[h3]Laying the Seeds[/h3] Droka's time with the Craftsman had been rather productive. There had been so many plans lingering in his mind, wishing to come into existence and grace the mortal realm below but... steps needed to be taken. They couldn't all come at once and even the powers and mind of a deity had its limits to what it could process at a singular time. The meat of the discussion between deity and avatar had largely been to work out the order of things, alongside where they should take place. The presence of the Hammers of the Dragon in the Westfold region had been more then enough justification to turn his gaze elsewhere for these later projects. The Westfold highlands was in for a chaotic period of time with factions visaing for dominance among mortal kind, but it was also a field in which deities were fighting for dominance and prestige via proxies. Their attention would be focused on it and thus it was likely they would attempt to intervene if he overplayed his hand in the region... and at any rate, he was curious to see how his followers in Scawick did without him actively doing something to harm their interests. The dragon's gaze traveled south, drawn towards the brightness of the south-eastern part of the continent. Even from his perch in Antiquity, it was a beautiful sight to behold. Somewhere to be witnessed at the ground level to be sure, but the longer he gazed at it, the more he couldn't help but notice the darkness of the lands next to it. No major civilization had had a chance to grow in the shadow of the Luminant...[i]yet[/i]. Focusing his attention on the unnamed, somewhat ignored regions around the Luminant, Droka raised his hands and brought them together in front of his face, index fingers held out and pressed together before touching his lips in thought. West... or North... Both were good options really... but there was only one was to really fairly decide in order to give the story he was about to start a proper beginning. Without even a thought, a metal disc the size of a small coin of a pleasantly silvery metal manifested in his hand. On one side was an 'N', while on the other was printed a 'W'. Without pausing, the old man flipped it, watching the coin spin in the air before coming back to land in his palm. Glancing down, he saw the proud 'N' face up. A small thing, but it was generally on small things that the universe turned. Selecting a location, even once the area of search had been limited, took time. In the end he decided upon a somewhat vacant, sheltered valley to do his work. A hundred kilometers away from the Luminant's glow, with plenty of room to expand in all directions. The valley itself was relatively easy to miss if you were ground bound and didn't know the local area... and in truth the whole region had largely avoided settlements or much more then the wandering mortal soul desiring to see more of the world they inhabited and just found themselves passing through. When the ground rumbled and divinity touched the world, the local birds took to the skies and the ground bound animals fled in whatever manner that they could. Pits started to shape themselves into the ground as if something was pushing the soil down, whatever plant life and animals who either couldn't fly or were too small to flee in time going down with it. When both pits had finally reached a size and depth that was deemed suitable by their creator, the pits went no deeper... but the earth continued to rumble. At the bottom of both pits, the earth cracked... and out from the depths poured liquid fire. Metal so hot that it was completely molten, the heat and glow so great that just the sight of it on the unprepared eye was strong enough to burn itself into its vision. The flow of the molten metal was a torrent, filling up the pit within less then a minute (and granting those poor creatures caught within those pits a mercifully quick, if fiery death), before the 'ponds' of molten metal had reached their brim and the flow ceased. The bright, glowing whites with the odd flicker of orange and yellow radiated their heat into the air, setting fire to what plant life happened to have not been dragged down into the pits turned molten lakes, burning away what had once been the local fauna and flora in a blaze that didn't care what it burned. Once all the former life had been cleansed from the valley (either by fleeing or dying), new plants started to grow from the ashes left behind from the old. These new plants looked much like the old but... there was a key difference; They were clearly made of metal. Exactly what metal seemed to vary depending on which of the two ponds they were near. The plants that grew near the southern molten pond shone brightly in the sun as the light reflected off of their almost polished looking bronze gleams, seeming to favor the forms of flowers or bushes. The plants of the eastern pond took on a variety of grays, their iron forms favoring trees and stalks of bamboo. Those plants that seemed to grow on the border between the two ponds tended to be a beautiful mixture of both bronze and iron worked into different parts of the same plant. Taking a deep breath, Droka smiled at his work. It still needed a name of course and he was more then willing to confess that names... really weren't his strong point. In time he intended to add to his creation, so whatever name it was given needed to remain true not just in its current state, but later own after it was improved. After all, there was more room in the valley for future ponds and more of his living metal plants. Something that captured it's essence... The Burning Valley and The Molten Valley sprang to mind of course, but they were dismissed from his mind as a different name presented itself and brought a smile to Droka's face. "Valley Forge. I like it." [hider=Summery] Droka, having talked with the Craftsman previously, looks for a location to start stage one of his future projects. Deciding to do it far away from the Westfold to let the Holy Order he made have room to grow and be their own thing, Droka turns his gaze south. Admiring the Luminant for a time, his attention turns to the dark, empty lands around it and decides on a direction via coin flip. Deciding on a sheltered valley about a 100 or more kilometers from the boarder of the Luminant, Droka creates his first holy site which he names Valley Forge. The creation of the two molten Ponds of Bronze and Iron purge the valley of its natural wild and plant life in fire and heat, allowing for metal plants of living bronze, iron and a mixture of both to start growing in their places. [/hider] [hider=MP Summery] Holy Site: Valley Forge. [i]Valley Forge is a large, sheltered and somewhat hidden (at least from the ground) valley that is about 5 kilometers wide and 4 kilometers tall . Due to Droka's 'blessing' of the region, it is currently made up of two large ponds. The Pond of Bronze, located at the southern end of the valley and the Pond of Iron located to the east. The creation of these large ponds resulted in a large fire that cleared the valley of life... with the expection of the metal plants that started to grow around the ponds in the ashes of the former wilderness.[/i] -2 Free Titles, Pond of Never-ending Bronze II - Is a Pond filled with Molten Bronze. If the metal can be drawn out of the Pond, it can be treated as normal molten bronze and shaped. The Pond will refill with molten bronze and never run dry -2DP, Pond of Never-ending Iron II - Is a Pond filled with Molten Iron. If the metal can be drawn out of the Pond, it can be treated as normal molten Iron and shaped. The Pond will refill with molten Iron and never run dry -1DP, Living Metal Plants I Due to the holy nature of the site, living plants made out of bronze, iron and a mixture of both will grow around their respective Ponds. The exact nature of the plants seem to depend on their location to the Ponds, with the plants growing like their organic counterparts with the exception that they do not seem to require water and they are made completely out of their respective metal. [/hider]