[CENTER][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/LTe8hGW.png[/IMG] [color=skyblue]Level 1 God of Civilization (Speech)[/color] & [img]https://i.imgur.com/YtdyAy4.png[/img] [color=777777]Level 2 Goddess of The Supernatural (Soul)[/color][/CENTER] They came, one by one. Some of them spoke to themselves or to one another, whereas others were more contemplative. Even from his perch in the Celestial Sphere above, Promus gazed down at their distant figures. With a small but concentrated effort, the Heavenly Sage also heard all of their words even from so far away. The first arrival had been a tall and slender one, almost like some otherwordly ghost. But then again, weren't they all otherwordly to this place? He stared with captivated interest as she began to work some sort of power to summon fungi from the barren earth. There was purpose to her work, though he could not yet sense it. Another being emerged as if it were some nascent beast tunneling through the shell of its egg. It spared little time. [color=bc8dbf]”Hungry,”[/color] it had offered as apology or perhaps explanation, and then it had conjured an infernal heat that seared the fine grains of primordial sand. From that first act of destruction, it feasted and worked some chaotic power to create a mass of energy. [color=skyblue][i]Kikoquatl. That is what the demon calls itself,[/i][/color] Promus mused in silent words. [color=skyblue][i]At least I know its name; there is power in a name. And now I know to be eternally vigilant of its doings and wary of its intent.[/i][/color] Another one entered, this one with tears in her eyes. Her eyes found those of Lei, and of the otherwordly ghost, and of Promus himself as he suspended himself far above; but his tears had already dried before she had even set foot upon the sandy beach. She mentioned children, and then he understood her pain. But she would still need time to understand. At some point an egg had rolled through the doorway without much event, but suddenly it demanded the attention of all as it erupted with the fury of a volcano. From amidst the holocaust emerged a newborn god. Promus remembered his own birth, so many millennia ago, and thought to offer guidance to this one especially that it might grow to its potential and act in a manner befitting its station. But alas, from the very moment of its birth it seemed to extrude a hostility and a desire for solitude. The sage knew that it best to leave that one to its own devices, at least until it matured and settled in its temperament. In the oceans, there stirred a deep and dark and fathomless presence, and like the Ghost it demanded his interest. The Traitor was reminded by that dark of smoking mirrors and the unknowable enigma of the magic that had been woven into the instruments of his pain. With a shudder, he turned away as Orfai began work upon a genesis of life beneath the darkened crests of those waves. Then a cascade of light fell through Mater Lei's opened door, and from its pure glow emerged the simulacrum of a being so fair that it nigh brought water to the eyes of He Who Stole the Wind. [i]Aella.[/i] She was beautiful, good...but so naive. She saw not the darkness and the faults within those that stood right beside her, but Promus did. He saw all such dangers, for he watched for them; eternally wary, perhaps he would not be met with a third fate more terrible than either of his past two. Perhaps through sheer innocence, she too would be spared. The demure ghost said something to that mother who wept for her children, and a small smile found its way onto the sage's chiselled face. But then there emerged another being: this one a black, vile, impish thing; it was barbaric and open in its debauchery and uncivilized and a blight upon order and the lowliest of vermin and... [color=skyblue][i]Gremju: the second demon. Already it flies, bearing ill winds with it to the east. I can only weep at how the morning sun's first rays shall fall upon its ruinous works.[/i][/color] But then there emerged a being of greater stature, grander intention, and better purpose. Promus smiled as he witnessed the newest god fashion a living being from the meager offerings that he had been given: the sand beneath the lapping waves, the calm seawater that dampened it, and the power dormant within his own immortal spirit. [color=skyblue][i]"I would call that one my brother and be proud for it,"[/i][/color] he murmured ever so gently, yet perhaps loud enough to be heard by one who listened as intently as the sage. [i]Ipeyr.[/i] When that noble one offered his name, even the metaphorical throne that Promus had claimed in the sky high above that beach, the wind echoed back, [color=skyblue]"And I am called Promus, brother."[/color] The Heavenly Sage spoke aloud without so much as a whisper, for the entire Wind was his and it heeded his wish just as other beings had a tiny wind called a Voice that obeyed their will. Another god manifested upon the beach, yet this one was an enigma as it radiated the cold of death yet also the warmth of life. With ancient eyes the Patron of Civilization tried to peer through this figure's carapace of rot and into its soul, to judge whether it be a demon of plague and blight or a humble servant of the natural order. He was spared the difficult judgement when the being spoke and introduced itself. [i]Pelegath.[/i] Promus knew much about mannerisms and speech, and from even an utterance that small he felt assured in his belief that this was no demon. [color=skyblue][i]If you be a humble servant that brings decay, then you do us all a great favor. But I fear that yours is a role that will earn neither glory nor love.[/i][/color] There then emerged another, and this one was a spindly...thing. Though its stench did not taint the soft and salted ocean breeze as did Pelegath's rot, it nonetheless radiated a more metaphorical sort of stench -- that of chaos and corruption. It looked upon them all with scorn, and then spared no time in reaching into the shallows to snatch victims from those first schools of Orfai's fish; from its horrific touch the fish were made into abominable monstrosities. [color=skyblue][i]The third demon shows its nature. In time, I must engineer a means to defeat it too, before it can aid the other two in their unholy crusade against this new world.[/i][/color] One more shudder, and then Promus was in flight again. He began to return to the ground with a quick descent to the shore. He fell with all the splendor of a shooting star, taking the form a majestic that was winged and [url=https://i.pinimg.com/564x/bb/ff/53/bbff534f1b0ed6a14c3c68d47c58485e.jpg]yet wreathed in the heavenly starstuff that was his flesh and skin.