[PDQ] The Grand Mythos Game Thread

[Terratina.]

M'endaxius - Interage

"Dreams are dangerous things..."


Its feet walked the halls down to the cell that lay ahead. It was not a cell for confinement, but for contemplation. It was a smooth hollow made of smooth dark stone speckled with white streaks. M'endar clambered inside. The fires of war had burnt down to cinders, the bells had tolled the end of this age and now flesh was hardening, stiffening and soon a thick carapace lay where simple skin had been. It was not a rough shell like those that crawled underneath the waves, but more like its very flesh had turned into polished dark granite with a green sheen. Inside however, was a different story. Wounds closed at an astonishing speeds both giving pleasure and pain to the god inside the shell. M'endar was pleased that the healing process had begun, but the chaotic, almost random, fluctuation in the flesh as one end of the wounds seeked the other, wrapping the mass inside the sinister, rigid and cold cocoon.

Spoiler: Twisted, Contorted, Cocooned

Inside the mind of the Deceiver, there was no solace to be found either, for the pain had coursed through its mind like poisonous waters. The channels themselves bore the brunt of the anguish. Dark tunnels stretched on forever only to be engulfed by searing light that brought a headache to the sleeping god. The dreamscape tumbled about, pity M'endar couldn't toss and turn to match it, as more searing spears burned after-images in the god's vision. Then, a vertical plunge into extreme darkness. There was just... nothing, nothing but sound. Sounds of something crawling, something approaching. But M'endar couldn't move - it was stuck. No matter, it would face this unknown foe. However, a vortex opened and swallowed the beast, and the next volley of the searing spears. Its breath condensed into mist as it panted. Finally it was... over? But nightmares humour no one, and the ground beneath its feet collapsed...

"...For divine power leaks from the dream into the waking world."

Spoiler: Action(s)/OOC

Enchant a large area of the game world. - DC = 15

- Enchant the Floating Continent of Ys so it is supported by mist and can use it to move about (think FF9).

 

[Pappytech]

Nivix - Interage

The meeting had been... interesting, to say the least. Nivix could appreciate the appeal that peace must have held to some of the other gods, but he couldn't manage to convince himself that it was something worth pursuing or trusting in. Peace was something far too fragile to exist in a world like this one.

But hey, what did he care? It was none of his business if the other deities wanted to delude themselves about their violent tendencies. It wasn't like everyone could be as well balanced as him, anyway.

Besides, he had another project to focus on.

[hr]

He hovered before Niv, a single speck in the near infinite expanse that comprised the universe. Basking in the brilliant glory of his first, and greatest, creation, the god allowed himself a moment of rest and contemplation. Melanthios... Melanthios had never been his friend, no matter how many projects they had worked on together. He had been a partner, a fellow scholar and creator, one to collaborate and work with. But a friend? Never. He had only ever had one friend; he had no need for another, not for the rest of his existence.

And now that Melanthios had finally shone his true colors, there wasn't the slightest trace of doubt in the madman's mind. He needed to put a stop to the bastard's schemes, and what better way than to simply remove the schemer himself? Well, not literally remove him, but just cripple him enough so that he couldn't ever seal away someone ever again... It was the surest, simplest way to ensure that Melanthios would never make the world less interesting again, that much was for sure.

But, for all his talk about beating some sense into his fellow god, Nivix couldn't deny that he was... scared was the wrong word for it. Worried? Uncertain? Certainly something along those lines.

Melanthios, when he got right down to it, was just as powerful as he was. Beneath all the items, all the demigods, all the allies and tricks and abilities, they were equals. Children of the first light, given the same power to shape and decide the fate of all creation. Their power was equivalent; there was simply no way around it.

So there was always a chance that he wouldn't win.

Melanthios could very well overpower him, and leave him to rot. Worse, he could kill him or seal him away, like he had done to Ailish or Seith. His end could very well be creeping closer and closer.

...And so what?

Nivix had no illusions about his eventual end. The odds of him lasting for all eternity were absolutely nil; even if nobody else moved against him, he'd do something stupid enough to wipe him from reality. Even with Ven keeping an eye on him, there was no way he'd stick around forever.

So what if he ended up losing against Melanthios?! So what if he ended up dead or trapped in some other plane?! What did it matter if this was his end?! He would have gone out fighting to keep the world interesting, given his last breath in an attempt to keep fear, censorship, and control from ruling the universe! And that, that was something worth risking everything for.

Reaching out, Nivix snatched a bit of Niv's fire. Teleporting back to Evalon, he picked up a bit of soil. Flashing into the emptiness between planets and stars, he smashed them together with all of his force.

On the slim chance that this really was his last stand, he wanted to make sure that the scenery was perfect.

Spoiler: Interage Action

Creating a moon-sized planet: DC 15.
+6 Knowledge (Past experience has left Nivix with the knowledge of how to create a planet. One that hopefully won't shake itself to bits, this time.), +7 Interage

Creates the World without a Name. An amalgamation of Evalon, Eld, and Nivix's forge world, it is a planet covered in wildly varied landscapes and environments. Rain forests, deserts, volcanoes, and vast lakes of salt water, you can find anything and everything on its surface. However, there is no animal life upon its surface.

Although it's certainly stable enough, the W.w.a.N. suffers from more seismic activity than other planets. It won't be shaking itself to pieces anytime soon, but earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are common occurrences. Large parts of its surface are also covered in lightning storms most of the time.

 

[Dogmatic99]

Zareth - Interage​

The years that followed were hectic ones for The Ghostfather. For the most part his attentions were occupied by the affairs in Evermoor. The Afterworld was growing all the time, the spirits that inhabited it were busy little things and as always they longed for a sense of the familiar. The dwarf mountain hold and the Verr coastal resting grounds remained largely unchanged, but the other cultures had a less defined sense of what awaited them. So they simply repeated what they knew and made what they likes. All over the glowing green fields and towering canyons of Evermoor sprang up cities and towns. Collections of patchwork buildings made up of Eld and Evalon designs. Things which couldn't possibly exist in the 'Real' world but fortunately the science of Evermoor was far more forgiving. The Stryfe, new as they were, found themselves spread out everywhere after death. Some showed the same defiant stubbornness the first of their dead had shown and dived back into life, ready for a second round. Others were happy enough exploring this new world and all the strange things inhabiting it, it was a whole new adventure to them. Most found their way to the dwarf's mountain rest hall. They were amused by the little stunty things and found their strange drinks to their liking. For their part the dwarfs were happy to have finally found another race that could keep up with them.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the Stryfe - their choice of name - had been busy. Zareth had spent some time walking among them, seeing their society grow and change. They developed into semi-ordered societies, holds headed by 'Kalds'. These were often the largest or most cunning of Stryfes that managed to kill or cow down the rest of their competition. They got to boss around the other Stryfe, got the best cuts of food and got the best seat in the long hall. Their rises to power were usually bloody. Down to their bones the Stryfe respected strength above all other things, something plenty of them had. The idea of passing things on through blood ties was foreign to them and would have caused more trouble than it was worth thanks to the size of the average Stryfe family. This made power in their culture very easy to take but nigh impossible to keep.

As they grew so did their legends, Zareth was sure drop hints and spread stories of the gods and their deeds. Of course doing these things by word of mouth had its downsides and most of the Stryfe who retold his stories tended to change a few details and make the stories 'better'. Small shrines began to pop up dedicated to the spirits. Tiny ones by the hearth for the house spirits. Battered ones in the woods for the wild spirits. Icons in the forges for the helper spirits. And larger ones scatted in the holds and great caves for the grand spirits and their thanes. Slowly but surely the stories of the gods took on new lives of their own. Seen more as stories and good luck charms rather than a real religion. The Styfe were not ones for prayer, they knew the grand spirits did not stir for mortals without being shown or offered something in return. Maybe a thane spirit could be called but most might regret such an action.

