Dawn of Worlds IC 2

[Sudanna]

Rules.

 

OOC and rule changes

 

 

The furnaces of creation have just now gone dark: the birth of the universe is finished. Cast into the void are endless possibilities. Creators and creations to be, sculptors and their clay. Gods and worlds.

 

This is the story of one of those worlds, and four of those gods. It is the Age of the Painter on Czeda, and its masters have come from the stars, bearing creation.

 

Players: Excalibur, Sylae, Tridash, Nalyd.

 

Power

 

Excalibur: 4 + 4 = 8

Sylae: 5 + 2 = 7

Tridash: 6 + 5 = 11

Nalyd: 5 + 2 = 7

 

Turn Format

[size=5]Title [turn ##][/size]
[u]Summary[/u]
[b]Power Available[/b]: [##]
[b]Actions taken[/b]:[list]
[Action name] - [type, ##cost]
[Action name] - [type, ##cost]
[/list]
[b]Power Remaining[/b]: [##]
[b]Running Bonus[/b]: [##]
[u]Actions[/u]
[b][Action name][/b]
[Description of above action]
[Roleplaying/flavour notes, if required]
[b][Action name][/b]
[Description of above action]
[Roleplaying/flavour notes, if required]

[Sudanna]

Xekhemthys [turn 1]

Summary

Power Available: 7

Actions taken:

• Ethereality - [Purify Area, 4 cost]
  
• Life - [shape Climate, 2 cost]
  

Power Remaining: 1

Running Bonus: +1

Actions

Ethereality

Xekhemthys, born of the void, is the first god to touch the world of Czeda. Weary from her travels, she rests in a great inland sea, and washes herself of the astral remnants of creation. The sea is changed by this, becoming tranquil and otherworldly, perhaps a small window into the realms of gods.

 

Life

Xekhemthys turns her gaze from her bath, and is greeted by emptiness. This world is a blank canvas, untouched by any hand. This does not please Xekhemthys - she has traveled long enough through the emptiness of space. Now is the time for vibrance. The land rises up to please this desire, growing a riotous jungle.

 

 

[keira]

Harmony [turn 1]

 

 

Summary

Power Available: 7

Actions taken:

• Chill - Shape Climate, 2 cost
  
• Impact - Shape Land, 3 cost
  

Power Remaining: 2

Running Bonus: +1

 

 

Actions

Chill

We are Harmony, and this world shall become our home. We strike the earth, carrying with us the chill of the great emptiness beyond the stars. Our presence chills the earth where we land, and a barren archipelago becomes a tundra teeming with grasses and mosses. The cold extends outwards, freezing the waters surrounding our new home.

 

Impact

Although we are still weak from our slumber and have yet to manifest a physical form, our sudden presence jars the land, and a great swath of earth is thrust upward, becoming an inhospitable mountain range rich in ores and minerals. The planet's inner heat is quickly subdued by our chill, but in many places it cannot be completely shut out. Cold and Hot combine, and rivers rush down the mountains, carving a path through tundra and ice.

 

[Callie]

Eraklisse [Turn 1]

 

Summary

 

Power Available: 8

Actions Taken:

• Erupt - [shape Land, 3 cost]
  
• Wrath - [Corrupt Area, 3 cost]
  
• Rain - [shape Climate, 2 cost]
  

Power Remaining: 0

Running Bonus: +1

 

Actions

 

Erupt

Eraklisse reluctantly arises from the oblivion. She peers down malevolently at the blank form of Czeda and shouts, "What dares to awaken me from eternal slumber?" A hissing fissure ruptures from the vacuous wastes. Lava spurts forth and violently forms a small hill. The ground cries in anguish as a mountain rises ominously over the wastes. Then, suddenly, the lava ceases and the peak solidifies with an unnerving *crack*. Eraklisse fumes at her new creation.

 

Wrath

Still enraged, Eraklisse casts her hand at the mountain. Sparks coelese into a ball of lightning, casting a dark cloud over the mountain. The newly formed obsidian trembles as raw power rains down and churns the earth. Eraklisse's wrath stains the hillsides a sickening brown.

 

Rain

Eraklisse feels a strange, calming warmth. The lightning subsides and rain tumbles down the mountain. It pools and begins to meander aimlessly across the wastes until finding its way to a bay. Water continues to flow forth from the mountain; Eraklisse is pleased.

