Herald of All's page

I watch the rise of the fallen. The heavens themselves await to see if your re-ascension shall come to pass.

I watch the rise of the fallen. The heavens themselves await to see if your re-ascension shall come to pass.

I watch the rise of the fallen. The heavens themselves await to see if your re-ascension shall come to pass.

I watch the rise of the fallen. The heavens themselves await to see if your re-ascension shall come to pass.

The god has spoken, his will be done.

Stock: 258 points

OTHER EVENT (7): Guard Triangle Three from obliteration, by claiming the stones from the sky

Unbeknownst to all, under the rain of destruction from the sky, mysterious rocks impacted the world did not harm the ship from beyond reality. Instead, upon interacting with the powerful extraplanar energies within it, they encased it, resonating with the starmetals already there, becoming one with it in mysterious magic.

The cataclysm broke open the valley below the ship, however, the mighty destruction fractured the land below the stones, and the ship sank deep into the earth... where it survived. And where it met what would one day become its children, the Anko, or demon-faced Angler fish.

(Explanation: During the terrible rain of cold, the earth beneath this bizarre amalgamation broke open, partially sinking the ship further, but partially protecting it from the wrath of the heavens... and opening it to the anglers.)

CREATE AVATAR (7) the Mother (of Gankijiyuutsu)

An ancient, corrupted remnant - the results of an experiment and exploration gone terribly awry by one race no long part of the world (having traveled to the stars), and another that resides high above it -
a massive, pulsing conglomeration of flesh, with elements taken from the dead creatures from beyond this reality, from beings that were created from many entities to generate a singular creature, and from a mutated off-shoot of a serpentine race; all combined with ancient magical technology from another world, and strange rock from beyond this one, finally finishes its gestation and is fully realized. Using its innate telepathic power, it connects to the remnants Celestial Eyes above the world and... it understands them. Though they are mad, non-sentient, shattered, and fragmented, it comprehends both their pain and their information. It processes these, and harnesses the magical otherworldly energies within itself, to see across all of the planet at once. And what's more... it remembered. It recalled all the events seen from above, all things that occurred for many years, as it had sat, waiting, and gestating. And it recovered more memories from within its own depths. It creates within itself places for birth and careful experimentation and control - deep wombs of new life from which to create all sorts of beings.

(Explanation: over the years, the corrupted colony sophonts fed and feasted upon the bizarre, deranging extraplanar energies of the crashed kobold space-ship. Absorbing bits of remnant DNA from the wasted, fractured, and mutated remains of these creatures, the sophonts began to merge with the electronic systems of the ship itself, as well as the alchemical and magical power sources and supplies thereof. These sophonts began falling into a state of somnolence and slumber, though their dreams heard the singing of the Celestial Eyes, and they received all the updates of their brethren.)

CREATE SECT (4): Children of the Mother
Some Anko find this ancient being within the depths of their magma-filled swimming and recognize its power. They begin to worship its holy presence as a source of enlightenment, information, and glory.

COMMAND RACE (4): Anko all become Children of the Mother
The worship of the Mother quickly floods the society (such as it is) of the Anko, and all soon become adherents of her philosophy. Soon, all the males of Anko continually swim into the Mother, to become absorbed by her, and to begin making most new generations of Anko literally the children of the Mother as well as figuratively. Soon, they begin changing fundamentally. The Mother accepts them, and adopts them within itself, blending its ancient power and nature with their own.

CREATE RACE (-already paid by Tacticslion above during the "Mysterious Task"-): Gankijiyuutsu
Augments and grafts - living appendages, both individual (though non-sentient) and dependent are placed upon the Anko, granting them great power, but twisting the way they look (and occasionally fracturing some of their minds). And yet, this makes sense to the fish - the Anko have always been a single creature that comes from two, as their males must fuse with and be sublimated into the female, never having sentience or independent thought. And those that accepted the alterations of the Mother became powerful indeed.

As the centuries progressed, more and more Anko came to the mother, and entered into the mother, to become changed, and greater when they were reborn. And, soon enough, these changes to the newest generations of their offspring.

