles could not hide. Before anyone could condemn them for burning down a chunk of the forest for their own benefit, they had already named themselves the Burners, with something of a hint of pride, associating fire and the burning of wood with everything "good" in life. Indeed, many of them ritually held their arms over a fire, and their leaders were expected to sacrifice a body part to the flames upon ascension.

5 AP gained

0x16: Create Least Species x16: Wildcats, Leopards, Lynxes, Hyenas, Civets, Bears, Seals, Walruses, Coyotes, Jackals, Foxes, Wolves, Otters, Badgers, Weasels. Not each mentioned in the post because that's literally just a selection of Wikipedia entries of IRL species. By my count it's been 19 days since I posted, and I've already made four Least Species, so 37 CLS left.

0x25: Create More Least Species x25: Barley, Buckwheat, Maize, Oats, Rice, Rye, Wheat, Apples, Apricots, Bananas, Oranges, Lemons, Limes, Grapefruit, Plums, Pears, Grapes, Mangoes, Artichokes, Onions, Potatoes, Soybeans, Tomatoes, Cucumber, Garlic. 12 CLS left.

1 AP: Create Concept "Agriculture", either a subset of Science or Artifice, a set of methods by which intelligent species exploit plants for their personal gain, far too broad to count as a single Resource. Although Gyosatha definitely nudged people into inventing Agriculture, it is likely that within a few mere millennia they'd have worked it out themselves.

1 AP: Create Lesser Species "Children of the Vine", essentially skeletons held together by undead Grieving Vines, who can lose all their flesh to Spitting Fleas and Vuk'toor attacks and still be mostly functional. The invention of necromancers trying to work in a world that contains these undead-hunters, the Vine Children were not even Gyosatha's idea.

1 AP: Create Imp Tribe "Burners", imps trying to form a permanent residence in Virigar's forest. This has led to lots of cutting down trees to make space and/or fire and/or houses. The Burners have an almost religious relationship with fire, routinely getting deliberately burnt as a religious ceremony, or even sacrificing bits of themselves to the flames.

Reality Glitch

2015-01-01, 03:17 PM

While I do not readily refuse to join forces against those who threaten the balance of Creation...
... I want to know more of those who request my help in such a quest.
It would be vain and even counter-productive to help fight one evil if such victory only serve another one.
Speak, Masked One. Tell us about you, about your hopes for Creation, about your fears and, most of all, about your actions."My hopes are that our respective children can grow to a point were they no longer need us or our guidance; my fears are that they may be corrupted be for they get such a chance; my actions are either long past or enough in the future that even I know not what they'll be."The other gods are slower to trust me then the Forest Lord, but they have good reason: I was not able to play the particulars of their personalities the what they care most about was not as obvious, though, they also appear to be more complex characters.

Back on Arcnia, the J'Ra'Kin have unified and and started adopting other sentient/sapient species into their newly formed sovergn, though it has yet to reach national status. It is only a matter of time until they reach the full potential their homeworld can offer.+3 for the new year. A.P. at start of year: 10

Create Species (1 A.P.): Misc. Various sentient races scattered across the belt, they can't crossbreed but are such minorities that they're technically grouped together. Each tribe/city is a single distinct race reaching a distinguishable population-mass, though still a minority.

Organize Tribe (1 A.P. each): Runners. A race of upright standing Bear-Dogs. Standing anywhere from nine to twelve feet in height, their torso and head are approximately human-sized, though their arms are 1/2 to 3/4 that of a human, the rest of their height is in their legs which taper out from their hips ending in feet of similar shape to that of an elephant. Their hand are large, webbed, and paw-like; this gives them a mitten like look. They live in coastal or urban areas. Their natural predators are monstrous sea-creatures. They are extremely social and emotional, tending to linger on positive emotions.

Vector. Four-armed, four-eyed, tailless upright omnivorous bovine with slate-colored fur, dark grey head-hair, and wedge-shaped ears sticking out the side of their head. Males stand six to seven feet and females never break 4'6". The most notable feature is the physical characteristics humans would associate with with each gender are possessed by the other. (As it would look to a human: male vector have female characteristics and females have male characteristics, including genitalia) They are slightly technophobic, while they can stand to be around hi-tech and those who poses it for extended periods of time without freaking out, they themselves will not use anything as advanced as medieval-Europe-level or more. Females are usually kept within village boundaries as most are rather frail and do not physically mature beyond childhood. They live in savana and wetland type locals. Vector are zealous, especially when excited; males are always pushing themselves in whatever task is at hand.

Ormagna. Hairless, scaleless, synapsids Ormagna are hunched over on all fours with long powerful mole-like claws, and a deceptively frail-looking frame; they are the tunnel-building species of Arcnia. Their heads resemble that of a dinosaur, tough thick skin covering covers their vestigial (though still functional) eyes, preventing them from ever being exposed to both harm and light, and large gaping mouths that can unhinge like a snake's. They are introverted and moderate hermits, aside from mating for life and caring for their offspring, they will not seek the presence of others, though they do not actively avoid it either. There are rumors of mysterious mass-gatherings of Ormagna, but this has never been confirmed. Speculation suggests some sort of religious reason for the gatherings.

Shapeless. Ooze-like changelings, they are composed of a fibrous chitin. While in the shape of another they are still clearly a Shapeless, but can mimic form and manerism enough to not come off as "rather creepy" and integrate well into society, though always as their own subgroup.

Organize City (5 A.P. - 4 for four tribes = 1 A.P.): Urban Runners. This is a separate population of runners that live in urban and suburban areas instead of more rural coastal areas.

Organize Nation (12 A.P. - 12 for three cities + 2 for including a legendary species = 2 total A.P.): Arcnian Imperial-Republic (.air) govern by the J'Ra'Kin Democratic-Monarchy (J.D.M.), this includes the cities of Room, Hands' Reach, and Urban Runners, as well as the Runner, Vector, Ormagna, and Shapeless tribes.

Action Points at end of day: 2

ArlEammon

2015-01-01, 05:16 PM

Gyosotha And Ignacius

"You." Ignacius said as if the word was a cussword. The Elder god appeared before Gyosotha. "I will have your divine ichor for wine." He threatened. "You gave your benedictions and right of last refusal. That is fine. But you have marred my essence with purity and false memories of redemption. I will not abide by this. I am the essence of all that is evil in the universe. You will renounce yourself and back off, or I will devour you."

Reality Glitch

2015-01-01, 05:32 PM

The Evil god apperated into the meeting and began throwing accusations.

I myself become lost in the sudden outburst, unable to follow his words. Either because I was still restricting myself to mortal concepts of comprehension or it just went so fast, I can not say, but I intervened none the less.

