"Not desire. Fact. Death shall. See. There is no need. Yet. Shall see. But not yet."
With no other words, the Empty removes its form from Azdan's sight.
Yidhra rotated through space a few times, considering Azdan's words. The dead wanted to have things come back from death? That made no sense at all - and she loved it for precisely that reason. She had no intention of allowing her own servants to die, mainly because she wanted them with her, but if it was creating another paradox for others...
The goddess looked at the world for a few moments, and the land shuddered under her unknowable gaze. "Let those who know death fear it..." she said firmly, waving her finger at the world like a stern schoolteacher. "But not fear coming back!"
Melehan senses the change to the universe and that death is no longer the final end it was. And that Azdan and Yhidra were responsible. He calls to the both of them.
"STAND BEFORE ME!"
When they appear before him, his previously calm expression is creased with rage.
"You have brought the concept of undeath back to the universe. Why?"
Yidhra pointed at Azdan. "He said to." the Goddess of Paradoxes noted. "Also because he was threatening to kill my friends if I didn't. Why, is undeath bad?" You were alive, you were dead, you were undead, you were re-dead... in the end, they'd all likely end up in the same spot anyway. These death gods were remarkably grabby when it came to the things they liked... though, in fairness, she was much the same.
Azdan does not appear just when called. Instead, he speaks into darkness, and his voice emerges from the shadows.
"The creation of the undead is most reasonable, brother. Yidhra spoke immortality into Her most loyal believers. In doing so She crossed from Her authority into Mine. It cannot be that the rest of you impose on My domain thusly, when I do not tread on yours. As such, I deferred to Her protection of Her chosen few. They will not be touched by My shadow, not by disease or ancient years, not by the ravages of their vices or the poisons of the earth. Not even by the sword or spell, unless the wielder of the sword is a divine appointee in service to one of us."
The Lord at the End looks from his shadow plane and locks eyes with both Yidhra and Melehan. "As payment for this sleight, the Mother of Madness has created the paradox of life-in-death. The undead will serve Me in the enforcement of death. Where mortals cheat death, I will send those who enforce my edicts. Aeon will be pleased to know that when death is premature, I will also dispense justice against those who claim power over it without my authority."
When Death grins, it is chilling. He is polite, having no reason to be otherwise, but his words are firm. His smile is forced. "Remember that we are equals brother. I did not soil Your authority, I merely defended My own. I ask You not to be wroth toward Yidhra. She created undeath at My request, and paid back Her offense against Me. You worry that undeath will become the scourge you fought against last time, but in that world, undeath was used to mock mortality. I despised it as much as you. All that remains is for Her to give this paradox fully to Me. If undeath is Mine alone, your task is easier, and any remaining ire You feel should be directed toward Me. I will accept responsibility for undeath, and also the blame."
Azdan's gaze never wavers. In the eyes of mortals, two pinpoints in the blackness of space become known as the Eyes of Death. Souls pass from the world, into his cloak, and arrive in the Amaranthine.
"Please, the both of you. Tell Me we are past this. Undeath is My tool alone, and Yidhra should not be charged with offending you. If anyone owes you a debt for this action, let it be Me."
"Undeath stands in direct opposition to the natural order of things, the order you declared yourself, brother. Death is the inevitable outcome of any life. To allow mortals to tamper with it is a heinous act that brings naught but suffering. And the enforcement of that law has always been my duty. Claim responsibility for undeath if you wish. What has been done is done. But know that I will not stand idly by and let those who will abuse your "gift" to harm the living. Death is essential to make way for new life. And I will choose those among the living who will ensure that this order is not circumvented."
"Not to say undead are usually distastefully ugly. Not that any of you would value my opinion on this anyway.
The Shard of Jezebelle looked at the gods meeting in the Amaranthine, Her arms crossed while the digits of her right hand are nervously tapping on her arm. She was clearly disappointed at having asked a question that remained unanswered and at seeing how much everybody got distracted by Yidhra but nobody cared to pay her any attention at all.
"So.. since Melehan is too fascinated with the weird girl to actually talk about his plans for death and I have plan of my own that he may or may not approve. I guess I will do things my own way. Erande plans seems to be excessively delayed and I have 7 lovely girls that need a way to cheat time and death badly."
While the shard of Jezebelle was addressing the other gods, her true self looked at the Jezites and the cave that protects the sword of Erande.
The seven beautiful girls that lived in the cave lived a life of pure decadence as they were revered by the Jezites as lesser aspects of the goddess herself.
With no news about the King beyond the sea, the Jezites grew concerned about the fate of the seven. They knew their beauty was as great as temporary. To appease the goddess the Jezites started to offer Jezebelle sacrifices. Jezites started to pray to the goddess offering the blood and lives of their livestock.
Jezebelle thus appeared in their dreams and taught the Jezites how to use blood as a catalyst for arcane power.
But no matter how many animals they slaughtered upon the altars, the seven girls didn't felt any different, didn't feel they stopped aging.
In a desperate attempt they turned to sacrificing humans.