 

Map:

[tridash]

Caud [turn 1]

Summary

Power Available: 11

Actions taken:

• 
  Genesis - [shape Climate, 4 cost]
  Protect - [shape Land, 6 cost]
  

Power Remaining: 1

Running Bonus: +1

 

Actions

Genesis

In time, there will come a people who will look back to their beginnings and the beginnings of Czeda. They will pass down legends that seek to contain and to explain that which is far beyond their understanding. They may tell of how, coiled tightly between the worlds, there lies another plane of existence, a writhing, formless realm, constantly made and remade by an infinity of tormented creators. And that Caud emerged from there.

 

Caud pauses for a moment (or perhaps for an eternity?), revelling in the stillness of the nascent world. There is much to be done. It wonders if allowing one facet of creation dominance over the lands is wise. A new type of tree, pointed and reaching to the sky, is laid down to the south of the mirror of the gods.

 

Protect

Caud realises that the jungle to the north would be suited to the warmth of the lands covered by the new forests. Seeds carried by the winds or by other creators may take hold and reshape the new lands. Caud forces the shell of Czeda into itself, raising mighty mountains and making the lands too chill and ragged for other plants to grow.

 

[Sudanna]

The Second Era of the Age of the Painter

 

Power rolls for Round 2, Bold number is the grand total, including running bonus and saved points.

 

Excalibur: 5 + 6 + 1 = 12

Sylae: 1 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 7

Tridash: 2 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 5

Nalyd: 2 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 6

[Callie]

Eraklisse [Turn 2]

 

Summary

Power Available: 12

Actions Taken:

• Tectonics - [shape Land, 3 cost]
  
• Liquify - [shape Climate, 2 cost]
  
• Rain x 2 - [shape Climate, 4 cost]
  
• Sow - [shape Climate, 2 cost]
  

Power Remaining: 1

Running Bonus: +2

 

Actions

 

Tectonics

Eraklisse is invigorated with power. She grabs corners of Czeda in mighty hand and pushes the landmasses together. The earth rumbles and quakes as mountains rise up from the landscape. The unholy mountain that witnessed her birth is no longer alone.

 

Sow

Eraklisse conjures all manner of grasses and lumbering bison. The grasses take form and germinate; the bison begin to tread across the newly formed plains. A golden sheen waves gloriously in the gentle breeze. From one end to another, all in sight is a sea of grass.

 

Liquify

Eraklisse turns her eyes northward. The lone river meandering against a forested backdrop does not please her. She roars and the seas angrily invade the land. Bright green scum forms across the shallow water, joined by herbaceous bushes casting wide, tangled roots. Strange creatures lurk atop the water, eating fish that wiggle below.

 

Rain (x2)

"What is the meaning of all this?" laments Eraklisse. She forms soft, pillowy clouds that then darken into storms. Rain falls about the mountains to the north and south. The forests and plains swell with new-found rivers that tirelessly run towards the sea. Drainage basins are formed; perhaps someday a great civilization will live among the rivers.

 

Map:

[Sudanna]

Xekhemthys [turn 2]

Summary

Power Available: 6

Actions taken:

• 
  Travel - [shape Climate, 2 cost]
  Hidden Places - [shape Land, 3 cost]
  

Power Remaining: 1

Running Bonus: +2

Actions

Travel

Xekhemthys, rested and calm, rises from the lake, and walks the world that will be her new home. The jungles woven from her will please her; More will rise around her as she wanders.

Hidden Places

Xekhemthys has affinities for many things, but first among these are the stars and the void. The hidden depths of space were her first home, and the lands raised to her pleasure possess hidden depths as well. This jungle is one of many sudden cliffs and treacherous ravines, of shaded overhangs and secret caves, and many hidden lakes. Creatures beautiful and deadly stalk this rough land, and Xekhemthys keeps their secrets.

 

 

[keira]

Harmony [turn 2]

 

 

Summary

Power Available: 7

Actions taken:

• Harmonious Ice - Purify Area, 4 cost
  
• Evaporate - Shape Climate, 2 cost
  

Power Remaining: 1

Running Bonus: +2

 

 

Actions

Harmonious Ice

We rest for a time on these islands, our unmanifested spirit draping ourselves across the tundra. The land and climate become attuned to our spirit, charged with the energy of the great emptiness beyond the stars. Crystals of ice begin to form across the land, and the chill becomes even more biting. For beings used to the warmth of the sun this is inhospitable, but for Harmony this is serenity.

 

Evaporate

The change in climate has begun to effect nearby lands of this planet. To the west, the area has become sapped of moisture and dries out, becoming a vast desert.

 

Edited June 14, 2014 by sylae
correction on power

[tridash]

Caud [turn 2]

Summary

Power Available: 5

Actions taken:

• Fold - [shape Land, 3 cost]
  

Power Remaining: 2

Running Bonus: +2

 

Actions

Fold

Caud, still drained from earlier exertions, struggles as it folds the skin of Czeda to extend the mountain range eastward. No more can be done for now; Caud must simply wait for more power to leak through from the beyond.

