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Author Topic: Academy of the Young Gods (IC Thread)  (Read 19401 times)

Digital Hellhound

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Re: Academy of the Young Gods (IC Thread)
« Reply #135 on: April 01, 2020, 09:48:47 am »

"Hm... I have no objection to granting your mortals rights to some of mine's medicines and expertise, but I suspect our mortals are far apart. It may be difficult for yours to collect their dues in such an instance. I likewise do not object to borrowing or claiming some as combat physicians, but so far as I know they are not magically inclined.

I do know of a magically inclined race of mortals- Abyssal Wizards under the control of the venerable Húndàn. However, I do not know if combat healing is one of their specialties, and they are aquatic by nature. I doubt they would be able to serve the purpose you desire, even if Húndàn were willing to sell either of us any.

However, I do have plans to ingratiate myself with Húndàn and his possessions, and so may gain greater access to associated opportunities. If you wish to acquire a tutor to teach your own mortals healing magic, you could attempt to barter with Húndàn directly or have me negotiate in your stead. I also intend to acquire offspring from one of them; if this works out especially well, I might have magically inclined spares to sell to you, possibly tutored by their magically inclined kin in the desired healing arts. Either of these options would likely be more valuable than the flowers, however, and require both time to come to fruition and additional payment.

Likewise, I could assemble servants for you from scratch or other materials. My specialty is golems made from organic materials, but I can adjust wild living things or inorganic golems well enough. Some assistants to help you with your project should be easy enough. A fully capable servant to act independently on your behalf would be considerably more difficult and valuable, as before.

Finally, I am planning to employ Koaring to find a suitable gift to bribe Húndàn with, so if you have any business with him we may be able to resolve things conveniently. I could pay him to acquire something for myself as well as you, the two of you could share ownership of infrequently used golems, and so on."


'I thought of merely granting them the produced medicines, not of taking any of these mortals to serve as healers. This was my intention with the Blooms to begin with - they could be grown in the gardens of my mortals' temple and given to the sick and ailing to rid them of their afflictions. Through this the land could begin to heal. Healing battle wounds is a lesser concern, for now.'

He considers the other god's propositions. 'I am not certain of my needs at this moment. Perhaps... I would have knowledge. There is a great glass city of the elves in the mortal realm. I am told they do not worship any gods. Indeed, they claim to be equals of gods. I wish to know the nature of their power and the weapons at their disposal. Could Koaring uncover who they are, these Ageless Queens? I would know of their strengths, and their weaknesses.'

'If we do not come to an agreement now, I can grow more of the Blooms later for your needs.'
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IronyOwl

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Re: Academy of the Young Gods (IC Thread)
« Reply #136 on: April 02, 2020, 05:37:47 am »

'I thought of merely granting them the produced medicines, not of taking any of these mortals to serve as healers. This was my intention with the Blooms to begin with - they could be grown in the gardens of my mortals' temple and given to the sick and ailing to rid them of their afflictions. Through this the land could begin to heal. Healing battle wounds is a lesser concern, for now.'

He considers the other god's propositions. 'I am not certain of my needs at this moment. Perhaps... I would have knowledge. There is a great glass city of the elves in the mortal realm. I am told they do not worship any gods. Indeed, they claim to be equals of gods. I wish to know the nature of their power and the weapons at their disposal. Could Koaring uncover who they are, these Ageless Queens? I would know of their strengths, and their weaknesses.'

'If we do not come to an agreement now, I can grow more of the Blooms later for your needs.'
"Oh, that would be wise... a beautiful flower garden to remind your mortals of their master..."

She tilts her head. "Great Húndàn mentioned elves from a great glass city occasionally coming to trade for knowledge in submersible airships. I do not know if Koaring could locate such beings, but it is possible I could extract such information from Húndàn's Abyssal Wizards. Provided, of course, that these travelers knew such things and conveyed them to their hosts."

She gives a polite bow. "I desire these blooms, but I also do not wish to prevent your garden. If you desire nothing of mine at the moment, I will be content to work on my squid without them."
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Digital Hellhound

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Re: Academy of the Young Gods (IC Thread)
« Reply #137 on: April 02, 2020, 07:33:03 am »

"Oh, that would be wise... a beautiful flower garden to remind your mortals of their master..."

She tilts her head. "Great Húndàn mentioned elves from a great glass city occasionally coming to trade for knowledge in submersible airships. I do not know if Koaring could locate such beings, but it is possible I could extract such information from Húndàn's Abyssal Wizards. Provided, of course, that these travelers knew such things and conveyed them to their hosts."

She gives a polite bow. "I desire these blooms, but I also do not wish to prevent your garden. If you desire nothing of mine at the moment, I will be content to work on my squid without them."

Qu bows his head also. This was a most satisfactory conversation.

***

Age 2 Actions

Saga of the Goat: Attend Class, Introduction to Divine Miracles. Turn in a report on a successful miracle, below;

Saga of the Rabbit: Attend Class, Geography of the Plane of Qiángdà. Study hard and ask many questions on planar creation and restoration.

Saga of the Monkey: Interaction. Visit the monks and investigate the Void-touched doorway. Attempt to ascertain if it poses any danger and how it works. Pretend like this was always the plan and nothing went wrong no sir.

Spend a Miracle to attune the Blade of Sundered Wisdom. It is a poisonous gift, but it is undeniably his. Qu will reanimate the Blade to advise him on the field of divine biology.