It was a night of dances and chants and orgies and blood. At he culmination, the seven girls personally took upon their crude obsidian blades and slaughtered a dozen of fellow Jezites each on the altar of Jezebelle. In the eldritch ecstasy of the chants and the raw power unleashed from the unprecedented sacrifice they lost control. They gorged in the blood of their sacrifices... feeling the hunger growing inside they feeded in a few more. Their charm became impossible to resist as with a single gaze common Jezites' will was crushed by the seven girls.
After that crazy night, the seven girls returned to their caves, forever changed.
The aging stopped, and if at all possible their beauty was enhanced in utterly inhuman levels. they felt stronger, faster, their senses sharpened. The magically charged blood they drank gave them an instinctive great knowledge about the ways of the blood. And they knew all they had to do was drinking the blood of a common human and replace it with their own to share their gift. But the gift came with a price.
Awakened in the veins of the girls, the blood took and exalted their qualities, but also their flaws. Life in a cave made them unaccustomed to the sun, so the blood worsened that by making the rays of the sun burn their skin as a flaming torch placed right on their skin.
Also, they lost all appetite and need for food or drinks but were afflicted by a never ending thirst for blood.
Now the seven were forever beautiful, and the king beyond the sea will have to choose one of them as a queen, if not willingly they now knew how to force him to.
Create magical concept: Blood magic (3 pt.)
Create Greater Life: Vampires (3 pt.)
AP remaining 0
Vampires created this way should not count as a undead IMHO. They never really experience death. I rather treat them as enhanced humans, akin to werewolves.
The gods of death seemed like they were talking again, so Yidhra quietly took her leave, drifting through space until she could commune with her tiny little community of followers. There were plenty of things she saw, though, and she watched with more than a little bit of interest as several females changed, becoming human and not-human... she clapped her hands happily, though she was a little sad about how trapped they were. Letting them have lots of little lights of their own would make them feel better, right?
On the other hand, those death gods kept yelling at her when she did things. They were never happy when she did nice things for them... sigh. Immortals and undead meant less work for them, didn't it? Gods who wanted to take on more work were so strange. Besides, she had some other things to focus on right now...
With a bit of regret, Yidhra returned her attention to her friends, and quietly continued to teach what could not be understood.
Melehan's anger at the recent events causes him to turn away from the other gods and shakes with frustration. He should have known this would happen. He had to stand strong in the face of this. He had to stand as the judge of the world and its people. But for now he was too weak. The very act of creating the Amaranthine had drained him so much that he'd been forced to stand idly by while his peers, and even his own brother had run roughshod over the natural order of things.
Erande watched the bickering between the deities of death, and was worried for his Indars. He saw the creation of undeath, and doubt gnawed at his brain. Yet even as these darker things began to take place, he watched the first symphony that was created by the Jezites, and wept tears of exultant joy, so heartbreakingly beautiful was the sound. Turning his attention back towards his future king, he saw that there were only a handful of people who had chosen to accompany Kargoth on his "Mad Quest". He despaired that one of them was one of Golath's followers, bent on murdering all aboard.
The first hurdle that the ship, called The Wind's Call, had to deal with was the floating mountains of ice that were created from the intermixing of Oenar's realm and Erande's ocean.
As Kargoth set sail, riding on his magnificent ship, The Winds Call, the seas began to swell and the winds howled. The tiny ship (or fleet of ships) was tossed about like a tiny ragdoll among the wild beasts. Worse yet, among the storm a trio of sea serpents rose up and began to pound against the hull with their dorsal fins. It would be a fight for their lives amidst the high seas.
Meanwhile, Joshua, the man tasked by Golath to make sure the journey ended in the Amaranthine bid his time...
Meanwhile, Golath was a step behind. After having splintered off and creating his own faction, Golath knew that he would have to rule with an iron fist if he were to maintain his position in charge. To that end he gathered up his motley crew and chose 3 of them at random. The first 2 he slew. He claimed that they were instigators of the next rebellion, and that all who rebelled would face the same. Of the last one, he charged the crew with his death. That way everyone was responsible with carrying out justice and so the new law was created. Next Golath selected the 6 strongest and called them his household, granting them athourity over the rest and so the new ruling class was born. With the people now firmly under his control, Golath issued that they errect a great fort, to be their base of opperations and their stronghold. Only then did Golath set sail, taking 3 of his household with him and the promise that he WILL be back.
Nico Bolas watched this all unfold and was pleased. So much that he granted them a boon, he allowed them to grow in size, strength and stature. The Half-Giants were born.
+4AP. Neww week!
1AP. Create mundane concept. The law.
1AP. Create mundane concept. The ruling class.
1AP. Create society. Half-Giants.
7AP left.
Oenar remembered why she'd always kept a bit away from the other deities. The world had barely been born, and already had the disgusting undead begun to walk the earth, rotten in both mind and body. How could the world have such creatures of the night, when there wasn't even a night to be had? How could the humans plot, when there was nothing yet to plot over?
And worse still, already had the plots and intrigues began to befall the divine, deities grabbing at each other's dominions. All of this had happened before, and she willed it not to happen again.
She was afraid. This world had such potential, a new beginning where the abominations of the corrupted old world could be kept away. She needed a safe place. A sanctum.
She gazed upon the nothingness of space, once home to her wondrous sister, the wise and evergazing Astralia. She could not begin to match the wisdom of her sister, but she would take her place in the sky, as the queen of the cold light.
