And so the earth was struck and the first steps towards a flourishing world were made. Many gods decided to take their own path, others found common ground in the events around them. Only time will tell the alliances and intrigue that will guide this new universe to the heights of creation, or to its own downfall.
The chaos god Rexilium immediately jumped on the opportunity to introduce chaos into the universe in its first instances. The flaming ball of metal, magma, and ice would serve as a wonderful basis to build the world upon. It is massive, and extremely dense. Perhaps too dense. There is less magma and fire than one would expect. Upon closer investigation, it appears that the icy prison was perfect, far too perfect. The terrifying icy construct weakened the titan incredibly, sapping its power until almost nothing was left. The massive body of the great monstrosity lays dead and lifeless, while its soul retreated deep into its core, burning hot and bright against the impending cold. A massive shard of ice pierces the body and entraps the soul. The massive corpse protrudes into some of the solid outer core. Bits of metal, flesh, and sinew are embedded in the rocks, ripe for the plundering of far distant mortals. Even pockets of titan magics lay in wait for the foolhardy to exploit. Though the dangers of the titan itself are lessened, its leaky corpse provide boons and enterprises abound for those temerarious enough to pursue them
Shortly after a large pangea is built upon the exterior of the core. Tauron creates a great deal of earth and uses his power over gravity to spread the earth over an immense area. A decidedly vast and barren world capable of supporting dozens of species and thousands of mortals. It is a blank canvas, awaiting mountains and rivers and acts of gods to shape it.
And so the gods set about their work. Tauron, the great earthbringer, carves out an intricate and complex systems of large tunnels and caverns. They cover half the area underneath the massive Pangaea. The massive vibrations used in process leave their impact on the massive caverns and tunnels. Earthquakes are common, but these are no mundane shakes. Minor tunnels occasionally twist and reroute themselves, creating the Twisting Tunnels. Small sections off the beaten path that reroute themselves occasionally.
With the world complete, Tauron blessed the world with the first race the: Annelidians. The subterranean mortals were part worm and part ape. They stood the size of an average human, and had increased musculature that gave them great strength and agility over short distances, but their physicality quickly fades to exhaustion when endurance is involved. A special organ in their throats can them to vibrate the air as it leaves their lungs, allowing them communication and a very minor sense of echolocation..
Only moments latter air floods the tunnels a gift from the life god Julius. The air is so plentiful that it expands outward and engulfs the entire world. The Annelidians take their first breaths and find themselves in a dark empty underworld. Yet only moments later sounds of all sorts began appearing, life had taken root.
The life god Julius invested their power in starting an ecosystem in the vast Underlands. A massive array of creatures comes into existence, dozens of species appear and die in only a few moments. Only those which were capable of surviving remained, the rest served as food for the survivors. The basis for the ecosystem is a particular kind of lichen. Lichens are symbiotes, a algae and fungi living together in harmony. Normally lichens cannot live in caves because they are light dependent. However, this particular lichen has a luminescent blue fungi, which provides enough light for the algae. This encrusting lichen grows everywhere, and gives the caverns an incredibly dim glow. Larger mushrooms also take root, spreading their mycelium across and living off this tough lichen. Grazing beetles the size of horses roam the tunnels, constantly on the move searching out grazing locations. A couple of smaller insects, spiders, beetles moths, manage to survive. Yet none of these are dangerous. There is a predator lurking however, the Triolotick. A dog sized prehistoric looking arthropod, this creature boasts dozens of legs and a hard carapace. Yet it is its powerful jaws, advanced sense of smell, and tenancy to hunt in packs that makes them a danger to the striderbeetle and the Annelidians. Two species of cave corals also come into existence, the result of a life act being. The first is a species similar to acropora, which forms shelves and branching structures. The second is a soft coral, aptly named the mushroom coral. They grow in patches throughout the cave. The coral polyps feed on microbes and tiny insects.
Immediately the Annelidians begin telling stories of their creation and of the life around them. They tell stories of how they grew from the mushroom fields. The story most commonly states that the god of the earth and darkness impregnated "The Largest Mushroom" and the Annelidians grew like mushrooms until a powerful spirit brought to life stones in the shape of beetles. Those beetles ate "The Largest Mushroom"
and now the Annelidians are forced to wander among those beasts, eating them to sustain themselves, for they contain bits of "The Largest Mushroom" in their bellies and by eating them, the Annelidians are sustained by the Largest Mushroom.
