[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/Svvasvb.png[/img] [img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/7f28c785-bb7c-4826-8dbd-4f45a4e28f0c.png[/img] [color=Peru][b]The Great Artisan, Divine Mason, Builder of Civilisations Level 5 God of Crafting (Masonry, Carpentry, Smithing, Alchemy)[/b] 36 Might & 2 Free Points[/color][/center] The gleaming white spires were visible for many a days walk in all directions. These spires, which had literally sprung from the ground, were now the crowning jewel of Loralom and the envy of Yorum. The Loralom Spires were the unmistakable mark of Toun. They signalled his material support for Loralom. While the surrounding nations marvelled at this wonder, pilgrims flocked to the structure. Some merely wanted to see the Spires with their own eyes. Some wished to pay homage to Toun. Others had heard that the Spires could grant enlightenment. Among the pilgrims was one dressed as a craftshain, with a leather apron and satchel. Some might assume that he was a Chipper, although none recognised him. Regardless of his identity, this hain walked over one of the major bridges leading into the Spires. His beak turned slowly from side to side, his eyes taking in the incredible architecture of this holy site. His walk took him to the central spire, Akol’s spear. The tall white point was held up on its ground level by pillars around its circular base. Each pillar delimited flowing porcelain archways that produced the telltale murmur of a hain crowd. Hundreds of pilgrims were gathered around the smooth floor around the tower. The Chipper had to stretch his legs almost straight to see over the heads of the crowd, only to see the entrances guarded by Loralom soldiers with maces and shields. Past them was a soft blue light that dominated the shadow indoors. The soldiers, it appeared, were only present to keep the peace. Pilgrims filed in and out in a polite fashion through the archways, standing and quietly looking up at the light. Others lowered themselves to seat for a while. Some were dirty, some were clean. Well dressed and poor. All raised their palms at intermittent points. Their faces were akin to those lost in a desert, having just found a great blue oasis to cool their suffering. Immersed in that cool light, they were at peace. The Chipper walked in with the other pilgrims, although he paid them only a small amount of attention. He walked slowly, circling the floor of the tower, and his eyes scanned the ceiling and walls to inspect the glowing blue stone and the myriad characters of Tounic calligraphy on the inside porcelain surface. Some characters were massive, the size of a cart, while others were so small as to be illegible to the naked eye from this distance. To most, these characters formed some strange, indecipherable script. To some of the local monks who studied the character closely and meditated on them, they may have determined the meaning of a small handful of these symbols. But this particular Chipper’s eyes betrayed an understanding beyond that, for his eyes were not enraptured or confused. He calculated. The Loralom Spires was an unusual gesture for Toun. Toun used mortals as a means to an end, so this structure would have been no act of mere charity. Toun must have had a plan of some kind, a plan for a paradise most likely, and Loralom and these spires were somehow part of it. This Chipper hain contemplated further. What might this paradise be? he thought. Perhaps a world where he and his siblings could create without fear of each other? Yet there was one who threatened that ideal, who would burn the world to a cinder and start over if given the chance. One who had said [i][b]’You are not a warrior. You do not breathe death as I do. You can only build.’[/b][/i] [colour=Peru][i]Then I shall build until I hold power which surpasses your own. When I have built, I will not fear you, but instead you will fear me, because-[/i][/colour] Teknall caught himself. He shook out of that trail of thought. The distractions came while studying the calligraphy. And as he discerned the functions, he could see where these thoughts had come from. The characters, it seemed, exerted a subtle mental manipulation to construct fake memories of a better self and society. And the viewer’s greatest flaw. It explained the rumours of visions and prophecies from those who meditated under the Spire. In addition to this, some of the calligraphy appeared to supplement godly perception which originated from the glowing blue stone, which confirmed the doctrine that Toun watches over the pilgrims in the Spire, and suggested that Toun was watching over much more than that. The rest appeared incomplete, but suggested some kind of interconnectedness, that there were meant to be others. [colour=Peru]"What are you up to, Toun?"[/colour] Teknall muttered. The blue stone above Teknall grew brighter by just a few shades. Much of the meditating crowd 'aah'd at the change. Teknall knew better; Toun knew he was there. While the pilgrims remained in their divine experience, Teknall heard a voice that cut through them all. [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"Planning."[/b][/colour] It jarred the serenity of the place with a familiar condescending mutter. [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"In fact, you have saved me some time by coming here, brother."[/b][/colour] [colour=Peru]"Is that so? What did you wish to speak about, then?"[/colour] Teknall replied to Toun. None of the hain around him even registered the conversation. [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"Grave news,"[/b][/colour] Toun intoned. [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"The return of a sibling. And what must be done in his wake."