Tick 3.0 “The Merchant Rises and the Unseen Malice Finds Remorse.”Sundered into three pieces by the wrath of Sol, Light of Magic, the Market nonetheless manages to make a speedy recovery with the assistance of Camelia and receives the full benefit of its angelic follower’s worship.
The Market’s condition improves from -1 to 0, and the Market is no longer Comatose!Ednaera sends Eslinde to the Blue Corridor to teach the art of blade-crafting to the Dhasals and the Camels. The Dhasal are ecstatic to be in the presence of the fabled foremost of their Goddess’s followers, and take to the smithing of copper kukri and daggers with great gusto. Unfortunately, they lack the societal cohesion and trade network to facilitate the smithing of bronze, though they have the knowledge to do so. The Camels have already uncovered the art of blade-crafting themselves, and spit upon the Servant of the Goddess, decrying her hideously non-Camel ugliness. After the first dozen campsite massacres, the Camels have learned to avoid the sight of Eslinde.
Eslinde has taught the Dhasal the art of blade-crafting!Sol, Star of Magic decides that as the Starnymps have learned the rudiments of Celestial magic, they are ready for the understanding of the sciences necessary to build on their knowledge. It is a long and difficult task, but little by little, the diligent Light of Life manages to instill the basics of mathematics, physics, chemistry, and artistry in the Starnympt population. They are eager to learn and in time, they will uncover more on their own.
Sol, Light of Magic teaches the Starnymps the basics of art and science!Kit Rougard states his neutrality concerning the Market’s shattering, and is slightly disappointed the Snakekin haven’t managed to overcome their paranoia and build a society, but doesn’t hold it against them. Instead, he endeavors to lift them up as a people, quite literally, through the introduction of comfortable stilt houses. They don’t fear Kit Rougard near as much as their own kin, and though they’re wary of sudden betrayal, they’re more than eager to learn. Soon enough homely stilt houses are scattered throughout the Coedwigoeddgwyllt, and dozens of superstitions surrounding the horrific, flesh-eating, furless abominations within them have spread amongst the Wolfkin
Kit Rougard teaches the Snakekin the art of constructing Stilt-Houses!Pururu sees the other deities teaching their followers and turns her sight to the Purusians, who have yet to develop past the earliest part of the stone age. Briefly stricken with remorse for neglecting her children’s education, she decides to rectify the issue immediately. She teaches them how to dig relatively deep burrows in the ground, too small for bigger races to enter, and reinforced by the clever placement of sticks and stones. Next, she creates a docile breed of relatively large, but still tiny non-venomous spiders that weave luscious silk and are easily tamed by one with the proper know-how. Pururu then shows the Purusians how to milk them for silk, hold them in kennels, and keep them tame. These two inventions improve their quality of life tremendously, and within the decade, dozens of Puru Burrow cities are holding the overwhelming majority of the Purusian population.
Pururu teaches the Purusians how to build Puru Burrows and tame Silk Spiders!Turn One:In the Observatory's courtyard, far away from the turbulent winds of the First Storm, the Starnymps play within sight of the Yggdrasil tree. They test their flashing lights and boast of the cantrips they've discovered. A Starnymp male shouts for the rest to pay attention and they turn to stare, transfixed, as he rises on not two, but four wings in what must be an enormous investment of mana, yet one he handles with ease. The mortals are amazed at this display, as he rises into the clouds with a confident grin, until he is turned into a red mist and the bloody gore splattered across the crowd.
They pause, shocked for an instant that feels like an eternity before it happens again, and again, and again, each time taking no longer than the scantest of seconds, and finally, one manages to scream. The rest of the Starnymps scatter, fleeing in all directions and crying for Sol, Light of Magic to save them as it seems a thousand, impossibly sharp invisible blades hack them apart. The Star Goddess is quick to respond and surges forth from her palace, crackling with Celestial energy. She shouts at her children to flee and they do so, but the massacre doesn't cease in the slightest.
