Melanthios felt the magic around Oculus Obscuritatis changing. He then heard a message from M'endar "Brothers, I beseech you now to assist with my endeavour, as this will be a proper venue for our meetings, and more..." That sounded interesting, but regardless of M'endar was doing he would have helped. Melanthios focused some of his magic into his left hand, another orb was created. He focused and send the orb to M'endar, the orb had enough power to dig deep into the moon.
Aid M'endar with altering the moon
Domain: Arcane magic +6 Wisdom +4
Vantric finished his response to Melanthios only to have another voice enter his mind. A surge of power from a different source entered his creation, followed swiftly by another. Melanthios, He thought, And someone else. He didn't need much else to go on to know that M'endar was reaching out to him.
"Brothers, I beseech you now to assist with my endeavour, as this will be a proper venue for our meetings, and more..."
He turned the words over in his mind. A proper venue for meetings? That was certainly good, there could never be too much security, especially where secret meetings and plots were concerned. The 'and more' gave him pause though. 'And more' what, exactly? Obviously M'endar had his own plans, but how would opening a new meeting venue fit into them? Vantric puzzled over the thought for a few moments more. Ultimately, he decided that M'endar's plans were irrelevant, for the moment. Not helping, or even worse, hindering M'endar would do nothing but work against him. He had pledged his support to his allies, now he had to provide it.
"M'endar, you will have my aid in your creation, just as you have given your aid to mine." Vantric replied, as he sent another part of his power to M'endar to help him as he could.
Meanwhile on Coelus, Roe and Petal stood in a playhouse by a gleaming crystal school, watching the doors carefully.They had to flee the temple quickly once the news of the miraculous statue got out and Grigori from all over had poured into the scene to see for themselves what had happened.
"When are we going to meet Ette?" Petal whined, "We've been waiting here for ages,"
"Shhhhh!" Roe replied, "I told you, if you want to meet an angel you have to wait until it's playtime. We can't go in the school, there's too many teachers."
At that moment a gong rang out from somewhere deep inside the school and within seconds hundreds of Grigori children burst out into the playground, jumping around and playing games as they always did. Few noticed one in particular walking inconspicuously over to the playhouse, ducking under the shade with a backwards glance.
"Hey Roe," Ette beamed when she entered, "I got your note in my desk, you have a friend who wants to meet me?" She was pale with long blond hair and like most angels she was tall and slender for her nine years of age.
"Her name is Fallen Petal, she's just here," Roe replied and moved aside so Petal couldn't hide shyly behind him for any longer. After a moment she stammered out a few words.
"Can... can I touch your wings... please,"
Ette took Petal by the hand and lead her over to a seat, soon the two girls were chatting happily with each other. Roe smiled, he knew a number of Grigori children but had picked Ette in particular because of her kind older sisterly attitude. He decided to leave them alone for a while and transformed into his fox form before hopping out of the hiding place and slinking around the edge of the playground, causing a ball or two to pop in mid air to his amusement.
Suddenly Roe heard a scream he recognised instantly coming from around the playhouse. He dashed back and threw himself through into the door paws first. Ette and Petal were backed up against a wall facing a group of older angel children, the human girl in particular trembling in fright.
"What's that?" one of them asked dumbly, pointing at Petal. It was then that they noticed Roe standing besides them, still in the form of a fox. One of them lunged for him and grabbed onto his tail, yanking it down. Roe yelped and instinctively turned to bite the boy's arm, his mind screaming a curse of red hot anger as he did. It would not be for a while that he'd learn the ultimate result of this curse.
The child let go with a cry and Roe leapt for Petal, scooping her up from under her legs so she was riding on his back and then dashed towards the exit, vanishing into thin air as the pair left the playhouse. Shocked silence filled the small room until a breathless teacher jogged up.
"I heard from Finn... was there a wild animal in here?"
"There were two and one bit Daom!" a boy piped up.
"Are you alright? We should take you to a nurse," the teacher said in concern.
Daom looked slowly up at him, an odd smile on his face despite his bleeding hand.
"I'm fine, sir..."
DC11 - 4AP - Grant transmittable immortality of a sort to a small group of mortals. (One strain per god)(eg vampires; immortality with a major instant-kill weakness, basically), Roe's bite creates the Kinderven with +6 chaos and +6 childhood.
Roe's bite transmitted a magical ailment which causes the sufferer's bite to become fatally poisonous to anyone who's reached puberty or is younger than about three but converts those in between into one of the Kinderven. Any humanoid species who has the appropriate life stage (currently humanity, grigori, dwarves, dues filli, lainir) can be infected but they are most common in Grigori societies where the strain first emerged and human socities where the ailment rapidly spread to.
The bitten child quickly rejects their parents and families and becomes feral but otherwise largely retains their personality, albeit with a very independent streak. The infected never age physically or mentally beyond the age at which they were bitten. Physically they are indistinguishable from their uninfected counterparts aside from having unusually sharp teeth and being slightly hairier. They live on the edges of mortal societies, taking what they can to survive, and often living in loose packs.
Bonuses:
-Transmittable immortality: Kinderven do not age or suffer from non-magical diseases
-Poisonous bite: Their bite is fatally poisonous if untreated for all mortals who cannot be converted
Weaknesses:
-Small body: They are physically weak and relatively uncoordinated compared to adult mortals
-Instant kill: Every Kinderven possesses a small toy, trinket or other possession from their former life which they must carry somewhere on their person at all times. Being more than about five metres away from the possession causes them significant pain and it's destruction causes instant death.
Seith was staring into his lenses, he had wanted to see what was going on, Melanthios was speaking with Nivix. He had seen Nivix enter the library and figured it was time to speak to the dark messiah sooner than later. Perhaps a peace could be forged, though he honestly doubted it. Seith teleported and entered the Library, watching as the conversation between the two finished.
Seith watched as Nivix left and approached Melanthios, "You never answered my message Melanthios, may I ask why?"
Melanthios looked surprised, he turned around to see Seith. He had heard many things about him, but he had never met him before. "Well Seith I have been very busy, and I am a bit ashamed to say that it had slipped my mind." Melanthios made an apoligetic smile.
Seith breathed out a bit, he wasn't sure if he would get into a fight through this or not, he was glad it wasn't the case. "Yes, alright then, I know you have made a deal with my brother, but that isn't why I have come mostly. I have come because right now, our creations are conversing amongst themselves, making peace. It is in the best interests of both our races that we do as well. So, I have come to talk a bit."
Melanthios laughed. "I am sorry for the sudden outburst, but it is really like my son to keep something like that to himself. But talking sounds good, please have a seat." Melanthios moved his hand and 2 beautiful red chairs appeared, he sat down on one.
Seith had never actually sat down before, standing and floating about like a leader had always been his style, he awkwardly positioned himself down but managed to get the hang of it. "I have been watching everything for a while now, I know you and my brother met on the moon, I am not sure what he has told you about me, but war was never my intent and neither was subverting you." Seith motioned towards the library. "An impressive collection, we are similar in very many ways. My goal has always been simple, progress the universe in a way that will harm the least beings possible. What is your goal exactly?"
Melanthios had a sly smile on his face. Seith and him were indeed alike, but not in the way that Seith hoped. They did both had their way with words, Melanthios had to be very careful around Seith. "My goal is to gather all the knowledge in existence and taking care of my children." Melanthios managed to keep himself from adding anything sarcastic about the observatory. "So how do you plan to progress the universe Seith?"
Seith thought for a moment, and responded. "Preventing war is usually the best way possible. Our races will work on their own to better themselves, we simply need to provide a suitable enviroment for them to work." Seith conjured a small orb showing a recording of his own sights. It was of humans slaughtering each other. "Our races are not like this I don't think. If they were, we might not be talking to one another right now. The humans won't get very far if they continue to destroy themselves but my goal is focused around the Girigori and anyone around them." Seith thought for a moment and realized who he was talking to again. "How do you plan to progress the universe?"
Seith showed humans fighting each other, they were a strange race the humans. But fighting was a necessary part of almost any culture. "I agree that when war can be prevented we should. And my plan for progression is quite simple." Melanthios sat back in his chair and said. "I intend to discover everything there it to know, and use it to make my race flourish."
So far it seemed they agreed, but Seith figured they would diverge on a key issue. A big what-if and it would probably come to pass. "That's all well and good, but what happens when something or someone opposes you?"
Melanthios smile turned much darker. "That depends how they oppose me, if a Dues Filli opposes me I would simple correct his mistake. If another race was to attack my childeren, I will show no mercy. So it really depends on why they oppose me, and how."
Seith shook his head, "Not the mortals, they can be dealt with in other means, but not all of the gods are in agreement with one another. What if they don't want you to accomplish this, or wish to retard its pace, even if that wasn't their original intent?" Seith was thinking mainly of Roe and Ailish with this one. He was aware Roe had slightly disorganized his race, but let it go, would Melanthios do the same?
Melanthios shrugged. "Once again it depends on who and why. If Zareth was to kill 50 of my people right now, I would give him a change to explain himself. If a god who isn't in the alliance does this there will be no mercy, only all out war."
It seemed Melanthios was missing the point, murder wasn't the only way beings opposed one another. "I am not talking about murder right now, not everything works in murder. Perhaps some information is destroyed purposely or inadvertantly, information you can't get back or some other form of obstruction is placed by a god. What then?"
Melanthios looked at Seith. He didn't want to let him see how he would react to different situations, but once again beginning about murder would arouse suspicion. "I will probably go and talk to them, and ask for compensation. It of course greatly changes depending who did it, why, and how. But I would talk to them, and demand to be compensated. What would you do Seith?"
Seith brought his orb back and showed a small recording of Roe's actions on Coellus. "This is what I speak of, many of these mortals are running around spreading false prophecies. However, there is little I could gain from asking Roe for compensation. He could be at your planet next, in fact I would imagine he might be. At this moment, I am doing nothing about it. Letting some things go can foster improvement and better relationships in the future. I feel peace is worth perserving under almost all circumstances, certain actions are unforgivable and had he actually harmed the Girigori, I wouldn't have let it be, how would you react to this? You will have to deal with it at some point."
Melanthios slowly shook his head. "I have made contact with my race, and they are being led by my first son. No moving statue will be able to deceive my children. They could easily spot the different in my and Reo's magic, and see that it wasn't mine so they would recognize it was fake. And how would I react to it? Simple my son would smash the statue, I would have a talk with Reo not to do it again, and any false rumors would be dispersed."
