Where Chaos Reigns (A Godbound Adventure) - IC

[Theoboldi]

Prologue:

Here and Now (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKC5EpGjGLY)

You are gods. Though your ascension has happened only weeks ago, already you feel the immense power of divinity bubbling forth from underneath your skin. Energy that seeks direction, purpose. Energy that desires to be wielded. It was a disorienting change, enough to upheave your entire lives and leave you reeling for an explanation.

You never got one.

You did, however, find each other.

Perhaps you sensed the power you mutually shared, perhaps it was fate that brought you together. But with the help of one another, you were able to master your newfound strength, and learned how to cope with its massive extent. After all, what better to help you hold onto your humanity (or whatever equivalent to it that you might have) than two friends who share your capabilities?

Together, you have formed a young pantheon. And as young pantheons usually are, you too are eager to prove yourselves. And actually, an opportunity has arisen for just that.

The Westwards Woods are a simple place, a wide, peaceful expanse of oak-covered woodlands. Several large lumberjack communities fill these lands, prospering thanks to the plentiful resources and fertile lands. Yet strange events have taken place here recently, odd omens that defy physical reality. Fish falling from the sky, trees blooming out of season, cats and dogs living together!

You wonder. Could something have damaged the celestial engines of these lands? Or is something worse at work here? For the last few days you have travelled the Westward Woods, speaking to locals, examining the odd phenomena, each day closing in on the epicentre of the omens where they reign the strongest.

Now, you have arrived in a deep part of the woods, far away from any sign of civilisation. Though it is early spring, the leaves having off the trees around you are a mix of autumn colors. And though by all means it should currently be day, a deeply blue moon hangs in the sky. Something is very wrong here. And you are very close to its source. Soon, you will break camp, and find out what it is. Until then, you may ready yourselves.

Welcome to Godbound, everyone. Feel free to introduce your characters, maybe describe how they helped out with the investigation in the last few days, maybe do a little light RP. We'll get started with everything else real soon. If you have any particular questions, just ask them.

[Derjuin]

Celestia sits, upon a flat rock with her sword held close, staring out into the woods beyond. She could see the wrongness of the forest, feel the corruption's usurpation of the natural order... and that blue moon that hangs in the sky, blotting out the glorious, so grossly incandescent sun. Instead of pride, she is steeled by the absence of the sun in their mission.

"I cannot stand still much longer, seeing the woods in this condition," she says, continuing to stare out into the forest, speaking to her two companions. "There is no sun to bathe them in glorious light. The trees die out of their season, when they should be full of life." She shifts on the stone, rolling the tip of her sword outward and holding the pommel upwards toward the sky. "Are we ready?"

[The_Iron_Lord]

My character is Matteo Vasari, self-styled Deity of Mercy (and Death). He looks like:
https://i.imgur.com/VvxeLpT.jpg.
His hair is blond and his eyes are a light gray

Matteo leans against a tree, eyes closed in restfulness. His hands are clasped together as he appears to meditate quietly. When Celestia speaks, he opens his grey eyes and nods, saying softly Indeed. They can find no peace in their life so long as the world is out of balance...It is tragic. He stands straight and stretches, yawning as he awakens fully.

I am ready. Should we now go? He wields no weapons, but his right hand flexes slightly as though it did. We must heal this ailing land...

[Theoboldi]

A chilly breeze rolls in as you break camp, filling the air with frigid cold. Unnatural as it is, however, it is not much of a bother between the gentle warmth of Celestia's sunlight and the blistering heat of Zixzax' flame.

Indeed, it only serves as another reminder of the bizarre distortion that has befallen these woods. It's as if all four seasons were happening at once, or perhaps changing too quickly for nature to keep up. You cannot be sure, as none of you are bound to Words that govern such matters.

Still, the latter would fit the way that day and night feel to Matteo and Celestia in this area. Neither of them can tell whether the moon or the sun are dominant in the sky, despite how clearly a moon hangs above, everything seeming as if in a murky flux.

At the very least, what little wildlife you do spot in this area seems not all that perturbed by it, discounting the suffocated carcasses of the fishes that rained from the sky a few days ago. You imagine that quite a few bears and racoons are even greatly enjoying this surprise feast.

The question of how to go forward remains, in any case. Will you simply continue to follow the omens, hoping to find where they are concentrated the strongest? Will you trust in you mortal prowess to guide you to your target, whatever it may be? Or do you perhaps have a divine trick up your sleeve?

[igordragonian]

https://i.warosu.org/data/tg/img/0349/91/1411253924420.gif


Zixzax still in his armor (https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTXCh5NOfrTgAyOS3JdD_aMsZaWJDfr-ssOV9F969KSRtvWTzRg) opening the mask exposing his tiny red scaled face.
'This face is alright, though I would have preffered less wood and nature crap. And a bit more noise of healthy machines.' he grunted.
'I can try to build a compass, if it help in anyway... by the way, I am Zixzax,'

[Theoboldi]

Though his relative lack of experience as a god makes Zixzax question his own abilities, should he try he will find that he can indeed create a makeshift compass with just the things he has in his pockets and what he can scrounge up in the surrounding area, requiring little more than 5 seconds to do so.

By the time he is done, he himself can't help but be slightly baffled at how simple mundane tasks like this have gotten.

Had he a few days, and a small amount of divine Dominion, he figures, he could probably even create magical items, piece by piece or in bulk! Sadly, having committed no great, godly deeds as of yet, he lacks that kind of power.

By the by, Igor, you can assume that your characters know each other already. Sorry if I wasn't entirely clear on that in the intro post.

Also, you can assume that your characters carry around mundane gear like maps of the area and compasses. Even if you weren't gods, I'd assume you have the basic competence to gather the right equipment for travel before heading out.

[Derjuin]

Celestia continues her dauntless trek forward, her heavy armor moving with surprising grace along with her - it makes nary a sound, except the crunching of leaves and the snapping of twigs underneath. "If we follow the corruption, we will surely find its source," she says over her shoulder to Zixzax and Matteo. "It spreads like a disease... such unnatural omens."

She looks to the sky as they travel, her eyes locked on the moon. Though her heart was unwavering, she felt a grave longing for her sister, the old Moon goddess. With a silent prayer of respect and a grunt, she focuses once again on their path, seeking where the corruption is the most depraved.


So I have two facts that might influence her ability to track the unnatural occurrences: familiarity with arcane phenomena, and crusaded against the dark, if either one is partly responsible here. Not sure what I'd roll for this though

[The_Iron_Lord]

Matteo nods to Zixzax, silently appreciative of his engineering skill.

Truly, these are bizarre conditions indeed. Likely the most efficient method of locating the source would be to simply follow the path of greatest corruption--though it is possible that the effects may grow more uniform and difficult to differentiate as we travel closer to the point of origin... .

Matteo will stride deliberately in the direction of greatest corruption if it is obvious--if it is more difficult to discern, then he will attempt to find the correct direction--his perfect night vision should perhaps help in that regard. Additionally, if his scholarly background or magical training would be able to provide any relevant knowledge, he will leverage that.

He looks up at the disarrayed heavens as he walks. It is beautiful in its own way, this warping of nature--never normally are the sun and moon juxtaposed so...

While performing whatever action his knowledge and whatnot dictate to be optimal--walking towards the corruption if it's obvious, looking for it if it's not, etc--he will whisper under his breath what sound like the lines to an incomplete poem.

There once was a wood in the west...
Disarrayed at Chaos's behest...
The moon and the sun...
In the sky as one...

Matteo is also a poet--owing to his educated upbringing--but he has and unhealthy fascination with limericks, so his work is difficult to take seriously :smalltongue:

[igordragonian]

'Let's try.. to locate ourselves, and draw a map, kiddies.' He try to follow the compass to the north

[Theoboldi]

Whenever you think you have to make an attribute check for something, just roll a 1d20 and leave it up to me to chose the relevant attributes and what Facts, if any, apply to it. It's a Wisdom check in this case, which I'll just roll off-screen for expedience's sake. Celestia gets a +4 bonus from her arcane knowledge, as does Matteo from his scholarly background.

Keep in mind that more simple tasks related to your tasks will automatically succeed, so you won't have to roll and wait for my answer on everything.

Also, Iron, would you mind writing down your Attribute Check Numbers next to your Attributes? They are all 21 minus the relevant Attribute Score. That would really help me with figuring out rolls and whether you succeed.

Guided by the arcane knowledge and experience of Celestia and Matteo, as well as the keen eyes of Zixzax, you are able to pick up something of a trail from the bizarre phenomena. From what you can tell, there is no true arcane magic at work here, nor are any dark forces responsible for what is going on. Rather, there appears to be some kind of distortion in the underlying fabric of reality, much the same way as when a celestial engine is damaged.

Still, with your knowledge of the underlying magic of reality, you are able to follow the fault lines and omens throughout the forest, confident that you are going in the right direction.

And eventually, after only about an hour of travel you hit upon the epicentre of the bizarre corruption that has plagued the land. In the middle of a small clearing, there stands a small, wooden cottage. Murky windows, too dirtied to see through, line its walls, and atop a shallow porch the entrance door hangs ever so slightly open. From inside it, you can hear the very busy footsteps of a single person, busily stumbling about.

This cottage stands at the center of it all. You are not sure if it is the source of what is going on, but it certainly is involved in some fashion.

[Derjuin]

Celestia draws her sword and shield, both looking overly large for a being of her size - the shield, nearly a tower shield, though in the traditional kite shape; and the sword, just too wide and long to be an arming sword despite sharing the general shape. She cautiously approaches the cabin, sword pointed away and held behind her shield, and she motions for Matteo and Zixzax to come as well.