 

[Sudanna]

The Third Era of the Age of the Painter

 

Power rolls for Round 3.

 

Excalibur: 4 + 6 + 1 + 2 = 13

Sylae: 2 + 2 + 1 + 2 = 7

Tridash: 6 + 6 + 2 + 2 = 16

Nalyd: 1 + 6 + 1 + 2 = 10

[Callie]

Eraklisse [Turn 3]

 

Summary

Power Available: 13

Actions Taken:

• Deciduous Growth - [shape Climate, 2 cost]
  
• Tectonics x2 - [shape Land x2, 6 cost]
  
• Shrubbery - [shape Climate, 2 cost]
  
• Flood - [shape Climate, 2 cost]
  

Power Remaining: 1

Running Bonus: +3

 

Actions

 

Deciduous Growth

Eraklisse turns her eye to the southwest. Tall trees sprout from the earth, forming a shady layer underneath. She alternates the rain so that the trees cyclically wither and blossom. Parrots caw and monkeys howl amongst the canopy; creatures lurk beneath the dense leaf litter. Eraklisse smiles as she adds carnivorous felines to the mixture. "Just a pinch of carnage," she says wryly.

 

Tectonics

Mountains thrust through the blank edges of the dry forest. Boulders tumble, fracture, and shatter. A cacophony of din reverberates throughout the southern hemisphere of Czeda. She smirks, "...and a pinch of music."

 

Shrubbery

"I require a shrubbery," jokes Eraklisse. Thousands of shurbs struggle as they push upwards towards Czeda's sun. Lizards bask in the sun as rabbits hop in and out of the bushes. The sun relentlessly drowns the landscape in light, complimenting the more arid regions to the east.

 

Flood

"...and a drink," she adds. The waters race up the lengths of the blank wastes. Mangroves cast unruly roots into the murky water. Other trees attempt to choke each other as they rise toward the skies. Crocodiles and strange fishes lurk beneath the bright green algae and scum. A plethora of bird life warbles in the shelter of the trees.

 

Map:

[Sudanna]

Xekhemthys [turn 3]

Summary

Power Available: 10

Actions taken:

• 
  Bridge - [shape Climate, 2 cost]
  Four Siblings - [shape Land, 3 cost]
  

Power Remaining: 5

Running Bonus: +3

Actions

Bridge

Xekhemthys steps across the shallow sea between her jungle and the crescent island. The jungle is loathe to see its mistress go, and its essence clings around her ankles. Great wandering islands of living plants, some of them miles wide, now dot the sea.

 

Four Siblings

There are four gods on this world, that have chosen it as their home. They share the bonds of lordship and creation, and must share this world as well. Though they have not spoken, Xekhemthys raises four desert mesas in their names and hers, as a gesture of respect.

 

[tridash]

Caud [turn 3]

Summary

Power Available: 16

Actions taken:

• Leak - [shape Land, 3 cost; Shape Climate, 2 cost]
  
• Contain - [Corrupt Area, 3 cost]
  
• Shield - [Purify Area, 4 cost]
  

Power Remaining: 4

Running Bonus: +3

 

Actions

Leak

Power seeps through, restoring Caud, but with it come memories of a dead reality from long ago and far in the future. Fire and smoke burst from one of the isles, cleansing the land and laying down a blanket of fine ash. A river of lava flows lazily down from the crater left behind.

 

Contain

Caud barely manages to restrict the eruption to the island, the sky nearly choked by ash. The island is lost for now, though; there the fabric of the world is worn too thin, nothingness too close.

 

Shield

Fearing further leaks of power, Caud strengthens its hold on the world, focussing its consciousness on the mesa raised in its honour.

 

[keira]

Harmony [turn 3]

 

 

Summary

Power Available: 7

Actions taken:

• Harmony Flat - Purify Area, 4 cost
  
• Tribute - Shape Climate, 2 cost
  

Power Remaining: 1

Running Bonus: +3

 

 

Actions

Harmony Flat

We send part of our presence to one of the mesas, chilling it much like our islands. We spent an eternity alone in the great emptyness beyond the stars, we are pleased at the opportunity to come together with others.

 

Tribute

We turn our attention to the currents of the oceans, tweaking them to bring warmth to the shores of the eastern landmass. Although we are unfamiliar with the concept, eventually we sow the seeds of a jungle much like that to the north. We reach out our presence, speaking to all who may listen, unsure if they can hear in spite of our as-yet unmanifested presence: "Being of trees and warmth, you bring honor to Harmony. Please accept these jungle as a token of appreciation"

 

[Sudanna]

The Fourth Era of the Age of the Painter

 

Power rolls for Round 4.