Seith frowned. "You underestimate him. The statue was a medium he worked through. The same magic you used to bring the Deus Filli to devoutly follow you can be used against you in the future. His power isn't just rival to ours, it is equal. He has created planets just as we have and with as much ease. His personality stops him from becoming a military threat to anyone, but my real point is how you would deal with nuisances. Also, if you did ask him to cease, I highly doubt he would stop."
"I do not underestimate him, I know his power is equal to mine. But I am sure he wouldn't hurt people on purpose for fun. So if I explained to him, that he was hurting people and that I would like him to stop I am sure he would. And as said before I would simple talk to him, just as we are talking right now. Talking and negotiating can solve almost all problems."
Seith moved foward. "The Girigori are not in pain right now, the five hundred he confused are not being executed on the streets. As of right now, your race is small, three hundred but it will grow very quickly. Soon, five hundred lost will be a very small number. Sephariel noticed what Roe did, and it might lessen my power to a degree. How do you intend to deal with those that can not be talked to or reasoned with? Is war the only option with them?"
Melanthios smile vanished. "500 means that 500 people do not know the truth. I would never accept this, I would take action and show them the true path. And everything can be reasoned with Seith, I won't start a war without a legitimate reason. I am not a warmonger." Melanthios almost believed himself as he spoke.
Seith's frown became more neutral. "You keep speaking of this truth, but why isn't your race allowed to seek its own truth? I allowed Lenonous to seek his own largely and he was better for it. We aren't infallable, I have learned from the mortals and so can you."
Melanthios frowned. "It is true, that there is more then 1 truth. But the problem with allowing more then one is simple. Believing other things leads to separation, separation leads to distance and further distance between the 2 groups. Eventually this leads to confusion, and then the confusion leads to anger. Maybe even hatred, so I won't allow this. My race will walk the path I chose for them. They will explore many things, and I will learn much from them. But these will all believe the same basic things, or else problems might arise."
Seith decided to bring up the Girigori again. "My race has three major factions, each posing a different view of my teachings, yet because of my main teaching, an aversion to starting wars, there will be no civil war. You speak of your race as a singular organism, but they are all individuals. There will be some who refuse to follow your path, I suppose
I could have force Lennonous into following me, but isn't that as good as killing him?"
Melanthios frown stayed the same, but he was doing his best to keep it that way. This god was question his teachings for his children, he did not appreciate that at all. "My race has other goals in live then yours. Inside my race there will be many different guilds, all of them searching different knowledge. But at the end of the day there is 1 faction, with 1 leader to keep the peace. And keeping people on a righteous path is much better then killing them."
Seith was starting to reach his point now, he had to be careful as he did not want to anger Melanthios, but this had to be said. "This universe is not black and white Melanthios. Good and evil, right and wrong are not simple concepts assigned to an action. You would be destroying the individual's personality, what makes the creature itself. Not all deviations are nessecarily destructive, I don't mean to offend at all but if you let your race grow enough, they will be smarter than you, smarter than me. Who are we to dictate their paths? What if in the future they wish to forever break off from your path and seek a different one? Not just as an individual but as a large group? What then? Are we to destroy those that think differently simply on the virtue of a possible confrontation? Why even create if the art can't have a life of its own?"
Melanthios narrowed his eyes. Seith was really pushing his buttons, it took a lot of control to make sure he wouldn't show his anger. "Seith may I ask you with what knowledge you were created?" Melanthios stood up out of his chair and looked at Seith. "You see I can not believe that we have been made from the same knowledge. Because if you had the same knowledge as me, you would know why we have to make a path for them." Melanthios moved his hand creating over a hundred orbs all of them filled with pictures of war, fights and other things like sicknesses. "My race might outsmart me someday, but until they do I will keep them under my wing. I will not crush them into a mindless slaves, but I will educate my basic believes on to them. And you ask me who we are to dictate their path, simple we are their makers. It is our responsibility to teach them how the world works, and to protect them from danger."
Seith decided to avert from the conversation for a small while. He brought out a warm smile. "So be it, consider it a friendly bout then, we shall see who's race get's further the fastest. Speaking of, I was thinking of a small gift our races could share, it might help speed the process up a bit."
Melanthios looked straight at Seith, his expression less friendly. "You see the advancements of your children as a game? ". Melanthios seemed to think the gift offer over and then answered. " I do not have anything against them trading some of their knowledge with each other. But know that to me every child is important."
Seith's smile got a bit wider, "Not at all, instead of undermining each other however, we shall simply see who has the better idea in practice instead of through hypotheticals. Perhaps after these two races have matured past their need of us, we can work together on a third. As of right now though, I had an idea of a race to help everyone. They would find pleasure in architecture, in building and would work constantly to make bigger and better structures. What do you think?"
Melanthios simply stared at Seith. He had been wrong, they were nothing alike. Melanthios suddenly got his smile back, he sat down and then said. "I wish you luck with creating that race. But before sending them somewhere, I would first talk to the of god that that land. Or else they might get into trouble." Melanthios figured that it would be best to lie right now, no need to show his true feelings.
Seith could tell that Melanthios's smile was false. Melanthios may have been a decent liar, but he wasn't M'endariux and Seith was still the god of enlightenment. "So be it then. Know that I stand in the middle in most issues and will not seek conflict with you unless it is nessecary then. Tell M'endariux I say hello, oh and ask him why he felt the need to hide the moon from me." Seith flexed his wings and stood up.
Seith seemed to see through Melanthios fake smile, no matter he was done with talking to him anyway. "I won't seek conflict with you either, but let one thing be clear. If your race forces its ideals or religion on mine, I will immediately shut down the trade between our 2 nations. And I will say hello to M'endar for you, but I can ask you two simple questions in return to yours. Why do you think he would hide the moon from you? And why do you spy on everyone? " Melanthios didn't care about hiding his true appearance anymore.
Seith turned his head. He had already known of Melanthios's true appearance, looks hardly phased him. Seith removed his normal warmness and spoke bluntly. "He simply wishes to push all into darkness. I felt that in his creation. We aren't just brothers in name, I come from the same chaos as he. It makes sense if you think about it, the most chaotic thing it could possibly do is make a god to oppose itself. As for my observatory, I could simply scry for things as most would, but this saves energy and can not simply be blocked by spells. While I will allow my creations to go as they wish, I will not allow any harm to come to them and I watch because I know how Vantric and my brother work. I can see right through the two of them. Good luck and watch your back, they won't be content with a fraction of the universe if something terrible were to fall upon me."
Melanthios looked at Seith wild cold eyes "That makes sense yes. And thank you for the advice, but as you said before not everything is black and white. So you aren't the good guy, and neither are they the bad guy. You are just a different shade of grey, and which one depends on where you are standing. So do not think that you know Vantric or M'endar as good as I do. You already made up your mind what they were like the first time you saw them."
Seith let loose a small laugh. "While that is true, just as one could assume Pentar would want order, and the two of us knowledge, one can similarly assume M'endariux would want destruction. I don't know what ends his means lead to, but his means quite frankly seem to conflict with yours. After all, the Verr, his patron race were originally intended to unleash a devestating plague upon those they came across. I removed this trait, which is why he seeks my destruction, but I think the humans can do without another threat to their existence."
Melanthios kept staring at Seith. "Do you even know what his goal is? Maybe you should talk to your brother, and ask him. Because then you would know, that we have the same goal in mind." Melanthios understood why M'endar had warned him about Seith, he was a dangerous opponent.
Seith made sure Melanthios knew he was serious. "Just because he calls you his brother, does not mean he has told you his true intention. Remember, his specialty is in lying, my guess is he uses you to destroy me. Once that is done his only remaining use for you will be to remove the rest of the competition and with that done, he would attempt to consume you. I won't interfere with your alliance, but at least do me this, avoid helping him get items of power. Actions such as that will only bite you in the future. I am sure he has already spoken about my destruction, that is his only goal right now after all. Speaking to him would do little, whatever he might say would only be an attempt to have me loosen my guard enough for him to strike." Seith laughed a bit. "I made it impossible for my race to lie for a simple reason, I can't either. Sure I can tell half-truths and censor parts of it, but lying is something I simply am not capable of. It all matters little in the end, as long as we both exist, our races will rise above the others and both of our goals will have been reached. This might have been implied, but when he inevitably makes his move to try and kill me, kindly bow out of the attack."
Melanthios smiled. "I trust M'endar. Something you might have wanted to do, because then you wouldn't have had a problem with him. If you had talked to him, about the purpose of the illness that the Verr spread. You might have reconsidered, but it is too late for that now. I wish you good luck with your angel race Seith, and I am sure we will meet again."
Seith chuckled. "Same to you friend. Oh actually, one quick question, you asked two so I can ask two. Why was Vantric scrying the Dwarves? I felt it, I assume we all did."
Melanthios shrugged. "I am being honest when I say I have not talked to him about it yet. I have been very busy as you have seen, and we haven't had a time to talk yet." Melanthios didn't even have to lie to answer that question. While not directly atleast, he had not asked him why he did it. But he did kind of know the meaning behind it.
Seith waved his finger. "The Lainir should play nicer with the dwarves now." He said the last part in an unusually playful tone. "Unlce Seith will be watching now." It was then that Sephariel broke in his mind. "Father...Akladai and I are talking, this might go south, should I tell him to stop?" Seith responded mentally, "No, not yet. This is a peace we are fostering."
Seith then finished. "It appears our children are speaking with one another. I shall take my leave."
Melanthios nodded. "I will see you some other time then." Melanthios turned around and walked back into his library.
Seith gathered himself, exiting Melanthios's library, unsure of the future. Perhaps his words would resonate, perhaps not. Either way, his allies would need to be organized for when this came to pass. The first and most obvious was Pentar. The god had been quiet recently, Seith wanted to solidify their alliance to something greater than a handshake. He teleported to Evalon, walking and admiring the mountainous landscape created by Pentar himself. "Pentar, we need to talk."
Pentar heard Seith's word ring through his mind. "And now I leave you to your king!" he said to the Dwarves. "I got them all warmed up for you." he whispered in Erik's ear, and vanished. He reappeared next to Seith, far away in the mountains. "What is it, friend?"
Seith gathered himself and said simply "M'endar, Vantric and Melanthios are up to something. They have been moving around, trying to hide things and create places to hide. I am sure you felt Vantric scry your dwarves. Our alliance needs to include at least one other, or it might be destroyed."
Pentar crossed his arms. "What proof do you have of this." he said scepticly. "I agree they are an undesirerable bunch, but they have yet to make a move against us."
Seith smiled and stated. "I talked to Melanthios. I could tell simply from his expressions that they are planning something. M'endariux would like nothing better than my ruin and for what benevolant purposes would Vantric be scrying the dwarves?"
