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[Ardas]

Volondor was greatly intrigued by the appearance of Magic and the way in which Lo sought to institute it among the mortals. The craft of weaving energy into various form was an art unto itself and he was taken by its power and beauty.

He sought out Magnus to speak with him.

" I see you craft is powerful and the gifts you bear for the mortals priceless beyond compare. I am Volondor, god of Arts and Crafts and together with my wife Vanida we take care of the mortals of the world. I very much enjoy the sight of magic, which is an art in itself ad would like ot ask you to extend your benediction to mortals under my protection. After all, magic practices and powers must be taught and unleashed power can be dangerous. I also see that You are without power or worshipers and that your strength will quickly wane. Join my pantheon and teach my people magic, in exchange for their worship and permanent presence on this world. I look forward to your advice and expect to see magnificent acts for craft and magic from you.

What say you?"
-----------------------------

The lichdom that was bestowed by Lo upon mortals by means of magic was worrying to Volondor however. These beings would wield destructive powers and bent the laws governing Life and nature in warped ways.
He saw it strange to improve mortals with perverted means but decided to say nothing of it.

"Lo, I see that you are busy at work, freely using of Magnus' gift.  have a request to make of you, and i see it to return the favour equally, if you say yes. Corvus is paranoid, warped and spiteful. He is failing in his duty as a god of Knowledge, which is why I took it upon myself to grant technology to the mortals of this world. But This is outside of my sphere and i cannot do it as efficiently as you would. Would you join my pantheon and take over the sphere of Knowledge? You would be in power over all affairs of mortal improvement and knowledge, both emotional, spiritual and technological. I will give you a Mighty act to take over Corvus' sphere as the god of Knowledge in my pantheon.

I also noticed that you lost Hortimacina, Winds whispered to me that they would be able to go in and out and effortlessly see what has happened and even aid in recovering it, without risking lives of your followers. It will be a small token of my gratitude, in addition to access to my worshipers and my Mighty act. Have no fear, Udil is still asleep and the World needs improvement under a steady hand. If you fear losing neutrality, that is because you are a god. We cannot remain neutral. But you can grant neutrality to the mortals in our Pantheon, spurring them on to reach for the best while gaining knowledge and encouragement from us. Think about it. The "Guardians" will not help you as actively as I will, and I only seek to rectify mistakes done by Udil. but I cannot do it alone. You cannot leave majority of mortals out, you must be with them. I am the only one who can grant you that access."

[micelus]

"Truly? Good, good. Then this Gren shall not be surprised by my interaction with him. Thank you for your cooperation Corvus."

---

Seconds after sending her message to Corvus, Lo received a message from Volondor. My, my, busy aren't we?

Lo debated on the consequences of committing to Volondor and remaining neutral. His offer was tempting...but he was still Udil, as much as Ushtam was part of Harum. Udil-Volondor was still the Avatar of Wrath and she was not sure that direct rule of Despair would be...satisfactory nor if the Dwarf would not betray her in time.

Lo replied back.

"Volondor, your offer is tempting. Very tempting. Alas, my neutrality is too high a price for anything and I cannot risk Udil's meddling. Besides, the Hortimachina is of nominal value in the great scheme of things. I shall continue with my Improvements Artist and I shall continue them alone. I do hope we may cooperate on future projects together. Good day, Lord of Earth and Sky."

---
With the message sent, Lo sent yet another message to Corvus.

"Corvus. Volondor has offered me your sphere of Knowledge were I to join his Pantheon. I refused. I tell you this not to align myself with you but to show that I can at anytime end your whole meaning of existence if I do believe it is the correct choice. Good day, Scholar."

[Ardas]

That wretched... how dare she refuse... Stop, you must understand. You cannot be trusted, it will take time to fix your blunders and prevent further betrayals. 

Volondor held the upper hand in the internal battle, still fueled by the thought of his new family and the possible chances at improvement of the world. but Udil threatened to overwhelm, if the world remained locked in fear.

