[i]Sancta Civitas[/i] The rest of Kallak, Silandrazz, Stoshri and Gosyor’s journey to Sancta Civitas passed without incident, which allowed for plenty of time for Gosyor and Silandrazz to butt heads over the Vespian Lord Over Nature’s ideals and claim about having spoken with Artifex. “Look. We’re going to have to go talk to Builder-Priest anyway about this mana honey. So they’ll sort it out, alright?” Kallak told them once they arrived, having grown sick of their bickering “Yeah. They’ll back me up on this!“ Silandrazz cheered before realizing she didn't actually know that for sure “They will right?” “Def… Probably” Kallak agreed “Will see” Gosyor grumbled in response [hr] After a ride up from the docks on the back of Chompy the giant ant the four of them arrived in the palace district and headed for the Library. To the disappointment of the Servants they did not enter it right away, and instead made their way to a small temple situated right next to the massive archive of magical knowledge. Much like the neighboring Library, the temple was a place of learning and self improvement. Twin statues of Artifex and Cadian took pride of place at the far end of the temple squatting as they had upon their first meeting. The gods were angled in such a way that they looked both at each other and down at the room before them which was lined with shelves of slates containing guides on how to perform various crafts or skills. At the moment a vespain builder-priest was using one of these tablets to lead a pottery class. “Ah hello. Are you here for the sermon? If so you are a little late.” The vespian builder-priest asked the group as they entered. “No, not today. Sorry for interrupting. I’m here to hand in a holy quest” Kallak expalined “You are? How wonderful! Just head on through and knock before entering” the builder-priest replied cheerfully, before directing them towards a backroom in the temple. After knocking as instructed and receiving entry the four of them entered a small study, where they met an aging goblin woman, clad in a black toga and wearing a crown adorned with a replica of Artifex’s horns. She set aside the slate she had been carving regarding the process by which Inspiration infused ink should be passively harvested and looked the group up and down before asking simply “yes?” “Greetings mam. I come bearing the fruits of Artifex’s divine work which i understand there is a considrable reward for discovering the location of?” Kallak said, presenting two jars of mana honey to the builder-priest. The goblin moved from behind her desk and approached to inspect the contents, finding within honey the color of water in one, and honey the color of earth in the other. “Hmmm. Will need checked. Come” she said after inspecting the two jars, before brushing past them and leading the group out of the temple via a side door which led into the courtyard of the Library next door. They made their way through the courtyard and past a pair of builder-priests working on some kind of magical statue and surrounded by several failures and as of yet uncarved blocks before entering the library proper and making their way to a small mosaic. It had appeared mysteriously in the library open day, and depicted the existence of four kinds of bees, their mana infused honey and descriptions of how to use the power held within. Their arrival retrieved a bit of attention, not only from the presence of the builder-priest at the mosaic, but also from the rainbow flecked eyes of the two Servants following in her wake and the fact that Gosyor’s passing seemed to ruin any spells that were in the progress of being cast as well as repelling the magical motes that drifted around the Library thanks to a tree-branch he had in his pack. “Now. To test...” the goblin glanced around and then called out to one of the mages “Metilia. Perfect. Come” before beckoning over a muscular Akua woman with a snout like face who had the skin, teeth and tail of a shark. The woman had just pulled herself out of a large raised pool (which dsat in the center of the room they where in in a way akin to a fountain centerpiece) used by her kind to stave off dehydration while spending long periods reading in the Library and was already heading towards them when called by the builder-priest. She was quickly joined by Velnik, the Servant, who also pulled himself out of the same pool (he’d been the one to request it be installed in the first place) after catching sight of the two Servants accompanying Kallak. “Hello mam. Is that honey I smell.” the shark woman said as she joined them “This claims is mana. Metilia test? Make sure not fake,” the builder-priest replied while the Servants made their introductions to one another in the background. “Can do. Nice to see you trusting me this time mam” Metilia replied. She glanced at the mosaic before scooping a hearty glob of the rather un-appealing looking grey-brown honey from a pre-offered jar using her hand. She sniffed it, made a small sound of approval, then licked the honey off of her finger. “Oh. yeah. Yep. That’s the stuff” she said, her voice and body vibrating slightly as if she was suffering from a sugar rush “Earth earth earth ah!” she muttered to herself glancing around wildly before running outside. There was the sound of chanting and then an almighty cacophony of grinding stone before she returned, slightly breathless, and confirmed that “definitely the stuff” “Very well. Be praised for bringing discovery here.” the builder-priest told Kallak “And rewarded as well?” The goblin sighed before agreeing “Yes. For finding one of-” “Two. and I can tell you where the other ones are” Kallak interrupted “Water already