Ira continues climbing the great web and calls out to her fellow primordials
Brothers and sisters I have the heart of the sands. What should we do with it? I fear that destroying it could lead to catastrophe, but it can also be the key to the destruction of the sands.
"World-Eater! Return that heart, it does not belong to you!"
Climb up onto the web, chasing the sand-eating monster.
Ira: 3 v Awake: 1Ira drags the heart past stars, Spiderling nests, and countless strands of silk, until she has arrived in the upper reaches of the Web. Arachnids from the market, the Silken Nest, and other, stranger places surround her, but the path ahead of her is always clear. The Spiderlngs are constantly warring with one another for space and resources, but even they are eager to avoid the primordial worm and the strange, beating organ that she carries with her. Not one of them dares to stand in her way.
Awake runs after her, but he doesn't catch up before the Web's denizens close back in. He finds himself navigating around battlefields and between warring factions, and occasionally he must even avoid groups of sent to intercept him. As he climbs higher into the web, the Shardform also notices strands of Aetheric webbing stretching between lengths of physical silk, visible to him only through the visor of his armor. He gives them as wide a berth as possible, but one particularly sensitive demon-ward reacts to Awake's Nonexistent soul and movees to ensnare him.
"I would suggest doing a deal with the sands"
Pass between the droplets of goo, take away the ability and "will" of those who may cause problems to me other primodials and life to consume.
1AJAMA extends its mind beyond the confines of its body, causing its senses broaden until they encompass the entirety of the priomordials' world. The Demiurge can barely percive anything after spreading itself so thin, but it can still dimly sense the ooze that it blew out into the desert. Most is standard sand-eating ooze, in various degrees of solidity, but a few types of chaos ooze landed in places where they could thrive. Some newly-grown strains are just as deadly, as AJAMA learns when it encounters essence-eating ooze. The colony quintuples in size by assimilating part of AJAMA's sensory net.
See what high council of the web proposes and votes on its own before end of first council meeting,
meanwhile join the group of weavers thinking about miniaturized stars and assist them.
3As Nazir sits down, representatives from the Scarred and the Dustwalkers take the stage. The Council considers and votes on each of their proposals before it adjourns.
The Scarred want to expand trade with the other Clans, particularly within their market. One of their diplomats gives a speech that outlines the benefits of commerce, such as fostering closer ties between clans through interdependence, making food, weaponry, and other resources readily available to those who need them most, and encouraging Spiderlings to come up with innovative new products to sell. The Ironwinged agree as soon as the Scarred are done talking, but the rest of the tribes are more hesitant. They only assent to
"I know this won't help the tie but I like all of them, but if I have to chose I'll go with the city being attacked by the demons. Also how do you guys know what the Eiffel tower looks like, because I don't remember telling you guys about it?"
Give my answer for the tiebreaker, then go check on the plants and see about making a few more kinds of plants like corn and beans then plant the new ones as well.
3The judges accept Dr. Bob's verdict, and a few peel away to inform the Deer-Man who built the besieged city of his victory. The mortal beams with pride, while the other competitors all rush over to shake his hand. The sandcastles themselves are mostly forgotten, but they remain behind even after the group has wandered off, crafted too masterfully to be eroded by mere rain and wind. The robot still seems perfectly capable of knocking them over, through.
The Deer-Woman who built the Eiffel tower is also called over s that Dr. Bob can interview her. The name sounds familiar to everyone, but nobody can actually place it, even Bob himself. The woman who made the sandcastle it isn't any more aware of what's going on, even though she came up with the idea herself. Apparently it came to her in a moment of inspiration.
With the results of the contest decided, Dr. Bob returns to his garden. The hemp and potato plants now have stalks, and continue to grow with impressive speed. Primordial-derived water must be doing wonders for their health. As he turns a few leaves over to check for signs of disease, the doctor absentmindedly picks up a handful of sand and squeezes it between his fingers. The grains transform into more seeds, which Bob sorts and buries alongside the rest.
"We may not have to do anything with it. Typically, things don't tend to survive long without their hearts, divine landmasses or not."
Have the delegates continue to participate within the council, and attempt to recruit researchers from the tribes assembled there. Given that the Buzzards are content where they are, leave them to their own devices.
Finally, propose a contract to the steel maggots still confined upon the nest. Should they agree to service, they will not only be freed, but granted a key position within the Silken Nest. If and when they assent, use their silken bonds as a cocoon, and have them sprout into fly-human hybrids.
Delegates: 2Business in the High Council continues unabated. Nazir has stopped talking, and representatives of various other tribes have stepped in to offer proposals of their own, but most Ironwinged diplomats are focused on the private dealings which occur on the outskirts of the meeting. This is where favors are exchanged and smaller alliances are formed - and thus, where servants of the Bargain are most at home. There's no shortage of Aetherweavers interested in selling their skills, and the Winged come away with a list of several promising candidates after a cursory search of the Web. The issue is that most are unwilling to work with the Silken Nest, or demand exorbitant fees for their services.
