Mighty Tantiy was alone in an endless Void. It was alone. Aloneness was unacceptable. This would have to be...remedied.
So Tantiy made the Universe.
First came the Light, a mighty orb--perhaps a third as wide as Tantiy Itself. The Light glowed brightly, illuminating Tantiy's work.
Then came the Wanderers, lesser orbs glowing with a lesser light. These It put into orbit around the Light, orbits which often went far past Tantiy to illuminate the skies of Its dark side.
Next was the Dark, a sphere about half the size of the Light but nearer. It, too, orbited Tantiy, but gave no light. Instead, it reflected the brilliance of the Light and the lights of the Wanderers. It was visible only at daybreak and sunset from most of Tantiy.
Finally, Tantiy began work on that which would inhabit Its surface, Its pride and joy.
First, it made the Jotun, the heralds of Tantiy, rare in number but great in power both magically and physically. Thirty feet tall and capable of moving mountains with their minds (slowly) , Jotun were peaceful watchers, the hands and eyes of Tantiy.
Then came the Drakes, great six-legged reptiles with stony hides and mighty muscles. The Drakes were wild but would submit to those who proved themselves. The Drakes were intelligent if not brilliant, and tested those who would rule them in not only strength but cleverness. Once the Tests were passed, though, the Drakes would obey the one who passed them until one--usually the mortal--died.
Following the Drakes came the Trolls, living boulders which accumulated stones and soil until they reached a size of about two to three tons and, if humanoid, perhaps 15 or 20 feet tall. These forms often had some sort of arms and always had legs. No two Trolls are quite alike, in personality or in appearance.
Next, Tantiy created what It felt would be the greatest race to walk Its surface: Humanity. Humans were not big like the Trolls and Jotun, nor as tough as Trolls nor as magically powerful as Jotun. However, they were much more intelligent than Trolls, much more numerous than Jotun, and had ambitions which surpassed them both. Soon, Humanity spread across the fields and forests of Tantiy, mining Its mountains and sailing Its seas.
The final creation of Tantiy in this Age of Creation was the Oracle Spirit, a spirit that went from human to human, teaching them what they wanted to know--regardless of if they needed it. For each advance the Oracles granted, nine experienced tragedies; yet, without the Oracle, mortals' understanding of the Universe would be so much more limited.
Ultimate Act: Create the Universe. (I assume that's what the UA given is for?)
Mighty Act: Create the Light, an orb of glowing gold orbiting Tantiy.
Mighty Act: Create the Wanderers, glowing orbs of silver orbiting the Light or each other. They glow with a lesser light, and move in somewhat complicated patterns in the sky--all the more complicated due to periodically, if predictably, changing their orbits.
Mighty Act: Create the Dark, a sphere of iron which orbits Tantiy perpendicular to the orbit of the Light.
Mighty Act: Gain Acts.
Act: Create the Jotun, massive magical humanoids with several eyes on their heads and long, grassy fur all over their bodies. They are small in number but serve as mortal heralds, messengers, and informants to Tantiy. Jotun live for centuries and reproduce just enough to keep their numbers steady.
Act: Create the Drakes, hexapodal reptiles with stony coverings who eat both soil and flesh. They are around 100 feet long when fully grown, and give Tests to mortals who want to "tame" them. Each Drake gives four to seven Tests, unique to the Drake, which the mortal must pass to "tame" it. Once these Tests, a mix of mental and physical challenges, have been passed, the Drake will serve the mortal until one dies. As Drakes can only die in battle, and as they are giant reptiles covered in stone, the mortal tends to die first. When a mature Drake dies, its hide crumbles, and a pair of organs buried deep in its chest activate, awakening two hatchling Drakes who feed on the flesh of their parent until they are big enough to handle the world--about the size of horses or oxen.
Act: Create the Trolls, creatures made of rock. They are not clever, but they are capable of making treaties with each other and other races. They revere the Drakes and listen to the Jotun, the latter mostly because the Jotun intimidate the Trolls. The kings and chiefs of Trolls are usually Drakinrytern, or Drake Riders, those who have passed the Tests of a drake. When injured, they can heal the injury with stone or soil; when a limb is severed, they can make a new one.
Act: Create Humans, which you should have a good idea what are.
Act: Create the Oracle Spirit, an ethereal spirit that inhabits a human (the Oracle). The Spirit sustains the Oracle in all of his or her needs. When the old Oracle dies, the Oracle Spirit finds an appropriate newborn to inhabit. As the Oracle ages, it gains certain...odd features, varying from Oracle to Oracle. One might have scaly skin and no eyes, another might gain extra pairs of arms. Regardless, the child seems clearly inhuman from well before puberty--seven or eight at the latest. The Oracle leaves home around its tenth birthday, influenced by the Spirit, if s/he has not been driven out already. Once the Oracle finds an appropriate place to live, the Oracle Spirit drives the Oracle to turn it into a shrine; this Oracle Shrine is where the Oracle will most likely spend the rest of his/her days. The Oracle and/or the Spirit invent/s three Trials which anyone seeking the Oracle's wisdom must fulfill; once they do, they may ask as many questions of the Oracle as they passed Trials. These questions are answered simply and truthfully, as literally as possible in most cases, although a given Oracle may twist this tendency for the good (answering what the questioner means) or bad (giving an answer that, while technically true, is of no help or is even harmful).
I assume that Acts come with the suspension of physics needed to make them work?
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Topic: Gods and Mortals (IC thread) (Read 11288 times)