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Author Topic: Pantheon IV IC-Thread Turn 9: Death of the Divine (always more players welcome)  (Read 14657 times)

AbstractTraitorHero

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Re: Pantheon IV IC-Thread Turn 1: Beginning
« Reply #30 on: September 01, 2017, 11:05:18 pm »

Varalin stares down at her island and at the....many things that were happening and scowls frustration filling her bones. Worry as well.
 It appeared things might grow..bloody soon enough and that was something that was making them feel....worried? Something stronger?
 Deep concern. For the mortals down below the precious ones looking over at the offenders. The god of passion spoke.


"Hey! I. Recommend you all stop before this grows into a conflict that is too large. Life has just begun and yet you all circle over it like vultures already! You give no actual care for them and I can blindly see that of most of you! You do not see them as worthy of the life they had or as beings with a will. You see them as instruments to increase your own strength and that they are not. Cease the building of the temple and the proliferation of the sun eagles. Let them settle down for merely a bit before they are overwhelmed by our godliness."
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Roboson

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Re: Pantheon IV IC-Thread Turn 1: Beginning
« Reply #31 on: September 01, 2017, 11:18:05 pm »

Whatever darkness obscures, the power of light will clarify. It is unfortunate, but this is the first lesson that mortals shall learn. It seems they will not be allowed the luxury of a quiet existence. 
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Ghazkull

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Re: Pantheon IV IC-Thread Turn 3: Sweet Merciful Darkness
« Reply #32 on: September 04, 2017, 09:16:44 am »

Turn 3: Sweet Merciful Darkness

The Acterians were a people most unfortunate. For they had been born into madness. Birthed by good intentions, they found themselves in an environment so fundamentally hostile that it seemed their existence would immediately end. That was until more Gods intervened to save them.

And so finally they found themselves on a floating island, save, sound and terrified into blubbering madness. For what they had seen had left scars upon their psyche the likes of which are incomprehensible to those who had not seen what they had. For the knowledge of their purpose, the truth of this universe and their very existence had been forced upon them, in deeds most arcane and eldritch.

Beings of nigh incomprehensible power prowled the land, claiming lordship over them, even as they watched helplessly, hiding away in caves, clutching each other in the questionable security of the dark womb that the stone formations around them provided.

They had seen the Acts of Lu, has gigantic claws came down from the heavens themselves reshaping the landscape at will.
They had seen the Spire of Truth, this monstrous obelisk, radiant in its divine power, mind-shattering in the knowledge its forced upon any who dared venture close to it, meaningless scribbles yet filled with horrifying meaning dotting its surface.
They had seen the unnatural formations rising from the Ground, a place they were supposed to thank yet another of these inexplicable beings for acts he had not comitted, in exchange for things they didn not understand.
And then their servants came, first Yras, the Snake of Darkness, Proxy of this Phanalin, it's High Priest as it had claimed, the one who had extolled the worship of Phanalin. Yet if this horrifying creature was its Proxy how much worse must its creator be? Surely it could not be worse than what they had seen, but by this point the Acterians imagination could in fact imagine worse, costing many their sleep.
Next came the Sun Eagles, these beings even more terrifying in their own right, for their sight penetrated even into the hiding places of the Acterians, who were hopeless as rays of light cutting even through stone blinded them forevermore.
And so many Acterians recieved at least a measure of kindness as they no longer had to witness the madness the Gods had forced unto them, their lives as a species reduced to the damp and dark caves, the warm embrace of another and the lack of light, for even the Sun Eagles could not penetrate this darkness created by themselves.
For now the Acterians spent their days in the caves living off of lichen and insects, ever so slowly coming to terms with the caves, as the stories they told their children of the outside were truly horrendous, evidenced by the occasional beam of blinding light that cut through the caves blinding newer generations and those that had been "lucky" so far.

It is here that Lu and Phalanalin found themselves at odds. Both claimed the worship of these maddened, hopeless and scared creatures but none recieved any so far.

Meanwhile as most of the Gods congregated around the larger world and the Acterians, The Tutelspera and Cerediron gathered around the second world for a struggle of an entirely different scale and kind.

