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[center][h2][b]&[/b][/h2][/center]

[center][color=#f4743c][h1][b][i]Defiance[/i][/b][/h1][/color][/center]


[color=#f4743c]“And they go,”[/color] The nameless deity wearing the body of a man remarked after Astella retrieved her animal, much to the grumbling disappointment of the golem [i]Brugh[/i], and made her way back to I’Iro.  He looked over to Lonn, still beside him, and asked simply, [color=#f4743c]“What about you?”[/color]

Despite his original intention to be well and truly gone from this place as soon as possible, Lonn couldn’t help but remain. The newcomer, whoever he was, had proven far too irresistible a focus for his current attention. So the disheveled, shoeless man with a killer smile simply plopped himself down on the edge of the crater, watching the lake overflow and certain points. When at last the nameless god spoke, Lonn flashed his smile with every last ounce of his power used to keep himself from seeming too pleased with himself.

[color=ed1c24]”Me? World’s wild, friend. If I was a betting man, and I am, I’d say the world’s not long for this uh… world, as it were, without a little extra effort.[/color]

[color=#f4743c]”Agreed,”[/color] The man-god met Lonn’s impossible grin with a flawed smile of his own and added, [color=#f4743c]“More than that, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t plan on letting this place kill me.  Figure I might go looking for a place to start, or maybe a plant?”[/color]

Lonn let out a pleased cackle and slapped his hands together, rubbing them into one another to really grind that grime in. With that he patted his knees and stood up, shaking off the dust and looked down out across the world with a hungry gaze. That smile, for a mere moment, seemed a little more hostile than it had before but still gleamed with all its majesty that simply couldn’t be hated. A smile like that couldn’t HELP but be benevolent, right?

[color=ed1c24]”A plant, eh?”[/color] enunciated Lonn, playing with the sound of the word on his teeth. He knew what they were, of course, it was just an interesting word. [color=ed1c24]”Hahahahah, Plant. Yeaaaa… Now you’re speaking my language, buddy. World’s our oyster, pal, and it’s up to us to keep this puppy kicking! Let’s go find ourselves a [b]plant[/b]!”[/color]

With his assertion complete Lonn hopped off the small ledge he’d been sitting on, toes catching good traction on the dusty outcropping. With an authoritative point Lonn thrust a finger down the mountainside, pointing towards the path where a river flowed. Like a lighthouse Lonn’s smile flashed and his sparking red eyes locked onto a landscape full of potential.

[color=ed1c24]”And I’m betting there’s one thataway~”[/color]

[color=#f4743c]“Then what are we doing here?”[/color] The man god eyed Lonn and challenged his grin with one a little less interesting, but no less self assured.  He ran at the edge of the mountain and jumped, reaching out to [i]tear[/i] a slab of stone off the precipice as he went.  Before hitting the side of the mountain the nameless deity, silently known to his equals as the God of Defiance, brought the slab of stone he’d captured under his feet and met the slope surfing.  As he vanished in a cloud of dust rocketing down the mountain his voice cut through the air, [color=#f4743c][b]“Coming?!”[/b][/color]

Lonn’s laughter that followed the God of Defiance down the hill first was explosive, each staccato laugh thundering out like bombs. In one moment Lonn had confirmed for himself that he had found someone worth a little extra attention and all manner of opportunities lay down the road. Confident that he had nothing to worry about in regards to this new found brother in ideology, Lonn took one step back and took up a javiliner’s posture. With a concerted grunt he hurled the contents of his empty hand forward. In an instant his body exploded into crimson light, flashing down the mountainside and leaving a burning red afterglow in his wake. The lightning bolt that was Lonn hurtled past his man-god comrade, roaring as it went, and the adventure was well and truly begun. 

[center][h2][b]***[/b][/h2][/center]

[color=#f4743c]“You’re fast!”[/color] The God of Defiance observed enthusiastically as he crashed to the ground before a squatting Lonn, all but detonating the rock he’d been surfing and showering riverside with jagged fragments of stone.  [color=#f4743c]“But,”[/color] He added with an affected shrug, [color=#f4743c]”My way’s more fun.”[/color] 

Lonn’s transient state had returned and once more he looked the part of a slightly homeless middle aged party goer. The edges of his hair looked as if they’d recently been on fire and the amount of soot that dusted some of his features seemed to match the description. Several of his physical features, particularly the exact positions and angles of bones, had changed during the trip but Lonn seemed to pay it no heed. His smile, though, was entirely unaffected. A pleased wave seemed to show his sign of assent, only to be followed up with a far more verbal assertion.

[color=ed1c24]”Almost certainly,”[/color] came his partially manic tone, standing to pat off some of the black caked onto his clothing, [color=ed1c24]”Next time.”[/color]

[color=#f4743c]“And there’ll be one, but first...[/color] The man-god’s smile flattened and he trailed off as his eyes began to scan the ground around them before fixing on a seemingly blasted patch of dirt to his right.  His smile bloomed anew as stepped over to it, [color=#f4743c]”There you are.”[/color]

A tiny shoot, barely even free of the ashen dirt, shrunk under the god’s attention.  He casually swung his foot over it, ready to stomp it into the nothing it sprang from, and questioned the juvenile plant, [color=#f4743c]“Are you going to let me?[/color].  

For a moment it merely began to visibly quiver, but as the man-god lowered his foot it truly began to [i]move[/i].  Spurred on so it grew faster than anything ought to, breaking free of the soil and moving out of the way of the god’s threatening foot in as many branching directions as it could.  Soon a thick web of spongy green strands spread out from the empowered sprout, racing across the blasted field and seeking out the safety and life of the river at frightening speed.  The strands weaved in and out of the dirt, and as they dipped in they turned from voluminous and soft things into hardened roots.  Thick, woody, and able to hook into anything the roots of the spindly cord like plant were bred for a dying world and thus found no difficulty breaking into the dead soil and churning it as all manner of flora had once done.  It was only once they fanned out into the flowing river that the tough roots began to splinter, shedding off their tips in the water so that they might grow into new fibrous mats of green elsewhere. 