And so, a frozen moon was formed, orbitting the shards of existance whereon she stood. And it spread it's freckles of magic light across the sky, shining upon those below. And within the rock and ice of the moon, a majestic hall was formed, with twisting labyrinths and enormous caverns. But it was not a dead hall, for in it grew fruits of the northern wilds - bakeapples, blueberries, and other deliciousnesses.
"This will be my home", she thought, when she wandered the halls. She brought a score of bears and a gross of raindeer to roam her caverns and keep her company. Then, she sent a message to the gods who's company she enjoyed, who she appreciated, or who she respected.
A freezing gale surrounds you, roaring out it's message.
"You are welcome to my Coiling Halls, to come and go as you wish. While here, you will be under my protection, but I will not accept agression between my guests, and you will respect my word under my ceilings. This is to be a place of diplomacy, where those gods who care enough about the world or themselves to not want the same fate as the old world can meet with respect.
Forge Land (3 AP): The moon, spreading magical light in the sky (aka stars). Weave Sanctum (3 AP): the Coiling Halls.
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"Thank you for your invitation, Lady Winter. I look forward to sharing many an evening with you drinking cocoa and telling stories."
create mundane concept: cocoa -1 ap
3 ap left
The raven-haired shard of Jezebelle essence was still in the Amaranthine when her main body was creating the seven vampires progenitors.
She did nothing to cover her action, as a matter of fact, she tried to make it as big and overt display of her divine powers as possible.
While the souls of the blood sacrifices entered the Amaranthine screaming, the aspect of Jezebelle smiled at Melehan, put her arms around his neck and started to talk with a mellifluous voice.
"It doesn't have to be that way you know? We could have talked about this, you could have told me about your plans, I could have told you mine and we would have found a solution pleasing to the both of us. But you had to ignore me, to push me so that I had to get your attention some other way. Now... I won't look for you again. When you are ready to talk and share ideas with me, I'll make sure to be easy to find. Until you are ready to do that... feel free to consider every step we take towards destroying the universe again in a fiery battle of the gods as your own personal failure."
Jezebelle approached Melehan and gave him a kiss on his forehead. Then addressed the other gods present.
"of course this include everyone who would rather see us work together rather than stomping each other feet at every step until it all escalates into a new war."
That being said, the shard of Jezebelle disappeared from the Amaranthine as more Jezites souls entered the amaranthine screaming coming form the blood soaked altars of the vampire queens.
The Silent gathered Itself . . . and disappeared.
And when It disappeared, a shudder reverberated throughout everything, making them aware of the Silent. Those who felt the shock and who understood its nature knew It had done something. It had created a plane.
The plane was the Nothing Itself, within Itself. The Silent and the plane were indistinguishable. It was formless, spaceless, timeless. It had none of those concepts, nor any concepts. It simply Was, like the Silent Was.
The plane had no name, for the Silent needed no names, but a name was given not for the Silent, but for those who would use the name. The name was Enuma Elish.
And in Enuma Elish, the Silent said Its first words in the new world, the echo of a pebble down an eternal well.
And the pebble took itself, and all that it had seen of the old world, and gave it to the well, which formed into the delusion of a tower. And this tower was gray, and endless, and bounded to Enuma Elish. The tower had no doors and no windows, for it needed none. It was hidden and entrance was given only to those who were allowed by the Silent.
Inside the tower were the memories. The memories were vast, endless. They were all the Silent had gathered and seen of the old world, which was also vast and endless. It did not contain everything, for the Silent was not omniscient and there were those who hid from the Silent's sight, but it contained much. It was given the name Remnant, for that was what it was. This all willed by the memories it contained.
And so the Silent gave itself the Remnant. It held Knowledge of the old world and kept it safe.
Enuma Elish - a formless plane with no layers (effectively zero layers). Not even the concepts of time and space are here, though it may be perceived that way. This is not an illusion. It may share descriptive similarities to space, time, and illusions, but are none of those.
Only those with enough will can be in Enuma Elish, or at least can project themselves into the plane.
The Silent always stays here, infused into the very essence of the plane, and watches all from his sanctum.
Remnant - an endless gray tower with no doors and no windows, hidden in Enuma Elish. The only way to find it is if you are given permission. The only entrance is for those permitted, willed into it.
Inside are memories of the old universe, stored and sealed away. The entire structure is, in fact, nothing but memories of the old world. The memories can be accessed by asking the tower.
Currently, the insides change to reflect what those who enter it expects to see, but the tower's master can freely change its behavior. Access to memories are currently only given to the master of the tower.
For those who wish to learn from the old world, or to remember it, there is no other place.
(Think something like the dreams from Inception. And yes, the viewers of the memory can interact with the projections inside, but they are all ultimately memories.)
Remnant Bonus: +2d6 HP
- gain Knowledge (Memory, Truth)
Total AP Spent: 16
Remaining AP: 2
The raven-haired shard of Jezebelle essence was still in the Amaranthine when her main body was creating the seven vampires progenitors.
She did nothing to cover her action, as a matter of fact, she tried to make it as big and overt display of her divine powers as possible.