found,” she replied “What! By who?” Kallak asked “That’d be me” Metilia informed him, grinning toothily at the disguised avatar “Velnik told me about the quest, we guess it’d be up in a lake somewhere and seeing as no one’s faster than me i swam all the way up the river to its source. Nosed around there for ages, looking in every nook and cranny and was about to give up when one day i woke up and found there were just a tone of them in the lake. Like they came out of nowhere.” “From Artifex” the builder-priest injected “Well yeah. There. Took him a while tho.” “Same with fire. They’re in the canyons where my hive is” Silandrazz noted over her shoulder before returning to her and Stoshri’s ongoing conversation with Velnik "Kallak come look. Find earth deep in caves. Now they not so deep any more." Gosyor provided helpfully “Wait hang on. I’m the one handing these in” Kallak insisted “You got that honey and air ones still” Gosyor noted, “I. Fine. Sure. The air ones can be found at the tops of the mountains in free floating hives. I couldn't reach them to harvest honey from them, and the fire ones hasn't made anything before we set off back here. Didn’t think I’d need evidence anyway.” Kallak explained, somewhat exasperated that he’d only be able to claim the fruits of one fourth of his labors. “Imposters. Paint bees. Dye honey. Sorry.” the builder-priest explained “Still. Is good. Reward for find and information. More once air and fire brought here.” “This lot are full of useful information.” Velnik noted, having gleaned a lot from his fellow Servants in the background while this had been ongoing, “We’ll need to look into this magic hating wood you’ve brought with you later, but for now I’d like some more answers about this supposed blessing you received Silandrazz. I suggest we see if we get something similar to the Druids and Inventors?” “Blessing?” the builder-priest asked, and so Silandrazz explained while collecting one of the motes. It squirmed in her grip as she told them of her conversation with Artifex and him declaring her a Lord Over Nature, leaving out the identity of Kallak as his avatar as she had promised. As she spoke of what she desired, to change the swarmling’s nature, and of the idea Stoshi had had of changing their own nature as well the mote finally formed into a tablet which described an idea. it was a simple idea, that nature was not fixed as the gods made it. That mortal kind could, and that they should, alter it to fit their needs. It described this idea, and the fact that the idea itself had power. That those who believed and acted upon that idea would find the path they had decided to tread easier. The way in which it described this, the builder-priest felt as she read it, was very very familiar. [hr] After the sun had set and twilight was long gone the goblin builder-priest squatted before the statue of Artifex in her temple and prayed. The argument in Kallak’s party had been more orless ended by the tablet, but now, several hours after she had met them and they had moved onto other things, the goblin could not put aside the thoughts that had arisen from her meeting with them. It had not taken long for her to put the pieces of the Lord’s tablet, the mana bee mosaic and the Inventor’s tablet together, and the conclusion she drew worried her. Divine favor had been given, not to Artifex’s preachers, his loyal hands on Gablar, but instead to others. Strangers to the faith. She worried deeply about what this might mean. “Holy father. Second father of goblin. Big eyes. I call. Will listen?” she whispered to the empty air. A moment of silence hung, and then [i]Speak, my child. What ails you this night?[/i] came the voice of Artifex in her mind, one familiar to her and her kind. A giver of advice, kind words and occasionally insect related miracles. “I. I wish ask about Inventors. And Lords Over Nature. Did make? Did bless? Do... Do favor them?” Up in Artifex’s realm a small pair of triangles made out of black glass that was listening and replying to the priest's prayer recognized that this particular prayer wasn’t something it could provide an automated reply to. It began buying time using vague divine wisdom and time dilation on its end while it fluttered up into the air like a butterfly and set off to find its creator. Leaving the workbench it had been laying on alongside several others of its kind behind, it cast a glance around Artifex’s workshop and then headed for the latest addition to it, a large stone gateway built against, but not leading though, one of its walls. It entered the gateway and found itself inside a vast nested dimension built inside the god's realm. Inside a neural network of free-floating, semi translucent, blue platforms and walkways stretched out for miles in every direction around the gateway. Various large insects bustled to and fro on these walkways, carrying floppy disks, punch cards, shiny pebbles, circuit boards, steel beams and all sorts of other materials between the various small platforms. Upon the platforms small sections of highly esoteric and eccentrically designed machinery could be seen that was made out of, among other things, silicon based computers, ant farms, animated pebbles on a beach, clockwork, perfectly bouncy rubber band balls, monkeys operated typewriters and quantum entangled particles. The triangular butterfly fluttered along the blue walkway and then it turned off it into a branch that led to a platform with incomplete machinery. When exiting the path it entered a second nested dimension, and found itself submerged in a vast data center of ticker tape fed computers far larger than the contents of the platform implied existed