"I WILL NOT LET YOU INTRUDE UPON THESE NEUTRAL GROUNDS WITH DIRECTLY HOSTILE INTENT! :smallfurious: IF YOU WISH TO FIGHT ONE, ANY, OR ALL OF US TAKE IT TO THE BATTLEFIELD! :smallyuk: BEGONE WITH YOU!"

With that I managed to push him back, but only just so, I'd have to devote everything I have to keep him out indefinitely, and I do not have the attention span for such effort.Upgrade Artifact (1 A.P.): The White mask can now generate a "Deadlocked Aura". As long as full concentration is kept on keeping the outside out and the inside in nothing can pass through the edge of the field unless the The grand artist or its host wills it.

Halna LeGavilk

2015-01-01, 05:37 PM

Khorain's Workshop, The Risen Continent, The Gathering World

When Gyosatha finished speaking, Khorain shrugged. "How long before your benediction is yoked to the will of another, Gyosatha? It is but a matter of time before the Ignacious or the War God uses the Benediction for their nefarious purposes. And of course, it is exactly because it is transmitted through progeny that all who have it must be excluded from the general population. A quarantine, if you will. Though I do have pla-"

Khorain felt the divine essence moments before it arrived. Stepping into a battle trance, the many-fold paths of the future collapsed in Khorain's mind just as Ignacious appeared in the world. The first thing Ignacious would see, moments after he finished his vitriol laden speech, was the tip of Khorain's sword, nary a foot before his. Khorain's eyes were wide, and blue as the deep ocean as the alien geometries of the future raced before his mind's eye. "I'd be very, very careful if I were you, Ignacious. Threats will not serve you here. It would be in your best interest to keep a civilized tongue."

ArlEammon

2015-01-01, 05:46 PM

Reality Glitch

2015-01-01, 07:06 PM

"Gyosotha is attacking my spirit! He is transforming me into that which I hate the most! I will not have it!" Ignacius said in a vicious hiss. "I am into the sort of thing as twisting souls. . . is Gyosotha really no different from I?" He rhetorically accused. "And I am the first among us all, the most powerful god, the First Born! There is no threat posed by this petty Council!"But thy be mistaken O-Arrogant Tyrant, you know not of the endless cycle I have seen manyfold and you arrived only in this iteration." Great, I thought to mayself, I thought I had the power to hold him from here at least somewhat, unless.... I shifted through the angel's mind and found that it was the one that is allowing Ignacius past the Deadlocked Field. Apparently it wants to hear what the devil has to say.

ArlEammon

2015-01-01, 07:47 PM

Ignacius
"Well it sure took you your sweet time to come back home grandpa!" Ignacius retorted. "I am the Primevil force of all Damnation! Gyosotha shall fall into a sea of red!" Ignacius transformed into a massive force of malevolent red light. Tendrils of evil transformed themselves into giant scorpion stings and lashed out at Gyosotha, and attempted to rip him out of the dead zone, as the blood red light soared outside the Dead Zone and into the Void.

Sephir

2015-01-02, 09:22 AM

Skarn Smiled, So, It Begins. The First True War. . With a mighty Howl, he beckoned his Children, the Warbringers Forward , Counting to the hundreds of Thousands arouns his seat, a throne with the skulls of all who have dead in anger or in war. "This is your Test Sons of Skarn. You will fight your first true Battle, And for that, i shall give you the needed weapons". He motioned below, to the Volcano Of brass. He had created a mass of Forges from them, Weapons and Armor made from fire, hate and blood . Tools of War, unequaled in Creation. He had a tribe of Warbringers, the Makers, to make equipment fit for his army . As his legions Equipped themselves, testing the new weapons, He motioned his hand, as he manipulated Divine Energies to open a portal between the worlds. The moon of the Heave Grew Red, as the armies of Slaughter Began to March . Meanwhile, Skarn Himself Went to the Void, seeking the other two gods, With the Sword he made himself to Fight Ignacius

Alter Land: 2 AP. Portal to The realm of battle to heaven
Alter Land 1: THe Forges
Create Tribe: THe makers 2 AP
Create Concept: Blood Forged Arms and Armor 1 AP
Create

Omegonthesane

2015-01-02, 03:18 PM

Khorain, and the apparently ancient being in the mask, reacted violently to Ignatius' intrusion. Gyosatha, on the other hand, simply stood there and looked confused, even as the flesh was torn from the imp corpse it was possessing. The red light burned the flesh of its puppet away, the tendrils ripped at its body, and parts of it fell away, yet not enough parts. The imp puppet fell through another dark portal, this time intraplanar rather than interplanar, landing on the branch of a tree - in sight, but out of range of the Father of Damnation. The imp puppet sat on the branch, clinging with its one remaining arm, letting its one remaining leg dangle towards the ground; it looked at Ignatius, and what was left of its face appeared to convey confusion. It was not intense enough to really be called a glare - after all, a glare would imply hostility, instead of confusion and curiosity.

"Four questions. Why do you think I have interfered with your spirit? Why do you even think I know the spells to attempt such a thing? Why do you think harming this puppet will diminish me in the slightest? Why do you think one can stand a chance against four?"

Johel

2015-01-02, 04:03 PM

"Four questions. Why do you think I have interfered with your spirit? Why do you even think I know the spells to attempt such a thing? Why do you think harming this puppet will diminish me in the slightest? Why do you think one can stand a chance against four?"

Khorain's Workshop

With this question, are you assuming we will defend you, Scavenger ? What a curious idea...

Yet, as Valga was saying those words, her left hand glowed, a thin pole of solid light as high as herself forming while other, smaller lights shined quietly from her ankles, wrist and forehead before multiplying and spreading to her whole body, encasing it in a light armor the color of ivory. Silver runes ran all along the curves of the torso, the greaves and wristbands. The same runes could be seen snaking around the spear that the goddess was now holding.

STARTING: 2 AP (last action) + 3 AP (3 days)

CREATE ARTIFACT : The Spear of Valga (1 AP)

The spear is a divine weapon, the manifested will of the goddess to stand and fight against what she sees as a danger for Creation or for her friends.
The peaceful Valga put a shard of her own essence into this weapon to focus a part of her power into agression and increase her lack of martial experience.
It is however sentient and has a will of its own which allows it to prevent from harming a creature, be it god or mortal, that doesn't have any hostile intention.
Valga saw this as a safeguard, should her own temper get the best of her reason.

(the armor of Valga is merely cosmetic and isn't a artifact... yet)

REMAINING : 4 AP

Omegonthesane

2015-01-03, 10:57 AM

Khorain's Workshop

With this question, are you assuming we will defend you, Scavenger ? What a curious idea...
"Not especially. I am only assuming that you would follow your stated and expressed desires, and oppose the thing most offensive to yourself."