Saga of the Pig: Interaction + Miracle. Bring the Ten Hundred Blooms to the temple of the Warriors of Light. Create a blessed garden in the temple where more of these healing flowers can be grown. The monks are to learn the use of each bloom and grow them according to need (more cures for common illnesses planted, fewer for rarer ailments).
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mightymushroom

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Re: Academy of the Young Gods (IC Thread)
« Reply #138 on: April 02, 2020, 11:33:21 am »

Turn 2 Actions

Saga of the Rat

First thing, Koaring brings the Gourd of Corruption out to the common storage. (It may be moved again later, depends how things go.)

Thinking carefully about the requirements of his collection for Resource Acquisition Lab, Koaring decides to concentrate on storage conditions and presentation; size and diversity will mostly depend on luck for now. At the same time, it seems very likely that someone else in the long history of the Academy has had the same or similar ideas. He's been meaning to explore the place a bit, anyway. He checks if {null} is around to invite them along.

Use a Miracle to activate Wandering Nose: Koaring is searching for abandoned museum or display furniture that he can make his own. He doesn't want to anger any older gods at this point, so he will be careful to verify any candidate is genuinely unclaimed before appropriating it, including checking with Student Services. You know, just in case he stumbles upon the treasure room of a god of dust and cobwebs.
Edit: Per the conversation below, Koaring is now looking for "natural" materials in accordance with {null}'s outline, to the extent that he understands it. He still thinks a certain amount of cabinetry will be useful, but he is curious as to what the unnamed god will fashion.

Saga of the Rabbit, most likely
Reserve a Miracle as an intra-Academy Action to support {null} in construction and adaptation of either a new space or improving the menagerie, their choice.


Saga of the Horse
Attend Class: Resource Acquisition Lab. Spend 1 Interaction acquring resources!


Saga of the Goat
Attend Class: Divine Miracles

Today Koaring has a question to ask: "Professor Yínfà, I am interested in cooperation between gods in working miracles, and perhaps even between gods and mortals. I tried performing a miracle for my mortal followers this past age, and honestly the result exceeded my expectations. I was wondering if and how followers can contribute to such divine acts."
Turn in written assignment on a successful miracle:

Saga of the Dog

Koaring has not forgotten about Baba Yāo fù and his unmet daughter. He has put it off perhaps too long already; he now resolves to change the adjective on the latter. Not accustomed to the strange flow of time in Qiángdà, divided as it is between students and everyone else, he is uncomfortably uncertain what to expect.

Interaction: Visit family. A nice social visit this time. Be polite even if Koaring can't manage friendly. Also, use minor god magics to apply temporary infertility measures before he sets out, in case things get heavy with Baba Yāo fù.
« Last Edit: April 03, 2020, 11:03:19 am by mightymushroom »
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IronyOwl

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Re: Academy of the Young Gods (IC Thread)
« Reply #139 on: April 02, 2020, 05:25:58 pm »

Saga of the Rat

Accept Húndàn's offer of a lesser donation of divine power in exchange for a loyal lesser aquatic host. In an appropriately servile and flattering manner, of course.


Saga of the Dragon

Standard attendance to class on Mortal Eugenics. Dun has a genuine interest and use for the subject matter, but also tries to be an attentive toy for High Archivist Jiāpu to enjoy lecturing.


Saga of the Goat

Standard attendance to class on Divine Miracles. Dun is also interested in combined Miracles!


Saga of the Monkey

Create living colonial exosuit polyps out of my Harbor Mantis. Each segment is grown from an egg into a specific part with qualities defined by its conditions- eggs in the "wild" tend to grow into more or less complete animals well suited to their current environment, while individual eggs or clutches can be refined into specific parts or body plans with specific qualities (size, shape, strength, color, temperature resistance, and so on) based on careful manipulation. Parts are modular and will readily cooperate with each other, as well as detach and otherwise attempt to obey their handlers. Since they're intended for skilled operators, there's no great problem if they require advanced anatomical or medicinal knowledge to use or maintain, but being hardy and simple is nice too.

The immediate goal of these exosuit polyps is to provide a means for the otterfolk (or any other surface dweller) to operate in abyssal depths competently and in comfort for long periods of time (including breathing, eating, performing medicine, extruding waste, holding conversations, sleeping in comfort, and so on). Likewise, they would ideally allow Abyssal Wizards (or any other abyss dweller) to operate and perform their craft on the surface world without incident.

More generally, however, the intent is to allow the otterfolk to produce living exosuits to do anything they want- war, heavy labor, tourism, looking fabulous, or just assembling fun pets. Use Lake Linshi and Elder High-Oyster's anatomical expertise if possible.


Saga of the Pig

Augment my Navy Scallops into Slag Scallops: Ash-colored, knobbly-textured scallops not only capable of thriving in polluted waters, but which actively draw in pollutants to form into lustrous pearls of dark beauty. Use Lake Linshi and Elder High-Oyster's expertise if possible (and applicable).

Improve my Danger Squid into Drug Squid, which possess sophisticated mechanisms for producing and excreting a wide range of chemical compounds in response to external stimuli. The idea is to have "programmable" drug cattle that can generate a wide range of medicines, drugs, toxins, or just about anything else if properly managed, such as by ranchers with in-depth knowledge of both what products would be useful and how to affect the physiology of an animal. Use Lake Linshi and Elder High-Oyster's anatomical and medicinal expertise if possible.
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A hand, a hand, my kingdom for a hot hand!
The kitchenette mold free, you move on to the pantry. it's nasty in there. The bacon is grazing on the lettuce. The ham is having an illicit affair with the prime rib, The potatoes see all, know all. A rat in boxer shorts smoking a foul smelling cigar is banging on a cabinet shouting about rent money.

