[h1][center][color=pink]Aethel[/color] and ASTUS[/center][/h1]

[center][b]I[/b][/center]


[hider=Aethel's Current Form.]
[img]https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/e3ab6576-4931-4f7d-9b3c-348c85cd2be5/dez15p6-02dff4b0-8830-4292-890d-cf085e16435f.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcL2UzYWI2NTc2LTQ5MzEtNGY3ZC05YjNjLTM0OGM4NWNkMmJlNVwvZGV6MTVwNi0wMmRmZjRiMC04ODMwLTQyOTItODkwZC1jZjA4NWUxNjQzNWYucG5nIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.IFrNLIelpmC6rqlCcv799lOeCF2PlK4qIRRfeUnWWUo[/img]
[/hider]


The rain was falling, the wind was blowing and despite the otherwise terrible weather Aethel continued on their personally assigned ‘quest’ to explore the world as they started to stroll between the chains of islands that connected the eastern landmass to the western one. 

…To be fair, it wasn’t exactly a proper ‘quest’ per say, but in their own mind it sounded a lot grander and more noble than ‘I’m kind of bored and having a look around’. 

Skipping across the water of the ocean in a carefree manner, there was a strange grace and dancer like motion to their movements as the humanoid body that they were currently wearing in the event that mortal life was nearby to witness their passing seemed inclined towards turning even the simple act of walking into a performance. 

It had to be said that it took Aethel a few moments to realize that they had actually stopped skipping upon the surface of the ocean and had actually made landfall due to the rather swampy, watery nature of the region they had arrived at. The presence of trees hinted at there being land but they hadn’t dismissed the idea that one of their siblings had decided that what the ocean needed was trees that grew tall enough to anchor on the seafloor, but reached all the way to the surface to bathe in the sun… but it was the familiar lingering aura of rot and life via decay that only a swamp could generate that confirmed it for them.  It wasn’t an exactly average swamp either, at least it had things the others did not… For example, overgrown remains of ancient structures, or the occasional spot where equally ancient roads had yet to be reclaimed by nature.

Had Aethel not been a God, they probably wouldn’t have noticed the little speck far above in the sky, visible only through a small opening in the canopies that covered the swamp, and they probably wouldn’t have realized that that little speck was in fact some kind of… Mechanical being. Not unlike the great Colossi that wandered the lands, just much smaller in scale, and apparently also capable of flight.

The thought of checking the machine out from much closer was interrupted, however. Naturally, Aethel knew that they were being watched.  They also knew that the ones watching them were the six furry creatures hiding in a bush half-hidden behind a thick willow. Aethel knew they were furry, because a quick sideways glance revealed six pairs of triangular feline ears poking out of the bush. The ears flicked every time a fly buzzed close, and the leaves rustled whenever one of the creatures inside swatted off a spider or caterpillar.

“A-choo!” sneezed one of the creatures.

[i]“Dumbass!”[/i] whispered another in response.

All of this was relevant information that had been picked up on… but Aethel made the appearance of having not noticed. In their strange dancing skip they continued on, passing by a tree that blocked them from sight of the various pairs of eyes for a moment. Then there was nothing; From their point of view, the skipping being should have passed the tree and kept going but they seemed to have stopped behind it for some reason. 

The truth was more humorous for the deity though. They had gone past the tree, leaped upwards and over the top of the treeline and the group of watchers with what would have been an awe inspiring twirl and landed behind them… all in a matter of seconds and all stages done in complete and utter silence. 

Hiding in the bush behind the interesting cat people, Aethel waited a few seconds for them to notice the lack of… well, them coming out from behind the tree before they reached out to casually flick a spider off of the shoulder of the person who had sneezed before as they softly stage whispered “[color=pink]Maybe someone should go investigate?[/color]” 

All the children in the bush froze. They made no movement, with the exception of the sneezing one who little by little lifted her shaking tail to confirm someone was indeed behind her. The moment her tail bumped against the deity, she screamed. Then, everyone else screamed. Before long, all six children were pushing each other as they tried to untangle themselves from each other and jump out of the bush.

For their part, Aethel seemed to take a great deal of enjoyment out of watching the small band of ragamuffins freeze up as they spoke… and the girl using her tail in order to confirm what her ears had heard was just adorable. There was something to be said about a bit of terror to make life worth living after all. 

Calmly standing up and walking out of the bush at their own pace in order to give the children more room to get in each other’s way or tangle themselves in the bush further, they decided to politely wait for them to get themselves…[i]somewhat[/i] organized. Finally, after quite a bit of struggling, one of them popped out and pulled the others out as quickly as he could. Once only the deity remained in the bush , he pushed his siblings without turning his back to the deity. “Run, run! Get Carer and the Tins! I’ll be fine, Master Night Terror taught me how to defeat Aliens!” Ordered the one who’d jumped out first, assuming a combat stance despite his size being at most a quarter of Aethel’s. Brave, Aethel thought. His siblings quickly took the hint and ran off into the swamp, leaving the boy alone against the god.