[/url] After the passage of a few moments, he landed upon the soft sand having left as great a distance between himself and the demons as he could. He gravitated towards the ghost that had been the first to arrive after him, with a purpose in mind and a favor to ask. Kap Gam was interacting with her little sprites, who danced around her, while her face did not smile, she seemed to be far more at peace now than when she first arrived. She suddenly looked up, her feeling from before intensifying. [color=777777]"Rose Erica Sage Tulip."[/color] she commanded her creatures, and they all did as she said, flying away towards the forest and leaving her alone. She turned to face the entity that approached her, she quickly saw that it was a being of many aspects, his true nature concealed to the eyes of mortals. That made it clear to her he was a being like her and unlike the newborn gods. Upon closer inspection, she could remember him being one of the two beings that existed when she arrived, yet he did not have the same 'presence' as Mater Lei. Not one of many words, she greeted him by gently bowing in acknowledgement. [color=skyblue]"Lady of the Crossroads,"[/color] he spoke first, returning the bow with his address, [color=skyblue]"I witnessed your silent coming; it was like feathers falling upon fresh snow, your passage like that of a ghost. But it was for your makings here that you have drawn my rapt attention."[/color] He gesticulated towards the fungi from which formless souls sprang forth, then went on, [color=skyblue]"I am called Promus, the Heavenly Sage, and my only design is to bring life from emptiness, sapience from life, civilization from sapience, order and grandness from that. I see now the intent behind these strange growths of your making: from them will spring forth souls, and with those I may begin upon the long work that lies ahead. But I would not walk that path alone; it is my desire to have three servants, and their souls must be greater than these mundane ones."[/color] [color=skyblue]"So I humbly beseech from You, Guide of Souls, this favor of three mighty sparks with which to animate the vessels I craft."[/color] The goddess listened with attention, on rare occasions nodding to his words. To bring about servants before her own was somewhat of an issue, but she sensed truth in all of his words, which meant he was a respectable god of vision similar to hers. The strength she would help him achieve would, in the end, be used to help her. [color=777777]"Your objectives are noble and true. I will grant what you requested."[/color] was all she said, before closing her eyes. Once again, she heard the orchestra of souls that resounded so loudly from beneath the earth. Three, she would need three souls, it was easy to see a soul for what it was, her sprites, for example, rarely were born as something other than that. Heroic spirits had a shine unique to them, the issue was imbuing the husks with their essence. [color=777777]"The exalted spirits have been found."[/color] She looked back towards the god, the air near them sparkling with gold from the reunion of great souls within the grove. [color=777777]"The vessels?"[/color] He answered with a silent nod, then uttered low to his breath words of power that defied simple meaning and transcended mere sound. The first of the Three was shaped from his own breath as words upon the wind took form as flesh. From the magic of his voice he then called clay from the silty bottom of the sea nearby, and with that canvas suspended in the air did he shape the second of the Three. Next he called down the aether of the Celestial Sphere above and molded the alien starstuff into the final and third of the Three. [center][img]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a6/e7/a4/a6e7a4af930764a7c0ea699117edf40c.jpg[/img] [i]He took up the Sparks of Life had been granted to him, and then with a holy force like the striking of hot iron upon an anvil, he forced the souls into the bodies fashioned for them and watched as they took form.[/i][/center] The eldest, fashioned of his own breath, he named Azazael. The youngest, of the earth, he called Makaizael; the one between and of the heavens was Halazael. In form, each of the three heroes appeared the same; they were robed and winged men of captivating allure, and they each had three sets of wings: one with which to cover their feet, one to hide their faces, and one to carry them through the heavens. To the Three, the first of his sons, Promus decreed, [color=skyblue]"I name thee each Masters of mine own power and Lords of Civilization. To you, my foremost disciples and who I shall call my noble Watchers, I charge you of course with carrying out my decrees, but also of fulfilling the mandate left by those other gods that are worthy: you must go to the mortals and raise them from their lowly stature into grandeur and glory. But before you may do this, you must learn the ways of the world."[/color] [hider=Summary] Let none wonder where they stand with Promus, for he witnessed the arrival of all and muses over your gods. Ipeyr impresses Promus to the point that he thinks that he would feel no shame in calling that guy a brother. From way up high in the air where he was suspended and watching, he uses his powers of speech to have the wind whisper his name back to Ipeyr after Ipeyr introduces himself to all present. Kap Gam also catches Promus' eye; he notices her molding some fungi (GEDDIT?! GEDDIT?!) but doesn't immediately recognize the purpose. Eventually he does, and he goes down to talk to her. He introduces himself, states his grand purpose, and then asks for three especially powerful souls with which he would be able to create powerful servants. Kap Gam grants this, and using the souls Promus creates three heroes: Azazael, Makaizael, and Halazael. In addition, he creates a holy order consisting of those three called the Watchers, or the Lords of Civilization. Their task will be to help him to elevate the various mortals and promote the rise of civilization; however, they must first learn the secrets of his power and come to understand his philosophy so that they will be able to teach the mortals appropriately. [/hider] [hider=Promus MP] Start as level 1, 4MP, 0/2 acts of creation -1 MP to create Azazael -1 MP to create Makaizael -1 MP to create Halazael -1 MP to create a holy order, the Lords of Civilization (aka Watchers) End as level 2, 0MP, 2/4 acts of creation [/hider]