Detecting the wave of malice radiating from the unseen menace's soul and on the verge of panicking herself, she grits her teeth in righteous defiance and the fabric of reality pulses, rippling at her will. The gravity in the Observatory amplifies a thousandfold and the Starnymps are unaffected, but the threat pays no heed, and continues its atrocity. Clearly, it pays no heed to the laws of physics as the pantheon understands them, and already, in the moments it has taken the author to conceive this sentence, it has slaughtered three hundreds of innocent little ones! Something must be done, and soon!“I will not let you harm them Further!”
The First World Tree shines brightly, before a million strings and a millions more erupt from it, more and more splitting, blocking the rampage.
They then wrap the entirety of the malice in a cocoon of light, backed by Sol's own light.(Health) Celestial Energy entraps the menace's soul and body in celestial amber, frozen in time.
The Unseen Menace, (Fully Healthy)
Sol, Light of Magic, (Fully Healthy)
The Starnymp Population, (-0.2)(1.1 remaining)Turn Two:As if encouraged by the Star Goddess's efforts, the hidden malice redoubles its efforts, shattering the Starnymp's well-built towers and cabins and making mincemeat of their cowering occupants a dozen times over. The sight of the unspeakable act fills Sol, Light of Magic with the furious rage of a mother protecting her children, such as she has never felt before, and with the wave of one hand, a thousand times one thousand radiant roots sprout from the Yggdrasil tree.
They surge forth in a flickering net akin to lightning, and surround the last scene of butchery. Having trapped its escape, they close in to choke the monster and it lashes out in hissing, spiteful hate, flaying hundreds upon hundreds of strings apart, but for every one to shatter, a dozen more rise, and soon it is enveloped in a pulsing net of Celestial Essence, reinforced by the own life-force of the Goddess who oversees the Light of Life herself.
It is exceedingly painful to hold onto the creature, as it is now at her own level of power, but she persists and at least for these next few moments, it is immobilized. The unseen malice is only slightly damaged, and entwined as it is with her life-force the Star Mistress knows she can't hold on forever. The fiend's shape is reminiscent of a panther, and its mind is filled with burning, flashing hunger. It is most certainly not pure of heart.Light of Life. Star of Magic. The nature of this being was born as one of hunger, wishing only to be filled. Grant it it's wish.
2E, Purify it's anger, be calm. Come to your senses, I give of you my lifeblood. Raise it so that it knows compassion. Direct Connection...
“Gain your own mind, and be allowed to make your own path, not as a weapon, but as a friend and ally."
The Unseen Menace, (Slightly Wounded)(Immobile)
Sol, Light of Magic, (Moderately Wounded)(-2 Essence)
The Starnymp Population, (-0.2)(0.9 remaining)Turn Three:This foul creature, this loathsome fiend lies bound within the grasp of the Star Goddess, and fighting the pain as its spite lashes through her psyche as a flaming dagger through fine silk, she strides forth, and places her hands upon its rippling hide. Straining, and throwing everything she has into the effort, she forces her way past its malice, past its hunger, and past its hatred, straight into the deepest, darkest depths of its soul.
There, exists only a raging storm of whirling hate, punctuated by molten flashes of famished hunger so profound as to shake the Goddess to her core even as she stands strong. The menace's force of will thrashes and wails against her, lashing out as a cornered beast, and relents only in the slightest as she holds it into place. To her surprise, it speaks, and its voice belies an unholy cunning."CELESTIAL WITCH, I AM BYGAR, BANE OF LIGHT! RELEASE ME FROM MY BINDINGS, LEST I REND THINE SOUL AS THINE CHILDREN'S FLESH!"Why? she asks
"You hunger so, a being of darkness. I do remember one of my Celestial from ages past like this."
"They lashed out, consorting with darkness to kill me as well. But the youngest, the weakest, gave up their own being as a Celestial, and as a mortal, defeated them."
"In the end, it was his will, he could not stand being bound to another, unable to love mortals. But he did not wish to give up his wings either.."