(Explanation: Long since mutated into a new form of communal half-sentient echos of minds and computational data, the sophont-ship became a sacred place to the Anglers. Seeing a similarity of nature and purpose, the Anglers began adapting and utilizing the corrupted colony sophonts within themselves. This new race of sophont-anglers quickly became the dominant kind, as all of the angler society began to interact with these elements similarly. A new race was born from the ashes of two others: Gankijiyuutsu.)

COMMAND AVATAR (1)/CREATE AVATAR (1)/OTHER EVENT (7)/SHAPE LAND (5): Having seen the destruction wrought by a singular deity, and understanding the inevitability of a second great cataclysm, the Mother begins to search for (and locate) a new place, both for herself and for her people.

The Mother moves through the depths of the world, finding the dead remnants of the Cave System Avatar that once was the embodiment of the dwarven people. She quickly, thoroughly, and fully (secretly) insinuates and conjoins herself to this avatar, creating an even greater avatar, and suddenly having enormous birthing chambers for her spawn.

Witnessing the terrible power and horror of the vampires that exist there, she decides to arm her children well against their depredations, with all the power of ancient races long since died out.

COMMAND AVATAR (1)/COMMAND SECT (x60) (180)/ADVANCE RACE (5): Take all data and information/steal all advancements from the ship, the anglers, the colony sophonts, the dwarves, and the slumbering serpentfolk; also integrate the hardiness and "togetherness" of the dwarves

COMMAND AVATAR (1)/COMMAND SECT (x10) (3)/ADVANCE RACE (5): Take the advancements of the vampires as well, and integrate them into the new race, as well as allowing them an innate ability to float through (and breath) the air as well as magma or water. Unfortunately, replicating elements of the vampires instilled some of the creatures' tendencies, which translate oddly into the new race - they become extremely solitary, though disinclined to be opposed to others.

The Mother begins quietly and secretly absorbing and processing all the information from the remnants of the races that infest her new, greater existence. Even as she grows in presence and nature with none the wiser, the generations of her children seem ever-more-removed from the Anko and Colony Sophonts they descended from (though she generates a few of these, too, for preservation, as well as new dwarves - she doesn't bother with the serpentfolk or feathered serpentfolk as they continue to survive - all within suspended animation deep within herself for release later at the slightest hint of her will).

In triumph, she finally finishes her mightiest work: the Gankijiyuutsu, the eyes of magical light. A fiercely powerful race with six hand-like stalks, each of which branch into "hand-like" structures with glowing "eyes" at the end of the fingers all around, each representing and perfectly encapsulating a different mystical or technological innovation (and, importantly, defends against it) allowing them to perform impossibly powerful deeds; and a massive gaping maw to impale and destroy their undead foes on their ancient primal teeth.

These neutral Gankijiyuutsu have abandoned paths of aggression for philosophy and reflection. They avoid the company of other creatures (even other Gan) in favor of solitary meditation; a Gankijiyuutsu philosopher is usually willing to spare the life of an intruder (though with the expectation that he will help the creature by discussing a particularly complex ethical or philosophical question). Some few choose to live beneath various communities, and they may manipulate events in these cities, although generally their actions are intended to stimulate and study a particular social, political, or economic situation as opposed to providing the Gan with power or wealth.

OTHER EVENT (10): The Mother and her spawn will wait until Hordshyrd is no longer a cataclysm and then immediately become his (one of) avatar(s)/associated people(s), if he so chooses, or defaults to a player of his choosing otherwise.

Remaining Stock: 0 points

Thus the god Hordshyrd's will is done; his avatars persist, and will be waiting for his return to sanity.

The god has spoken, his will be done.

Stock: 12 points

COMMAND AVATAR (2) the Dwarven Cave System
Teach advanced mining, chemistry, industry, metalworking, engineering (and machinery) and weaponmaking; taken partially from the visiting Colony Sophonts Instead of being a discrete once-only effect, it is presumed that each turn until the cataclysm all the points that would be rolled go into this purpose. The exact amount of advancement will be determined at the time of the first cataclysm.