Glass

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Re: Academy of the Young Gods (IC Thread)
« Reply #140 on: April 02, 2020, 08:41:12 pm »

Age 2

Rabbit: Let's being work on that storage room, hopefully getting Koaring to work on it now instead of later (since it's the cooperation Saga after all).
While Koaring seems to be more inclined toward a traditional showroom, the nameless god thinks nothing - knows nothing - of such things. What they have seen is nature.
So they seek to emulate it.
Not a museum exhibit do they aim to make. There shall be no specimens pinned to walls, no neatly separated exhibits, nay; this shall be an ecosystem unto itself. Or, perhaps, akin to a small planet, for it will contain sections appropriate to most natural environs, and perhaps a few unnatural as well.
And when the work is finished, it shall be good. So it is written, so it is done.

Dragon: 1 Interaction. Let's go searching the wastes. I want to see what ancient relics and mechanisms I can find, to be brought back to my dormitory or given to the Salvaged depending on danger level and state of repair. I want to see what powerful artifacts have been made in the past, to learn from them and, potentially, to repair them.

Horse: Plants and Minerals class. One Interaction reserved, to be used here or elsewhere depending on how class goes.

Rooster: Miracles class. A Miracle may be used for the creation of a prayer orb, though this is not yet decided.
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mightymushroom

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Re: Academy of the Young Gods (IC Thread)
« Reply #141 on: April 03, 2020, 08:20:15 am »

Age 2, Saga of the Pig Rat, home room
Koaring does not know whether the nameless mechanical god takes time to sleep. If they do, Koaring's nervous energy has him up and about early enough in the saga to awaken his classmate with a pounding on their chamber door. When the god objects that the Saga of the Rabbit is logically better suited to working together on a project, Koaring glances at the storage pit, now illuminated by the baleful glow of the Gourd. "I am loath to put off this task any longer than necessary. No, I intend to set out now regardless of Saga. Won't you join me? We could discuss any plans you have for the design, the better to refine our search."
« Last Edit: April 03, 2020, 01:09:21 pm by mightymushroom »
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Glass

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Re: Academy of the Young Gods (IC Thread)
« Reply #142 on: April 03, 2020, 08:32:31 am »

[Mushroom, Pig is the last Saga. I'm not quite certain what your intent is.]
What resources would we need? They are plants and minerals, they are their own resources. The storage will grow as they do.
I am starting construction in the Saga of the Rabbit.
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Quote from: FallacyOfUrist (on Discord, 11/15/21)
Glass is, as usual, correct.
Yep, as ever, I bestow upon Glass the expected +1
I'm gonna say we go with whatever Glass's idea is.

mightymushroom

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Re: Academy of the Young Gods (IC Thread)
« Reply #143 on: April 03, 2020, 08:40:55 am »

[Mushroom, Pig is the last Saga. I'm not quite certain what your intent is.]
What resources would we need? They are plants and minerals, they are their own resources. The storage will grow as they do.
I am starting construction in the Saga of the Rabbit.


((Sorry, mixed up names. It should be Rat.))

"Then I am not sure I understand your plan in the slightest. Do you want no framework, no organization? These things will be easier to make if we use what other gods have left behind, rather than creating from nothing."
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Glass

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Re: Academy of the Young Gods (IC Thread)
« Reply #144 on: April 03, 2020, 08:45:06 am »

[Mushroom, Pig is the last Saga. I'm not quite certain what your intent is.]
What resources would we need? They are plants and minerals, they are their own resources. The storage will grow as they do.
I am starting construction in the Saga of the Rabbit.


((Sorry, mixed up names. It should be Rat.))

"Then I am not sure I understand your plan in the slightest. Do you want no framework, no organization? These things will be easier to make if we use what other gods have left behind, rather than creating from nothing."
The nameless god is increasingly confused.
Are plants and minerals not best kept in environments like their homes?
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Quote from: FallacyOfUrist (on Discord, 11/15/21)
Glass is, as usual, correct.
Yep, as ever, I bestow upon Glass the expected +1
I'm gonna say we go with whatever Glass's idea is.

mightymushroom

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Re: Academy of the Young Gods (IC Thread)
« Reply #145 on: April 03, 2020, 08:58:03 am »

"But from what will we make the environments in which to place them? One mineral, one plant does not an environment make. The rooms now are empty, they have no environments yet, unless we pool all in with the Menagerie. I am going to search for, for – for the bedrock, the soil, the strata upon which our collection can be built. For a something to define the collection's space instead of the nothing we have now."
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Glass

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Re: Academy of the Young Gods (IC Thread)
« Reply #146 on: April 03, 2020, 09:18:32 am »

...there is the rock the room is constructed from. But yes, I see your point.
Still, I do believe that the Saga of the Rabbit is the best time to work on this.
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Quote from: FallacyOfUrist (on Discord, 11/15/21)
Glass is, as usual, correct.
Yep, as ever, I bestow upon Glass the expected +1
I'm gonna say we go with whatever Glass's idea is.

mightymushroom

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Re: Academy of the Young Gods (IC Thread)
« Reply #147 on: April 03, 2020, 11:03:30 am »

Koaring relaxes a bit as the other god's demeanor – and colors – becomes friendly again. "And I think one should not worry too much about sagas. They are a guidance, and a useful tool, but not a necessity for success. As it is, I already have an object which has decayed from improper storage. I intend to search the Academy grounds for building Materials and I'm not going to put it aside for sagas whether you join me or not. If you insist, then I guess we can postpone the construction phase until you are confident in the outcome, just not any longer than the Rabbit, please. Sooner is better."

