Looking across his vast domain, Halupus is very pleased with himself. This will be a crucible of survival; a proving ground for the strong and a killing field for the slow and weak.
The arrival of these new creatures intrigues the Wolf. He observes them for a time. Striped, as a hunter might be. They even kill small animals for their fur, but are not true predators. Some even seem to revere the Wolf. This causes great confusion at first. Do the deer worship the tiger before they are eaten? Does a rabbit ask the hawk for a blessing before it is carried into the sky? After years, the wolf begins to see. They know they are like prey to Halupus and the others like him. They are slow, weak, incapable of stopping their betters. They are mice, hoping the lions ignore them to search for better game.
Halupus turns back to his work. The creatures will be tested soon. If they are worthy of living, they will find a way. They are simply unimportant now. There is work to finish first.
In a rippling wave that looks like seconds to Halupus but is actually centuries or more, the mountain-range Halupus created begins growing, spreading west.
Will spend 3 points to extend the forested mountain range 1" to the west, and 2 points to make the temperature match the rest of the mountains.
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
Auqron was humming a silly tune (humming was a great thing he'd discovered, just this year!) as he bobbed on the wind and watched Puck fiddling around in his canyon. He was just admiring how Puck managed to make that snake of water (Auqron's favorite thing) move across the ground. It was like the currents he'd made underwater, but totally different. He'd have to take notes.
However, after not even half a year had passed, they noticed something on the lip of the canyon. Automatically, Auqron snapped out with his power and imparted a message to Puck's mind, his voice suddenly materializing in the god's mind like a hyperactive child, "Whatarethose? Heywait. Aretheymoving!?"
Strange, that was the first time any of them had even talked to another. Actually, Auqron wasn't even aware that he could do that until now. Oh well, he hadn't stayed around for a reply anyway, immediately zipping off to inspect. However, the instant he got close enough to inspect one of them, it shouted something odd and tossed a pointy thing at Auqron. A pointy thing that bounced off harmlessly and clattered to the ground. Such a strange thing to do. Is that their way of examining something? Auqron looked closer at the pointy thing. Nope, it was just made out of wood and shaped to be pointy. Hey, where'd they go? Oh, there they are... why are they running away?
Nonplussed, Auqron began making his way back to his own place to start working again, imparting a message to Puck as he went, "Donotknowwhattheywere. Theyranawayfromsomething. Didnotseewhatitwas. Gonnagoworkonmyplacesomemore. kthxbye."
Auqron quickly set about expanding the northern extent of his undersea forest, forming more vast tunnels, walls, and pillars of rock and coral, all littered with those gently swaying pillars of kelp and brushed by those strange, almost vertical currents taking cold water up from the depths to be warmed by the sun and then down again, giving even this deep, deep ocean nothing but warm waters.
Speaking of warm water, Auqron found himself suddenly surrounded by cold fluid with no currents, yet he was still in his own land. Looking about in mild confusion, he suddenly realized that he had missed this area when he was creating climate, and, in exasperation, immediately shot out of the water and into the void, to correct this mistake, blowing through a school of tuna fish and almost clipping some strange, wooden object floating on the water and trailing some kind of... net, as he went.
Spending 3 points to extend the kelp forests another inch north. Also spending 4 points to give the rest of my area a warm climate.
1+6=7
Realizing that his progeny were vulnerable to the climate of the plane, and other creature and deities there, so he decides (quite cleverly, in his opinion) to create a haven for the Zunna, beneath the skin of the land itself. He dives down into the earth, clearing out paths, and tunnels and crevices, and niches, and crevasses and all manners out subterranean places in which the Zunna may dwell. He decides to make the outer surface inhospitable, to discourage intrusion from others, as well as a stark contrast to the pleasantness of the homes inside.
Zunadj takes the peninsula to the east of the Zunna's place of origin, and creates a system of underground caverns, with sinkholes dotting the surface of what would otherwise be a desert. Shape land and climate 1'' 7-5=2 Points left.
Eses spent some time out of this world to look at the others. Most are ruled by civilized species, having a functional government, but there are some that... are more primal. Eses cringes. "Ick.." he thinks out loud.
Rolling a 10 and an 8 to make up for my lost rolls.
Puck looks fairly happy with his progress so far. Unlike the others, he has no real specific region of influence. He doesn't mind this, either.
But, wanting a measure of balance in the world, Puck looks thoughtful. Looking at his canyon, a great gash in the world. A single gash isn't balanced at all. His eye turns to look at a fairly empty world some distance away. And in a flash, that's where he is.
On the eastern continent, East-northeast of his floating island, Puck stands. Or, rather, floats. He looks down at the endless expanse of... Nothingness. He has a few inland seas to the north, a bay and peninsula to the east, more water to the west and south... And nothing in the middle. That won't do. That won't do at all.
Power is exerted. Not just below him, either. He begins to spread a strata layer of rocks that are buoyant. It's a rather large layer, spreading throughout the entirety of the region. Some areas deeper and denser than others. He does this all in a fraction of a second. And when he's done, the region tears itself apart. Rocks starting to float in the air. Some rather large chunks, miles across. Others smaller. Floating at various levels. All of them eventually reach their individual floating levels and come to a gentle stop. As gentle as trillions of tons of rock can float.
The jester stares at his work for a few moments. Hrm. Things don't seem quite right. He looks at the major pit beneath his works and then grins. Slowly forming valleys between the variety of lakes to fill up a large lake beneath the floating rock.
Then he looks thoughtful. He sets the air above the area to be rather calm, unlike most atmospheric conditions. Not wanting the rocks to move around too much, after all. And as it goes down, it'll get nice and warm. Prompting plenty of rain for the lower elevations of rocks. Higher up it'll be colder, perfect for snow. And a variety of biospheres as you go up.
The jester thinks for a moment before nodding. Yes. This'll be fine.