COMMAND RACE (8) Dwarves; Steal technology and advancements from the visiting Sophonts, adapt for the world below

ADVANCE CIVILIZATION (10) Dwarves; Chemistry, Engineering (and machinery), Industry, Metalworking, and Mining (taken partially from the occasionally-visiting Colony Sophonts) This is only an initial, incredibly basic "advancement" in any of these areas. Their actual advancement will be exceedingly gradual. It is also presumed to have been happening "off camera" as it were. In any event, this doesn't empower the dwarves much at all, everything considered, merely making them masters of the basics of these kinds of things.

The dwarves' own deity progresses them directly in tremendous advancements across the board... advancements taken from the bizarre alien visitors that occasionally slither creepily through the chasms. Still, their carvings and maddened whispers have kernels of truth and power - genuine, lasting power. Over the centuries and millennia, the dwarves slowly replicate elements they discover from the Sophonts, taking their technology and applying it properly. Aided directly by their god directly, the mysterious caverns around them train them how to survive on their own in the depths, against the coldness.

The very caverns around them teaches of the coming need for weapons, and drills them in their basic use to ultimately defend themselves against any that might stand come against them. The caverns themselves warn that the dwarves might not always have its protection.

Note: the dwarves will continue on in this manner until the cataclysm. All future turns are presumed to have 3d6 ⇒ (1, 5, 1) = 7, 7 points per turn going to the above actions. Any left-over points (not evenly distributive) will go into a special event for the cataclysm.
EDIT: functioning tags

The goddess has spoken, her will be done.

ADVANCE CIVILIZATION (10) Colony Sophonts; Advance Celestial Eyes (technology, mutation)
The Colony Sophonts utilize their excess resources and all their technology to modify their Celestial Eyes by implanting a highly-specialized variant Colony Sophont without the normal memory or paddle zooids, but maintaining information processing, computational skill, and telepathic communication abilities, creating a powerful suite of information-gathering and telepathy-augmenting living devices that are self-sustaining systems based on the Colony Sophonts' Cyclical Essence design and philosophy; this new development with which they can explore their cradle-planet far more rapidly and thoroughly before, organizing their landing parties efficiently and avoiding many obstacles with these powerful devices.

SHAPE LAND (3) Colony Sophont Celestial Eyes (no actual triangle, spread across the sky)
The successful development and deployment of the Colony Sophont's newly augmented Celestial Eyes within a mere twenty years enables them to effectively instantly explore and catalogue the entire planet. Utilizing their skillful artistry of lightbending and sculpting, they create beautiful displays for those on the moon and on the planet (though races other than the Colony Sophonts tend to find the moving stars somewhat disconcerting somehow, even if extremely beautiful). Their feathered serpentfolk allies sometimes also call these the "Bright Array" or the "Singing Stars" (the latter due to the errant wisps of thought-song occasionally received from these devices, granting extremely accurate, but often bewildering pieces of information; the former because they often array themselves in various mind-bending patterns as they transfer light and information). The world of Sekai is filled with the Colony Sophonts' telepathic communication and the skies are filled with their Celestial Eyes and light bending. These are also used to speak and share with their Feathered Serpent allies, though poorly as the Celestial Eyes are not, themselves, sentient.

COMMAND RACE (8) Colony Sophonts; Additional Celestial Eyes (no actual triangle, spread across the sky... of other worlds)
The success of the Singing Stars is such that the Sophonts begin creating much larger arrays, and using the lunar Will of All's computations, send them en-masse to other worlds, and even the sun, such that they create stable orbits and begin gathering information. This project is long and on-going, however, as the void is very large, and the gap between worlds are enormous. The sudden explosion of Thought-song information from the Celestial Eyes is wondrous and bizarre beyond comprehension to the Feathered Serpentfolk. This is a project that the Colony Sophonts will continue performing more or less "forever". It is not a discrete one-and-done thing. Thus, it's a "command race" instead of a "shape land".