 

Excalibur: 6 + 1 + 1 + 3 = 11

Sylae: 3 + 5 + 1 + 3 = 12

Tridash: 4 + 6 + 4 + 3 = 17

Nalyd: 6 + 3 + 5 + 3 = 17

[Callie]

Eraklisse [Turn 4]

 

Summary

Power Available: 11

Actions Taken:

• Rain x2 [shape Climate x2, 4 cost]
  
• Decorate [Corrupt Area, 3 cost]
  
• Savanna x2 [shape Climate x2, 4 cost]
  

Power Remaining: 0

Running Bonus: +3

 

Actions

 

Rain

Once again, Eraklisse casts here eye upon the southwest and scatters storm clouds among its midst. Rivers gently leap over stones and through trees until their release unto the sea. Animals gather to drink of the cool mountain runoff and plants of all varieties grow along the banks.

 

Decorate

Eraklisse turns to the mesa in her honor. She unleashes her existential wrath and the mesa changes into a more suitable color. The mesa has now acquired the unholy brown hue of her birth mountain.

 

Savanna

Eraklisse looks south of the unholy mountain and witnesses jungle growths merged with a blank face. She scatters grasses and sparse trees across the land. Giraffes and their like walk across the landscape.

 

Map:

[Sudanna]

Xekhemthys [turn 4]

Summary

Power Available: 17

Actions taken:

• 
  Easy Seasons - [shape Climate, 2 cost]
  Roughening - [shape Landx2, 6 cost]
  Excision - [Corrupt Area, 3 cost]
  Partnership - [shape Climate, 2 cost]
  

Power Remaining: 4

Running Bonus: +3

Actions

Easy Seasons

Xekhemthys watches and waits, allowing her companions on this world to make what they will of her offering. The crescent island is filled with tall grasses and warm winds, reflecting her peace. It will be an accommodating land in ages to come.

 

Roughening

To her pleasure, her fellow gods accept her symbol, and make the mesas into their homes. Xekhemthys absentmindedly mounds the earth around her as she watches them work, transforming plains into rolling hills.

 

Excision

Xekhemthys waits until the last to take her place among the mesas. Her seat in this world will be a reminder of her beginnings, a place of void. She drains the place of color and life, making an emptiness where none can walk easy. It is a place of grim stillness, and at its heart, the light of neither sun nor star can reach. She comes here to meditate and find peace in the emptiness.

 

Partnership

But it is not yet time for that. The words of the Harmony, faintly heard through the ether, reach her ears, and their gift is well appreciated. In turn, Xekhemthys chooses to please them - a great sheet of ice, as the Harmony seem to favor, spreads over the last untouched continent, edging up to the banks of its inland sea.

 

[keira]

Harmony [turn 4]

 

 

Summary

Power Available: 12

Actions taken:

• Northern Frost - Shape Climate, 2 cost
  
• Barrier - Shape Land, 3 cost
  
• Ascent - Shape Land, 3 cost
  

Power Remaining: 4

Running Bonus: +3

 

 

Actions

Northern Frost

Harmony travels north, to the newly-created ice sheet. We extend our chill onto the ground south of this sheet of ice, chilling into a tundra much like that created by our first arrival.

 

Barrier

This island is too large for us to claim it all, however. We extend our force downwards, pulling up a wall of frost-covered mountains to divide the rest of the island.

 

Ascent

One mountain in particular reaches far into the heavens, its peak far above the clouds and permanently surrounded by eternal biting wind and chill.

 

[tridash]

Caud [turn 4]

Summary

Power Available: 17

Actions taken:

• Spread - [shape Climate, 2 cost; Shape Climate, 2 cost]
  
• Discourage - [shape Climate x 2, 4 cost]
  
• Evaporate - [shape Land, 3 cost; Shape Climate, 2 cost]
  
• Contrast - [shape Land, 3 cost]
  

Power Remaining: 1

Running Bonus: +3

Actions

 

Caud's presence stabilised, it returns to work. With a tighter grip on the reality of Czeda, more ambitious works are surely in reach.

 

Spread

Caud spreads forests north-east along the mountain range. In the icy cold of the highest peaks, though, stunted trees shrivel and die, leaving only patches of grass and hardy undergrowth.

 

Discourage

Caud cools the land north of the forest, making conditions as harsh as those atop mountains. Even the most desperate of life-forms have little hope of survival here.