"Hail to thee, one of the cottage," she shouts to whoever is inside, digging the bottom of the shield into the soil. Her voice seems to carry some kind of powerful weight to it, as though it's not just loud, but resonates with the heart and mind on some level. "Beseech we to thee, come out, that we might speak."

[Theoboldi]

Immediately as Celestia calls out for the resident of the cottage, the footsteps stop, and an uneasy silence settles over the forest. The silence lasts for several seconds, and just as you are about to go ahead and proceed otherwise, you hear the sound of somebody approaching the cabin door.

Then, it swings open, and out onto the porch steps an old man wearing a deep blue robe with long sleeves and a hood that frames his deeply lined, grey-bearded face. Though his body seems decrepit, his eyes are bright and piercing, observing you closely. Celestia in particular can tell that he is studying your group, and that there is something of a wariness to his actions.

But eventually, he relaxes and speaks up with a firm, bright voice. "So there you are. Celestia of the Sun and Stars, Matteo Vasari, and Zixzax of the kobolds? And you are gods, I take it?" He glances aside for a moment, as if debating with himself over his question. "Yes, of course you are. Otherwise you would not have come here."

He gestures behind himself in an inviting motion. "Please, step inside. I require your help, and I assume you require the answers to more than a few questions from me. Questions that I assure you I will answer to my best capabilities. However, I would rather be comfortable before we begin."

[igordragonian]

Zixzax frowned. 'How do you exxxxxxpect us to trussssst you?"
He didn't trusted anyone who seemed to know more than himself.
Last time he did it, his race was genocided.

[Theoboldi]

The old man looks at Zixzax, his elevated position on the porch allowing him to just about stand on equal footing with the kobold's power armor. "Well, that's quite a rude assumption. That an old man is out to harm you."

Crossing his arms behind his back, he proceeds to walk away, back into his cabin. "If you need a token of my sincerity, I'm afraid I've not got one. However, I do have a shred of knowledge of what plagues these lands. That, and a nice cup of bee balm tea." He turns his head back for one more moment, smiling. "Or do you perhaps prefer coffee, good sir?"

[igordragonian]

Zixzax shaked his head. 'Bah. I'll come in. But I don't drink anything, do something idiotic, and this primitive hut will burn to ashes, faster than any dragon can sneeze!'

[The_Iron_Lord]

As the group approaches the cottage, Matteo readies himself for conflict; he is rather surprised to see something so innocuous at the epicentre of the chaos. How curious--is this the stem of the disorder or merely related, I wonder...

After Celestia calls out and the old man emerges, Matteo raises an eyebrow at the man's appearance. He almost seems to be attempting to follow as many wise, wizardly stereotypes as possible. The god of death meets the man's studying stare cooly, not looking away.

When the cottage dweller speaks, Matteo replies Indeed, we are they. Matteo Vasari at your service. But it would seem that we are at a disadvantage--you know us, yet we do not know you. Might we have your name?

[Theoboldi]

"If you wish so..." the old man replies to Zixzax, seemingly not too bothered after all by the kobold's mistrust.

He looks to Matteo with an affable smile, looking glad for the question. "Ah, how rude of me! I am the Sage, or at least so I am known now." He raises a hand, as if to dispell any further inquiries into this topic. "Indeed, I am just the Sage. Long ago, I had another name, but these days I am rather married to my work. Which I shall explain to you-" There is a short pause as he moves to step back into the cottage.

"-once we are now longer at risk of getting caught in another fish rain. The last time I stayed outside my robes reeked of salmon for days!"

[Derjuin]

Celestia twirls her sword about and returns it to the loop on her back, and makes her way into the Sage's hut. "What of the countryside's fell corruption do you know, Sage?" She says, bluntly, once she's inside and turned about to face him. "And what of your work? What is it that you do?"

[Theoboldi]

Together, though some more weary than others, you enter the Sage's hut. Its inside is dim, built of solid timbers, and the air is heady with the scent of stale incense. Or at least, that's what it seems to be. There is something ever so slightly off about the smell, and Zyxzax recognizes a hint of burning fuels and chemicals. The gentle clinking of wind-chimes fills the air, set in motion as you step through the door.

There are several tables located throughout the room, all except for one filled with a variety of tools and flasks, many of which you all recognize to be arcane in nature. The remaining table is surrounded by comfortable-looking, pillowed chairs, and on it stand a row of cups, a faintly steaming brass tea-kettle, and a smoky clay lamp. The tea smells invitingly minty, though you feel a hint of concern at the fact that the lantern is the only source of light within this room.

There are no windows, even though you saw windows on the outside.

The Sage, meanwhile, raises a hand to stop Celestia's inquiry. "Please, have a seat. I will explain everything to you." You sit down at the table in the center of the room, as he proceeds to pour you tea. Should any of you try the tea, you will find that it is indeed bee balm tea, with a distinct minty, citrus-y flavor. It tastes quite nice, actually.

Once all of you are well supplied with tea, the Sage himself sits down across from you, taking a sip from his own cup before beginning his explanation.

"Look around at this world you call your own. To you, it is everything, yet in the limitless eternity of existence it is but a tiny speck on a tiny speck." From the sounds of it, he has given this speech more than a couple of times, and has rehearsed it to perfection. "In the planes beyond, there are more worlds than a mortal could ever conceive. Infinite universe upon infinite universe. Each of these worlds possess a timeline, a direction of fate upheld by the celestial engines, changeable only by divine mandate.

Or so, it should be." He pauses, in a manner that seems slightly overdramatic to you.

"The corruption of your world is a direct result of the broken timeline of a world called Aelos. You see, this very forest shares one of its engines with this other realm, leading any damages there to have an ill effect here as well."

The Sage takes another sip from his cup as he waits for everything he has said so far sink in. "My people are travellers and protectors, not of lands but of time and space. It is a duty we have taken upon ourselves long ago. And if I may say so, by protecting timelines we have removed much corruption such as the one plaguing this forest.

Most worryingly, however, despite all my efforts to determine the source of what has gone wrong in Aelos, I have not come one bit closer to figuring it out. Luckily, my divinations revealed to me that you would arrive soon. Though we may be strangers now, you are the only hope I have of resolving the situation." Again, he pauses, leaning back and clasping his hands on the table.

"But please, you must have many questions. Ask them, before I head further into details that may only make your head spin."

[igordragonian]

Zixzax has enjoyed hearing the chair creak under his weight.
Well, the weight of his armor.
Yes. He had issues being of the shorter races. You probably woukd have too, if you have seen everyone you knew gobbled like choclate covered grabs on Saint Trap Day.

He looked around with narrowed eyes, with negleting feelings of curiosity and paranoia.
Of course he didn't touched the tea. He waited to see if any of his friends going to explode or turn into a bunny, or explosion of bunnies.
Yes. He has seen it happens once.
Shut up.


"Well... For the sake of this conversation I'll assume that you are honest. Well first, why WE?" He has asked with lizard like hiss.
"Sssecond. What exactlt is wrong? And mossst importantly.. what are your motivesss?"

[Theoboldi]

Despite all of Zixzax's worries, nobody has exploded, at least for now. At the very least, the tea contains no quickly acting poisons. Or explosives. Or potions.

The Sage, meanwhile, proceeds to answer his questions. "I require you because you are divine beings. Were I to enter Aelos and inadvertantly change its past further away from its intended course, it would spell even greater disaster than this current disruption." With a smirk, he adds "I am rather certain neither of us wants that to happen."

He chuckles for a short moment, then more seriously says "You, however, are free to influence timelines and fate as you wish. It's one of the many benefits that being a deity brings with it. And if you are wondering why it is you exactly that I need, I must admit that you simply became divinities in the right place at the right time.

As for my own motives, I simply desire to see the damage that has been wrought onto reality fixed. If you wish to utilize your powers to ascertain this truth, you are more than welcome to do so." He raises his hands in a motion of surrender to anything you might do. Celestia, being as closely tied to emotion as she is, can tell that he is utterly serious about what he is saying. To deceive her mundane senses to this degree, he would have to possess immense skills at deception.


Once you've taken or not taken any measures you wish to examine him, he dusts off his robe, and continues as if nothing happened. "Now, I'm glad that you've asked what is wrong, as this is quite interesting. In the world of Aelos, magic as we know it has ceased to exist. Or rather, has never existed in the first place anymore. Several points in the history of Aelos have been changed, resulting in a world that is entirely without gods and without mages, or even the more magical species that exist in your world."

The Sage puts a hand to his chin, lost in thought for a moment. "Quite a change, isn't it? And I've not got the slightest idea of what is behind this massive change of the timeline. Despite my efforts, my divinations have only gained me a single word." There is a sigh, and a pause, as if he is preparing himself for what he is about to say.

"Oard." (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB73C48mnMg)

Leaning back again, he says "I've no idea what it means, sadly. But it echoes across the fabric of Aelos' reality. Oard stands at the center of it all, I'm sure."

[igordragonian]

Zixzax had to process all this informatiom and croaked thoughtfully.
He wasn't shocked, but it was wierd.
Him?
Zixzax?
A god?
Well someone has humor at least.

'A world without gods and mages doesn't sound so bad. They usually bring more trouble then they worth.'

[Derjuin]

"A world without gods that has corrupted our own," Celestia says, gesturing to Zixzax. "A world without the spark of magic. Without the flames of the divine. And these unbalancing forces have somehow crept through the celestial engines and caused our own world to suffer." Celestia leans against a wall in the hut, arms folded.

"I do not see any other course. Where do we begin? With this... "Oard"?"

[The_Iron_Lord]

Together, though some more weary than others, you enter the Sage's hut. Its inside is dim, built of solid timbers, and the air is heady with the scent of stale incense. Or at least, that's what it seems to be. There is something ever so slightly off about the smell, and Zyxzax recognizes a hint of burning fuels and chemicals. The gentle clinking of wind-chimes fills the air, set in motion as you step through the door.