By the dawn of the new age The Stryfe had gained a grasp of craft and metal work. The holds had grown in size and busied themselves with in fighting and warring among each other. Faith and unity were far from any Stryfe mind. But with the coming of the next age the coastal holds discovered strange unknown creatures coming from the sea. They kept to themselves mostly but when they began to spread onto hold grounds the Kalds saw their chance. Raiding parties and scouts were sent out. The chance for new treasures and glory was there and the Stryfe take it.

Spoiler: First contact... could have gone better

"You got it all?"

"All the good stuff, yeah!" Groll replied, dumping the craps and left overs of the attack on the cave floor.

"Good stuff." Rawl grunted as he looked over some of the corpses. What were these things? They looked like him, in shape and in ear but so much else was strange about them. They were so small, skinny things shaped more like youngers then clan-stryfes. But damn it some were good.

He poked at the one in black, the one that had cut up most of his party. He had some good armour, too small for Rawl or any of his lads but that could be sorted. "Smiths should want to get a look at that." He said and set one of his clansmen to stripping the body.

"What about his fancy spear?" Groll asked, reaching for the weapon but Rawl was faster.

"I'll have that." He said. Groll made to argue but he just raised a hand and growled. He wouldn?t try and test him for it, not yet. He swung the spear around, testing it out. Thing was light as a feather, too light for something so sharp.

"Time to wake up the other one."

"What good'll that do?" Groll grumbled.

"Never know." Rawl ambled to the back of the cave, past his lads and up to the little one they?d managed to hit on the head. ?Snoozing like a babe.? He grinned before jabbing it in the ribs with the blunt end of the spear. "Wake up!"
"OW" He blurted out as he felt something familiar, but also unfamiliar. When he looked up he didn't see the face if his uncle, annoyed that he had fallen asleep again. No he saw the face of a strange being, the things that had attacked them in the forest.

He looked at the spear and he remembered his uncles fate, he closed his eyes fighting to hold back his tears. After a few seconds he looked back up at the being, his eyes full of hatred. "You will pay for that." He said in common, his voice dripping with anger.

Thing perked awake like a fox that got its tail trod on. Even its voice was little, Rawl had to laugh. He looked at as it barked at him and grabbed the roped that bound it, pulling the little thing to its feet.
Some of Rawl's lads moved in closer, keeping close eyes on their quarry. Rawlk himself began to circle it, poking and feeling the strange things on its body. What was this? Was it its skin, fur? Why was it different to the rest on its head? That kind of coat wasn't unheard of but it didn't seem to suit this thing, maybe it had been shorn.
The being laughed at him, and then pulled him up roughly. He was obviously stronger than him, but he was also clearly ignorant. They might be able to take on a small group by surprise, but on a battle field they would be slaughtered. They began touching his uniform, they seemed surprised.

He grinned as he looked at them. Time for a little magic. He focused, and he managed to create a small spark. He used it on his magic enhancing uniform, and it was suddenly light ablaze. It wouldn't last long, but he hoped the creatures would be scared and flee.

"Flaming Hells!" Rawl cried out jumping back from it. His lads were all astir and the cave was full of shouts and cries of panic, all of them trying to yell over each other.

"What do we do?" "How did it do that?" "Is it dead?" "Don't let it get too close!" "Put that damn thing out!" "Hit it with a stick!"

Now there was some advice Rawl could follow. He held up the spear and rammed the point of the handle into the back of where he thought the thing's neck was. The little fire bug fell to its knees and its spark quickly went out. "How the hell did it do that?" He roared out.

His lads all looked at him blankly. "Its skin!" Groll yelled back. "Its skin sparked up, it's like quills or something!"

"That sorts it then." Rawl yanked at its collar, ripping the back off of it and revealing the soft, pink underflesh.
"What is wrong? Scared of a little fire?!" He screamed at the beings. He then he felt the back of the spear hitting his neck, he was knocked on the ground. His neck felt sore, and the fire magic was exhausted. The being walked closer to him again, and the biggest one grabbed his collar.

"Let go off me!" He screamed trying to kick it, but the being began to rip his uniform apart. He felt the wind hitting his skin, he knew he wouldn't last long without his uniform "Stop please, I will die without my uniform!" He called clearly panicking.

Thing squealed like a stuck bison, he must have done some serious damage to it. The lads just seemed to look off put by it.

"Damn Rawl how'd you rip its skin off so easy like that?" Groll asked. The others mumbled and grumbled the same thing.

"I don't think this is its skin... doesn't feel like any living skin I've seen."

"I haven't seen any living thing set itself on fire and live but it did it!" One of the others said.

Well that was true. "What are you?" He said to the squealing pink thing.

The beings seemed to argue among themselves, he took this time to try and understand them. Even though he wasn't a genius among his kind, he had been near the top off his class. He was sure that if he focused he could understand them...
The beings were looking at him, they seemed to want an answer. He tried to speak their language and said "My name is Perses." He looked up at them, hoping they wouldn't hurt or kill him.

"Did it just?" "Sounded like it?" "Wasn't quite..." The Stryfe all looked at it in amazement. Rawl just laughed a deep, throaty chuckle.

"Damn thing's a mimic!" He knelt down in front of it, looking into its childlike face. "You're a clever little thing aren't you?" He started moving his hand like a mouth.

The beings all seemed confused, except the strongest one he laughed. He knelt down in front of him, and started talking. Perses closed his eyes, the words being to move inside his head, fusing with magic.

After a couple of seconds he opened his eyes, he hoped he got it right this time. "Your name is Rawl isn't it?" He asked looking at the biggest one.

Rawl growled under his breath, how was it doing that? The others began to close in around him. Seems they were getting suspicious as well. "How is it doing that?" Groll muttered.

"It's just mimicking us, right?"

"Then when did it hear someone say my name?" Rawl's tone had gotten very low and quiet. All the while outside the winds picked up and the cold fought its way into the cave with renewed vigour.
The more they spoke, the more his brain adjusted. But the sudden ice wind send shivers down his spine. "Look I am not mimicking you, like I said before my name is Perses. And I am a black guild member in training, I can figure out other races languages."

He didn't much like this situation, but talking to them was better than being killed right away.

The others looked to Rawl for instructions, what this pink thig was doing was too much for them to handle. Rawl could sense their unease, half of them would probably just want to put an axe in its head and be done with it. But this new trick... that needed looking into.

"Pack up the loot. We're heading back to the clan and taking this with us, see what the olders have to say about this."
The lads did as they were told and were ready to move out in short order. The party headed out of the cave and back to their hold, a few of them still limping. Rawl put their prize under guard and the goup marched on through the snow. He would have lauged at how it started to come up past the little things knees but the events from earlier had darkened his mood.

Perses felt cold. The wind could now touch his body through the rip in his uniform. They picked him up and started taking him along, outside the weather was even worse.. "So cold.." His body felt frozen, his breath started to slow down. He looked up with the last of his power.

Then he saw it, in the distance he could see his father and mother. They were smiling, and his uncle joined them to. "I am proud of you kid." He said smiling. Perses closed his eyes, as a single tear froze on his cheek. It seems my time has come... Please take my soul Akladai." He didn't bother to open his eyes again, and even if he wanted too he couldn't.

"Hey Rawl! get over here it's acting weird again!" Came the call from further back in the coulumn.

Rawl trudged back to check on them. The little creature had slumped over and had stopped moving. Its underflesh had turned a pale shade of blue, now that was a better look. He slapped it round the back of the head... nothing. He pulled it up and moved its head around, it just slumped back down.

"It's dead. What did you two do!" He yelled at the guards.

"Nothing!" They protested.