While the souls of the blood sacrifices entered the Amaranthine screaming, the aspect of Jezebelle smiled at Melehan, put her arms around his neck and started to talk with a mellifluous voice.
"It doesn't have to be that way you know? We could have talked about this, you could have told me about your plans, I could have told you mine and we would have found a solution pleasing to the both of us. But you had to ignore me, to push me so that I had to get your attention some other way. Now... I won't look for you again. When you are ready to talk and share ideas with me, I'll make sure to be easy to find. Until you are ready to do that... feel free to consider every step we take towards destroying the universe again in a fiery battle of the gods as your own personal failure."
Jezebelle approached Melehan and gave him a kiss on his forehead. Then addressed the other gods present.
"of course this include everyone who would rather see us work together rather than stomping each other feet at every step until it all escalates into a new war."
That being said, the shard of Jezebelle disappeared from the Amaranthine as more Jezites souls entered the amaranthine screaming coming form the blood soaked altars of the vampire queens.
Melehan blinks and blushes as Jezebelle embraces him.
"I...I am...sorry?" he ventures before she vanishes. Decisions like these were so...hard.
Sigh... people were so complicated, weren't they? And gods. Like her, they made no sense at all - and that was what made all of this so fun. With that, Yidhra rotated over, then quietly began poking a few of her (im)mortal companions.
Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke.
Eventually, it dawned on them that she didn't want their attention - and so they left their current chambers, where they found what she'd wanted their attention for. Resting before them were a number of crystals in many shapes and sizes - and the living things slowly started examining them. In time, they came to realize that though the crystals contained great magical power, they didn't actually do anything.
The Goddess of Paradoxes danced across the surface of the world, and things happened in her wake.
In one step, strange felines erupted out of the ground - they would come to be known as Akata, and while not particularly intelligent, they were certainly quite dangerous in their own way.
In another step, a different race appeared on the world. Strange individuals who would quickly shift between forms as the situation demanded - and far smarter than others would give them credit for.
A third dancing step, far from the others, brought up other life. Huge creatures soon began to walk the open plains - food for dragons, perhaps.
The Silent saw the Winter's actions and words and sent the Empty to speak with her.
The Empty appeared outside of her sanctum, the Coiling Halls, and called her to meet him.
Oenar approaches the Empty. She recognizes the lack of substance; even though she have not met Nihil, she has felt its presence since she awoken. Her arms writhe and bay and growl at the wrongness of the non-being before her.
"You smell of nothingness. What is your business here, void spawn?"
The Empty does not react to the aggression, simply projecting words to the Winter.
The Silent saw your call. You remember. A request. Your memories of old. It would have them. To keep.
Oenar raises a few eyebrows. Is it tales you want, void spawn? That is something I can give you, but you will have to take them by my words, not my mind. You may come into my halls, but know that I am wary of non-beings like you. If I get reason to believe your goals are in opposition to mine, if your wish is for this new-born world to revert into your emptiness, then you will be expelled at best.
The memories of the mind would be better. But your words would be enough.
The Empty does not comment on anything else, impassive. It is not yet able to answer questions which are absurd to It--that It could have wishes or goals, or that It was spawned by void.
Yidhra hopped up slightly and turned to look at the things she had made. Each of them was so different - belonging (or not) in their own place, both a part of the world and ultimately separate from it. Well, that was the way things went, she supposed. For now, though, she was simply going to continue to watch and see how things went.
Oenar turned to one of the great bears living in her moon. "While I am occupied, you shall guard my lands. May your tribe be gifted with wisdom, and may the light of the stars shine through your souls." With that, the fur of the bear grew shining white, and it's eyes gleamed with cunning and starlight. All around the moon, the bears transformed in a similar way, becoming enlightened and understanding the magic of the night sky.
"You shall be their patron, Nanook. Guide your tribe to greatness, protect them as they protect the land." The great white bear looked with his shining eyes at his goddess, projecting words into her mind. "Yes, goddess. I will leave now." With that, Nanook and the white bears left the Winter and the Empty to their tale-telling.
Create greater life (3 AP): Polar bears. Polar bears in this world are sentient and wise. They are few in numbers yet, roaming the tundra, protecting it and its inhabitants from threats and abominations like vampires.
Create magical concept (3AP): Astral Magic. The magic of the stars and the moon can be used to gain guidance, projecting sentience into the stars to watch distant places, and skilled users can project their whole body through the stars, appearing in faraway places. Those gifted with astral magic have eyes that glow with starlight, dazzling those that look upon them.
Raise Demigod (5 AP): Nanook. The master of bears, warden of the tundra. A great and mighty polar bear.
Remaining AP: 0.
Starting: 15.
Week x2: +8 = 23
Forge land: -2 = 21
Indar society and the Unnamed Protector: -4 = 17
Creation of the Moon and the Coiling Halls: -6 = 11
Points spent towards domains I'm interested in
Sky (stars & moons): 3 (moon) + 3 (astral magic) = 6
Animals: 3 (polar bears) +5 (demigod of bears) = 8
Aeon flew up above the earth. Into the cold dark. He had watched for sometime as things took place, as undeath appeared again. It was time for his soldiers to appear in this cycle. The people were his children, but the angels were his hands his will, made of his essence.