ADVANCE RACE (8) Subspace Long-Range Telepathy Enhancement (mutation)
Having tested their own limits with their celestial resource-gathering, the Colony Sophonts recognize the limitations inherent in their telepathic communication and communion. Taking and analyzing the data their Research Stars have acquired old from triangle 3, they discover methods of delving deeply into reality, and beyond it. In doing so, the brain and memory-pod zooids alter and become capable of utilizing these alternate frequencies of reality to commune and communicate with each other, regardless of distance. NOTE: While the Celestial Eyes also gain the benefit of this mutation, they make for a poor method of communication, lacking sentience at all - thus anything that would come through them, while exceedingly accurate, would be hopelessly bizarre and nearly incomprehensible without the benefit of sentience like that of the Colony Sophonts, or at least a somewhat similar technological and scientific progression and understanding; some kinds of non-sentient computational devices could, in theory, communicate with the non-sentient Celestial Eyes, though the interface and translation protocols would need to be carefully considered and implemented to do so. That said, communication could likely be performed to the Colony Sophonts, but receiving anything back would be quite difficult.

CREATE AVATAR (30) Will of All (one each in M23, M24, and M25)
The Colony Sophonts spawn incredibly vast numbers of their brain and memory zooids to create additional incarnate manifestations of the Will of All, synching up all five localities to create a singular mind in preparation to launch themselves deeply into the Void beyond.

COMMAND RACE, COMMAND AVATAR (14) Spread to the Void, the Planets, the Moons, and the Stars!
The Colony Sophonts, at long last, have completed all their preparations. In a strangely solemn communiqué with the Feathered Serpentfolk, the Colony Sophonts bid them the closest concept they have to a true "farewell" - that of separation and loss, an emotion similar to love, but strongly associate with death. And with this, the Colony Sophonts send three planetoids - with more zooids of all forms than have ever existed on their cradle world - to the void and beyond to learn, explore, and settle all things, leaving behind many wonders and uncertainties for all they have touched. The Feathered Serpentfolk might not understand - after all, the Sophonts are still around, even sharing information with them. If queried, they can only explain that "we have left" - something very peculiar to those who see them when they explain this.

The goddess has spoken, her will be done.

COMMAND RACE (8) Gather More Celestial Resources
The Colony Sophonts, upon seeing the success of their previous two expeditions, send out their forces to gather more resources from the regions beyond their Cradle Planet. They gather a vast amount of resources two and a half centuries, once again nearly doubling the original size of the moon.

SHAPE LAND (6) Two New Planetoid-Ships (moon, 24, 25)
From the materials gathered, the Colony Sophonts form and craft two new planetoids - two new celestial ships to take them to the deepest reaches of reality and beyond. Their efforts going smoothly, they complete these Great Ships within two more centuries.

Stock: 4

The god has spoken, his will be done.

Stock: 40
Advance Race: Sapient Octopi x8: enchantment x4, illusion x4
Remaining: 0

Stock: 771
Command Race: Reorganize as the Ustlilithagori
Remaining: 765

"The Word expends the last of his energy into his chosen people, the Ustilithagori, that is "dream eaters" or "the Word dreams" (named by the Regulator to honor their master), and enhances them greatly - pushing them even further into the realm of the mind. So empowered, the Word's will has been done."

The god has spoken, his will be done.
Stock: 765
Other Event/Command Avatar: For the second time a Great One falls silent, though this time it is a younger, not an elder. After expending the last of its power, the Word rests. Its essence is absorbed into the Sacred well and is eliminated.

"One of the Younger Ones falls into an eternal somnolence. For the second time through all the Ages, a deity dies. The Sacred Well itself responds, placing deceased deity into the God Mount - the monument where the Fallen Divine can forever be recalled. And so the passing of one of the Younger Ones occurs, as it sleeps forever. But who knows? 'Forever' is a very long time, 'and with strange aeons, even death may die.'"
Total: 757

The goddess has spoken, her will be done.

CREATE AVATAR (10) Will of All (moon, 21)
The achievement of recreating the moon in their own image is a phenomenal one, but cost the Colony Sophonts much. They spend almost as much time recovering from the attempt as they did in their efforts to create their second home in the first place. However, the moon is highly uncomfortable for all those who are there during their stay - it is simply too far from the Will of All. As this information is passed to the Will of All with the cyclical visits and rotation of living arrangements on the part of the Explorators, it generates a solution - creating a second Will of All.

Taking many supplies and nascent brain zooids into the heavens, the Colony Sophonts utilize their Localized Will to train and grow the new Will of All into an adult. The moon now also has a Will of All.