There are several tables located throughout the room, all except for one filled with a variety of tools and flasks, many of which you all recognize to be arcane in nature. The remaining table is surrounded by comfortable-looking, pillowed chairs, and on it stand a row of cups, a faintly steaming brass tea-kettle, and a smoky clay lamp. The tea smells invitingly minty, though you feel a hint of concern at the fact that the lantern is the only source of light within this room.

There are no windows, even though you saw windows on the outside.

The Sage, meanwhile, raises a hand to stop Celestia's inquiry. "Please, have a seat. I will explain everything to you." You sit down at the table in the center of the room, as he proceeds to pour you tea. Should any of you try the tea, you will find that it is indeed bee balm tea, with a distinct minty, citrus-y flavor. It tastes quite nice, actually.

Once all of you are well supplied with tea, the Sage himself sits down across from you, taking a sip from his own cup before beginning his explanation.

"Look around at this world you call your own. To you, it is everything, yet in the limitless eternity of existence it is but a tiny speck on a tiny speck." From the sounds of it, he has given this speech more than a couple of times, and has rehearsed it to perfection. "In the planes beyond, there are more worlds than a mortal could ever conceive. Infinite universe upon infinite universe. Each of these worlds possess a timeline, a direction of fate upheld by the celestial engines, changeable only by divine mandate.

Or so, it should be." He pauses, in a manner that seems slightly overdramatic to you.

"The corruption of your world is a direct result of the broken timeline of a world called Aelos. You see, this very forest shares one of its engines with this other realm, leading any damages there to have an ill effect here as well."

The Sage takes another sip from his cup as he waits for everything he has said so far sink in. "My people are travellers and protectors, not of lands but of time and space. It is a duty we have taken upon ourselves long ago. And if I may say so, by protecting timelines we have removed much corruption such as the one plaguing this forest.

Most worryingly, however, despite all my efforts to determine the source of what has gone wrong in Aelos, I have not come one bit closer to figuring it out. Luckily, my divinations revealed to me that you would arrive soon. Though we may be strangers now, you are the only hope I have of resolving the situation." Again, he pauses, leaning back and clasping his hands on the table.

"But please, you must have many questions. Ask them, before I head further into details that may only make your head spin."

Matteo steps inside the house courteously, looking around in idle curiosity. He notes the strange lack of windows, but decides against commenting on it--there are more pressing matters.

He takes the proffered seat and takes hold of a teacup. He inhales the refreshing scent, then takes a cautious sip. This tea is delicious. What herbs are in it?

He listens to the Sage's speech patiently, taking sips from his cup every now and then. When the mysterious man is finished, the death god's only comment is: That is worrying. I assume our newfound divinity is in some way related to our potential helpfulness?


Despite all of Zixzax's worries, nobody has exploded, at least for now. At the very least, the tea contains no quickly acting poisons. Or explosives. Or potions.

The Sage, meanwhile, proceeds to answer his questions. "I require you because you are divine beings. Were I to enter Aelos and inadvertantly change its past further away from its intended course, it would spell even greater disaster than this current disruption." With a smirk, he adds "I am rather certain neither of us wants that to happen."

He chuckles for a short moment, then more seriously says "You, however, are free to influence timelines and fate as you wish. It's one of the many benefits that being a deity brings with it. And if you are wondering why it is you exactly that I need, I must admit that you simply became divinities in the right place at the right time.

As for my own motives, I simply desire to see the damage that has been wrought onto reality fixed. If you wish to utilize your powers to ascertain this truth, you are more than welcome to do so." He raises his hands in a motion of surrender to anything you might do. Celestia, being as closely tied to emotion as she is, can tell that he is utterly serious about what he is saying. To deceive her mundane senses to this degree, he would have to possess immense skills at deception.


Once you've taken or not taken any measures you wish to examine him, he dusts off his robe, and continues as if nothing happened. "Now, I'm glad that you've asked what is wrong, as this is quite interesting. In the world of Aelos, magic as we know it has ceased to exist. Or rather, has never existed in the first place anymore. Several points in the history of Aelos have been changed, resulting in a world that is entirely without gods and without mages, or even the more magical species that exist in your world."

The Sage puts a hand to his chin, lost in thought for a moment. "Quite a change, isn't it? And I've not got the slightest idea of what is behind this massive change of the timeline. Despite my efforts, my divinations have only gained me a single word." There is a sigh, and a pause, as if he is preparing himself for what he is about to say.

"Oard." (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB73C48mnMg)

Leaning back again, he says "I've no idea what it means, sadly. But it echoes across the fabric of Aelos' reality. Oard stands at the center of it all, I'm sure."

Matteo nods at the Sage's confirmation of his question, then states Logical...

The only method of examination that Matteo uses on the Sage is mundane in nature--he simply does his best to discern any potential ulterior motives the man could possess, using a wisdom check

Target: 21-15= 6
[roll0] = 16


Matteo furrows his brow at the word the Sage speaks of. He attempts to recall as to whether he has ever heard of the word in his studies or not....


Target: 21-12=9
[roll1] + 4 from his education Fact = 16

[Theoboldi]

Just like Celestia, Matteo figures that the Sage is absolutely serious about wanting to fix reality, and that it is very important to him, even if he is acting in a rather cavalier fashion. If he has any further motives beyond that, they would be secondary.

And though he thinks the word over several times in his head, at the end he can only come to the conclusion that he has never heard about 'Oard' before in his life. It might be a name, or something that simply does not exist in your world. Either that, or it is something that living with his scribe parents would not have exposed him to. Still, giving that neither Celestia nor Zixzax have heard about it either, one of the former seems more likely.

The Sage, for his part, smiles as his tea is complimented, and with a twinkle in his eyes lists the ingredients. "Well, nothing too fancy. Bee balm, mainly, along with some spearmint and just a hint of lemon verbena. Just a little of the verbena, though, otherwise it gets too zesty. I've got a little field growing in the other room. Perhaps I should show you once this business is taken care of."

However, he proceeds to squint his eyes at Zixzax when the kobold comments that he prefers a lack of magi and gods, a scowl that fades thankfully to Celestia's objection. "You are quite right. Of course, if you were to create a magic-less world of your own in Aelos, it would fix the gears just as well, and I could not prevent you from doing so." he states sounding rather annoyed. "For the sake of those who could not exist without it, however, I must recommend keeping magic alive, at the very least."

Giving you a sigh, he then gets up, arms crossed behind his back. "As you could perhaps tell, this cottage is no cottage at all. It is indeed a relic called Nexus, a vehicle with which I may travel through time and relative dimensions. Using it does not require the opening of night roads, which is rather helpful."

All of you have heard about night roads at some point. They are passages through the uncreated space between all pieces of reality. Mages sometimes use them to travel, and it is said that some contain paths to other worlds. However, they also have a tendency to leak uncreated monstrosities into the world if not sealed, so they are usually kept closed.

"Using the Nexus, I will send you back in time to the earliest point in Aelos' history where I can pinpoint the influence of Oard. From there, you will hopefully be able to discover its nature and disrupt its changes. How you do this, I will leave up to you, though I will inform you when you have managed to heal the damages in that era."

[igordragonian]

Zixzax tapped his chin.
"Hmm.. just to be safe.. will you allow me study the technique of this device?'

[Theoboldi]

The Sage gives a smirk, and waves at Zixzax to go ahead.

"Most certainly. I'm sure a god of your talents could figure it out by himself, but you may observe and learn, if it helps. Mind, this fine piece of machinery was not manufactured easily, and it's got something of a mind of it's own beyond that.

Which I do mean literally."

A construction like the Nexus will require a lot of dominion, as well as several rare components and celestial shards you'd have to seek out. A more precise price will be determined if you actually wish to go through with that. :smalltongue:

[igordragonian]

'Don't call me a friggin' god!' he hissed.
He hummed, and wrote a notes.
'I will get to it, eventually.. but letss move on.'

[Derjuin]

"As soon as my compatriots are ready, we shall depart," Celestia says, looking to Zixzax and Matteo. "I do not wish to waste another moment here in this world that could be spent saving Aelos."

[The_Iron_Lord]

Matteo allows a faint smile to grace his expression at the Sage's sharing of his tea recipe. That would be lovely. His face immediately becomes serious once more as soon as the conversation returns to more grave matters. Similarly, a world bereft of magic would be far less pleasant--so many easily-cured ailments would cause wholly unnecessary suffering...

At the revelation that the cottage is not what it seems Matteo raises his eyebrows, looking around to see if he can tell the difference, then says Interesting. It is certainly good to have an alternative to the Night Roads... They are not a desirable path.

The god of death appears vaguely amused by Zixzax's request to examine the Nexus and his strange desire to not be called a god.

Matteo nods at Celestia's statement. Indeed.

[Theoboldi]

'Don't call me a friggin' god!' he hissed.
He hummed, and wrote a notes.
'I will get to it, eventually.. but letss move on.'

The Sage continues to grin even during Zixzax's outburst. You get the feeling that he enjoys playing around with a creature of your power, albeit it in a non-malicious way.


"As soon as my compatriots are ready, we shall depart," Celestia says, looking to Zixzax and Matteo. "I do not wish to waste another moment here in this world that could be spent saving Aelos."



Matteo nods at Celestia's statement. Indeed.

The Sage turns around to one the tables full of arcane instruments, starting to activate some of them, lighting flames, flipping switches, all around making himself very busy. "Young lady-" he says as he works, teasing at her immortality. "-you will find that in here, we have time to spare. Still, having such enthusiasm will be a boon to our endeavor, no doubt. Now prepare yourselves. This will be rather disorienting."

And then, suddenly, the old man is gone. As you start to look for him, the room begins to spin around you, and a shrill whistle blots out all other sounds. Your vision blurs, and the walls seem to shift and fill with odd pictures and figures from unknown kingdoms.