9 points for a large area of flying rocks on the eastern continent between the bodies of water. There's some climate control to mess with it. Mostly jungles bottom and cold weather top. 2 points to close.
Auqron hung low over the ground at the edge of a settlement of Zunna. He was trying a different tact this time, as, every time he openly approached them, they would dash away before he noticed that they had done so. Speedy, furtive things. Why had that black and white guy made them? Well, Auqron was intent on finding out, and all of his very limited attention span was turned upon making sure he didn't miss his opportunity this time. He had to examine them... somehow.
Then what he had been waiting to happen, happened: one of them caught a glimpse of him, and he made his move immediately, vanishing into the air, turning himself invisible. The Zunna was clearly a little unnerved by this, but continued on in his work. Auqron wasn't done, however, and edged around the field of the Zunna's vision, appearing for an instant or two to only that one Zunna while on the edges of it's line of sight. About two days of this, and the Zunna was particularly jumpy, twitching at the slightest motion. On the fourth day, the first doubt about his plan working crossed Auqron's mind, but just as it did so, it came to a head:
The Zunna left the confines of the camp, and began to chase after the flitting image of Auqron. The fish god was more than happy to lead the man out across the fields and low hills, but, once they had reached the coast (a short trip for Auqron, about a three hour run for the Zunna), the god stopped, turned around, and approached the man, turning fully visible as he did so. Fear immediately passed over the Zunna's face, but he was too exhausted to flee, so, instead, he breathed some word or another and fell back. Auqron didn't understand the word at first, but then his divine mind adapted to the idea of 'words', and provided a rough translation: "An Air Swimmer!"
"AirSwimmmer? I'mnotanAirSwim--," the Zunna clapped his hands to his ears. What? Was he talking too fast? Must be it. Slowing down now, "I'm not an Air Swimmer. My name is Auqron, and I'm the only one like me. But I grabbed you because I wanna know what you are. Also, why do you guys keep running away from me?"
The Zunna slowly lowered his hands from his ears, and replied, "You do not know?"
"...uuuuuuh, no?"
"The Air Swimmers strike down anyone who strikes against them. Though, if you are the only Air Swimmer--"
"The name is Auqron!"
"...uh ...the only Auqron ...then you should know this."
"I haven't struck down anybody! Ohwait," a memory had just offered itself up to him. When that first Zunna had thrown that pointy thing at him, what had happened to it? Had he been 'struck down'? Ah, he forgets, "Well, if I did that, I honestly didn't mean to or anything. Must have been a reflex or something. Maybe it's something that happens when a guy attacks me. Just a tip: Don't attack stuff you don't understand. Okay?"
The Zunna just looked up dumb-struck, "...okay."
"..."
"..."
"Well, now's not a good time for me, I gotta get going and do some stuff, I was just seeing if I could get one of you guys to talk to me, but I totally wanna find out more about what you guys are. I'll swing back by here in... say.... 10 years? We'll have a chat then, okay?"
"...ten ...years?"
"Okay, you understand, good, be back soon," and with that Auqron would flash out into the ocean to continue working.
For the next 40 years until the Zunna died of old age, Auqron would return and have a nice, multiple-week chat with him once every decade. They became good friends in that time, and Auqron learned about how short-lived the race was, and a great deal of what a culture was, while the Zunna learned many tidbits of wisdom that Auqron had gleaned from his multi-millenia lifespan, carrying them back to his tribe, where he had become a great leader, and told the young ones of the night he ran until dawn, to meet the great god Auqron who was once mistaken for a cruel god. On the last visit with the god, of course, the Zunna brought a young one, his great grandson, whom he intended to carry on the conversations in his stead...
So it continued...
Meanwhile, as he was adding the finishing touches to his kelp forest, Auqron was turning his attention to his coast that didn't border the White Flame's mountains. He'd not really payed much attention to the land ever since he'd made the jungle on his island. He'd been too interested in filling the ocean with interesting things, however, as he'd been learning of the hardships that the Zunna had to go through, struggling to find food or clothing, he was now interested in creating a place of lush life on that land, where everything that the people of the land could need would be found, in very high density.
His own land was already this way, with eels the size of whales snaking through the labyrinthine passages of coral and rock, and pods of dolphins so numerous that they would take hours to pass. So, with a flash, he shot out of the water at the edge of the coast, and tore up across the land, summoning a low tidal wave along the ground with him, stretching miles and miles and miles inland, carrying life and plants and fertility as it went. From there, the deluge of water settled, and the land turned into a swamp, and then into a wet, lush forest, and then into a jungle pierced down the middle by a vast river, as that ancient wall of water was still draining out.
Auqron spent a good deal of time after this out in the void, trying to warm the land, but finding that his powers where somewhat taxed right now from that huge wave of water earlier.
Spending 9 points to create a 3" Jungle on the land north of Auqron's kelp forest. Also spending 2 points to give 1" of it warm weather.
OOC: My turn got skipped. Guess I'll go now, then. 12! Total of 16 points.
Halupus watches as Puck begins to transform the area to the south. At first he sees it as an invasion of his territory. Too close. A threat. But he soon calms. Even the best predators have to share territory with other hunters. As long as they keep to themselves, there is no need for conflict. Hopefully.
Halupus imagines himself near Puck's floating mountains to examine them, and he is there. Running from rock to rock, leaping and flying through the air, exploring the whole place. He finds it interesting, but not enough to keep him there for long. He's still not finished with his own territory yet.
He again uses his now-familiar power to extend the mountain range and lower the temperature. He expends much more effort this time, stretching the forested peaks all the way west until it hits the ocean.
Halupus watches in interest as more beings appear. Similar to the striped ones, but not the same. Still not suited to hunting. They need the furs of other creatures to stay warm. Need sharp wood and stone to hunt. Can't survive on their own. Still... They are thriving. They must be doing something right. Perhaps they should be watched more closely.