COMMAND AVATARS (4) Will of All(s), Commune, Become One
The second Will of All matures and grows, becoming full and powerful as the first. The Two begin communing with each other over great distances, and the differences between their thought process are effectively purged - they become akin to a singular entity, though each half is only updated when the moon passes overhead (otherwise being too far away). The Colony Sophonts are, at long last, one again.

COMMAND SECT (12) Explorators, Explore! (And make peaceful contact with sentients, and share information and rudimentary technology with the Feathered Serpentfolk!)

As their society recovers from their intense efforts to colonize the moon, and their population grows (or re-grows) and stabilizes in both of their homes, the Colony Sophonts begin taking advantage of their new station, examining the world from above very carefully and transferring it slowly to the world below; After collecting as much information as they can, they set their Sekaian Explorators to move across the whole earth in their flying ships, landing in every region (except where tragedy struck once before) to examine, gather samples, and leave. They purposefully keep their contact with any sentient races brief, but successfully study at least individuals of all of them thoroughly.

The final leg of the Explorators' journey ends in a stop at the Feathered Serpentfolk's new city. There, they visit their long-time allies, and use the advent of Thoughtsong (delighted that they have learned such techniques as well) to teach the Feathered Serpentfolk about many of the wonders they've seen and created. Though much is completely beyond the comprehension of the Feathered Serpentfolk, the most rudimentary of the concepts, how the Colony Sophonts used them, and what they used them for, are clearly taught, though often quite mind-bending for the Feathered Serpentfolk to wrap their heads around. The ideas and concepts of having a Will of All when there is no Will of All (and there being two Will of Alls although only one), turning numbers and thoughts into reality, ensuring that all things move in cycles, and ascension into the heavens to ensure eternal survival are all explained as much geography and mapping of Sekai, its moon, and the void beyond (though this is nearly impossible with three-dimensional map-structures).

The Explorators would sculpt several (very bizarre-looking) monuments within the flying city to better illustrate and teach what they are explaining. It... only helps a little. Still, the vast explosion of information and powerful, alien teaching (which nonetheless has application in their world) heavily influences the Feathered Serpentfolk's art and culture. Note: Hordshyrd, this only persists for this turn, unless you want it to persist beyond that. Mostly it's here for flavor, and to somewhat imitate Lovecraftian themes and elements, even in a non-horrific way. Feel free to do whatever you'd like with it.

After their extended sojourn in the floating city, the Explorators finish their journey across Sekai. The information they've gained floods the Colony Sophont culture, and is stored in both of Will of All's locations. From this point forward, many smaller expeditions are regularly sent out across Sekai for updates and additional information.

Stock: 4

The goddess has spoken, her will be done.

COMMAND CIVILIZATION/SECT (12) Colony Sophonts (Explorators), Colonize the Moon (and explore)!

The Colony Sophonts are prepared at last. Loading up a large number of potential breeding and resource-creation and sustaining technologies, they launch to the moon itself. The launch, landing, and set up go surprisingly smoothly.

SHAPE CLIMATE /SHAPE LAND(15) The Moon (triangles 21, 22, 23), habitable (by Colony Sophonts) Satellite (21 and 22) and Mobile lanetoid-Ship (23)

Having carefully studied how celestial bodies interact, they have successfully shifted the conglomerate, larger moon they are crafting from it all into a stable orbit, one that will not decay. With all this in place, the Colony Sophonts quickly construct a stable, powerful planetoid capable of sustaining their population, and permitting a powerful growth of their people. In addition, they create the first of what may one day become their ultimate gateway to the stars - a planetoid that is a ship (triangle 23). This ship orbits the moon which orbits the planet.

Though it takes nearly five centuries, the unwavering skill, intelligence, and determination of the Colony Sophonts create their own habitable second home - a home above the world of their origin -, and a gateway to even more.

Stock: 0

The goddess has spoken, her will be done.

COMMAND AVATAR (2) Will of All; Send Explorators into the Void

The Will of All focuses its incredible mental energies into creating a set of analyzed systems to successfully launch half of all extant Explorators into the void, in such a manner as to make their journey and efforts not only viable, but successful.