The room is changing from instant to instant, so fast that the details are lost, yet all the while the essential nature of the place remains the same. After what seems like an age, the spinning sensation passes and your eyes can focus once more.

The room before you is now circular and the timbers of the walls are replaced by woven twigs, daubed with mud. A frame of branches lashed together with thongs stands in place of the middle table and bears a bowl of steaming food and a clay pot of flowers. The clay lamp is gone and the light now comes from a small, open fire-pit filling the air with the smell of burning pine-cones and sending shadows dancing across the walls. Stretched on a frame over the door is a painting of a hunting scene.

The awful whistle, which still rings in your ears, has ceased, to be replaced by screams and the sounds
of fire and battle. But before you have any time to deliberate and gather more information, the door to this room swings open, flooding the room with sunlight, as a panicked-looking elven woman comes rushing inside. She is dressed oddly, wearing nothing but crude fur and leathers, and when she sees you she stops in place, looking absolutely frightened. "Please...." she says, on the verge of tears. "Don't kill this Callafae..."

Just as swiftly, someone else bursts through the doorway, smashing the door aside and knocking it off its hinges. This person appears to be some kind of human-like man, with an ape-ish face with a flat nose and a strong underbite, and thick hair covering much of his body. He too wears a crude bundle of furs, and in his hands he holds a wooden spear that ends in an obsidian tip. With a sneer, he approaches the elven woman, seemingly not having noticed you yet in his own bloodlust. "You die now, longear!" he hollers gleefully as he raises his weapon, ready to strike her down.

[The_Iron_Lord]

As the Sage begins to fiddle with his various instruments, Matteo looks over his shoulder to see if he can divine any of their purposes.
Int check: 12 (+ 4 if his magical training or scholarly background help at all)

When the Sage vanishes, Matteo jumps to alert, looking around to try and locate the man. As the room begins to warp, the god of death inhales slightly to calm himself, then stands at the ready--prepared to act on the off chance they arrive in a dangerous circumstance. He glances at the surrounding pictures idly, but does not study them with any particular determination.

As the cottage resolves into a hut, Matteo quickly studies his surroundings to identify any immediate dangers. Finding none, he is about to speak when the elven lady bursts in and speaks. Callafae? What--or who is-

The ape-like figure charges in and screams a battle cry, apparently intent on killing the unarmed elven woman. Matteo's eyes narrow, and he steps forward and strikes with his Death Scythe (an invisible force of painless death/damage, at the moment) to shatter the creature's spear.
Attack: 14 + 4 + the creature's AC
Damage: 1
Assuming he is successful, he will hold his finger to the attacker's throat (allowing them to feel the sharpness of its ethereal edge) and say No. She does not. Please explain your grudge against this woman? He also speaks to the frightened elven lady, without diverting his attention from his captured foe. What grievance is afoot here that causes this person to attack you so? A war? Or a more personal hatred?

Here he will deal his Fray die in the form of demoralization: 2 damage

Matteo will also quickly address Celestia and Zixzax. I have the situation here fully under control--if you could, might you two ascertain the conditions outside and subdue any combatants there?

On the off chance this happens, Matteo's actions are much the same, except that invokes a Miracle of Alacrity in the form of Faster Than Thought to speak a Reaping Word to the creature.

Hush.



all the rolls above were generated in the OOC thread--I did the dice coding wrong, apparently, and so I had to make a new post (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23138686&postcount=23) to roll properly.

EDIT: And then Theo informed me that I had to roll damage... :smallredface:
So I posted another (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23138716&postcount=24) post.

[igordragonian]

Zixzax growled.
'So be it. Just don't be too sissy with this one.' he said, and hopped outside with prepared guns on each metalic arm

[Derjuin]

With a swift movement and without a word, Celestia readies her sword and shield and dashes outside, ready to annihilate the band of savages.


Running outside, investing effort into Cutting the Crimson Road.

[Theoboldi]

Sharpened to a razor's edge by the sheer power of death, Matteo's hand passes cleanly through the ape-man's spear, cleaving it in two before the godbound presses his attack and easily subdues his opponent. It's all over before anyone can blink, leaving both of the mortals to blink in confusion.

Once the realisation of what you have done hit's the man's brain, he starts to stumble backwards, attempting to back away, though you give him no chance to do so. Within seconds, he is pinned to the wall, suddenly very aware of his own mortality. "Softskin...knows demon tricks?" he mutters full of disbelieve.

"He is garl!" the elven woman suddenly cries out, tears at the corners of her eyes. "Garl come down into our valleys, kill all elves with their horrid beasts and potted fire! Garl are mad-"

"Liar!" The garl, as this creature seems to be called, cries out, looking past Matteo and at her with wide eyes. "Longears blight the land with demon tricks! Kill Garl with fever and hunt their food!"

"Magic is not demon tricks!" the elven woman protests, giving Matteo an expectant glance.


Meanwhile Zixzax and Celestia move outside, and find themselves stepping into chaos. You find yourselves in a small, crude village consisting of about 25 circular log huts, surrounded by a low, wooden palisade. Destruction rages all around you, screams of terror filling the air and most of the huts burning brightly, leaving everything thick with smoke. Broken clay pots and smoldering constructions litter the area, and amidst them you spot dozens of elf corpses, all savagely murdered or burned to death from the looks of it.

Amidst the wreckage, many more garl like the one you've met within the hut rush about, chasing down a last few panicked elven survivors with their sharp spears. Up above in the air, you spot several garl seated atop colourful, horse-sized birds, wielding bows and firing down below at all they can see. One of them pulls a strange-looking gourd from his fur coat, throwing it down at one of the not yet burned huts. To your surprise, it not only shatters, spilling a watery liquid over the house, but that very liquid combusts, leaving this primitive molotov cocktail to burn with an odd smell. In fact, the scent strikes Zixzax as belonging to a more volatile variant of gasoline!

Slowly, some of the garl begin turning their heads towards you, noticing your odd appearance that is utterly out of place with the rest of the scene. By the way they raise their weapons, you figure they are about to attack.

[The_Iron_Lord]

Matteo listens to the pair's pleas and arguments, thinking fast. It would appear that there are some racial tensions and misunderstandings here then...Hmm, what to do?

Matteo looks at the garl with utter coldness in his gaze. Move not an inch, or your death will be swifter than blinking. (I assume that I don't have to make a check, seeing as I already subdued him with "demoralization damage"?) He also quickly reaches out with Withholding the Mercy to find any injured or dead in the vicinity. He will wait for a tally before deciding whether or not to allow them all to pass on. (I'm pretty sure that this is rules-legal, but I don't actually have the relevant PDF on this computer--if I'm doing something dumb, just poke me in the OOC or something)

He'll look outside to see if Zixzax and Celestia are in need of help at all--and also to see if his observations could give him a clue to an appropriate action to take. He sees the massacre, he hears the screaming of the elves...and he makes a decision. Stay behind me--and watch that...garl, was it? there. I am going to war. His eyes narrow in rage and he strikes at the garl who just dropped the potentially explosive pot, aiming to drop him from the air with a single strike from his death scythe, before the raider can ignite his "potted fire". Silence.


Attack: [roll0] + The garl's AC + 4
Damage: [roll1] + 3 (at least 1)
EDIT: Heck yeah...here're the results:
Attack: it hits. Unless the garl's AC is negative
Damage...uh, 4? 5? I don't remember the table off the top of my head and I'm AFB at the moment...


Hmmm...

There once was a garl from Aelos...
Whose hatred of elves rose...
'till he could take it no more
and kicked down the door
only to be felled by the god Matteo...

Needs work.

[Derjuin]

As soon as Celestia spots the nearest garl, she pulls her sword close to her and begins to quiver. Her sword arm glows a deep crimson between the plates and cloth of her armor, and suddenly she leaps through the air with an unearthly wail, somersaulting and bringing her sword up high before crashing brutally into the nearest, largest group of the invaders. Her blade slams into the ground like a meteor, cleaving the first invader cleanly in two and the shockwave ripping apart those closest to him. Before the halves of the garl can fall to the ground, she pulls the blade over her shoulder and spins into a lightning-quick horizontal slash, creating a second shockwave that slices cleanly through the already-bisected man and mutilating those greater than an arm's length away.


Unerring Blade, effort committed until scene's end. [roll0]

Damage dealt to the mob is 14.

[The_Iron_Lord]

Matteo looks over at Celestia, a bemused and slightly frightened expression on his face. Terrifying...

[igordragonian]

Zixzax grinned. 'See lil' one, how you round them up!" He charged forward, raising his arms, shooting around beams of red burning energy, penerating the gnarls, and avoiding the elves, his metlaic legs making heavy foot prints.
'No demons, no gods- just us.'


----

attack
[roll0]
damage[roll1]+3

Fray Die[roll2]

[Theoboldi]

As Matteo makes his final offer to the garl, the odd ape man dares not nod, nor does he seem courageous enough to open his mouth to answer. Still, his frightened silence is enough of an answer, and the godbound of merciful death gets the feeling that he will not cause any further trouble. As you remove your finger from his throat, he gives an audible sigh of relief, but does not move from his spot.

Withholding the Mercy actually gives you no special ability to sense creatures that are reduced to 0 HP within range. You can however individually decide every creature's fate if you perceive them in some other way.

Leaving the hut, you note the elf girl giving you a nod before she quickly rushes over to pick up the broken off tip of the garl's spear. Wielding it like a dagger, she keeps her earlier attacker in check, eyes full of desperate determination. "You stand still, garl! I keep my eye on you!" she snarls rather shrilly.


Once Matteo joins the battle outside, the battle swiftly turns in your favor. The god of death turns his gaze to the sky, killing the fire-throwing garl and his mount with but a flick from his wrist. Seven more that are nearby in the sky keel over just as the same as he directs his gaze at them, falling from their saddles and leaving their mounts to rush off in a panic.