For using the Second as a Catalyst, the Tutelspera had created periodical magical storms which would rain upon the First with each eclipse. Those wild magic storms for now only harassed the liveless fiery surface of the First and ignored the floating islands. But even so Cerediron was tired of Gods playing around with his creations and thus intervened. The Power of Two Gods in deadlock, the Moon for now was locked in an eternal eclipse, sending horrendous Magical Storms across the Surface of the First.


Acter creates the Acterians, Humanoids in his own Image born to strife for constant improvement
Varalin creates the Floating Islands
Lu creates Life on the Floating Islands
Lu creates the Seven Sun Eagles, Birds of demigod-like power, their sun-ray sight cutting even through solid rock
Phalanalin creates A Massive Temple to himself
Phalanalin creates Yras the Knight of Shadow, a Snake of Pure Darkness, able to speak every tongue and with an extremely toxic bite.
Ralkiesis creates the Spire of Truth, an obsidian spire which records every divine act, able to communicate these records to any being close enough.
The Tutelspera creates the "Sacrament" a monthly series of Magical Storms wracking the Surface of the First at every eclipse of the second
Cerediron tries to stop the Tutelspera creating a momentarily permanent eclipse on the First
A Gambit between the Tutelspera and Cerediron erupts
A Gambit between Lu and Phalanalin over the worship of the Acterians erupts
The Acterians are driven wholly to madness through this flagrant use of divine power, divine appearances and general divinity, causing them to hide away in caves where they are blinded by the Rays of the Sun Eagles.
Blinded, Mad and Fearful, the Acterians have settled in the Caves worshipping no one but taking sweet comfort in their Blindness.



Spoiler:  The Acterian Gambit (click to show/hide)



Spoiler:  The Universe (click to show/hide)

[/quote]
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micelus

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Re: Pantheon IV IC-Thread Turn 3: Sweet Merciful Darkness
« Reply #33 on: September 04, 2017, 11:46:51 am »

"This conflict is a pointless affair, Cerediron. I offer this: allow me my Sacrament and I promise to nevermore interfere with the Second."
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Madman198237

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Re: Pantheon IV IC-Thread Turn 3: Sweet Merciful Darkness
« Reply #34 on: September 04, 2017, 11:51:24 am »

I can't have you cooling the very forges of creation just to give magic to mortals! Leave my world as it is! The orbit must stay close to the star. If you truly need to funnel power through a world, create a moon, or align the orbits so that the Second World aligns with the first, and casts an unperceivable shadow. Such would make magic a true test of the mind, would it not?
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Roboson

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Re: Pantheon IV IC-Thread Turn 3: Sweet Merciful Darkness
« Reply #35 on: September 04, 2017, 12:31:20 pm »

Lu had made a mistake. It took him a long time to realize it, at least, it felt as such. Perhaps only a few instant had gone by, or perhaps generations of Acterians had been born and died as Lu contemplated his folly. Lu hopes it was the former. Admitting one makes a mistake is difficult, especially if it is one of the first mistakes in all of reality. Very little frame of reference. However, in doing so, Lu felt he had grown stronger in a way he had never even imagined.

The Acterians had been created in an empty vacuum atop a barren floating rock. Moments later, a giant hand drew forth life and air for them to survive. And since then the cosmic power of the universe has been flowing through them in half a dozen different ways. The minds of mortals were not like the minds of god, and have divine energy flow through them from their point of origin was, perhaps, a bit overbearing.

Yet, before taking action, perhaps there is another he should commune with. Acter. These are your people, at least as a point of origin and at most, your children. What say you on the issue at hand? Will you join me in ensuring the prosperity of these mortals?
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Glass

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Re: Pantheon IV IC-Thread Turn 3: Sweet Merciful Darkness
« Reply #36 on: September 04, 2017, 12:33:55 pm »

Acter looked upon his people, and has overcome with disappointment.

Not with those he created, of course; given the circumstances, they had performed miraculously, simply by finding conditions where their suffering was least. He wa significantly more disappointed in himself, and in the other gods; himself, for failing to consider what his creations would need prior to carelessly tossing them into a hostile world, and the other gods, for arguing over the newly made men with no care for their mental wellbeing.
Something needed improvement, and while Acter could not change the gods, he could change his people.