For their part, Aethel didn’t chase after them. It was tempting, but their attention was currently locked on the boy who stayed. “[color=pink]The next two minutes are going to be really important to you. You’ve got some critical decisions to make and the first of them is to concede prior to this fight starting because I’m not going to hold back if we start. Here’s the thing… you’ve probably got about ninety seconds to concede and you’ve really got to think it through because what’s going to happen is this…[/color]” there was a slight pause in order to take a breath, Aethel’s tone being surprisingly calm and collected, as if they were merely informing the boy of something rather then what the words were about to suggest.

“[color=pink]I can’t guarantee what’s going to happen to you. There’s no promise for your safety, no promise for anything like that. About sixty seconds left. If you’re not going to concede, what do you want me to tell your family?[/color]”

“Waow,” The boy sighed, relaxing his stance and shaking his head. His tail imitated the motion. “When did I say I was gonna fight ya? Never! That’s when! ‘Cause Night Terror told me the best way to defeat a villain is to never fight them at all. If I fought a massive alien like ya I’d probably just get punted all the way to the golden toilet. Smart, huh?” The boy nodded with a wide smirk on his face, hands on his hips and chest puffed out.

For their part, Aethel couldn’t help but grin just a little. “[color=pink]Let me guess… You figured that if I actually meant you or your… friends? Siblings?[/color]” there was a brief pause before a quick shrug followed and they continued “[color=pink]Any actual harm, I had ample opportunity to do so before revealing myself… and why you were all struggling to get out of the bush. So you decided to prove how brave you were in their eyes by staying behind to stall me. Clever. What’s your name?[/color]” 

“It wasn’t really about ya meaning any harm. Ya wouldn’t know the kinda messed up things that happen round here. For all I know ya could just be toying with me, asking me questions before ya drain me dry. Or ya could be a new kinda ghost! Or maybe a very weird looking mushroom. Huh, there weren’t any mushrooms on the ground inside the bush were there?” The boy asked and took a quick look inside the bush, emerging with a shake of his head. “Nop. None. I’m Blue Soar, anyway.”

There was a brief pause as Aethel absorbed this information… and after a moment asked “[color=pink]Considering that of the local threats the first one you decided to mention involved the draining of your blood… I’m guessing you’re referring to a breed of creature that changes their appearance and pretends to be other people to drink the blood of their victims. The Rattus refer to such creatures that lurk in the deserts around their homeland by the name of ‘Pretenders’.[/color]”

Having offered a reward of information in exchange for what Blue had offered already, Aethel did add “[color=pink]I haven’t heard about hostile, bipedal mushrooms before… but then again this is my first time visiting this part of the world. You can call me Rainbow Tree if you want.[/color]” the deity offered back, thinking of a name on the fly.

“Rats? They have names for Vamps? Ya pulling my tail, Tree? Though to be honest I haven’t seen that many rats around. Mom says it’s because they were all eaten after the Day of Ashes. Also on the mushrooms, obviously ya wouldn’t be the mushroom Tree, ya’d be one of the crazy things the mushrooms make ya see! Ya know, one time I licked one of them and dreamed I was a girl? Not just a girl, a Prime too! So ya could easily be a vision from the mushrooms.” Soar said with another self-confident nod.

“[color=pink]Blue, if I was yanking your tail you would know it. That being said, the Rattus do have a somewhat easier time with the bloodsuckers because they see the world a bit differently than most. Their illusions still fool the eyes but it doesn’t change how the winds of mana interact with them. But the Rattus are a people much like yourself and the others you were with before they scampered off… they were originally rats, but they’re a lot more now.[/color] There was a slight smirk as Tree added “[color=pink]Some of them stand taller than you on their back legs.[/color]”

The mushroom dream actually caused them to chuckle. “[color=pink]I’m not going to rule out the possibility that I’m some kind of dream created by fungi… but I like to think that if I am, that means you’re having a good dream. After all, a cute, brave boy deserves them.[/color]” There might have been a slight wink and a playful chuckle, before ‘Tree’ got semi serious again as they asked “[color=pink]You mentioned a ‘Day of Ashes’. What is that?[/color]”  

“I did. Ya don’t know about it? Ya truly are an alien. D’ya come from the moon, Tree?” Soar asked and crossed his arms. “I’m not supposed to tell aliens anything to begin with…”

There was a small scoff at the suggestion. “[color=pink]No. But creating the tree I call my home played a part in creating the moon. Launched most of the materials it’s made out of up there. But I don’t know about this ‘Day of Ashes’ and I do enjoy hearing new stories.[/color]” Some might have considered Tree’s words to be utter insanity but… it was the simple way they said it in passing that suggested that not only was it the truth, but it was an unimportant one at that. 

