“Soon, No Leaves On Tree. Soon, No Leaves on Trees. Soon, No Trees. Soon, No Plants. Soon, No Plant. Soon, Talk To Metal. Soon, Find Cause. Soon, Save Yourself.”

Allianthé watched as the rose returned to its natural form. Seeing her creation used like that, in such an unnatural manner, it bothered her. Except that its message was far more disturbing. She looked up towards the heavens, where the canopy of her most sacred tree was still in view. What she saw shook her to her core. With her divine senses she saw some of the leaves, only a few, turn red and orange and yellow. The tree itself rejected them and soon the gentle leaves came falling from the sky. If a goddess like her could turn pale, she would.

The air billowed through the forest as the goddess of life rushed towards the Tree of Life, desperate and fearful for the center of her creation.

There she came face to face with another Goddess. Hands on her hips in an athletic form made of molten gold, more like a statue than a living being. The Goddesses’ eyes were narrowed as she looked over Allianthé. Then she shifted her leg, proof she was capable of movement and her voice burst forth in a low accusatory growl.

“What did you do?”

The accusation hit Allianthé straight in the heart. Did the metal goddess truly think this was her fault? How could she think she’d poison her own creation! For a second she wanted to lash out like only nature could but again she checked her temper. “I do not like to be accused too quickly.” She said as neutral as possible. “All I know is that the tree of life is dying. You are the goddess of metal, are you not? I was told to come talk to you.” Her eyes turned towards the great tree again. Worry gripped her heart as more leaves started falling. “What do you think is happening?”

The Goddess rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “Goddess of Crafting. Goddess of Metal. Sylia is my name.” She retorted before adding, “And I don’t have a clue. My own hand told me to talk to [i]you[/i].” She pointed a finger at Allianthé. “So here I am.” She rubbed her temple and began to pace. “My Watcher has gone silent and your Tree think’s the seasons have changed.” She stopped pacing in front of Allianthé, shifting her form to be eye level. “We must venture below. Take my hand. I doubt you have seen the womb of the earth where the Divinium lies.” Sylia finished with a huff and out held her hand to the Life Goddess.  

“It doesn’t know seasons.” Allianthé’s pride did not allow for this fellow goddess to be so unknowing about the Tree of Life, much like herself it was eternal. To believe that it could go through a cycle of renewal would suggest that it could perish to start with. “But no, I haven’t been far below ground.” Despite her fear for what she would find Allianthé took Sylia’s warm hand.

One moment the sun illuminated all and the next, it was as if night had fallen and the world was only lit by stars. In this case, bioluminescence of all sorts and teeming with moss and fungi. Brightest among them was the humming ore interwoven within the rocks. As soon as they arrived, Sylia had let go of Allianthé’s hand and had walked to a ledge that overlooked a deep ravine that radiated a mix of white and green light. A song of hums mingled together into a chorus of beauty. 

“Curious. The Watcher is not seen but I can feel its presence further down.” Sylia said aloud. She pointed to a vast stretch of roots that were hanging into the ravine. “That was not here when I left.” She turned to Allianthé, her form shimmering. “This is not the work of Toil. It’s far too soon. We must investigate further, come.” She said, not waiting for an answer as she took a step off the ledge. 

“No wait!” Allianthé reached out to Sylia. Too many questions came up. What was this ‘Watcher’ and why was it down here? Who was Toil? What was happening? She looked at the roots around her instead. Some of them looked dark and bloated. Like they were filled with something foul, stagnant and poisoning. She placed her hand on the root and felt a strange, copper taste in her mouth. “All will be well again. Just hold out a little longer, my dear.” She said and as life the tree could understand her without a doubt. Then, with a worried sigh she too leapt off the ledge into the ravine below.

They heard it before they saw it. A large crack, followed by the unmistakable sound of rock being broken. Sylia flew like an arrow to the spot, ahead of Allianthé, following the roots the Metal God had pointed to earlier. There, in a large flat cut of the rock, obscured from the main channel of the descent and now illuminated by pure green from the Allianthite ore, they found what they sought. A large figure of flowing silver metal, encased  and seemingly melded within the roots of the Tree, motionless. Below it, fought a smaller version of the metal automaton. It was dodging the whip like vines and cutting into them with every lunge it could make. 

Sylia said nothing as she watched, a hand upon her chin as if she was studying the encounter with pure interest. 

