WORLD TURN
The Universe is still bare and empty, despite the creation of Worlds and Astral Bodies...
AGES
The Age of Time will come to pass next turn on Multitude.
The Age of Violence will come to pass next turn on Jigsaw.
The neutral Age will come to pass next turn on Bitey.------The World-Sharks and Ardual------
Given mind and soul, the World-Sharks felt, and craved. The Empty Expanses were endlessly vast, but the space around the Astral Bodies was limited. The World-Sharks knew it, and the instant they recognized each others, they rushed to compete over their territory.
A clash of titanic proportions ensued, as the three behemoths charged at one another, ruthlessly tearing of continental chunks of earthen flesh off their opponents. What they lost to their brethen, they regrew by taking back from them.
And during one of their many battles, appeared Ardual over the Hydra-Sun. Sensing the power of this new being, and feeling an abhorrent feeling toward it, the three warring World-Sharks banded together against this intruder in a strange display of kin.
Advantage Rolls:
Ardual [1]
Jigsaw, Bitey and Multitude [3,3,5]: [5]
The Sharks have the advantage!
Battle Rolls:
Ardual 7+[9+8]: [24]
Jigsaw, Bitey and Multitude 6+[5+7,8+6,8+2]x2: [30,34,26]
Ardual took 3 Damage.
No matter how powerful was the Anathema of Radiance, it was no match against the furious assaults of three World-Sharks. Each of them ripped a chunk of the Anathema, causing massive damage to Ardual. The taste of the Anthema was so infect that they instantly spit out the semi digested flesh of Ardual. Ardual fled for its life, leaving for the darkness of the Empty Expanse.
------The World-Sharks resume their territorial battle------
The intruder having been dealt with, the World-Sharks resumed their fight. It kept on for many exchanges, with no clear victor in sight. In one of these exchanges, Multitude got its Spleen devoured by Jigsaw, causing the Spleen-World to be ravaged.
Until Jigsaw, whose Origin of Violence was stronger than the others, emerged victorious. Mauling the other sharks so violently they fled in terror, he then savored its victory by orbiting around the Hydra-Sun, satisfied. Bathing in the light of the three stars, Jigsaw grew stronger and fiercer than the two other sharks.
Multitude and Bitey fled toward the Empty Expanses, at the limit of influence of the Astral Bodies. There, they licked their wounds, vowing revenge on Jigsaw. They decided to forge a temporary alliance against Jigsaw. Was it out of their own free will, or from the Minor Blessing of Motion like Violence? Whichever it was, the cycle of Violence was far from over.
As a result of these many battles, each World-Shark body had become carved with terribles wounds and gashes: bottomless abysses running across many continents, chaotic scabs of land formed in haste... And of course, there was no way any life that existed on the World-Sharks had escaped unscathed.
------Repercussions of the World-Sharks confrontations------
------On Jigsaw and Bitey------
The impact on the scattered life living on Jigsaw and Bitey was disastrous, causing the creatures of the Violent Web to be reduced to abyssmal numbers. Most creatures which derived their energy and nutrients from the consumption of other creatures died out, leaving only plants to survive in the thorn landscapes.
As a result, life on Jigsaw and Bitey developped into extremely resilient lifeforms, adapted to a barren and scarce landscape.
The most notable lifeforms on Bitey were the Depth Ferns, plants growing in the deepest parts of the abysses, able to survive in the most inhospitable environments, and the Anet Worms, huge annelids which had adapted to derive most of their sustenance from the soil they dug through.
[Notable Lifeforms: Depth Fern, Anet Worms]
On Jigsaw, only one notable lifeform developped. A type of fungus which competed for resources so aggressively it constantly changed to adapt to its environment. And as staying in place equated eventual annihilation, these fungi constantly produced spores to spread all across the lands. These beings naturally developped a latent affinity for Chaos.
[Notable Lifeform: Unnamed Fungus]
------Diversity of Multitude------
Many beings were brought forth on Multitude. From the corrupted Fruits of Life, to the Drui, to the lifeforms of the Violent Web, to the plants birthed from the Time blessing. Mainly thanks to the Ultimate Blessing, Multitude and its inner worlds became lush with vegetation in a short span of time. Flooded with life coming from an hypothetical Age of Time, Multitude and its inner worlds started to have an increasing affinity toward Time.
With Corrupted lifeforms having been introduced on Multitude, immediate effects manifested. The balance of the Origins was thrown into disarray, causing wild phenomenons to occur all across the World-Shark. In something akin to sickness, unpredictable natural disaster struck Multitude regularly, causing a great deal of hardship to those who lived on Multitude.