"Come on, it only took a few hits it can't be dead from that!" Rawl wasn't having any of it.

Groll was looking it over. "Maybe you did rip its skin off." He mused.

Rawl looked at it in confusion... maybe he had?


Meanwhile.

Another party found the battle site. Captain Charit looked at the ground, there was quite a lot of blood and bodies were scattered on the ground. "Sir it seems there has been fighting here? and not against wild animals." Charit looked around.
"It seems the day we feared has finally come. Chloe find a magic pylon and send a message to Kain. We have encountered an unknown enemy and need 5 legions." Chloe saluted and ran away. Charit looked at the horizon, it seemed war was upon them. "I hope Akladai is merciful for these poor souls."

 

[Arrogancy]

Vantric: Interage

The god eased back into his chair. Calath had left only a few minutes ago to begin organizing the devils and preparing to depart to Evalon, Salustutis, Eld, perhaps even Coelus if the grigori ever got it into their heads that there was more to the universe than a diamond rock adrift in space. For a few minutes, he could relax, after the meetings and the warring, it felt good to simply stop for a few moments. He shut his eyes, sunk deeper into the chair, and listened to the crackle of the fire. It was peaceful. There was no battle to fight, no threats to deal with immediately, no annoying apprentice to...

Vantric's eyes shot open. Where in all the hells is Isond? He thought. It was then that he heard the familiar clank of metal echoing down the halls. Wasting no time, the god pushed himself up and exited the study to deal with another of the universe's most irascible beings. He found Isond wandering about, casually strolling through the fortress, making no hurry to report. "Isond." Vantric addressed his apprentice.

The war god nodded in response to his boss, "Sir."

"Where have you been?" Vantric impatiently drummed his fingers on the honey jar.

Isond shrugged, "I needed another vacation. Also, just a warning, I'm probably going to be taking leaves of absence more frequently. Having to deal with you and the grigori is just..." He waved his hands, unable to complete the thought, "Speaking of, where is the witch?"

"What's wrong? Miss me?" Aryx asked as she, too, returned. She adopted her typical haughty pose and smiled down at Isond, who cracked his knuckles in response.

"Both of you, stop it. Now." Vantric said, placing himself between his apprentice and protege. "There's enough trouble outside without you two starting a fight in here." With that, he marched down the hall, gesturing to his two demigods to follow which they quickly did. "I'll expect a report from both of you soon enough. I have enough trouble keeping up with everyone else's activities, you two, at least, should keep me informed of what you're doing." He took a sharp turn, then several more. The maze-like architecture that would baffle and confuse mortals and most gods was child's play for Vantric to navigate. He had designed the fortress, after all.

"You two also need to be informed of certain things. A peace of sorts has come into play. We will not be directly attacking our enemies for a time."

"WHAT?" Isond shouted, skidding to a halt. Vantric and Aryx turned back to him, "You can't mean that. Cassiel is-"

"A minor difficulty." Vantric completed the thought, "He's a fool of Seith's who will die soon enough."

"Not for me." The war god grumbled, "This is a mistake. We should kill him now before he causes any more problems."

"What's the matter, Isond?" Aryx taunted, "Are you afraid of a bully? One of the gods being mean to you?"

Isond turned to Aryx, tightly controlled anger burning in his eyes, "Can I at least kill her?"

"No." Vantric rolled his eyes, "She's quite useful, also she livens this place up. You could learn a bit from her."

"Permission to gore myself if that happens?"

"Granted. Now then, Cassiel will be dealt with in time, and you will get your chance to kill him, but not before I give the order. Is that understood?"

Isond turned back to his master, both gods staring each other down, neither willing to blink. Eventually, Isond relented. "Fine." The younger god spat, "But I get to keep his head as a trophy."

"Very well." The trio began walking the halls again. "There are certain figures of interest that we're going to be keeping an eye on. A new figure has joined our ranks-Daare. I want to know everything that there is to know about him. Aen is another person of interest, as is that apprentice of his, Ren. I want to know what there is about them."

"Yes, sir."

"Leave it to me."

Eventually, the group arrived at a large set of double doors. Unlike most of the rooms in the fortress, this one required a key, which Vantric produced from within the folds of his cloak. It was a complicated lock, in three different locks all interconnected and at different heights on the door, unable to pick due to the severe differences between each individual lock. Vantric pushed past his demigods and inserted the key into a stone on the wall opposite the door, seemingly solid, though the key slid in as though it were thin air. There was a series of clicks and the door opened.

The god of ambition led his apprentice and protege into the room, a large model of the solar system in exacting scale was raised in the middle, dominating the large room. "Welcome to the planning room." Vantric announced.

Both Isond and Aryx began making their way around the room, inspecting the models and the various tables along the walls where large sheaves of paper were piled. "This room helps me keep an eye on things, in as much as I need to." He noticed that his apprentice and protege had both begun inspecting the model of Evalon. Isond for nostalgia, Aryx for curiosity. Vantric took his place behind them, admiring the world. "A fascinating place." He remarked, the pair not taking much note of him. "Mortals. So secretive, so skittish. They keep secrets from the world, from themselves even." Vantric smiled. "Why don't we do something about that?" He tapped the model of Evalon, and a small black spot appeared under his finger, and began to grow. With his other hand, Vantric took out his coin and tossed it in the air.

Spoiler: Actions

Enchant the size of a large city- DC 11: +4 Secrets (This actions is heavily vested in realm of secrets) +2 Luck (Everyone needs a little sometimes) +7 Interage

Create the Mindstorm: This is less of a weather pattern than a moving anomaly of psychic energy. It's a moving storm which pries the secrets from the minds of those caught within it, forcing them to face themselves in a deeper level. Vantric shares a connection to the storm, allowing him to listen in and hear the secrets of those caught in the storm at any times. Naturally, it is a moving phenomena, sometimes even transcending worlds, though this is outside of Vantric's influence, operating independently by itself.

 

[JoJo]

-Double post, please ignore-

 

[JoJo]

Roe - Interage

On the northern coast of Olegard lay a port city that saw ships from across Evalon docking at it's shores on their way to lands further east or west. The port's central location and it's tolerant Rowan authorities meant it had a booming population of Kinderven who managed to beg and scavenge a reasonable lifestyle from their more civilised hosts. At night they would gather in vacated premises and share tales, whilst keeping a watch for any overconfident law enforcers or strange adults.

One night as the days were getting longer and autumn setting in, there were five Kinderven sheltering under an abandoned ship, huddled around a small fire. Four of them, two boys and two girls, were listening enraptured to the fifth who was excitedly telling a story to his peers. He was dressed in a heavy coat several sizes too large and held a unlit pipe.

"Then, you have to climb all the way up the freezing mountain and guess what you find?" he asked with a grin.

"Where's the mountain?" one of girls asked. The child sighed.

"I've already told you, it's the tallest one in Almia, you know the place over the sea. Now, guess what's up there?"

"Shadowshrieks?"

"No, guess again!"

"Cockatrices?"

"They aren't real,"

"I don't know, tell us!"

"Fine," the storyteller child replied, "there's an entrance to a cave right at the top of the mountain. Inside there's a thousand tunnels going in every direction and high bridges and holes so deep they don't have a bottom, you just fall for ever and ever. Even if you don't get lost, the tunnels are stalked a big red dragon with huge teeth and claws that could rip your head off in one bite and it can smell kids from miles away."

He grinned his peer's shocked faces and adjusting his pipe, continued.

"If you get the right route though and don't get eaten by the dragon, you finally get to the end of the tunnels where there's a big swirling hole in the wall called a portal. On the other side there's a crazy world which is the Broken Heavens where lots of monsters and bad creatures live. They have even longer and sharper teeth than the dragon and they are ten times meaner. Some people say though that if you go really far into the Broken Heavens you'll get the best reward in the whole universe, but you have to be good to find it, if you are a bad person then you get stuck there forever!"