“No!” Allianthé screamed as she landed and saw the scene unfolding. She reached for a small, inconsequential spider crawling along the roots. In her hand it transformed into a bow entwined with a black, spider-like carapace. Long, spindly legs reached out from the handle seemingly ready to hold something. Allianthé drew back the string and an arrow of white spider silk formed. The arrow flew straight for the smaller automaton and instantly wrapped it into a spider’s cocoon. “What is happening!?” She asked Sylia.

“Overreactions.” Sylia mused, leaping forward. She came to a stop before the smaller automaton, which shook violently in the web, but could not escape. Then Sylia looked up at what was left of the larger Automaton. “Fascinating.” She said, putting her hands behind her back. “It seems our creations were unable to coexist. I wonder who initiated such a conflict? I don’t see how my Watcher would have attacked the roots, without the roots having taken Divinium and I doubt they did that.” She turned to Allianthé and said, “Perhaps the voices we heard have something to do with it?”

“Perhaps.” Allianthé did not enjoy the almost uncaring musings. Clearly this Sylia did not understand the value of life. All life. For now though, Allianthé had to restore harmony. She did not enjoy the fact that this Watcher, this poisonous creation of metal, was placed here without her knowing. Then again, she wasn’t the tyrant of this realm. Others can come, create and go as they please of course. Still, a fair warning would’ve been appropriate, she felt.

Her divine senses told her that some other form of life was present here as well. It was small, and making every effort to hide from the automatons, the warring roots and now the two goddesses as well. It couldn’t hide from Allianthé of course. In a flash she appeared before it, crouching so it was looking it straight in the eyes at the same height. “Hi there little one.” She said with a friendly smile.

The creature, the goblin, jumped up in surprise and dropped the white ore.

Allianthé frowned. “Why are you holding that, little one?”

“T-T-The voices!” The little goblin exclaimed. “The voices said it was good. It was shiny!”

Before Allianthé could say anything else, or the goblin for that matter, Sylia appeared behind the goblin so that she was facing Allianthé and smacked the creature in the side of the head. Gore and brain matter coated the wall it had been hiding beside in a grotesque display. The goblin’s limp body fell to the ground, spurting blood at the feet of Allianthé. The ore lump rolled to a stop close by, the only sound in that small but giant room.

Sylia sighed as her attention turned to Allianthé, “A fitting fate for a thief. I do wonder how it even got down here in the first place.”

The goddess of life reached out towards the little goblin corpse. Tears pooled in her eyes as she cradled the body. She only felt pain. So much pain. Death, she had been introduced to it but to see it inflicted so callously. So unjustly. What was this little one’s crime? At worst he was a fool. Death was not the right penance for that. As the goddess of life, Allianthé would not stand for it. She held the body tight and used all the might necessary. The wound healed and the soul returned from the brink. There was no way she could do this for every creature that perished, but this one perished in part because of her. Rightfully the little resurrected goblin clung to Allianthé, fearful of the goddess that had just killed it.

“That was too far, Lady Sylia.” Allianthé said as she rose up. “Perhaps you should busy yourself with figuring out what is going wrong with your metallic creation.” Her voices were - for the first time in her existence - pointed. Yet the crafting goddess was no longer before Allianthé. Instead she was back over before the macabre sight of the metal and plant amalgamation, with seemingly no care for what she had just done. 

“Yes, yes.” She chided back at the Life Goddess. She then placed a hand upon her Watcher and said, “Ah, it seems the diminutive creature, goaded into stealing by the voices, prompted the Watcher to attack it, which these vines prevented. A battle ensued, and the Watcher was assimilated? No… As the vines constricted, the Watcher began to leech itself into your tree. It was mutual destruction. Yet…” She let go and walked over to the smaller pinned Watcher. “This one was created to ensure the legacy of the Watcher would endure and it disobeyed directives. It was supposed to retrieve the Divinium and leave but it stayed and tried to free its maker. Remarkable.” She breathed.

“They will have to be removed.” Allianthé said rather matter of factly. “Or dismantled. Whichever you prefer.” They couldn’t be allowed to remain here for sure. At best a tentative peace would remain. At worst all of this was one foolish goblin away from another incident. She put the little goblin down and it scurried away. Probably to tell the others about its encounter and hopefully its miraculous resurrection. “Though I presume that you’d wish a replacement for its task down here?”