-One Act used - gifting the Acterians with the mental fortitude to see the acts of gods and not go mad, and to see in their mind's eye what they cannot see with the eyes they have... and simultaneously, he quietly and slowly removes their physical eyes from their form, leaving them unaffected by the blinding light of Lu and obscuring darkness of Phalanalin-

(Note: The location where the Acterian's eyes previously were are, after the Act, denoted by a pair of horizontal dashes [i.e. the -_- face])
« Last Edit: September 04, 2017, 01:48:49 pm by Glass »
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Quote from: FallacyOfUrist (on Discord, 11/15/21)
Glass is, as usual, correct.
Yep, as ever, I bestow upon Glass the expected +1
I'm gonna say we go with whatever Glass's idea is.

NUKE9.13

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Re: Pantheon IV IC-Thread Turn 3: Sweet Merciful Darkness
« Reply #37 on: September 04, 2017, 12:44:42 pm »

"Well, those are some low-quality mortals right there. Whatever happened to worshipping the things you fear?"

Phalanalin considers her options. The mysterious laws of the universe limit her powers- but they also limit that of her opponent. As such, she feels it safe- for the moment- to emerge from the darkness to survey the first world first-hand.

"It seems to me that my victory is already at hand. In embracing the Darkness, the Acterians unknowingly embrace my first gift to the universe. What need have I to further meddle with their lives, when their own actions will in time bring them to me?"

She regards Acters's... act with bemusement.

"There is more to Darkness than what the eyes do not see. They have wisely shut themselves off from the dangers of the world- they have embraced the Darkness with their minds, not only their eyes."

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Roboson

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Re: Pantheon IV IC-Thread Turn 3: Sweet Merciful Darkness
« Reply #38 on: September 04, 2017, 01:29:59 pm »

It seems that for now the Acterians would be set aside. Their mental wounds allowed to be healed, and their mental fortitude to grow. Lu was content with the actions of Acter, trusting that eventually the mortals would see the light.

Lu learned several things from The First Men, and decided upon creating mortals himself. The world was filled with such beauty and bounty, a fact that the Acterians had completely missed out on. Foolish mortals, they wrought their minds upon the mighty symbols of gods and forgot to view the minor ones. They had forgotten the feeling of sun on their backs, and the smell of the forests after it rains. They had missed the blueness of the sky and wonder of the stars. They had never tasted the sweet fruit of the trees, and the refreshing clean water of a mountain stream. Instead these mortals knew only the dark hard walls of tiny caves, of sour lichen, and only of pain.

Lu's mortals would be different. Lu took the many plants of the forests and wound them together until they combine into a singular mortal. Lu does this over and over again, weaving, integrating, growing, until he has a race of plant people. They are larger than the Acterians, most of the plantmen standing over ten feet tall. The plant people, which Lu decides to name the Phopu, are almost entirely photosynthetic. Their skin contains a great deal of chloroplasts for the creation of energy, as does their hair. Their eyes have a dim glow, a very very weak version of the sun eagle's sight, which is characteristic of Lu's creations. Each Phopu is slightly different, depending on which plants they were composed of. This leads to certain genetic traits in the population. Some have thorns, others have pine needle (as opposed to leaf) hair, some are poisonous, etc ect. All of them reproduce in the same manner as flowers, but their ability to move eliminates the use of pollinators and allows for a more manual approach. To survive the Phopu only need light, water, and some nutrients (extracted through extendable roots in their feet), though they do have a digestive system allowing them to supplement their diet with fruits, nuts, and berries.

Lu tries to make their lives easy, allowing them to thrive on only what Lu provided for the Acterians. Light, water, and air. He makes their plant minds resilient to the cosmic energies that were aimed at the meaty minds of mortal Acterians, giving them an innate knowledge that the light comes from their god and that darkness is synonymous with starvation. (Hopefully those two mental manipulations will keep them from approaching the mentally radioactive temple and obelisk).