Three of the children gazed upon the storyteller child with admiring expressions but one of the boys didn't look quite so convinced.

"I bet you're lying," he said sceptically, "How would you even know all this?"

The child gave his doubter an angry stare and stood up abruptly.

"How do I know?" You want to know how I know?" he yelled, throwing his coat and pipe to the ground.

A blinding light filled the abandoned ship and the children covered their eyes desperately to protect themselves. When the glare finally passed they saw in the place of the storyteller child stood a shining fox, both regal and furious at the same time.

"I made the portal!" the fox cried with a deafening shout and then leapt over their heads and in a moment had vanished into the darkness of the night. It took several minutes for the four Kinderven to recover and once they did there was only one thing about the experience they sure about: they wouldn't be getting any sleep that night.

Spoiler: Action

DC19 - Create a second portal to the Broken Heaven's inside a mountain on Evalon - +6 Chaos (The new portal has the potential to cause chaos if anything comes out), +6 Childhood (guarded by an exceptionally large juvenile dragon), +7 Interage,

 

[Floris2123]

Spoiler: Melanthios

Melanthios sat down on his library floor, he was spent and the wound seemed to be growing bigger. "Curse you Allish...." He said placing one hand on his wound, he needed to recover but how? And who would lead the Dues Filli? He then thought of his children, he was sure they could lead the race in his absence. He forced himself back up on his feet, and barely managed to keep himself from falling.

He had to push himself however, he had to make sure he and the knowledge were safe from enemies. He focused to the best of his abilities, and began to cast one of his strongest spells yet. The air around the library seemed to move, suddenly a giant portal split the ground apart. The portal absorbed the entire library in seconds, and then closed.

The library appeared from another portal, which closed as soon as the library was out. Melanthios glanced outside, and forced himself to smile. He had been successful, the library was transported to the hollow core of his planet. The magic began to flood inside, he was sure it would hid him long enough to recover. The magic proved too much though, and Melanthios slowly slipped began to lose his footing. He finally slipped and landed on the ground, he closed his eyes he was safe now.

After a while he opened his eyes, he wondered how much time had passed. He couldn't move his body, and when he moved around he saw why.

Spoiler: The House of insanity

"What the hell?" Was all he could say, before the pain came back to him. He groaned as he lowered his head again, there was still blood pouring from his wound. A dark figure appeared before him. "Why are you this weak?"

Melanthios looked up at the figure. "What do you know about strength? I am a god!" He screamed as he tried to break loose, but no matter how much he struggled he wasn't able to break loose. "Is this what I raised? A coward who runs from his enemies?" Melanthios eyes opened as he recognized the voice. "Father?" He said looking up at the figure, there was a flash of light which landed on the figures face. It showed an old and wrinkled face, it was looking at him with cold eyes.

"I am sorry father... I failed you." He said lowering his head. "I never said you failed me son. You already took out two enemy gods, and you managed to survive." He looked up with an hopeful expression. His father was now smiling, as he removed the web around him. "Now prove to me, that you learned from your mistakes... And show the other gods just who you are." Melanthios lowered his head smiling. he then looked back up, but his father was gone.

He whispered "I won't fail you father... I will show them all just why I came this far... How I survived the end of everything, and was reborn with nothing. They will learn all this, moments before they die." He grabbed a closet and began pulling himself up, he had to recover as fast as possible. He had work to do, a wicked smile spread across his face. "I will rule this universe one day. And my enemies will either bow before me, or be destroyed." He said as he pulled himself up.

Spoiler: Demigods

Maeglin rushed to the place where the library had been before, only to find his brother and sister standing frozen. The library was gone, and so was Melanthios. "Where is he?" He asked desperately stepping forward, to Akladai.

Akladai turned around, his face cold. "He left us.... He grabbed the things he loved most and ran." Maeglin looked shocked, anger began to burn within him. "No.. You are wrong... He would never do that." Akladai showed anger, as he grabbed his collar. "Then look at the facts! Where is he huh? Where is the library? Why didn't he speak to us?!"

Maeglin looked at Akladai, an unnatural anger began to rise within him. "Shut up.... SHUT UP!" He pushed his brother off of him. "You are always there studying with him, and you know him the longest. Yet you think him capable of running away?!" Akladai shoved him back, and screamed. "And you don't?! You are an even bigger fool then I thought, I thought below your admiration was a hint of intelligence. But I guess Melanthios took that out of you, you mindless puppet." He said looking disgusted.

"SHUT UP" He screamed as he jumped forward, his fist raised to punch his brother. Akladai blocked the punch, and replied with a punch that hit him in his stomach. He keeled over the pain showing on his face "It seems you truly are nothing." Akladai said grinning. Maeglin smiled in response "You really think that low of me... your pride will be your downfall." He moved his hand and hit his brother, the magic in his hand formed a seal. He quickly jumped back, and landed a few feet away.

Akladai spat blood on the ground, he looked up at him. "You will bleed for that." He grinned in response. "I would like to see you try." He grabbed his pistol and aimed at his brother, the crimson beam that shot from it was dodged however. Akladai had jumped above it and moved his right arm, he pulled a wire and Maeglin suddenly felt something piercing his shoulder. He quickly teleported but the pain stayed, he placed his hand on his back and pulled out a black knife.

"That is the 14th technique of one of our master assassins, what do you think of it?" Akladai asked grinning. He didn't respond but instead lowered himself, a black sword appeared within his hand. He knew Akladai was strong, but unlike him he had always had these powers. He didn't know what it was like to fight someone with your life on the line, and he would use this. Akladai pointed hand at him, he recognized the spell just in time and jumped out of the way.

Purple flames engulfed the spot he had just been in, Akladai landed and looked at him while holding a sword. Both activated their wind magic, and they crashed into each other there swords were now useless. But unlike Akladai who used logic, Maeglin used his heart to fight. He grabbed Akladai's sword in his hand, pulling it aside and cutting his hand into bits. Akladai was pulled forward, too surprised to dodge the blade which was aimed at his chest.

The blade pierced his chest, and Akladai fell backward blood spewing from his wound. His vision faded as he fell back, but he was pulled back up before he could fall. Akladai looked at his brother, who held him in the air with his one good hand. "If you ever come near me, or another living Dues Filli again... I will kill you." He then released him, and punched him as hard as he could. Akladai was smashed though ten trees before finally stopping his flight, Maeglin looked satisfied and then walked away. He had a empire to run, and this time he would have to do it alone.

Spoiler: Dues Filli

The next 1000 years the Dues Filli developed slower then usual, much slower. This period would later be known as the industrial age, because that was the one thing that was developed very quickly. Because of this new found technology a lot less work was needed, which meant the Dues Filli began to study more and the knowledge they had was expanded on.

The Dues Filli had a steady population grow, at the end of the industrial age they had around 4 billion Dues Filli living on Salustutis. The class system had not changed much, and the religion had neither. Though there were new tales of evil gods, Eanes the god of revenge was one of them.

But the greatest achievements of the Dues Filli were hidden from the public eye, they had created five giants. Robots which stood over 40 meters tall, and were powered by magic. And they had also created a new unique weapon, which the people who worked on it even feared. But Maeglin had them build it anyway, he would use it to threaten whoever attacked them into submission.

Spoiler: A new age dawns

Melanthios stepped out of his library, his hand moved to his old wound. But instead of a big hole there was a large scar now, he looked up and saw the edges of the core. Today was the day he returned. And today would be the day of a new age, one in which he would destroy his enemies.

Nobody would be there to stop him this time. And this time his emotions wouldn't get in the way. All he had to do was play his cards right, and he would be victorious.