Pentar pondered this. It wasn't impossable that they were organizing, though it was equally possible that Seith was simply paranoid. Regardless, it would be wise to prepare for the worst. "Very well." he said, turned back to face Seith. "What shall be our first move?"
Seith looked at the moon. M'endar was busy working away, making tunnels. "We need a place to meet I think. Can you think of any other gods that would be interested in joining us?"
"Zareth seems noble." Pentar said after a moment of thought. "He's cast his lot in with Melanthios' group, but he is not evil at heart."
"I talked to him actually. He has promised that if they make a violent move, he will not be involved and will try to talk them down."
[
"That is good to know." As Pentar had thought, Zareth didn't belong with them. "There is also Olek, father of the humans. He seems honorable, though I have yet to get in touch with him."
Seith was admittedly curious about Olek. "Olek is an interesting one. He comes from a place of evil, but from what I can tell, might wish to elevate himself above his origins. We should talk to him soon." Seith paced around a tiny bit before pointing to the gardens. "What about Ailish?"
"Ailish? Isn't she the one who opened that portal and talks in riddles?" Just thinking of the portal that had released Madness into the world made Pentar angry, but he did not show it.
Seith could tell most people weren't fond of Ailish. It seemed she had less allies than he did. "Her heart isn't evil. She is confused indeed, but imagine if our world, everyone in it was destroyed. But we could possibly bring it back. Would you not attempt to?"
"She's mad, Seith. There's no way to rationalize that. If anything, her insanity is more of a threat to us than Vantric and Melanthios combined."
Seith shrugged. "You are right, but for now, nobody was gravely injured by her actions and I gained a child from it. I say if she makes another serious action endangering us all, we hold a trial. Until then, we treat her like the others. Is that fair?"
"Fair enough." Pentar would rather punish Ailish for her foolishness sooner rather than later, but there would be a time and place, and this was not it. "Surely there are others who would support us."
Seith looked down and considered again. "Eldarwen is worth about as much as that plant over there. She said she would aid me if I was attacked, but I doubt she actually will. Nivix is curious about the trio and unstable as it is. Roe might side with us, if only because I doubt he will approve of the trio. There is the new god who has come in and was traveling with Ailish. He might be an ally in the making."
"A new God..." Pentar had certainly felt a new presence, but hadn't given it much thought. Now it made sense. "It is indeed worth looking into. At the least, we should get to him before our enemies do."
"Yes, we probably should. Until then however, I was thinking the two of us should do something." Seith pointed to the observatory. "The original purpose of the hall was to converge on a grand meeting room. It seems under all the subterfuge that idea was lost. Perhaps we could still make one on a smaller scale."
"I would certainly not object to the idea." Pentar said. It made sense to have someplace formal to meet.
"What do you think it should look like then?"
Pentar stroked his beard in thought. To be fit for Gods, the hall would have to be majestic beyond mortal comparison. Marble masonry, lavish furniture, and statues of the Gods in gold. Rather than use words, Pentar sent the thoughts themselves to Seith.
Seith chuckled. "I was always more a fan of diamond myself. I have an entire planet of it though, perhaps it's time for a change of scenery. I will aid you in creating this. You can make it as you wish."
Pentar smiled and nodded. "Very well then. Where shall it be located? In the Hallowed Court for all to see, or someplace hiden away?"
"I don't see why we need to hide. We aren't the ones hidden in shadow. That said, I could station a few guards outside to ensure we aren't being spied upon. Also, how is security at the mountain? Vantric might try something sneaky soon. I could send a Girigori over to talk to any dwarves entering, they can't be lied to. All he would have to ask is if the person entering is a dwarf or not."
"I would welcome that, but I'd like to pick the Girigori out myself. As for the meeting room, in the open it will be. Let all the others see that we hold no evil secrets, and that we are a force of Justice in the universe."
Seith smilled and lended his power over. "So be it! Then show them what we stand for Pentar!" Seith raised his hands and made the structure of the building. Allowing Pentar to add whatever he wanted.
Akladai was curious about the race of angels. He had read every book Melanthios had written about them. But still that knowledge was limited, so he figured he should go meet them himself. He petted the space whale that was taking him there, such wondrous creatures they were.
Akladai arrived on the diamond planet, he looked around and saw a couple of the angels. "Greetings, do any of you know where your leader is?" Akladai thought it would be best to talk with their leader, before deciding what to do with the matter of trade.
The angel looked startled, what was Akladai doing here? Wasn't he one of Melanthios's men? Why would he? So many questions ran through his head that he simply pointed up towards the skies. "Why are you looking for Seith?"
Akladai looked at the angel. "I want to discuss a few things with him, regarding how our races will treat each other. But do not worry, I come with peaceful intentions."
A booming but feminine voice came from the stars, it seemed friendly but at the same time stern. "Seith is engaged with your father right now. I can speak for him, or if you would prefer to speak to someone directly, Lenonous is on Evalon. Just be careful, he will probably mistrust you."
Akladai looked up at the sky. Intersting, a voice from the sky. "I will go talk to this Lenonous then. Where can I find him?"
The voice revealed herself to be Sephariel to Akladai and said "He will be easy to find, a son of Melanthios on Evalon will cause quite a stir, I imagine he might come to you."
Akladai seemed to think, he didn't want to travel again. "Would you mind if I spoke to you instead then? I am not really in the mood to travel to another planet."
The voice stopped for a moment, if Sephariel was allowed in the halls, then she supposed Akladai would be as well...though she wasn't sure how he would get there. She shook her head and said "So be it, what is it you wish to speak of?"
Akladai looked around. "I wished to speak of the future of our race, but first could you tell me where you are? I am not too fond of the idea, that anyone can listen in to what we are saying."
"I am in the observatory. I was bound here due to external circumstances with my creation. I probably would be better to talk to about this anyway, considering I am the guardian of this planet."
Akladai seemed to think. So none of the 2 people he could talk to where on their own planet. "I will travel to the observatory then." Akladai grabbed a book out of his backpack, he opened it and went to page 296. He reread Melanthios theory on how teleporting worked, he then closed the book.
He took a deep breath and focused. Within less then a second he appeared before the observatory. A smile spread across his face. He walked towards the door of the observatory and knocked. "It is me Akladai would you mind letting me in?"
Sephariel jolted. She hadn't moved from the great lenses in quite some time but manuvered her way around. She spread her wings and opened the door. "Welcome then. I wasn't sure if you could teleport or not, seems you can."
Akladai looked at Sephariel. Suddenly strange feelings flared up inside him, flashes of emotions unfamiliar of him began to tear through his being. He remembered something Melanthios had said to him.
"You are linked to Sephariel, because of that cursed woman. So be very careful around Sephariel." Akladai grabbed his head and tried to focus. "Are you also getting this strange feeling?" He asked as she slowly seemed to regain his composure.
Sephariel's shock bolted her to the floor and became worse. She sat down on the diamond floorings and said "I know why, come, I have a few chairs. Had to make them myself, Seith to my record, has yet to ever sit down."
Akladai nodded. "Thank you." Akladai slowly walked towards the nearest chair and he took a seat. "So I wondered something. If you are stuck here all day, what do you do? Do you read, or stare into space all day?" Akladai smiled, now that he was thinking about it, Before Melanthios brought him to his planet. He had never really left the library, but then again why would he?
Sephariel sat down and held her forehead for a moment, she slowly came back to and pointed to the lenses. "I can see everything with them. I learned to read lips so I can usually tell what people are saying. My role is as a protector, I simply watch the universe for trouble-makers and tell Seith what I see. Though, I also sometimes inspire others. What has Melanthios have you do?"
Akladai smiled. "He said that I could do whatever I want. Of course the things I want to do, are also the things he prefers me to do. So he doesn't really have to order me to do them. I study most of the time, and recently I have began leading the Dues Filli."
Akladai looked around in the observatory, he then looked at Sephariel "If you want I could bring you some books you know. Just sitting here all day, staring at other people must get boring." Akladai felt as if he had known Sephariel for a long time.
Sephariel lit up and replied. "Sure! I could tell you some interesting tales about certain Girigori as well!" She laughed for a moment but then started thinking again. "Do...you remember it at all? What we were like before Seith, Melanthios and Ailish? Seith let her restore most of my memories, but they are just a fog at this point. I remember being part of what they call The Seven...we are the only two left now. Ailish wants to bring more of us back and...that's all I know. Perhaps your library has more on it?"
Akladai smiled, it seemed she was comfortable around him too. When Sephariel started about the past Akladais face darkened. "I know my father has written many books about it, but I do not like to think back to that time. Back then I was a mindless creature who's only goal was to feed. But no matter what I ate, or how much I fed I was never full. How do you feel about the past? Do you want to go back to being one of the seven?" Akladai was very interested in how she would respond.
That question was pretty easy for her. "No. No it wasn't what I was meant to be, I don't think we were meant to be here either, but it seems whatever purpose we had was lost with our world. Delving deeper into books about ourselves could answer some questions." Sephariel wasn't as against her past as Akadali, she had zero desire to return to it, but the thought that she once was a monster did not bother her, she lived in the present and future.
Akladai nodded. "I have read most of the books he has written on our past. I know he has hidden a few somewhere, I still have to read those." Akladai seemed to think. "If you want I can bring you a few of those books, under one condition though." Akladai glanced around and then leaned forward.
"Tell no one, my father doesn't allow me to lend books to anyone. And if he was to find out I would be in big trouble." Akladai had a flashback to the last time his father had been mad at him. He didn't want that to happen ever again.
Sephariel put her hand on Akladai's. "I highly doubt your father will be coming here any time soon. Seith is tough to lie to, but he wouldn't tell Melanthios anything anyway, this peace is fragile as it is and the two don't seem to get along for some reason beyond myself. Seith has spoken about natural alignments and how some are destined towards certain paths but something just tells me that this is how our last world was destroyed. Rest assured, they wouldn't be found."
Akladai looked at her hand resting on his, it felt strange. He had touched others peoples hands before, but that had been different. "Alright then, I will bring a few of those books the next time I visit you. But you have to promise me that only you will read them. If he found out I lend books out to you he would be mad... But if other read them too he would be furious." Akladai looked a bit worried.
Sephariel decided to change topics before Akladai changed his mind. "I can't think of anyone I would want to show anyway. Speaking of, you came here for another reason did you not? Our races are trading now, from reading lips I can tell you that they are sharing mundane secrets already. Interesting is it not?"
Akladai nodded. "It seems that both are races are interested in knowledge. And it is fascinating how quickly they started talking and learning from one another. I can to tell you that I have no problem with this trade, as long as both parties profit equally as much and no conflicts arise. How about you? Are you okay with them trading?"