As he watches, Halupus wonders what they taste like...
Spending 10 points. 6 to extend the forested mountains 2" west until they hit the ocean. 4 to make the temperature match the rest of Halupus' domain.
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
Orthuul was surprised. He was satisfied with these mountains. He had thought to pull them farther across the land, but he found it pleasing that they end here. There was something wrong with them, however. Mortals would want to experience them, some would want to see them from all sides. A clever mortal could go around his mountains by water. Orthuul's mountains were not created to reward the clever, they are to be a reward for the brave.
He plunges into the water, diving to the bottom through the power of his will. Orthuul does not enjoy the water, but he finds there is rock and fire deep below, and this he does enjoy. He grabs ahold and launches himself back to the surface. A thin, jagged spire of rock stands 30 feet above the water. Orthuul grins and points downward, and more rock rushes upward. And so, the god performs his most difficult exercise. He wishes for the waterway to be dangerous, obviously so, but passable. For the brave.
But no. The water is calm as glass. A patient man could spend a week navigating around the rocks and be perfectly safe. With a scowl, Orthuul points to the sky, and creates a vortex. The air contracts violently and a storm erupts. Violent winds and a pummeling rain buffets the god's back as he stares on at his creation.
Now to spread my will to the rest of the world.
Spending 3 points to make the inch of water (basically, the water between my latest mountains created: the entrance to the water body I enclosed) become filled with rocks and rock spires that make it extremely difficult to navigate safely. The spires are between 10 and 30 feet thick and can reach up to 40 ft above sea level or just a few feet below.
Then spending 2 points to make the area draw in storms so well that it is nearly locked in perpetual bad weather.
4 points left over.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I'll bet you wish you had a non-unglued/unhinged card that shared your first name.
Wanting there to be an area between water and earth Zunadj works himself into a feverish dance above the land beneath the green mountains. Sweat pours off of his skin, wetting the land and causing new growth to sprout from it.
Using all of my points to create a massive bog/swamp beneath the mountain range south of the forested area on the Northern part of the East Continent.
Trails of golden light streaked across the night sky, splitting, curving, and doubling back on themselves in some chaotic and precise ballad. For twenty days and twenty nights the golden beams tore through the heavens as the neonatal Humans and the young Zunna peered at the sky from their hovels and caves. The other gods would watch this spectacle as well, and know that this wasn't simply an aurora borealis or anything similar. No, these beams of light were as far across as a moon is thick, and were actually streaking through the void of space between planets. They would also be able to tell, that this was the power of Eses. Why it was pouring out into the heavens, they wouldn't know, but there was a lot of it.
Then, after three weeks of this impossible light tearing through the sky, it all came together, upon a single point in the void, directly above the north pole of the world, collapsing down into the shape of Eses for a moment, and radiating light like a sun. A silent lament was felt, as the unstable god's struggle to maintain his physical form was finally revealed. He only remained for a moment, however, before his last vestige of his control fell away, and his divine influence was scattered to the far corners of the universe, and the world beneath him shook.
Let's shake things up. Each player's next turn, you get 4d8 power points instead of 2d6. Reason is either that Eses's reserves of power were built up and now poured out into other gods, or some other reason you would like. Round after this, 3d6 points. Then back to 2d6.
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
Puck looks at the world for a moment. Hrm. Things are going rather well. The world doesn't look so empty nowadays. There's plenty to create drama and comedy later on. It will be fun to watch. But there isn't enough going on. And part of that, he feels, is that there aren't enough people in the world. You can't have amusing interactions if there's nothing to interact with, after all. Hrm...
The god floats around his floating islands, thinking for a few moments. Inspiration hits. Ah. That'll work.
The god sets to work, floating in towards the land to the southwest of the floating islands. Within sight distance. But only just. He exerts his power around him to create the effect he wants. A landscape that will suit these people. Wonderful. That will raise the culture that he desires. Following this, the people come.
They're an odd people to be sure. Humanoid at the very least. Very lithe folk, with long and gangly limbs. Or, at least, you'd think that, but they seem to fit their bodies. They look graceful. Ballerina-like. And there are some serious size differences to be had. On average, the woman are very large and the men very small. 7' to 2' differences can be seen, but those gradually start to drift closer as they age. There is also a distinct difference in personalities among the race, a very polarized set of viewpoints. The only thing they can seem to agree on is that things should be balanced.
Apart from their humanoid looks, their flesh is bio-luminescent and tends to radiate based on their current emotions. At null states, it looks cray with soft and shining flecks. They prefer as little clothing as possible, but clothing in general is form fitting.
They'll be known, eventually, for tall and odd looking buildings. Balanced, but looking as if that shouldn't be at all possible.
Around their genesis point, the god creates a canyon. A box canyon. No way in or out. But it's going to be lovely, plenty of plants all around. A waterfall on the north side to give water. And more importantly, a cave with glowing crystals, like their skin. All in even numbers to the other.
Halupus sees the races appearing throughout the world. Striped creatures, humans, and now these strange misshapen things... Something is missing. These things cannot be allowed to expand out of check. If a population becomes too large, it must be culled. Something must keep nature balanced. In nature, when a prey species becomes abundant, a predator will always move in.
Halupus uses the energy absorbed from the death of a god to bring a new race to the face of this world.
The smallest of the creatures stands over six feet tall. The largest over nine feet. They can move on two feet or on all fours. Lean, muscular bodies covered in thick fur of every shade, usually matching their environment. And the heads of wolves. They are a primitive society, congregating in packs ranging from a dozen to several hundred. Both feudal and tribal in nature, with the strongest male and female ruling over the other tiers.
Predatory omnivores, they can eat anything but prefer meat. Long life spans and low birth rate make up for their lack of numbers and their predatory nature. They can live for upwards of six centuries, but will likely have less than ten children over that span of time.
