Turn 6: Fire Incarnate
The gods awoke once more from their idleness and began to act on the world once more.
Lord Kerikavae, the One True God of Cocea, began his plans quickly, seeking to embrace the forces of Magic and Fire into his being. The Skeletal God had created arcanite, the runes and the great Starborn who had Infused the first mages, but has never made it clear that he was indeed, the progneitor of these magical creations. Indeed, his Cocean worshipers saw him primarily as a deity of the Minds and Immortality; the Thinking Undead. Though he poured essence into his ascension unto the arcane throne, it came to naught as he lacked mortal recognition. Though a failure, his attempt brought no great consequence to the deity.
His desire to mantle the Fire would have produced the same result; failure with no repercussion...had something darker not intervened. The Father of Minds tapped into the heat of the void and of the divine metals, thinking to combine it into his being. When he did so, he felt a push, a force that fought against his attempt with vigour...the heat itself. Though the deity had acted to quell the flames of his error and had thought himself successful, the heat had only hidden dispersed unto the world. The heat of the Kikav, the heat that grew the arcanite shards of the world and thus powered the magic of mortals, had become...sapient. They were of many minds each united via a network of passion and ambition, each seeking the doom of the gods. Void Demons and Fire Spirits in the mortal plane, these entities sowed chaos in the lives of the pious and ended again and again the plans of the divine clergy.
Where they only tricksters and liars, these Infernals would be seen only as evil denizens of the Deep Below, demons who rebelled against the gods. Their control over heat, arcanite and the Runes of Power however made them so much more. Magi of the Eight Cities and Controllers of the Free Folk alike discovered soon enough that their powers soon ceased to function, and the fields of arcanite that powered the industry of a many nation soon withered into nothing. The Skeletal Father, who had attempted to harvest the arcanite himself, also found the essence within fail to enter him. In shock and seeking an answer to the Crystalblight, practitioners listened closely to the earth, to the divine metals the Crsytal Starborn had discovered and the great flames that had erupted all over the Arena. In those flames they heard the whispers, the cackling flames and incoherent sparks...Magic was the dominion of the Infernal Host and only by abandoning the gods could the magic be brought back.
The immediate aftermath of this discovery would fill many tomes. Suffice to say, some practitioners decided to remain true to the gods, abandoning the Runes and Greater Control. Armies of Beasts and Slaves that once served their Lords now went feral, bringing devastation to many regions...not to mention the revolts of lowly Lords and servant Wallowings.
The Rune-powered cities of the Eight were soon reduced to derelict husks, made near useless by the loss of magic. Other practitioners, more attached to their art than the gods, chose to abandon their worship. In some realms, these heathens were forced to go underground, hide from the very authorities they once defended. Others sought refuge in the Wallowing States while yet others brought their own nations to heel, either by debate or by flame, forcing them to abandon the gods with them.
Amidst the chaos of the Crystalblight, the starborn Raalmana continued his studies into the Divine metals. [autofail] Suffice to say, the new sentience of the resident heat soon robbed him of his magical capabilities...unless he were to abandon the deities that had made him. Before the Host had been born however, Raalamana did succeed in extracting the essence of the Boogiemen. With the illusion gone, these cursed descendants thanked the great master of the arcane, offering them their lives in exchange. Had the starborn retained his spells, this so-called Army of the Disillusioned would have served as a perfect group of test subjects or reagent gatherers. Now...now the starborn would have to be creative...
Higher up, the Feral Artist remained near the Crystal Palace, fixing his mistake. What he would do now with the coming of the Infernal Host and Crystalblight, was yet to be known.
Even higher up in the hidden realm of the Warrens, Vayros listened deeply to the prayers of his loyal followers. It led to a horrible discovery.
With the rise of easy immortality provided by the followers of the Way, as well as the increasingly complex plots of the Void Demons, many of the Wallowing States simply lapsed from their worship duties. The remaining alchemists, constantly bewildered by Void Demon schemes and the fiery wrath of the Spirits, were recluses, hiding from their persecutors. Some, including the once rich Warren Cartels, escaped into the Warrens, risking their lives to hide from the Host and their terrors. They asked their god only for one thing: protection.
