[center][h3][color=#C59401]Arvum[/color][/h3]

[i]&[/i]

[img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/893273948526108742/894758899872317440/YUDAIEL.png[/img][/center]

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Arvum walked upwards upon the air until there was no more air beneath him, however he continued to walk. Eventually, he reached the moon. It was rather barren, a lifeless and pale surface broken up only by the rifts and craters that scarred it, but perhaps that was simply its nature.

He allowed his feet to gently rest upon its surface near the boundary between the light and dark half, well away from the worst of the craters and ravines, and waited. His coming had of course been observed, if not predicted, and Yudaiel’s presence became clear soon enough. The usually motionless regolith shifted as it was charged and blown by some shrouded force – even on the windless surface – as the goddess drifted closer to the visitor with her unseen vastness. She made no efforts to mask her telekinetically charged bulk or her divine presence and nature, but neither did her advance come as a surge so rapid as to seem overly threatening.

A wordless, wispy, invisible tendril of thought reached out to establish contact. [color=9966CC]There was a dark landscape, but it was at least cool and peaceful. Dawn and dew came, as when the day’s warmth reinvigorated all the verdant greenery, a white daisy bloomed and turned ever so slightly to face the sun – not the Great Sun, but rather that one which wore a cloak of soil and greenery so vast that even this very Daisy grew upon one of its folds.[/color]

[color=#C59401]”Greetings, Shardbearer and Lord of Visions. Much has happened since we were born into our divine responsibilities.”[/color] Arvum stated. 

Much indeed had happened. [color=9966CC]A kaleidoscopic array of images flashed into sight, a hundred in every which direction and in every instant. The river of color and thought moved too quickly and frothily for much to be discerned, but it possessed a surreal beauty nonetheless. Interspersed here and there where Arvum focused his gaze were the sights of him in Nalusa, shaping rivers and speaking to the ones called Darius and Medes. Those visions in particular were laden with some amount of pleasure and satisfaction – a silent offering of gratitude, perhaps. Ah, but then the focus honed in upon gemstones, a few that Arvum had once palmed himself.

The vast array of color and sights was consumed by a fire that wiped it away as quickly as it’d first been presented. From the ashes diamonds were compressed and coalesced, drops of blood staining them. The undertone for [i]that[/i] was markedly different – displeasure, laced perhaps with even a small bit of anger. With every passing moment, those diamonds scintillated and bent light in strange ways, obscuring one another and muddying the vision’s clarity.[/color]

Gracefully ignoring the latter part of the message, Arvum replied, [color=#C59401]”I did not expect anyone within the landscape so shortly after it had been ravaged. However, Darius and Medes were interesting characters who seem to have the potential to be good rulers. I believe I owe you the honor of having the chance to meet them both, I must thank you for that.” [/color] 

[color=9966CC]With renewed perspicuity the diamonds broke down into shards, then dust, then soil. A daisy sprouted, and the first vision was restored anew. It withered and died just as quickly. Countless different seeds became like raindrops and fell onto the soil with a light patter, but it was dry clay and they rested unburied.

That empty slate of a landscape almost audibly begged the questions: [i]What would the gardener cultivate? What did he want?[/i][/color]

Arvum gestured vaguely towards a point upon the Galbar, a godly eye being able to trace it down to a particular island. [color=#C59401]”As I believe you know better than most, there have been troubling events that bode poorly for the future. I believe that some preparations could save us from heartache later. Your vision pierces deeper than most, I believe you can see what the island guards.” [/color] 

[color=9966CC]Arvum’s words were the narration for what almost passed for a play: first the so-called isle of Hortus presented itself, the likeness of the Asclepius Orb, then the face of Diana. His final statement prompted the bubbling pool of life and its components to come into view… and then the shadowy silhouettes of tiny buzzing flies and great demonic monsters appeared along the periphery of sight, creeping down through the caverns above like moths drawn to flame. Yes, she Saw what Arvum had done, and also what he feared.[/color]

He continued his thought, [color=#C59401]“I believe I have created something good and precious, but it is a shame that good and precious things must often be kept under lock and key. I cannot stay beside the lake forever else I will be unable to continue my work elsewhere. Any barrier I can create, another could destroy. But as I understand it, none but the Lord of all Lords can elude your sight.” [/color] 

[color=9966CC]Blinding light flooded into view; it was the Greatest Sun’s own brilliant aura of awe. From the unyielding brightness eventually emerged shapes, and the resplendence of the divine palace was arrayed, where He, the one who had declared Himself the Monarch of All, sat upon a throne of jade with a tired and glowering visage. And then He rose, and walked backwards down the bridge into the depths of the ocean, and shook the corpse of a demon back to life, pulled spears from its shadowy flesh of smoke, met with a ready Tuku, and then asked the Master of the Hunt to accompany Him. No, she seemingly Saw all things, and clearly was slighted by even the idea that she could not peer through His aura and see on the other side.[/color]

Arvum was surprised by the vision, but he continued as if it was a casual conversation, [color=#C59401]”I was unaware that there was an unseen foe that the Monarch dreaded. My attention had been turned elsewhere. I must thank you again for sharing this information.” [/color] 

[color=9966CC]A veil emerged to conceal once more the revelations of that near-omniscient perspective. The cloth was woven thin enough that pinpricks of light poked through, and perhaps a discerning eye could see the shadowy shape of things beyond it, but what good was that?