[/b][/colour] The flat statement was above the usual disdain Toun gave. [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"Unless you wish to sit with the hain around you for comfort, you may come to Cornerstone. This is...a family matter."[/b][/colour] [colour=Peru][i]The return of a sibling? Zephyrion?[/i][/colour] Yet Toun’s tone suggested something more. [colour=Peru][i]What has he done?[/i][/colour] Teknall replied. [colour=Peru]"I shall be there promptly."[/colour] Teknall turned and walked out from the nearest exit. As soon as no one was paying attention to him any longer, he vanished, and reappeared near the centre of the bright white expanse of Cornerstone. He gave a quick glance to the constructs being created around him, something which looked suspiciously like an army, before approaching Toun. His porcelain brother was standing patiently with his hands behind his robed back, looking back. [colour=Peru]"I am here, brother,"[/colour] Teknall said. [colour=Peru]"Now tell me of this grave news."[/colour] Toun was as blunt as Teknall's request. [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"Zephyrion has fractured. He escaped Chronos by entering a realm of pure alteration. There, his essence split in twain. A piece of him reached me, and conveyed a memory most distressing."[/b][/colour] Toun's blue eye blinked. [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"Kyre was murdered."[/b][/colour] Teknall was silent as the news sunk in. [colour=Peru]"Oh."[/colour] Teknall’s hand reached up and pressed against his head. [colour=Peru]"Oh, Kyre. That’s dreadful."[/colour] Teknall walked in a small circle, head bowed down in grief. [colour=Peru]"Why would Zephyrion kill Kyre? [i]How[/i] could someone defeat Kyre?"[/colour] [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"Were you not listening?"[/b][/colour] Toun's acerbic side resurfaced. [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"Zephyrion was not the one who defeated Kyre. Something else did. I suspect it is another piece of Zephyrion, a different one to that which informed me, that...Aihtiraq creature. No, this shard was something dark. Something vengeant and hungry. It had a weapon. A greater weapon than has been raised by a god since we were born."[/b][/colour] Toun extended an open hand angled down towards Teknall's hain head. [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"Allow me to show you."[/b][/colour] Teknall hesitated. Past experience was not in favour, and something inside him told him to keep his mind safe from others. Yet he trusted Toun. With appropriate mental guards in place, Teknall stepped forwards. Toun’s palm touched the top of his head. A nudge. Red symbols rushed and flooded his mind's eye until they coalesced into two figures. One had a sword drawn. The armoured shape of Kyre stood defiantly. The other figure was a whirling shape of shifting shadows. The memory played in identical order to what Aihtiraq provided Toun. Shouts of retribution. A surge of power from a point of entropy. Kyre's essence evaporated in its fire. Little sense of time was preserved in the vision, and the red symbols threw Teknal back to reality before he could readjust his balance from the violence of it. Toun's hand curled back around behind him. [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"It will kill again. I need your help."[/b][/colour] Teknall’s eyes were wide. Not only from Kyre’s murder, but the horrific display of power involved in it. His eyes closed and opened. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words were forthcoming. He tried again. [colour=Peru]"The power in that black pearl of energy. It’s...frightening. We must find some way to contain it. Control it."[/colour] [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"Contain it?"[/b][/colour] Toun's brow pinched low. [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"You believe we cannot destroy it? It killed our brother!"[/b][/colour] Teknall flinched, then stopped to think for a moment. [colour=Peru]"Ah, yes, destroying it would probably be better. Quite dangerous in the wrong hands. The trick would be figuring out how. Although the memory was vague about the pertinent details, it looked like some object of raw energy rather than a constructed device. Such an artefact would not be simple to destroy."[/colour] Toun's eye shut tight. His head angled half a turn away as a sigh escaped his non-existent nose. His own pause for thought could have just as likely been an effort not to chastise his brother. There was no justification to do so. [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"If it cannot be destroyed,"[/b][/colour] Toun concluded. [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"It must be contained."[/b][/colour] Teknall was not out of ideas. [colour=Peru]"While it might be difficult to destroy pure energy, it may be possible to transmute it. Convert it into a less harmful form, or possibly even invert it entirely. That would negate the destructive power of this weapon."[/colour] Toun's eye opened to Teknall. He seethed less now that there was progress. [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"We would need to steal it away first. Then study it."[/b][/colour] Toun pondered further. [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"This creature, this murderer. It must be punished as well. That must be resolved first. If I were to incapacitate the creature, with help against its abominable power, would it be imprisonable?"[/b][/colour] He asked. The thought of some act of revenge made his voice quiver with an anxious mix of emotions. [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"Killing any more gods is anathema to me. But greater anathema is allowing this one to kill in my complicity."[/b][/colour] Teknall’s eyes narrowed in calculation. [colour=Peru]"A prison for a god..."