Curses, It seems there is more than one god that wishes dominion over this tribe. No matter, if they wish for a contest of power to prove my existance, I shall give them it.
I will give Sarah the ability to create abstract shapes out of thin air; They are merely illusions and disappear after a few minutes, but I shall tell her this could be a good way to distract the animals for easy hunting. Tell the hunters this, and that if they believe in me I shall give them this ability.
((It's really hard to come up with powers about the aether that can be actually practical..))
You show Sarah how to make shapes out of the air. It takes some work, but she is able to do it at will now. She shows the hunters, and she attempts to distract animals with it, but the animals are not interested in the strange shapes of the human girl. They know better than to stray towards humans. While it doesn't help the hunters, the people of the tribe find entertainment in the shapes Sarah can make.
Jack came to Byril in a dream, now given form - she appeared as Asril, Byril's victim. In the dream they were deep in the swamps, and Jack held her knife instead of Byril. She grinned at the murderer with sharp, pointed teeth.
"Asril?" Byril breathed.
"Jack," said Jack, and her eyes flashed the sheen of steel. "Her spirit rests with me now - well, rest is perhaps not the right word. You have done well. Serve me further in this manner, and I shall continue to favour you."
"How?" asked Byril.
Jack glanced to her side, where a hooded figure trudged through the swamp. She threw her knife and the figure crumpled, then turned to smoke and flowed back into Jack's hand in the dagger's form.
"In the manner you might expect," said Jack. "Each murder you commit in my name sends me the spirit of the victim, and I will send you strength in return - but in a less direct manner."
Jack threw Byril the knife, who caught it.
"For each man, woman or child you murder in my name, the dagger will steal a shred of their life for you to use. I will teach you how to use that power to strengthen yourself and those you would deem your followers. Yet this power comes with a cost - to follow me, to kill in my name and draw of my power, you must follow my laws. They are simple.
"First: All the men, women and children in the world you may kill, save those who offer sacrifice in my name, or for whom sacrifice is offered for them. Such propitiation pleases me, and I will honour their pleas for their life - up to a point.
"Second: You may kill those who have been afforded my protection, but only with a sacrifice ten times greater than that which they have offered up to me in a year. Such an exception I will allow, so long as the sacrifice is made first.
"Obey my laws and you shall have my blessing and my power. Break them, and my wrath shall descend upon thee."
Covenant: Half of the power gained from each murder committed with the Jackknife in my name will be stored within the knife, from which its wielder may draw it.
"Now, I shall teach you to draw upon the power of the knife, and mould its shards of spirit into a form you can use. Once you have learnt, you may teach others who would kill in my name in turn. This power shall grant you speed, grace and flexibility, and once learnt you may bless yourself or others with its power."
Jack gestured to the knife in Byril's hand.
"Now, hold the knife in both hands and feel the cold of the steel. Beneath that, try to feel the warmth. Yes, the heat like the heat in your blood, like the hot spurting of Asril's life when you took it. Can you feel that? Now draw it into yourself, into your veins as you took it from hers. Yes, like that. Now feel it spread through your body, flooding it, and focus it down into your muscles, your joints and fingers and limbs and toes. Feel it sharpen them, quicken them..."
The lesson continued in this vein for long hours before the Aspect was taught.
Teach Aspect [-5 Power?]: [Murder Subset] Reflexes
When Byril awoke he was clutching the knife and he was splattered with blood. He was filled with the power of the knife and was much more dexterous. It seems that murder had overtaken the night.
Fecundus appears to Dingani in a dream for a second time, his vines creaking and whispering a new message.
"Your creation is magnificent and there will be people in this world who will understand such greatness. Listen carefully to what I now command, if you follow my words steadily then you will experience even greater splendour.
"Hold off on animating anything else until you come across humans once again. Travel northeast to the people of Byjang. There you will find a people that are expectant of great things. Try not to make them fear you. Approach promising to bring life and healing. Animate something significant to their kind into a peaceful creature and they will know our power. Tell them to pray to Fecundus, teach them my tenets, and I will bless you with the power to heal their sick when we next speak.
"I know you are capable of great things, Dingani. Serve me true and soon the whole of creation will know of your prowess."
Dingani already has 1 power, reserve my remaining power for feats he may perform when he reaches the village (given that I grant him 1 automatically every time he animates something).
Dingani began travelling north to the Byjang tribe. He never knew that other tribes still existed. The idea of it thrilled him, a group of people who would serve him and their king from afar. He reveled in the fantasy as he walked. He walked for ages and ages, he traveled across the whole continent, and can now see the Byjang tribe in the distance.
Shanita appears to Vega yet again, looking like a wizened old hag. She tells Vega to start trying to beautify Zyroon, and to continue to try to persuade the village elders, saying that she (Vega), must convince others of my existence.
