Pan-aeons: a God Game

[Garjel_blah]

Petr, somewhere in Tria

It was shortly after the birth of their son Nerassus, just as Petr was beginning her search for divine essence, when they encountered something unusual but perhaps not unexpected. The water deity was on the continent of Tria when a shape approached her from a distance, soaring through the sky like a plummeting falcon.

But it was no bird. A raptor maybe, but not a bird. Looking up, Petr tilts their head curiously at the sight. Whatever it is, saying that it is flying seems a pretty clear overstatement. Conjuring up a pool of water above them, Petr prepares themselves to catch their flying visitor.

The being gracefully skimmed the water above Petr with a sweep of its scaly tail, coming to a halt just above the summoned pool at a steady hover. It was indeed a raptor, head crested with saffron yellow feathers, saurian eyes piercing Petr with their intent glare. The beast wore nothing but a leather loincloth and a scarf, though by far the most distinguishing feature of the raptor was that it was missing both legs below the knee. The stumps hanging down with a loose, vestigial ease as it held its elevation above Petr.

"Sir or ma'am," said the raptor in a crisp, respectful rasp, "I mean you no harm. I am here on behalf of the Wiltwatcher, Chern, god of decay."

Petr frowns at the sight. A malformed mortal. And yet still it seems... not exactly healthy, but at least not dying. The water falls back to the ground and they tilt their head slightly to the side.

"Chern? I haven't seen him since he blessed my son." They stand up, snapping their fingers to coalesce into a female humanoid form. Old and wise, with hair the grey of seafoam cresting against stone. "What need does he have?"

"He seeks to harness the power of water to aid my people," the flying raptor explained, hands clasped behind his back, tail flicking beneath him with a languor that contradicted his formality. "He believes that you, being the patron of water and a fellow ally to the downtrodden, would aid him in this. I volunteered to locate you and pass on this request, for the glory and betterment of Choblin-kind."

"Choblin... kind?" Petra frowns, inclining her head slightly. "You unfortunately have me at a disadvantage. I do not know of the tribe of Choblins. Though with that being said. A friend of a friend should at the very least have their words heard. What is the task he needs my assistance with?" She rubs her chin thoughtfully. "Or perhaps I should seek him out. Do you know where he is? If he's by his oasis then this should be quick."

"Chern is not at the No Name Oasis. He told us before he left that he knew of a place with great power, where he could better fuel his miracle-working. However..."

The raptor glided down next to Petra, looking her in the eye.

"I, Xcha of the Choblins' 1st Squalor Squad, would personally appreciate it if you accompany me to our Oasis before joining Chern in his place of power. I believe that you, of all the rest of the gods, would be sympathetic to the plight of our people. It is... Important, that you bear witness."

Petra nods slowly. "Very well. Then lead the way and I shall follow."

---

Petr, No Name Oasis

Xcha led Petra back to the oasis, rocketing through the air with his arms tucks away, face pointed straight ahead along the axis of his rigid tail. They flew until they saw nothing but sand across all degrees of the horizon, and then, in the solitary distance, a patch of greenery resolved itself.

The No Name Oasis had changed since its creation many months ago. It still stood out as a bastion of life amid the dunes, fed by a generous freshwater spring from a glowloam hollow beneath the sand. However, the influx of thousands of worn out terrors had clearly taken its toll. Small shelters were scattered throughout the trees and surrounding sand, the ground churned up around them from the relentless traffic of raptors. Branches and stalks hung limp, long ago stripped of their bounty. The once crystal clear spring water lake was teeming with raptors, drinking and bathing and eating and squabbling almost shoulder to shoulder.

"Chern saved us from living short, violent lives, consumed by bloodlust" Xcha called back to Petra ruefully, "but Choblin life remains difficult in other ways. We have resorted to rationing our food, lest we starve. The water grows unclean, and disease has already begun to take hold. With the Indriel Empire all around us, we have no where else to go, and we do not wish to have to raid and conquer to sustain ourselves."