------Before the Calamity: The Sluda, the Replacator and the Acharya------
The Replacator was given to a group of Sluda, turning their world upside down. They suddenly knew abundance, new tastes, and new life. And desire. And craving. In a flash, the Sluda had become corrupted by the Replacator, altering them to a race different of the original Sluda. Then they felt the urge to feed Sluda to the Replacator, emerging as truly new entities, the Devora. Always hungry, and addicted to the pleasure of eating, they sought ways of filling their stomaches, to satisfy their tongues.
Meanwhile the Acharya split to take care of the scattered Sluda, and one such Acharya came upon the Devora. This Acharya recognized the Replacator as a strong evil, corrupting the once Sluda in such a way it robbed them of their freedom, distancing them from the liberation. It took upon itself to take the Replacator far away from mortal hands, knowing he did not possess the power to destroy such a mighty artifact.
Thanks to its Corrupted Origin, it was not vulnerable against the Replacator. And so, the Acharya opened a Gate to the Subdomain of Thought, throwing the Replacator there, far from Mortal hands. The wise Acharya thus transported the Sluda and the Devora to the inner worlds of Multitude, to protect them from the coming destruction.
------The Calamity on Multitude------
Fate was cruel toward the Fruits of Life, as the great majority of them were devoured along with continents during the fight between the World-Sharks. The Drui were luckier, the location they were placed in having miraculously not been eaten during the clashes. The earthquakes and cataclysmic storms were not a problem to them, but it was for the plants and creatures they used as food.
Even with the Ultimate Blessing bringing forth new life, everytime the Sharks clashed, this new life was extinguished. Continents disappeared in the jaws of the Sharks, and land was reshaped as they regrew their lost earth flesh. Life was fleeting, growing forth from nothing in a matter of days, and disappearing in an instant.
The very few species that survived developed differently from those of Jigsaw and Bitey. Taking advantage of the Temporal Shift of Elysium, these surface-dwelling creatures had extreme nomadic tendencies. They would never sleep, always on the move to find new lands where new plants spontaneously appeared.
Three Notable Species emerged:
-The Turqos, omnivorous furred quadrupeds. Nomadic and extremely competitive, they lived single lives, and very rarely met individuals of their species. When they did, violent battles for resources ensued. They had the peculiarity of being able to reproduce by devouring other Turqos, making sure no resource was wasted.
-The Garmoths, great herbivorous quadrupeds. Living in herds, and constantly on the move, they were led by an alpha male, whose position was constantly challenged by younger males. Despite living in herds, they were extremely ruthless, leaving any wounded or crippled individual behind to fend for themselves. Such individuals usually ended up as a meal for the Turqos.
-The Staliarks, winged chitinous beasts who had an extreme sensitivity to the subtlest changes in the environment, allowing them to instinctively predict disasters and flee from such places beforehand. They were competitive, but less violent than the Turqos. Clashes between individuals rarely ended with a death, and their social interactions were based on such confrontations. A female only mated with a male that bested her, and individuals who lost typically offered to the winner prime food.
[Notable Lifeforms: Turqos, Garmoths, Staliarks]
------The Worlds within------
The inner worlds turned into pure gardens devoid of creatures, plants spawning from the Ultimate Blessing of the Time God. Undisturbed, the inner worlds became lush and vibrant with vegetation, filled with life attuned to the Origin of Time.
------The Microcosm Needle-World: Chaos Born and its Children------
Undisturbed, and suddenly blessed with a great amount of life from the Ultimate Blessing, Chaos Born and its Children thrived greatly in the Microcosm Needle-World. Chaos Born gave birth to more Children, and these Children gave birth to more beings, named Grandchildren by Chaos Born. And eventually, lesser creatures known as Great Grandchildren were also born.
Chaos Born and the offspring of its offspring thus started colonizing all of the Needle-World. In time, the Needle-World would turn into lush jungles inhabited by Chaos Born and all of its children.
[New Lifeforms: Chaos Children (T3), Chaos Grandchildren (T2), and Chaos Great Grandchildren (T1)]
------The Law of Thought------
With a great power binding all beings by Thought, great changes occured in the Mortal Plane. First to feel and understand the changes were the beings of great power, the Original Beasts and the Aspects. The Worldsharks were barely bothered by the changes, as they never slept and had simple thoughts.
But Chaos Born and Ardual saw an opportunity. While they were already naturally able to draw some power from the primary Origin that made them, this new law extended this ability, making them more powerful.
The Acharya were concerned by the sudden accessibility of the Astral Planes, pondering over the place of this new Law in the grander scheme of liberation. For now they decided to observe and see its effects on the development of the Sluda. The Acharya themselves avoided visiting the Astral Planes, due to their Elemental and Original purity being so strong they only felt discomfort in there.