Though he had acted against another threat, the Saint descended during the Crystalblight and uplifted a great automaton undamaged from its tours of duty. Risen in mind, the Automaton Commander was given the duty of uplifting other Automatons throughout the Arena as well as giving knowledge of the divine.
Seeing the trouble the Immortality the Way had brought upon the world, Pif-Ria created a force to return the world to normality. The Sisterhood of the Thirty-Three Shadow Reapers would be independent from the Sages and the Hum. Though very different from the previous groups, their goal remained the same: ensuring that the souls of the mortal dead arrived within the halls of the Tower and thus ensure the divinely-ordained status quo would remain. Rather than spreading joy amongst the denizens of the Arena, they would ensure that the bodily vessels of the mortal souls would wither and die, rending the plague of immortality from them. Though great in power, the Sisters rarely acted directly, preferring to act in within the organisations of the unbelieving masses...such as the Way.
The leaders of the Way were old and venerable. Their founders, gifted with the precious immortality, had survived the turn of ages and led their followers into an age of 'peace' and 'abandon'. Through their actions, much of the world had lost their touch with the divine, choosing to follow the eternal peace supported by the Green Starborn. Their sin was thus, immeasurable. Without hesitance, the Sisterhood possessed the bodies of the old starborn, these old creatures of hubris who had turned against the gods. The calmness and preparation these old serpents retained even as the wraiths took their bodies and destroyed their mortal souls made the Sisters uneasy. The total possession of the leaders soon confirmed their fears.
They discovered within the ancient minds of the Green Starborn old knowledge, of dark whispers and ancient chants. The Way it seemed had not arisen naturally, but been guided by an entity older than the Kalpa itself. It had taught them what Vodoth's gift could bring, what greatness could be achieved and the inherent goodness of spreading immortality. Suffice to say, Pif-Ria's Sisterhood had discovered something no god had truly known. They also discovered that the same entity had warned the Pacifists of the Way and that the Way was completely prepared for the events to come.
As if confirming what the Sisters learnt, actual Follower members soon became increasingly difficult to locate. Though their adherents were ever growing, even more so since the martyring of their leaders, actual Followers became impossible to find....
Throughout this series of unfortunate events, Vodoth traveled the world showing miracles to the world and attracting followers from all over. [3] Though the Infernal Host paved his path with terror and treachery, the prophet succeeded in attracting followers to his worshipers and in time, and in time Jettark ended her journey in the fortress-city of Alfar. Proudly defended by its valiant king, it would serve as the prophet's holy city. [5] There she spoke of the evils of the flesh and the corrupting influence of the material world. Only be death, and the reincarnation that followed, could mortals truly enjoy life. This belief seemingly resonated with her adherents and the citizens of Alfar. When the Starborn descended unto the prophet and supported her when she spoke of the Drane, nearly all accepted the prophet's gift of a new form, strengthened by animalistic power. And thus, the Drane were born.
The Infernal Host is born. Corporeal entities include Void Demons and Fire Spirits
Rune Magic and Witaking made inaccessible to pious individuals.
Many mages abandon the worship of the gods.
Raalmana loses ability to perform magic.
Raalmana gains Army of the Disillusioned.
Raalmana gains 1A.
Vayros hears the prayers of his faithful.
Automaton Commander ascends.
Sisterhood of the Thirty-Three Shadow Reapers.
Sisterhood possesses the Green Starborn elders; discover their origins.
Follower of the Way clergy hidden from the sight of the gods and their servants.
Jettark/Vodoth attract multiples followers in the city of Alfar; becomes a holy city.
The Drane are created.
Vodoth receives +0.5A/turn.
Kerikavae & Vayros receive -0.5A/turn.
Kerikavae: 0MA 2.5A
Meoboroje: 0MA 1A
Pif-Ria: 0MA 3A
Vodoth: 0MA 2.5A
Vayros: 0MA 1.5A
The Feral Artist: 0.5mA
Raalmana: 1A 1.5mA
((This was shorter than usual. Sorry about that. Also sure I forgot something; please tell me if I did.))
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Topic: Kalpa Reboot: A Gods' Game [Kalpa 1/Turn 5] (Read 16152 times)