Zixzax joins him, firing a wild yet also perfectly aimed salvo of shots through the crowd, tearing apart two more garl in the sky and two on the ground. Their corpses are left with massive blast holes from where his shots impacted, smoking from sheer heat. A young elf boy whose life the kobold just saved by taking out his pursuer looks at this result in bewilderment, then stares at the odd stone creature (read: kobold in a mech suit) that saved him with teary eyes, and finally just falls to his knees in thankful devotion.

And then, there is Celestia. Though she has no way of reaching the garl up in the clouds with her usual strikes, there are only three of them left at this point anyways. And to make up for it, she begins to utterly clean up the village on the ground. With a speed that is far too fast for the eyes of mortals, she rushes through the village, striking down garl left and right, ending scores of them with a single stroke, breaking bone and slashing limbs and leaving only a path of destruction in her wake. Even her shockwaves act to destroy her enemies, and within only a few moments she has decimated most of the enemy forces.

Only about 8 of the garl on the ground remain, as the elves who would have become their victims otherwise come rushing towards the party. There are only about 12 of them, and the fear on their faces is immense. You are their only hope.

The remaining garl, meanwhile, seem to have no hope left. With wild, eeking screams they turn, running wildly away from the village and into what you notice to be a massive jungle beyond. One of the mounted garl, apparently a leader of some sort and the only one who does not seem to be panicking as badly as the others, raises his growling voice above the chaos. "Retreat! Do not panic, you fools! Do not fall prey to their demon tricks!" he intones in an effort to rally his men as he too begins to fly away from the village, his eyes kept firmly on your group. To his credit, at least the other garl in the sky follow his instructions as the panicked rush to escape from you continues.

"You saved me..." one of the elves mutters towards you, before being corrected by the young boy from earlier.

"No, they save all Callafae!" And indeed, given how quickly you've ended this battle, you probably saved all the lives that you could. Not to mention that there may still be several elves lying on the ground who were saved from bleeding or burning to death by Matteo's divine power. Today you have saved at least 12 lives, possibly even more.

I think such a resounding success deserves a reward. Everyone gains 1 point of Dominion, to be spent however you want to spend it. Should any of you want to continue attacking the retreating garl, feel free to do so.

[The_Iron_Lord]

Matteo looks at the garl leader, utter contempt on his face. We are no demons. We are GODS. With an abrupt jerking motion, the god of death quiets the rebellious foe permanently.


Attack roll with Death Scythe:
[roll0] + 4 + the garl leader's AC
Death Scythe damage:
[roll1] + 3 == 11 which equates to 4 damage WOO! Suitably badass rolls there.
If he fails to kill the leader somehow, he'll invoke a Miracle of Alacrity to instantly follow up (using That instant reaction trigger thing keyed to the leader still breathing) to speak a Reaping Word. (Can't fail to kill him after saying something that badass, y'know?)


Assuming that attack was fatal to the leader, Matteo will immediately begin searching for those he can heal. As soon as he sees anyone, he'll use Withholding the Mercy to stabilize them long enough for him to examine them. If they are healable by his Archmage skills, then he will heal them--if they only remain alive due to Matteo's Withholding the Mercy and would be certainly dead without it, he will perform final rites on them and allow them to pass on.

[igordragonian]

The Garls weren't worthy of Zixzax's ammo.
Beside- who to say the elves were the good ones? They couldn't know the context.

"Bah. Don't too excited kid. We still don't know the truth- who know we might join THEM." He kneeled in his battle suite and has narrowed his eyes.
'Never have faith in anything, but your mind, kid. This is your only hope."

[Theoboldi]

Though he attempts to end the garl leader's life with the usual casual ease, Matteo feels an odd resistance within the warrior's body, his life force surviving the attack despite him visibly shrinking down under the attack. In response, the garl leader begins to dive down towards the jungle landscape, perhaps attempting to get out of sight, which only enrages you further.

Driven by thought and motion that are faster than instinct, you invoke a word of pure death, directing it at the blasphemous garl, only to once again be rebuked by the unusually powerful life force inside, draining your own energy more than you expected. Though it strains to resist the calling of the grave, Matteo gains the distinct impression that this soul must belong to a particularly strong example of mortal life.

Then, the garl leader's bird crashes through the treetops, and he disappears from sight.

Yeah, this guy had enough HD to survive your attack. And seeing as he had more than 1 HD, he was also a worthy foe. The effort you spent on Reaping Word is committed for the day, and he got a saving throw against it.

The saving throw failed, but he committed effort of his own to succeed automatically.

Derje also did not want to attack him, so I figured there was nothing lost in just posting now.

On the upside, now that the battle scene is over, all Effort that was committed for the scene is returned to each of you!

The boy, meanwhile, stumbles back from Zixzax's rebuke, tears welling again in his eyes. "Garl cruel! That my thoughts say to me! They kill all elves! Fill forests with screams!" An agreeable murmur arises from the elves that surround you, and several plead for the mighty stone sorcerer not to join the villainous ape men. "How do we prove ourselves to you, stone man?" the boy asks.

At this point, the elven woman from earlier emerges from the tent, holding up her weapon and pushing forward the captured garl from earlier. At once, several of the elves wince back in fear, but quickly recover as they notice that despite his heavy-set muscular body he is currently in no shape to attack. Their expressions swiftly turn from ones of fear to ones of fury, as curses are spat at the attacker. The garl for his part, still looks incredibly frightened. This is just not his day.

Not sure if you wanna go ahead and heal the survivors or if you want to chase after the leader, Iron, so I did not resolve that yet. Will do so in the next post.

[Derjuin]

Celestia swings her sword in a flourish, watching the ape-man leader vanish into the forest. Her blade will see to it that he would be dead, though perhaps not right now.

"Place your faith from your heart with truth, and let it not be led astray by those who would condemn it. Let that faith foster your hope. Know that we have come to fix this world," she says, standing straight up and watching the forest, though she has no current hope of actually seeing the garl leader. She waits a moment, then turns to the gathered Callafae.

"Tell us, do any of you know of 'Oard'?" She bellows over the group's varied sounds. She doesn't expect the proto-elves to know of such a thing, but it never hurt to ask.

She extends her divine will into the ground around her, feeling for any power that she might control with her dominion.

[igordragonian]

'Pff. Hope.' Zixzax grunted with an eye roll.
'Prove yourselves? You don't have to do anything. Be yourselves, and I'll judge if I care enough to help. Hmph.' He groaned.

he shutted up, when finally an important question has been asked

[The_Iron_Lord]

Matteo stares after the retreating figure of the garl leader. Stupid unnaturally resilient creature... For a moment, he mentally debates whether to chase the creature or stay and help the wounded, but his healer's oaths win out.

Matteo will immediately begin searching for those he can heal. As soon as he sees anyone, he'll use Withholding the Mercy to stabilize them long enough for him to examine them. If they are healable by his Archmage skills, then he will heal them--if they only remain alive due to Matteo's Withholding the Mercy and would be certainly dead without it, he will perform final rites on them and allow them to pass on. He continues this process until he can find no more wounded to heal--though he does listen closely when Celestia mentions Oard.

[Theoboldi]

The elves seem mostly confused by Celestia's and Zixzax's words, though the faces of at least a few among them show a little more understanding. They nod slowly, hesitantly, though even those that do not seem to understand view the gods that stand before them with a clear amount of reverence. You feel as though, once your divine abilities have developed just a bit more, these people would make for an excellent first cult.

However, as Celestia brings up the matter of 'Oard', none are able to answer. "Is it a fruit?" one asks. "Is it a stone?" ponders another. The elves appear to have nothing to offer but guesses at what 'Oard' might be. At least they are not lacking for enthusiasm.

Reaching out for any powers that she may control, Celestia again gains a strong certainty of her words, a sheer limitless amount of potentials entering her mind.

She controls the Sun, bringer of daylight, radiant fire, and courage, the vanquisher of malevolent sorceries, revealer of hidden truths, and carrier of all hope. It is all-seeing, its light granting vision to all that feel its warmth.

She controls the Sword, destroyer of foes, builder of armies, master of all things martial. It is the master of all direct combat, of confrontation and personal killing potential. It makes armies from peasants, and heroes from those with even a hint of talent.

She controls Passion, the very Heart of the living, bringing and taking any and all emotions it pleases. Hope and Despair, Courage and Fear, Joy and Wrath, all are as clay to be formed before it. It gazes into the hearts of mortals, their every feeling read like an open book.

As the effort to clean up the village and gather up survivors commences, the elves lead you towards a collapsed pile of rubbish near the edge of the village. They quickly clear it aside, revealing a crude trap door fashioned from sticks set into the ground. With a swing, they open it up, revealing what they explain to you is the village's storage chamber, and a group of 30 elves hidden within it. Aside from three wounded warriors, these survivors all are woman and children. "They hide as soon as garl show in the sky.", the elven woman you saved earlier, who introduces herself as Ferana, explains. "Before winter, they came down from the mountains. Burned many elf villages. Kill all they see. After winter, they return. We try and hide away. I did not make it in time. Without you, garl would have burned me too."

The survivors join the rest of their people, staring with big eyes as they are told of the miracle that you've done by destroying the garl attackers all on your own.

After that, Matteo proceeds to walk the burned village, ready to save those whose death he has already delayed with his divine power. Surprisingly, the elves actually join him in this, and begin to work magic of their own on the wounded. It is all very basic, rudimentary magic, based mostly in herbcraft and simple prayers, which seems to do little more than comfort the dying and lessen their pain. In a way it is not entirely irreminiscent of simple Merciful Hand and Hedge Magic techniques. Celestia for her part actually recalls that the earliest usages of those magic traditions looked very similar in her own world!