Vega walks around Zyroon making flower bouquets and talking to the elders of your existence. Trying to convince anyone of your existence. But, while the flowers are appreciated, no one believes her yet. One man asked Vega "If this god exists, where is your proof? If such a powerful being was out there, they could make themself known right now. Hmmm? I don't see a miracle." The man walked away leaven Vega sad and upset. She needed to find a way to prove the existance of Shanita to these ugly people.
If humans need miracles to believe that gods exist than Farinim will give them miracles. Or rather a miracle. Miracle that they will not forget.
"Ceilea," He approached the young woman in a form of forest fire with her being surrounded by it "Ceilea! Ceilea!! Great evil is forming in the tribe located south of yours. Great evil that will bring murder to your home. I have no time to fight scepticism of foolish mortals. I asked for modest gifts and got nothing but mocking of my prophet. I am not happy to do this, but the one who failed to believe me, must be punished. Tell others that if they don't want to face the same fate, they must respect me and my power
Invest all remaining (3) power in covering Nylam with a magical fire that can't be extinguished by mundane means and don't spread on anything flammable while still being hot. Try to choose a moment when other villagers will be around to see the show. Secondary objective is to leave the fire active once Nylam dies to serve the tribe as infinite source of light and heat than needs no fuel and can't spread.
_____________
Of course the god of fire never forgot about the child. He visited Pank's dream often appearing as cute animals made of fire. He used this dreams to raise the child to be a helpful person and give him insights about art of cooking with open fire while holding food in fire resistant hands
Several days after the dream, the village elders held a meeting that all villagers must attend. During this meeting Celia stood and said "I am here to spread the word of my new god." Immediately Nylam stood up and said, "Sit down, there is no such thing as a god. If they existed then they must be evil. We have endured the long dark for generations and no great god sent us help. Now that its over you say that gods are coming to help? Ha!" Immediately after, before he could even sit down, Nylam erupted into flame. "This is my god's power. Look at this nonbeliever and see how the fire covers him? He will not feel pain, nor will he set anything alight. The fire is still hot and it may still burn one's who are careless. This is the word of Farinim. He brings warmth and light to end an eternal winter, but will set aflame those who do not believe." The villagers, scared and surprised by this development didnt know what to do. Nylam was terrified and then he was angry. He shouted curses at Farinim and swore to be your downfall.
Pank was happy to have these dreams. You taught him how to cook with his very special hands. He did so in secret, mostly for his mothers sake, but always thanked you for this gift.
Zilla, now nine (and a half) once again found herself in a endless white space, however this time when the rustle of paper came it made a library instead of a hill, and as the book opened she felt an urge to sit and read for hours, but she did not, important work was at hand. "Hello Zilla, I know of the small following of me in your village, and I have a way to get the hunters to worship me, Zilla you must write a book about how to hunt, I shall tell you all I know of the subject, but it will still be your job to write it."
You tell Zilla a great many secrets of hunting and of weapons. About how to butcher and preserve animal flesh. How to make traps. These great many things Zilla now kept in her mind and her heart. When she awoke, she was filled with knowledge. She ran to the elder and told her that she needed paper. The words flowed out of her and onto the pages. Her book on hunting was more detailed than any verbal explanation could be. The elder read the book and was shocked with the knowledge therein. As the hunters learned this new knowledge and improved their hunting, many whispered thanks to Zilla and her new god.
Corvric was angry, that human had failed him, perhaps he was not the right one? Still, to late to stop now, he would have to make do, but not without some punishment.
Mot was running, he didn't know from what, but he was running, running for his life. He didn't dare look back, but he could hear the thuds on the ground, he could feel the hot rasping breath, and he just kept running. this continued for some time, though Mot did not know just how long, it could have been hours, or it could have been seconds, but eventually he heard the rhythmic thudding stop for just a moment, before a great weight came crashing down on him, pinning him to the ground face first. He couldn't see what was holding him down, but he could feel the immense weight, the hot breath on his neck, and the sharp claws digging into his back, not quite enough to pierce his flesh, but enough to cause pain. His eyes squeezed shut as he waited for the end, before he heard a voice, a voice he recognised, but that did not reassure him.
"You have failed me Mot, I thought you where stronger than this."
There was a slight pause before the voice continued.
"I should punish you for this failure, I should tear you apart and feast on your flesh for this, failure."
The claws seemed to dig into his back a little more.
"However, a true hunter must know patience, and killing you for your failure as a hunter would be somewhat hypocritical I suppose."
The claws lifted from his back, but the paw stayed pinning him to the ground.
"So, Mot, I am giving you a chance to redeem yourself, and perhaps bring others to my cause, the previous offer remains, sacrifice a great beast for me on the dark of a new moon and I will reward you, but now there is another task for you. Tomorrow, your tribesmates will find their field plentiful, and game common, you must tell them that this is my doing, and that if they are willing to burn some of their kill in my name, their hunting ground will remain plentiful. If they do not, well, I have told you my feelings on failure Mot, and make no mistake, if you fail me again, I'm afraid my patience will have been worn dry."