Sephariel shrugged. "My concern has been more on the line of keeping the race alive, and allies have always helped with that. There is a concern I must address however and I don't know how best to speak of it. How are we going to react if war breaks out between Seith and M'endariux? Melanthios has made his alliance with him very clear and it seems he would jump to the god's side. What then?" Sephariel could feel the cogs of war turning even now. It was unfortunate.
Akladai sighed. "We could always try to make them get along, but the changes are pretty big that they will eventually go to war. But if our people are indeed friends, then they will probably refuse to fight each other." Akladai placed his bag in front of him and opened it. Perhaps one of the books held a secret, that he could be used to blackmail them into keeping peace.
Sephariel stood up and paced. Perhaps the issue wasn't between Melanthios and Seith then. "You could talk to M'endariux couldn't you? If the two of them called off their feud then perhaps the whole war could be avoided all together. Though a contingency plan isn't a poor idea either. The Girigori won't start a war with the Deus Filli, they couldn't even if they wanted to so as long as your race doesn't one then war will simply never happen." A thought quickly passed through Sephariel's head of a Girigori Filli cross-breed. What would they even call that?
Akladai seemed to think. "Well I could try, who knows how they will react? And knowing Melanthios he wouldn't want to risk his Dues Filli by going to war." Akladai felt a foreign idea enter his mind, it was about crossbreeding. Akladai looked intrigued. He began to imagine Dues Filli with wings, he chuckled at the thought.
Sephariel smirked and teased a bit. "Are you...thinking about a cross breed too? Guess you were right, we are linked."
Akladai smiled. "I wonder how strong the link between us is. And yes I was also thinking about cross breeds." Akladai looked at the lenses. "Could I persuade you to let me see through those lenses? I am very curious about what it would look like."
Sephariel gestured. "Go ahead, you might not see much though, it took me almost one hundred years to use them properly. You have to hone your vision in to see every last detail, after all, the entire universe is in that lens. Also, don't tell Seith I let you. He wouldn't approve."
Akladai smiled. "Thank you for allowing me to use them, and don't worry I won't tell anyone. just like you will keep my secret, I will keep yours." Akladai walked over to the lenses and looked at them. He began to study them and look how they worked. After a couple of seconds he looked through them, he looked surprised. "Wow these lenses are amazing." Akladai looked exited as he began looking at all kinds of things.
Sephariel laughed. "Next to the Girigori, Seith prides them as his best work. If you use them long enough, you would be able to see the entire universe at once. I can, how else could I find you so quickly?"
Akladai nodded. "That makes sense, but still to be able to learn that. Well you have my respect." Akladai said smiling. "Also could you show me the library? I always wondered what it would look like from space."
Sephariel nodded and took a needle, pointing to a very miniscule part of the lens very close to the center. "It's about here, and thanks. How many books have you read exactly?"
Akladai smiled "Thank you. And how many books have I read?" Akladai seemed to think about it. "I think about ten billion books, yeah that sounds about right. Though my father has already written more then 100 billion books. How many books have you read Sephariel?"
Sephariel paused for a moment and rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry, can't say I have read any. I talked to Seith for the last age though and he taught me a lot about the universe. It's only one perspective though and I would like to look at other places too. Ten billion is insane though, how fast do you read those things?"
Akladai grabbed a book out of his bag, he would give a demonstration. He opened it and then quickly began to switch pages. After about 10 seconds he closed to book "That is about how long it take for me to read a book." Akladai wanted to offer her a book, but the books he had with him right now, where not the kind of books which she would be interested in reading. "And I have been wondering, can't you leave the observatory? Or can you leave but only under certain restrictions? "
Sephariel was more than impressed. She supposed that was what Akladai was good at. Different skills were different in the end. "If I leave, I become a mortal. What happens after that is beyond me, but when I attacked Seith and he attacked me, my powers became bound to this place. That said, after Ailish tinkered a bit, my powers do not require my direct presense in a location and with these lenses, I can be everywhere at once. It would be nice to be able to leave, but there are other issues to deal with right now."
Akladai nodded. "That sounds very unfortunate, though maybe you could transform the observatory? I mean maybe you could make like an armor out of it? That might work." Akladai began thinking about how that would work.
Sephariel shook her head. "I thought about it, but the observatory is only a shell for my powers to be locked in. I could wear a diamond plated bubble but it wouldn't hold my powers and I would still lose them. Seith said that once the race was secure, he would begin trying to find a way to fix this, but at the same time, This is still an amazing contraption to use all day. The things I have seen are near innumerable to count. Not just on Coellus either, which I can see all of at any time, but on Evalon and even Eld. But enough on that, is there any restrictions you could think of with trade? Anything you wouldn't want your race sharing?" This was actually important, she would have to either negotiate or tell people things are off limits.
Akladai seemed to think. "Well I don't mind much, but I know Melanthios wouldn't want them to trade a few things. He wouldn't want them to trade magic of any kind, and also not weapons. I think he wouldn't mind the other things, but magic and weapons are off limits. How about you? Is there something you, or Seith isn't wiling to trade?"
Sephariel smiled. "One of the things about Seith, is that he really has almost nothing to hide. The Girigori are free to do as they please as long as they aren't being war mongers so nothing is off limits for the Girigori. Perhaps at some point tensions will loosen but I understand why you wouldn't want to trade weapons in the mean time. Shame too, the Girigori have some interesting defensive weapons in the works. Most of their research goes to other areas however, so this likely will not be a problem. After all, even with weapons, I am not sure they would ever even be able to get around to using them. I was also wondering another thing, we have powers comprable to the gods, do you think we could possibly create like they can?" This question had lingered for a while in her head.
Akladai nodded. "It is a shame yes, but at least he only prohibits them from trading 2 things. And I believe we can create yes, but it really depends on how you do it. I have made things like chairs and such before, but I don't think I would be able to create a planet." A hint of jealousy was hidden inside Akladai's voice.
Sephariel sat back down and questioned, "What about a race? Inspiration is easy but I think we could create a small non-sentient race if we pooled our efforts. What do you think?"
Akladai seemed to think, eventually nodded. "I think we could yes, but it could also be dangerous. But yes we probably could make such a race."
Sephariel cocked her head. "Dangerous how?"
Akladai answered. "Well my father told me about what happened to Penthar's hall of justice. It was twisted remember? Well if that was to happen to our non sentient species, they could become an threat to our races."
Sephariel leaned forward and added. "True, but they were sentient, sentience is hard to maintain in a directed format. A non-sentient species would be unable to gather large forces. In fact, it could serve a very practical purpose. Seith off-handedly mentioned plans for a clockwork race that would build. That might be an idea, or we could start off very small, a few types of animals to make our planets more interesting. Something to prove that we aren't just servants."
Akladai grinned. "I like the way you think, and that does indeed sound good. Did you have any kind of race in mind?" Akladai looked very interested, even a bit hungry.
Sephariel put her finger up to her chin and thought. "I am not sure. I saw dragons on Eld but those might be a bit difficult to start with. The clockwork race would be as well. There is another option though. We could enhance ourselves with items of power, raising our powers to better serve our races and eventually become able to make anything we want. The first few would be tough but after that we could even rival the gods themselves. If you would prefer, we could however simply start with fuzzy pets for our races."
Akladai began to drool a bit ,when she mentioned rivaling the gods. He quickly wiped his mouth as soon as he noticed. "Creating such items would require a lot of effort and maybe even more help, but they would easily be worth it. But for now fuzzy pets sound good, I am sure that they will appreciate those." Akladai didn't want to show her, how much he wanted to eclipse his father.
Sephariel thought for a moment, during the downtime, a few new animals had arrived on Evalon, birds. She wondered if combining the graceful flight of a bird, with the power of another animal could work. "Hey, what if we combined a bird with another animal? Made a winged creature?"
Akladai looked fascinated by that idea. "That could work really well..." He thought back to all the animals he had read about. "How about combining an large bird like an eagle, with an lion?" Akladai looked at Sephariel, he wondered how she would react.
Sephariel thought for a moment, lions and eagles resonated in her mind, a past life had them. She could picture them perfectly and decided she was ready. "Yes, yes this might work. Are you ready to try?"
Akladai seemed a bit sad, he shook his head. "I have measured how much power you need, to make all sorts of things. I am afraid that even if we work together there is a big change that we will not be able to create them." Akladai hated to admit it, but he had seen the power his father possessed. And they didn't have that same strength.
Sephariel sighed. He was right that it would be risky, this couldn't involve risk or it could hurt their races instead of benefit them. She looked up for a moment, then asked "What if we ask our fathers for items of power?"
Akladai looked up in surprise. "That is an brilliant idea..." Akladai seemed to ponder on it. "Or how about we ask someone to help? My father is making 'the king' right now. So we could ask him, or your brother for help. Because I don't think Melanthios has made any items of power yet."
Sephariel pondered for a moment and said "Lenonous would be up for it, but your brother is new. He will wish to explore before delving deeper into what he can do. That seems to be how it is for all of us."
Akladai nodded. "I agree, But I already know who my brother will be. I talked to him before you see, I am sure I could persuade him to helping us. Though it might be best to put this off until later. Because lets say that I talk my brother into helping, and you talk your brother into helping. We could create even more impressive things together with the 4 of us. And if we add an item of power too, then we could create things beyond our wildest imagination." Akladai grinned at the though.
Sephariel smiled, this was going further than she had thought. "The two won't stop making demi-gods anytime soon either. Eight of us working together could accomplish anything."
Akladai smiled brightly. "That sounds like an really good idea. Though it might be best if we test what the four of us can create first. So what do you say? Are we going to meet each other in a bit, and then create this race that we were talking about? Also how should we name this creature?" Akladai began thinking about it, he had never been really good with names.
Sephariel leaned back in her chair and said "Well, we should wait until the other two join up with us. Then we can include them in naming the creature. I will draw up the concept in the mean-time. Do remember to try and talk to M'endariux by the way, this alliance won't mean much if our fathers destroy one another."
Akladai nodded. Wait alliance? When had they made an alliance? Oh well whatever they named it, he didn't want it to be destroyed. "I will speak to M'endar. But just so you know, my words do not carry much weight in our alliance." Akladai sighed. If he was as strong as Melanthios, he was sure they would listen to him.
Separiel pondered for a moment. "What if a conflict does start despite our efforts though?"
Akladai seemed to think. "We will try to stop it to the best of our abilities. But ultimately my loyalty is with my father. Just like I presume your loyalty lies with your father?"
Sephariel frowned. "I suppose that is how it must be then. Yes alright, well let's make the best of what time we have then. I should probably return to my duties before my father returns."