ArlEammon

2015-01-04, 12:23 PM

Ignacius

"I devour thee!" Ignacius cursed. "With the Abyssal fumes I breath damnation upon you all!" Ignacius ignored any questions turned towards him and his red flashing light brilliantly shot into all of his foe's faces. A monstrous creature, like a swirling mass of red tentacles barbed with a scorpion's sting at the end attempted to shred his enemies apart. He shrugged off any blow for now, but attempting to do battle with more than one equal opponent was beginning to tire even a deity.

Omegonthesane

2015-01-06, 02:53 AM

The red light of Ignatius impacted with a barrier of utter darkness, possessing a chill that made the coldest grave seem like a bonfire, and even the great tentacles recoiled from the barrier surrounding Gyosatha's puppet. Those that did not necrotised, going from flesh to dust in moments.

What looked like tendrils emerged from the severed limbs of the puppet, though on closer examination they were flies, hundreds upon thosuands of dead rotting flies clinging together to form two improvised limbs for their Corpse God. With these hideous new appendages, the puppet stood up, still making no effort to strike back even though it was now bothering to defend itself.

"And I thought Valga was childish. You gain nothing by this act."

~~~

Many Imps spread to places that simply did not belong to Imps. These refugees found it useful to have a common language, common symbols, and eventually - almost by accident - the quasi-tribe of Gutter Rats formed within the bowels of Koraeth, cowering from the world or selling it illegal things.

Desperate to cheat Damnation of its prize, the world's necromancers made new and dire progress. Those who had bargained away their souls resorted to transforming themselves into Ghouls, hideous parodies of life which were damned to rot for all eternity, forced to eat the raw flesh of once-living beings to sustain their cursed existence - but an eternity of horror and madness was an eternity all the same, and a Ghoul would never die so long as it fed.

This coincided with the greatest work of the Burners - the city of Impheim, set in a large burnt patch near the edge of the Great Forest, a tall crude edifice capable of housing hundreds of thousands of imps. As the children of the Corpse God, it was only natural that many imps possessed the magic of the Corpse God; thus, Impheim was also the first great gathering of necromancers, and an opportunity for them to collaborate and enhance their art.

Those Necromantic spells which were not simply the creation of undead servants could be broadly split into two main groups. The Animancers studied the nature of souls, and were able to call up dead souls for communion or to imprison them in shrouds of enchantment, or to turn them into intelligent mockeries of life such as Ghouls; less impressive, though by no means impractical, applications included causing irrational terror in specific souls, so that they fled.

The Thanatomancers were more interested in things physical, and studied the manipulation of flesh - and gained their name because nearly all their secrets were only good for killing people, living or undead. They were able to steal a being's strength away, rupture the flesh of their enemies with torturous wounds, curse their enemies with flesh-eating diseases, dispel the spells that held undead beings together, and alter and fuse dead bodies to create truly horrid undead abominations. Indeed, these abominations were considered a more lasting tool than zombies, for they had the power to add external corpses to themselves in order to grow in strength or repair damage.

6 AP gained, 2 AP saved

1 AP: Create Concept "Ghouls". By a certain necromantic spell, mortals can condemn themselves or others to rot for all eternity, forced to eat raw flesh to reverse their decay and thus prolong their cursed existence. The benefit is that Ghouls can live for all eternity if they keep eating, and can thus escape Damnation. Treated as a Concept instead of a Race because anyone can do it to themselves.

1 AP: Organise Imp Tribe "Gutter Rats", which have their origins in a people smuggling network that branched out into black market sales

5 -1 Skull Takers -1 Halos -1 Burners -1 Gutter Rats = 1 AP: Organise Imp City "Impheim", in an artificial clearing made by burning out a chunk near the edge of the Great Forest

1 AP: Create Concept "Animancy", the use of Necromancy to manipulate souls

1 AP: Create Concept "Thanatomancy", the use of Necromancy to manipulate bodies... mostly to kill bodies and destroy the undead, really.

1 AP: Create Lesser Species "Abominations", horrible creatures made by fusing together multiple dead bodies with Thanatomancy, capable of absorbing more corpses after their creation to heal or to grow.

2 AP remaining

ArlEammon

2015-01-06, 07:35 PM

"Feel the breath of Cocytus! I condemn usurpers of Damnation with the coldest hate of Hell!" He attacks with might that he should not have. . . drawing on the strength of his worshipers. . . He attempts to grow in power enough to overcome the advantage in numbers his enemies possess. "You cannot hope to defeat me! You know nothing of Damnation!"

Sephir

2015-01-07, 05:05 AM

IGNACIUS! YOU COWARDLY TRICKSTER! A voice boomed in the EMpty void As a blood Red Star Descended on the battlefield. Whith a howl that could Shatter Continents, Skarn Fell upon the Red Light, striking it a mortal blow with Angrath, The Breaker of Divinities, The Greatsword he had forged to punish Ignacius. The Blade grew Pitch Black, Absorbing the Red Light into itself . I'LL PAINT THE UNIVERSE WITH YOUR BLOOD! YOUR HEAVEN IS BURNING IN THE FLAMES OF WAR, AND YOUR HELL WILL SOON FOLLOW! YOUR DAMNATIONS WILL BE BROKEN BY THE MIGHT OF SKARN!

ArlEammon

2015-01-07, 02:02 PM

"The souls of your warriors feed me with their blood!" Ignacius retorted. . .but he felt himself began to hunger. He lashed out with his tendrils of opaque light. . . the scorpion stingers on their ends whipping against the god of war, Skarn. "Damnation is war's dream of ambition! You cannot hope to over come the ancient god of evil!"

Johel

2015-01-07, 03:17 PM

"-That is enough !!

Seizing the opportunity as Igniacius was fighting off two gods now, Valga threw herself into the air, far above the divine brawl, outshining the suns themselves as she dove down to her prey, spearhead first. Her landing was a flash of blinding multicolored lights that teared appart the evil god's very shape, blasting away the tentacles, tails and stings and ending the bits hurling through the cosmos. She bounced back... and landed again at the swirling mass of malignious red light, only to bounce again, her assaults followed by a sonic explosion. She kept at it for an eternity, sometimes being blocked or even thrown back but still landing hits more often than she took one, as Ignacius couldn't afford to give his full attention to her without opening himself dangerously to his two other adversaries.
Eventually, though, she relented, diving one last time into the (now gapping) breaches of her foe before jumping back up, up, up... until she disappeared.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Far beyond the gathering world, the goddess traveled, crossing the void of the cosmos like a wild comet, circling through the system and letting gravity modify her course, lenghtening the journey by a few more seconds as all her speed let for mortals to see in the night was thin, continuous white light dividing the sky as far as the eyes could see. Yet, after several revolutions, Valga reached her destination... and crashed right back in the craddle from which she was born.
While gods were battling each others, the goddess endured the intense heat of an giant blue star, reaching for the core as her very essence was stripped of her by the solar waves raging inside the star, peeling layer after layer of Valga's skin. She did reach it though.
And then there was light. And She saw that it was good...

--------------------------------------------------------------

As the battle kept raging between the trio, none felt the gradually rising heat, too busy as they were to outpower and outwit each others. Ignacius, as the most powerful of the lot, was the first to notice the change. The gigantic pilar of boiling plasma crashing on his back helped, too... and so did the five others that followed.

STARTING: 4 AP (last action) + 5 AP (5 days)

ALTER LAND: The Blue Star (1 AP)

REMAINING : 8 AP

Omegonthesane

2015-01-07, 07:24 PM

To think, that not one, but three gods could be so infantile as to waste their efforts on pointless symbolic conflicts... well, two gods - Skarn was certainly being infantile, but all his actions betokened a being that could harvest conflict like Gyosatha harvested decay. Such a being would have an entirely rational incentive to pick relatively impressive fights.

