...
Free Awake from his bindings
Odd sensations flow into Ira's mind through her connection with the Nothingness. Most come from Shardforms near the Shifting Bog, after Gral imbues him with understanding. She can feel it as their minds expand, becoming stronger and faster so that they can overcome the base instincts that directed them before. Their fully-awakened souls are similar to those of the Fragments, but some vague quirk in Ira's perception makes them seem entirely different. It is almost like they have another entity lodged inside them.
A more recognizable presence also pops into Ira's mind. Awake's mind is unique, even more so than other intelligent Shardforms. Its thoughts all feel familiar, as if Ira was already aware of them without really noticing it, and right now she can tell that he is... silent. It prompts her to tunnel back to the sand dune where she left him after rescuing him from Nazir.
Awake hasn't untied himself yet, so Ira blows a concentrated stream of Non-Breath over him to dissolve the restraints. It melts the silk instantly and frays the aetheric wards, which crumple a few moments later. Awake becomes visible as soon as the gas clears. He is staring at the World-Eater expressionlessly.
"Oh shit, my deers are in trouble I've got to go save them!"
Run and get the bus, then drive to where the deer men are and rescue them.
4 v 2Dr. Bob follows his old footprints until the trail takes him within sight of the tower. From there he runs to the bus, which is parked on the outer edge of the moat, and hops into the driver's seat. The perpetual-motion engine goes straight to full power, making the wheels shriek as he pulls out of his driveway at a hundred miles per hour. It takes him across the desert at a hundred-fifty, limited only by uneven terrain, air resistance, and the structural integrity of Bob's vehicle. Getting to the sandstorm doesn't take long at all.
The sand is displaying a kind of directed fury that Dr. Bob has never seen from it before. The cloud that he noticed from a distance is the result of thousands of tendrils churning the ground, scattering as much mass as they can. Some airborne chunks whiz through the air like bullets, and with about the same amount of kinetic force. They ping off the sides of the bus as it dives into the center of the storm, and Bob takes a moment to appreciate the reinforced walls. Normal glass probably would've crumpled like cardboard.
One final rev of the engine brings him out the other side of the stormwall, and seemingly into another world. The ground is still and lifeless here, unlike the maelstrom outside. The wheels of the bus are also churning through soil rather than sand. The ground here is rich and loamy, almost ideal for supporting plant life even without the freshwater springs that dot the ground. Once something is planted, it'll probably take all of five seconds for this patch of land to become an oasis.
It'd almost be peaceful, if not for the giant steel machine at the center of the area. It's a mass of pistons and gears, mostly arranged in configurations that make no logical sense. They rip golden energy from the sand and channel it into a series of pipes, which concentrate it and direct it into the ground.
The life machine is surrounded by a motley crew of technicians. Bob sees a Merchant directing a crew of Ironwinged, who twist the input pipe around until it points at the Glass Tower. They're surrounded by Deer-Men, who run up to the bus as soon as they see it approaching. One tells Dr. Bob that they tried to make it home by going through the storm. Most of them were just forced backwards, but a few people got snatched up by the sand. They haven't been seen since.
"Ughh, lets try again"
Recollect the goo and morph it back to it's orginal state, do the same thing again but now solidfy only the top part.
3AJAMA collects the solidified chunks and renders them back down into ordinary ooze. It tosses each reconstituted blob back into the rest of the ooze mass, which it has stopped pressurizing for the time being. Not every lost piece of the goop can be found, but eventually the Demiurge has gathered enough to experiment with. It applies pressure to the ooze again, this time in a slightly different pattern. Rather than compressing goop into a dense ball, it applies force directly to the top and works its way downwards. Eventually the impact site becomes more dense, hardening into into gelatinous chunks which then solidify completely.
The chunks fuse together, forming a plate of solid material at the top of the blob. The surface is about as brittle as the core was, but AJAMA takes solace in how it isn't flying in twenty different directions. Some preliminary stress testing reveals that it should be sturdy enough for a mortal to stand on, if not quite as durable as real stone. If anything, the brittleness will probably just give it a tendency to crumble at the edges.
Take part in this epic battle of dustwalkers and metal birds against sand together with 7 primelings and their legions, delegate the planning to this unnamed genius primeling. ( or not unnamed )
Since now, my child, you will be known as Sekhmet.
Parun, my child, you and your children are some of greatest killers our kind has produced, are you sure, that diplomacy is what we need to focus on in such desperate times and if it is correct usage of superior genetics and soulweaving you passed through become above other spidrrlings?