Akladai nodded. "But when I said, that I would try to stop it to the best of my abilities. I meant that I would do everything in my power to prevent a war. So that includes trying to persuade the other demigods to help me, trying to talk my father out of war. And also talking to the other gods, and maybe even going as far as to sabotage them. I do want to preserve what we have just built here." Akladai smiled at Sephariel.
Sephariel laughed. "Yeah, alright. I don't think Seith will be starting any wars but if I try and tell him not to interfere with things he will probably just pat my head and talk about how he knows what he is doing." She sighed and walked over to the lenses. The universe was moving as normal. "I will ask my father to make me an item. You should do the same, though I would be careful, the more powerful the item, the worse the consequences."
Akladai nodded. "My father does listen to my advice, he does not dismiss it without thinking about it. At least I like to think he does." Akladai stood up, he opened his backpack and grabbed a book out of it. The title was: 'Wild and dangerous animals.' "Sephariel, I have a book here that might interest you." He stretched out his hand, attempting to hand her the book.
Sephariel took the book in her hands and saw the cover. It seemed to be about the animals of the realm. The pages had an interesting aura about them but glowed wit knowledge, the winged goddess questioned, "How many are in here? Out of curiosity."
Akladai placed his finger on the book. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, he then opened them again and said "Over a thousand. But this book is about 'the old world'. At least at is how my father refers to it, it is about the beast that used to exist."
Sephariel lit up at the idea. "Oh, that's amazing! How did he find out about all of them?"
[
Akladai was happy that she smiled "He searched my brain for it. You see when I was Hunger, I ate all sorts of things. And I absorbed them into my being, so with enough patience you can find a lot of different things. Hidden inside me, or my brain." Akladai smiled a bit awkwardly. He didn't want to think about all the things he had eaten back when he was hunger.
Sephariel giggled. "Yes well, the things I did as Horror were probably no better. Probably quite a ways worse now that I think about it."
Akladai laughed. "I do wonder what you did as Horror. But like you said, I can imagine it was worse then what I did." Akladai looked at Sephariel. She interested him, and the connection between them made him even more curious.
Sephariel sighed. "Perhaps we should ask Ailish? Maybe she would know more about what we were than anyone else?"
"no" Akladai looked at Sephariel with a look showing his anger and disgust for Ailish. "My father has warned me about her, and her sick twisted mind. I will never speak with her, and neither should you. Giving our memories back was merely a coincidental thing, that happened while she was on her crazy 'mission'"
Sephariel looked surprised. She had not seen Ailish as someone to be feared. When the two spoke she certainly was confused...but sick and twisted? "Why does he say that? She is most certainly an odd one, but sick and twisted? Where did that come from? I have only spoken to her once in my life but..."
Akladai's look didn't change. "My father has told me many stories about what she has done. And believe me, she is not right in her head. Please do not endanger yourself by talking to her." Akladai seemed a bit distressed.
Sephariel looked into the lenses again. She said very plainly "Similar stories to what my Father has said about M'endariux."
Akladai looked at her. "Fair enough. But still, please don't talk to her." Akladai wanted to say more, but he was afraid he would be overstepping his boundaries. They had just met, he had no right to tell her what to do or what not to do.
Sephariel smiled. "I think given time, we will find both our fathers to be incorrect on occasion. For now however, there is something I need to attend to."
Akladai nodded. "I like to be there when my little brother wakes up, so I have something to do too. I enjoyed meeting you Sephariel, and I hope to see you again soon." Akladai made a small bow, as he head been learned it was polite. He then headed towards the door, grabbing the book on teleportation again.
Sephariel waved her friend goodbye. "I will see you soon then."
Seith is making a grand meeting hall. The main feature being a glowing beacon at the top. +6 change, +6 enlightenment
Assist from Pentar on the hall. +4 Justice, +4 Order
"When Erik had gathered enough followers to become king of the dwarves, Pentar gave him his hammer to prove that he was the righful king. It was an item of power, and so far a rare gift for a mortal to receive. Vantric gave Dison a choice between becoming a demigod or dieing. Dison chose the former, but would become very stubborn, never backing down when he'd set his mind on something, not even if it ended up a failure. Melanthios made a demigod as well. Maeglin, who was meant to lead the Deus Filli for ages to come, but his obedience to his father made it hard for him to make choices of his own or even listen to his people."
He noticed that a couple more of the younger children had fallen asleep next to their older siblings, and figured that he would need to end the story soon and continue tomorrow.
"Eldarwen enraged Nivix, after calling his creations vermin. In return, he decided to curse the battle born who had exterminated the Mizzen on Eld, and had it not been for Auctor's interference it may have ended much worse than it did. The battle born were merged with the Mizzen, and became synthetics with a shared hivemind. They became extremely efficient and coordinated in battle."
He was kind of glad the younger had fallen asleep, there was enough anger and spite in the world without them hearing his story about it.
"The queen of nature made a shield around her planet, to stop mortals from entering through the atmosphere and warn her of intruders on the ground. Ailish and Aen, who had agreed to help each other out, aided her. M'endar hollowed out the moon and created Umbraculum, where he and others could meet without anyone finding out about it. Roe bit a child who had pulled on his tail when he was a fox, the child would become the first Kinderven, an immortal with a poisonous bite. Seith and Pentar made a grand meeting hall."
The storyteller got up from where he was sitting.
"I think that's enough for today, let's continue our story tomorrow." He smiled at the gathered children, who all appeared tired, even if some objected to him calling it a night.
She stared at the ebony goblet of golden-green liquid before, her hand shakily holding it without it falling. She recalled one of the many plant-like folk refer to it as mead. Its sickly sweet pungence could reach her nostrils - wherever they are, but lacking a proper mouth found no real way to properly ingest it. A thought had occurred in her head, and tried to drink the liquid throug her nostrils... She promptly started coughing violently as her hands were covering around those holes. How is it I can cough by have no mouth?
She was grateful for Eldarwen's hospitality; it was going to take a long time for her to move. But she did wish that she could partake of the food and drink offered by these people; as it is, it served nothing more than a focusing point and the minute sense of comfort. For all that had happened, Eld was not a terrible place; it was not the heavens by any means, but the world was liveable. She did hope that the trees could finally find solace with one another by the black tree. Much still needs to be done for Sonitunes, Carnivox, and the others... Wait! Why am I thinking this!? I'm only a visitor!
Her head shook to eschew the thoughts in her head. She needed something to focus on besides Eld... The other four!
"I request your help with finding the remaining four creatures." She hissed out. "The seven I had mentioned were fragments of people who can help us. They may have scattered to the far corners of the realm, and I worry that they may cause harm if we don't find them." She hoped that the green goddess and Aen would be kind to help her again.
"Tch," Nivix muttered under his breath. Something was... wrong. Yes, his spell had worked, that much was clear. The Ekiruru soldiers were all sproting some form of mechanical limb or organ, and, judging by the way some of them were clutching at their heads, screaming out in agony, they were hearing their sisters' thoughts for the first time. Having your mind opened to all around you was a traumatic and hellish experience if you weren't prepared for it; it'd be a few days before most of them recovered from the shock, assuming they recovered at all.
But there was no denying that there had been something else influencing the transformation. Even now, he could feel it: a trace of order and kindness that had sneaked into his magic, subtly shifting his raw power, guiding and herding it into unexpected shape and forms. He knew his magic inside and out, in all of its chaotic, ever-changing glory, and there was no way he had caused that. Outside interference was the only explanation.
Jerking his head around, the god scanned his surroundings. Where his eyes were blocked by branches and foliage, he extended his arcane senses, seeking out the one who had dared to step into his work. He would have to do... something to them; such arrogance could not be allowed to go unanswered.
There was a flicker on the edge of his senses, and Nivix snapped his eyes towards it. A feral grin stole across his features as he studied the anomaly. It was the only thing besides him in the area with divine power; either it was the source of the interference or he was going sane.
Breaking his body and his unconscious passenger into a few packets of protons, the god flashed towards the interloper. Clearing the distance between them and his target in less than a nanosecond, Nivix brought himself and the Mizzen, still slung over his shoulder, back into blessed solidarity just in front of Auctor, his mouth tightening into a hard line. "Well well well," he growled through clenched teeth, "what do we have here?"
To the demigod's credit, she found the courage and strength to stand strong before Nivix. There was not a hint of fear or worry in her stature as she weathered his fury; she had done what needed to be done. No matter the consequences, no matter what happened to her, she knew that-
"Heh. Gotta admit, that took guts," Nivix chuckled as he patted Auctor on the head, perhaps a bit harder than was absolutely necessary. "Mind you, still a bit annoyed. But it's not like it really matters, right? They'll all be dead in a few centuries anyways."
Noticing the demigod's startled look, the god gave a shrug, not minding the metal clang that accompanied the gesture. "What? It's not like I'm pissed at you; it's Eldar that I'm mad at. Arrogant, stuck-up..." Nivix's words soon trailed off into mumbles and grunts, the god getting lost in his own little world. It took a few seconds for him to snap back to reality, shaking his head as he attempted to get back on track.
"So yeah," he continued, jerking a thumb in the direction of the recently transformed Ekiruru. "That's a thing now. Vermin and whatnot. Tell Eldar about it, don't tell her, whatever. We're even in my book.
"Anyway, probably about time I got out of here. Need to make sure that this guy-" Nivix took a second to jangle the Mizzen. "-doesn't break permanently. Because I seriously give him about five minutes before his body just fails completely." As if to punctuate the point, one of the synthetic's arms detached completely, clattering to the ground far below.
"Sooooo... Bye!"
With a flash as bright and hot as Niv itself, Nivix disappeared, leaving Eld far behind. There was work to be done.
[hr]
Nivix reappeared inside one of his various storerooms, his listless cargo showing considerable signs of wear and tear at this point. Constantly being broken down to mere atoms and being thrown across space really couldn't be good for the poor thing. Ah well, if things went according to plan then that wouldn't be a problem anymore.
Tossing the Mizzen onto a nearby workbench, the god rummaged around the room for a few seconds, sorting through mountainous piles of gear, tools, and spare parts. For anyone else, it would have been impossible to navigate the mess. For Nivix... Well, it was still insanely difficult, but at least he managed it in the end.
"Right then!" he exclaimed with a clap of his hands. "Let's get started, eh?"
First things first: before the Mizzen's current shell could falter entirely, Nivix reached into the synthetic, probing its metal frame until he found the tiny bit of energy that still powered it. Grasping hold of the Spark, the god pulled, wrenching the electricity from the now lifeless husk. Working quickly, the chemister forged a temporary vessel for the Mizzen's soul. Nothing fancy, just a cube of metal and wires. It certainly wouldn't be running any marathons, but it'd serve its purpose.