First, a place for them. Above the earth an invisible realm took form. White clouds held aloft gold and alabaster towers much larger than anything man could ever build. Crystal fountains and rivers lined with gemstones. On an on it stretched, folding and making layers. As it took place, Aeon began the formation of the dezains of this world. They were Angels, some larger than giants others the size of normal men, they held flaming swords and wore wings with a hundred foot span. Some armored, all beautiful.
Aeon looked over the high heavens, and saw that it was good.
In a brilliant flash of holy light and celestial chorus a heaven was made.
When Jezebelle sensed it she was pretty sure of the responsible.
So her black haired shard departed again from her main essence to seek his creator.
Appearing in the heaven, beautiful as only a forbidden fruit of sin could be, she smiled at Aeon.
"I was sure this was your doing. so predictable is almost boring." said while assessing with a glance the new plane and it's inhabitants.
"Do you care for a little talk?"
Yidhra tilted over, continuing to be focused on the world and not particularly noticing the creation of the heavens. Let's see... there was life, there was understanding (or the lack thereof)... perhaps she would need to do something truly interesting, soon. Others seemed to be having a lot of fun with simply making things a certain way, so maybe she should be doing that? Oh, but they were probably going to yell at her again... sigh. Still, she did love the contradictions. Maybe something just a bit more minor, once she'd figured it out. For now, she could just watch her mortals and see what they liked.
The great polar bears patrolled and guarded the vast expanse, seeing the land through the stars and thundering across the glaciers. However, they could not approach the Indar, who thought of them as dangerous beasts and fled at best, or grabbed their weapons at worst. The bears withdrew from any such encounter, but they were troubled, because the Indar lacked guidance - while they where adaptive and enduring, they were not wise, and so many died before their time, taken by the cold or the sea. Nanook went to their goddess, who as a winter wind whispered and howled the history of the old world to the great emptiness. Nanook felt strange arround the surreal non-being, but asked his goddess for an audience and a break in her tale-telling.
"Crystalline Queen, we cannot make meaningful contact with the humans. They are short-sighted and territorial, and will not take the time to listen and see. Shall we guard them from the tundra, or the tundra from them?" the mighty ursine asked.
"Go to the Unnamed Guardian. It is time for her to earn a name. She is gifted with wisdom, she will see the light in your eyes and hear your words. Teach her to ride the mighty Moose, and to watch through the stars as you do, and she will be seen as the hero she is by the Indar. She is my prophet to be among her people, and together you two will make sure the Indar prosper."
"As you wish, Winter." The great bear nodded and disappeared, and Oenar returned to her chronicling.
As Nanook reached the southwestern part of the tundra, near where the Indar lived, trees started sprouting from the bare tundra. Mighty pines, thick spruce and the occacional birch. And in the forest, life blossomed; squirrels stuck their heads out of holes in the pines, owls flew swiftly through the spruce needles and beetles crawled the pale skin of the birches. And through the forest, the mighty bellow of the kings and queens where herd - the great moose emerging.
Oenar:
Create Monstrous Life (1 AP): Great moose. The moose of the mighty taiga are huge horned beasts, the kings and queens of the forest. They are more than a match for any brown bear or wolf pack. They're not aggressive in general, but have short tempers and any sign of hostility will tip them off.
Advanced Concept (2 AP): Moose friendship. The concept involves bonding with and riding moose; while there is no magical connection or communication, those trained in this can often communicate quite well with their companions, much like a human who's lived with the same dog for 10 years. The moose are not as subservient as a dog, however, and consider their bond as to their friend, not their master.
Nanook:
Alter Land (1 AP): Several connected forests in the south-eastern part of the tundra, forming an evergreen taiga.
Create Mundane Life (Free): Standard forest life, such as foxes, owls, squirrels, roe deer and similar.
Remaining AP (Oenar): 0+4(week)-1-2= 1 AP.
Remaining AP (Nanook): 0+1(week)-1 = 0 AP
Walking the great fields of Heaven, Aeon is approached by the raven haired lady. "If peace and order are boring than so be it." he stated.
"I'll not so chaos in the name of entertainment. What do you wish to speak with me about?" he asks swirling some clouds into chaires to sit upon.
Amused by the answer, the shard of Jezebelle chuckled mischievously.
"Well, I cannot say to be one of your greatest fans, and I presume the feeling is mutual. But I definitely see the benefits of order. Quite frankly, if there was nobody like you to organize the things I leave on the world, all creation would be pretty much doomed."
The beautiful goddess smiled warmly at the heavenly light.
"but..." said then interrupting her own brief silence.
"If it wasn't for someone like me all you would create are joyless, emotionless, pitiful flesh machines that would rather give up their meaningless life"
"So, why don't we come to an understanding before our ways set us apart for good? The last thing I want is to commit in creating a world only to see us engage in yet another war for the supreme control of reality, we all know how those things ends."
"So what about this... you promise not to try to unravel my creation, I do the same with yours. You let me liberate, but I suspect you would rather say corrupt, some of your creatures, You will let me twist some of them in a form more suitable to my tastes, and I will let you do the same with mine, you could take part of them and give them all the order the discipline and the justice you love so much... I will even allow you to keep them at bay if they become too much of a menace to your ways. And if we agree that this world is to be shared... I could be prone to pool some of my influence in a pantheon with you and whoever will join later. As long as you show me that you are capable of enduring my ways as much as I will endure yours."