Koaring emends his plans for the turn.
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Weirdsound

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Re: Academy of the Young Gods (IC Thread)
« Reply #148 on: April 10, 2020, 03:57:24 am »

Term 17010, Age 2:

Saga of the Rat -

Sometime during this saga, while no student is paying attention, Academy staff moves through the class quarters and decorates each young god's personal room as they requested via form upon arrival. They also leave a great bounty of resources in open storage; Each is labeled according to whose form yielded the resource, but as they are in open storage, there is nothing stopping any of you from using any of the newly available goodies.

Open Storage has been updated! Check the Register of Known Things!

Your rooms have been decorated!


---

Koaring sets off into the academy, searching for a place to store plants and rocks for class, or the resources required to build one! Soon after wandering into the labyrinthine corridors, he picks up the scent of a distant river! The spawn of the bear follows his trusty nose... right into trouble.

On his way to the source of the scent, Koaring blunders into a section of the Academy where all the corridors and stairways are mechanized and constantly moving! Each time he chooses to travel down a hallway, the floor around him rotates and shifts, and by the time he reaches the end, he is further from the source of the odor he is chasing than he was when he started! Eventually Koaring decides to back out of this infuriatingly animated wing of the academy, but even this proves impossible! The moving walls make retracing the god's steps a futile effort, and the smell of home is no easier to follow than the scent of the river!

The poor god spends almost the entire saga trapped among the moving stairways, before finding his way out by pure dumb luck and returning to the class chambers defeated.

Action Failed!

---

Dun makes another trip to the trench city of the Abyssal Wizards. On her way in, she notes that the defenses that Húndàn mentioned last time are beginning to take shape in the form of two massive metal dishes dug into the seafloor near the cave entrance: Powerful sonic weapons of some sort.

Once in the city, the goddess makes her presence known, and is once again escorted to Húndàn's chamber. When she announces her intention to donate some of her divine energy in exchange for a military host, the massive shark smirks. "A wise choice indeed, goddess. I apologize in advance. The tool I use to draw your donation is ancient, painful, and perhaps just the slightest bit malicious. This will not be pleasant for you, but it will make us both stronger in the long run."

An Abyssal Wizard approaches Dun bearing a bejeweled case. Inside is a frightening jagged knife made from some crimson obsidian-like material. The handle seems to be the femur of some surface creature that should have been crushed by the pressures at this depth. "Stab yourself, and the tool will do the rest." Húndàn instructs.

The Goddess follows her host's instructions, and as soon as the knife breaks her translucent skin, she is afflicted with agony unlike anything she has ever felt before, and a sense of phyiscal weakness so profound that she is powerless to even withdraw the blade from her own flesh! Mercifully, this sensation only lasts a few moments before Dun is sapped of the strength required to even remain conscious.

...She spends the next few mortal months drifting in and out of a nightmare haunted sleep, as a handful of Abyssal Wizards dote on Dun and work to nurse her back to health. Eventually she breaks free from this cycle of torment, but her nurses insist that she remain in the bed they have provided her for yet another month and a half, both to allow Dun's physical strength to properly recover and Húndàn time to prepare the host.

Eventually the appointed day arrives. Dun's phyiscal strength and pool of divine energy are largely restored, but she can feel a lingering effect on her ability to channel between the two of them that isn't likely to go away anytime soon.

For the rest of the Term, Dun may only apply her Heart of the Deep Boon once per age!

The goddess is lead outside her sick ward and up to a balcony so that she may gaze upon her new followers. Below her stand about six hundred humanoid Cephalopods of several different species, each with a weapon and a saddled Camel Ray. The majority of the soldiers are octopus or squid people, on average about three quarters the size of the standard human. They each wear leather armor carry what appears to be some sort of large, bladed, crescent shaped, and slightly enchanted throwing weapon.

About one sixth of the soldiers, however, are heavy cavalry; Nautilus people who in addition to their thick shells wear metal armor that gleams in the dim light of the abyssal city. The shortest of these knights stands about eight feet tall, and the species of Camel Ray that they ride is closer in size to an elephant than a cow. In addition to their size, these ray's are armored in the same metal as their masters, and each possess several stinging barbs on their tails. In addition to a larger version of the bladed crescent carried by Dun's light infantry, these knights also carry large metal lances.

Dun notes Húndàn must have dug around in her mind while she was out to come up with her host's banner. They fly a flag that depicts two glowing hot freshly smithed axes on a black background, the emblem of Dun's father. Rising above from behind the axes, however, where she would expect to the head of a dragon, Dun instead notes a the furry webbed hand of an otter person clutching a pink pearl. The Abyssal Wizard who escorted the goddess to the balcony explains that the symbol comes from the family crest of the dynasty who ruled the Otterfolk at the height of their empire, when they used to trade with Húndàn's people.

Success! Your new host is detailed on the Unlisted Things document! You may start an RP with either Húndàn, your mortal nurses, or the officers of your new cavalry! If you choose to RP with someone other than the officers, you may issue your host a simple order such as 'go to Pai harbor and serve the otterfolk', or 'wait in the Abyss until I have need of you'.