Other gods looked to the sky instead of to the ground for their mortals. Acter caught a meteor using his powers of analysis to calculate trajectories and interception paths. Using even more math, Acter placed the meteor in orbit around the sun. Shortly thereafter Acter and Rexilium placed a giant tree atop the meteorite. A dense atmosphere radiates out from the tree's leaves and envelopes the rock with a soupy atmosphere. The air is thick and dense, as if there was enough for a planet, but it was wrapping around a rock the size of Massachusetts. A species of mortals was trapped inside the rock, but was released by the roots of the massive tree, which cover almost the entire surface of the meteorite. They are strange species of humanoid pseudoscorpions. They have bulbous bodies atop modified legs to support their bipedal nature. They have three sets of small short arms ending in dexterous handlike appendages, and lastly have the muscular pincher arms near the head. They call themselves the Sciro.
They immediately begin telling stories of the cataclysm of their world caused by a titan of Disaster. However they were saved by the guiding hand of a powerful guardian spirit: The Tree of Salvation. The tree saw, with its many invisible eyes, that the Sciro needed salvation and thus it saved them. This is normally followed by a joke about how trees aren't very creative. They also believe that the Tree of Salvation tamed a chaotic wind spirit and used it to save them, but now it sulks around the island and thats why the air is so thick.
One god turns not to the sky or to the ground, but to the outside worlds for their mortals. Typheus purchases the unnamed mortals which survived their self-inflicted apocalypse for 1 act and a minor act. Now they wait, still in stasis, fearing the death of their world which they were saved from, but frozen since. To them, no time has passed, and the end is nigh. [
Several offers (will be given fluff tomorrow, but feel free to begin considering them) were made during this era.
1) A god of creation, Tunican appears with an offer. Your world is woefully incomplete, and I fear you will not have enough strength to finish it. I offer your pantheon 10 creation acts to finish your world. However, your pantheon must agree completely on how those acts can be spend. Furthermore, these acts are not meant to be spent upon mortals, and doing so will have terrible consequences.
2) (May be played by a player).
3) The terrifying rat monster Fiverus approaches. It's fur is matted and and grimy, and its visage reeks of filth and disease. Yet it is adorned with gold and jewels atop its disgusting body, swathed in wealth and treasure. Your world is new and filled with the juices of creation. Creativity and power flow without hesitation. If one of you will create for me a wonderous gift to add to my collection, I will pay for it with an ocean and a water act. The greatest gift will receive this this reward.
4) A botanist mage approaches the council. They offer no name, but simply begin to pitch their products. The universe is vast, and its many plant species are wondrous. I offer you several of the most interesting plants from the learby universes. The first is the Bottlefruit tree. It is a spindly tree which grows in windy patterns. It's fruit are encased in a tough outer shell, with a twist off cap. Inside the fruit is a delicious liquid with tiny seeds suspended inside. The fruits have been likened to bottles in that mortals can store liquids in them for weeks after they've been plucked from the tree. My second item for sale is the couch bush. It is a soft dense bush which is incredibly comfortable to sit or lay upon. Mortals love these things because apparently sleeping on the ground prevents their minds from fully activating. A mortal race with these bushes nearby are clinically proven to develop faster and die less often. The third item is an oddity, the reverse tree. These trees are about a foot wide and grow to immense heights. They have their roots on top so that they can suck moisture from the clouds, while their leaves radiate out on low laying branches near the ground. Truly a marvel of natural selection, mortals will think long and hard about how these trees evolved. Lastly, and this one is for you less savory gods out there, the giant slime mold. These plants are large colonial structures that behave like animals! They spread themselves around looking for food and engulfing slow moving prey. I've seen these things used in sewers, in dungeons, and anywhere else you tend to have a lot of edible waste laying around. Plus, they're incredibly fun at parties. The going price for these is 1 act for 2 plants. Though, I could be persuaded to haggle.
Its too late for the bookkeeping bit. Glass, D7, SC777, and Crazyabe all earned 1 minor act this turn. Will finish this up in the morning, but the main bit is done, so I'm going to go ahead and post it.