 

Evaporate

Caud turns back to the west of the volcano. Rain flows from the mountains of ice, flooding the land below; waves reach from the sea to drown the southern part of the continent. This is but temporary. Caud brings to bear a great heat, melting only a little of the northerly ice, evaporating the water and leaving behind a vast salt flat.

 

Contrast

Caud raises a single mountain as in island in this bleak landscape, visible for miles around.

 

[Sudanna]

The Fifth Era of the Age of the Painter

 

Power rolls for Round 5.

 

Excalibur: 6 + 4 + 0 + 3 = 13

Sylae: 6 + 5 + 4 + 3 = 18

Tridash: 3 + 5 + 1 + 3 = 12

Nalyd: 3 + 3 + 4 + 3 = 13

[keira]

Harmony [turn 5]

 

 

Summary

Power Available: 18

Actions taken:

• Build Up - 0 cost
  

Power Remaining: 18

Running Bonus: 0

 

 

Actions

Build Up

We are Harmony. We feel the eternal sands of time blowing endlessly, but now they feel...different. Great change is coming. We collect our power and wait. We waited an eternity in the great emptiness beyond the stars, we can wait a short time more. We are Harmony, and we will be ready for a new Age.

 

[Callie]

Eraklisse [turn 5]

 

Summary

Power Available: 13

Actions Taken:

• Tectonics x2 [shape Land x2, 6 cost]
  
• Evaporate [shape Climate, 2 cost]
  
• Rain x2 [shape Climate x2, 4 cost]
  

Power Remaining: 1

Running Bonus: +3

 

Actions

 

Tectonics

Eraklisse waves one of her arms and mountains thrust up from the land. The skies eerily tear as the taller peaks force their way into the reaches of the atmosphere. One lone mountain listlessly sits further south.

 

Evaporate

The newly formed mountains have created a rain shadow sandwiched between the new peaks and the southern savanna. Rolling sand dunes migrate across the land over the course of eons. Hardy lizards and snakes slither and crawl in their midst.

 

Rain

"I am the god of the rivers," declares Eraklisse. Clouds coalesce and nestle amongst the peaks, depositing snow that eventually melts and makes its way to the sea. A roaring river is formed from four large tributaries. One of the rivers pools and sinks its way into the underlying water table.

 

Map:

[Sudanna]

Xekhemthys [turn 5]

Summary

Power Available: 13

Actions taken:

• 
  Roughening - [shape Land, 3 cost]
  Spores - [shape Climatex2, 4 cost]
  Hunger - [Corrupt Areax2, 6 cost]
  

Power Remaining: 0

Running Bonus: +3

Actions

Roughening

Xekhemthys travels to the last dead place on this world. As her will was the first to touch it, her will paints in its last empty corner. The land clenches in on itself, and hills and cliffs and rivers rise from nothing.

 

Spores

The mushrooms and molds that feed from death and rot interest Xekhemthys. Theirs is a way different from the other plants on this world. They deserve a place of their own. Xekhemthys blesses their spores, and gives them one. They bloom into a chaotic new jungle.

 

Hunger

The fungal bloom is always hungry. and always trying to spread. It produces spores in abundance, and grows into everything it can. The river, the fur of animals, and even living flesh. Unless carefully guarded against, the fungus consumes everything in this land.

 

[tridash]

Caud [turn 5]

Summary

Power Available: 12

Actions taken:

• Hew - [shape Land, 3 cost]
  
• Levitate - [Corrupt Area, 3 cost]
  
• Shroud - [shape Climate, 2 cost]
  
• Prepare - [Purify Area, 4 cost] [mesa now at +2]
  

Power Remaining: 0

Running Bonus: +3

 

Actions

Hew

Far to the northeast, in the emptiness of the wastes, Caud pulls a fragment of rock from the earth, forming a lone mountain.

 

Levitate

Caud raises the mount still further. The roots of the mountain split from the earth as Czeda roars out as if in pain. But it is in the nature of the mountain to reach up from the earth, not down from the sky, and it is only with great difficulty that Caud holds the great rock at bay. Out of desperation, Caud blurs the boundaries of Czeda here, relaxing the rules of reality. But echoes of another past, another time remain, polluting the stone itself.

 

Shroud

Caud hides this dangerous place from those above and below, wrapping it in a layer of clouds. That even the creatures of the sky may be barred, a perpetual hailstorm falls around the mountain, a carapace of wind-borne ice.

 

Prepare

A new age is dawning, and Caud further cements its presence in readiness. Formless things ripple through the mesa, as if the rock itself were alive.