Saga of the Ox -


Saga of the Tiger -

Elbakaespnu travels back to the wastes in search of the Alpha Huntress. Finding her takes some doing; The savage warrior is both mobile and illusive, and the members of the 72nd you do find can only give the god vague guesses as to her location. While interviewing their followers as to their superiors' location, however, Elba does note that their equipment and weapons are far superior to what they wielded when the mad god first met them.

Eventually Elbakaespnu gets a solid lead, and finds The Alpha Huntress, who is leading a small group of her soldiers as they drag several trees made seeming from iron across the wastes. As the young god is in no real rush, he hides his presence and follows her for about two mortal weeks, until the bug people arrive at their destination; A large open pit mine that houses several busy smelters, a good sized pile of iron trees, and wagons full of marble and other flux stone. Whatever these trees are, they have enabled the 72nd Infantry to produce large amounts of steel.

Satisfied with what you have seen, Elba scoops up the Alpha Huntress, and spirit her away to the academy!

Success! With a more dependable source of steel, the combat power of the 72nd Infantry has increased by 2! You have scooped up The Alpha Huntress, and may start an RP with her, either before or after class!

Arriving to class, Elbakaespnu notes that six other students have brought mortal followers in today, and each is more powerful than The Alpha Huntress.

In addition to the students and the instructor, three skeletal liches a present today. Professor Núlì introduces them as academy healers. She then explains how class will proceed. Each of the seven warriors present will take turns facing each of the other six in single combat. Combat will take place within a divine circle, over which the professor holds the power to pause and rewind time so that she may better explain the moves and stratagems employed by the mortal combatants. Mortals will be healed after each bout.

Of The Alpha Huntresses' six fights, three are against foes so powerful that she is defeated before she has time to mount any real resistance. Elbakaespnu cannot help but figure that these fighters must have received many boons from their gods.

Of the three remaining fights in which The Alpha Huntress is actually able to compete, she manages to scrape together two victories.

The first victory comes against a large ogre-like creature who wields both a steel club and fire magic. Although outmatched in terms of both size and magical strength, the Alpha Huntress makes great use of her agility to avoid the strikes of her foe until she manages to blind it by putting a crossbow bolt into each of her opponent's eyes. From there, the savage warrior takes her time turning the giant into a pincushion, until the Professor calls the fight, praising the aim and mobility of Elbakaespnu's fighter.

The second victory comes much quicker. The Alpha Huntress' foe, a lanky lemur-like creature whom dual wields a pair of scimitars, rushes in to start the fight! In a flash of steel and matter of seconds, the Alpha Huntress' right arm is lopped off! For a brief moment, Elbakaespnu fears the battle is lost, before he notices that his follower had managed to inflict a sting on her opponent in the exchange! Professor Núlì calls the fight in The Alpha Huntress' favor at once, noting that Venom is a particularly powerful weapon capable of enabling mortals to punch well above their weight class. The healers then attend to both fighters, restoring The Alpha Huntress' arm.

The last fight of note comes against a heavily armored human, whose gear largely matches the equipment wielded by Duke Azazel's guard. The two fighters seem to recognize each other. A look of amusement crosses the face of The Alpha Huntress, and a look of deep hatred crosses that of her opponent. Both fighters seem content to keep their distance at first; The Alpha Huntress fires bolts with great speed, but the human is just a step faster and blocks each shot with his kite shield. Eventually The Alpha Huntress comes to the conclusion that she has no choice but to close the gap and try to deliver a sting, but this proves to be a poor decision; The human's longblade has better reach than The Alpha Huntress' dagger or natural weapons, and he manages to wound her each time she tries to close the gap. In addition he is wearing heavy armor, leaving very little exposed flesh for his foe to sting. The Alpha Huntress fights bravely and with great wit, but the bout is stopped when Professor Núlì notes that several of her wounds are of the mortal variety.

After being healed, the human returns to stand at the side of his god, the metal and stone student who named The Alpha Huntress as a noteworthy mortal warrior last saga. Between his appearance, knowledge of the 72nd Infantry and their leader, and the uniform of his follower, The Dragon of Omnipotence concludes that this student is likely Hōngzhàjī, the dwarfish god spoken of by Duke Azazel, who sponsors the Ironbone faction in the human civil war.

Once the last fight concludes, Professor Núlì gives some remarks, in which she praises Elba's champion. She notes that a fair pit fight puts a sneaky combatant such as The Alpha Huntress at a disadvantage, and that the mortal is likely far more effective in the chaos of a pitch battle or well planned ambush. "By conventional metrics, your follower was the weakest one here. Yet she won two fights. I'd advise you celebrate her victories here today, Elbakaespnu, and not punish her defeats."   


Saga of the Rabbit -

Geography class this Saga takes Qu on a boat ride beneath the ocean waves. Headmaster Jiangxuéjīn spends some time giving descriptions and examples of various underwater shelves, ridges, canyons, and vents, before Qu raises the question of planar creation and restoration. At first The Emperor of Scholars is reluctant to talk about the subject, as he does not want to step on the toes of your future genesis instructors, but eventually he breaks down and gives some advice.

"The easiest way to create a realm of existence, especially for someone of your blood and talents Qu, is to start from the purest of nothingness." Jiangxuéjīn explains. "With nothing else in existence to serve as scale, the concept of size becomes irrelevant. To an infinite void, there is no meaningful difference between a large planet and a speck of dust. Create something tiny, adjust your own size so it becomes massive, and then seed it with whatever life and wonders you see fit to grant."