"You do not see the significance, that's fine." Sylia said, turning to her. "I shall acquiesce to the removal but yes, you must understand one thing about Divinium and its alloys; Mortals are not yet ready or capable of working it into usable objects. I placed the Watcher here as both a deterrent and a challenge. If we don't come up with a replacement, the Goblins of these caves would run amok. Like the one you saved." Sylia waved a hand over the Watchers and they liquefied completely, running like water from the vines and the spider silk, forming into two spinning orbs around her head. "There, the poison is drawn from the wound. Now what am I going to do?" She muttered to herself.

“Thank you.” Allianthé said with a gentle smile again.  “And you are… quite right.” The goddess acquiesced without letting her pride fall. “Allow me to then make a proposal and a request. Would it be so much better if these poor goblins down here learned how to handle your precious gift? Instead of just… leaving it here? Hoping that someday they all figure it out for themselves.” Her eyes darted to the shadowy corners from where she was certain the little goblin was looking and listening. “I can create a shepherd for them, to teach them what they can do and cannot. In return I would ask that you create a space down here where they can learn and work the Divinium. What say you, lady of metal?”

Sylia looked at Allianthé for a brief moment and then looked at the Sylium orbs. “It is not a hope, Lady. That they figure it out. They [i]will[/i] figure it out, if I or others teach them.” she let out a dissatisfied sigh. “The correct infrastructure must be set in place beforehand, or there would be only chaos and chaos, like toil, will only bring disaster for these peoples.” She looked the plant goddess in the eyes now, “I suppose, either way, my goals will be achieved now or in the future. Your request is adequate, I will create a forge for those that wish to learn. Your proposal however, I find qualms with. I instead propose that we create this shepard or shepherds, together. That way, they have both our knowledge and design made manifest. That way, we both get what we want with…” Her eyes darted to the hidden goblin, “No intentional loss of life.”

The last remark conjured a genuine smile on Allianthé’s face. She was most grateful that Sylia at least made an attempt to appease. Even if - quite clearly - she either did not care for it or didn’t understand it. The goddess clasped her hand together. Divine energy coursed through the roots surrounding them as branches and leaves rose up from them. The humanoid figures were empty though, quite literally and metaphorically. Their chest was open, as was most of where their face and hair would be. The hollows looked inviting though. As if something was expected to fill them. “They should have your knowledge and your unique touch for life, I think.” Allianthé stepped aside to let Sylia fill these new creations.

Sylia looked them over, silently digesting everything that they were composed of. She looked up at the Sylium orbiting above them and shook her head. Then she glanced around at the green ore and raised her hand. They began to break away from their rock cages, humming a note that energized with life. They began to whirl before her, more and more gathering. "Allianthite, alloy of Divinium in thy name." She said to the Life Goddess. "Attributes defined by the Khodex and your imprint upon it." She mused, the ore beginning to twirl faster and faster. Its humming reached a crescendo and then the ore became metal, the humming stopped from that which now flowed into the empty vessels. "One such attribute being its capability to bond with life." 

The liquid Allianthite formed wove itself into the nascent beings, hardening and grafting to form a strange hybrid of plant and metal. Faces melded into shape, feminine and masculine. Smooth as stone, soft as flesh yet with the hardness akin to best any would be attacker. Sylia knelt before one, watching as its core took the form of a female. She seemed to scrunch her nose as breasts rose along the chest and the Goddess pressed her finger into the female's lower abdomen. She then looked over to see a male's reproductive organs form. The Goddess sighed, "It seems they will be capable of reproduction. I had not foreseen this in truth but it would seem fitting with your domain." Sylia stood again and placed her hands upon her hips. “I am not yet satisfied. What if…” She looked back up at the Sylium orbs and smiled. “Ahh and why should they not be attuned to my primary domain?” With a snap, the large Sylium orb shimmered and then from it came small slivers of metal that embedded themselves into the foreheads of the now sleeping mortals. With this done she faced Allianthé. "The Syllianth they should be named. Beings of Life, Metal and Craft. Formed for the balance of two worlds, and capable of bridging them together."

“Then Syllianth they are named!” Allianthé said, not bothering to hide her excitement. She wasn’t at all surprised at their capacity of procreation. Life, after all, was born and grew. A part of her wanted to stay here and talk with these new beings for a while. Maybe just a few years. Alas, there was the second part of the agreement. “The forge.” Allianthé said. “Down here it seems like that would be… difficult as I understand it.” The fire, the smoke, it would be horrendous for a while if it was placed down here. “Perhaps we could have it be placed in the sight of the sun, above? So mortals from across the world can flock to it?”