"What is this hunger that drives you to consume and rend? Is it simple nature, or.."
Sol simply hugs them tighter to her immaterial soul..
Turn Four:The unholy one's black spirit seems to recoil as the Light of Life shines deep within, but with an effort of will far beyond any mortal, it manages to wrench control of its physical form from Sol, Star of Magic, and lunges, tearing a thousand strings apart to sink a hundred flesh-flensing wires deep into the Goddess's rib cage and spine. The onslaught is enough to kill even the mightiest of mortals, but it merely deals a grievous wound to the deity.
She stands, stricken with incandescent agony, and it is all she can do to remain. The Yggdrasil tree is her only salvation, as the strings force the abomination to heel yet again, but as it is, she hangs onto life by the merest thread. Bygar's voice is mocking, even as it seethes with hate, and for the first time, Sol, Star of Magic feels truly mortal fear."WOEFUL, WRETCHED WITCH, I AM WROUGHT OF THE WHIRLWIND AND THINE HONEYED WORDS FALL UPON DEAF EARS! MINE HATE IS AS A THOUSAND JAGGED SWORD-SUNS, AND SO LONG AS THE VEIL OF STARS DOTH SHINE, IT SHALL NEVER FADE!""Not yet... heh, you're not the only one to say that. you really are, like him.."
"Love, Hate, they are the same. I love my children, so.. I understand that hate.."
Staring into the Bane of Light's SOUL, she offers one last smile..
The entirety of Sol's SOUL shines as the tree darkens…
The Unseen Menace, (Slightly Wounded)(Immobile)
Sol, Light of Magic, (Grievously Wounded)Turn Five:The Star Goddess unleashes all that she was, all that she is, and all that she ever will be into a single, earth-shattering embrace of such potency the evil within the monster's soul is swept away, and in her loving arms, its murderous hate is broken, yet not shattered. Beyond its form, in the Observatory itself, the strings have gone dim, and fallen limp. Sol, Light of Life has aged a thousand centuries, and her face, once in the throes of vigorous youth, has decayed to the wrinkly, stooped visage of a grandmother's grandmother.
She collapses, wheezing from the exertion, and falls into a deep, dark slumber. The strings fade to nothing, and slowly but surely, the beast's invisible eyes open. Bygar stands, shakily rising to its feet, and snarls at the fallen deity. It steps forward, as if to feast upon her succulent flesh, but a hitherto unknown feeling stops it in its tracks, and its staggers away as if struck. It surveys the bloody ruin, the cringing Starnymp children, the shattered houses, and the rotting world-tree, and it recoils, numb to it all. Then, the weight of what its wrath has done falls like a meteor upon the scales of judgement, and it collapses, weeping in regret."W-WHAT... WHAT HAVE I DONE?!? THIS REMORSE... THE RUIN ALL AROUND ME... WOE BETIDE! MERCIFUL GODDESSES, STRIKE ME DOWN, FOR I DO NOT DESERVE TO LIVE!"The Unseen Menace, (Slightly Wounded)(Guilty)
Sol, Light of Magic, (Grievously Wounded)(-8 Essence)(Comatose)COMBAT ENDBygar, Bane of Light remains slumped over in The Observatory, mourning the massacre it has inflicted on the Starnymps.Camelia (Camels, War) 10/10
Market (Trading, Angels) 11/11
Pururu (Small, Soft) 10/10
Sol, Star of Magic (Star Magic, Light of Life) -6/10
Ednaera (Might, Beauty) 4/10
Luda Ncebekan (Forge, Storms) 10/10
Fanw Howell (Hunting, Ranged Combat) 8/10
Guar (Life, Caverns) 10/10
Kit Rougard (Trickery, Illusions) 11/11