They are naturally armed with claws and teeth and massive strength, but can also forge weapons and armor. Primitive and savage though they appear, they are sentient and, more importantly, intelligent.
Halupus looks on his children with delight as they fill the remote places of the world. They can live anywhere, though the forests and mountains of Halupus's domain hold the heaviest concentration of their numbers. Halupus forsees them becoming the greatest warriors and sailors of this world one day. Masters of land and sea both. But not today.
Halupus observes two strange things as his race establishes themselves in this new world. First, they seem to revere all the gods, not just him. Strange that they wouldn't put their creator ahead of the others...
Second, some of them make tentative contact with the other races. Oddly, they do not devour them immediately. Halupus doesn't quite understand this behavior. They are superior to the others, so why should they converse instead of hunt? A consequence of sentience, perhaps. Halupus doesn't care enough to dwell on these for long. They hunt the other races, keep their borders in check and their population from exploding in number. Halupus hopes his wolf-people's fewer numbers will prevent the others from banding together against them, though only time will tell.
A name Halupus ponders. After a time, he decides upon one most fitting. The Canin. A fitting name for his proud people. Halupus is contented for now. He now retreats slightly from the world. He must watch his Canin grow. He can't interfere. If they cannot survive without his hand guiding them, they were not fit to begin with.
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
This world was getting awfully colorful. From the floating mountains to the white desert to the icy forest to the vast swamp that just cropped up to Auqron's own interesting additions to the world. The fish god was having more and more trouble focusing on his own work as some new, interesting bit showed up. However, something else started to draw his attention as he wandered the world aimlessly. More creatures...
The first new creature he encountered where these giant, hairy creatures with sharp teeth. As he picked through the cold forest of the hunter, one day, he rounded a tree and came face-to-face with one of them. It simply froze in place, so Auqron did the same. He wasn't particularly scared, just following suit to try and not offend it.
As the seconds dragged on, the deity noticed that it was slowly attempting to raise a tomahawk to - oh, it's going to attack him. Vanishing now. The Canin looked startled and looked about for a bit to see it could find where that flying fish had gotten to.
Auqron remained invisible and followed after the hunter for a few days after this. This thing reminded him a lot of the Zunna, but bigger and hairier and with longer faces. They could also move on four limbs instead of two, which was interesting. Good hunter, but was there only one of them? Wait, no, on the fourth day it met up with another. Just as well, with how good these things were at hunting, Auqron thinks the world would become grossly underpopulated if there were a lot of them.
After a week, the fish god appeared to the Canin again, floating above a ridge a good distance ahead of him. As the brute caught a glimpse of Auqron, he paused, frozen again mid-motion. Nervously, he began preparing to make an attack again. Nope, vanishing.
Another week passed and he decided to reveal himself again. Third times the charm and all that. This time the Canin backed up a step and narrowed his eyes, muttering, "What is that?" beneath his breath.
But, of course, being a god, Auqron heard him, "I am Auqron."
At this, the hunter jumped back in shock, dropping his tomahawk, before turning tail and running.
"...Well that was lame," the god uttered to the cold air. Eh, he needs to get back to other stuff anyways.
As he examined the progress of his jungle, however, he noticed something peering at him curiously from behind a log. Trying not to startle it, the fish god did not turn to inspect, instead just continuing along and disappearing around a bend in the river. Turning invisible, he returned to inspect the creature, which turned out to be a hairy, beige Zunna-thing carrying a spear.
...huh...
He'll just follow it around for two weeks - No, no, gotta get back to work. Gotta get back to work.
It seems everyone is making races. He hasn't seen Puck's yet, but that'll come in due time. Well, if they all have similar needs to the Zunna, they're going to need a lot more Jungle from Auqron. So, with a surge of power unlike any he's mustered before now, a massive wave of sediment-rich water poured out from the ocean, soaking the land with life and fertility.
A tangle of trees more massive and thick than any other forest on the world was beginning to form. With Auqron's special touch of overkill, vines grew to the size that a man could walk across them, suspended between equally massive trees. Where the vegetation grew particularly thick, it became like a second forest floor, complete with lakes and rivers, and the true ground, perhaps a hundred feet below, was like a cave. It a few places, the "second floor" became even a "third floor", or, in one place, a "fourth floor".
Spending all my points to create 4" of Jungle and update all my Jungle to the 'hot' climate.
As Zunadj watched the sky he saw the decay and eventual dissolution of the being once known as Eses. At the final moment of the being's demise, Zunadj felt his power shooting through him, dragging out his darkest aspects while at the same time purifying and enhancing his benign manner.
In this way what was once Zunadj split into two- Zuwn, the God of Community, Dance, and Enchantment; and Adjun, the dark deity of Caverns, Secrecy and Ritual.
Upon their split the two brothers went their separate ways, seemingly ignoring the existence of the other.
Adjun manifested himself deep in the cavern dwellings of the subterranean Zunna, starting an order of supplicants known as the Djo. Each member (known as a Dji), dedicates him or herself to the dark deity (his true name being verboten), and carries out various rituals through the day to strengthen his devotion, and his lord's power. [Create order- 8 points]
Zuwn turns his attention to the swampland his former self created. He walks the ground around its edges, first at an even pace, then in a stronger, more rhythmic cadence. The stomping of his feet and curving movements of his arms bring about a change in the landscape. A vast, lush grassland sprouts from the once barren dirt. He knows that in time he will be able to lead those Zunna still living in the desert away from their harsh lifestyles and into this land of great wealth, as well as any other creatures willing to live in peace and tranquility. [Shape 3 inches of land for 9 points]
Zunadj is now two- Zuwn, and Adjun.
Adjun spent 8 points from their shared pool to create an order.