Ekbor, you are all, what I ever wanted spiderlings to be, I am proud of you, son
((Mostly waiting on Gral to initiate this battle. Unless he already did and I misinterpreted it?))
Sekhmet bows to Nazir as she accepts her name. She smiles proudly and leaves to review the battle plans, which are woven into a silk tapestry with knot-script. As far as anyone else can tell, her process seems to involve staring into space for five minutes at a time, being roused by a nearby Sentinel, and then making frantic adjustments to the knots for ten to twenty minutes before falling into another fugue. The officers in her legion assure Nazir that this is normal.
Parun takes several minutes to consider the Weaver's words before replying. Ekhor just grins.
"I'm not certain. It's true that we are the most powerful soldiers on the Web, but we already have nine legions dedicated to killing. Surely there will be a need for other skills, in the time to come, and as ambassadors we do serve as symbols of the Web's might. But I'm also terrified that the Web will fall, or that one of my brothers or sisters will die because I wasn't there to defend them.""Thank you, father. You won't be disappointed."Hynsyr announces his intent to leave on a Journey to further the Cycle elsewhere for a time. He makes it clear that should he be needed then the Prismatics should contact him.
Once that is over with Hynsyr will set forth to find a place yet untouched by any of his siblings or their creations.
The Prismatics nod and wish Hynsyr luck in his travels. They promise to create a grand offering in preparation for his return, and to continue developing the city's infrastructure. The seven also accompany him to the gate, using the time to brief him about their ongoing projects. More Spiderlings have come to the Spires, and work on the Golden Web is scheduled to begin soon. Moreover, Warpriests have gathered enough disciples to form the core of a standing army. They're planning to blood themselves by hunting the remnants of the demon horde.
Eventually the Titan arrives at the edge of the city and bids the Lightfolk goodbye. He strides into the desert until he is beyond the light of the stars and the shadow of the Great Web. This part of the world is nothing but empty sand, untouched by either the Primordials or their mortal children.
Dr. Bob, the Unmoved Mover
-Regent of the Tower
-Spidersilk net.
-Glass chunks
-Improvised glass tools.
-Glass automaton
-Perpetual-motion bus
-Vial of Einyar
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Kūhaku, the Mirror
-Catatonia
-Rain-Maker
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Nazir, the Weaver
-God of the great web.
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Ira, the World-Eater
-Empty
-Woven together
-Debt: Gral: Three Favors Owed
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Gral, the Contractor
-Contract: Winged Spiderlings
-Contract: Deer-Men: One Favor
-Contract: Ira: Three Favors
-Pinion Blades
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AJAMA, the Demiurge
-Ooze-born Body
-Ooze-born Spheres
-Sphere of Darkness
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Hynsyr, the Titan
-Yig, the Golden Flower
-Twelve spears of light
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Awake
-Echoes of ALTERTH
-Smelter's Armor
-Dawn Axehead
-Slightly lopsided
-Bound in silk and aether
-Stomach wound
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Ashe, the Collector
-Brass Feathers
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.
Steel Grubs: Steel maggots that have been bound with Pact-collars and transformed into livestock. They have grown larger than their sapient kin, but are unintelligent and largely peaceful.
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, potato, corn, and bean 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.
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.
--Sandcastles: A series of elaborate sandcastles built around the moat. They were crafted so masterfully that they won’t dissolve in rain.
--Garden: Several different crops which Dr. Bob planted outside the tower.
--Laboratory: A room furnished with chemistry equipment and various glass containers.
Light Spires: A glowing city made by the Lightfolk using their creation magic.
--Temple of Yig: A golden temple which houses Yig, the First Tribute. It is an intricately-carved cathedral with walls made from an aurora.
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.
English: A written script based on twenty-six letters and a few punctuation symbols. It was introduced by Dr. Bob and is primarily used by the Deer-Men.
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.
Eight-Talon Way: A powerful martial art created by the Brass Buzzards. It is purely offensive in nature, but consists of strikes so lethal that defense isn’t usually necessary.
Agriculture: Farming is only feasible in the wetlands, but plants watered by Kuhaku’s rain grow quickly. The Deer-Men have been taught to cultivate and use several kinds of crops.
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.
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. They were later sealed away.
--Silence Ooze: A strain of chaos ooze that can feed on silence. AJAMA transplanted some of it to the empty desert, where it has grown rapidly.
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 61656 times)