---

{null} takes the short trip to one of the empty spaces near the class chambers, and sets about constructing a place in which they might store the materials the gather for their resource acquisition lab. Koaring offers some resources for the project, and although {null}'s design does not call for fancy frost copper, the nameless god is convinced to use The Tome of Runes and Locksmithing tools to install a security system. The constructed god spends their entire stash of Mica to construct a natural looking wall on which minerals might be display, and their entire stash of logs to fashion fake trees upon and around which gathered plants might 'grow'. It also spends a trivial amount of the bronze it was given to make the sort of tools a mortal might use to work with plants or minerals.

Success! {null} and Koaring may name the location of their stored plant/mineral resources as 'Acquisition Lab Storage' when listing them on the Register of Known Things. Resources in Acquisition Lab Storage will not decay unless used. Security Measures have been installed on this storage area! Characters will need to spend an interaction or miracle to access the things held within if they wish to do so without {null} or Koaring's blessing.

Logs and Mica have been consumed. Locksmithing Tools have been slightly worn. Bronze and the Tome of Runes have been used in this progress, but have suffered no wear.


Saga of the Dragon -

High Archivist Jiāpu offers her first case study in mortal eugenics to Dun and the rest of the class, by producing a pair of ordinary looking brownish snakes. "Today we are talking recessive traits. Mortal features that a parent can carry and pass onto their offspring without actually expressing themselves. For the overwhelming majority of mortals that practice sexual reproduction, the same rules apply. Unless the mortal is created or modified by a god to specifically defy the logic of breeding and husbandry, you can safely apply these teaching when considering their offspring."

She then spends several minutes explaining what happens when you breed various combinations of mortals who lack a recessive trait, carry a recessive trait, and/or express a recessive trait, before dramatically revealing the offspring of her two brown snakes; A serpent with scales as white as snow!

"Using and understanding these rules allows a god to draw desired traits from fast breeding creatures without needing to expend large amounts of divine energy, as well as teach their mortal followers how to tamper with life even if they lack any supernatural talent." Jiāpu explains, "if there is one thing I hope you leave this course with, it is the understanding that properly crafted mortal biology has the tools to improve itself. Although greatly useful, intervention via divine miracle is not necessary if one wishes to improve mortal design and quality of life."

---

{null} decides to travel to the Ashen Wastes, where it will hunt the same relics and artifacts that sustain its followers. The nameless god chooses to start from the Ironwood forest it created last age, and is quickly sidetracked when it discovers, once again, the insect people of the 76th Infantry prowling the woods and driving off the salvaged.

Enraged, {null} once more lashes out at the interlopers. Although the god succeeds in distracting them from interfering with his followers for a time, the bug people prove resourceful and resilient. Many can hop great distances or even fly, and most are masterful climbers; Their ability to change levels from the canopy to the forest floor makes the difficult to catch and engage. The mortals lead their divine pursuer around the woods for many months, and although {null} is occasionally able to wound, or even kill, one of the troublemakers, it has no luck in either driving them from the Ironwood trees completely or taking any live captives.

Eventually the chase comes to an end when {null} very nearly blunders into a pitfall trap! Tipped off by divine perception at the very last second, the heavy being of mineral and wood looks down to see a floor of sharpened steel spikes, likely refined and crafted from the very trees it created, several meters below where its foot was about to land! If {null} were to fall in, and land badly on one of its wooden or even stone bodyparts, it could have suffered real damage. Exhausted, disappointed in itself for underestimating the mortals, and perhaps slightly frightened, {null} gives up on its plans to search for relics in the wastes and returns to the academy for the time being.


Saga of the Snake -



Saga of the Horse -

Chet leads his class, including Koaring and {null} to the Blissful Glacier, a frozen land enchanted so that benevolent mortal life may thrive. The Dolphin headed god has three fun lessons planned for his students today.

First he leads the class to a herd of Golden Wooly Unicorn Yak. Chet shows the students how to approach the beasts without spooking them, earn their trust with offerings of food, and then finally to harvest the neon blue moss that grows on their bodies with a fine toothed comb. "Mortals who regularly eat of the moss are longer lived and kinder of spirit!"

Next, Chet shows the class a palm tree with silver leaves, miraculously growing in this cold climate. The task here is the most simple, climb the trunks to collect the large translucent coconuts growing far above the ground. "Milk from the nut of the Silver Wonder Palm can reverse any case of mortal hypothermia! It will even go so far as to revive and restore one who has recently died of frostbite!"

Lastly, the instructor produces pick axes for each student, and leads them to a sheet of glowing pink ice. "Dig down until you reach patches that glow red instead of pink. This is Godswine! A mineral that is liquid a room tempreture, but solid in these joyous frozen lands! It is a divine intoxicant powerful enough to get even inorganic gods like my favorite nameless student drunk!" Chet gives Null a playful punch to the shoulder, "but it is completely harmless... unless you count bad descisions that is! Even a mortal could eat their fill of it and not even so much as vomit!"


If you spent an interaction here, you can bring home resources with a combined total value of fifteen. Divide this bounty as you wish between Wonder Palm Nuts, Electric Blue Moss, and Godswine!

Saga of the Goat -

Dun, Koaring, and Qu make the short trip to attend miracles class. The latter two students turn in their reports on successful miracles, and Professor Yínfà commends them for their timely effort. Koaring then sets the tone by asking about cooperative miracles, both between a group of gods, and between a god and mortals.