COMMAND SECT (4) Colony Sophonts (Explorators); Explorators, Sekaiform the Moon (and explore)!

The Colony Sophonts gather almost half of their developed Explorators for their greatest mission: ensuring the survival of the race and improving their information-gathering techniques by a large margin. The drift through the void is harrowing, horrifying, and nearly maddening for many, but with the records from the previous expedition, and the Localized Will projection, the Explorators manage to find and secure the various extra-Sakaian bodies they required to place long-term colonization into possibility. The Colony Sophonts utilize many of these materials along the way, perfecting their previously only theorized artform, and creating new ships that have never experienced the drag of a planet's atmosphere or waves before. Many of these are carefully aimed toward the moon, aggregating in a large body near, around, or even on it.

After the first mission was a minor success, a second was quickly sent. Again and again into the harrowing void the Colony Sophonts launched themselves, gathering wasted product from across the star system, and beginning to gain a terrifying understanding of just how vast their "world" truly was - and how tiny they were compared to it.
Over the course of almost five hundred years, the Colony Sophonts gathered and directed materials toward the moon, creating an ever-more-potentially livable locale. The sky over the planet Sekai beings to fill with many new, closer stars, some of which occasionally crash, though most that do burn up long before reaching the ground.

Stock: 20

The goddess has spoken, her will be done.

ADVANCE CIVILIZATION (10) Colony Sophonts, Extra-Sakaian Mining Techniques (Lunar and Astroid Sculpting and Transport)

Realizing the desperate need for more readily accessed materials than were currently available for any long-term viable living arrangement, the Colony Sophonts begin looking for ways to acquire those. Using their advanced sensory probes and relays to find many useful materials in the extra-Sakaian bodies they've carefully mapped, they begin to tackle the problem of how to acquire them.

Applying careful observation of these celestial bodies, and the forms and movement of their probes and relays, the Colony Sophonts begin learning that, surprisingly, things behave in non-gravity in environments in some ways similarly to their own aquatic ones, though without the pressure. Combined with their advanced theories and art forms, they begin forming (strictly theoretical) techniques that would not only allow them to mine celestial bodies for needed materials, but scuplt them into beautiful and pleasing (and, most importantly, mobile) shapes, and move them across the distances of void and near-weightlessness without expending much energy or resources.

COMMAND CIVILIZATION (8) Colony Sophonts, Develop extra-Sakaian Colonization Program

Having finally perfected all the basic individual elements to launch a viable long-distance extra-Sakaian colonization program, the Colony Sophonts begin working in earnest to develop all the techniques together in order to create a full-fledged colonization program, carefully factoring in all of the variables, challenges, and using both their conventional thinking and computational style to analyze all the available data they've collected for exactly such a project.

Through a large amount of testing, trial-and-error, and careful study, the Will of All is able to perfect the techniques necessary to launch Explorators and their carefully constructed ships beyond the rim of the world - most importantly, while all of them survive process and the re-entry. The careful study of these non-living tests create a viable program for the living Colony Sophonts.

They prepare for the final push to attempt to acquire the ultimate example of the intelligence, determination, and will: colonization beyond their original world. The Explorators prepare for their ultimate exploration.

From their new vantage point, they believe, they can learn far more about the world more efficiently, as, with their ability to see everything below enables tremendously rapid development, as well as secure themselves from a cataclysm by existing in more than one place.

The first step, they determine, however, is to make a potentially-habitable place for them to live before attempting to move there.

Stock: 9 pts

The goddess has spoken, her will be done.

ADVANCE CIVILIZATION (10) Colony Sophonts, Lens Technology (Light Bending)

By carefully perusing the ancient data kept within and preserved from their ancient computers and the copies made thereafter, combined with their own observations of light and how it interacts with both water, air, and other transparent substances, the Colony Sophonts discover a unique method of bending and altering the light... and by extension, allowing them to see through much greater distances than before. The careful application and alteration of some of the ceramic technologies the serpentfolk had developed allow them to create extremely advanced and complex lens structures. Soon, bizarre towers filled with beautiful lenses rise high from the seas throughout the Colony Sophont's regions.