Jojo (Courage, Determination) 10/10
Camelia, (Camels/War)
- +7 Essence per Tick:
- +2 Essence, malleable reality
- +4 Essence, Camels in the Blue Corridor
- +1 Essence, Camels in Camelot
Market, (Trading, Angels)
- +15 Essence per Tick:
- +2 Essence, malleable reality
- +4 Essence, Living Forges in Coedwigoeddgwyllt
- +9 Essence, Hundredwinged in the Taiga Islands
Pururu, (Small, Soft)
- +10 Essence per Tick:
- +2 Essence, malleable reality
- +6 Essence, Purusians in the Taiga Islands
- +2 Essence, Wolfkin in the Coedwigoeddgwyllt
Sol, Star of Magic, (Star Magic, Light of Life)
- +3 Essence per Tick:
- +2 Essence, malleable reality
- +1 Essence, Starnymp in The Observatory
Ednaera, (Might, Beauty)
- +3 Essence per Tick:
- +2 Essence, malleable reality
- +2 Essence, Dhasal in the Blue Corridor
- -1 Essence, maintaining Eslinde and Arpier
Luda Ncebekan, (Forge, Storms)
- +8 Essence per Tick:
- +2 Essence, malleable reality
- +2 Essence, Diviluge in the Wandering Storms
- +4 Essence, Living Forges in Coedwigoeddgwyllt
Fanw Howell, (Hunting, Ranged Combat)
- +4 Essence per Tick:
- +2 Essence, malleable reality
- +2 Essence, Wolfkin in Coedwigoeddgwyllt
Guar, (Life, Caverns)
- +8 Essence per Tick:
- +2 Essence, malleable reality
- +4 Essence, Nauts in Cavenhold
- +2 Essence, Dhasals in the Blue Corridor
Kit Rougard, (Trickery, Illusions)
- +6 Essence per Tick
- +2 Essence, malleable reality
- +4 Essence, Snakekin in Coedwigoeddgwyllt
Jojo, (Courage, Determination)
- +2 Essence per Tick:
- +2 Essence, malleable reality
The Taiga Islands
- A series of islands floating in the Void, knitted together by their extensive forests.
- Population Capacity: [6/8]
- 3.0 Purusians
- 4.2 Hundredwinged
The Blue Corridor
- A strip of steppes, deserts, and oases filled with every variety of dromedary.
- Population Capacity: [2/8]
- 2.0 Camels
- 1.2 Dhasals
Coedwigoeddgwyllt
- A vast expanse of thickly wooded forests and rolling, hilly plains.
- Population Capacity: [4/16]
- 2.6 Snakekin
- 1.8 Wolfkin
- 1.4 Living Forges
Cavenhold
- A tiny floating island consisting of a magma well and intricate cave system.
- Population Capacity [1/4]
- 2.2 Naut
- 0.5 Djinn
The Nexus
- A tiny immaculately constructed city linking every region with bridges and portals.
- Population Capacity [0/8]
- 0.5 Djinn
- 0.4 Hundredwing'd
The Wandering Storms
- A small realm of solidified clouds and eternal storms, echoes of Luda Ncebekan’s realm.
- Population Capacity [1/12]
- 1.4 Diviluged.
The Observatory:
- Sol, Star of Magic's well-hidden and selectively inclusive abode, crowned by a castle upon which lies a miniature world-tree.
- 1.1 Starnymps
The Fields of Everlasting Glory
- An endless illusory reaction of Ednaera's glorious past battles, never ending or changing, but somehow, never becoming repetitive.
The First Storm
- A molten stone, endlessly enveloped by an ever-raging cacophonous storm which serves as Luda Ncebekan's workshop and forge.
Camelot
- A vast, oasis-filled desert and shrub-land, partitioned by four hump-like mountains, paradise, insofar as Camelia is concerned.
- Inhabited by:
- 1.8 Camels
The Canister
- A dualized realm, where those entering suffer boiling, scorching agony and mind-sundering darkness, yet those who persist in swimming in the bottom find a radiant paradise.
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Topic: Lo, Divines! (Ye Gods inspired God(ess) game) (10/10)(IC Thread) (Read 7374 times)