The professor considers the question for a moment before answering. "Cooperation between gods, in relation to miracles, is one of the most tried and true methods of boosting miracle success rate throughout the multiverse. That is one of the main reasons pantheons are formed. There is almost no situation where, from a divine energy perspective, you are better off not letting another god help you."

She drums her fingers against her metallic chin, producing an audible series of metallic twangs. "As for mortals... mortal magic is often the product of divine miracles. It is often far weaker than the powers us gods wield, and as thus earnest and mutually beneficial supernatural cooperation is rarely worth it. ...And even if you do have reason to believe that letting a mortal help with a miracle is a good idea, it is often difficult to achieve. Magic often does not come natural to mortals. Most casters have to follow a set of complex and arcane laws that some god laid out for them. Unless you were the one to give them that magic in the first place, you will likely have to invest effort into learning their rules and techniques before you can contribute divine energy to their casting or receive their energies to power your miracles."

"Bruh..." Dào Lànzuì, one of the two Bull Moose seniors in the class chimes in, "if any of you freshmen want to practice joint miracles, you should come to the mead hall I'm setting up. It is in the academy's Yellow Wing. I'm throwing a massive raging bender to dedicate the place, and if you show up early and help me make the refreshments and decorations during the Saga of the Rat, you can party with the seniors!"

Saga of the Monkey -

The first thing Elbakaespnu does upon arriving at his Worldly Interactions course is begin to dig, downward, in search of the ant queen. The dragon spends most of the meeting underground, and although he finds several chambers full of brood, food, and worker ants, the queen does not appear. Eventually Bethany calls the many eyed god to the surface, where he has no choice to report his failure.

Action Failed!

Bethany explains that the Queen Ant is very attuned to divine energy, and that Elbakaespnu's strange aura from the outer realms must have spooked her. "It doesn't spook me though. I... like... find your kind to be particularly charming." She explains with a wry grin.

Elba spends the last bit of the meeting smoozing with his instructor. He is sure Bethany bears some fondness toward him, but finds the extent of her attraction hard to read. As the Dragon leaves the Ant Farm at the end of the course, Bethany mentions that she is going to be stuck on the mortal realm, dealing with her followers in the City of Pai, next age during The Saga of the Snake. Is she making small talk? Or is that an invitation to go and visit her?

---

Qu travels to the temple of his followers to examine the doorway he had accidentally created last age. It takes only a few moments for the god to understand what the void has done in his name. The doorway is a hole in space itself, and is linked to the temple. More specifically it is linked to the mind of the temple's leader, and will take whomever passes through to a location that suits Master Zhèngniàn interests. Qu doubt's it would be easy for a mortal to directly select the destination on the other side of the doorway, but it might be possible for a disciplined martial artist such as your follower.

Curious, Qu steps through the doorway, and finds himself in a dark basement apparently constructed from blocks of green glass. Quickly reaching the conclusion that Master Zhèngniàn is using the doorway to spy on the slave holding high elf city, the god chooses to explore no further and return to the temple, lest he inadvertently give away the doorway's location to the elves.

Back at the temple, Qu seeks out Master Zhèngniàn, who indeed already understands how the doorway works, and has a good idea of how to control it. "We using it to scout out the strengths and weaknesses of the Great Glass City, per your commands. They are indeed mighty, and possess the wealth to buy off potential enemies," the mortal explains, "The city has stood, unchallenged and unmolested for over 300 terms. Their ruling dynasty claims to have existed on this world longer than any active god excluding Shizi. If they have a weakness, it is complacency. They have been so strong for so long, that it is difficult for them to imagine that a true threat might actually exist. It may be possible to bring them low by striking quickly and from the shadows... a task I believe to be beneath the honor of the warriors of light, but one that I would undertake if you were to command it."

Following his discussion with Master Zhèngniàn, Qu finds a quiet corner of the mortal's temple and removes The Blade of Sundered Wisdom from its sheath. The weapon is heavy, in both the physical and spiritual sense. Just touching the surface of the weapon, Qu can feel the depth and wisdom of the inactive mind and spirit trapped. It will be a long time before he possesses both the finesse and strength of divine energy to properly reanimate the entire being, but for now he should be able to wake just enough of it up to advise on a specific area. And with a thought and small surge of energy he does just that, sparking awake a font of great and ancient knowledge related to the broad field of divine biology!

The Sword is attuned to the study of Divine Biology! 10% success rate bonus to all of Qu's interactions and miracles relating to said field!

---

Dun is still quite drained from her adventures among the Enigma Sharks, but knowing she has alot of work to do, the goddess retires to her menagerie intent on performing the most complex of planned fleshcraft while the saga favors her actions.

Taking a living, breathing, thinking animal and reducing it to a set of self replicating and highly modular building blocks is no simple task, but Dun is no simple goddess. Reducing intelligent and independent to elegant and useful is something that she has been doing for most of her existence. It takes Dun most of the saga, and she winds up wasting her entire stockpile of harbor mantises between the failed and the successful experiments, but eventually the exosuit polyps she had envisioned sit before her. If the Otterfolk are even half the physicians and biology experts they claim to be, Dun's followers should be able to great things with this new creation... Once she delivers them of course.

Success! The Harbor Mantids have been removed from the Known Things document, and the Exosuit Polyps have been added to the Unlisted Things Document!