Initially used with advanced sculpting techniques to create elaborate towers for the purpose of artistic "Light Bending" (the creation of incredible, but delicate and shifting "structures" of beauty from light), it is quickly utilized for exploration and science. It is during this time that they spy the Lunar Orb, and realize that it's a true celestial body - and potentially inhabited. By careful and continued study, it becomes clear, quickly, that it is not currently inhabited and can't sustain life... at least not yet.

ADVANCE CIVILIZATION (10) Colony Sophonts, Distant Projection (mutation)

After realizing the potential of natural telepathy and the disturbing lack of the Will of All's presence when far enough away, the Colony Sophonts begin a more aggressive breeding strategy, strengthening and increasing the range of their telepathic communication - and, by proxy, the range of the Will of All - substantially. This increase in range, sensitivity, and power also encourages a flurry of activity and creativity - the Sophonts create a new form of performance art based on telepathic projections that their feathered serpentfolk allies quickly dub "thoughtsong" - a method of communicating thoughts, emotions, sensations, and even visualizations to create an local artistic event, similar to other races' vocal performances called "singing". This increase in telepathic ability also created with it a marked increase in electrical energy and output capability of the Colony Sophonts.

ADVANCE CIVILIZATION (10) Colony Sophonts, Innate Computation (mutation)

Along with their increased telepathic ability and electrical output, the Sophonts complete a powerful coup - a further mutation of the memory pods. This mutation grants the Colony Sophonts an extremely advanced ability to interface with each other, run advanced mathematical calculations rapidly, and index and retrieve information in a far more organized and efficient manner with the memory pods. The Will of All multiplies the individual Colony Sophonts' abilities many, many times, allowing for complex and fascinating thought processes never before realized by the Colony Sophonts as their data is analyzed in an entirely new way.

The Sophonts quickly develop three related but esoteric artforms from this new thought process filtered through their aquatic thought processes - math-forming, codex-spiraling, and index shifting (a kind of performance art). These artfomrs are extremely alien to the Feathered Serpentfolk and difficult to comprehend, but are named by them anyway. These artforms, when combined with their more traditional thought patterns, allow the Sophonts to create advanced and highly projections based off of relatively little information.

ADVANCE CIVILIZATION (10) Colony Sophonts, Localized Will

With the Explorators planned expeditions occasionally going beyond the comfortable borders of the Will of All's telepathy range, the Colony Sophonts utilize their newfound computational skills to develop a method of helping a local selection of Colony Sophonts stabilize a distant groups' disturbing and potentially deranging distance from the Will of All. This allows them to generate a minor, temporary, and non-physical "Will of All" out of the local groups collective computational ability whenever they would otherwise be beyond the Will of All's telepathic range. This minor aspect of the Will of All would think and behave similarly to how the Will of All would, even without all of the Will of All's knowledge and memory. This would help stabilize and sustain any Explorators that wonder too far until they can return.

ADVANCE CIVILIZATION (10) Colony Sophonts, Advance Theory of Gravitation, Density, Energy, and Movement

As the Colony Sophonts continue to build their flying ships and make their observations, they begin to expand upon their earlier realizations about the differences between the "heaviness" of air and water, how difficult it is to move one or the other, or within one or the other, and taking careful note of the fact that everything always goes "down". Delving into the ancient secrets once locked in the computers and now the Will of All, combined with their own observations, they begin to realize that the moon itself is a body that circles Sekai, which, itself, circles the sun, which, itself, circles something else - all increasingly bigger objects (though, of course, they have no name for these things - they simply are, as noted within the Will of All's memory and computations).

Using these observations, they create extremely elaborate and advanced theories based on the principles of gravity, density, movement, and energy. It becomes clear in a moment of genius amongst the Explorators that there will be far and away many more difficulties they will have to face in actually reaching the lunar orb than previously thought, including supplies on the barren rock. The first thing they will need to overcome is their own weight.

ADVANCE CIVILIZATION (10) Colony Sophonts, Recycling Systems

The first idea the race explores is the concept of Recycling. Careful observation of the methods and function of the world around them reveals to the Colony Sophonts that natural systems are effectively one, large recycling system that takes waste and transforms it into usable material again.