The threat against which Gyosatha had focused its efforts, against which it had created the Benediction of Myria, against which it had sought alliance with childish gods, now seemed far less impressive. How could he be so invested in bawling and redefining Damnation to pretend he was stronger than he was? How could he be so quick to gamble that his cult of useful idiots would even tip the odds in his favour against a single rival, let alone against two earnest foes and a target that had shrugged off his attacks?

Gyosatha's first instinct was to flee, yet quickly it realised there was a rational reason to remain standing. If Ignatius were to fall in battle, to be found wanting by his own childish terms, then he would be unlikely to bother the council in this way ever again. Now that he was distracted by two other foes, it was worth actually counterattacking.

A small dark portal opened near Ignatius, sending a high-pressure jet of the corrosive filth secreted from Gyosatha's body in the Sick Land. It could dissolve enchanted steel like water engulfing sugar, and no living flesh could touch it without permanent, hideous scars - to say nothing of the many diseases it carried, from the nightmare bacteria that feasted on Gyosatha's flesh. The Corpse God pointed this jet at the holes left by Valga's pillars of plasma, making sure it would flow past Ignatius' protections and into his most vulnerable areas.

Perhaps as he erupted with buboes, warts, open sores, blisters, and many other painful side effects of disease, the father of damnation would rethink his unprovoked frontal assault.

1 AP gained, 2 AP saved

0x2 AP: Create Least Species (Bacteria, Viruses)

1 AP: Create Concept "Disease", afflictions caused by the interaction of bacteria or viruses with living beings

2 AP remaining

ArlEammon

2015-01-07, 08:09 PM

Though Ignacius was beginning to falter almost irrevocably, he still kept his ground. . . showers of thunder bolts fell down from the Void like rain drops. . . instead of a drizzle or rain, it was like a monsoon of flashing lightning bolts pelting his adversaries. The mortals in the world down below could see the dancing light and would make stories of it that would last forever. Ignacius screamed in his voice in such a shrill condemnation against his enemies that the ice and frigid cold exploded like an explosion capable of shattering entire nations, and rendering the world into an ice age. Ultimately, the attacks from all the deities were too much even for his crafty ways.

An attack from one side, even if avoided, was met with a face full of sword on the other side. Finally, the attacks from all his enemies put him down. . . however, the world was changed. An evil wind howled across the world, which would become a nightmarish torment.

-5 AP Curse: (-1 Curse on all sapient races) Ice Age. . . not a natural phenomenon, this Ice Age was born of Ignacius'es hate against all the god's creations. A certain number of blood sacrifices, offerings, warlocks, conversions, etcetera must be given to the Dead God in order to be appeased, or else a horrifying cold falls across the lands of the cursed race. Even if someone escapes damnation, their body freezes if they die under the curse and they continue to suffer unless their body is cremated. Their corpse releases nightmares for those who love or care for them. It could even extend to rulers who love their people, so it could possibly cause societal problems and disorder as well. The longer the curse is unappeased, the worse that the Winter becomes. Entire villages, towns, etcetera, that fall under the curse allow the Damned to inhabit their dwellings and defend the ghost towns from the living. Anything is better than Hell, even if their still suffering the bitterest of cold.

At the moment, the spell of Mahaman is the only way to cleanse a ghost town of the Damned.

Sephir

2015-01-08, 06:24 AM

You sought war against the god of war! Skarn laughed, cutting down IgnaciusYour defeat was Certain ! Here is my decree! I shall scar your being for the rest of eternity !. With one final slash, a huge shockwave echoed against the realms, as the slash Cut through Ingnacius very soul. This scar would never heal not fully, the eternal mark of The blood gods victory against this foolish god

But another scar was formed, in the world of ment, a rift between worlds as the echo of Skarns blade made a crater in the Earth. Grinning, he returned to his ever growing throne of skulls . The Warbringers, fresh from conquering heaven and slaughtering its meek inhabitants, moved to bigger prey. Soon, cries echoed from the portal

"Blood for the blood God ! Skulls from the skull throne!"

Alter Land : The scar 2 AP

Johel

2015-01-08, 05:04 PM

The battle was over for the gods. The feud would last for the eons to come, though... and the mortals were to endure much suffering from it. The curse that Ignacius had unleashed was wreaking havoc through the lands of Angels and Humans alike, the young tribes stricken with sorrow as a harsh, dark winter settled in. Families were dying by the hundreds while the Cult of Ignacius, still alive despite the lack of answer from their patron, called to the pour tortured souls of the orphans, luring mortals into bargaining an eternity of suffering in exchange for a few hot meals and the short-live warm but dishonest company of their "Brothers". Meanwhile, with death creeping in each household, undead wasn't far away. From the smokes of Impheim's burned ground, the false promises of eternal life was spreading to the scholars of the world. The corpses of various creatures were animated on a scale never seen before. But while those grotesque puppets were mostly harmless, the rabid flesh hunters that haunted the lands were of much pressing concern, what with mothers using now tales of the hungry ghouls to quieten their children.

It took a while to Valga to notice the changes in the world of mortals, as her senses had to attuned to her new perspective. Not that she would have cared much to look if she could have. The one she thought her ally had disappointed her
While she still couldn't agree with Gyosatha and assumed the feeling was mutual, the Corpse-God at least had showed enough respect as to openly discuss their differences of opinion, seeking an understanding and showing deferrence to his host. The Scavenger was a threat but at least you could reason with it, however hard and mind bogging it was.
Ignacius had showed no such goodwill. His reprehensible actions were not born of ignorance, misunderstanding or accidents : the Great Beast knew fully well that he was stepping on the dominions of other gods. He also knew that his actions would eventually spark conflict and yet he did nothing to prevent it. All the opposite : the very instant he felt unwelcomed, he attacked ALL assembled gods.
Each had done what he thought best to restore peace : Gyosatha had dodged and then blocked the attacks. The Masked One had tried his best to hold on Ignacius. Skarn The Bloody had attacked.
Khorain, host of the meeting, had done nothing. This had decided Valga to take matters in her own hands and she had joined the battle to make it stop. Yet, as soon as she had started her attack, she had realized that Ignacius was far too strong. That a goddess with such little source of power had little chance to do more than mosquito bites to a maelstrom of pure malice like Ignacious. Hence why she had claimed a whole star as her own and directed its very power at her foe. Yet, it had not been enough. And yet Khorain had done nothing. Not a move, not a word. Nothing.
Valga had lost faith in the first intelligent being she had met right after her birth and whom she thought her friend and admired. It was a trauma and it took her some times to overcome it and gaze at the world of mortals again.

What she saw infuriated her and pushed her to act.

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"-Nothing born or made by the dark spells of Necromancy shall walk under Our gaze !! Shall these foul creatures be touched by daylight, they shall burn until only dust remains to be carried away by the wind !! So shall it be for all things tainted by Necromancy, be they dead or living. Let those that try to avoid the grave so much that they would kill their brethren be cursed to hide in the coldness of shadows and night for all the eternity they crave !!"

Following her words, sunrays carried her divine edict upon the worlds and proceeded to apply her command, burning all undead they touched, forcing the monsters and their masters to retreat or be destroyed. The Day of the Burning Deads would pass through memories as the first of a serie of miracles announcing the end of the Ice Age. Still, it would be several generations of Man before the world be freed from the wrath of Ignacius. And while servants of the Corpse-God had been foiled, they were in noway defeated, what with most of them simply accepting the even more miserable life of ghouls because it was, indeed, better than an eternity of damnation in the Dark God's grasp. And so for this, Valga had yet more boons for the mortals.