Zuwn used their remaining 9 points to create a grassland area extending from the western edge of the eastern continent's swamp.
Halupus watches his Canin as they adapt to their winter forest. They are tested by their harsh environment, and become stronger. Their wits and minds are sharpened by their trials, and their will to survive is proven.
These Canin are strong. Halupus knows now it is time they become what they should be. But they lack leadership. A guiding hand. And Halupus wishes to become more involved in the world. To hunt. To experience this world first-hand.
Halupus, using a great amount of divine power, breaks off a piece of his consciousness. It plummets from the heavens, a shining star falling into the cold forest.
Halupus divine will takes physical form. A huge, hulking figure emerges from the crater. It is technically a Canin, though the difference is like comparing a dog to a wolf. The creature stands nearly twice the size of a normal Canin; fifteen feet tall, with fur of pure white and eyes of icy blue.
The beasts mere presence draws in nearby Canin, and, sensing the divine power of their creator, the largest pack their species has ever known gathers to it.
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
Looking across his vast domain, Halupus is very pleased with himself. This will be a crucible of survival; a proving ground for the strong and a killing field for the slow and weak.
The arrival of these new creatures intrigues the Wolf. He observes them for a time. Striped, as a hunter might be. They even kill small animals for their fur, but are not true predators. Some even seem to revere the Wolf. This causes great confusion at first. Do the deer worship the tiger before they are eaten? Does a rabbit ask the hawk for a blessing before it is carried into the sky? After years, the wolf begins to see. They know they are like prey to Halupus and the others like him. They are slow, weak, incapable of stopping their betters. They are mice, hoping the lions ignore them to search for better game.
Halupus turns back to his work. The creatures will be tested soon. If they are worthy of living, they will find a way. They are simply unimportant now. There is work to finish first.
In a rippling wave that looks like seconds to Halupus but is actually centuries or more, the mountain-range Halupus created begins growing, spreading west.
Points spend: 5
Points remaining: 4
{Magic: The RPG}
Auqron was humming a silly tune (humming was a great thing he'd discovered, just this year!) as he bobbed on the wind and watched Puck fiddling around in his canyon. He was just admiring how Puck managed to make that snake of water (Auqron's favorite thing) move across the ground. It was like the currents he'd made underwater, but totally different. He'd have to take notes.
However, after not even half a year had passed, they noticed something on the lip of the canyon. Automatically, Auqron snapped out with his power and imparted a message to Puck's mind, his voice suddenly materializing in the god's mind like a hyperactive child, "Whatarethose? Heywait. Aretheymoving!?"
Strange, that was the first time any of them had even talked to another. Actually, Auqron wasn't even aware that he could do that until now. Oh well, he hadn't stayed around for a reply anyway, immediately zipping off to inspect. However, the instant he got close enough to inspect one of them, it shouted something odd and tossed a pointy thing at Auqron. A pointy thing that bounced off harmlessly and clattered to the ground. Such a strange thing to do. Is that their way of examining something? Auqron looked closer at the pointy thing. Nope, it was just made out of wood and shaped to be pointy. Hey, where'd they go? Oh, there they are... why are they running away?
Nonplussed, Auqron began making his way back to his own place to start working again, imparting a message to Puck as he went, "Donotknowwhattheywere. Theyranawayfromsomething. Didnotseewhatitwas. Gonnagoworkonmyplacesomemore. kthxbye."
Auqron quickly set about expanding the northern extent of his undersea forest, forming more vast tunnels, walls, and pillars of rock and coral, all littered with those gently swaying pillars of kelp and brushed by those strange, almost vertical currents taking cold water up from the depths to be warmed by the sun and then down again, giving even this deep, deep ocean nothing but warm waters.
Speaking of warm water, Auqron found himself suddenly surrounded by cold fluid with no currents, yet he was still in his own land. Looking about in mild confusion, he suddenly realized that he had missed this area when he was creating climate, and, in exasperation, immediately shot out of the water and into the void, to correct this mistake, blowing through a school of tuna fish and almost clipping some strange, wooden object floating on the water and trailing some kind of... net, as he went.
Ending with 0 points.
Spend 6 points to continue my mountain ranges. Putting another inch on each line, hugging the coast as before. 2 points left.
BTW: The rules suddenly disappeared. Anyone have an explanation and/or a fresh link?
Realizing that his progeny were vulnerable to the climate of the plane, and other creature and deities there, so he decides (quite cleverly, in his opinion) to create a haven for the Zunna, beneath the skin of the land itself. He dives down into the earth, clearing out paths, and tunnels and crevices, and niches, and crevasses and all manners out subterranean places in which the Zunna may dwell. He decides to make the outer surface inhospitable, to discourage intrusion from others, as well as a stark contrast to the pleasantness of the homes inside.
Rolling a 10 and an 8 to make up for my lost rolls.
I now have 28 points.
Puck looks fairly happy with his progress so far. Unlike the others, he has no real specific region of influence. He doesn't mind this, either.
But, wanting a measure of balance in the world, Puck looks thoughtful. Looking at his canyon, a great gash in the world. A single gash isn't balanced at all. His eye turns to look at a fairly empty world some distance away. And in a flash, that's where he is.
On the eastern continent, East-northeast of his floating island, Puck stands. Or, rather, floats. He looks down at the endless expanse of... Nothingness. He has a few inland seas to the north, a bay and peninsula to the east, more water to the west and south... And nothing in the middle. That won't do. That won't do at all.
Power is exerted. Not just below him, either. He begins to spread a strata layer of rocks that are buoyant. It's a rather large layer, spreading throughout the entirety of the region. Some areas deeper and denser than others. He does this all in a fraction of a second. And when he's done, the region tears itself apart. Rocks starting to float in the air. Some rather large chunks, miles across. Others smaller. Floating at various levels. All of them eventually reach their individual floating levels and come to a gentle stop. As gentle as trillions of tons of rock can float.