The goddess finally sat on the chair of clouds crossing her legs.
"So... do you have any questions or maybe you just want some time to think about it?"
Erande watched the creation of the underworld, which was necessary, and Yidhra's monsterous races, which would be useful in telling a good story, but were harmful to the world in general. between the undead, lycanthropes, vampires, and monstrous races, Things were looking grim for The People, The Jezites, and The Indars. While Erande could not intervene directly (as he discovered that doing so rarely was his perview), Those who could understand the song protected their peoples, there were only a few, and they could not be everywhere. As Golath conquered and united The Indar, Erande knew it was only a matter of time before they united and gave chase to Kargoth's tiny crew.
Melehan grimly considers the world before him. It was definitely off to the wrong start, at least in his mind. Chaos and suffering were spreading, and his inaction and confusion had allowed it to happen. He decides he must meet with the others, and come to accords with each. This would be the only way his realm would know peace. And in order to understand the situation, he had to know what was going on. He closed his eyes, and extended his conciousness. He was as much death as Azdan was, and thus, he could be anywhere he wished. And that allowed him to see the others.
With his newfound awareness, he seeks out the other gods, and stands before each of them in their realm, requesting an audience.
((Basically, the idea here is to avoid the confusion of the last conversation by having Melehan meet with each god individually, and thus there's no confusion as to who's got attention and who doesn't. They aren't happening necessarily simultaneously, and Melehan isn't interjecting into other conferences, like between Jezebelle and Aeon.))
Yidhra continued to consider the world before her - the various needs and desires of the gods, the actions and reactions of mortals... many of whom still screamed and died when they had anything to do with her. Sigh... maybe it would help if she tried to relate to the other gods in a way they could understand? Being both comprehensible and not was exactly the sort of thing she enjoyed... and with that, the Goddess focused her attention, gathering power and changing herself. She was, and would always be, Yidhra... but what Yidhra was could certainly change.
Melehan seeks out Yidhra, since she has no permanent abode, but it's pretty easy to find her due to the trail of shrieking souls that arrived in the Amaranthine in her wake.
"Greetings, Yidhra. I would speak with you, in private."
"I didn't do it!" the Goddess of Paradoxes said as soon as Melehan finished talking. "Or maybe I did... what are we talking about?" she asked, seeming a bit interested... and wary... and several other emotions, all at the same time.
"Both, in a way, as is often your way. You have done nothing recently to offend me, but we must discuss the pact you and Azhdan have made."
Melehan smiles a little. Despite his orderly and focused nature, he found Yidhra's scatterbrained antics charming somehow.
When Mehelan came to Jezebelle she smiled at him from the chambers of her temple among the Jezites. A hall coated in gold and silver, a painted dome telling stories about the history of the Jezites and dreams about the goddess. There was no furniture in the room, only carpets with pillows, some huge, some smaller, massed one over the other so anybody who would sit over one of those piles would feel like sitting on a throne, just stuffed with feathers.
"You are most welcome to visit me whenever you want. I would be delighted to discuss our new creation, you should know since I was the one approaching you for the same reason.
You would find I am not only capable of breeding hate and contempt, and certainly no more than I breed love and compassion."
Jezebelle walked up and down that inner chamber of the temple with now a slightly more bitter expression.
"What I really feel and I would not abide, is for you or anyone else to think too lightly of me.
I am not the kind of goddess that will make his jolly worshipers sing songs and stays in the sidelines while the other gods take the crown of the universe and decide among themselves how to shape reality to their whims.
I want to share plans with you and any other reasonable god who would rather see this world prosper, but that requires a certain degree of acceptance...
Form you... from me.. from anyone else.
Until now I wandered around, presenting myself to the other gods, dispensing smiles and words of friendship.
And what I received in return was rather... disappointing."
Jezebelle sat on a pillow throne, slouching on it with her legs crossed.
"If nothing else, you apologized for it.
And I know it would be hard to see a stern god of death smile, although I have seen you blush... so maybe there is a hope." Said Jezebelle smiling wantonly.
"All I ask you is the chance to show you what my creation is all about, what I am all about. And I chance to know you in return.
Once we are done with it, you will be able to judge for yourself if I am to be a threat ... or a treat"
As the Wind's Call made it's way past the massive moving Iceburgs that make up the border between the sea and Oenar's realm, The tiny crew saw many wonders that the Indar had never seen before, but the greatest of all was the massive winged lizard that appeared before the seacraft, beating it's mighty wings to keep itself afloat, while greeting the crew:
"Kargoth of The Indar, come forth to speak with me" called the beast, it's voice like a roar. As Kargoth stepped forward, he introduced himself. "I am Kargoth of The Indar. We seek simple passage through this water to the foretold land of the gods. Say what you will." The beast regarded this for a moment, then said "I would offer you a boon for your voyage, Should you be able to answer my riddle. If you get the answer incorrectly, I would get to eat you, and if you answer correctly, I will let you on your way, with something that you will need to complete your journey. Either way, I have some entertainment today. What say you?"
Kargoth thought for a moment, then said "I accept. Name your riddle."