Saga of the Rooster -

Professor Wángzi wastes little time explaining the basics of prayer orb construction to {null} and the rest of his students. "There are three basic components to a prayer orb. The Filter, The Medium, and The Containment. The filter is the most important bit. It tells the prayer orb from whom and where to gather prayers. Usually you want a bit of grey matter from the head of your preferred pet species of mortal, or waste water from some town or city you are the patron of. If, however, you are ambitious enough to collect prayers from an entire world, an ancient stone will suffice. Usually the orb is mounted on a small base or podium which houses the filter, but you may put it directly inside the orb if you wish."

The professor adjusts his mask, which today is carved from some unknown jet black material, and continues his speech. "The medium is the supernatural liquid or dense gas within the orb. It is what displays the prayers to the observing god. This is mostly cosmetic, but many gods testify that using a more personal medium, such as a piece of thunderstorm for a god of clouds, or quicksilver for a goddess of metals, makes the prayer orb easier to use. The Containment is the translucent material that forms the orb. Again, this is largely cosmetic, but if you are particularly empathetic by nature you want to pick something strong. Some gods may find an whole orb worth of mortal prayers suddenly set loose in their room to be quite overwhelming."

Professor Wángzi then produces a large bin of materials. "In this box is rune glass, enchanted to be tough as steel, beautiful milky green dryad blood to serve as a medium, and ancient bedrock to use a potential filter. You may attempt to build the prayer orb from these materials here and now in class, but you would probably prefer to find a more useful filter, and perhaps locate or materialize a medium and containment material that better matches your personal style as well."

You may take home and store Rune Glass (Value 5), Dryad Blood (Value 5), and/or Ancient Bedrock (Value 2) if you wish. You may also choose to use any and all of those resources here and now in class.

Saga of the Dog -

Koaring uses a trivial amount of divine energy to suppress his seed, before traveling back to the corrupted woods to check in with his new family. Baba Yāo fù's hut is not in the exact same place that he left it, but the scent of his rival is easy enough to track.

Baba Yāo fù sits in a rocking chair, knitting what appears to be humanoid hair with needles carved from bone. She grins as you approach, and leads you inside. The first thing she shows you is a full length mirror. Behind the glass is not a reflection of the room you are in, but a vibrant pre-teen girl with a patch of bear fur on her head where her hair ought to be. She sits on some sort of dirt floor, playing a game of dice with two slightly younger children.

"I named her Sayamin after her maternal grandmother," your rival explains, "It is tradition for a hag to be raised by hapless mortals, so we might know how they think to better hunt and abuse them. Her instincts and wicked nature should awaken in the next saga or two, at which point I will spirit her away from Peanut Village to properly train her in the ways of magic and corruption. At some point, once she has learned enough, she will likely kill me. Most hags do that to their mothers. We can never forgive them for making us into monsters and taking them away from the family that raised them. It is especially likely in her case; The woods whisper to me, they say her driving vice will be jealousy. Her purpose in life will be destroy anything and anyone that she thinks you might care about more than her. Hopefully I have a few more ages before that turns her against me."

She offers you some tea, and a meal of liver soup. She says little over this lunch, but you can tell Baba Yāo fù is on the verge of tears. Although she does not use any charms or magics to seduce you this time, after eating she indeed invites you to bed. You accept, as you are suddenly struck by an idea.

Hags, although corrupt and powerful, are still mortal. They can be tired out from physical exertion. On your previous meeting, Baba Yāo fù took breaks to serve you food and listen to your secrets. This time, however, you allow no such thing, and ride your rival for at least a week non-stop. Her pride prevents her from throwing in the towel until she is utterly exhausted, to the point where she falls asleep almost the moment you crawl off of her satisfied.

Critical Success! The Hag is Asleep, and you have the run of her hut! You have several options as to how to proceed! You could ransack her place, in hopes of learning her secrets and leveling the playing field for your future battles against the corruption! You could play your harp for her while she rests, using its power to reinforce whatever genuine fondness she has for you! Or you could even attack her while she is vulnerable, starting combat with a huge advantage!



Saga of the Pig -

Having not returned to the academy, spending the last few sagas meditating in the temple and helping Master Zhèngniàn train his monks, Qu decides it is time to leave, but not before offering a parting gift. The god spends a month laboring in the temple courtyard, creating the ideal garden to house the Ten Hundred Blooms before producing and planting said flowers. He then explains their healing properties to the monks, and orders the Warriors of Light to practice growing and using the wondrous flowers to make the world a better place.

Master Zhèngniàn bows low, and promises to do as he is ordered.

Success! You already earned an RP with Master Zhèngniàn from your last interaction, but if you can think of another RP you would like with the Warriors of Light, feel free to start it.

---

As the age progresses, Dun begins to feel even better. As it enters into its final saga, she once again feel ready for some real work. Once again steeling herself away in the menagerie, she begins modifying both the squid and the scallops she had previously taken from the mortal realm. She changes the scallops to not just thrive in the polluted harbor, but to siphon away the toxins and condense them into beautiful pearls.  The Squid, which upon closer examination do indeed carry venom, are changed to produce a wide array of chemicals in their venom glands in response to various stimuli!

Neither task is difficult. In fact, Dun finds she has the time and energy to upgrade her entire stock of both mollusk species if she so chooses. Truly the Otterfolk will benefit should she choose to share these creations with them!

Success on both Miracles! You may spend any value amount of Navy Scallops to gain twice that value amount of Slag Scallops! You may spend any value amount of Danger Squid to gain twice that value amount of Pharmacy Squid!
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Re: Academy of the Young Gods (IC Thread)
« Reply #149 on: April 10, 2020, 03:57:43 am »

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