Spoiler: Melanthios

Maeglin looked at his generals, they were all telling him their opinion on what to do. "SHUT UP." He said slamming his fist on the table. "Send 20 legions....no objections. We will crush these beings, no one stands before the empire and lives."

Spoiler: Maeglin

Five Striga watched Maeglin with great interest, they despised him to say the least. None of them agreed with his plans, and all of them had made their own faction within the empire. They had been busy the last 1000 years, and they had all gotten quite some support.

One of them was plotting to kill them, while another wanted equality between the Striga and the normal Dues Filli. All of them had different goals.... but all of them were planning to kill or hinder him somehow. And their plans were nearing completion, he would not live to see another age.

Spoiler: Inter age action

Teleporting the Library of the gods to the core of Salustutis.
Difficulty: 13
Domains: + 7 Inter age action + 2 Knowledge (Using his knowledge of Salustutis, along with that of the library to decide how to best move it) + 2 Creation (Creating the portal that teleports the library.)

 

[DarkRawen]

Dåre - Interage

The planet Dåre had created was not the largest one out there, in terms of size. However, it wasn't quite alike the other planets, as it appeared to be an endless ochean of small islands and isles. That was not all the planet hid, but for now, he would leave it be, as it didn't look as if it was ready to be explored yet. He gave it the name of "Ilea". As he looked at it from the sky, he saw that it did not have any creatures, only some kinds of plants and external things. Thus, he created animals to live there, letting his madness have its free run, creating every single creature he could think of. Well, that would fit, somehow he figured the man-eating pony would not have too much to eat without some actual men.

The islands were now filled by life, but because of the amount of creatures, it took many, many years. When he was done, he found a comfortable place, at the top of the closest island, and fell asleep on the carpet for more than a hundred years.

Spoiler: Actions

Create a lot of different non-sentinent species to inhabit the islands, the ocean, and beyond: DC 15

Domains: + 6 Madness (Since there are a lot of different and outright crazy species. Like this one:

And a tree where hats grow on fleshy limbs that bleed when you damage them (No pictures, sadly). I rest my case.)
Interage + 7

 

[TheBlueShotgun0]

Auctor

Auctor's speech was met only with more shouts and jeers. The Ekiruru, so upset over the lose of their Goddess, wanted nothing to do with unity or order. They yelled swears and threw stones at her, until one spoke up. For a moment Auctor thought it was support for her cause, but her hopes were shattered when she heard the Erikuru's words.

"KILL HER!!! KILL THE HEATHEN *****!!!"

As one, the horde rushed forward with a defiant battle cry. Many were pushed or thrown into the lake in the confusion, but many more got over the bridge to attack the palace guard. It was only a matter of time before they would be overwhelmed. "This unit will assist the guards while others arrive." said the synthetic to her right, then jumped of the balcony to join the fray. "Come with me, my Lady." barked the other synthetic, and lead Auctor back into the palace. It pushed her into the castle armory and went to bar the main entrance. Auctor looked around at the many weapons around her. She had had this room installed only because her advisers at troubled her for it, and had never actually expected to use it, certainly not against her own people.

The synthetic returned and blocked the double doors to the armory, then faced Auctor. "The guards are dead." it reported. "The rebels will breach the doors within minutes." The synthetic walked over to one of the weapon racks and grabbed a spear, which it then trust into Auctor's hands. "Be prepared to defend yourself."

It was at that point that the full weight of the situation crashed down on Auctor. Her beloved city was burning, her people were dying, her family was already dead, and she would soon follow suit. She collapsed against the far wall of the armory and started shivering from a non-existent cold. "There's only one being who can save us." she said through stammering lips, and reached out with her mind. "My Lord, Pentar." she said out loud, not bothering to hide her thoughts. "My city and people are dying, and I admit I am powerless to stop it." She heard banging on the door, but continued her prayer. "The order of Minas Kei has dissolved, and my own people threaten my life." She realized she was crying, but didn't care. "Please, help us. Deliver us from chaos!"

There was a brief moment of where the only sound was the banging on the door, and Auctor feared the God of Order had abandoned her. But, in answer to her prayer, a great storm gathered above the city. Many of the rebellious Ekiruru could have sworn they saw the figure of Pentar in the clouds. Suddenly, bolts of lightning arced down from the clouds and into the Ekiruru's ranks. It was as if heaven itself was waging war on them, for the lightning only hit the horde outside the palace. By morning of the next day, they had broken and fled to other parts of the city. Among the many lightning charred bodies, Auctor found a single scroll, on which was written only two words: You're Welcome.

Spoiler: Pentar's Interage Action

Affect an entire race or civilization (DC15): Initiate the Reclamation of Minas Kei. Until the 4th age, Minas Kei will be in a constant state of civil war as Auctor and her loyalists reconquer the city. By the start of the 4th age, Auctor will be mopping up the last of the rebels and the Ekiruru of the city will have become the Minas, an ethnic group of Ekiruru that live in Minas Kei and hold Auctor and Pentar in high esteem.

+6 Order (reestablishing order and government in the city)

+7 Interage

 

[drmigit2]

Cassiel Interage

Cassiel sat alone. The other gods...he had no idea what to do with them! They weren't going to be peaceful, any arangement met would last less than an age. It wasn't even funny. Cassiel had to take his mind off of it, in fact, what was it Roe was doing now? Something powerful...the portal! It was where the Seven came, almost entirely uncharted and highly dangerous...and now it had two openings. Right into the mortal world. Where things could come out.

"This...could be bad."

Cassiel raced down to Evalon and teleported to where the portal is. The dragon guarding it looked like it was about to strike, but Cassiel revealed part of his true form at it and the beast relented. He figured it was time to get a few answers. The humans didn't know, the Girigori didn't know, the gods themselves had no idea what was in this thing. He wanted to know now, and he had the tools. Perhaps the place was possible to redeem? To save even!

Cassiel took out stardust and aimed it at the portal, making a large ball of flames and enchanting it to scout the plane out for him. It ended up growing and growing in mass until it finally exploded, whisps flying about the Broken Heavens, taking note. They wouldn't last forever but Cassiel delved in to his mind to figure out what they were seeing. Hope had to be there, redemption.

As Cassiel dove into the depths of his mind, a white noise began coating him. Screams of lament, death and horror all pervaded in his mind. Visions came and went of terrible creatures, they seemed vaguely familiar but terrible at the same time. And...there were several planets! Creatures of all sizes but twisted and evil in their own ways. He couldn't make out what they were. This world had no court it seemed, but something was controlling it. Masters of certain areas of every planet, some tyrannical and others destructive.

A dark voice unlike anything Cassiel had heard before blasted its way in his head. It said so many things at once that Cassiel could hardly make out what it was saying, only two words came out. "YOUR FUTURE". He fought it with all his might. He wouldn't let it overcome him, he would never show weakness to it! He would see what it was hiding and he would fight it if need be! All of the realm came into his mind at once.

With a flash, the flames died and Cassiel ejected himself from his own mind. The voice died and Cassiel teleported as far from that place as possible, white as a sheet. What...what was that? How would he ever explain what he saw? It was terrible.

"Creator help us..."

Spoiler: Actions

Scry the entirety of the Broken Heavens, but not the realms attached: DC 17

+6 Bravery: Fight the voice and delve deeper

+4 Hope: It's what he is searching for, and what guides him as he does it

+1 Flames: Fire ball spies

 

[Belmarc]

Grix

Grix whisked away his new mate and their offspring to the cold reaches of Salustis, deep in the core of a mountain. By the time of the next age, these skies would be filled with his children. He smiled and laid down for a long rest.

