[center][h1][b][color=0054a6]Klaarungraxus[/color][/b][/h1][/center]

In all his thousands of years of activity, none had been more fascinating than this single one.

Xes had observed when the gods swam the world and warped it at their touch. He had seen new continents raised, islands scattered across the seas, and species wrought from the primordial pseudo-nothingness of unreality. Though he had not realized at the time of many of those things, for his mind was simple and animalistic, Xes had been party to the true creation of the world. He was among the first original vrool created by tentacle through Klaarungraxus’ will and through his animal cunning he had survived long enough to become sapient. There were scant few vrool left who could lay claim to such a legacy and Xes swam amongst their hallowed ranks.

And yet even still, through all his time as a Warlock and a master of magics, nothing had ever excited him as thoroughly as this discovery. 

The year had been terribly productive. At the very beginning of the year, as if on cue, the warlocks had received their first tangible reward from the god they’d been slaving for. Even after two thousand years of silence the Warlocks worked tirelessly to discover a path for their deity’s return. Now, at long last, there were signs that their efforts had been noticed and rewarded. 

The arrival of Tewakagraxus, second avatar of Klaar, had been an exciting one. It was not often that the very core entities of the gods arrived upon Galbar and even less common for them to be amenable to the Warlocks. Xes had always wondered why they were not heaped with gifts and accolades by the other deities of the pantheon; surely the other deities were equally pleased with their work to return them to the world? The Warlocks had even gleaned their true-names from the depths of the world’s consciousness! Surely that showed they were diligent in their work? He admitted to himself from time to time that it was likely they were unaware of the Warlocks actions but ignorance was never an excuse. Alas, the work of the Warlock was never done. 

That was exactly why their new patron, Tewakagraxus, was so meaningful to the advancement of Warlock ideals. As one torn limb of the almighty creator-deity, Klaarungraxus, Tewaka represented a facet of the one true deity of the world. Obviously, this meant he deserved considerable praise simply as. The other severed element of Klaar, the one called Mawar, was fascinating in its own right but seemed slightly disinterested in Xes’ work. It seemed far more enraptured with the other mortal creations of the planet and had gone on its merry way after only the slightest of observations. Xes had been content with that, for to work under the undisturbed eyes of his deity had been enough. He wouldn’t lie to himself, however; it was glorious to be actively encouraged by his deity, even if it was but a facet of that greater whole. 

And so the Warlocks had been rewarded.

The first of these gifts was more blatant; the creation of a creature not of flesh and blood, wrought by the numerous limbs of the cursed-vrool. It had been carved of ivory and its flesh sutured from the inert stuff of demons. Though not in any way sapient after numerous tests to prove soundly such a claim, it was capable of following commands to the letter and seemed to delight in doing so. At least, as far as an emotionless hulk could possibly delight in any labors. From this original structure Xes and his warlocks had been able to observe and then further experiment on the creation of more of such creatures. Within the year, and with direction from Tewaka himself, the warlocks had been able to produce their own Simulacra designed after the different Akuan clades. It was taboo amongst them to create such poor replicas of vrool but what harm was there in making other undersea kin? 

And so the lair of the Coven of Xes, dozens upon dozens of caverns both constructed and natural interconnected by innumerable passages and tunnels gave rise to hundreds upon hundreds of Simulacra. They were simple things, to be sure, and were best suited to direct and easy, repetitive tasks. Nevertheless, hundreds of them made the work of the Warlocks far easier; no longer would they have to spend their time bringing their things to themselves or rely on soft and witless slaves for the duty. A Simulacra, appropriately ordered, would not fail in its task; if it did, the Warlock was at fault. 

Beyond that, work on the skills of Artifice created by the sub-deity had progressed in fascinating ways. Already the different items created by the Warlocks in their experiments had borne brilliant fruit. First among them were sources of heat, an ever present need among a Vrool population desiring above all else to be able to think. Their exothermal nature made rapid thoughts difficult and though the Warlocks had specifically been blessed with freedom from such curses, this did not change that their lackeys and masters alike would benefit greatly from such a gift. With the surgical implantation of such a stone adjacent to the heart of a vrool, a permanent heat source to make a vrool pseudo-endothermal could be achieved. Through this, even the most slow-witted tyrant could be made equal to a Warlock, at least in speed of comprehension. Beads of coral, each artificed to neglect or even actively oppose the hungry pull of the world towards its surface could allow vrool above the surface to swim as though they were in the open sea!

Most of all, and perhaps Xes’ most favored of all his works, was the babelstone. Placed with surgical precision in the throat of a vrool, it allowed for a vrool’s vonu to echo outwards in the language of their choosing. It had been difficult to create, requiring a great deal of knowledge of mana as well as tapping into the mirrors of Aicheil for the raw stuff of speech, but it had been his crowning achievement. No longer would intermediaries be required for vrool interacting with the surface world. 

The work of the warlocks had become that much easier.

And all the while, as Xes preened and gloated over his accomplishments, Tewaka watched with growing glee. The cursed-vrool had watched and waited, had doled out the information of his new creations one by one, and had happily played into the desires of the Warlocks for a patron. Though the Overmind had done well in making them, Klaar had failed to recognize just how obsessed with recognition the vrool could become. Now they had such a deity, even if it was just another facet of Klaar, and Tewaka was more than pleased to direct those efforts. 

The cursed-vrool could feel the Overmind’s presence, observation, and focus at all times and knew full well that Klaarungraxus was aware of his actions. Tewaka had determined at some point that it was highly likely that Klaar could actively impede or even fully halt his actions if the Overmind so intended. Though this was not an ideal situation for Tewaka, at least for now he’d been given full reign. Something to handle in the future, considered the demigod. Nevertheless, for now he had remained free from persecution. With the expansion of his powers Tewaka knew that he was benefiting the whole and for that Klaarungraxus would accept his works. However, Tewaka knew as well that as his efforts deepened, Klaar would sooner rather than later start to interfere. 

But that was a problem for another day.
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[hider=Summary]
Xes, leader of the Coven of Xes and one of the greatest Warlocks of the age, has been working on Artifice! At the behest and direction of Tewaka, such works have been undertaken and the first of several creations have been unveiled. At the same time, Tewaka continues on his own agenda while creating to Artifice Portfolio for the greater whole that is Klaar.
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[hider=MP Summary]
Start 5MP/5DP

>Mantle the Artifice Portfolio - Artifice represents the creation and investiture of magical energies, of all forms and sources, into objects previously mundane in nature. This allows for the creation of magically attuned objects capable of completing singular, specific tasks that may grow with complexity based on the skill of the creator in the art. Such examples include, at the upper levels, the creation of non-sapient artificial life in the form of Simulacra. Simpler examples could include objects that permanently radiate heat or light, objects that hover on invisible skeins of magical energies, or weapons that pulse vibrantly with some destructive element or another. An Artificer is limited in the effects they can invest into an object by the sources of magic (mana/telluric/etc) they are skilled with.

End 2MP/5DP
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