"-Let those who stood tall against the darkness be rewarded. For he who praise the light despite a difficult life and reject the corrupted pacts to be given an easy one are truly deserving of Our compassion. To the more deserving of mortals, We grant our helping hand. May he show the way to his brothers and sisters, inspiring them to dream of better days and to not fall prey to despair."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tarnek jumped to the left as the acolyte tried to stab him with his dagger. Using his momentum, the young Entorak launched his right leg under his opponent, using his left leg as a pivot to tackle his foe. As the servant of the Dark One felt, Tarnek grabbed his arm, twisting it so as to make him loosen his grip on the knife. The man had barely the time to scream after his god's help that a solid punch knocked him uncounscious. As soon as Tarnek was back on his feet, he started to run, for if Ignacious was deaf to the calls of his followers, many in these galleries weren't. Already, the dancing lights of torches and the sounds of a startled mob was mounting.
The young warrior fled as silently as he could, set as he was to live so he could save his sister from the Cult... but from each escape road he found, more steps and screams rose. Soon, Tarnek was cornered, back against the wall of the cave as men in crimson robes approached, blades drawn. While nervous, Tarnek did not panic : he was a Entorak, son of the most intrepid people on this world, born and raised to face danger with a laughing smile and triumph to tell the tale... or die and become one.
But today was not the day Tarnek would be made into a saga to be told, retold and twisted by the old ones around camp fire. Today was the first day of his calling.

Bursting through the cave's roof, a meteor covered in blue flames crashed on the acolytes, reducing them into burning crisp while crushing a good dozen of others under rumbles. Tarnek, always the lucky one, wasn't even hurt, though his heart was running like crazy and his mind was confused. But he was a Entorak and couldn't pass upon a challenge... and the still-burning shaft of the silvery spear stuck in the middle of the crater looked like one. Also, it's always good to have a reach weapon when there's enough space to wield it, which the meteor just had done. After all, there were more cultists in those tunnels and the scene of three dozen of their brethren crushed wouldn't keep them afraid for long. Bloody fanatics...
As soon as the mortal grabbed the shaft, a voice rippled against his very soul. No word he could make out but he didn't need them to understand the message of hope, compassion and courage that just overwhelmed his soul. With a stern smile, the first Champion of the Sun charged at the acolytes.

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Tarnek wouldn't become a tale that day because there were to be many tales about Tarnek, each growing more fantastic as generation passed, inspiring young ones to make their own, each generation set on following in the righteous footsteps of giants. Tarnek died some 38 years later, most his body eaten by a pack of ghouls as he was heading a party of Champions to clean a forest of this infestation. The surviving Champions brought back few relics to be buried. But they did bring his spear and, according to the will of the old warrior, it was handed to the more deserving of all Champions. They competed in feats of strength, endurance, wits and heart, each wishing to granted the honor to take the First Champion's mantle. And so it was for countless generations, the Champions of Valga growing from a fad into a brotherhood, hunting down necromancers, undeads, worshippers of the Cult and monsters of all kind, helping communities against injustices and misfortunes. And from the burning star, Valga watched as more heroes flocked, be they humans, angels, imps or others. And always through the spear her words guided the current holder of the spear. Through the mouth of the First Champion, she made herself known of mortals yet didn't call for worship. She shared her vision of what was right and wrong yet didn't call for it to be accepted. She warned of the dark horrors and lies spread by the other gods yet didn't call for a crusade. She was the First Champions motherly guide, much like they were to be guides for all mortals. And a key of her teachings was the free will of all to choose to obey or dissent. She did made known that, one day, she would lift the curse of Ignacius that was damning so many. But she would do so only after a race would prove that it was already pure enough of heart to avoid damnation if no curse stood.

STARTING: 8 AP (last action) + 1 AP (1 day)

CREATE CONCEPT: Wrath of the Sun (1 AP)
CURSE : Wrath of the Sun (2 AP)

Undeads and practicioners of necromancy cannot walk in daylight. If they do, they suffer burns of increasing severity until they are destroyed or out of the Sun's reach. While clothes might reduce the effect, it doesn't immune against it : the simple radiations of the Blue Star are enough to affect the target. The more powerful the necromantic magic, the more intense and quick the curse is to act.
The curse doesn't affect a specific race : only creatures deeply affected by necromancy, either because of frequent spellcasting or because they were MADE through necromancy.

CREATE CONCEPT : Champions of the Sun (1 AP)

This brotherhood of adventurers recruits anyone who wish to fight against the damned, the undead, the warlocks, the practicioners of necromancy, the worshippers of Ignacius and Gyosatha, ect... regardless of races or religions. They work in small and decentralized bands, living of people's generosity, picking members up as they go and letting them retire when they feel like it. They tend to recognize the moral authority of the First Champion, whose rank comes from having been chosen by his peers to hold a holy spear blessed by the goddess Valga herself.

DESIGNATE SCION : First Champion (2 AP)

A mortal holding a holy spear blessed by Valga and allowing the goddess to inspire and guide the First Champion's choices, thus making sure he remains an example worth being followed by other mortals. Unlike other scions, the First Champion isn't immortal or ageless. He does receive a lot of power from the goddess, though. Once he dies, any mortal can seize the spear but it will only be a normal, well-crafted spear if Valga found the mortal wanting.

REMAINING : 3 AP

ArlEammon

2015-01-08, 05:50 PM

Age Of Ice
The sun goddess began to remove the age of Ice. . . but it still tore at men's souls. People would be torn to pieces by souls of the damned, eager to escape Ignacius'es revenge. His sleeping corpse now burned away with a hatred that was still living. The now evil spirit was not Ignacius. . . it was not even a person, but it was a malevolent beast. . . It stalked the lands looking for prey. It was called The Omen Of Damnation.

Udar looked from her prison in the Void and despaired. A light of pure compassion shined in the sky, and she imprisoned the Omen for a short time inside the Void. . . and began to suffer the woes of the Omen and it's children, feeding them all with her own soul. She suffered more than any soul in the hells, and she deserved to be their least.

-6 Scion : The Omen of Damnation :
An evil energy of pure malice and darkness emerged from Ignacius'es corpse. It is a Scion also infused with the energy needed to reproduce monsters after it's own likeness. These are called, "The Forsaken". They are made of the souls of the damned. Each drop of blood inside them feels like many millenia of agony from the souls they are comprised of, as if the souls of the damned were trapped in endless cycles of their flesh being torn off until they were nothing but skeletal remains. The more the Forsaken were born into their material bodies, the more suffering that the Damned suffered.

The Forsaken did not care. They suffered WORSE. They hated all the living. There is no way to tell what form the Forsaken will take before they are born. However, the Omen Of The Damned constantly bled the damned creatures, mysteriously existent within Ignacius, through wounds in it's body. The Omen of the Damned could relieve it's pain by spreading malice and cruelty. The more evil it's deeds, the more relief it could acquire. The Forsaken also lived off the pain of others, with their acts of torture and murder becoming like a drug to them.

The Forsaken all had powers based on Ignacius'es domains, but they were not all the same from one another.

Omegonthesane

2015-01-10, 09:31 AM

The Father of Damnation had proven himself to be the most infantile of fools. Yet, this did not diminish the foolishness of Valga, who it seemed would rather repeat the dark one's mistake - would rather fight on two fronts than swallow a bitter brew. She had gone so far as to make the blue sun itself hostile to ghouls - making it hostile to zombies, or Children of the Vine, would at least have made sense, but ghouls and ghouldom were the enemy of Damnation by existing. After all, while a soul was trapped inside a ghoul, it could never face the hospitality of Ignatius, and would have little to fear from his Ice Age.