Many of the elves and garl are beyond saving, of course, though the elves do not look all that perturbed by Matteo's odd final rites. They do turn their heads, and you think you see one or two of them almost throw up, but overall they don't seem like they've even considered the idea of actually saving that many of their companions. Though it costs you all of your prepared flasks, poultices and bandages, as well as no small effort, you manage to save 30 more elves, as well as 15 garl! The smiles on the faces of the elves grow ever wider with every life that you secure, as families are reunited and loved ones brought back.

"I know now." the young boy whose name by now you know to be Tirel, says in amazement. "You are hope bringers." From him and many of the other elves, you feel a tremendous amount of faith, just waiting to be taken.

Oddly enough, a few of the garl Matteo finds lying dead or unconscious are not wounded at all! They appear to have simply collapsed where they stood. Further investigation reveals them to be severely dehydrated, leading the trained healer to determine that they must have suffered from a heat stroke.

All in all, after about half a day of gathering suvivors and healing the wounded, the sun is slowly beginning to go down. By now, you have brought together a remnant force of nearly 70 elves, as well as 16 garl prisoners. The ape men are bound securely with ropes, and several elves with spears stand guard over them.

As the elves build a campfire for the night, many questions start to settle in. What will happen to the garl prisoners? What will you do with your little community of elves? And how the heck are you even able to speak and understand their language if they're cave people from another world? You figure the last one has something to do with the Nexus. Freaky.

[igordragonian]

Zixzax didn't cared for all that much. He started to build a workshop. Soon enough he presented the local, chariot and bronze tools and weapons. He has explained how it worked, and how it was built.
Also pottery, and basic writing.
'You see? You don't need stupid things like hope. You just need skill!"


(Devoting 1 dominion)

[Derjuin]

Celestia gathers the elves and shows them ways of creating implements of war - for now, weapons of bronze and/or stone would do - and teaching them the ways of war. However, she seeks to temper the bloodlust any may show, and extols the virtues of peace, goodness and generally being excellent to each other.


Creating a cult out of the Callafae here; it isn't a strict religion, simply requiring people to be excellent to each other and protect the weak. Also teaching them the arts of War including production of melee weapons. Spending 1 Dominion.

[The_Iron_Lord]

Matteo will share his healing arts with any elves who wish to learn--he will spend 1 Dominion to swiftly teach the elves as much as they can learn. Additionally, he will form a cult from those who learn the healing ways--the only real rules are to heal any who ask, and that they provide mercy (aka death) to any who ask for it. To this end, he will teach them also of more fatal herbs along with the healing variety. (If none grow in the vicinity, he will extend some Influence to cause their growth, to be replaced with Dominion when he obtains some. The herbs cause painless, swift death when administered)

His holy symbol (if you look closely he's actually wearing one in his portrait)
http://i.imgur.com/uma6oOl.jpg

He also ponders the bizarre state of some of the Garl. Why would they be so dehydrated, I wonder... Simple mundane heat stroke? Or some curse of a more arcane nature...

[Theoboldi]

With the most immediate threats out of the way, and your hold on the proto elven village of Callafae truly established, you decide that it is time to build them up into a cult that may hopefully last for the ages. Or at the very least, as far as Zixzax is concerned, they'll do something cool with the tools he gives them.

The words of the sage still echo in your ears as you begin to work your powers. You are gods. Changing the past is not just your privilege, but your divine right. And though some of you may believe these words more than others, you still can't help but feel like this will be the beginning of your saga, and the first step you will take towards shaping Aelos in your image.


Chapter One:

In the Beginning

Locking away the Garl inside the supply chamber for now, you set to work on enacting your changes within Callafae. Zixzax presents the elves with the secrets of mining and creating bronze. Celestia shows them how to craft their bronze into weapons and how to be warriors. And Matteo proceeds to teach them the ways of the Angels of Mercy.

And indeed, you find that the elves pick up quickly on what you teach them, far more quickly than they realistically should be able to. And just as well, you are able to find any supplies and materials that you need, all rather handily in place despite how much of a coincidence that is. Reality warps slightly to accommodate your wishes, and you get the feeling that this is not even close to the limit of what you could potentially achieve.

Yet, not all goes perfectly well. As you flood the tiny village of Callafae with divine support, you notice certain unhappy side effects to what you are doing.

With Zixzax's teachings, the elves begin to mine, proudly crafting tools of bronze that are far sturdier than any they've had before. Constructions become possible that would have not been before, and the crude huts of the elves are swiftly replaced with simple houses. But now, the hunting and gathering parties that the Callafae send out to gather food have become woefully small, as many elves are now busy mining their precious bronze. Food is already short, given the dangers of searching for it in such a dangerous environment, and you fear that this may eventually lead to starvation among the populace.

Celestia creates an army out of many of the Callafae, making them excellent warriors while also instilling within them a sense of virtue so that they may not abuse their powers. They are eager students, soaking in all that she has to teach, and within little more than a day are showing the capabilities of basic soldiers. As she trains them, she even notices Tirel and many other young elves watching from the sidelines, perhaps hoping to join in with the training soon. Yet worryingly, she also can't help but sense a general feeling of overconfidence among her soldiers. She sees the hateful glances many of them are throwing towards the garl prisoners, and overhears murmurs of how they want to take the fight to the garl soon, now that they've become 'undefeatable'.

Matteo too creates the foundations of a cult among the Callafae, finding many capable students and even some who show enough potential to become archmages, if given a little time. Among them is Ferana, who after having been saved by Matteo has seemingly dedicated most of her time to training under him. There is a deep admiration in her eyes whenever she speaks to him, and under his tutelage has become quite capable, a far cry from the panicked near victim of a garl you first saw her as. Perhaps this too is a result of your powers. Still, worryingly, a rift seems to form between the mages and the soldiers of Callafae, both blossoming cults showing distrust in one another due to what they consider to be conflicting philosophies.

Overall, after only three days of work, things are not looking good. The village is starting to fracture, food is getting quite scarce, and the elves look overly eager to take a battle to the garl that you are not sure they can win on their own. If left to their own devices, you are pretty sure the village will fall apart before too long. As the sun settles on the third day, you ponder what to do.

Callafae
Stone Age Elven Village
Power 1 (1d6)
Cohesion 1
Trouble 6
Features: Early Elven Magic makes us resilient. We possess mighty tools and weapons of bronze. Our militia is well trained. Among us are several archmages of the Angels of Mercy.
Problems: The garl want us dead. (2) Gathering food is a daily risk. (1) Those who mine no longer can aid the hunting parties we rely on for food. (1) Our militia is getting overconfident. (1) There is a growing rift between two cults in our village, dedicated to Celestia and Matteo each. (1)
Dominion 1


As you can see, Callafae's Trouble score is equal to it's maximum Power Roll. That means it is just about ready to fall apart. You can save it, however, by keeping some of your influence invested to keep things going and later performing mighty deeds or using dominion to fix their problems.

Other solutions are also acceptable, should you come up with something creative.


Gonna let you react to this, and maybe roleplay a little among yourselves. Further plot developments will happen soon. If you want to involve any of the NPCs in the scene, feel free to do so. I'll RP them to the best of my abilities. :smallwink:

[igordragonian]

Zixzax grunt, as he watch from his workshop the problems occur.
'Bah. I'll need to find the pretty lil' horse and quite human.' He summon them to meeting in his workshop, if they agree.

It's small, cozy place, with a lot of tools, furnaces. The place is quite hot.
'It seems the idiots, are about to use our gifts to ruin themselves. Do we care?" he has asked bluntly.

[Derjuin]

Before coming to Zixzax's workshop, Celestia gathers as many of the warriors she had trained as she can find. "Callafae, hear me," she speaks, loudly, to the warriors. "I have noticed among you a certain braggadocio. Some of you believe you are undefeatable, that you are invincible, and that you seek to bring justice to what the Garl have done." She is almost certain that her statements would elicit a few woops and cheers from the crowd, but she holds a plated hand up. "Remember well that there is always someone mightier."

"We intend to find out why they have done this before a war is waged. It may yet be possible to end this without a fight. Without further losses to Callafae." She takes her sword and buries the tip in the ground, looking out over the warriors. "You must sustain yourselves before you can go to war. Prepare. Ensure that it is right and just to do so." In speaking these words, she hopes to imprint some kind of understanding in those listening to wait.

"Your gods will come to you when it is time to take up arms. For now, be at peace." She says, withdrawing her sword and slinging it over her shoulder. With little fanfare she then leaves and attends the meeting with her pantheon, greeting Zixzax and Matteo with a nod.

"We should. Leaving history to itself will surely unravel what little we have done for them. Do you care to see progress wasted, Zixzax?" She asks, looking plainly to the overseer-lizard-thing.

[igordragonian]

"Yes. But do they have a potential? I wonder. I haven't seen them proving.. creativity just yet. I don't want to recreate the disaster of my people... their faith turn into their doom. I am willing to give a new toll few tries- but if I discover, that I made him the wrong way, I will toss it back to the forge. We have seen very little of this world. Do you believe they hold the promkse for a future? Who know. The Gnarls seemed to at least have intiative. Maybe converting them to accept certain ethic code, would be the thing to progress this world."

[The_Iron_Lord]

Matteo watches with worry as the group of "Callafae" begins to collapse. This is worrisome...We must coordinate to fix this problem.