Without further ado, Nivix shoved the Spark into the new body, unable to repress a grin as the Mizzen slowly activated.
"Where... What... Who..."
The Mizzen, confused, disoriented, and completely lost, reached out with its mind, looking for anything or anyone familiar. It was (un?)lucky enough to find Nivix.
"Ah, good. You're still functioning." The god may not have been a synthetic, but he had no trouble communing with his creation. It was a simple matter to alter the frequency his brainwaves fluctuated at, matching them to the Mizzen's own. He could talk with it as though he were a Mizzen himself.
"I don't... Where am I?" the synthetic asked. Though its body was unable to move or emote, it was clear from its tone that the Mizzen was panicking.
"The heart of Niv, in my personal workshop," Nivix shot back in reply, turning his attention to the workbench before him. The conversation would only take up about 3% of his thought processes; he could focus the rest on his current project. "What's your name?"
"Name?" the Mizzen ventured, unsure of what was happening. "...Ven-192. Did you say the heart of-"
"Yep, the heart of Niv," Nivix interjected as he rolled his eyes. "Come on, put it together. I'm pretty sure I gave you guys at least a bit of information about me; you'd think you could put it to good use."
It took a few milliseconds for Ven to make the connection. "Wait, you're not saying that you're-"
"Yes on both accounts. That's what I'm saying and that's who I am. Any problems with that?"
The silence that followed was broken only by the sounds of Nivix's work, the clanging metal and sparking wires providing some nice background noise as both Mizzen and god found themselves lost in thought. "So... what exactly am I doing here?"
"Oh, right, that." Nivix found himself unable to repress a sheepish grin. "Heh, it certainly makes sense that you'd be suffering from some memory problems. There's no way your body could have handled that much damage without shorting out at least a bit. What's the last thing you remember?"
"Er..." Ven paused briefly as he scoured through his most recent memories. "I was... We were trying to determine how long it took certain types of plants to burn when exposed to high temperatures. I had been sent out to gather more samples, when... when we were attacked?"
"Mmmmhmmm," came the god's reply. "And what happened next?"
"There were... The attackers had enormous mounts, fauna that they'd somehow managed to tame. They had spears mostly, with some bows and arrows. Their attacks didn't do much damage, but their sheer numbers and the size of the beasts... We tried to fight back, but it was pointless."
"Yeah, that happens sometimes. So what'd you do?"
"We... We did what we could. Formed a phalanx in a last ditch attempt at holding them off. It should've worked; we had defense and offense balanced, we could see them coming, we... we... we... we..."
Pausing in his work for a second, Nivix took the opportunity to smack Ven's temporary body. "Hey now," he said, his tone authoritative. "Don't worry about why something doesn't work. Sometimes it's just too hard to account for every variable and error, and you just need to start over. It's part of living and studying; sometimes you just find problems that don't have answers."
"I... see." Ven answered, unsure about his savior's words. "After that... nothing. I was here."
"Hmm," Nivix mused. "So I guess you don't know why I brought you here?"
It was obvious that the Mizzen didn't understand. "I'm... impossible?"
"Aye," the god muttered in reply. "That problem that you couldn't account for? It was a dinosaur about twenty times your size that charged through your little phalanx like it was nothing. Crushed pretty much every last one of you bastards into scrap, all except for you.
"For the life of me, I can't understand why you were able to pull through. By the looks of things, your body took just as much damage as the rest of them, if not even more. I watched as you were mercilessly pounded into the ground, without quarter or pity, and watched as you, alone, stood back up. I can't explain why or how you did, you just... did. That's all there really is to it.
"So, what was I, a curious investigator, to do? Clearly I had to figure out what made you so special, what kept you alive when none of the others did. And, after a cursory investigation..." The god took a moment to pause for effect. "I still have no idea. You don't strike me as particularly strong or special, and you certainly don't have any bugs or flaws that would've saved you. Yeah, I got nothing."
Ven's reply was quite succinct. "...Oh."
"Yep. So, here I am, wondering what I'm gonna do with you, when I get this, admittedly kind of stupid idea. Ya see, some of the other gods, especially Eldar and Seith, have been spawning all of these little annoyances that flock around and do their bidding. Making them half-divine and all that; I personally don't see the appeal. What, they need to get help from a mortal because they can't do something on their own? How pathetic is that?"
"So..." Ven ventured. "You're planning to turn me into a demigod?"
"What?!" Nivix roared out, unable to hold back his laughter. "Weren't you just listening? No way in hell I'm gonna do something like that!"
"...So your plan is to...?"
"Let's just say I'm gonna build you one kick-ass new body. I figure that you deserve a reward, after all."
With perfect timing, Nivix admired his (almost) finished work. Though it was clearly based off a typical Mizzen body, the shell that lay on the workbench was so much more. Forged with far more attention and the utmost care and precision, it was nothing short of a mechanical marvel. Made of all-but-indestructible metal, capable of withstanding even Niv's extreme temperatures, and loaded with all kinds of hidden surprises and toys, it was truly something to behold.
"Now, unfortunately, your Spark alone isn't going to be enough to power this thing," Nivix advised, dropping his tools and focusing on his palm. "So we're going to need..." Concentrating, the god smiled as a miniature star, no more than a few inches across, blossomed into existence.
"One HELL of a battery!" he roared as he slammed the ball of light into the machine's chest.
Teleporting to laboratory: effortless.
Forging a +1 item: DC 13, 5 AP.
+6 Knowledge, +4 Destruction, +2 Magical Artifice = +12
The +1 item is intended to be a new body for Ven to dwell in.
The dragons were an interesting creation to say the least. Not much time had passed since their creation but the fledgling reptiles were quickly finding their way in the world. Evalon was quickly proving to be a very popular planet. Zareth had to wonder how the races living on its surface would react to this new addition. From the way the dragons were establishing themselves as powerful hunters, ones that could easily best the other creatures that lives on the planet surface in a physical confrontation.
Zareth had taken the form of a black feathered bird again and was flying through the quiet forest lands that dotted parts of the Chama Peninsula. The dragons were spreading out rapidly and the death god was curious as to how the various mortal cultures would react to them. They hardly had the technology to defend themselves if the dragons decided they looked like a good snack.
His flight path crossed that of a red scaled dragon. Zareth perched in a nearby tree, taking the chance to observe one of them up close. The beast seemed on edge. It was circling the forest, its emerald eyes scanning the tree line. Now and then it would let out a short, sharp snarl. it was looking for something, but what? Perhaps it had found a tribesman from one of the villages, at least the thick canopy of the trees here gave the humans some kind of defense.
Aen had created a marvelous thing in these creatures he had to admit. The dragon moved with a speed and grace that belied its great mass. The little black bird was in the middle of admiring the intricacy of the scales on the predator's muzzle when something broke from the cover of the trees... but not on the ground. A human looking figure sprang from the tree tops and collided with the dragon's head. The beast thrashed in panic as it was dragged, head first into the forest and crashed to the ground with a mighty roar.
What followed was the sound of trees and flesh being torn apart as the two hunters fought with bestial fury. Their fight was so loud, Zareth was sure everyone within ten miles could hear them. It only lasted a few seconds and then; silence. The whole forest fell still until finally... the low howl of a lone wolf.
There's another line of defense I suppose.
Zareth took off and flew to the clearing where the two had landed. Carnivox was gone and so was the dragon's head. What remained was a surprisingly intact corpse. His son knew his trade. No doubt he had taken the head back to one of his dens. Zareth just kept flying.
His small wings had carried him to the tip of Loth Ringard when a thought struck him. The skies here were terribly empty. Sure there were angles and dragons but they were lacking any real population. Not just Evalon but all the planets. Their skies were, rather dull to look at. Well he could fix that, Zareth had being saying he wanted to add to the creations of this universe and it was about time he made one of his own instead of simply aiding the other gods.
He took flight, straight up to the heavens until he hovered above Niv itself. He flapped his wings, once, twice, breathing deep, getting a good build up. And then he was off, soaring through the cosmos, winding through the stars and passing over the night sides of each of the planets. Zareth scattered his feathers over each world he passed, letting them speed towards the planet surfaces and plant themselves where they fell. From them would come new creatures, ones to fill the sky and if they proved smart enough they could help guide some of the more frightened souls to Evermoor.
Zareth may have had an easier time adding to the world of the dead than the living but there was no reason he couldn't make a creature with a foot in each, one which Car would have a tougher time killing. After he was done making a circuit of the cosmos he came to the Hallowed Court. There was something new there, a meeting room? He flew through the doors to find Seith and Pentar standing what he assumed was the main hall. Flapping his wings in a flurry Zareth came to purch on what looked like a golden statue of himself.
"Mheeeh!" He cawed at the two gods.
DC 9 AP 3
-Creating a non-sentient species smaller than an elephant.
Create the (as they're known on Evalon) Moonlight Phoenixes (Names on other worlds may vary)
A Race of birds with black feathers, the tips of which glow with silver moonlight. When it dies a Phoenix bursts into a shower of moonlight, feathers and ash. From the remnants the bird is reborn as a chick. Many mortal cultures have grown to see them as heralds of the death god, sent to help guide lost souls to the afterlife. There is some debate in mortal circles about this though it cannot be denied that the birds are attracted to scenes of death and those who are not long for this world.
Bonus +6 death, the phoenixes are reborn after they die.
+4 Age, as they get older the tips of the phoenix's feathers begin to glow more brightly.
She was sitting at the dining table with Ailish and Aen, the shield was barely visible from the ground, which was good since the Ekiruru wouldn't start asking questions about it anytime soon. It was beautiful from up close though, and she had already found out it worked when one of the other gods came to her planet uninvited, but he left soon again.
"I request your help with finding the remaining four creatures. The seven I had mentioned were fragments of people who can help us. They may have scattered to the far corners of the realm, and I worry that they may cause harm if we don't find them."
Eldarwen put her steak down, and thought about it. She knew were one of them were, if it hadn't escaped and she hoped that Ailish wouldn't try to free it either. She had agreed to help them though, so at best she could only offer her advice if Ailish wanted to set it free again.
"Alright, I'll help you. Madness should still be with Maskelyne in his dove prison though." She sighed. "I've no idea where the rest are, or if they're the only ones either."
Auctor
She wouldn't tell Eldarwen. The Ekiruru didn't look different on the outside, even if they had been acting like they were in pain during the days since they had been merged. She hadn't left them for even a second. Nivix had talked with her, but she had chosen not to answer as she didn't want to fight. She didn't think that anything she would tell him at that moment would have lead to anything else.