The jester stares at his work for a few moments. Hrm. Things don't seem quite right. He looks at the major pit beneath his works and then grins. Slowly forming valleys between the variety of lakes to fill up a large lake beneath the floating rock.
Then he looks thoughtful. He sets the air above the area to be rather calm, unlike most atmospheric conditions. Not wanting the rocks to move around too much, after all. And as it goes down, it'll get nice and warm. Prompting plenty of rain for the lower elevations of rocks. Higher up it'll be colder, perfect for snow. And a variety of biospheres as you go up.
The jester thinks for a moment before nodding. Yes. This'll be fine.
My helpdesk should you need me.
Auqron hung low over the ground at the edge of a settlement of Zunna. He was trying a different tact this time, as, every time he openly approached them, they would dash away before he noticed that they had done so. Speedy, furtive things. Why had that black and white guy made them? Well, Auqron was intent on finding out, and all of his very limited attention span was turned upon making sure he didn't miss his opportunity this time. He had to examine them... somehow.
Then what he had been waiting to happen, happened: one of them caught a glimpse of him, and he made his move immediately, vanishing into the air, turning himself invisible. The Zunna was clearly a little unnerved by this, but continued on in his work. Auqron wasn't done, however, and edged around the field of the Zunna's vision, appearing for an instant or two to only that one Zunna while on the edges of it's line of sight. About two days of this, and the Zunna was particularly jumpy, twitching at the slightest motion. On the fourth day, the first doubt about his plan working crossed Auqron's mind, but just as it did so, it came to a head:
The Zunna left the confines of the camp, and began to chase after the flitting image of Auqron. The fish god was more than happy to lead the man out across the fields and low hills, but, once they had reached the coast (a short trip for Auqron, about a three hour run for the Zunna), the god stopped, turned around, and approached the man, turning fully visible as he did so. Fear immediately passed over the Zunna's face, but he was too exhausted to flee, so, instead, he breathed some word or another and fell back. Auqron didn't understand the word at first, but then his divine mind adapted to the idea of 'words', and provided a rough translation: "An Air Swimmer!"
"AirSwimmmer? I'mnotanAirSwim--," the Zunna clapped his hands to his ears. What? Was he talking too fast? Must be it. Slowing down now, "I'm not an Air Swimmer. My name is Auqron, and I'm the only one like me. But I grabbed you because I wanna know what you are. Also, why do you guys keep running away from me?"
The Zunna slowly lowered his hands from his ears, and replied, "You do not know?"
"...uuuuuuh, no?"
"The Air Swimmers strike down anyone who strikes against them. Though, if you are the only Air Swimmer--"
"The name is Auqron!"
"...uh ...the only Auqron ...then you should know this."
"I haven't struck down anybody! Ohwait," a memory had just offered itself up to him. When that first Zunna had thrown that pointy thing at him, what had happened to it? Had he been 'struck down'? Ah, he forgets, "Well, if I did that, I honestly didn't mean to or anything. Must have been a reflex or something. Maybe it's something that happens when a guy attacks me. Just a tip: Don't attack stuff you don't understand. Okay?"
The Zunna just looked up dumb-struck, "...okay."
"..."
"..."
"Well, now's not a good time for me, I gotta get going and do some stuff, I was just seeing if I could get one of you guys to talk to me, but I totally wanna find out more about what you guys are. I'll swing back by here in... say.... 10 years? We'll have a chat then, okay?"
"...ten ...years?"
"Okay, you understand, good, be back soon," and with that Auqron would flash out into the ocean to continue working.
For the next 40 years until the Zunna died of old age, Auqron would return and have a nice, multiple-week chat with him once every decade. They became good friends in that time, and Auqron learned about how short-lived the race was, and a great deal of what a culture was, while the Zunna learned many tidbits of wisdom that Auqron had gleaned from his multi-millenia lifespan, carrying them back to his tribe, where he had become a great leader, and told the young ones of the night he ran until dawn, to meet the great god Auqron who was once mistaken for a cruel god. On the last visit with the god, of course, the Zunna brought a young one, his great grandson, whom he intended to carry on the conversations in his stead...
So it continued...
Meanwhile, as he was adding the finishing touches to his kelp forest, Auqron was turning his attention to his coast that didn't border the White Flame's mountains. He'd not really payed much attention to the land ever since he'd made the jungle on his island. He'd been too interested in filling the ocean with interesting things, however, as he'd been learning of the hardships that the Zunna had to go through, struggling to find food or clothing, he was now interested in creating a place of lush life on that land, where everything that the people of the land could need would be found, in very high density.
His own land was already this way, with eels the size of whales snaking through the labyrinthine passages of coral and rock, and pods of dolphins so numerous that they would take hours to pass. So, with a flash, he shot out of the water at the edge of the coast, and tore up across the land, summoning a low tidal wave along the ground with him, stretching miles and miles and miles inland, carrying life and plants and fertility as it went. From there, the deluge of water settled, and the land turned into a swamp, and then into a wet, lush forest, and then into a jungle pierced down the middle by a vast river, as that ancient wall of water was still draining out.
Auqron spent a good deal of time after this out in the void, trying to warm the land, but finding that his powers where somewhat taxed right now from that huge wave of water earlier.
Ending with 1 points.
My helpdesk should you need me.
Halupus watches as Puck begins to transform the area to the south. At first he sees it as an invasion of his territory. Too close. A threat. But he soon calms. Even the best predators have to share territory with other hunters. As long as they keep to themselves, there is no need for conflict. Hopefully.
Halupus imagines himself near Puck's floating mountains to examine them, and he is there. Running from rock to rock, leaping and flying through the air, exploring the whole place. He finds it interesting, but not enough to keep him there for long. He's still not finished with his own territory yet.