 

[Sudanna]

The First Era of the Age of the Sculptor

 

Czeda is remade. The blank canvas is now a world of vivid colors, granted by the power of its divine tetrarchy. It is the home to beauty and terror, life and stark desolation, but no corner of it is empty. An age has ended, but the power of the gods is far from spent. There are greater dimensions to a world than what has yet been realized, new avenues of creation that will now come to the fore. It is the Age of the Sculptor on Czeda, and the world is soon to have new masters.

 

Power rolls for Round 6.

 

Excalibur: 5 + 4 + 1 + 3 = 13

Sylae: 4 + 4 + 18 + 0 = 26

Tridash: 6 + 4 + 0 + 3 = 13

Nalyd: 4 + 2 + 0 + 3 = 9

[Callie]

Eraklisse [turn 6]

 

Summary

Power Available: 13

Actions Taken:

• Corporeal Form [Create Avatar, 7 cost]
  
• Mold [Command Avatar, 1 cost]
  
• Archery [Advance Civilization, 5 cost]
  

Power Remaining: 0

Running Bonus: +3

 

Actions

 

Corporeal Form

Eraklisse wishes to take a recognizable form on Czeda; she shapes her image into a giant stone golem atop the unholy mountain. The avatar lumbers and screeches as its stone joints grind against each other.

 

Mold

The first action the golem takes is to mold a new race of creatures. They are tall and furry, with a catlike appearance; they are the nephilim (aligned neutral). Eraklisse fashions them a city among the confluence of rivers, and the confluence of forest, plain, and marsh. They gather an name their first city Mrrnr.

 

Archery

Eraklisse bestows upon the nephilim an advanced knowledge of missile weapons. No other being on Czeda can rival a nephilim with a bow.

 

Map:

[tridash]

Caud [turn 6]

Summary

Power Available: 13

Actions taken:

• Refresh - [Lend Power to Eraklisse for Command Race (Found City), 4 cost]
  
• Incarnation - [Create Avatar (Visage), 7 cost]
  
• Spire of the Traveller - [Command Avatar (Create Order), 1 cost]
  

Power Remaining: 1

Running Bonus: +3

 

Actions

 

Refresh

Eraklisse's gaze briefly turned away, the golem's construction of the city flags. Caud floods the avatar with power that it might complete the settlement, for it has plans for Mrrnr and the nephilim.

 

Incarnation

A cloaked figure emerges from beneath the mesa, a long canoe carved from desert rock balanced upon its shoulder. It drops its hood to reveal a multifaceted head of sweeping arcs and impossible angles. Trudging across the desert, the fractal infinity of the face seems to shift as the avatar walks.

 

Spire of the Traveller

Caud sends Visage to take the guise of the Traveller. The avatar sets the boat down at the edge of the great ocean, to begin a voyage of which mortals would have told legends had there been any to see. In time (it is hard to tell precisely how long the journey takes, for there are no mortals to see, and the pantheon have a notoriously poor grasp of the passage of time below) Visage reaches the lands of the nephilim.

 

Hooded, Visage finally lays down the canoe as a mighty standing stone just to the north or Mrrnr. Word spreads throughout the nephilim of the Traveller who walks among them, and of the lands that the spire points to.

 

[[no map changes]]

[Sudanna]

Xekhemthys [turn 6]

Summary

Power Available: 9

Actions taken:

• 
  Synthesis - [Create Race, 6 cost]
  Concentration - [Corrupt Area, 2 cost]
  

Power Remaining: 1

Running Bonus: +3

Actions

Synthesis

Xekhemthys brought the first life to this world, and it is a life that her fellow gods have taken to well. The titanic trees of the jungle are cousin to the shrubs of the desert and the grasses of the savannah and the dry pines of the mountains. Plants life spreads everywhere on this world, even beneath the sea. There is no reason, Xekhemthys says, for it to not spread further still.

 

The goddess commands her green children to come together as one, and from the seafloor to the mountains, they respond. Winds carry the seeds of every plant to Xekhemthys, and she binds them all into one. "This child," she says "Will be every child." And casts the singular seed into the air, to land among the living islands.

 

It sprouts, one day, and what comes forth is not a plant but a being. The first of the Lotivinea. It is a creature of twisting vines and taut, rolled leaves, of beautiful flowers and gnarled wood. A melange of plants, a golem made of green life. Tall and strong, it stretches its legs, unfurls its tendrils, and looks out upon its home.