Gyosatha had long seen mortals as profoundly beneath it, yet all of its efforts to deny souls to Ignatius, and to attempt to comprehend Valga's position, had forced it to understand something of mortal nature. It applied Valga's self-proclaimed metric to the matter, her claim that whatever offended the least was the least wrong, using its understanding of what would offend a mortal, and it found her own logic wanting.

Many mortals did not have a strong concept of free will - they acted on their desires, or resisted one desire in the name of a stronger desire, and did not think too hard about whether their choice was 'free' or preordained. After all, many mortals did not have many meaningful choices, especially in cruel Ignatius' ice age - they had the choice of starving or looking for food. In those areas that resorted to appeasing Ignatius, free will was hardly on the agenda - the sacrifices were rounded up from those who could be coerced, those who could be forced to choose between damning themselves and having their entire family imprisoned, beaten, tortured, and starved to death. Most mortals could not, in fact, imagine how bad it was Below, and faced with the worst that life had to offer even the strongest wills broke like glass.

If Gyosatha's understanding of mortals was right, then they ought to be appalled that Valga had the power to save them, had chosen to delay, and still painted herself as righteous. The power that she had wasted trying to thwart her potential ally was more than enough to break the curse there and then - perhaps she was not as offended by the thought of some subset of people being damned as the Corpse God had thought.

The cultists of Myria were blessed with visions, and spread prophecies of the day when the Ice Age would end. It would take a hundred years, supposedly, for their goddess to gather the power, but the instant she was able, she would undo the curse that had blighted all the world. As the day drew closer, the prophecies became all the more specific, pointing to the exact day of the winter solstice - for even in the grip of such sorcery as the Ice Age the world's normal seasons applied, the cold becoming slightly less bitter in what would once have been summer and being at its worst in what was once winter.

In many quarters, these claims were seen as ridiculous - few felt like taking prophecy at face value, especially prophecy from a faith ostracised by many. Yet, as multiple detailed specific predictions came true, people began to wonder - and all over the world, Myria's prophets claimed that the winter solstice on a particular year would be the day. More importantly, they all declared the same year, instead of simply being all doomsayers.

Then that day came, and many people expected it to be a day like any other - expected, even then, that all the prophecies would be false. Instead, a small black point appeared in the sky, a stellar body which radiated heat without light, and which answered not to normal physical laws but to Gyosatha's power. It spewed heat without light, causing rampant climate change over the course of a single night, as the effects of Ignatius' bitter wind were undone. Many people stared in awe, seeing ice turn to water before their eyes; many others panicked, when they saw that water wash away the foundations of their home, or some of their belongings. Cataclysmic miracles had side effects, after all, and Gyosatha could not be bothered to micromanage away any but the worst disasters from the rising of the Black Sun. The heat of the Black Sun also acted to remove the curse that lay upon dead bodies, allowing them to rest without sending nightmares to their former loved ones - or to be animated, the Corpse God cared not at all, so long as they rotted and decayed instead of being wasted in fire.

The cult of Myria surged in popularity as a result, for most acknowledged that it was her, and not Valga, who had broken the curse. Valga, after all, would have used a more conventional star.

The Champions of the Sun were perturbed to see this new black sun invalidate some of their purpose, by winning some of their battle for them in the name of a god they existed to oppose. Yet, the war was not over. Undead beings still marauded, and far from alleviating the problem the Wrath of the Sun had made their attacks far worse - where before even hermit necromancers had been content to hide on the fringes of society, running farms with sterilised Children of the Vine now they went out of their way to depopulate settlements, to steal what they now could never lawfully gain. Where once Ghouls had been content to hunt in the wilderness, now they clung to areas where dark was near - which was mostly civilisation, meaning they had to prey on innocent people, and often did so anyway out of bitterness and spite towards Valga who had cursed them for daring to cheat Damnation. The cults of Ignatius were still strong, and a force of evil had been created in the time it had taken to break the previous curse.

3 AP gained, 2 AP saved

0 AP: Create Least Species "Spectral Tomatoes". Exactly like regular tomatoes, only they can be interacted with by disembodied souls.

5 AP: Blessing/Mega Shape Land* "The Black Sun", a black stellar object, a fake star which answers to Gyosatha instead of "gravity" or "nuclear fusion". Its immediate effect is to undo the Ice Age.

* whatever the action this negates was, it cost 5 points

Johel

2015-01-12, 03:05 PM

The Black Sun was an insult and a challenge... to which Valga decided not to answer. The goddess had no hubris in her and no use for it either. While the sudden lifting of the Ice Age changed her plans, it wasn't a big set back : Ignacius was still dead or crippled beyond measure, which meant more time for the other gods to tear apart the edicts he had inflicted upon Creation, unwrapping one tread at a time the knot of damnation around the neck of mortals. If the Corpse-God wanted to use a sword to cut that knot right away, so be it : such a feat had probably drained him of a lot of divine energy, offering the world some stability for a while.

While heavily hit by the self-realized prophesy of Myra, the Champions of the Sun were still doing well regarding their purpose. They weren't meant to become a large army but rather to be small beacons of light, gathering people of pure hearth and strong arm into groups of soon-to-be heroes. The tale of Myra putting the Black Sun in the sky and ending the Ice Age was good and all... but it would be forgotten or become a myth with time, much like the sagas of the Champions, with the difference that the tales of the Champions could be believed by anyone, since there were still actual Champions doing the same stuff on a daily basis.
Some worshipped Valga, others didn't but like the ideals the brotherhood upheld. Some carried a spear, other wielded the words of power granted by magic, still others choose to not fight the physical battles, traveling to learn and teach, build and heal, entertain or mend sorrow. Their ranks and dedication increased and decreased over the generations but there always remained at least one pure core band of individuals gathered around the current First Champion and truly dedicated to the goals Valga had set : teach mortals to stand for themselves and cooperate against problems and threats.

And necromancy was one of the threats. Against it, finding inspiration in the burning graveyards of the Ice Age, the brotherhood encouraged people to continue the practice of burning their deads. The bodies of the deceased turn to ashes and nurture the earth, never to be defiled, used or abused by a dark sorcerer, while their memory is carried by their loved ones who are spared the horror of seeing the rotting corpses of relatives walking around either as zombies or as part of a twisted abomination. Along with the Ritual Burnings came many other customs : burning one's own flesh in stylised fashions was a growing fad, along with tattoos and piercings, helped by various mosses and plants discovered by the Champions during their travels. The Champions were a beacon of hope and a vector of progress in many areas.

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But hope alone does very little and to lit a roaring fire, once need first a spark or, even better, a torch. So far, the Champions had been sparks, little more than disorganized bands of vagrants that happened to be kind and courageous but did very little beside helping on a daily basis and eventually retiring into a community where they would remain outsiders. Under the First Champion Naria Swift-Aim, they would become torches.

Naria was already a legend in the southern parts of the Sunny Meadows. Her band had slain several infamous warlocks, tracked a pair of ghouls, killed her share of wild beasts and, soon before her promotion, she had saved a village threaten by a local angel warlord who had turned into a giant red monster. The bloodthirsty thing had killed most of her companions but she had killed it, along with the rest of the bandits that followed it. Hailed as a hero, she had made her duty to find how such a monster could exist... and she had found it, exposing to the Champions of the Sun the existence of the warbringers and how a damned soul could become one if angry enough at being cheated by Ignacius. Her search had also exposed a Cult of warlocks working in the area at actively creating warbringers out of mortals desiring physical power.