Seemingly gratified with his work the man-god stepped out of the small bubble of barren dirt around him and onto the wide mat of plantlife where he sunk his toes in.  With a proud grin he commented, [color=#f4743c]“Stubborn as me.  Should keep our [i]fancy new rivers[/i] from washing too much of this place over the edge.”[/color]

Though he didn’t let the God of Defiance see it, Lonn stared at the growing undergrowth with raised eyebrows. He was impressed, to say the least; frankly, he hadn’t even considered what he was going to do with the plant. The Red God nodded slightly, head bobbing in approval, as new strands of fate were weaved before his very eyes. Here was the potential to do so much more than just ride the wave of the apocalypse, but instead create a future that would keep on giving. Mortals, after all, did not do well in these harsh climates and them dying off fast from eating each other was going to get old real fast. Pearly whites flashed as his visage returned to his resting Lonn face.

With feet that had never once been blessed by the feeling of plants, Lonn took his first step onto the spongy flora. His eyes glowed a baleful red as his imagination ran free with opportunities. Nodding as his deity-friend addressed him, he dropped to a low squat and picked up a small rock knocked loose by the growing plant life. Power belied by the gangly hands that withheld it surged through into the stone, Lonn squeezing the stone into powder, flakes, and grains with contemptuous ease. Lifting the handful of detritus to his face, Lonn blew hard and from his lips came a storm of crimson. Before his eyes the cloud erupted in all directions, warping with red light as they took to the wind as crimson seeds. The final pebble he snagged between his thumb and index finger, eyeing his handiwork.

The crimson seed throbbed with life that made Lonn giddy, practically bursting with potential. With one thumb Lonn pushed the seed down into the ground and covered it over, giving it one last little pat for good measure. The seed blossomed and sprouted, rapidly growing into a seedling and then a fullbush. Blood red leaves sprouted and flourished into full life while chunky, tuberous looking roots began to slightly surface pit . With that Lonn tugged one from the dirt and tore it in half with his hands, revealing a starchy, potato-like, reddish meat on the interior of the cardinal fruit. A pleased look overcame him as he tossed one half to the God of Defiance.

[color=ed1c24]”And these should keep men from doing the same.”[/color]

The other god caught the bisected fruit and regarded it with appreciation, especially once it began to fizzle and brown [i]just so[/i] in his hand.  Still steaming, the man-god brought it to his mouth and took a bite.  [color=#f4743c]“Mm!”[/color] he spoke as he chewed, [color=#f4743c]“Now that’s an idea.  One too good to let you have all to yourself.”[/color]

He dropped what bits of the fruit he hadn’t eaten onto the ground, and smeared them with his foot.  Kneeling down he held a hand out above the mess that seemed to grow cold.  The humid air from the river condensed on the man-god’s flesh and water dripped down onto the crushed fruit until little white orbs started growing out of it.  The orbs bloomed into huge puffy balls, suspended above the ground by long, branching pyramid like stalks.  Most stopped their development there, but a few grew had their orbs grow fibrous and hard before popping with violent cracks and unleashing wispy clouds of dust into the cool wind.

The god of defiance plucked one orb as large as his head and took a bite out, chewed thoughtfully, and reluctantly admitted, [color=#f4743c]“Blander than yours. Oh well, at least it’ll be there if they need it.”[/color]

Lonn patted his hands, knocking away bits of starchy meat and dusty powder. A pleased shrug was all the response that was needed, with no interest whatsoever driving him to flex his success. His eyes flashes from left to right, observing as nature slowly began to rejuvenate itself; another step in a long route to repairing the world.

[color=ed1c24]”I’d say that’s a good start, eh?”[/color]

[color=#f4743c]”We might get to live after all!”[/color] Lonn’s counterpart quipped.  The other god fixed his eyes on some point in the hazy distance and added seriously, [color=#f4743c]“But I do have something I need to do next.  Alone, if you wouldn’t mind?”[/color]

Lonn chortled as a devious gaze locked on that of the man-god, showing Lonn’s truer nature in a way he had previously disguised. He could imagine quite a few reasons why the unnamed deity might seek time on his own and Lonn himself no doubt felt quite similar. There were things to do, problems to solve, and plans to set in motion.

[color=ed1c24]”Don’t fret, buddy, I get you; you and me both. And don’t worry, I’ll be seeing you again [i]real[/i] soon. I think this is the beginning of a [b]wonderful[/b] relationship.”[/color]

As Lonn turned to leave, he [color=ed1c24]laughed[/color].

[hider=summary]
After a chat Orynn and Lonn set off in search of surviving life, specifically plant life. Lonn points some out so Orynn surfs down the mountain and Lonn lightnings to it.  When they find the little sprout Orynn threatens to stomp on it unless it moves away from his foot. It does, and becomes a super cool cord like spongy green analog for grass we can call Cordgrass!  It's spreading everywhere in the water and on the land.  Next Lonn makes the Cardinal Fruit, a cool tree that has red tubers which taste pretty good!  In response Orynn makes Eyestalk mushrooms, big orbs that grow atop tower like stems rooted in rotting fruit.  They're not as tasty, but grow pretty much everywhere and are super edible!  After this Orynn and Lonn split up, promising to see each other some other time dude![/hider] 

[hider=MA]-1 MA making cordgrass a plant which is extremely persistent and pervasive.  If allowed to it will provide ground cover for much of the continents surface.[/hider]