He invokes a Miracle of Night to melt into the shadows he's standing in, then reappear in the back of Zixzax's workshop. He strides forward as Zixzax asks if they care. Certainly we care. They are our flock--our responsibility. And the solution to their problems may be relatively easy to reach--if we can clearly fuse the philosophies of Celestia's warriors and my own healers, their conflict will be amended. In regards to the food problem, another solution presents itself--kill or release the garl prisoners. They are a notable drain on the village's resources, so getting rid of them would decrease the strain on the gatherers. He gestures as he speaks, emphasizing his points. I would not normally suggest killing the prisoners, but it might perhaps be more merciful than releasing them--the only way we could do so while ensuring that they do not return with the warriors would be to either cripple them or to instill in them a horrifying fear of our might... He trails off, brow furrowed in thought. Though, showing them mercy might be sufficient to cause hesitation on the attack... One can almost see the gears of thought turning in his head as Matteo strokes his chin.

When Zixzax asks if the Callafae possess potential, Matteo says I do indeed believe they have potential to grow far beyond what they are now...Though you are also correct in noting we have not seen much of this world yet. But just as I assume you would not leave a creation half-finished, we must follow through with the work we have wrought here, as to not watch it all fall into ruin.

[igordragonian]

"Right. Hmm..." Zixzax pondered.
"It's a bit of my fault as well. They are obssesed with their mining... I can demand, that they will bring certain amount of food, and only then, to let them mine.'
He pause
'as for the prisoners.. we could escort them. Personally. Maybe see how their village are.'

[The_Iron_Lord]

Matteo nods at Zixzax's concession. That sounds like a viable solution. And it could indeed be beneficial to make a visit to the garls' settlement to observe their culture... And after all-- he narrows his eyes --if the prisoners join any returning attack force, we can just kill them then.

[igordragonian]

"Exactly. If we even could get rid of stupid racial wars, those idiots might actually get somewhere. Those Garls aren't pretty, yeah. But they got some blood in them. If they would be less moronic, they also could get to places. But..." he looked to Celestia.
'Is the pretty shiny princess agree to thissss plan?"

[Derjuin]

"I have tried to teach these Callafae of honor and respect. I only hope that they understand and realize not everything is about getting back at the Garl, lest they lose what scraps of a society they have built." Celestia says as she walks into Zixzax's office, her heavy armor clanking with each step and her sword at her side.

"And I agree, the garl must be dealt with," she says, hefting her sword. She ignores the 'pretty princess' comment from Zixzax, instead flexing her armored hand around the hilt of the sword. "Escorting them can serve so many of our purposes that I fail to see the downside. If their home will choose to live by the sword, then they shall die by mine."

[igordragonian]

'You are quite eager for destruction, for a little girl.' Zixzax shrugged.
'This is a primal world. Savaging others, is probably the only way the know to get stuff, and they afraid of mysticsm...' he smoked his pipe.
'Of course you can't trust magic, but their phobia is silly. Anyway, it's seems we agree on something. Which is something, at least.'

[The_Iron_Lord]

Matteo listens unobtrusively, nodding as Celestia and Zixzax speak. Escorting the prisoners back does indeed sound like a good idea...However, one of us will need to stay behind to safeguard the Callafae from a potential surprise attack.

[igordragonian]

"I am not much of a babysitter." Zixzax grunted, sending a ring of smoke from his pipe.
"And I want study the Gnarls."

[Theoboldi]

As you discuss your next moves and how to deal with the Garl prisoners among yourselves, you suddenly notice the sound of somebody coming towards the workshop's entrance, before the wooden fur curtain that close off the doorway are pulled aside by an elven hand.

In steps Ferana, the elven woman Matteo saved just a few days ago. By now, she wears not a coarse coat of furs as she did days ago, but rather a coarse robe of woven grass, covered with various leather belts and pouches carrying herbs and berries useful in her magical efforts. She has rubbed soot and charcoal into her clothes in an effort to imitate the darkened clothes of her patron, with crude but somewhat effective results.

"I greet you, great teachers." she says, getting onto one knee to kneel for a moment. "Warrior Callafae have talked among themselves. They say now some of them wish to head out and warn the Loralis of attacking garl. I stopped them from going without your approval, but their patience runs thin. They say this is what Celestia teaches them." She throws a glance over at the armored goddess, one you're not entirely sure is entirely sympathetic. From the sounds of it, she'd prefer all warriors to stay and protect the Callafae rather than this Loralis, whatever that is.

[igordragonian]

"What in the smoking hole js Loralis?" Zixzax growled, both annoyed and overjoyed with new columns in the situation.

[Theoboldi]

Ferana raises an eyebrow as you reveal to her that you do not know what she is talking about, as if such a thing was inconceivable. And perhaps, to the cavewoman's yet limited understanding of the world, it is.

"Loralis is other survivor tribe. They are big, have greater numbers than Callafae. They fought off garl attacks before last winter. But it was the coming of winter that saved them. With it, the garl retreated instead of pressing the attack. Had they brought all their beasts and cruel weapons to bear, Loralis too would have been slaughtered. Just as all the other tribes."

You notice a hint of moisture in her eyes for a moment, though she lowers her head quickly rather than let you see her tears.

"News say that a shortear lives among them, one who looks like you. But he is no teacher. He is learning like a child. And even so, warriors must stay and protect Callafae. More garl may strike any day."

[The_Iron_Lord]

Matteo gives a respectful nod of the head to Ferana as she enters; he then returns to simply listening. He had no idea what or who the "Loralis" were, but luckily Zixzax's bluntness allowed him an opportunity to learn without losing face to his disciples. He furrows his brow as she continues. After she has concluded explaining the situation to Zixzax, Matteo speaks, with the deliberate pace of one thinking as they talk. You are indeed correct to say that the bulk of the warriors should stay--though they do not follow me, I rather doubt Celestia's teachings would include the abandonment of home in favor of outsiders. However, similarly, I deduce that same code must include clauses to help those who are less able to help themselves--in this case, to help the Loralis by warning them of the renewed danger posed by the garl. The solution is luckily simple, assuming that there are no further complications: send a relatively small group of warriors to warn and assist the Loralis while the bulk stay behind here. If the Loralis are in further need of help, we could also extend the hand of assistance by sending a few skilled miners and bronzeworkers to teach them the ways of advanced infrastructure...And anything else we see fit to do as the situation dictates.

[igordragonian]

"hmm. Sure. Sound right. We should pay them a visit, on some point." Zixzax added, with a grumble.

[Derjuin]

"Matteo is correct," Celestia says, nodding to Ferana. "The warriors' duty lies in protecting their home. A select few should be sent to Loralis to warn them, but the rest must stay." Celestia says, gesturing around. "Callafae cannot be left open to attack, lest the Garl return. Should they, all that we have worked for will crumble."

Turning to other nascent demigods, she motions toward the door. "We should speak to them. The rift between the warriors and healers should be mended - ours are not followers that should conflict. After that, we should depart for the Garl lands."

[igordragonian]

"We can't babysit every little quarrel. They won't stop fight and pestering us. But sure, let's do it your way, pretty princess" Zixzax groaned, shrugged and eye rolled st the same time.
He still smoked, and followed along, making sure no one suspect that he care.

[Theoboldi]

Ferana seems conflicted for a moment, uncertain at the prospect of her patron deity siding with the group she has opposed so far. However, she soon relents, giving Matteo a firm nod. "If you say it is wise, great teacher, it will be so. I will declare that you will speak to Callafae." She hurriedly picks herself up and moves back outside after that, getting on gathering the villagers for the next day.

As a god of Passion, you still feel that Ferana is conflicted, and that her worry for her people runs deeply. Still, the respect she feels towards Matteo has so far shown itself to be greater, and you doubt that her faith will be easily shaken.

With that, you too begin to prepare for your departure, gathering your things and having the garl brought before you the next morning. Most of the 16 are still bound with simple ropes, though a few of them are wearing far sturdier manacles at this point, courtesy of the new elven smiths. They snarl and grunt angrily as you approach, their hairy, heavy-set bodies fighting against their bindings already. Some of them growl things like "Garl will never show you garl village!" or "You can't trick us, demons!" at you, though there is a hint of fear behind their words. Despite all their posturing, you can easily tell that they are afraid of you and your capabilities.

Two small posses of warriors gather, one to warn the Loralis of the impending garl danger, the other to help you transport the prisoners. You doubt that the latter's combat expertise will be necessary, though without them it will be difficult to keep an eye on all 16 of the garl by yourselves. Still, taking them with you would leave the village defenders dangerously understaffed.

Meanwhile, Ferana has finished gathering the villagers at the main plaza. They sit and look up towards you, ready to hear your message.

[igordragonian]

Zixzax smoked and walked casually, enjoying intimadting the taller beings.
"You see.. I am curiouse about you. But my pretty friend with pointy objects doesn't like you at all. If it's up to her, we will destroy you all. We are gods. We cab find your village. Your help might ensure the safety of your clan"

[Derjuin]

Celestia draws her sword before Zixzax can even mention her, holding it deftly at her side as she looks over the prisoner Garl. "We are offering you a few options. If you resist, you will be cut down and forgotten. If you cooperate, your society may yet be spared our wrath." She does a flourish with her sword, resting it on her shoulder. "We can take the easy path, or the hard path. Which one - and how much blood it will be painted with - is up to you."

[The_Iron_Lord]

Matteo waits for Zixzax and Celestia to speak with the Garl, then he says--quietly, but in a tone that brooks no argument-- As Celestia spoke... You have the option of a merciful death... Or you have the option to lead us to your village so that we might yet peacefully resolve this. I have no wish to kill your kind, but if no-one extends the metaphorical olive branch of diplomacy... He trails off, but it is clear from the slight tightening of his amiable expression what he meant. Let us just say that we will have little trouble hunting down your village even if you say nothing. And our mood will be considerably less benevolent when we do.

[Theoboldi]

The garl look at each other for a few moments, uncertainty written on their faces. It seems like they are truly considering what you are saying, pondering the fates of both themselves and their village. A worried stillness hangs over them for these moments, until one garl that is even larger and hairier than the others stands straight and steps ahead to meet your gaze.