It is in purging it that Beorn Musky-Armpits, the then current First Champion, had been killed. Naria was elected First Champion and took the Spear. Her first command was that the Champions needed a better, more structured way of gathering intel and coordinating their efforts. Small bands of fire-forged friends had their charm and were more flexible than large organizations but they were highly vulnerable when working on their own. The death of Beorn could have been avoided if there had been more Champions to support him and if the Cult's lair had been better scouted.

Hence the founding of the first permanent outpost of the Champions. Here, the most famous bands of Champions claimed dominion over the surrounding lands, offering their protection to the clans of shepherds nearby in exchange for food and other goods. The edicts of the First Champion made it so that each person wishing to claim to be Champions of the Sun was to spend at least a year in training at the outpost. The practice of recruiting on the spot whatever brave lad was volunteering was still the norm among bands of Champions but those lads would not bear the title if they didn't succeed the training. Their reward was to be paint their own sigil on the great tapestries of the outpost and to be given a tattoo of the Blue Sun, along with the sigil of the current First Champion. The edicts also made it mandatory for each Champion having worn the title for more than ten years to come at the outpost and teach with success to at least 10 recruits before being allowed to resume his life. No enforcement was planned : honor would be enough and the brotherhood was still small enough that impostors would be identified quickly. At first, only the trade of ranger was being offered but soon, trades as varied as the ways of life of the Champions were taught.

When Naria died of a bad flue at 67 years old, her three daughters were each in command of one of the twenty outposts that had been founded by then. Her legacy was more than a couple of barracks lost on windy hills : the Champions had transformed into an organization that could do more than walk the world and die trying to change it. They had hundreds of tapestries, each covered by hundreds of sigils that each carried anywhere between one and a hundred tales of bravery and kindness. Many veterans, after completing their row of teaching, had chosen to settle permanently at the outposts. Families had followed, being ground for new generations of Champions, better trained and educated in the tradition of the brotherhood. His successor, Furak the Irritable, was a much less remarkable figure but this tale is for another night...

STARTING: 3 AP (last action) + 4 AP (4 day)

CREATE CONCEPT: Ritual Burnings (1 AP)

Some tribes and clans honor their deads by burning the corpses and spreading the ashes into the wind. Most do it to free the spirit, either just for the symbolism or because, as the Ice Age and Necromancy proved, there is the risk of seeing the body becoming the tool of your own doom. There are other reasons, some true and practical while others are just superstition... or it has simply become the tradition. The deads are not the only one concerned : the livings use burns to make ritual scars as a way to mark memorable events : passage into adulthood, birth of a child, dead of a loved one, victory over a foe, miraculous recovery, lucky harvest, successful hunt, pairing of a couple,... or simply to decorate. The fact that the Champions of the Sun are covered in such scars and encourage their uses among the people they help made it into a tradition among many tribes and clans of all races, though not all.

CREATE CONCEPT : Painting (1 AP)

While it hadn't take much time for mortals to learn how to use some colorful plants or rocks to make pretty colors, the rise of such thing into a true, mastered art took time. What were once only shapes has become a way to convey deeper meaning. The Jra'Keen were the first race to count but the human tribe of the Ailorani was the first learn how to truly succeed to communicate more abstract and subjective notions through drawing, thanks in part to Valga's gift several centuries ago. The knowledge was to spread among all mortals over time and to be refine : paintings adorning walls, shields, clothes and even skins were worn with pride and use to convey meanings. The Blue Sun of Valga, for exemple, was seen more and more often as the Champions travelled, bringing along the various plants and minerals they had discovered, offering more possibilities for the growing art to flourish.

CREATE CONCEPT : Rangers (1 AP)

Hunters have existed for a long time, even before mortals. But rangers are a new breed of hunters. They know the land for more than finding food and are as good with a spear to hunt as they are with blades and arrows to fight. Many hunt not to feed but to protect their kin. They hunt down monsters that put their own desires before the well-being and free will of the community. They are also friends of nature, understanding the natural rules of Creation, those that weren't set by the gods and that some of them take as granted without even thinking about it while claiming that "What is natural and unnatural is to be defined by gods". As such, they know how to tame beasts and even create lasting friendship with the wildest of them. They are the scouts of many adventuring bands, with the Champions of the Sun having even set a few outposts for the sole purpose of providing training in this trade to their most promising members. Humans, being better at handling animals than other races, are heavily represented among the ranks of rangers.

REMAINING : 4 AP

ArlEammon

2015-01-12, 06:56 PM

The Apostate Of Myria

A woman named Muriel had followed Myria all her life, ignorant of her being another god. Muriel received a strange vision in her mind during sleep, a magical dream which warned her of straying from the path of Myria. Myria's teachings had always been absolute forgiveness under the stipulation of belief in her. But "Myria" appeared to Muriel herself. Myria demanded more than just belief, she demanded action.

Mother Muriel was born on that day as a new woman, the High Priestess of Myria. Tenants of the new religion included belief in spreading the message of Myria through force, leaving the religion was met with lethal retaliation, but charity, respect of women, the elderly and care of the helpless was mandatory. This new Myrian religion taught that Myria was both a disciplinarian but also a rewarder of those who did good.

-1 Concept : Apostasy, those who are deceived into following a deity under the name of another deity through act of deceit or sincerity are marked by the new deity as a new adherent, and an Apostate by his or her old religion.
-3 Scion : Mother Myria

Omegonthesane

2015-01-13, 03:47 AM

The necromancers of the world refused to bow to the Wrath of the Sun. Their various Thanatomancers had already experimented with restoring damaged flesh, and had perfected a spell to close wounds by forcing dead cells back into life. These masters of the flesh had also discovered a way by which the pain response could be turned into magical power, to be spent on spells. Within a few decades of testing, they had refined the technique of Masochism and the spell of Regeneration to the point that the Wrath of the Sun, once a curse, was now a blessing. Any necromancer could simply Regenerate wounds caused by that fire, for less power than the power they were getting from the pain of the sun's wrath. Any undead properly created could do the same - as the incarnations of necromancy, even mindless undead could be programmed to cast some of its spells.

The undead problem had already been made worse, not better, by the sunlight - where before they had hid far from civilisation, now they needed dark spaces, which mostly meant houses and cities, motivating them to invade and despoil villages and towns rather than stay away. Now, it did not even hide them under the carpet. The new generation of zombies and Children of the Vine were at both their strongest and their most vicious during the daylight, continually Regenerating themselves with the power of the sun, and continually lashing out at the mortal and living due to the constant pain rather than cowering away from it. The new generation of Ghouls, being sentient beings, were able to be more rational about it but did make a point of showing themselves in the sunlight, to rub it in Valga's face that she had only made them stronger. The numbers of the undead grew rapidly, for most of those who had continued to practice necromancy regardless were Imps, so they had plenty of dead Imps to reanimate.

The Wrath of the Sun had nonetheless 'solved' the problem of undead being harmless construction workers by daylight, as mass-produced undead could not ignore the pain, and were instead driven to spread it to others.