The veil came closer, so close that it was near smothering, and it obscured Arvum’s Sight. If his mind could not tear through or push aside these curtains, perhaps another could. [i]She[/i] could certainly remove the veil from others, and had done as much even for some mortals. But of course, blinding light and unadulterated chaos lurked on the other side of that thin cloth. The curses of madness and inaction-through-indecision could afflict those with the Sight who looked too close or too often into the discord, and perhaps leave them worse than blind, the vision warned.

Still, it made for a tempting offer.[/color]

Arvum ultimately pushed against the idea, [color=#C59401]”I believe it is unwise for me to accept such a generous offer. There are some things I would be glad to be surprised by, and for everything else there are methods to avoid them. Asking for your assistance to pierce through the veil of time is perhaps the most cautious means but I believe the situation warrants it. I also ask that you do not mistake blindness for being senseless. We all have our ways of navigating through existence.” [/color] 

The sea of consciousness that surrounded Arvum on the bleak moon just danced with bemusement for a moment, seemingly unbothered and unsurprised by his refusal.

[color=#C59401]”I would appreciate your assistance creating something that I can place within the caves that can sense intruders and their motives and relay that information to me. You would also obviously have access to that information as well. I merely wish to protect my project, not obscure its true nature from any shardbearer.”[/color] he said.

Quizzical silence reigned for a while as the goddess mulled over such a request. The Great and All-Seeing Eye focused its gaze upon Hortus; the terrain of the island’s surface was no impediment to her viewing of the caverns below and all that was contained within. Her attention was sustained for a few moments by the beryl glow of some subterranean moss of Arvum’s make. There was also the squat and subtle presence of something else that had been created of [i]her[/i] own volitions – that fungi that held the key to burning away the veil, that which had the potency to expand and dissociate the mind of its eater, that which was her boon to all the mortals that dared accept it. An idea crossed Yudaiel’s mind – bringing about the union of those two specimens could perhaps accomplish Arvum’s goal. So, she showed him.

[color=9966CC]A future possibility presented itself: the caverns’ moss and fungi crept closer and closer, guided by divine intervention, until they finally intertwined. Together, they became something vastly [i]more[/i] than the sum of the two constituent lifeforms. It resembled not those stalks of shrooms that grew like trees, either alone or in little copse-clusters, but that moss which carpeted whole walls and ceilings. This was a rapacious and greedy sort of being, one that clambered across the cave walls like mold and expanded to cover as much space as it could. It grew and lived with some degree of sapience, for it was a living and breathing organism, one great colony that was both conscious and sapient. When trodden upon, it hissed and roared and screamed in a silent voice, and for those with ears to hear, that was alarm enough. When eaten, it catalyzed psychosis if not death. 

Yes, mortals would not easily tread unknown through those tunnels when every step agitated that hivemind of psychic fungi, but then the divine were not so easily thwarted. Some would be foolish enough to ignore or not see the nature and purpose of the colony and would tread upon it like any others, but some might fly or otherwise transpose themselves into the cave without disturbing the guardian-colony. Well, at least the divine could hardly help but project an aura so pungent that even a blind seer could See it from nearly over the horizon. Moss and lichen were things very sensitive to their environs, and so likewise this prescient colony would be sensitive to all manner of magic or other powers in its surroundings. It would know if any of the divine visited, even if it could hardly stop them, even if they sought to teleport through or otherwise bypass the places where it grew.[/color]

[color=#C59401]”It is unformed, and yet I can sense its aggression.”[/color] he said without judgement. [color=9966CC]In answer, a rose bush appeared without thorns, and it was soon devoured by a beast that lacked claws, and that hapless animal was in turn beset by a predator and similarly made into a meal. Self-preservation warranted some amount of aggression.[/color]

[color=#C59401]”I believe that slightly below the ocean’s floor would be an excellent place for your creation. I am not sure if fungi have been properly appreciated by god or mortal, but I must commend you for your intricate colony design.” [/color] Arvum stated. 

[color=9966CC]From high up on a mountain, cool spring water emerged, fresh and pure, as a result of their productive pairing. It flowed outward to the precipice of a cliff before cascading down. It made for a stirring and beautiful sight, but once it struck the rocks down far below, it came time to spill forth and create another waterfall… such was the way of reciprocity.