"You choice Lo. I shall leave this offer open you you, but I will not hesitate to grant that sphere to another, if they are fit for it. Corvus is sick and he needs to be either cured or replaced. I also see that Aldemas is locked in struggle with him and I will take him and his Luminescents in, if it needs to be done to protect him from the Corvid madness. You still fear Udil, I can see that, but I will continue with my work to restore the world regardless. Only time and work can heal the burning hate.

Go in peace, Mistress of Improvement."

[IamanElfCollaborator]

"Of course, the hypocrite dares complain about my sphere when he has not done anything about art.

Typical. Time to disprove him."

Corvus knew he couldn't start with Despair. So he started small.

He went amongst the Crowborn, and started teaching them about Despair. Specifically, Udil's hypocrisy and conquests. If he would play that game, then Corvus would oblige.

If he dared to call Corvus a hypocrite, then Corvus would declare him one.

Go among the Crowborn, teaching them of Udil's lies as parables to guide them against Udil's teachings and the lies he spreads.

[micelus]

Now, time to deal with this Plague-Bearer....

The meetings of the gods and giants had adjourned. Now all that remained were the Council of Three, Gren Gransson and a small three-legged crow. The crow had seen the proceedings and had eagerly reported all that had occurred to the true Lo. She would have by now dispersed with her mission complete, but she recently received a new directive. Make contact with the Plague-Bearer. And so she did.

The malformed crow flew and landed on Gren's shoulder, drawing the sight and astonishment of the gathered party.

Find a secluded area after this and call for Lo.

The crow cawed and fluttered off. It dispersed into the air and returned to the Improver.

[10ebbor10]

Snip

Magnus watched as his work slowly dissappeared towards the stars. Suprisingly, another God popped up minutes after the first one left. Both were suprisingly similair. In each of them he could sense a hidden, different personality and he wondered if they were related somehow. It might have been a good thing that his usual paranoia had been a bit supresed by the magical feat that he'd just accomplished, or otherwise unfortunate things might have happened^*. He listened to his request and offer.


I'd say that while magic is beautifull, care should always be taken. Some find beauty in destruction, and in a way, there is. Magic is a dangerous and treacherous beast, known to kill and devour those who practioned it. Nevertheless, I will not teach your people in person. Those which do the greatests evils are those who got their power from the greatest masters, without the hardships and selection of finding things out from themselves. Fear not however, even though I don't know which planet you and your people reside upon, in time, the meteroid will pass by them, and the crystals will guide their path towards enlightement. Feel free to take a piece and return it to your followers if you feel the need.

...

I would however like to note that modesty is the most important virtue when learning the path of magic. It's an uncontrollable, wild and living force, caring not who it aids or who it destroys. It's eternally neutral, in a self rightening balance. I see no need to deviate from this balance by allying myself with Gods I barely know, on a planet that isn't mine, for soon I'd find myself fighting someone elses war.



_{Really, sneaking upon the mildly paranoid God in the middle of space might not be a smart thing to do.
Also, I feel the need to be a little fair about this, but while Ghaz didn't mention the construction of the Galactic Engine in the turn post, the stats indicate that it did indeed get build and is completely operationall.}

[Ardas]

"It is sad to hear it but your reasoning is not fee form fault, as time of neutrality in this universe has ended and you seem to know the affairs here poorly. Nonetheless ,I will not push you towards any one path, I shall allow you to remain neutral. Do not take offense however If I seek to make sure that magic does not overwhelm mortals and starts to threaten the gods. I wanted you to hoave that oversight, but I may have misjudged you.

Go in peace Magnus."

[Iituem]

After the meeting had been resolved, one way or another, Gren made his way to his chambers and small personal shrine and knelt, praying to Lo.

"Greetings, spirit.  Why do you call for me?"

[micelus]

Lo responded with her offer.

"Gren Gransson. I've watched you for some time. Very interesting life you lead; giving mortals power. Enough to challenge the divine perhaps? Perhaps not. Regardless, I've seen that you've adopted my friend Corvus as a patron. I would not become too attached to the Crow, were I you. I smell blood and war coming. When the time comes, mortals such as you will be in the middle of it."

Lo paused.