~~~

The creation of Necromancy had not been Gyosatha's deed; mortals had the inspiration when it woke, and could not but act on that inspiration, and neither could the Corpse God have kept the inspiration from them. Not once had it acted to modify the development of the undead until the day that the Regeneration-Masochism combo was set up. It set up booths in the Sick Land, to process willing souls who wished to go back to the material world and murder as many people as they possibly could before being banished to the Sick Land again where they would suffer no meaningful consequences. These violent souls piloted the Ash Wraiths, the first undead truly created by the Corpse God and not by mortals, a blight and punishment on all those who dared to burn bodies instead of letting them rot. Whenever a body was burnt, an Ash Wraith would arise from the flames, formed of the ashes to choke mortals to death.

The concept of 'apostasy' that began to turn people from the 'mainstream' Cult of Myria - insofar as a faith based on doing absolutely nothing for its goddess and getting forgiven anyway could be called a single cult - intrigued Gyosatha, creation of Ignatius though it was. The idea that mortals could truly be made to follow the wrong deity, and end up in the wrong hands, was as much scientifically interesting as it was annoying, what with it being yet another revenue stream for gathering souls.

~~~

The conquest of Paradise had largely taken its course; those who earned their eternal reward were surprised and disappointed to find they were instead to serve the Warbringers of Skarn, who maintained a garrison there. Those who did not resist, anyway - most Warbringers could not bring themselves to murder a target that did not resist them in the first place.

Thus it was that they didn't particularly lash out when a black portal opened before Skarn himself, out of it stepping another fresh imp corpse. It bowed, before addressing the god of wrath.

"Skarn. I assume you are aware of me, but allow me to introduce myself - I am Gyosatha, the Corpse God. I wish to discuss terms of cooperation - our domains of war and death are convergent, and we seem to be the only ones in the universe to recognise that Ignatius is threat number one."

1 AP: Create Concept "Regeneration", a Necromancy spell which heals physical damage

1 AP: Create Concept "Masochism", a Necromantic technique which causes physical damage to give you magic points back, which seems especially effective against burns... what with being designed by mortals to thwart the Wrath of the Sun.

1 AP: Create Concept "Ash Wraiths", undead made by combining a willing soul with the ashes from cremation. The Corpse God goes out of its way to create an Ash Wraith using a volunteer from the Sick Land whenever anyone dares to cremate a body.