When those waters continued on, gleaming in the light of the sun, they landed in dry foothills and meandered on as a tributary, before eventually merging into a much larger river that ran its course through a dry stretch of desert. Upon the riverbanks, weary and exhausted and with an arm both burnt and somehow decayed – aged, even – by perverse powers, there rested a familiar prophet. So Arvum saw then that the Medians had arrived at the place he had offered them, after a long and arduous trek, after fending off a lion and encountering the one called Apostate.[/color]

Arvum reached his hand and closed it. [color=#C59401]”As I have favored those who followed Darius, I have favored those who followed Medes upon your behalf. They shall have legumes, root vegetables, and spices, but they shall not have grain. I have given them a different gift, one more suited to your nature than mine.” [/color] he said, opening his hand and revealing a strange stem with pinkish-purple leaves. [color=#C59401]”This spice shall enhance the mystic properties of any food or drink served with it. I believe it is well suited to your purposes?” [/color] 

The weight of Yudaiel’s ever-present stare became much heavier with those words. She carefully examined the odd plant, and its leaves rustled without wind as she turned it over and pried and prodded at it telekinetically. The visions did not come during that intermission, but as they were close and their minds still partially linked, some bits of her thoughts seeped through: she was very pleased, and more than a bit curious, but she’d quickly enough determined that the substance was far too mild to have any appreciable effect upon [i]her[/i] vast Sight. Still, that was only to be expected – how would any of these gods beside her ever perfect the Sight, or improve it beyond the pinnacles of her abilities? Though not at all suitable for her, especially given her formless nature, it might nonetheless prove very useful for those seers and prophets that she had blessed, and any other sorcerers besides.

Yes, a bargain had been struck.

Space distorted and rippled slightly as she projected magic and mind and might across the vast distance between her moon and the Galbar, plucking at invisible threads that ran all the way into the depths of that cavern. Her confinement upon the moon was dreary, but even from afar, she remained capable of exerting a good deal of power it seemed… this was just a laborious and somewhat slow task, made difficult by the distance. This time she did not have that Codex to act as a focusing lens, after all.

Engineering this creation demanded time, and the better part of an hour passed. While she was engrossed in the work, Arvum was left alone to his own devices on the bleak lunar landscape, but it was worth the wait. The colony of fungus was born; it erupted into life with a silent chorus of telepathic song, and in that moment she truly did feel some fondness for it. It was not quite like a child, but it was a living and thinking being all the same, and the first one of that sort that she had [i]truly[/i] created all on her own. It would serve Arvum well, and she might enjoy occasionally speaking to it. Perhaps even he would, too. As his sentry it had an ingrained means of calling out to him in particular, after all, and on occasion it might babble even if it had little of import to announce.

Arvum nodded, sensing the creature’s presence from far away. [color=#C59401]”Splendid work. I apologize for leaving so soon, however there is a great deal more work to be done. Perhaps we can collaborate in the future.” [/color] 

Yudaiel withdrew and began drifting back to her usual seat in the grandest crater. Her parting ideabstraction was one that bore the sentiment of her farewell, devoid of any refined imagery but nonetheless clear enough. In place of darkness came an omnipresent warmth and color, and soothing undertones were laden into it too. And then the two had parted ways.

[hider=Summary]
Arvum goes to visit the moon, and Yudaiel greets him with more warmth than she’s shown anybody else. She was happy about what he did for the humans in Nalusa, though there’s some tension over him knowing that she killed Ashevelen and her not liking whatever he’s been messing around with the blood diamonds for.

He states that he’s come to ask for help watching his new lake under the Serene Island, because nobody can evade her Sight except the Monarch. The implication of that chafes her prodigious ego, so she corrects the record and proves that she can indeed see Moneo by replaying the CCTV of some recent actions; Arvum thus incidentally comes to learn about some of what happened with the Pariah.

They strike a deal: Yudaiel creates an extraordinary creature to guard his caverns and the lake inside (it’s a telepathic and sapient colony of fungus) and in return he agrees to help out Medes and his group down in Nalusa some more. Notably, he’ll bestow more crops upon them, including a very magical and special spice that can enhance the magical properties of other foods. The spice must flow![/hider][hider=Vigor Expenditures]
Yudaiel begins with 6 vigor.

2 is spent on the single powerful creature that is the Psychic Fungus, our setting’s second fungal hivemind! This one isn’t quite as malevolent as Yesaris’ in the Hivelands, and it’s confined just to the caves under the Serene Island of Hortus to act as a sentry. Nonetheless, it is somewhat hostile to mortals and doesn’t like being stepped upon. It’s just a layer of mold-like fungi, so it can’t directly retaliate (though it is toxic to any who eat it) but being psychic means it could harass you with strange visions and hallucinations perhaps. Offering it food, perhaps in the form of smearing honey on or near it, might ingratiate you with the colony and make it not harass you too much as you step on it. It can also telepathically talk to Arvum and Yudaiel, and it instinctively raises the alert when it senses divines nearby or mortals venturing down.

Yudaiel ends with 4 vigor.

Arvum 
Starting: 4 
Ending: 3

Free: Taught those who followed Medes how to farm legumes, root vegetables and spices. 

1 Vigor: Created an extraordinary species of spice located around the river that Medes settled, it is a stem plant with pinkish purple leaves. It can be mixed with a food or drink to amplify their supernatural qualities. 
[/hider]