"I've already made plans to alleviate the damage when it comes, but I would like to enhance my odds. I offer you the Six-Discipline Thorn Path, a path to immortality and power. With it, perhaps, you can protect the mortals here in Eversummer...and else where."

[gman8181]

The Catalyst had watched the meeting between gods and giants with a fair degree of interest from it's disguised perch upon the mannequin.  It had only received limited contact with divine beings in the past, so observing them along with their interactions among one another and with the giants was very... educating.  Potential opportunities appeared to be rather rapidly presenting themselves.  Plans soon to be put into motion were every day becoming closer to a reality.

"D-class Organism, respond. I am...Lo, goddess of Improvement. Speak your...descriptor-name and origin. Tell me, how long have you been here...under the waters."

A momentary interruption of thought.  This was okay.  Perhaps another opportunity was presenting itself.

Hello, Lo, goddess of Improvement.  We have not often had the pleasure of communicating with a divine.  Our name?  The Catalyst will suffice.  It is a suitable name and perhaps accurately reflects a small part of our nature.  Our origin?  Even we cannot recall.  The void was our birth place but what made us is a mystery.  From it we emerged and we saw this place filled with life.  How could we resist exploring it?  Our time in the ocean has been rather short but what does that truly say, considering how -relative- words like short really are...

Enough of us.  Tell of yourself.  What interest have you in us?

[sjm9876]

Feros hoped war with udil-Volondor would not come. but he suspected it would, and that many would fall. to this end, he began to make arrangements, and spoke to kar'lan:

'Kar'lan, my friend. I have a request to make of you. I see a storm coming, and wish to secure my worshippers against it. To this end i ask that I be permitted to secure a corner of your afterlife for my own worshippers, to be entered or exited as they will. It would be a place where those dissatisfied to live a life of peace could go to feel the thrill of the hunt again. Furthermore, i propose that those who choose to dwell within would be permitted to enter and exit your afterlife at your will, so that they may best defend the world.'

[micelus]

"Catalyst...I simply wished to know what had caused such disturbances in the organisms in this area. But now that I know...I believe that we can come to an arrangement. Catalyst, I do believe that your goal of evolution, or at least this is the side-effect of your actions, is compatible with my own. Here is my offer: I shall aid you in your task as a patron, if you give your fealty and respect to me. Partnership would be most beneficial, mind-hive."

[gman8181]

A partnership is agreeable and should provide us both with ample opportunities to advance mutual goals.  Still I would have you know that I will not work with you as a servant but as an equal.  Subservience is not in our nature.

[micelus]

"A misuse of words then, Catalyst. Here is what I propose in more direct terms: you shall sacrifice 20% of your total biomass to me on a regular basis-as long as that is sustainable- and I shall in return grant you exclusive use of a divine unit of power...Would that be agreeable? I am quite willing to haggle."

[Zanzetkuken The Great]

'Kar'lan, my friend. I have a request to make of you. I see a storm coming, and wish to secure my worshippers against it. To this end i ask that I be permitted to secure a corner of your afterlife for my own worshippers, to be entered or exited as they will. It would be a place where those dissatisfied to live a life of peace could go to feel the thrill of the hunt again. Furthermore, i propose that those who choose to dwell within would be permitted to enter and exit your afterlife at your will, so that they may best defend the world.'

Kar'lan permitted himself a small smile.  "Whether you believe it or not, in both sections I have created areas like what you describe.  In the paradise, an area that challenges their skill, as well as sustains the soul indefinitely, if they wish for that boon in their hunt.  In the hell, the situation is reversed.  As a member of the guardians, I have already allowed you to use the various areas of the paradise and hell for afterlives of your worshipers."

Kar'lan returned to his previous emotionless expression, before continuing,  "However, living mortals are unable to enter the afterlife, due to the nature of the entrance repelling the attached souls in a reverse black hole.  The only ones who can go past this barrier are me, my ethereal creations, and souls, in order to prevent harm from coming to the souls.  There are soul-eaters in the deadlands, and I do not want them coming to harm those who have lived their lives, and are going through their penance for breaking the four tenets I judge by, or are finding happiness, for the first time for some."