Instead, Auctor had stayed by their side and written down everything of interest. The first day had gone by without much change from the initial reaction. On the second day, they appeared to have gained some sort of knowledge about what had happened. She understood it as they had gained a shared mind, which must be hard to accept if you weren't born with it. The machines had been created with it, but the Ekiruru had been individuals once. Well, not that long ago.
The third day was strange. They had gained knowledge of each other from before the merging. If someone hated you or had killed one of your friends, they found out about it. Three were killed on this day, since some of the others wanted revenge. They killed them swiftly, and even then they reacted to it, but not with pain. They almost seemed to regret doing it. It wasn't the weirdest thing that happened on the third day. Just like they found out about others hatred or previous killings, they found out about their positive feelings. Those who had admired someone from afar and had deeper feelings for them, soon found themselves closer to the target of their affection. She was glad that the merging didn't only bring death.
The fourth day, they tried out their new bodies. They still had the abilities to shapeshift parts of their bodies, but now they could make swords out of gleaming metal. The tree swords the normal battle born had was probably not much weaker, as it was made of the strongest trees, but now they couldn't burn as easily. Some had other parts improved, like their vision, smell or hearing.
The fifth day, she appeared before them and they all turned towards her at the same time. It was a creepy display of coordination. Auctor told them to return to Ayamine, to become the elite warriors of their race. The Ekiruru already had better fighters than all the other races, so she hoped and believed that Eldarwen would grow to appreciate the new additions with time. It would make it easier for Auctor to eventually explain to her what had happened. The synthetics bowed down to her, as they had apparently mistaken her as the source of their new abilities. The irony of elite warriors worshipping a pacifist demigod of words wasn't lost on her, but she didn't try to explain the truth to them either. It was probably better this way, in the end.
Auctor lead them back to the city, after they had given her a wyvern of her own. She told them to try and blend into their society, at least for now and then she retreated to her chambers in the palace. All of the knowledge she had gathered on the synthetics were hidden in her room. She rarely got visitors, so when Sonitus knocked she freaked out, but opened the door somewhat nervous. Fortunately it turned out that she only wanted to welcome her sister back, in her own special way.
"Alright, I'll help you. Madness should still be with Maskelyne in his dove prison though... I've no idea where the rest are, or if they're the only ones either."
Well we have one of them... But what about the others.
She looked to the goblet of mead, and an idea came to her.
Looking to her staff, she saw the one amethyst tear she saved since the first time she arrived in Purgatory. With only a single shake, she jostled the tear into the goblet. The goblet was then placed on the table, and she began staring intently at the swirling of gold and pink.
"We could use this to scry for them." she gestured to the goblet. "I'll need your help to make the vision clearer."
<spoiler=Action>Scry the plane for the remaining four creatures (DC 19)[+8 Lore]
Somewhere upon the north-eastern continent of Evalon, not far to the west of the great canyon, a flash of light suddenly lit up the grassy plains and through ran a fox, carrying a small girl on his back. The creature skidded to a halt and she slid off, it then changed into a boy as suddenly as it had appeared.
"You okay Petal?" Roe asked, brushing himself off.
She shrugged, her eyes fixed on the ground. "Where are we?" she asked quietly.
"Looks like we're somewhere in the middle of Almia I think," the young god replied, scanning the horizon. There wasn't much to see other than the sporadic clumps of trees and a huge grey mountain in the distance.
"Are there people here?"
"Yeah, though not as many as Chama... there's more Verr around these parts"
"Ugh, they're gross. Why are we here then?"
"I don't know, I just went to the first place I could think of..." Roe looked back around and saw that Petal was still hunched over, avoiding his gaze. He walked over and put his hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure you're okay Petal?"
"You left me alone again, I was scared, I thought those angels were going to hurt me," she replied sulkily.
"Oh..." Roe said simply, it was easy to forget that she was just a vulnerable mortal, "I've got an idea," he told Petal and he bent down to pick up a small stick from the ground. He closed his eyes and concentrated his power onto the stick, a few moments later he opened his eyes again and presented newly forged possession to his friend. She held it up to the sunlight to see it better.
"A whistle!" she cooed, "but what does it do?"
"Blow on this and wherever I am in the world, I'll hear it," Roe replied, "if you're ever in trouble again, use it and I'll be there as quick as lightning,"
"Promise?"
"I promise,"
"Thanks Roe," Petal said as a smile returned to her face and she reached forward to gently kiss him on the cheek. Her aim was slightly off and she ended up pecking him on the nose but he didn't really mind, he hugged her back and then the pair departed to explore the land further.
DC 13 - 5 AP - Forge a +1 Magic Item with +6 chaos and +6 childhood - Roe's whistle. If this whistle is blown, wherever Roe is in the universe, he will hear it and know where it is. Despite it's wooden appearance, as it is a +1 item it will not decay and cannot be destroyed by physical methods such as burning or breaking, only the magic of a god will suffice.
Aen may have been physically with Eldarwen and Ailish, in whatever sense physical meant for them, but his mind was elsewhere. He wasn't eating, not that he'd felt hungry, and he wasn't listening. Ailish wanted his help for something and he signed a symbol to help with the seeking, but his heart was not in it. He excused himself from their presence, not waiting to see if it had worked. He began to walk away and as he did he shifted to Evalon and continued walking there. He was not far from where he had created dragons and he watched a few fly overhead. Good. They lived on. But they still had a great purpose to serve. But how would he shape what he needed? His powers were not much for sentient life, and he did not want simple battle slaves. He wanted people: real people, diverse and flawed and weak. But also stronger than any god he'd ever met, more perfect, more unified. His own people that he could watch over. But how... how?
Perhaps he didn't have to do it alone. Maybe it was his, but he didn't have to hold the burden to himself. Yes, that sounded nice, actually. And that was how he decided what he wanted to do.
Aen removed his glove and stared at the mark he had to hide from everyone but Grix. It was pretty, in a way, burned nicely into his skin. Underneath that his blood flowed, and a little of Grix's too. That was what he needed. For this, Aen drew his sword, and neatly cut into his palm across his mark, and let his blood flow. It pooled in mid air until it filled an invisible basin. Aen sheated his sword and healed the cut, then shaped the pool into a sphere. His mind reached out for Grix, who awoke from his slumber and set into the air. He would be here soon. Then he let his mind wander to reach all the other gods at once. He did not touch upon them the way he did Grix: that was too intimate, too invading, and offensive. But as he had done with Zareth, he sent them the understanding of what he intended, and the way they could help should they wish to help him. Then he waited.
<spoiler=Actions>
Teleport, Effortless
Send a telepathic message to all the gods, effortless
Aen seemed a bit out of it momentarily. He had been at the palace for a few days now, like Ailish. He teleported before anyone got a chance to ask him about it.
Ailish dropped something into the goblet in front of her and gestured towards it.
"We could use this to scry for them. I'll need your help to make the vision clearer."
Eldarwen got up from where she was sitting and walked over to Ailish. She took a leaf from her own body and dropped it into the mead that was in the goblet, while channeling a bit of her own magic. "That should do it."
The queen walked over to one of the windows in the dining hall, to look out on her city. It had been a calm week, almost too calm considering what had happened with Nivix and that she now had two daughters. At least one of them should have made some noise, but Eldarwen really hadn't heard much from Sonitus. Auctor had disappeared after she had told her to keep an eye on the madman who put vermin on her planet. She knew that they were both well, and currently in the palace, even if none of them had been there yesterday.
"Isn't it eerily quiet..." She voiced her thoughts. Eldarwen turned away from the window, feeling like she had everything she needed and wanted for the moment. It bored her.
The doors of the dining hall were thrown open, and her daughters entered.
"Mother! I've missed you so." Sonitus was as loud as usual, and was probably not going to say where she had been either. Auctor followed behind her, straightening her clothes to look more respectable and not like she had just woken up. Eldarwen shook her head and the white one blushed.
"Mothers." Auctor bowed, before sitting down at the table. She didn't say much, and when she did it was somewhat hard to understand.
Sonitus was coming towards Eldarwen with open arms, expecting a hug. The queen saw no harm in it, but the godess would rather teleport. The moment was interrupted however, by a resounding explosion. Eldarwen turned back to the window, and saw smoke coming from the school district. A second explosion followed shortly after, but from behind her.
She turned around, to see Sonitus grinning at her.
"That was you, wasn't it..." The queen grunted and decided to check out whatever the hell had caused an explosion in her city. She hadn't noticed any intruders, and she should have.
"The second one was me." Sonitus answered and threw her arms around her mother.
Aen called out for her, and she figured it was as good an excuse to get rid of Sonitus as any. Actually, now that she needed to be in two places at once it would give the singer a chance to prove herself.
"Sonitus, my precious daughter, I have a task for you."
She could see her daughter's eyes sparkle at those words. Maybe she had been to kind.
"Anything for you, mother."
"Great, go see what Aen wants and bring Auctor with you. I'm sure at least you've been on Evalon before." Sonitus nodded enthusiastically. Auctor had been looking over Ailish shoulder down into her goblet, but now she turned with a puzzled expression to her other mother, as if she wanted to ask if Eldarwen was serious.
Auctor didn't get much of a chance to ask though, as Sonitus was dragging her out of the dining hall towards the portal tree.
"I need to check on something." Eldarwen excused herself to Ailish, and teleported to the school district and the smoke. They may need help to stop the fire, but she hoped not. The water elementals had never failed to put out a fire before.
Sonitus and Auctor appeared behind Aen. "Eldarwen is busy, so she sent me." Sonitus sang and then pointed to her sister. "And her. What do you need?"
Her gaze was firmly on the goblet focusing on the reflection, finding some image within the diluted pink swirls. Despite her efforts, so far she found little sights. Eldarwen's gaze was neutral, either deliberating what the goddess said or quietly dismissing the attempt as whimsy. Ailish felt Aen's presence but the reflection was still cloudy.
From the corner she felt something whisper. It sounded wordless. Voiceless. Origin-less. Yet it came from Aen. He spoke of creating something with all our help. To create something special. A people? Something that was each its own individual? Needing only a drop of blood? Her head shook at what she felt was a vague idea, but she was willing to help. But why couldn't he tell us personally? Is he busy handling some great force? Have the others taken up his time?