Gral proposes a deal to the bound maggots imprisoned in the nest, but the larvae refuse to consider his offer. One particularly bold individual wheezes in the Contractor's face, with a cadence only slightly reminiscent of laughter. Its response is mufuled, but an Ironwinged guard peels back the silk covering its mouth so that it can speak.
"We don't need a contract to grow, buzzard. But I have a counteroffer. For my service, I demand a pound of your flesh and the corpses of my brothers."Hynsyr once again attempts to construct a Temple-Fortress for Yig. The current failure is unworthy of housing his Golden Flower.
5Hynsyr pummels the golden mound using his twelve spears. Each blow shears away a layer of unrefined metal, which peel off of the temple like golden foil. Other spears reduce the debris to confetti, and then to golden powder which blows away in the wind. Beneath the excess material, the walls of a true fortress take shape. It glows like an aurora, as ephemeral as the light it was made from but as strong as pure titanium. Hynsyr taps the center of the barrier with a spearpoint, and a gate rises from within the clouds of light. It is barred at first, but swings open beneath the Titan's hand.
He continues his work inside. Another flurry of blades transforms the mound into a cathedral, complete with decorative arches and gargoyles. Hynsyr's weapons bite into the interior of the temple as well, causing golden dust to spray from every arch and window outside. The cramped central chamber become an amphitheater, and murals depicting each stage of the Cycle are carved into the walls. In the center of the room, at the very heart of the cathedral, a basin forms to house the First Tribute.
Dr. Bob, the Unmoved Mover
-Regent of the Tower
-Spidersilk net.
-Glass chunks
-Improvised glass tools.
-Glass automaton
-Perpetual-motion bus
-Vial of Einyar
--------------------------------
Kūhaku, the Mirror
-Catatonia
-Rain-Maker
--------------------------------
Nazir, the Weaver
-God of the great web.
--------------------------------
Ira, the World-Eater
-Woven together
-Debt: Gral: Three Favors Owed
-Absent Heart
--------------------------------
Gral, the Contractor
-Contract: Winged Spiderlings
-Contract: Deer-Men: One Favor
-Contract: Ira: Three Favors
-Pinion Blades
--------------------------------
AJAMA, the Demiurge
-Ooze-born Body
-Ooze-born Spheres
-Sphere of Darkness
--------------------------------
Hynsyr, the Titan
-Yig, the Golden Flower
-Twelve spears of light
--------------------------------
Awake
-Echoes of ALTERTH
-Smelter's Armor
-Dawn Axehead
-Slightly lopsided
Bestiary:
Demons: Crude imitations of the primordials made from sand and absence.
--Obsidian Archdemon: An obsidian dragon crafted by the Empty itself. It was granted the power to manipulate nothingness.
Fragments of Emptiness: ?
Shardforms: Obsidian creatures which absorbed the Empty's already-incomplete consciousness. The broken pieces of ALTERTH's identity they possess give them animalistic intelligence.
Steel Maggots: Metallic larvae which Gral accidentally created while trying to make avian Emissaries. After they were pulled off of the vulture, few escaped into the desert, where they accepted Gral's peace terms and moved into the shifting bog.
Brass Buzzards: Brass birds crafted from Gral's feathers. They are infused with the pain it felt while creating them.
Spiderlings: A race of intelligent spiders which can live on light. They cover both the stars and the great web.
--Dustwalkers: A Spiderling subspecies which can feed on sand as well as light. They live on the sand and fight an asymmetrical war against it for survival.
--Ironwinged: Defeated Spiderlings who made a deal with Gral. They received wings in exchange for service, and have built a nest on one of the new stars. They were later granted the ability to weave metal.
--Ancestors: Aetherweavers who have achieved immortality by becoming spirits bound to the great web. They are incorporeal, and their astral bodies make it easier for them to manipulate aether.
--Scarred Spiderlings: Spiderlings who have gained great strength and endurance because of their mistreatment by the Brass Buzzards. They built a market but have mixed feelings about Gral and his servants.
--Sentinels: A army of biologically and magically augmented Spiderlings, created by elite Aetherweavers with Nazir's guidance. They serve the Spider Demigods, and stand ready to protect the Web alongside them.
Primelings: Ten entities created by Nazir and a group of the most powerful Aetherweavers. They watch over the Web in Nazir's stead, but are weakened by flaws in their weaving.
Lightfolk: A species of humanoid mortals born from Hynsyr's golden light. Their powers of creation threaten to overwhelm their bodies, causing their inner light to warp chaotically. Many have begun to train so that they can gain more control over this ability.
--Prismatics: Seven lightfolk which glow brighter than the rest. They were hewn from the rainbow light of Hynsyr's eyes.
Deer-Men: A humanoid race with the heads of deer. Dr. Bob originally crafted them from the silk of Nazir's web. They were granted superior dexterity through a contract with Gral.
Three-Headed Worm: A juvenile sandworm created by Ira to serve the Dustwalkers.
Crops: Hemp and potato plants created by Dr. Bob.
Atlas:
The Living Sands: An awakened desert that extends outwards indefinitely. It consumed ALTERTHENTERRINTARTINTH, the being which brought it to life, and subsumed a part of their consciousness known as the Empty.