here. If it looked up it could see distorted and twisted space where the machinery from the other platforms also existed and joined together. All of this swirled around a floating energy core containing an entire universe who's laws of physics had been altered significantly from those of Galbar purely for the purpose of providing unlimited energy for the vast mechanism Atifex had created here. The god himself, or part of him anyway, was found in the form of a small beetle, one among thousands of insects scattered all across the still expanding machinery that was in the process of eating a line of ticker tape that had offended it. There was a brief nonverbal exchange between beetle and artificial butterfly before a swarm of other bugs arrived and coalesced into the familiar four armed form of Artifex. [color=GreenYellow]”Show me her, and show her this”[/color] he ordered the auto-responder, which dutifully projected an image of the builder-priest before him, and projected a vision of him and the vast machine realm to her. The goblin builder-priest knees buckled as the sight of the vast machine overwhelmed her mind, causing her to fall to them. The sheer enormity of it, the complexity of it, was awe inspiring. If Kallak were to see it he’d have muttered something about the old man going massively overboard again. “Holy father. What. What this?” she whispered, voice wavering with shock. [color=GreenYellow]”This.”[/color] Artifex spread his hands wide to encapsulate his creation [color=GreenYellow]”Is M.U.S.E. It is a thinking machine. A learning computer. And it is the, well, muse of the Inventors. It is from this vast machine that their ideas and desires are turned from “what ifs” into concrete plans to be executed.”[/color] “So. They yours… and the ‘Lords Over Nature’ too?” she said, once the awe had died down enough to be a background state of mind rather than an overwhelming experience. [color=GreenYellow]”Yes. That one is more of an experiment however. I will be watching her, or rather their, she has been rather successful at expanding their ranks since she arrived in Sancta Civitas I see, progress with great interest. The Inventors meanwhile have shown promise already. The initial version of MUSE has gathered a great deal of data from their initial bout of innovation, a bout that you have personally seen the fruits of, both in what they have made and in how they inspired others to push the boundaries of knowledge, which is why I considered them worthy of this grand expansion.”[/color] The goblin winced at her memory of her treatment of the city’s first and most notable Inventor before saying “They. Special. Yes? Granted… favor?” [color=GreenYellow]”In a sense.”[/color] “And they. Create for you?” [color=GreenYellow]”Yes”[/color] “Oh” she replied, unable to keep a prang of sadness from her tone. [color=GreenYellow]”Ah. I see. So that is how it is.”[/color] “Big Eyes?” [color=GreenYellow]”You fear being replaced. That my blessing of others is a sign of my displeasure in some way? Know that in this you are wrong. You are already my hands upon Galbar. One of oldest and most treasured of instruments. Know that I would never cast you aside.”[/color] “I,” the goblin’s words caught in her throat before she continued “thank you. Do not need more. Should not have said. You speak with us. Listen. Is enough. More is greed.” The god glanced up at the hovering butterfly and felt a twinge of guilt at having created the auto-responeds, no-mater how useful to both him and his faithful they had been. He gave himself all the time to think he needed, and then answered [color=GreenYellow]”You have served in this role admirably across the generations. [i]You[/i], my child, have served me well with close to all your years. To ask for more power may well be greed, but to receive it would be well earned. Awaken my child, take up your tools and know that your order will always have my blessing”[/color] The builder-priest gasped as the vision ended with a snap of Artifex's fingers. She immediately grasped for her tool belt and retrieved the hammer and chisel resting there as she had been instructed. Each one had been worn by a lifetime of use, intricate decorations and carvings faded and chipped despite being tended to, yet now they were as pristine as the day they had been made. She looked up from them to the blank wall at the back of the temple, the vision still clear in her mind, and she knew what she had to do. When dawn came and the vespian pottery teaching builder-priest arrived at the temple she found the goblin slumped on the floor before an immense and impossibly intricate carving of Artifex, standing among the endless sea of machines that was MUSE. [hider=summary] Kallak, Silandrazz, Stoshri and Gosyor arrive in Sacta Civitas. Gosyor and Silandrazz are still arguing over whether changing nature is ok, and over whether Silandrazz actually spoke to artifex or not. Kallak tells them that they need to speak with a builder-priest anyway, so they’ll sort it out. They head for a temple next to the library, meet the same priest that kidnapped Tadiza, and then follow her into the library where they see an engraving describing mana bees which was miraculously made some time ago, which prompted the priest to put out a holy quest for the discovery of the bee’s locations. Kallak, cheater that he is, attempts to claim the bounties on all of them, but is foiled by the water ones already being found by a shark girl akua named Metilia and not having physical proof for the air and fire bees even though he and Silandrazz describe their locations. They are promised reward if the places they say the While Artifex handles the bees