Sylia ran a hand through her golden hair. “I suppose.” And next the Crafting Goddess waved her hand, grabbed Allianthé’s and they were back at the surface, the sleeping Syllianth in tow. There she let go of the Life Goddesses hand and settled their sleeping people nearby on the floor level of the tree. Sylia next walked away from the tree and mused, “There are many Holy places within this Holy tree. Or there will be, this bastion of civilization. I can already feel them, living above and below. The others have been busy. It was good that they brought them here, instead of discarding them across the world like toys. It’s such a waste.” She sighed and then pointed to an area beyond the tree, next to a large cave. “I shall place my site there and the Syllianth will watch over it as custodians until they grow in number to look beyond the tree. I shall take some with me to the Atelier, in the northwest.”

With a flick of her wrists the two Sylium orbs whipped past the Goddesses like an arrow, finding their mark next to the mouth of the cave. There the earth trembled and stone was ripped up in a torrent of dirt and debris. Quickly the materials expanded, forming into large pillars of polished granite that formed an open circle next to the tree. There, a large silvered forge erupted from the larger orb and settled into the middle of the circle. Wide at the base and narrowing as it towered over the pillars. Ornate depictions of Sylia hammering and her sigil, a large hand holding the world, were etched across it. Directly in front of the Divinium forge the smaller orb hovered, splitting in half. One half sank to the now pristine floor and became a large circular anvil. The floating half, connected itself to this anvil and became a hammer. Sylia snapped her fingers and the hammer slammed into the anvil with a resounding boom. 

She clapped her hands together and let out a high pitched whistle. “There you have it, Lady. I must be going now. Your people will awake in short order and know what to do. And,” Sylia glanced at Allianthé, “Don’t forget your flower.” Then the metal Goddess was gone, taking half of the Syllianth with her. 

[hider=Summary]
Alli hears the voices and Sylia shows up, accusing her of fucking around. Low and behold they go downstairs into the basement and find that a goblin had stolen some divinium, the Watcher tried to stop it and then the tree stopped the Watcher. Sylia slaps a goblin and it explodes, prompting Alli to revive it. Oblivious to her error, Sylia fixes the Watcher and Tree mess after Alli demands it. They then create a plant and metal hybrid race to bridge the gap between protecting life and teaching it. Sylia makes another Holy Site and leaves. The end.
[/hider]

[hider=MP]
Sylia
Starting 7MP
-1MP For a holy site, Divinium Forge(2MP). (1 Domains related(Metal = x2 bonus) - Located at the great tree, the tree of life, Alli’s crib. A large circle monument at the base of the tree, within sits a great silvered forge and great hammer for the forging of Divinium.
-Blessed by Metals so that those who work with Divinium ore and its alloys within, have an easier time focusing their intents to create different combinations of alloys. 


-3MP(9 MP With the Multipliers of Metal and Crafting) To help create the Syllianth - a sapient species made from part nature, metal and craft. 
3MP for Sylia’s contribution to their base creation
1MP (metal) to give them part Allianthite bodies. The parts that are primarily Allianthite, (Chest, head, lower abdomen, etc) are extremely durable, yet soft as flesh and smooth as polished stone.
2MP (metal) They are capable of turning their limbs into all assortments of things. Primarily tools and weapons for protection, creation and deterrents.
3MP(craft) They have been blessed with Divine crafting knowledge and can easily create things that require years of study to master, applying advanced techniques to help further civilization. Such advancements will vary from the ever present factors of time, space, resources and lack of means.


3MP remaining 

Allianthé
Starting 13MP
- 1MP: Create artifact “Deinopidae” - A spider transformed into a bow, it creates arrows from spider silk that entangle and bind whatever it hits.
- 4MP: Resurrecting a goblin
- 2MP: Help create the Syllianth - a sapient species made from part nature, metal and craft. (Enhanced by life domain). Allianthé gave them an extreme capacity for tenacity. Wounds heal faster and bother the Syllianth less. They can push through pain that would incapacitate a regular mortal. They are able to survive such wounds as well. All in all, it is very hard to actually kill a Syllianth.
Ending 6MP
[/hider]