 

(The Lotivinea are plant people. About nine feet tall, sturdy, generally bipedal, genderless, slow to grow and slow to reproduce. They're mostly made of coiled vines, with a few flowers around the head and neck. However, they are physically very diverse. Many have bark or wood or needles or Venus flytrap-esque parts of their bodies, or anything else you might find on a plant. Additionally, the specific arrangement of a Lotivinea body is almost always unique. They can see and speak through orifices on their heads, but generally do not have sharply delineated organs. They can survive on nothing but sunlight and water, but if being especially active, they need to eat things or risk going dormant for a long time. By trapping or expelling air, they can control their buoyancy, and are just as at home beneath the water as above it. They are not very social, but aren't solitary either. Most are part of tribes or other groups based around which floating island they live on. They live seemingly indefinitely, but take a very long time to mature, have very vulnerable young, and their seeds only rarely sprout.)

 

Concentration

Xekhemthys has meditated too long in the Black Abbey, with her attention on her new child. She strays too close to this reality, and it warps to suit her nature even more. Nothing lives on this mesa now, and visitors cannot stay long. The air is always still and thin, the sun always dim, and those that enter its black heart seldom emerge sane.

(Black Abbey now at -2 alignment)

 

[keira]

Harmony [turn 6]

 

 

Summary

Power Available: 26

Actions taken:

• Manifest - Create race, 6 cost (+1 Purity); Purify City, 3 cost
  
• Spread - Command race, 4 cost; Purify City, 3 cost, Purify area, 3 cost
  
• Contemplate - Purify Civ, 3 cost
  

Power Remaining: 3

Running Bonus: +1

 

 

Actions

Manifest

The wind of countless eons blows across the tundra as we build strength. An eternity later, we are finally ready to enter this world. A mass of crystalline rock thrusts itself up out of the ground, clouds of frost coming off in waves as it rises up into the sky. A single, massive structure, its face marred with many tiny cracks. Tiny for the rock, but for earthly beings each crack is a massive jagged cave leading into a great cavern network. It is in this network, deep in the center of the bone-chilling freeze, a place known simply as Insijaam, where Harmony first appears.

 

 

 

Harmony is a single hive mind from beyond the dimmest stars of the night sky. It manifests itself as countless beings, each composed of many crystalline pieces of ice and rock held aloft, called Shards. Each Shard is a component of Harmony's single mind, and while they can act autonomously, it is only a fragment of Harmony's personality and existence, and require "re-synchronization" every few years if left in this state for too long. Unless separated, Shards think and act as one united force. Contrary to popular belief, there is no central "Queen" Shard or central node, Harmony is distributed among all of the Shards.

 

Shards primarily act using the presence of their underlying mental being, and are typically physically weak. Shards are fragile and break easily, and rely heavily upon their climate to protect them. They inherently carry with them the chill of their original home, and even being near a Shard fills most beings with a biting cold. They do not handle warmer climates well, and have to chill the air around them in warm climates to survive. This causes them to tire quickly, thus Harmony tends to stick to polar areas.

 

They appear as a small grouping of ice and rock crystals around a small central concentration of whitish-blue spirit energy. The crystals they control glow a deep blue that intensifies during heavy exertion. Each Shard has a unique configuration and position of their component crystals, acting as a simple fingerprint for outsiders to identify individual Shards.

 

All Shards have the power of basic telekinesis, used for moving itself and manipulating objects nearby. Being floating chunks of rock and ice, they possess no sensory or other organs. They detect their surroundings passively through their mental presence, and can communicate with other Shards (and separate beings) by way of thought. They 'speak' in feelings and thoughts, and have only a primitive grasp of spoken and written language.

 

Harmony does not eat or sleep, but Shards must rest to regain energy, or obtain some from another being. Most Shards live in great cavern-cities, seldom coming to the surface. This gives the uninformed the impression that Shards are few in number. Although they number less than most races, this is not to the extreme that most believe.

 

Harmony is often regarded as a solitary being, but takes a great curiosity in the world and its component species. It often sends out single Shards to study the land from cold, high-altitude air, and occasional adventurers may stumble across remote caves coated in ice, where a single Shard has made its home. Some primitive tribes of outsiders have established relations with Shards, trading the boon of year-round reliable cold for knowledge of the world.

 

Harmony strives to maintain peace with all, and carries within itself the patience of countless eons in the emptiness beyond the stars, and will often use this to its advantage. It will only use force as a last resort, and then only to protect itself or another being. (Starting +1 purity)

 

 

 

 

The Shards in Insijaam push some of their spirit into the rocks, chilling it and infusing the stone with harmonious order (Insijaam now at +2 purity).