Chuckling, the lizard said "Very well. My riddle is thus: What has air but no sail, earth but no trees, water but no ships, and fire but nothing to burn."
"I don't know that I'd call it a pact." the Goddess mused, slowly cartwheeling through space. "He kind of said that he wanted to do things, but it was sort of one-sided, you know? Everybody views things as theirs, and they don't like it when others interfere." Upside-down, she held herself up with one-finger while balanced on nothing at all. From there, visibly struggling to keep her balance as she wobbled, she gestured to the world below. "By giving a man a weapon, we gods can turn him into a ruler." the Goddess of Paradoxes observed. "But if a ruler gives a man a weapon, he turns that man into a warrior. And if a warrior gives someone a weapon, it's usually by pushing it into their gut... so they turn people into corpses. Power flows down like that, but where is the edge of things in terms of responsibility? If we gods create things that lead to others dying, then doesn't death touch everything we do? Yet there are many things that Azdan doesn't object to others doing, even if it does affect death." she flipped around, standing with one foot where she'd been balancing with her finger.
"When we make life, we also make death. Building creates destruction, and destruction is just another form of creating. The only limits are the ones you believe there should be; everything is separate, but at the same time, everything is together." She folded her legs up and sat there, cross-legged and smiling... having no trouble at all remaining where she wanted to be. "So, what did you want to know about that pact?"
Azdan looks at the hardy people of the north, braving winter and accepting the dangers of a hard life. They accept death stoically, they fear and respect the snow and wind and seasons full of night. They mete out tribal justice and pray for their dead. They have balance, he muses. Their lives are no complicated by jealousy, or the struggle for a throne. Death here is respected, but is their unifying factor, not a tool for their petty advancement."
This gives Death an idea. He speaks into the heavens, quietly, so only his intended audience can hear. He listens to the collapse of stars and the fall or empires.
And waits.
Melehan regards Jezebelle cautiously.
"Show me..."
"I don't know that I'd call it a pact." the Goddess mused, slowly cartwheeling through space. "He kind of said that he wanted to do things, but it was sort of one-sided, you know? Everybody views things as theirs, and they don't like it when others interfere." Upside-down, she held herself up with one-finger while balanced on nothing at all. From there, visibly struggling to keep her balance as she wobbled, she gestured to the world below. "By giving a man a weapon, we gods can turn him into a ruler." the Goddess of Paradoxes observed. "But if a ruler gives a man a weapon, he turns that man into a warrior. And if a warrior gives someone a weapon, it's usually by pushing it into their gut... so they turn people into corpses. Power flows down like that, but where is the edge of things in terms of responsibility? If we gods create things that lead to others dying, then doesn't death touch everything we do? Yet there are many things that Azdan doesn't object to others doing, even if it does affect death." she flipped around, standing with one foot where she'd been balancing with her finger.
"When we make life, we also make death. Building creates destruction, and destruction is just another form of creating. The only limits are the ones you believe there should be; everything is separate, but at the same time, everything is together." She folded her legs up and sat there, cross-legged and smiling... having no trouble at all remaining where she wanted to be. "So, what did you want to know about that pact?"
"You speak greater wisdom than most would expect, including me. Why did you and Azdan not consult me before going ahead and bringing undeath back to the multiverse. I had hoped that I could ensure this new world would never experience the horrors it brought to the old one. I tried to do you the courtesy of not ignoring you in our first meeting, and yet you ignored me, which is not fair at all."
Azdan looks at the hardy people of the north, braving winter and accepting the dangers of a hard life. They accept death stoically, they fear and respect the snow and wind and seasons full of night. They mete out tribal justice and pray for their dead. They have balance, he muses. Their lives are no complicated by jealousy, or the struggle for a throne. Death here is respected, but is their unifying factor, not a tool for their petty advancement."
This gives Death an idea. He speaks into the heavens, quietly, so only his intended audience can hear. He listens to the collapse of stars and the fall or empires.
And waits.
Melehan had already been seeking Azdan, and soon arrived at his domain, his face even and calm, hiding his frustration.
"I suspect you are not calling me here to apologize for your actions, brother."
"Why does undeath have to be a horror?" the Goddess of Paradoxes asked, seeming to not understand the connection there. "If mortals are afraid of death, then isn't giving them a path away from it more of a relief than anything else? You can stop it from happening if you really don't like it, though. It doesn't really matter to me whether it exists or not, or what kind of impact it does or doesn't have on people. I just wanted him to stop threatening my friends, and that seemed like the easiest way of doing it."
Aeon listened to the shard of the goddess, "You think me so easy to read, so predictable." he stated with a sigh.
"You are no mystery yourself Jezebelle. When you say joyless, and emotionless machines devoid of meaning, you are exaggerating, which is your nature, my people feel peace and true joy, real love the kind that is selfless and all encompassing. Your joy is selfish and fickle your emotion is vain and desperate. You are predictable as well because you are a being of extremes. You don't bring discomfort, you bring pain, you don't bring joy, you bring fleeting ecstasy."