Soar scrunched up his face, then with a flick of his ears he turned his head to one side and chuckled. “Carer’s on the way. I’m not old so I can’t tell ya about the D.O.A. If ya wanna know just ask her.” The kid explained.

“[color=pink]Was this Carer old enough to be there?[/color]”

Blue Soar shrugged, just in time for a figure to drop down from above the canopies of the trees. It landed with both feet on the muddy ground and skid to a halt in-between the child and Aethel. Arms that previously looked like metal wings quickly turned to humanoid ones, and it's pointy face flattened and an opaque blackish green visor slid over it. Once its transformation into a full humanoid was over, it stood upright at nearly two metres tall.

Blue Soar didn't seem scared. Instead, he had a wide smirk on his face as he turned around and walked off into the swamp with a swagger in his step. "See ya round, Tree."

The distinctively feminine metallic humanoid's visor flashed green for a split moment before settling on a rich orange hue.

"Divine creature, your presence has been reported to Astus. Will you tell me what the purpose behind talking to a lone child in the middle of the swamp is?" The robotic human asked, her voice coming from a box in her throat rather than where one would expect her mouth to be. It sounded raspy and had a constant background of static.

Had they been any other type of entity, the new arrival could have been seen as threatening or at least have gotten a surprised reaction from its appearance. In Aethel’s case, the look on their face, after they offered Blue a polite wave and a simple “[color=pink]Take care Blue.[/color]” before giving the newcomer their attention, was that of a child's curiosity. 

“[color=pink]Well, aren't you an interesting one? A living creature made out of metal with a mana heart bringing you to life. You’re utterly captivating in how beautiful you truly are…[/color]” their voice trailed off for a moment… before he suddenly shook their head in order to snap out of it because the being had asked him a question. 

“[color=pink]Oh forgive me, I just found myself lost gazing at your core. I’m sure you hear that all the time through. You can call me Rainbow Tree and I was just passing through on a quest to see what my siblings have done with this part of the world when I happened to encounter some youths. Blue seemed inclined to talk and I was happy to do so.[/color]”  An explanation given, ‘Tree’ smiled as they asked “[color=pink]Are you Carer by any chance? Blue mentioned the name but I didn’t want to assume.[/color]”  

“I am Carer, First Generation Prime Astalonian, our Cores are triple-shielded against shock, temperature and penetration. They’re masterpieces created by Astus, Chief of Industry, that serve as Central Processing Units and Black Boxes. In the future please refrain from speaking to lone children, Divine Creature Rainbow Tree. Are you taking your leave now?” Carer asked, her hand resting on the hilt of the long blade currently attached to her hip.

For the first time in what felt like eternity, the smile slowly started to fade from Aethel’s face until there was only Aethel left. While it might not have sounded like much, for someone witnessing it, it would have been as unnerving and creepy as if Aethel was disappearing and leaving a smile behind. “[color=pink]I’m sorry, I do believe I must have misheard you. Did you just imply that I, as a divine entity, cannot be trusted to be left alone with a child? Because that would be insanely rude. The only thing I [i]dislike[/i] as much as rudeness are people who attempt to lie to me.[/color]”

Carer's visor flashed red. She was silent for a few seconds. "I apologise if I have offended you. Is it rude to request unknown Divines to stay away from Children? Our own Divine Patron killed hundreds, after all."

The best way to describe ‘Rainbow Tree’s body language would have been that of an angry bird who, having ruffled their feathers and finding the situation returning to calm, was smoothing them out again. The smile was back. “[color=pink]Very much so, but I am willing to chalk this up to a hole in your creator's teachings since he is clearly somewhat active in your life and thus I will accept your apology Carer. Out of curiosity, was this slaughter of mortals the ‘Day of Ashes’ that Blue mentioned? He didn’t go into details, but insisted you would be a better storyteller.[/color]” 

Carer's hand came off the hilt of her blade and her arms began to stretch and twist and break in different places, slowly assuming the form of a pair of long wings. "Blue Soar tends to exaggerate my skills. I am merely a machine, after all. The Day of Ashes was a tragedy that took place on this land decades ago, orchestrated by Chief Astus in order to cleanse the land of a horrible taint. The project was a success, of course, but I have no more memories of it. I was confined to the Vault throughout it all."

Aethel’s head tilted slightly to the side, a small ‘hmm’ escaping them before they asked the first question that came to their mind. “[color=pink]And what nature of taint was this?[/color]”

"I do not have that information."