The Stars: Glass spheres filled with fire. Gyaweft created them and threw them into the air to illuminate the world.
--New Stars: A second set that isn't accessible through the Great Web. Fortunately, that means they can't be blotted out by Spiderlings.
--Negative Star: A black sphere which radiates darkness, created by AJAMA after Gyaweft's death. It hangs above the bone tree.
Nazir's Web: A giant web that begins in the desert and reaches up towards the stars.
--Silken Nest: A new star that the winged spiderlings have claimed as a nest. It can only be reached by gliding or descending on strands of silk.
--Tapestries: Libraries of spells and other knotwork which have been woven together and hung from the great web. Some have begun to collect aetheric cobwebs.
--Market of Scars: A grand market built by the Scarred Spiderlings in exchange for their resilience. The Ironwinged sell metal equipment there.
Shifting Bog: A large pool of mud drawn from the sand by Kuhaku. Islands rapidly form and dissolve as the sand beneath it moves. It has been tainted with Nazir's venom.
Glass Tower: A tower made of glass, raised from the sands by Gyaweft. It extends upwards through the web, tall enough that its upper floors reach the stars.
--Moat: The Tower is surrounded by a lake. Only one thin bridge connects it to the rest of the sand.
--Garden: A few hemp and potato plants that Dr. Bob planted outside the tower.
Light Spires: A glowing city made by the Lightfolk using their creation magic.
--Golden Mound: A malformed mass of golden light with a small antechamber inside. It was meant to house Yig.
Einyar: A sea of golden light drawn from Hynsyr's aura. It preserves the spirits of the Lightfolk after death, so that the cycle may advance.
Bone Fortress: A giant tree grown from one of Ira's teeth, and given to the Dustwalkers as a gift. It has become a large fortress.
Glass Crater: When Gyaweft flew his Sunship into the ground, it melted a wide swathe of the sand into glass. Fiery essence spilled from the ship still burns here, and sealed fault lines radiate from the impact site.
--Smelter's Grave: The center of the crater. Gyaweft's corpse lies here, alongside the molten remains of his Sunship.
Wetlands: Areas of the sand and the Great Web which Kuhaku continuously showers with water. The rain is heavy enough to form rivers and lakes.
--Abandoned Nests: A nesting ground that was briefly occupied by the Brass Buzzards. It is strewn with metal feathers and bloody talon-prints.
Knowledge:
Knot-Writing: A written language Nazir formulated so that Aetherweavers could record their spells. It involves weaving complex knots into silk, and therefore comes intuitively to Spiderlings but is almost impossible for anyone else to comprehend.
Bargainer's Tongue: A simplified version of knot-script which can be etched into a flat surface rather than woven into silk. It is comprehensible to non-Spiderlings, but not as intuitive.
Metalworking: Blacksmithing techniques that are typically available to the Ironwinged. They can be used to weave metal objects.
Aetherweaving: A magical discipline which involves spinning spiritual webs. It was taught to the Spiderlings by Nazir and is available to the Tribes, the Primelings, and any other arachnid capable of making silk.
Lightforging: Creation magic unique to the Lightfolk. It is a powerful but chaotic ability which can be used to make solid-light constructs out of one's own aura. More advanced techniques allow practitioners to create complex materials such as metal or wood.
Items:
Seven Rainbow Spears: Weapons Hynsyr forged from a rogue splinter of his soul and gave to the Prismatics. They amplify their wielders' magic immensely, and provide slightly more control over their powers of creation.
Absent Heart: The remains of ALTERTH's body, transformed into a living heart. It is the source of all Nothingness.
Black Ooze: A patch of black goo created by AJAMA which can grow by absorbing sand. A column of ooze goes deep beneath the earth, where it breached a reservoir of Emptiness.
--Chaos Ooze: Blobs of ooze which have accidentally been made to assimilate a variety of substances and concepts.
Pact-Arms: Metal weapons, armor, and tools which can compel their wielders to carry out tasks for the Winged Spiderlings. Most are in the possession of Spiderlings on the Web.
Tribute Tokens: A currency minted by the Ironwinged and infused with the power of the Bargain. They see light use in the Great Web but are not considered especially valuable, so most of the economy still relies upon bartering.
Sentinel Plate: Magical armor developed for use by the Sentinels. It can drain the force of attacks and release it in the form of telekinetic blasts.
Factions:
Spiderling Tribes: Prominent groups of Spiderlings, mostly organized by subspecies. The are scattered across the Web, the stars, and the sand.
--Order of Strands: The first Spiderlings to learn the art of Aetherweaving. Many have strained their minds and bodies to hone their abilities, making them feeble despite their mystical strength.
High Council of the Web: The governing body of the Great Web. It consists of delegates from each of the tribes, as well as one Primeling. Most meetings take place in Nazir's nest at the top of the Web.
Lifeweavers: A group of Ancestors who helped Nazir create the Primelings and Sentinels.
Author
Topic: Sand & Souls - Let There Be Turns (Read 60694 times)