Aen Interage

Once Aen had hidden away the weapon and spread rumors of it's existence, the god returned to Evalon. He realized that it would not be fair to give so willingly to another race and ignore his own. He thought what would be best to give to his people, and suddenly it struck him. A twin of sorts to what he had just crafted, something that would connect their people across the cosmos. He reached into the earth and pulled out a shard of obsidian, then cut at it into a fine knife. When he was finished, he spilled a single drop of blood onto it, shaping it into a single rune, mimicking the one he'd done before. Then he reached across the universe with his power and tied the strings of fate attached to the weapons together. Hopefully this would lead to a powerful new bond, and not more war.

<spoiler=Interage Action>

Create an Epic Mortal Item DC 11

+6 Combat (it's a weapon) +4 Runic (the rune allows you to utilize your will to survive as a fighting force) +7 Interage

 

[JoJo]

The Storyteller

The Storyteller yawned as he moved onto the next part of the story, the children as attentive as ever.

"Thus it was a thousand years before the next age would begin. Many of the gods busied themselves in this time, for instance Nivix created a whole new planet known as the World without a Name with few lifeforms and many earthquakes. He was not the only god to create something of great consequence, for reasons we'll come to later young Roe summoned a second portal to the underworld upon Evalon, however being deep inside a mountain and guarded by an angry young dragon, reaching it would not be trivial for mere mortals. Realising that Roe had done this, Cassiel took the opportunity to scry the Broken Heaven's beyond the portal and was shocked to the core by what he saw.

On the young planet of Ilea Daare created a whole of variety of non-sentient species to it's inhabit it's seas and lands, each more bizarre than the last. On Evalon meanwhile Aen forged a new weapon to serve the Changelings and Pentar lead the Reclaimation of Minas Kei by Auctor and her loyalists, leading to a new regime of order and prosperity.

From the Hallowed Court Vantric created the Mindstorm, a moving mist of psychic energy that would reveal the secrets of those caught in the storm. Melanthios teleported his enormous library of the gods to the core of Salustutis.

Not every god was so lucky however, M'endar tried to enchant the Floating Continent of Ys so it was supported by mist, however the wounds from the previous age were still fresh and the mist evaporated in a moment."

"What about Zareth, what did he do?" a child asked.

"Absolutely nothing, he must have been sleeping!" the Storyteller laughed and then with a sip of his pipe contined the tale.

"And so began the Fourth Age. This was a time when great machines were built not by gods but mortals, when nations were shook by the blows between tyrants and their peoples and the gods tried their best to hold to the truce agreed at the end of the last age. How would all this unfold? Well..."

 

[Pappytech]

Nivix - 30, 2

The wind was hot. Uncomfortably warm and entirely devoid of moisture, it blew across the landscape like a minor wraith from Heck, annoying without being particularly dangerous. Still, it was to be expected. Everything, even the air, was hot in the middle of a desert.

The zephyr made its way across the vast plain, flying over dunes of sand and whatever plants were stubborn enough to cling to life in such a hostile environment. It soared underneath great stone overhangs, howled through vast, yawning canyons, and tore across the surface of half a dozen plateaus and mesas, its ethereal fingers grasping at grains of sand and scraggly bushes alike.

It was enough to wake Nivix up from his slumber.

"Huh? Wazzat?"

Grumbling as he pushed himself up to a sitting position, the deity scowled at nothing in particular. Ergh, his head... You'd think being immortal, not to mention nigh-omnipotent, would keep you from having to worry about little things like dehydration.

Smacking his bone dry lips together, the god willed a canteen, full to the brim with crystal-clear water, into existence. A few gulps of the ice cold liquid proved to be enough to staunch his thirst, and Nivix sent the now half-empty container back to the oblivion it had come from. With a grunt, the madman rose to his feet, feeling slightly refreshed a bit more awake. Turning his gaze skyward, Nivix stared up at the brilliant ball of fire hanging overhead, trying to judge just how long he had overslept. One, maybe two decades?

Sighing, the god lifted his arms upward, stretching them to their full extent in an attempt to work out all the kinks and aches that had built up during his nap; his legs and neck soon received the same treatment, filling the air with the sounds of cracking knuckles and popping joints.

"Ahhh, that's better."

It was only halfway through his warm-ups that Nivix felt the power: His power, recharged and filled back up to a full 100%. Enough raw energy to destroy the entire solar system, tucked inside his relatively tiny frame.

Needless to say, it felt absolutely exhilarating.

"Ahahahaha!" he shouted, spreading his arms wide and allowing a burst of power to fill the air around him. "It's good to be alive, isn't it?!"

It looked like he had woken up just in time. His timing, normally off by at least a couple years, had decided to wake him up today, the day that whatever cosmic force reigned over existence decided to check off another Age. He was rejuvenated, stuffed full of life and energy! He felt like he could do anything he wanted to!

He felt like it was finally time to fulfill an old promise.

Gathering his strength, Nivix leaped up. Hurtling a solid five hundred meters into the air, the god finally landed on top of one of the desert's plateaus, crashing onto its smooth surface with all the subtlety and grace of a ton of bricks. Bracing his legs and feet against the ground, he took in a deep breath.

And then he roared.

"MELANTHIOOOOOOOOOOOOOS! COME ON, LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!"

Spoiler: Actions

Creating a canteen and some water: Effortless
Sending a message to all the gods, demigods, and mortals sensitive enough to hear him: Effortless

 

[Dogmatic99]

The mother and child​

"I don't know what I'm going do do about this." Rouf said, slamming the shutters of his house shut and locking out the weather.

"Well you knew the risks when you took her to bed." The midwife cooed at him while she washed her rags.

Rouf grumbled to himself. He'd heard the rumors that Arya was wrong in someway, that she hadn't taken to the things omen normally did. He didn't know anything about that but it quickly made itself plain. Countless tries and only three of them stuck and then they came out dead! It took them long enough but one of his Stryfelings came out of her breathing... breathing badly... and it was all scrawny and pale. With this luck then he wouldn't even be able to get some one new, they'd think she spread it to him.

"Fellow will probably survive a few nights." The old crone said. "Keep him in milk and furs and maybe he'll manage to get fully grown." She turned to face the flustered father. "But he wont be much, little thing like that will have to fight to last his first winter. Really it be best to take him out to the woods." She punctuated that last point with a sagely nod.

"I'm not leaving it for the foxes!" Rouf protested. Something didn't sit well with him about abandoning the little thing in the woods. "No, I'll make it quick, kinder that way. I'll take it to the point outside the hold. Sure no one wants to see that."

All the while Arya was listening behind the locked door and she heard every word.

She slinked over to her new born and wrapped another layer of furs around his little shivering form. She never let anyone else see her mourn the others. They were always so cold and clammy, everything about them had felt off but she had held them all the same after the others had left her alone, before they took them away. She had promised herself that she wouldn't get her hopes up, that she wouldn't get attached. But holding him now, having his little eyes looking up at her. She had fought too hard to have him, to bring this little life into the world.

"I wont let them take you." Arya whispered to her newborn. "You'll see, you'll be stronger than all of them."

Still a part of her was so tired, felt so weak, even she couldn't fully believe it. She slumped down into the bed and held him closer. A silent tear rolled down her cheek.

Prayers are strange things, most think that the gods only listen to those that crowd into temples and chant out pre-written scripture. They never think that a pure thought or action could get their attention. In that moment Arya silently pleaded for any spirit for help. The wild spirits, her house spirit, anyone who would listen. In its own way, this spoke to one divine being above the others.

Spoiler: Action

Pray to Petal for help, begging her to make Arya's child strong and healthy.
I would justify this as speaking to Petal's compassion since this is a mother praying for her child.

 

[Floris2123]

Melanthios 27AP, 1MP

Melanthios teleported himself to the imperial palace. He saw the generals and advisors walking out of the throne room, all of them on their way to fulfill their orders. He walked into the room, his dark aura hidden within his black robe. Maeglin turned around, his mouth opened wide and it soon turned into a bright smile. "Father you are back." He said walking towards him, Melanthios nodded and hugged his son tightly.