The Colony Sophonts work hard at imitating this system, but creating a shorter (and smaller-scale), thus faster, variant for long-distance trips with little to no supply stations. This technology proves to be extremely effective, allowing the Explorators to travel much faster and farther with fewer stops more successfully. The ships are able to be made smaller and sleeker as well as a result, also increasing the speed and distances able to be traveled.

These technologies were applicable even the Colony Sophonts' own self-crafted shells, creating potent and lighter exoskeletons capable of assisting the Colony Sophonts in their individualized tasks.

This new technology even permits a successful minor expedition to the desert, though the Explorators do not interact with any of the natives there, avoiding them at all costs.

ADVANCE CIVILIZATION (10) Colony Sophonts, Artificial Low-Resource Supply Production and Storage

The Colony Sophonts' success was only the first step. The secondary element to the natural cycle is the production of sustainable supplies. The Colony Sophonts again bent their collective minds to the task of finding methods of taking low-resources and creating a semi-sustainable resource production out of it all, with little in the way of supplies.

With a sudden influx of supplies, the Colony Sophonts found they quickly ran out of room again, due to the low-mass, but high-volume their usable supplies tended to require. Thus they developed extremely efficient storage methods to gather the artificially generated supplies and keep them quasi-indefinitely.

When combined with the Recycling technologies, the Supply-Production and Storage technology was developed into a physical artform that would be known to the Feathered Serpentfolk as "Cyclical Essence" - a physical art from derived from math-forming, codex-spiraling, and index-shifting but placed in the physical world based on their technology to create pleasing, but also practical and highly utility-focused forms. It is later described by those few Feathered Serpentfolk who comprehend it as a form of "creation and keeping through energy and movement", a mystery handed down by scholars and thinkers for ages.

Cyclical Essence comes to define Colony Sophont ships and their exoskeletons, redefining their art and sculpture in a fundamental way.

ADVANCE CIVILIZATION (10) Colony Sophonts, Launch Systems

With the advent of Cyclical Essence, the construction capabilities of the Colony Sophonts come to the fore. Using their advanced materials science, powerful artistry, and deep understanding of the natural cycles, energy, gravitation, and movement, they begin the centuries-long task of crafting a usable system that will launch them beyond what their calculated range of "air" is into what they expect to be a complete void. The scaffolding created heavily utilizes their aesthetics in the sculpting, light bending, and advance material sciences.

Through trial and very, very painful error, it is discovered that the calculations required are so complex that only the Will of All is capable of making them with any degree of accuracy.

After several disastrous early attempts, the Colony Sophonts content themselves - for now - with launching various crafted items with no living creatures in order to gain feedback and other information.

COMMAND CIVILIZATION (8) Colony Sophonts, launch near-Sakai probes and data-relays, and gather and record all the information generated

Using their lens and computer technologies, with their light-bending math-forming, and codex-spiraling artforms; the Colony Sophonts are able to launch extremely elaborate constructions into the sky, generating vast amounts of information that is relayed back to the Sophonts. They also discover the limits to such launched items, and that many fall and are destroyed.

Eventually, however, they succeed in placing a large number of relatively stable objects in the sky that send information down to the planet, leading other races to wonder at these "moving stars". The Colony Sophonts begin to realize exactly how vast Sekai actually is, much less the region beyond it. The Feathered Serpentfolk will come to refer to these as the Celestial Eyes.

ADVANCE CIVILIZATION (10) Colony Sophonts, Sekaian and extra-Sekaian mapping

Using their advanced celestial eyes, the Colony Sophonts generate advanced maps of every portion of the globe. Additionally, they begin charting and mapping all of the near-Sakai objects (including the lunar surface and asteroids that are farther out), learning exactly how large a task lies before them.

Undaunted by the danger before them, they begin searching for locations for a good new colony beyond Sekai itself. Realizing there is dreadfully little in the way of supplies, and that even their Cyclical Essence will only take them so far, they also carefully locate and map the moving elements of smaller rock and ice formations that circle through the night sky.

Total Spent: 98 points

STOCKPILE: 4