Avignon stretched. "Time to get some work done, since you people feel fine lollygaggin' with dreams and
feelins."
Ripping from himself his arm (which promptly regrew) and some surrounding void non-essence, Avignon created a mighty forge of unimaginable realities.Here constantly changing shapes, extreme temperatures and unstable entropies were all concentrated in a single point. Here, Avignon worked and dwelt, hammering the strings of reality anew. When all was said and done, no mortal would ever be able to tell that reality's physics had been modified and none ever would. However, if any deity had looked into the atoms and particles of creation, someone would have noticed
something missing. That
something was Avignon's gift to the world.
Taking the mundane building blocks of Creation, the craftsman deity created materials that would not obey reality. Defiant and rebellious, no mortal scientist would ever be able to come up with any logical explanation for why these modified materials, "aes", could do as they did. And so, Avignon smiled and released his creations unto the world.
However, it would be no use if there weren't any mortals to appreciate. With a good laugh, she returned to her forge and begin a new work. Seeing the efforts of her fellow deities, she shrugged and thought she would go without. Taking some carbon and a smattering of other elements, Avignon forged a few thousand new bodies, with souls of course. To a human, these creatures seemed to be some kind of hairy mantid with an extra pair of arms which while smaller than the pair, was far more dexterous. For one, they possessed thumb-analogues that would allow them to grasp, which Avignon thought especially important. To go along with their insectoid appearance, he also ensured they had no capability to dream and indeed, needed very little sleep or desire to mate. After all, these weren't pesky mammals he was making. Satisifed with his creation, he released them unto the world.
1 Mighty Act: Create Aes, non-mundane minerals that do not obey the laws of reality. The higher the concentration and quality of aes, the greater the effect. All aes is renewable and with sufficient time, regrows. Aes is scattered around Creation. While there are many types of aes, there are twelve major aes types (detailed in spoiler).
Ezo: materials that affect the mass of objects in contact. A positive electrical current will increase mass whereas a negative current decreases mass.
Ogma: materials that affect the particle state of objects in contact. Adding noble gases to the surrounding area results in more gas while alkali materials increase solidity. Heating ogma to a sufficient temperature results in a plasma state.
Dram: materials that attract a certain substance to themselves. No action is required to activate these.
Loct: materials that push away certain substances from themselves. No action is required to activate these.
Morell: materials that preserve the current state of nearby matter. Matter that comes into contact with morell is broken down into its base components and used to preserve nearby matter.
Silc: materials that can harvest energy either by being attached to it or via radiation.
Jod: materials that affect the physiology of living organisms via contact or radiation. I.e, it mutates life.
Weltox: materials that shift the chemical composition of other matter via contact or radiation.
Jestium: lightweight materials with characteristics similar to heavy metals.
Noro: materials that radically alter brain chemistry of surrounding organisms.
Ravhon: materials that inhibit the effect of other aes types. Must be in direct contact. Also inhibits radiation.
Meta: materials that can amplify/reduce/direct/specify the effects of other aes.
-Mantid culture is not a singular thing. Each group has their own traditions and beliefs and it would be folly to make a list of every culture. However, all mantid societies tend towards a focus on the extended family, specifically those on the mother's side. All Mantids trace their descent from their mother and indeed, many societies are ruled by their matriarchs. Males, which are seen to contribute less to the upbringing of the children, are seen as dependents of their mother even after they reach adulthood. Inversely, females are usually given some rights befitting to adulthood. While this is not true with all cultures, in most societies this is the case.
-Mantid males are differentiated from females by their abdomen, which bears a feature of female gaze. While different ethnicities have differing features, it is usually shaped in the form of a flower, a feather or a styled spike. While not exactly lust, females do prefer their males to have flashier abdomens.
-the practice of cannibalism varies between societies although very few outlaw it completely. Some societies consider it honourble to consume another's brain for in a way they and their experiences live on. Others believe that being consumed is a great shame. Regardless, all societies partake in it in some way or another and in many cases a dedicated historian is in charge of consuming the dead, so as to preserve the society's histories and knowledge.
-An individual who has consumed a multitude of brains and can no longer function as their original selves is termed an avatar or ancestor. The former is used when referring to those who ate any dead while the latter is used for those who ate familial dead. They are seen with a mix of reverence and fear as while the composite mind may hold much wisdom, its differing aspects can drive it quite mad.
-The mantids can be broadly described as r-specialists in terms of ecology; not all eggs are expected to survive to adulthood and in poorer societies, only 1-5 actually do. As such, mantids usually do not receive a real name until the age of 5, being referred to by a nickname in the meantime.
-Due to the shortness of their lifespan, mantids are usually thrusted into a single job or duty quickly in life with very few individuals capable or willing to switch roles later in life. Eating brains however, does wonders to circumvent this problem.
-Mainly carnivorous, mantids gain very little nutrition by eating plants.
Author
Topic: Divine Creations IC Thread [6/6] ((A God-Game about World-Building)) (Read 3402 times)