 

Spread

We assemble a great many Shards and send ourselves north, to the great mountain we made some time ago. We bury ourselves in caverns at the top of its mighty peak, forming another cavern-city to live in. At this site we also infuse the rocks, and give it a name: Soulad

 

(We forgot to do a purify area several turns ago and thought we did, but it looks like that didn't happen, even though the map showed it did. We do so now, bringing Soulad to +2 purity and the tundra to +1)

 

Contemplate

As we settle into Insijaam and Soulad, we concentrate our thoughts introspectively. Our period of thought lasts many years, and in the end we emerge more pure than before (Harmony to +2)

 

[Sudanna]

The Second Era of the Age of the Sculptor

 

Power rolls for Round 7.

 

Excalibur: 6 + 4 + 0 + 3 = 13

Sylae: 1 + 2 + 3 + 1 = 1

Tridash: 3 + 1 + 1 + 3 = 8

Nalyd: 5 + 6 + 0 + 3 = 14

[keira]

Harmony [turn 7]

 

 

Summary

Power Available: 1

Actions taken:

• none
  

Power Remaining: 1

Running Bonus: +2

 

 

Actions

(none taken due to error in t6, leaving one point for this turn. )

 

[tridash]

Caud [turn 7]

Summary

Power Available: 8

Actions taken:

• Journey of the Traveller - [Command Avatar (Command Order (Create City)), 1 cost]
  
• Offerings - [Purify City (Hssnr), 3 cost]
  

Power Remaining: 4

Running Bonus: +3

 

Actions

Journey of the Traveller

Visage remains in the shadows of Mrrnr, spreading Caud's message. The nephilim hear tales of the coming Travels, of the greatness that could be their descendants'. Some begin to lay down offerings at the standing stone, surreptitiously at first but soon more brazen in their defiance of Eraklisse.

 

Mere decades after its arrival, Visage has enough followers to move on, to begin the first of the Travels. Eraklisse distracted elsewhere, Visage leads a caravan of nephilim north of Mrrnr. It is a long and gruelling journey, through hostile lands and barren mountains, but in time they reach the shores of a remarkable lake. Here the travelling nephilim believe themselves closer to the gods, and so choose it as their new home, calling the city Hssnr.

 

Offerings

On the shores of the inland sea, the work of the nephilim is blessed, and in return they offer up their greatest works, sending laden rafts into the great lake.

 

[Callie]

Eraklisse [turn 7]

 

Summary

 

Power Available: 13

Actions Taken:

• Xenomorph - [Create Race, 6 cost]
  
• Will of the Tower - [Command Avatar: Command Race, 1 cost]
  
• Fungal Magicks - [Advance Civilization, 5 cost]
  

Power Remaining: 1

Running Bonus: +3

 

Actions:

Xenomorph

Eraklisse molds an odd shape from the hungry fungal bloom. It is a creature laden with a mushroom-like body atop many tentacle-like appendages. She calls this new race the Mycelium (aligned neutral). The Mycelium are a fungal creature whose only means of perceiving Czeda is a form of echolocation. They can communicate by grinding specialized organs on their sensory tentacles. No other race has developed the capability of deciphering their strange noises.

 

As fungal creatures, the Mycelium form a symbiotic relationship with the fungal bloom. The fungal bloom provides protection, and in return, the Mycelium nurture the fungus and ward off would-be predators and intruders. Some races believe that the Mycelium can even communicate with the fungus, but it is not known if there is any veracity to that claim.

 

Mycelium feed off of dying fungal blooms. They are slow to reproduce; the act of mating itself requires the Mycelium to interlock tentacles for a period of months (they only need to eat several times a year). Young mycelium remain in a sentient spore state for several years until undergoing a metamorphosis that results in an adolescent Mycelium without tentacles. They are helpless in this state, and must grow their tentacles over a period of fifty years. Once they reach adulthood (the point at which they have fifty tentacles), the Mycelium are initiated by means of a bizarre ceremony that resembles a dance. Mycelium live to be five hundred years or more; once death takes it toll, it is every Mycelium's duty to become one with the sacred fungus.

 

Mycelium are soft, fleshy beings, and as such, are extremely vulnerable to the blade. Were it not for the fungus protecting them, they would likely perish to warfare. The Mycelium are capable of regenerating tentacles, but not the mushroom-like body.

 

Will of the Tower

The stone golem atop the holy mountain awakens. The nameless one gathers its strength and aids the Mycelium in the construction of a massive spore tower. It gathers the fungus and molds them a home in the shape of a giant mushroom with a fattened stalk. The spore tower consists of many interconnected burrows and hallways--a true labyrinth. As their home is a living organism, the Mycelium must gently tend to the structure.

 

Fungal Magicks

Eraklisse imbues the Mycelium with the ability to mold the fungus around them. The Mycelium can now expend energy to telekinetically construct barriers or strangle invaders.