He again uses his now-familiar power to extend the mountain range and lower the temperature. He expends much more effort this time, stretching the forested peaks all the way west until it hits the ocean.
Halupus watches in interest as more beings appear. Similar to the striped ones, but not the same. Still not suited to hunting. They need the furs of other creatures to stay warm. Need sharp wood and stone to hunt. Can't survive on their own. Still... They are thriving. They must be doing something right. Perhaps they should be watched more closely.
As he watches, Halupus wonders what they taste like...
6 points remaining.
{Magic: The RPG}
Orthuul was surprised. He was satisfied with these mountains. He had thought to pull them farther across the land, but he found it pleasing that they end here. There was something wrong with them, however. Mortals would want to experience them, some would want to see them from all sides. A clever mortal could go around his mountains by water. Orthuul's mountains were not created to reward the clever, they are to be a reward for the brave.
He plunges into the water, diving to the bottom through the power of his will. Orthuul does not enjoy the water, but he finds there is rock and fire deep below, and this he does enjoy. He grabs ahold and launches himself back to the surface. A thin, jagged spire of rock stands 30 feet above the water. Orthuul grins and points downward, and more rock rushes upward. And so, the god performs his most difficult exercise. He wishes for the waterway to be dangerous, obviously so, but passable. For the brave.
But no. The water is calm as glass. A patient man could spend a week navigating around the rocks and be perfectly safe. With a scowl, Orthuul points to the sky, and creates a vortex. The air contracts violently and a storm erupts. Violent winds and a pummeling rain buffets the god's back as he stares on at his creation.
Now to spread my will to the rest of the world.
Then spending 2 points to make the area draw in storms so well that it is nearly locked in perpetual bad weather.
4 points left over.
Wanting there to be an area between water and earth Zunadj works himself into a feverish dance above the land beneath the green mountains. Sweat pours off of his skin, wetting the land and causing new growth to sprout from it.
Then, after three weeks of this impossible light tearing through the sky, it all came together, upon a single point in the void, directly above the north pole of the world, collapsing down into the shape of Eses for a moment, and radiating light like a sun. A silent lament was felt, as the unstable god's struggle to maintain his physical form was finally revealed. He only remained for a moment, however, before his last vestige of his control fell away, and his divine influence was scattered to the far corners of the universe, and the world beneath him shook.
Go Puck.
{Magic: The RPG}
*Pulls out the paint*
...I'll have this fixed in a fiffy
Puck looks at the world for a moment. Hrm. Things are going rather well. The world doesn't look so empty nowadays. There's plenty to create drama and comedy later on. It will be fun to watch. But there isn't enough going on. And part of that, he feels, is that there aren't enough people in the world. You can't have amusing interactions if there's nothing to interact with, after all. Hrm...
The god floats around his floating islands, thinking for a few moments. Inspiration hits. Ah. That'll work.
The god sets to work, floating in towards the land to the southwest of the floating islands. Within sight distance. But only just. He exerts his power around him to create the effect he wants. A landscape that will suit these people. Wonderful. That will raise the culture that he desires. Following this, the people come.
They're an odd people to be sure. Humanoid at the very least. Very lithe folk, with long and gangly limbs. Or, at least, you'd think that, but they seem to fit their bodies. They look graceful. Ballerina-like. And there are some serious size differences to be had. On average, the woman are very large and the men very small. 7' to 2' differences can be seen, but those gradually start to drift closer as they age. There is also a distinct difference in personalities among the race, a very polarized set of viewpoints. The only thing they can seem to agree on is that things should be balanced.
Apart from their humanoid looks, their flesh is bio-luminescent and tends to radiate based on their current emotions. At null states, it looks cray with soft and shining flecks. They prefer as little clothing as possible, but clothing in general is form fitting.
They'll be known, eventually, for tall and odd looking buildings. Balanced, but looking as if that shouldn't be at all possible.
Around their genesis point, the god creates a canyon. A box canyon. No way in or out. But it's going to be lovely, plenty of plants all around. A waterfall on the north side to give water. And more importantly, a cave with glowing crystals, like their skin. All in even numbers to the other.
My helpdesk should you need me.
Halupus sees the races appearing throughout the world. Striped creatures, humans, and now these strange misshapen things... Something is missing. These things cannot be allowed to expand out of check. If a population becomes too large, it must be culled. Something must keep nature balanced. In nature, when a prey species becomes abundant, a predator will always move in.
Halupus uses the energy absorbed from the death of a god to bring a new race to the face of this world.
The smallest of the creatures stands over six feet tall. The largest over nine feet. They can move on two feet or on all fours. Lean, muscular bodies covered in thick fur of every shade, usually matching their environment. And the heads of wolves. They are a primitive society, congregating in packs ranging from a dozen to several hundred. Both feudal and tribal in nature, with the strongest male and female ruling over the other tiers.
Predatory omnivores, they can eat anything but prefer meat. Long life spans and low birth rate make up for their lack of numbers and their predatory nature. They can live for upwards of six centuries, but will likely have less than ten children over that span of time.
They are naturally armed with claws and teeth and massive strength, but can also forge weapons and armor. Primitive and savage though they appear, they are sentient and, more importantly, intelligent.
Halupus looks on his children with delight as they fill the remote places of the world. They can live anywhere, though the forests and mountains of Halupus's domain hold the heaviest concentration of their numbers. Halupus forsees them becoming the greatest warriors and sailors of this world one day. Masters of land and sea both. But not today.
Halupus observes two strange things as his race establishes themselves in this new world. First, they seem to revere all the gods, not just him. Strange that they wouldn't put their creator ahead of the others...
Second, some of them make tentative contact with the other races. Oddly, they do not devour them immediately. Halupus doesn't quite understand this behavior. They are superior to the others, so why should they converse instead of hunt? A consequence of sentience, perhaps. Halupus doesn't care enough to dwell on these for long. They hunt the other races, keep their borders in check and their population from exploding in number. Halupus hopes his wolf-people's fewer numbers will prevent the others from banding together against them, though only time will tell.