"I am finally back son, I am sorry about leaving like that.. my wound was just too..." Maeglin released the hug and stepped back. "No it's okay Father, I understand." Melanthios placed his hand on Meaglins shoulder and smiled. "I am happy to hear that my son. And I see that you have grown up to be a man, of which a father can be proud." Maeglin smiled brightly, happy that his father was finally back.

"We will talk more later son, for now just keep my reappearance a secret. I do not want my enemies to know I am back." Maeglin nodded, he understood why. "I won't tell anyone Father, you have my word." Melanthios smiled as he took his hand away, "I will be back soon. And Maeglin, I am proud of you." He then turned around and faded. Maeglin was left alone in his throne room, he took a seat on his throne still unable to fully grasp what just happened.

Melanthios appeared in front of Akladai, who was busy reading a book in his library. "Ah Father are you finally done healing?" Melanthios nodded. "You have done a good job with Maeglin, he has grown up to be a worthy son." Akladai stood up and smirked. "Isn't that what you asked me to do Father? Though next time, please give me something to lessen the pain. It was quite intense, I shouldn't have underestimated him like that."

Melanthios nodded, "I will be sure to give you something next time. And what has Valerie been doing for all these age?" Akladai stood up and walked over to Melanthios. "She has continued her studies under Zareth, though I am sure she would be ecstatic to hear of your return. But anyway what is the plan now Father? Crush everyone, wait?" Melanthios seemed to think. "Right know we need to build up our forces, there is no need to fight anyone just yet." Akladai shook his head. "What about.." "MELANTHIOOOOOOOOOOOOOS! COME ON, LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!"

Akladai pointed up at the sky and said. "What about him?" Melanthios smiled. "He can't fight what he can't find now can he?" He focused and called his objects of power to him, he then grabbed them both and teleported. He hadn't started this new age to fight such uninteresting people, all he cared about now where his allies. "Come to me magic, it has been too long since I cast a spell". An confident smile formed on his face, but he didn't want to risk anyone interfering with him.

The only thing he could think of was asking his allies for help. "Greetings friends and allies, it has been a while and I apologize for vanishing so suddenly. I am afraid I had underestimated my wounds, and spend the last 1000 years recovering. I know I have no right to ask this off you, but I humbly request your help with creating a shield around Salustutis. I simply wish to defend my planet from outside attacks, and ensure that my race is safe. " He smiled, he was sure at least one of his allies would help.

He then focused and the magic began to gather around him. The magic began to spread out, and it began to move around the worlds. Slowly forming into a massive shield, one which only Maeglin and himself could control. His wisdom reacted with his magic, which began to spin together with the power of the orb. He focused all of the power around him, he couldn't fail. He wouldn't allow his first action to be a failure, it just couldn't happen!

Spoiler: Actions

Send a message to M'endar, Vantric, Daare, Roe, Zareth.
Difficulty: Effortless

Create a shield around Salustutis
Difficulty: 17
Cost: 3AP, 1 MP
Domains: Arcane magic + 6 (The raw magical power which makes up the shield.) Wisdom + 4 ( The information on how to control the shield, and how to make it.) Creation + 2 (Another important part of the shield, the core from which it is build.)

 

[Pappytech]

Nivix - 30, 2

The madman stood atop his perch, eagerly awaiting an answer. An answer that wasn't going to come, it would seem. Seconds turned into minutes, which in turn became hours, and still Melanthios remained silent. Why, if Nivix didn't know better, he would have sworn that his old partner was ignoring him!

But no, that couldn't be it, now could it? He and the mage had agreed to this fight years ago; there was no way Melanthios would go back on his word, was there? Nah, couldn't be. He was probably just held up by boring business, or he'd lost track of the time, or something along those lines. Yeah, that was it. That had to be it.

Convinced of his reasoning, Nivix allowed himself to finally sit down, to wait in a more comfortable position. Just in time for his mind to begin tingling.

"What."

He could feel Melanthios' power wafting through the cosmos, recharged and ready to do... something to do with Salustutis, apparently. Nivix didn't care enough to work out exactly what was going on. It was apparent that the mage was ignoring him! The nerve!

"I thought we had a deal," the chemister growled to the deserted landscape. "I thought that you at least had the guts to face me, but no. Apparently even that was expecting too much of you, coward, liar, thief."

So be it. If the Melanthios refused to come to him, then the madman would have to go to the fool.

A crackle of electricity filled the air, and Nivix vanished.

[hr]

Nivix irritably paced along in front of the throne, heedless of the Deus Filli guards that were mustering all around him. It hadn't exactly been difficult to find the chief palace on Salustutis; you just couldn't hide a building with that many spires, arches, buttresses, and gold-leaf, after all. Locating Melanthios, on the other hand... Yeah, that was proving to be a bit of a challenge. The bastard had apparently seen fit to vacate his royal housing, and had been smart enough to not leave behind any trace of where he'd gone.

"Stand down, invader, or die!"

Tilting his head, Nivix appraised the (Judging by his ornate armor, high-ranking) guard that stood before him, the one with a grimace on his face and a spear clutched in both hands. The soldier certainly seemed brave enough, he supposed, but he apparently wasn't smart enough to recognize when he was horrifically outclassed. "Yeah, no, not going to do that," Nivix replied, resuming his pacing. He had better things to do then explain his purpose to a mere lackey.

Said lackey apparently didn't take too well to being ignored. Raising a hand, he gestured to the contingent of soldiers behind him. "Take him down!"

Nivix's musings were interrupted as seventeen spears, a dozen arrows, and four magical blasts tore through his body. His flesh was skewered, flayed, torn open, one of his eyes was reduced to a smear of jelly on the ground, and a good gallon of his golden blood splattered to the ground.

"Oi," the madman began, turning to stare at the soldiers, an annoyed glint in his remaining eye, "that was rude. Jeez, so much for hospitality. Brats these days..."

With a flick of his iron hand, Nivix reduced the various weapons impaling him to little more than molten slag. "Now shove off before I do the same to you."

Already healing his injuries, the chemister stalked across the room and plopped himself down into the, admittedly quite impressive, throne. Ignoring the bloodstains he was spreading across the great chair, the god bent his head forward in thought, trying to scope out his next move. He needed to get Melanthios' attention, to draw him out... but how?

...Damn, he really was an idiot sometimes, wasn't he?

Hey, coward. You really need to hire some new guards; these punks didn't even offer to take my coat before sticking a dozen spears in me.

Anyway, feel free to ignore me all you want. But I'm going to track you down, and I'm going to drag you, kicking and screaming if that's how you want to do it, back to our arena. And until I do, I'm going to be sitting here, bleeding all over your precious little throne. Got it?

Spoiler: Actions

Teleport to Salustutis' Throne Room: Effortless
Destroying a few mortal weapons: Effortless
Sending a message to Melanthios: Effortless

Edit: Cancelling the hinder and the Scry.

 

[Floris2123]

Melanthios 27AP, 1MP

Hey, coward. You really need to hire some new guards; these punks didn't even offer to take my coat before sticking a dozen spears in me. Anyway, feel free to ignore me all you want. But I'm going to track you down, and I'm going to drag you, kicking and screaming if that's how you want to do it, back to our arena. And until I do, I'm going to be sitting here, bleeding all over your precious little throne. Got it?