Aeon's voice is not harsh, he could be reciting a poem, his kind eyes glowing with the light of heaven."Your nature is no mystery to me. The nature of nore are hidden from me. I accept you for what you are, but you'll not play me for a fool. I know you seek to experience this existence, I do as well. Melehan sits upon his mountain of souls, and some of the others would await the end of days once more, whether to battle on the eternal planes or to end the wheel of time once and for all. And while I do not agree with your methods, I cannot judge you as against creation. You may join my pantheon and I will leave you to your dealings with the mortals. I will even give you some of my creations, one hundred of the people to join your following, and..."
Aeon waves his hand letting his will spread out over the heavens. In a moment an angel appears, female, shockingly beautiful but with a stern face. Her four wings are red and her hair, silver, she carries a prismatic broadsword.
Aeon suspends her in animation, "This is Ellazariel, and of the angels she is most like you, she is the only one of her kind, an angel of pure wrath. She may serve you, as a show of good faith. But you must never sway the other angels from the course I have set for them. Also I would request one of your daughters whom you have cursed with artificial immortality."
Aeon suspends her in animation, "This is Ellazariel, and of the angels she is most like you, she is the only one of her kind, an angel of pure wrath. She may serve you, as a show of good faith. But you must never sway the other angels from the course I have set for them. Also I would request one of your daughters whom you have cursed with artificial immortality."
"Looks like you indeed do know me. Or else you won't forbid me from tempting your little angels. But maybe not as good as you think you do. You give me Ellazariel... I won't judge your ways but I pity her, your people and your angels if you consider them yours to give away. I will allow her to follow me, I will offer her my hospitality, and I'm sure I will enjoy her company. But I won't deem her mine, nor will I take her away from heavens against her will. Just as I don't deem mine the seven vampires you say I cursed. I have done no such thing, I merely created a way and I showed to my people. They make their choices, not me. And if you want one of them to follow you I promise to not take offense at your attempt to convince them. But I cannot give them to you as they are not mine, and I won't see you kidnap one of them with particular favor. If you feel like having a vampire given to you with no effort I would be able to simply give the gift of blood to someone who's already complacent to your ways."
Jezebelle looked at the beautiful fiery angel offered to her.
Her look saddens for a moment before being washed away by a snarky smile.
"We may be both all powerful. and you may even have more powers than mine when it comes to create life. but no matter how powerful, you will never understand what is like to be a mother and truly nurture life."
She stood up and caressed the cheek of the angel in suspended animation.
"Do we call it a deal then? even if you know that when it comes to the free will of the creatures of the world I will always fight your ways?"
Aeon sneers. "We have an accord. But I must point out that the angels, unlike the people, are not mortal and are not created with free will, they are extensions of myself, beings of good, justice and balance. And I can claim them and the people as my own surely as a mother claims her children as her own. I seek to guide and truly nurture mankind, and you speak of free will as you debase their lives and souls. What you do is akin to placing an infant on the edge of a cliff and calling it choice when it falls and dies. And I seek to remove the curse of the blood from one of the vampires, to cure it of its ails, and if it wishes to grant her true immortality, free from the lust of thirst and moral wrongness of feeding on others."
He stands and prepares to retreat back into the golden halls of heavens. "Do what you will, lady of passion, despite our differences, you are welcome here. But always remember,that while your whispers may sway the weak, when I speak it roars the seas."
He waves and light takes him away leaving a fading "Go in peace."
"Why does undeath have to be a horror?" the Goddess of Paradoxes asked, seeming to not understand the connection there. "If mortals are afraid of death, then isn't giving them a path away from it more of a relief than anything else? You can stop it from happening if you really don't like it, though. It doesn't really matter to me whether it exists or not, or what kind of impact it does or doesn't have on people. I just wanted him to stop threatening my friends, and that seemed like the easiest way of doing it."
"That is my problem. I do not wish for mortals to fear death. It is merely a transition from one life to the next. Death is frightening to mortals, but the reality is that there is nothing to fear in death. At least there is not now. There is no suffering or joy in the Amaranthine yet. It is featureless, and plain. I wish to change this, but lack the strength to do so now."
Kargoth paused but a moment, then said: "Life. The body is earth, the breath the wind, blood is the water, and Fire is the fire inside all things that live, that they may seek something better."
The creature leaned in close to Kargoth, it's fetid breath washed over the Indar, and said "Your answer is true. My boon is thus: take this, and use it to shield yourself from those who would harm you." As it spoke, the lizard plucked a scale from it's breast and handed it to Kargoth. While but a small scale to the lizard, to the Indar hero the scale was large enough to be shaped into armor, and hard enough to turn aside many a sword blow.
"Go now, with my blessing, Kargoth of the Indars. Go, and meet your fate." Chuckling to itself, it rose into the air, each beat of it's wings raising it higher into the sky, until it was so high that it could not be seen.
"But they do fear death. That's what was decided, right?" Yidhra asked. "Though I suppose it's true that being afraid of it means they want to leave... of course, liking it too much could be a bit of a problem, too..." she thoughtfully considered the matters as they currently stood. "I suppose you could just ask Azzy to make it so people accept death as inevitable, rather than frightening. You can get a lot done just by talking to others." Witness how she, the very picture of magnanimous grace, had so kindly helped others when asked.
...
Not that gods were particularly known for being any more grateful than the next favor, but still, it rarely hurt to ask...