Quickly the Subdomain of Thought became the most active Astral Plane of them all, with the spirits of dreamers being pulled to the Subdomain of Thought more often than the others. Yet rarely did the individuals remember their experiences in the Astral Planes, making these dreams fleeting and hazy. There wasn't much to remember though, the Astral Planes being barren in their own way, and so pure that most lifeforms couldn't comprehend them, only feeling raw emotions in there.
All was not well, as obscure incidents occured. The drifting Replacator was still active in the Subdomain of Thought, and many a being came across the Shard in their dreams. To the lucky ones, only their mind was corrupted. To the unlucky ones, their spirit was consumed by the Shard, and given new shape. But such were the changes that the body no longer recognized its spirit, causing these corrupted spirits to be left drifting in the Subdomain of Thought, while their bodies died. Though due to the prolonged exposure to the Element of Thought, these spirits eventually faded away, being broken down into pure Thought.
These lingering memories continued to echo in the Subdomain of Thought, causing other dreamers to sometimes experience them. Fortunately, no harm was done to these dreamers.
------The First Civilizations: Sluda and Drui------
== The Sluda ==Under the guidance of the Acharya, the Sluda developed the first true civilization. Having been united in a single place by the mighty Aspects of Hope, the Sluda formed a country ruled by a group of spiritual leaders, who in turn were instructed by the Acharya.
The Sludas were taught agriculture, engineering, natural sciences, and the philosophy of Hope. Despite being a fledging people, the Sluda civilization formed its unique culture and techniques at a great pace, thanks to the innate creativity of the Sluda. They tried their best to develop new techniques and new forms of art to impress the Acharya, who they revered.
Life was peaceful for the Sluda. The Devora did puzzle the Sluda at first, but the wisdom of the Acharya dispelled all negative thoughts they could have had. Now the Devora lived among the Sluda, quite often living a life in close relation with food.
No being of exception appeared among the Sluda.
[Civilization: The Hope-Country of the Sluda]
== The Drui ==In the scarce lands of Multitude, the Drui survived nonetheless, fracturing into several independent groups. Time and time again, they replanted the destroyed life, which was then destroyed again by the cataclysmic repercussions of the Worldsharks battles. Thus the Drui took to themselves to shape a plantlife that would resist the fury of the elements, but they didn't manage to achieve their goal, not before naturally finding the lifeform they sought.
A Drui came across a Fruit of Life, and naturally consumed it. The Greater Abomination's vitality being so strong, the Fruit of Life negative effects were completely negated on the Drui, while still benefiting from the disappearance of its hunger. Using its innate powers, the Drui overcame the Fruit, extracting its powers at will, and overall deciding how the Fruit was allowed to act.
Bringing back the Fruit of Life to its settlement, and shared it with its fellows. The Fruits were cultivated, and exploited for its formidable properties. The Fruit was ultimately so altered by the Drui that its Origin became of Life, turning it into a wholly different species of plant.
This Drui settlement emerged as a radically different one, growing into the Tribe of Yogal, named after the Drui who discovered the Fruit of Life. It became the biggest and most powerful Drui tribe in no time.
No other notable Drui settlement emerged, and their development was slow, given the meager quality of their materials.
[Civilizations: The Drui Tribes]
[Exceptional Settlement: the Tribe of Yogal]
PRESENCE CHANGES
The Unnamed Element of Chaos and Creation has been named Growth by Motion like ViolenceThe Microcosm Needle-World has fully turned to Chaos!The Extradimensional Egg-world is starting to turn to Chaos> The changes are spreading to the upper worlds.
> Another Subdomain of Growth has appeared.
Multitude and the inner Worlds up to the Spatial Coffer-World are starting to turn to Time.> The Subdomain of Ether(True) has appeared as a result.
Multitude has been tainted by Life and Radiance.> Very slight Radiance corruption in the Subdomain of Ether(True)
> Slight Life corruption in the Subdomain of Ether(True)
The First Domain of Violence is Expanding, as a result of Jigsaw's growth.> A Subdomain of an Unnamed Element of Violence and Chaos has appeared.
There is trace of Corrupted Life in the Subdomain of Thought due to the Replacator.Thought is slowly increasing in worlds full of life.> Another Subdomain of Thought may appear in the future.
GATES
All Gates not connecting to a Source have lost one Tier.
Many Gates connecting to the Mortal Plane will go Dormant next turn.
Many Gates connecting to the Mortal Plane will lose one Tier next turn.
New Natural Gates have appeared, connecting the new Subdomains to the Mortal Plane.
Author
Topic: On the Origins of Conflict (IC) (Read 15605 times)