After two seconds of doing his best not to look scared, he spits on the ground. "Demon tricks!" he growls, shakily but yet with a certain amount of firmness. "Garl are not stupid! Great shamans have warned us of you! How you twist garl minds with vile sorceries and honeyed words!"

I actually ended up making a morale check for the garl, modified by the highest charisma in your group. Sadly, they rolled really well on it. >_>

Another garl attempts to step forward, though he is quickly held back by one of the accompanying elven guards. "Garl see your lies! What reason do you have to spare garl village?!"

"Garl not betray family!" another shouts. "Find village yourself, if you c-" at this point, the elf next to him gives him a smack in the jaw with the pommel of his sword. "Quiet, garl! Teachers have heard enough of your insolence!"

It seems as though your offer of mercy was not convincing enough to the fanatical humanoids. You can't help but wonder how much of this is because of warnings spoken by those aforementioned shamans.

At least you got some info out of it. :smalltongue:

[igordragonian]

Zixzax looked amused. He looked at Celestia.
'Well. Carnage is it?"

[The_Iron_Lord]

Matteo narrows his eyes. It seems that they do not desire mercy...But still, I shall not kill them all. He meets the eyes of the first garl to step forward. Pay the price of your foolish words. Visible to no-one but the garl, Matteo's right eye suddenly grows blacker than night for a moment, with his own holy symbol engraved bright-white in the center.

Death Scythe
If I even need to roll to hit: [roll0] + 3 + 1 + Whatever the garl's AC is
damage roll [roll1] + 3
actual damage (minimum 1 even if I miss): 1...I'm pretty sure that's right

EDIT: If I can, Matteo will add his fray dice (rolled in OOC)
Roll: 7
Actual Damage: 2

So that's 3 damage in total.

If I'm remembering correctly, any given group must re-roll their morale check as soon as they suffer their first casualty...:smallbiggrin:

[Theoboldi]

Without so much as a whimper, the garl falls dead, his eyes staring blankly into the distance. He did not even have the time to glare at you accusingly. The others immediately shrink back at this sight, their own eyes now wide open.

"He died like the others!"

"These demons brought the curse!"

Panic spreads among them, and the elf guards are suddenly very busy keeping them in line. Still, they are armed and in superior numbers, so before too long the ape-like humanoids have been brought back in line. With nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide, the garl look at you fearfully, and finally one of them breaks.

"Fine! I tell you!" he screeches, cowering with both hands above his head. "Garl village in the northern mountains! Past the great lake, there is a path! Follow it!" That is all you get out of him for now, as he quickly is overtaken by screams of 'Traitor' and 'Coward' from his companions.

At least, it seems you now know the path to the garl village, as clearly described as is possible for cavepeople. You should be able to head out and search for it. All that remains is tohold the unifying speech for the Callafae.

[igordragonian]

'Now now. He just may have saved your meaningless lives. You are coming with us.' Zixzax stated

[Derjuin]

"We will depart, then, for the village. Let us not tread the path of war should it be avoidable," Celestia says, looking to the other gods beside her. Then, she casts her gaze upon the frightened Garl. "Though should war be fated, the blood of your kind will be emptied upon the wilderness and left for Time to forget." She hefts her sword over her shoulder and marches forward, toward the group of elven guards.

"Let us away, before these Garl tempt their fates once more." She says, more to the other gods than to the elven guards, though she speaks loudly enough for the gathered Garl to hear as well.

[Theoboldi]

With that, you make your preparations to leave. Knowing that without your advice the elven society will fall apart before too long, you hold speeches, give instructions, partake in ceremonies and do all you can to impress one very important idea on your subjects.

'Don't screw this up while we are gone.'

They, for their part, seem moved enough by it all. As usual, the belief that the Calafae have in you seems unshakeable. Given what you've done for them these last few days and what they've seen you do, it's more than reasonable.

The same cannot be said for the garl, of course. While they are clearly cowed by your abilities and power, their vengeful gazes are on your backs as leave the village, and you wonder just how possible it will be to make peace with these people.

Surrounding the Callafae village, a vast jungle spreads into all directions. And even though the thick growth of leaves above your heads, carried by titanic tree trunks, keeps the sun from shining down too harshly, the entire area is uncomfortably hot and humid. While Celestia and Zixzax are not all that affected by it, Matteo can't help but be unhappy with his current circumstances. Even your travelling companions are struggling to march a full day under these conditions, though the elves are doing much better than the garl, as they seem somewhat better adapted to the climate.

For a whole day you march, covering at least thirty miles, with no end to the vast jungle in sight. The only thing to shake up the monotony are the occasional encounters with wild beasts; massive sabre-toothed tigers and huge grizzly bears, all of which you avoid with the deftness and experience of your elven friends or scare off with your godly powers. "If things continue at this pace-" one of the Callafae says as you strike camp for the night. "-we will start climbing and reach the tundra tomorrow. It is a cold place, and food is sparse. Callafae brought supplies, at least. Enough if we stay on course." With that status update, you rest yourselves for the night, awakening fresh and ready for more adventure in the morning.

As you traverse the jungle for the second, you can't help but notice that moving forward is getting ever so slightly more difficult. The terrain is starting to lead uphill in this direction, slowly at first, but if your guides are to be trusted it will get ever steeper as you move on. Indeed, just barely you manage to spot distant mountain peaks north of you through the empty spots in the jungle's thicket, though they are many more miles away.

Your journey, however, is not fated to go without issues. Up until this point, the garl have, while grumbling and embittered by their fate, not given you many difficulties. They followed along the rest of the group well enough, and none have been foolish enough as to attempt escape yet. However, only a few hours into travel on the second day, something curious happens.

As you march, the blistering heat making Matteo and the mortals sweat buckets, one of the garl witout warning suddenly stumbles, then falls onto the ground. He lies still, breathing, but not reacting to any of the Callafaes' rather rough orders to get up, nor to any of their strikes. The other garl, suddenly, are in a wild panic, looking as if ready to run.

"They've killed another! The curse claims us!"

"The horror! The horror!"

[Derjuin]

Having realized why the Garl are dying off, Celestia lets out a sigh and puts an armored hand to her helmet. "It is no curse, it is heat stroke," she mumbles under her breath, though her godly voice is still able to be heard by all around. "You live in cold mountains, do you not? The jungles are hot. Your bodies cannot withstand the heat like this." She, of course, does not expect the garl to understand what she is saying, as the concept of acclimation is likely not one anyone on this planet has conceived of yet.

Raising her hand into the air, Celestia snaps two metal-clad fingers together, causing a clean, keening sound to echo all around her. Above, the sunlight seems much less harsh, and the air cools dramatically. What was once a blistering heat is now a much more comfortable temperate climate.


Invoking a Sun miracle to make the temperature lower.

[igordragonian]

Zixzax groaned silently, and lighted a piple. He tried to build from what ever was around, a sort of parasol.

'Calm down kids. Rest. And who ever can walk, look for water.'

[The_Iron_Lord]

Matteo nods in acknowledgement to the garl who told the location of the village. Addressing the rest, he says Worry not...so long as no significant harm would be suffered by us to do so, your village and its inhabitants will be granted mercy... He smiles, though Celestia alone (being bound to Passion) might notice that it doesn't quite look as kind as his words would imply. Of course, should they be suffering from this "curse", there would be little more merciful than freeing them from it...

Let us go then. There is no wisdom in sloth once the decision has been made...

As the group travels through the jungle, Matteo is rather uncomfortable--the most extreme environments that he is used to are not of this hot, humid character--but he makes no sign of it, knowing the importance of appearing beyond such things to the garl. He does feel some sympathy for the garl that Celestia diagnoses with heatstroke. Were it not for my own divine endurance...I would have likely suffered the same fate. Amusing.

When Celestia cools the climate, Matteo lets out a quiet sigh of relief before he can stop himself. He coughs slightly, then says ahemI am glad that no more garl will die needlessly of this easily preventable malady, then.

[Theoboldi]

For a few seconds as the climate cools down, the garl panic even more, this time from sheer not understanding, though soon they become quieter as the realisation hits them that they can actually move and breath far more easily now. The elves, for their part, are looking at each other in surprise, wondering what the garl did to deserve such miraculous mercy.

Still, they bring a waterflask as Zixzax demands, and with their own expertise and a little guidance from Matteo get the downed prisoner's circulation flowing again in a swift manner.

Shakily, he gets back on his feet, weary at first but getting his confidence back soon. At least, until the realization hits him and the other garl that he is the first of their kind to survive the dreaded curse. That bit of information is enough to make them stare at you in awe.

"Why?" the rescued garl asks. "Why you weaken curse? Was it not demons who melted snow's blanket with the blistering sun?"

[The_Iron_Lord]

For a few seconds as the climate cools down, the garl panic even more, this time from sheer not understanding, though soon they become quieter as the realisation hits them that they can actually move and breath far more easily now. The elves, for their part, are looking at each other in surprise, wondering what the garl did to deserve such miraculous mercy.

Still, they bring a waterflask as Zixzax demands, and with their own expertise and a little guidance from Matteo get the downed prisoner's circulation flowing again in a swift manner.

Shakily, he gets back on his feet, weary at first but getting his confidence back soon. At least, until the realization hits him and the other garl that he is the first of their kind to survive the dreaded curse. That bit of information is enough to make them stare at you in awe.

"Why?" the rescued garl asks. "Why you weaken curse? Was it not demons who melted snow's blanket with the blistering sun?"

Matteo looks at the garl in a somewhat disdainful, yet regal fashion (He should know, he spent days practicing that look after ascending!). Perhaps demons did bring that curse upon you. But we are no demons--we are gods. He smiles, sincerely this time. Where devils and sinister creatures of pain bring suffering, the gods... He gestures dramatically to Celestia, Zixzax and himself The gods...bring mercy.