Mot awoke with a start, sweat coating his body, unaware of the glowing red eyes watching him from the dark, as the black furred wolf stalked away
Once again, if Mot can sacrifice a great kill for me I will use 1 power to grant him an ability based on whatever that beast was.
Use 1 power (or 2 if necessary) to make the hunting grounds of the tribe plentiful for the week, and if they sacrifice some of their kill for me each week, this effect will continue, but if they don't, then their hunting grounds will become barren and empty
Mot, shaken but not stupid, ran to the home of the eldest hunter and told him of his vision. The grisseled man listened and final picked up his weapon. He said to Mot, " I will rouse my hunters and we will make way to our hunting grounds at dawn. If what you say is true, we will bring back a great deal of food for the tribe and shall listen to your story. If it is untrue, well, our weapons will already be prepared.
Mot went to get his spear and joined the other hunters. He knew that if this didn't go well he would die at the hands of his tribesmen or his god. When they reached the hunting grounds many an animal could be seen and the area flourished more than it ever had. The hunter's set to work and after a long day they had gathered a good day's hunt. The hunters gave thanks and burned a section of the haul in your name.
Mot once again approached the lead hunter and asked for assistance on killing a great beast. The man told Mot that this was something he must do on his own, but could give him direction. He told Mot of a glade where he had once seen a great stag. He was so awestruck that he couldn't fire his arrow and the beast escaped. Now he was to old to make such a journey, but told Mot of its location. With the hunter's blessing and knowledge, Mot set out for glade. Days of walking and days of waiting passed yet no great beast appeared. Then, under the light of the moon, a huge stag appeared. Mot knew it was time and that he must become a hunter. He lifted his spear and attacked the beast. He managed to stab its leg and with such a wound, it could run neither far nor fast. Mot followed the blood and eventually finished off the dying creature far from the glade. Then he shouted your name like a wolf howling at the moon.
Income:(Short note: Your plans succeed or fail largely on how you describe them, the amount of power you put into them, and the luck of the dice. There where many low rolls this turn and I shall post the rolls for next turn so you know whats up. Also, people are not inclined to believe in you without some sort of divine action. One pawn saying you are real without some proof is not going to sway the general populous).
Fecundus
10-8(for actions) = 2 power left. +2 for worshiper - 2 for Pawn = 0 net income. Available points: 2
Faranim:
3-3 (For actions.) +8+3 for worshipers -5-2 for pawn = 4 net income. Available points 4
Athux
0 (for actions) = 2 power left. +9 for worshipers -5 for pawn = +4 net income. Available points: 10
Aperius
-5 (actions) -1 (pawn magic use) =2 power left. +7 for worshipers -5 for pawn = +2 Net Income. Available points: 4.
Anath [spoiler] 10-9 (For actions) = 1 power left. +20/2 for shared worshipers -5 = +5 net income. Available points:6
[/s] Dropped out
Jack
-5 (For actions) = 1 power left. +10 shared worshipers -5 = +5 net income. Available points:6
Shanita
10-8 (For actions) = 2 power left. +8 happy villagers -8 for pawn = 0 net income. Available points: 2
Vashna
7-3 (for actions) = 4 power left. +6 for worship -2 for pawn = +4 net income. Available points: 8
Corvric
2-0 (for actions) = 2 left. +11 for worshiper - 2 for hunting grounds -5 for pawn = +4 net income. Available points: 6
Pawns:
Ceilea: F age 18 Rejail Tribe; allocentric, patriotic, humble (Faranim)
Zillia: F age 10 Nyrail Tribe; clever, naive, profligate (Vashna)
Byril: F age 22 Nyrail Tribe; obsessive, inconsiderate, amoral (Anath)(Jack)
Mot: M age 31 Krix Tribe; magnanimous, meretricious, inert (Corvric)
Pank: M Age 7 Zyroon Tribe; free-thinking, sociable (Farinam)
Vega: F Age 86 Zyroon Tribe; serious, romantic, faithful, narcissistic (Shanita)
Sarah: F Age 29 Mojang Tribe; Dutiful, ungrateful, Scrupulous (Aperius)
Dingani: M Age 16 Mojang Tribe; Constant, calm, Pompus (Fecundus)
Nishaan: M Age 24 Byjang Tribe; excitable, lonely, Adventurous (Athux)
Potentials:
It costs 2 Power per turn to make a child (<15) a Pawn, 5 Power to make a young adult (<35) a Pawn, and 8 Power to make an adult or elder a Pawn.
Kent: M Age 62 Byjang tribe; Guileless, miserly, conscientious, uncrative
Nilam: M age 31 Rejail Tribe; noncompetitive, conservative, irreligious
Jeb: F age 63 Krix Tribe; honor-bound, orderly, distant, principled
Plylix: M age 59 Jix Tribe; mellow, familial, leisurely,
Bid: M age 9 Jix Tribe; chummy, boyish
Author
Topic: Pawns Reboot (Read 5068 times)