Silandrazz and Stoshri have been speaking with Velnik (all three are Servants), who is very interested in Silandrazz’s talk of her holy order. He prompts her to talk about it openly, and to create a tablet out of it similar to the Inventors and druid ones. This tablet clarifies that the order is mimetic in nature, and so anyone who knows about the order and pursues the same goals, research etc. can become a part of it. The builder-priest notes to herself the similarities between this tablet’s writing style, and the writing style of the bee and Inventor tablets. She grows concerned about these blessings fearing that her order’s lack of some kind of divine favor means they are not worthy, or may be replaced. She prays to artifex that night. Her prayer is picked up by an autoresponder ai impersonating the god, which heads out to find him once it realises that her concerns are new, and can't simply be replied to using something artifex has said in the last 2000 years when replying to prayers. It finds him within the belly of MUSE, a giant dimension spanning array of machines that provide the power, knowledge and increased mental capacity to Inspired Inventors. There the god has a direct heart to heart with the priest, explaining to her what muse is and assuring her that the builder-priests have and forever will have his favor. The goblin is greatful, but her mention that their having a direct and reliable line to him is more than enough makes Artifex feel slightly guilty about using autoresponders for a lot of the more straightforward prayers and so he decides that they deserve a blessing for their many years of service. The goblin awakens and finds her holy tools have been blessed, then proceeds to carve a massive and complex depiction of what she saw while speaking with artifex onto the wall of the temple she was praying in over the course of half a night. [/hider] [hider=mp/dp/prestige] Start mp/dp: 5/5 3 dp for 3 title wight to consecrate new order The Builder-Priests of Artifex Embody the spirit of construction the builder-priests serve the dual role of spiritual leaders and highly skilled craftspeople. The two rolls combined result in them also leading construction projects, generally in a hands on manner. Sacred tools I: the priests symbol of office are a beautifully decorated hammer and chisel. These are not simply cerimonial, but are commonly used for carving. Despite this regular use, the tools miraculously remain in immaculate condition. Use of the tools for destructive purposes is considered highly distasteful at best and abhorrently heretical at worst. Hands of Artifex II: Using their sacred tools the priests are master carvers, capable of both impressive feats of speed and precision. They can carve tiny intricate details that should be impossible with a regular chisel, or prestinly sunnder great swaths of stone with but a single stroke. These skills also work on materials other than rock (such as gems, metal, bone etc.) but are best suited for the material the hammer and chisel are designed to work on (predominantly stone and to a lesser extent woodwork). 3mp for port under construction domain Stonemasonry: The art of working stone, and turning it into objects useful to people. In a mundane fashion, it entails the carving of stone into tools, into building materials, into pieces of art and so much more. In a mythical context it is used to create artifacts and sites of power from the bones of Galbar itself, grand and imposing bulwarks of power that stand tall over all. To work in stone is to leave a legacy. Wood rots, metal corrodes, nations fall and bloodlines end. The wonders of stone will outlive them all. 1mp for 5th tital wight Manic Muse I When seeking to solve a problem they will *on rare occasion* be struck by inspiration. While inspired the Inventor will obsess about the solution they have seen and will gain the effects of the following three titles. -> Manic Muse II When seeking to solve a problem they will *sometimes* be struck by inspiration. While inspired the Inventor will obsess about the solution they have seen and will gain the effects of the following three titles. 2 Construction dp for 6th title wight Beyond Comprehension I The solution, invention or project can slightly surpass the Inventor ’s and/or the Inventor ’s society's technological understanding. Not that as this title’s effects are lost when not inspired, the Inventor does not learn how to do these new things they do while under its effects and must become re-inspired in-order to perform repairs, maintenance, replication or improvements to these advanced features. -> Beyond Comprehension II The solution, invention or project can slightly surpass the Inventor’s and/or the Inventor’s society's technological understanding. *Their inventions can also hook into M.U.S.E’s power core using, supplying them with an additional source of power (mana, electricity, heat, motion, resilience etc.) letting them perform better or compensate for inferior materials or construction techniques. The linking system takes the form of a ‘link core’ that become more unstable and delicate the more power they draw from M.U.S.E* Note that as this title’s effects are lost when not inspired, the Inventor does not learn how to do these new things they do while under its effects and must become re-inspired in-order to perform repairs, maintenance, replication or improvements to these advanced features. For context, the levels will be, rarely -> sometimes -> often -> always End mp/dp: 1/0 1/5 arcane monuments 5/5 mad science Prestige: 10k + chars Lords Over Nature + 5 (20) Builder-Preists + 5 (5) The Library + 5 Servants + 5 [@Legion02] [/hider]