Lu creates the Phopu: a race of photosynthetic plant people. They are bigger than humans, and can subsist almost entirely off of light. Their minds are wired so as to be resilient to mental energies.
« Last Edit: September 04, 2017, 01:31:36 pm by Roboson »
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micelus

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Re: Pantheon IV IC-Thread Turn 3: Sweet Merciful Darkness
« Reply #39 on: September 04, 2017, 02:05:58 pm »

I can't have you cooling the very forges of creation just to give magic to mortals! Leave my world as it is! The orbit must stay close to the star. If you truly need to funnel power through a world, create a moon, or align the orbits so that the Second World aligns with the first, and casts an unperceivable shadow. Such would make magic a true test of the mind, would it not?

"A tough land makes a tough people. Toughness both mental and physical, smith-king. A mere shadow that cannot even be seen would be a pointless affair that would only be visible to mortals after several eras of development. Rather, forcing them to see the signs of both the negative and positive consequences of the arcane storms will allow them to begin developing themselves now. However, do tell me why you require the Second to retain its previous orbit. Perhaps I can be made to see your reasoning."
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Do you hear that, Endra? NONE CAN STAND AGAINST THE POWER OF THE DENTAL, AHAHAHAHA!!!
You win Nakeen
Marduk is my waifu
Inanna is my husbando

Glass

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Re: Pantheon IV IC-Thread Turn 3: Sweet Merciful Darkness
« Reply #40 on: September 04, 2017, 02:18:05 pm »

If I've interpreted correctly, his issue is that you're trying to make this happen with something he considers to be his. He'd be fine if you did it with something that's your own.
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Quote from: FallacyOfUrist (on Discord, 11/15/21)
Glass is, as usual, correct.
Yep, as ever, I bestow upon Glass the expected +1
I'm gonna say we go with whatever Glass's idea is.

Madman198237

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Re: Pantheon IV IC-Thread Turn 3: Sweet Merciful Darkness
« Reply #41 on: September 04, 2017, 02:23:27 pm »

You don't understand the process of forging, do you? Perhaps it is time....but no matter. You cannot hammer without heat, and there is no better source of heat than the Luar. In fact, there can be no other source of heat for my works than the Luar.
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micelus

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Re: Pantheon IV IC-Thread Turn 3: Sweet Merciful Darkness
« Reply #42 on: September 04, 2017, 02:34:04 pm »

"I will accept that explanation. But tell me, do you harbour the same attachment to the First as with the Second? If it changed beyond recognition, would you care? Your answer will very much affect whether I continue with this petty argument of ours."
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Do you hear that, Endra? NONE CAN STAND AGAINST THE POWER OF THE DENTAL, AHAHAHAHA!!!
You win Nakeen
Marduk is my waifu
Inanna is my husbando

AbstractTraitorHero

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Re: Pantheon IV IC-Thread Turn 3: Sweet Merciful Darkness
« Reply #43 on: September 04, 2017, 02:44:17 pm »

If one had to look at Varalin right now. One could only describe someone who looked like their loved ones or a pet bunny had been roughly ripped from their arms then been shanked multiple times. Blinded before they themselves were shot on the face and they were on the ground bleeding and weeping to death.

All of that to Varalin seemed true even though in reality they had not been harmed the horrors they had seen inflicted on the mortals so cruelly to them even with the best intentions left her.....Curled up in a ball. Sobbing quite literally in rage their hands gripping their knees tightly. She......yeah she didn't take those poor mortals current fate so well.

Then again her sobbing in rage and sadness is a better alternative to her lashing out at about everyone who did this including probably herself would be worse.


Tears of Varalin: Falling down onto the service and into the caves in small tiny streams that ran forever more.Nothing big enough where any one could possibly drown ran cool clear normal looking water. The water had a sweet calming effect helping to soothe minds. it certainly would not cure insanity but it would help alleviate it and make life better hopefully with such a clean and fresh source of water and the slight calming down of insanity. It is made to look natural and not obviously Divine. They will not see the water coming from the sky.
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Madman198237

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Re: Pantheon IV IC-Thread Turn 3: Sweet Merciful Darkness
« Reply #44 on: September 04, 2017, 03:18:50 pm »

The First World is but the remains of the shaping, that which is cast off when the work is gone. You may work with it, but do not harm that which others have wrought.
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