The hard part was of course procuring the essence for what he planned. With her body as this organic-looking mannequin, all the 'blood' seemed bottled up in her with no means to get out. She stuck a butter-knife to her hand and saw the edge deflect off the appendage each time. Maybe there's a gap in my chest. Her stomach churned as the thought left her, and her hand followed. After seconds of prying the knife in her torso, she found the desired outcome... Then she immediately clutched her chest in pain. Red liquid seeped out through her hands, and a searing pain was felt from the back of her eyes. With all her focus, she sent what blood that came out to wherever Aen wanted it, and closed the wound. Exhausted, the goddess collapsed in the chair; her thoughts thrown into an abyss.
"You're hiding something from me... I WILL find it..."
<spoiler=Action>Send blood to aid Aen's creation
Collapse.
Slowly, the screaming stopped, and Dosin remained very still. Vantric got back up and waited. There was no movement from the body. He waited further, still no movement. Mortals, far too fragile, He thought and sighed. It was too bad, Dosin would have made a great apprentice.
Just as he turned away, the body let out a tiny groan. Vantric looked back at the body as Dosin slowly twitched, then flexed his fingers and eventually began pushing himself up, forcing all his limbs into motion. Dosin got back to his feet, but not without stumbling a little. He felt as though he had been torn apart and raked through hot coals and somehow still been alive through it all. Not a thing in his body didn't hurt, but the pain was accompanied with a mingling of something more. He focused his mind away from his pain and onto something he felt deep in his bones.
There was a power within him, he perceived, not the magical power inherent in all lainir, this something new. Dosin attempted to tap it, as he did his own magic, but nothing happened. Instead, the strange power slowly began coursing throughout his body, permeating his being. The surprise was plain on his face. "It seems you've survived Dosin. Well done." Vantric said, looking proudly at his new apprentice. In truth, it sounded like he was complimenting himself, Dosin thought.
"I feel like hell." Dosin replied, steadying himself. He felt that at any moment he would collapse on the ground again.
Vantric brushed the comment off. "No doubt that's your body rejecting the last of your mortality. It's probably normal."
"Probably?" He asked, "Haven't you done this before?"
"Well, no, not as such. You're the first apprentice I've decided to take." Dosin couldn't help but look somewhat nervous, "Oh, get over it. Who's the proper god here? Look, you've recovered from your wounds and survived the transformation process. Overall, I'd say this was a success all around."
Dosin looked back over his body. He had been in so much pain he hadn't thought about his wounds. Checking his side, he could see that Vantric was right, the bloody gash that was killing him earlier had healed over. The break in his armor that had allowed the injury had been repaired as well. "Well," Dosin responded, "I guess you're right." Vantric looked him over, seeming pleased with the work. "What exactly am I now?"
"You're a demigod, Dosin." Vantric replied, circling him, "And my new apprentice." He furrowed his brow for a moment, puzzling something over. "No, that's not quite right, is it." He muttered, Dosin cocked his head in confusion. "Dosin was a mortal, and a dead one at that. You aren't Dosin any longer." There was a pause as Vantric mulled something over, "Aha! I dub you Isond, the Warmaker."
"Isond?"
"Yes," He answered, "It's an anagram for Dosin." The demigod stared at his creator for a moment, "You're my creation Isond, you are named whatever I deem."
Isond shrugged. "Whatever. What happens now?"
Vantric touched Isond's head, transmitting knowledge of the Court's location. "Now, you will need to go the the Heavan's Court, our realm apart from this world." He explained, "I have a residence there. A grand fortress. Go there and wait for me. I will return shortly with new orders for you. And clean yourself up. You're a mess."
Isond looked himself over. Despite his body and armor being mended, they still bore the distinct marks of his near-death. The armor was covered in dried blood and caked in mud and dirt. He looked toward the god, "Couldn't you have cleaned me up when you were turning me into a demigod?"
There was a pause. "For your benefit, Isond," Vantric replied, "I'll pretend you didn't ask that."
Suddenly both gods perked up and turned, in time, to an unseen point in the distance. "What was that?" Isond asked, reaching for his blade, and being surprised to find one materialize in his hands.
"A telepathic call." Vantric answered, "From no one I know." He let his own hands rest on his blade and dagger.
"An enemy then?"
"Perhaps." Isond took a step toward the source of the call, but Vantric grabbed his arm, holding him back.
"You need to go to the Court."
"You just said there may be an enemy there." Isond countered, "You might need my help."
Vantric shook his head, "I can handle myself. I'll be fine. But if it comes to a fight, you won't." Isond started to protest, but Vantric cut him off. "You have your orders."
Isond tensed for a moment, then stopped, and sheathed his blade. "As you command." He teleported away.
Vantric mentally traced the message back to its source and teleported there. At the origin point of the call, he found another being, practicing some magic foreign to him. Blood was levitating in the air, and the figure seemed to stare intently at it. A new god? Vantric thought. That could change things dramatically. What were his plans, what were his intentions, who were his allies? The thoughts ran through his mind rapidly. The new god seemed to be a warrior, or so the sword on his back indicated, more than that, Vantric couldn't say.
After a moment, he took a step forward "Who are you?" He demanded, letting his hand drop to his blade. If this new god intended to fight, Vantric would be happy to oblige.
They had come. He hadn't expected anyone to come really, maybe just send the blood he required. Ailish's blood came too. He actually hadn't expected that, and was a little worried about her, but he pulled some of the blood away and mixed it into a sphere of it's own. He would wait for more, but it was time he began with this at least. The blood in the sphere turned a cheery crimson with darkness swirling about. Well, that was... interesting at least. He wondered what that said about Ailish, and himself. He didn't really have time to think about that now. He had guests.
Aen turned his head slightly. "Ah. You again, the one with the pretty voice. And I don't think I've met the other. A shame Eldarwen doesn't have time but no matter. I need blood, should you wish to help me make some mortals. That's about it, honestly. The rest will sort itself out."
There was another deity here, this ones power eclipsing the two demi-gods. He didn't recognize him, but that mattered little. He watched the stranger's hand drop enough to be in reach of his blade. It didn't take being god of combat to figure out what that meant. "I'm Aen, and if you intend to fight me, I'd be happy to oblige. Only not now, if you don't mind. I'd really hate to have to drop all this blood before I finished." To be honest, he wasn't really in the mood for conversation. He was more focused on what he was working on than the others. It was rude, though, so he scolded himself and tried again. "My apologies for my attitude and lack of attention, making sentient mortals isn't quite as simple as making beasts. And truly, I'd rather not fight you now if that's what you're looking for, though I wouldn't mind doing it later." Aen grinned sincerely. He still hadn't gotten a chance to test himself out in a sparring match.
<spoiler=Actions>
Make or alter a sentient race, DC 11, 4 AP
+6 Combat, +4 Runic, +2 Chivalry
Begin the process of mixing the blood
The moon cracked and heaved as room was made for the meeting chamber. Then it stopped, and the feeling of peace that came with a barren place resumed. M'endar decided to wander around its new creation, taking in the new sight. Melanthios and Vantric would be proud to see this hidden hall. It was somewhat amusing as well. Here M'endar was, walking in a creation born from its own eye, and now it was walking through the lumen of the blood vessels to the heart...
A quick word of thanks needed to be said,
"My deepest thanks, brothers. May this hall be of use to us all. I am sure that it will pay dividends soon..."
Now to the matter of that strangle feeling.
It was pure intent. And it washed over M'endar's mind, like a wave. It was not a violent tsunami, no, but a simple proposal. Nevertheless, there was one thing that puzzled M'endar. This voice, this being didn't seem like the rest. That could mean only one thing - a new god. A new god that spoke of making a new sentient species by mixing the essences of all of the god. A giant melting pot. Well, if M'endar could leave its mark on this, well it wasted no time seizing the chance.
It teleport to the source of the voice. Somewhere on Evalon, and now there black birds in the sky. Undoubtedly Zareth's.
"Are you the one that called us here?" M'endar asked, ignoring the recent exchange between Vantric and the newcomer, "I'm M'endar, by the way. And there is my welcoming gift."
M'endar turned away from the two other gods. A great claw slit its palm. Black ooze bleed out, joining the bloody mixture.
...Yess. There was one thing that it had forgotten. These would need something, something that would become part of the new race's lives, that made the newborn race stand out. M'endar felt silly for not just communicating feelings rather than words. For one, the latter was a much more effective tactic. It would have to make a mental note of that. Soon dark energy began to gather around M'endar as it directed it to the sky. Those birds and dragons wouldn't be lonely for long...
Assist Aen
Bonus(es) - Chaos, [+4]
Creating or altering a non-sentient species larger than an elephant - DC = 11
Bonus(es) - Chaos, [+4]
[small]Basically giant bats made of shadow-like stuff.[/small]
Roe and Petal sat on a rock, enjoying the silence of the barren landscape after their adventure on Coelus. Suddenly the child god stood up and put his hand to head.
"What is it?" Petal asked anxiously.
"It's a message from another god, something is happening near here,"
Roe took Petal's hand and in a single bound leapt over the giant mountain in the distance and to the plains beyond. The two children landed with a thud next to Aen and a number of other individuals, some of whom Roe recognised, others which he didn't.
"What'cha doing?" Roe asked as he bounced up to the sphere of blood, admiring it's pretty colours.
Yeah that was it, that'll do good right there. Carnivox was done adding the final touches to his den on the peninsula, he just nudged the dragon skull a little to the left aaaand..... done! Yeah that'll make a sweet entrance right there. Skinning the head was tough work but more than tasty enough to make it worth while. He stood there for a moment admiring his handy work and loving the way the light caught the bone.
That was another one to cross off the list, soon he'd have hunted one of every species on Evalon... hmm, that thought wasn't as fun as he thought it would be. Maybe he needed a change of scenery? He still hadn't gotten any of those angel feathers and the thought of sneaking through a see through world did sound pretty good.
When a sudden wave of... intention? passed over him. That Aen was a talkative one. But it did sound cool, getting his own slice of a race. And of course his part would be the best part of the whole bunch. "What is it with him and blood?" Carnivox muttered to himself, digging an arrow into his palm.
Jumping into the trees he leveled his bow and took aim. Aen was miles away, maybe a continent away but what was shot like that to him? The hunter took a breath, relaxed and let his arrow fly.
A black phoenix flew over the heads of the party of gods before coming to land in their midst and changing into the more familiar form of Zareth.
"What's going on, we having a blood party?" He looked around at the other gods with a grin.
He drew Midnight from its scabbard and griped the blade tight, letting his blood run slowly down the blade. He was always a sucker for symbolism. Hopefully his own contribution to Aen's people would be one of note. A culture that respected their fallen and the elderly. And if they lost their way then the birds he had made could always help guide them, after all the dragons didn't need to be the only animals of note on Evalon.
He held the sword up, presenting it to Aen. "It's your lead."
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