A name Halupus ponders. After a time, he decides upon one most fitting. The Canin. A fitting name for his proud people. Halupus is contented for now. He now retreats slightly from the world. He must watch his Canin grow. He can't interfere. If they cannot survive without his hand guiding them, they were not fit to begin with.
Points left: 0
{Magic: The RPG}
This world was getting awfully colorful. From the floating mountains to the white desert to the icy forest to the vast swamp that just cropped up to Auqron's own interesting additions to the world. The fish god was having more and more trouble focusing on his own work as some new, interesting bit showed up. However, something else started to draw his attention as he wandered the world aimlessly. More creatures...
The first new creature he encountered where these giant, hairy creatures with sharp teeth. As he picked through the cold forest of the hunter, one day, he rounded a tree and came face-to-face with one of them. It simply froze in place, so Auqron did the same. He wasn't particularly scared, just following suit to try and not offend it.
As the seconds dragged on, the deity noticed that it was slowly attempting to raise a tomahawk to - oh, it's going to attack him. Vanishing now. The Canin looked startled and looked about for a bit to see it could find where that flying fish had gotten to.
Auqron remained invisible and followed after the hunter for a few days after this. This thing reminded him a lot of the Zunna, but bigger and hairier and with longer faces. They could also move on four limbs instead of two, which was interesting. Good hunter, but was there only one of them? Wait, no, on the fourth day it met up with another. Just as well, with how good these things were at hunting, Auqron thinks the world would become grossly underpopulated if there were a lot of them.
After a week, the fish god appeared to the Canin again, floating above a ridge a good distance ahead of him. As the brute caught a glimpse of Auqron, he paused, frozen again mid-motion. Nervously, he began preparing to make an attack again. Nope, vanishing.
Another week passed and he decided to reveal himself again. Third times the charm and all that. This time the Canin backed up a step and narrowed his eyes, muttering, "What is that?" beneath his breath.
But, of course, being a god, Auqron heard him, "I am Auqron."
At this, the hunter jumped back in shock, dropping his tomahawk, before turning tail and running.
"...Well that was lame," the god uttered to the cold air. Eh, he needs to get back to other stuff anyways.
As he examined the progress of his jungle, however, he noticed something peering at him curiously from behind a log. Trying not to startle it, the fish god did not turn to inspect, instead just continuing along and disappearing around a bend in the river. Turning invisible, he returned to inspect the creature, which turned out to be a hairy, beige Zunna-thing carrying a spear.
...huh...
He'll just follow it around for two weeks - No, no, gotta get back to work. Gotta get back to work.
It seems everyone is making races. He hasn't seen Puck's yet, but that'll come in due time. Well, if they all have similar needs to the Zunna, they're going to need a lot more Jungle from Auqron. So, with a surge of power unlike any he's mustered before now, a massive wave of sediment-rich water poured out from the ocean, soaking the land with life and fertility.
A tangle of trees more massive and thick than any other forest on the world was beginning to form. With Auqron's special touch of overkill, vines grew to the size that a man could walk across them, suspended between equally massive trees. Where the vegetation grew particularly thick, it became like a second forest floor, complete with lakes and rivers, and the true ground, perhaps a hundred feet below, was like a cave. It a few places, the "second floor" became even a "third floor", or, in one place, a "fourth floor".
Ending with 0 points.
As Zunadj watched the sky he saw the decay and eventual dissolution of the being once known as Eses. At the final moment of the being's demise, Zunadj felt his power shooting through him, dragging out his darkest aspects while at the same time purifying and enhancing his benign manner.
In this way what was once Zunadj split into two- Zuwn, the God of Community, Dance, and Enchantment; and Adjun, the dark deity of Caverns, Secrecy and Ritual.
Upon their split the two brothers went their separate ways, seemingly ignoring the existence of the other.
Adjun manifested himself deep in the cavern dwellings of the subterranean Zunna, starting an order of supplicants known as the Djo. Each member (known as a Dji), dedicates him or herself to the dark deity (his true name being verboten), and carries out various rituals through the day to strengthen his devotion, and his lord's power. [Create order- 8 points]
Zuwn turns his attention to the swampland his former self created. He walks the ground around its edges, first at an even pace, then in a stronger, more rhythmic cadence. The stomping of his feet and curving movements of his arms bring about a change in the landscape. A vast, lush grassland sprouts from the once barren dirt. He knows that in time he will be able to lead those Zunna still living in the desert away from their harsh lifestyles and into this land of great wealth, as well as any other creatures willing to live in peace and tranquility. [Shape 3 inches of land for 9 points]
Zuwn used their remaining 9 points to create a grassland area extending from the western edge of the eastern continent's swamp.
Making a placeholder post here so you guys can continue onwards.
My helpdesk should you need me.
Halupus watches his Canin as they adapt to their winter forest. They are tested by their harsh environment, and become stronger. Their wits and minds are sharpened by their trials, and their will to survive is proven.
These Canin are strong. Halupus knows now it is time they become what they should be. But they lack leadership. A guiding hand. And Halupus wishes to become more involved in the world. To hunt. To experience this world first-hand.
Halupus, using a great amount of divine power, breaks off a piece of his consciousness. It plummets from the heavens, a shining star falling into the cold forest.
Halupus divine will takes physical form. A huge, hulking figure emerges from the crater. It is technically a Canin, though the difference is like comparing a dog to a wolf. The creature stands nearly twice the size of a normal Canin; fifteen feet tall, with fur of pure white and eyes of icy blue.
The beasts mere presence draws in nearby Canin, and, sensing the divine power of their creator, the largest pack their species has ever known gathers to it.
{Magic: The RPG}