The small waves on the surface churned the sunlight into dancing swarms of light as it trailed down and through the slightly greenish water to finally come to rest on the steps leading up to the temple's main chamber, where a silent congregation of the fish-men known as Aegeans were gathered.
Below the temple proper, a small room where the only light coming from a pedestal upon which rested a faintly glowing pearl the size of a human's head also had a collection, but these were the elders.
Giant creatures, their scaly skin becoming dark and scratched with age, eyes as milky as the giant pearl they stared into, these were the oldest of their kind, the result of several hundred years of living under the gentle waves in the lake that they had laid claim to.
The collected elders looked deep into the shifting surface of the massive pearl, their sightless eyes peering intently as unseen images and unheard sounds drifted into their collective consciousness.
Finally, after almost an hour spent meditating on the pearl's secrets, the elders broke their circle and wandered off towards their chambers to sleep. The ancient Gishleth-Yheem, eldest among them, went instead towards the high priest to confide with him in the clicking and croaking language of the Aegeans the messages imparted to the circle of elders during meditation.
The high priest nodded, and then made his way back up the tunnel that led towards the higher levels, sometimes swimming, sometimes latching onto the walls and propelling himself forward with his powerful limbs.
Once at the top level, the high priest solemnly made his way to the smooth stone altar upon which danced a cluster of sun rays, and began to address the the congregation.
"Children of the All-Seer, Yagesh has spoken! Our god has given us a divine mission, he has shaped our path towards a brighter future!"
There were a few clicked murmurs through the crowd, but most stayed quiet, awaiting the priest's next words.
"Our god has expressed distaste at our minor holdings, and has dictated that we shall create an empire to challenge the world for aeons to come! Children of the All-Seer, the harvest king, god of fish and water, heed this call! To the south, we shall expand our kingdom until we control all of this simple lake's holdings. From this seat of power, the world shall know the reign of the Aegeans, and we shall spread onward towards the grand seas the All-Seer has promised our kind! Yagesh wills our victory! Yagesh wills our strength!"
The congregation rose from their mollusk-encrusted seats, and the temple rang with a haunting symphony as those collected shouted their fervor in clicks and throaty rumbles that echoed off the smooth stone walls of the temple.
The high priest smiled quietly to himself, lines of small but sharp teeth showing slightly above the rim of his near-fleshless lips. He had served his god well, and knew divine rewards lay in his future. Praise be to the All-Seer.
At the edge of the table, the scaled creatue lifts its head from whatever silent reverie had been occupying it for so long.
"Brethren," It said. "do not let my silence vex you, for I mean no ill manner by it".
code:
▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲ ▲▲▲▲▲⌂⌂.♣♣.♣.♣│~
▲▲▲▲▲⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂▲▲▲▲^ ▲▲▲▲⌂..♣♣.♣┌──┘~
▲▲⌂⌂⌂.......⌂▲▲▲ ▲▲▲⌂..♣┌───┘.⌂⌂~
▲⌂⌂......≈⌂⌂▲▲▲▲ ▲▲▲⌂⌂..│....⌂▲⌂~
▲⌂......π≈≈≈⌂▲▲▲ ^▲▲⌂.┌─┘.♣♣..⌂~~
▲¤▲⌂⌂..π.π≈≈⌂⌂▲▲ ▲$⌂..│...♣.♣.~~~
▲▲▲▲▲▲⌂║⌂⌂⌂⌂▲▲▲▲ ⌂└──┬┘!.♣◘♣..~~.
▲▲^▲▲▲▲║▲▲▲▲▲▲▲⌂ ....│....♣♣..~..
▲▲▲▲▲▲▲║▲▲▲▲▲▲⌂⌂ .=..└──┐...♣...≈
▲▲▲▲▲▲▲╠☻^▲▲▲⌂⌂. ♣♣.....└─┐....≈≈
⌂⌂⌂▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲⌂..♣ ♣♣.♣.....└───≈≈≈
.⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂▲▲⌂⌂⌂⌂..♣. ♣.♣♣♣♣..♣.*.=.≈≈
..⌂≈⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂...♣♣♣ ♣♣≈♣♣♣♣♣.♣♣U#.≈≈
♣≈≈%≈⌂⌂⌂......♣♣ ♣≈≈≈♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣=.≈≈
.♣≈≈≈≈......♣♣♣♣ ♣≈@♣♣♣♣.♣♣♣..≈≈≈
♣.♣♣...♣..♣♣.♣♣♣ ♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣.≈≈≈≈≈
Groups of Aegeans gather in various buildings, some celebrating, some planning the domination of the surrounding area.
Aegeans.
Water. Seas and lakes are home to most settlements, but if a river is found flowing into a mountain, accomodations can be made.
Bones and shells are the most common materials used in weapons and armor, as metalsmithing is difficult underwater. More expensive armors can be made from volcanic stone near underwater magma vents.
Aegean society is theocratic, with leadership falling to the high priest, who in turn gets his commands from the sacred elders. Aegeans, although suspicious of outsiders, will not hesitate to make profitable trades with them. A life spent swimming has crafted very strong bodies, and they are incredibly fast underwater. Although they are not nearly as agile on land, the lack of water resistance makes them hit quite hard.
(OOC: Sorry 'bout the long wait, I figured I'd make up for it with some interesting background. I'm going to have to ask for Aegeans to be amphibious (forgot to add that in the first post), as being strictly waterbound would make things a little boring once the lake was fully laid claim to.)
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Topic: Battle of the Gods: an RP Thread (Read 45797 times)