[/colour] He thought a while longer. [colour=Peru]"It would be difficult. Gods are powerful. Even if we had something strong enough, gods can travel through space and across dimensions at a whim. A dimensional prison of some sort would be the most likely solution, but it would require some truly mighty barriers to prevent him from leaving. I’d suggest the Gap, but throwing anyone there would be fatal. But, perhaps…I designed the barriers preventing things from leaving the Gap. Perhaps it might be possible to apply similar barriers elsewhere."[/colour] [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"A self-contained plane,"[/b][/colour] Toun elaborated to himself. He turned on his heel and paced, talking at the tiled floor. [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"A barrier for each dimension, looping its change in position back into its origin. Trapping the contents."[/b][/colour] Toun stopped and turned his head across to Teknall again. [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"Can you build it?"[/b][/colour] [colour=Peru]"Hypertoroidal space, nested recursively. Add a few barriers."[/colour] Teknall paused as he considered it. [colour=Peru]"I'd need to do some extra research, but it sounds like it is within the realms of possibility. Jvan’s pretty good with manipulating the geometry of space. If she weren’t half-comatose, she might be able to provide useful input."[/colour] [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"Jvan need not be awoken. She has built a similar construct before, though dissimilar in design and purpose, from her own body. I have seen it. We have spoken to it."[/b][/colour] Teknall took a moment to connect the dots in his head. [colour=Peru]"Chiral Phi."[/colour] [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"Quite,"[/b][/colour] Toun confirmed. [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"But this prison should ideally not scurry off exploring its sentience. All we need is the prison so it may be hidden away. An artefact, not a mind."[/b][/colour] He straightened to face Teknall fully. [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"I need you to build this, brother. Focus your efforts. When you complete it, leave the creature's arrest to me. I have a plan."[/b][/colour] Teknall nodded affirmatively. He then paused. Toun’s plan was vague, yet he appeared confident in it. As Teknall pondered this riddle, he looked around at Cornerstone. Toun took no notice to his eyes prying around the fortress. Teknall broke the silence. [colour=Peru]"I couldn’t help but notice that you seem to be building an…army here. Any particular reason?"[/colour] Curiously, Toun turned to survey the handiwork of the slave hain surrounding them. Each inanimate construct on the tiles was irrefutably built for combat. Toun answered as if it was a matter of course. [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"Do you remember, a time ago, when I mentioned working towards obtaining the Codex? This is one measure that I must take."[/b][/colour] [colour=Peru]"Ah,"[/colour] Teknall said, understanding. [colour=Peru]"It wouldn’t happen to be linked to the Loralom Spire, would it?"[/colour] Toun's eye narrowed, though his tone did not change. [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"It may. In time."[/b][/colour] [colour=Peru]"Hmm..."[/colour] This hadn’t really answered the question, but it seemed that Toun had secrets of his own. Still, the question of Toun's other machinations was an aside. Teknall still hadn’t figured out the riddle of Toun’s plan versus Kyre's murderer. He returned to the topic, and asked with a twinge of concern. [colour=Peru]"Are you sure you’re able to handle arresting this creature on your own? You saw what it was capable of."[/colour] [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"I shall not face it alone."[/b][/colour] Toun's confidence rebuffed any concern expressed towards him. [colour=PaleGoldenrod][b]"I will call upon another who is capable of much."[/b][/colour] Teknall’s eyes narrowed. [colour=Peru]"Who?"[/colour] [hr] A slave hain working a distance away was distracted by the gods' conversation. He turned his oblivious eyes to the familiar shape of the hain in the apron. He really should have been finishing the ankle joint on the legionnaire, but...why was one hain out of place? Why did he wear that brown stuff? What is he doing so close to dear father? Dear father said something. The hain in the apron staggered in place and stammered a response. Huh, looks surprised. Must be punishment. But dear father didn't look angry? There was a few more moments of conversation and then the hain in the apron turned and vanished. Back to the ankle joint, then. [hider=TFW Everyone Wants an Apocalypse At Once] Teknall comes to check out Loralom Spire disguised as a hain Chipper. He unwittingly falls for the Tounic Calligraphy's memory manufacture, but snaps out of it. Toun spots him. Says "Asuuh, bruh? Come to Cornerstone, shit's going down." After some curiosity, Teknall teleports to Cornerstone. "What shit's going down, bruh?" Toun: "Kyre's dead, friendly genie showed me who murdered him. This playa's packing serious heat." Teknall: "That's wack, man." Toun: "Yeeuh, I need you to build me a prison for this turkey, Teknall bruh. I'mma curb stomp him." Teknall: "Fo' Sho'. I'll make it outta hyperdimensional donuts. But, bruh, what's with this army and those Spires in Loralom, mang?" Toun: "Codex shit. None-ya-business." Teknall: "K. Are you sure you can take on Kyre's killer? He looks like a hard ass." Toun: "No sweat, bruh. I'm calling in some help." Teknall: "K den, who dat?" Cut to a slave hain that doesn't understand god-bonics. He sees Teknall freaking out at who Toun answers as his helper in taking on Xos, thus leaving the audience in suspense. End scene. Mutton ponders on his slowly devolving summaries. [i]No might used.[/i] [/hider]