"I see." Petra says quietly. She floats over the Oasis, looking over the peculiar raptors. She extends her essence into the water. The flow is stagnant. The springs feeding it wouldn't last for half such a congregation, and with how sloppy Grawissen has been with the "terrors" there is not much hope for peaceful interaction elsewhere.

She digs her presence deeper, following the flows of water to their source. Distant aquifiers fed by the sparse rain of the desert. But perhaps. She returns her attention to Xcha, nodding.

"I might have a solution. Water is all over the world, and it should constantly move. I will create a cycle, turn it into one of my healing springs. Fresh water will flow. But what I construct is fragile. Some of your kind should study aquamancy to help the flow remain. Beware those who would claim the wealth of the earth, for they may claim the aquifiers too. Furthermore." Petr opens their hand, revealing a handful of seeds. She shows them to Xcha before she spreads her arms, letting them scatter across the sandy dunes. "With my blessings, these seeds will bear quick fruit. A moment of relief. Future bounties will depend on your agricultural skill."

Xcha bowed low, a strange but no less genuine manoeuvre to perform in the sky.

"Ma'am is most gracious, most wise," he said, his manner faltering as he seemed taken aback by Petra's generosity. Below them, many of the gloomy Choblins had noticed the goddess by now. They crept forward, peering up at her and muttering amongst themselves as they congregated in the sand beneath her and Xcha. Some limped on damaged legs or held their arms crooked, others shuffled under the absent weight of a maimed tail, many bore scars and disfigurements. One human joined the throng, a young woman with a bandaged foot, her suntanned face turned up towards Petra with wonder.

The aerial raptor's fierce eyes darted over his assembled kin, then he swept low, calling out to them.

"CHOBLINS!" he roared, teeth flashing. "Once again, the pantheon that wronged us manages to surprise. Behold Petr," his taloned finger jutted in her direction, "bearer of fresh water, planter of seeds! FRIEND TO THE CHOBLINS!"

"FRIEND TO THE CHOBLINS! FRIEND TO THE CHOBLINS! FRIEND TO THE CHOBLINS!"

The raptors' united shout resounded through the desert. While the Choblins hissed their praise and applauded, Xcha turned back to Petra.

"You can find Chern in the Starry Crypt, deep within the Boa Jungle. Go now. And thank you."

Petra waves a hand gently to the mortals. She permits her cheeks to redden slightly. A sign that, if she understood mortal physiology well enough, indicated gratitude and humility in the face of praise.

"Please. All I did was give you a chance to seize your future with your own hands. What makes my gift valuable will be how you use it. Farewell Xcha. May you and your tribe enjoy long life and good health." Petra bows lightly, their body fading away into a cloud of cool mist that drifts down to the ground. One last, momentary blessing as she leaves.

At least for the time being. Perhaps... yes. She should definitely send Nerassus here in the future.

---

Chern, 22/50 AP, the Starry Crypt

Once again, Chern had found himself in a secluded shaft of the cavernous Starry Crypt. Yellow lights twinkled above him, yellow eyes watched him through ancient masks. The god stood in the middle of the room, ankle deep in a pool of still cave water. A single stalk of glowloam grew in the middle of the pool, illuminating its surface like a moon low on the ocean horizon.

Then the stillness was broken, as Chern slammed the butt of a staff down into water with a taut ripple. Two amberis prongs at the head of the staff twanged and twitched with a symmetrical rythmicness, their vibration contributing to the minute surface ripples at a frequency almost below what a mortal could perceive. The glowloam stalk shuddered, and began to swell, twisting upwards with supernatural vigour... Until with a puff of spore, it caved in on itself, empty and depleted.

"Hmmmm..." Chern inspected the mask, tapping his wooden face curiously. "Growth without decay. Does that even make sense? Futile, futile... But I must do it!"

The pool of water suddenly twists to life. A small tendril floats up from the surface, twisting before expanding into a vaguely humanoid shape. Petra inclines her head lightly to Chern as her body works to coalesce into a proper pygmy-like shape. Still with the grey hair. She is holding a gnarled coral branch like a staff, tapping the end gently against the surface of the water. "Trying to grow plants are we dear? One of yours. Xcha of the 1st Squalor Squad. He told me you need my help?"