Melanthios face would have twisted in anger, had he not let such emotions behind him a long time ago. The ant comes to play. How uninteresting, still i have to make him face me without damaging this world. Melanthios focused his magic and spoke to Nivix. "You want to fight me right? Well then why don't you, come here instead of attacking innocent mortals. Like I said before I will face you, these are merely preparations for the fight. Of course if you do not want to fight, then by all means continue on your little power trip. If you do want to face me, meet me on the highest mountain top you can find. And if you could stop breaking my shield, I would be happy to oblige your request for a fight." Melanthios looked up at the sky, everything was much clearer from this mountain top.

Spoiler: Actions

Sending a message to Nivix.
Difficulty: Effortless

 

[JoJo]

Roe - 30, 2 and Petal - 7

"I still don't understand why you made another portal. What if monsters come out again?"

Petal fixed her gaze on Roe defiantly and she put her arms around a large white dog which sat next to her, cradling one of it's paws. The young god sighed.

"I made it differently this time so no monsters will be able to find it unless they're really lucky. I've told you why I made it too, it's so mortal heroes get to have an adventure and they get the best reward if they win."

"I've forgotten what the reward is," Petal replied sulkily. Roe looked around furtively as if there might be someone watching and then whispered in his friend's ear. Her eyes widened.

"It's not bad I suppose..."

Roe nodded with a grin and then glanced out of the window, his face suddenly changing to a rare concerned expression.

"There's something bad happening in the Empire, I've got to take a look. Later Pets."

He gave her a quick hug and then ran out of the front door, leaving it wide open. Petal watched him leave and was about to turn back to the injured dog when she heard a distant voice whisper to her from far below in the mortal realms. Like most of the gods she received countless prayers every day, far more than any one being could answer, but this one seemed different somehow. The young demigod could feel it's power even through thousands of miles of empty void. Intrigued, she stepped out of the house and descended towards Salustutis, following the prayer to it's source.

Presently Petal came to a small hut amongst the frozen wastes, half-buried in snow. Through the walls she saw a ragged woman clutching a sickly baby, the other room two other Strye were talking in low voices. She felt deeply sorry for the poor little thing, she remembered only too well what the Wan tribe had done to weak infants two millennia ago.

"I'll help," Petal whispered to the baby and she began to chant under her breath. The house started to rumble and suddenly it's cupboards burst open: mountains of food, drink and toys pouring out from every orifice. The little demigod giggled and then hurriedly stopped when she heard screams coming from inside. She peered in again and was relieved to see that none of the four Styfe were injured, only in a state of shock having found themselves literally up to their necks in new possessions. Petal smiled and then summoned a white flower with her hand, letting it drop onto the mother's head as a final gesture.

Spoiler: Actions

DC 5 - AP 1 - Enchant an area the size of a large room with +4 Compassion (Petal feels sympathy for the mother and child) - Petal quite literally fills the small house with food, drink and toys

 

[Pappytech]

Nivix - 30, 2

He had to wait a surprisingly short time before getting a reply.

You want to fight me right? Well then why don't you you come here instead of attacking innocent mortals. Like I said before I will face you, these are merely preparations for the fight. Of course if you do not want to fight, then by all means continue on your little power trip. If you do want to face me, meet me on the highest mountain top you can find. And if you could stop breaking my shield, I would be happy to oblige your request for a fight.

"Ah, there we go!"

Rising back to his feet, Nivix waved at the company of guardsmen clustering before the throne and pointing their weapons and spells at his grinning visage. "Sorry to bother you; just needed a quick word with your boss. I'll be off then."

As he charged another teleport spell, the god offered the soldiers one parting word of advice. "Oh, you might want to cover your eyes for this next bit. Trust me, being blind can really suck."

[hr]

Nivix had never really realized just how many mountains were on Salustutis. There were a fair few that could be said to be the highest, depending on if you were judging them on their elevation, their actual height, or the structures built on top of them, and it took the madman a few minutes to find the one Melanthios and his kin were stationed on. Still, he found it in the end, and alighted on the mountaintop with his characteristic grin.

"Ah, there you are! Heh, was wondering where you had run off to."

Spoiler: Actions

Cancelling the hinder and the Scry: Effortless
Teleporting to Melanthios' location: Effortless

 

[Terratina.]

M'endaxius - 26/30 AP, 2/2 MP
After a thousand years, there was a crack to be seen in the obsidian cocoon. This crack expanded and heavy breathing could be heard. Shards exploded as an inhuman cry roared. It was a cry for freedom, freedom from this shell that was more of a restriction than anything else. To just lie there for decades as other made their moves, M'endar hated that. It struggled out of the shell and slumped into the floor, reforming as it did so. It stretched, almost like a newborn baby. Though its birth was eons ago, this was its rebirth. Its awakening. M'endar burst out of the chambers in an instant and turned to the Proteans that stood their vigil over the place, then to Ys in the distance. The dream had not been made a reality after all, but something else loomed over the horizon. Whispers, thunder, a storm of secrets. Well, it would match that at a later date. After all, a mortal in the eye of that storm would fall victim to it. And M'endar had a fondness for mortals, in its own way.

It padded the Protean on the back, and turned to the sight of Evalon in the distance. M'endar then asked the Proteans one simple question, "Are you happy?"

An awakening was expected but this? The guards were surprised that the Deceiver itself was addressing simple servants and they all answered without a hint of hesitantion, "Yes."

M'endar inspected them and itself. The wounds had gone, it was whole. But there was a hollow ring to their answer. "Lies!" It hissed, then calmed down, "But we can change that. Do you wish to be happy?"

The Protean mumbled to themselves for a bit, unsure of their patron god's motives and finally replied. Nevertheless, with more conviction this time, "Yes."

M'endar smiled, all was going well. With a more curious tone it asked the Proteans another question. "What is it that you hate? What is it that is making you unhappy?"

The guards answered in turn, "Uncertainty." one said.

Another said, "Fear."

"The storms in the last Age and the one over in the horizon." The elder one said.

Next was the youngest. It bowed its head in shame and said, "My low station."

It went on and on until the last one had said its grievances. M'endar replied, "Everlasting life and happiness are yours if you wish it. Though the process is painful and your survival is not guaranteed... Step up if you agree to this."

All stepped up to the rejuvenated god and the god began to weave its arms about. The Verr screamed out in pain, for once the Deceiver hadn't sugarcoated the situation. They could feel themselves, parts of themselves, being ripped out but a feeling of bliss accompanied the pain, drowning it out. It was a chaotic struggle between pleasure and pain. Some doubted their god as they could feel their very essence being corrupted, but the euphoria overcame the doubt. Everything was okay, they knew that now. Their god would protect them, nurture them and look after them and look after them as long as they walked with the Deceiver. M'endar smiled at the sight of the smiles on the dissolved faces. The next ones would not have to go through the same experience, thankfully, but it would be a similar experience. One of having all your pains and fears being ripped out, only leaving happiness in its wake.

It left them in a cocoon made of darkness and left a message to the changed ones, "Go spread and share your happiness with others, that is my only request."

Then there was the matter of Melanthios's request, "Greetings friends and allies, it has been a while and I apologize for vanishing so suddenly. I am afraid I had underestimated my wounds, and spend the last 1000 years recovering. I know I have no right to ask this off you, but I humbly request your help with creating a shield around Salustutis. I simply wish to defend my planet from outside attacks, and ensure that my race is safe."

It simply answered by sending an orb filled with chaotic power to the planet, hopefully that was where Melanthios was at the moment. He would know what to do with it. There was no doubt about that.

Spoiler: Action(s)/OOC

Grant transmittable immortality of a sort to a small group of mortals. - DC = 11

Bonus(es) - Deception [+4]

(

The immortal strain will deceive themselves into thinking that everything is dandy.

)

- Corruption [+4]

(

However the process corrupts their very essence.

)

- Chaos [+4]

(

The process is chaotic in nature.

)

Assist Melanthios with his action.

Bonus(es) - Chaos [+4]

(

Use the power of Chaos Theory to help create the shield

)