Chern stood straighter, leaning on the amberis staff. "Yes, I do. Growth is in some ways indistinguishable from decay, as that which grows only do so using that which has decayed before it. However, in practice, it is difficult for me to reconcile the two. Did Xcha show you the oasis?"

"He did. It has a lot of untapped fertility, but poor cycles. I've directed about some nearby aquifiers to permit water to flow in and out of the place. It should help the biodiversity. I also provided some seeds that should tide them over until the first proper harvest."

"Cycles are indeed the engine of the universe," Chern agreed solemnly, "but I've dwelt on this matter for some time, Petr. Even if the Choblins manage to eke out a life with what little the oasis can provide, they will have no room to grow themselves. Alatadriel's people surround them on all sides. I cannot bear to see these mortals destroyed, not after all that they've suffered already. And yet, as you say, the cycle of life must be respect. So I made this."

Chern held up the staff - more a giant amber tuning fork - out to Petr.

"It imbues water with the energy to accelerate the growth of plants and fungi. With your improvements to the spring, and the power of this staff, the Choblins will never be wanting for food or water. And, beneath the ground, rivers will form through glowloam hollows that carry the staff's power to my glowloam. Faster glowloam, means faster tunnelling. The caves will grow all throughout the desert and beyond, right beneath the Indriel. The Choblin's will have their niche in this world, and they'll be safe."

Petra can't help but let out an appreciative whistle as she looks over the staff.

"You are quite the tinkerer Chern. That is some very interesting designs you've brought forth. Let me see... yeah, I think I'm understanding how it works." She licks her lips thoughtfully, before she picks up a small rock, showing it to Chern. "What many fail to understand is that water isn't just water. Water contains minerals and nutrients. All things that life use to build itself up. Hrm... the Choblins will need some aquamancers to make the best use of this without drowning... my boy can fix that though. For now, if I may." She rolls the rock between her hands, shaping it into a very thin needle of stone. "Attach this to your design. I've infused it with my essence."

Chern took the stone, holding it close to his masked face. He then lodged the needle in between the amberis prongs, forming a trident. Then, he lifted the staff once more, and slammed it into the shallow pond.

The outer two prongs immediately began to resonate, so rapidly, and so evenly that it filled the air with a strobing whine. The central stone needle remained firm, flexing in height and width ever so slightly, a millisecond or so out of phase with the amberis resonators. The vibrations rippled down the staff, making the water almost seem flatter with the sheer tightness of its waves. In a second, the vibrations had reached the glowloam in the centre of the pool.

It grew so explosively that Chern was knocked off his feet and sent sprawling in the mucky cave water. He adjusted his mask, which has been knocked a quarter turn out of line with his face.

"A sound modification," he announced, fishing the trident out of the water next to him.

"They don't call me the flowermaker for nothing." Petra hides a grin behind her face.

Spoiler: Action!

Show

Create a greater magical item (14 AP/10 DC)

+2 Starry Crypt

Forge the Tuning Trident, a staff designed to accelerate the growth of any plant or fungi on contact with a specific body of water to unnatural levels. Either a mastery of aquamancy or a third threshold in the Path of Squalor is required to use the trident to its fullest potential, though it may be left resonating in the same spot indefinitely. A key limitation to the trident is that its effects diminish in potency with distance from the point of contact - placing it in the ocean for instance will not result in all the world's seaweed suddenly shooting up out of the ocean like pine trees. The trident may be destroyed by attempting to use it in the Tabula Rasa (the river running through the Passing), as the sheer purity of its water is enough to overload the Tuning Trident's resonator.

Help from Petr

+2 Water, because the trident uses water to operate

+2 Healing, because it causes growth

On top of their help with the trident's construction, Petr will fortify the No Name Oasis (where the trident is intended for use) with their own special touch.