There was another ‘Hmm’ as for a few seconds the gears in Aethel’s head turned. “[color=pink]Fair enough then. I will have to speak with Astus himself at some point to find out that detail. Would hate for the mortals I’ve created to encounter something that needed to be so heavily purged after all. What is currently troubling your people at this time, Carer? After all, while I am sure Astus meant the best, I'm sure Blue and the rest of the organics you protect would appreciate a more… soft handed approach to problems going forward.[/color]” 

"We've recently contained a Stage 4 Fungal Outbreak fifty seven kilometers northwest of this location. We estimate about three hundred and seventy nine tons of biomatter has been infected on the surface, with an unknown quantity extending underground throughout the caverns. We need more firepower in order to stage an effective extermination. Chief Astus is also always on the lookout for ways to increase birth rates among the Astalonian Homurans."

For a moment, Aethel weighed their options before at last suggesting “[color=pink]I think, before I make any decisions of how to proceed, I should have a look at this fungi problem you seem to be having for myself. If you want to lead the way I’m happy to fly after you.[/color]” 

Carer nodded, "I will lead you to the entrance into the quarantine zone and request the Primes stationed there to let you through. I can not be your guide in the area, however." She said and took off running, then with a mighty jump propelled herself to the sky, using her wings to glide.

In what had to be a flashy, somewhat gaudy display a pair of translucent butterfly wings appeared on Aethel’s back, easily lifting them off the ground and allowing them to fly after Carer, bathing the land below in different colored lights as the sun beamed through the wings with each flap.

[B][center]II[/center][/b]

Carer landed with a long skid and a quick shift back to her humanoid form, with Aethel landing behind her almost soundlessly a split moment after. The Primes posted at either side of the double chain link gates nodded at Carer, their visors a steady blue, and placed their hands on the hilts of their weapons as soon as Carer returned the nod.

“This Divine wishes to enter the Quarantine Zone. Stabber, Cleaver, you two will allow their entry or exit at any time as long as protocols are followed at all times.” Carer commanded, her visor green. The two Primes nodded again.

“Acknowledged.” They both said at the same time, their voice boxes sounding the exact same. 

The one named Stabber then nodded at Aethel, his visor suddenly changing to yellow. “Does the Divine Creature wish to enter the Quarantine Zone now?”

Gazing through the chain link gate into the Quarantine Zone, Aethel let Carer speak with her peers in silence as they focused on what they were seeing… only to snap out of it slightly as they turned to look at Stabber. “[color=pink]And what exactly are these protocols that are in place?[/color]”

“To go through decontamination before entering and upon leaving.” Stabber nodded his head towards a moderately sized tent beside the entrance. “To prevent any infected lifeforms from exiting.” 

About a hundred meters overhead, what must have been a hundred drones whizzed past and over the Quarantine zone, dousing the area in some kind of purple powdery substance. Massive needle-like projectiles launched up from the thick, sickly swamp and shot down several of the drones, the sound of the explosions reaching Aethel several seconds after the fact.

Aethel was listening to the discussion, but it was easy to see that they were watching the fight that was happening in the air with a degree of interest… event as they pointed out “[color=pink]Decontaminating before going in seems like a waste of time. I mean, are you worried that I’m going to take something into the zone that will sicken the fungi?[/color]”

“We’re worried you may carry new, lethal microscopic life into the zone which the Fungal Hivemind will then inevitably assimilate into its arsenal, Divine Rainbow Tree.” Carer explained, making her way to the tent’s entrance and motioning inside. “Please, if you would. Upon entering, the entrance will seal while you’re decontaminated.”

“[color=pink]Very well. I am a guest in your land after all.[/color]” Aethel politely offered before walking towards and into the tent in order to get this process over with. True to Carer’s word, immediately upon entering, a flap of plastic dropped over the entrance and sealed it, then they were doused in a yellow vapour of some kind for what felt like an entire minute. It was eventually over, however, and as the vapour was finally completely sucked out of the tent through some small vents on the ground, the flap of plastic covering the entrance came off. When Aethel left the tent, the gates to the Quarantine Zone were open and the three Primes motioned for them to enter. 

“The Divine Creature may now enter.” Stabber declared, both him and Cleaver closely observing the tree line a few dozen meters past the gate. Offering the two ‘guards’ a small bow of his head, Aethel said nothing as they crossed the threshold in order to see what was hidden within the infected zone.

[B][center]III[/center][/b]

It was a good three days before Aethel exited the treeline of the infected zone, clearly no worse for wear because it would take more than a fungal infection to actually cause a deity any actual issues. In a calm but thoughtful manner, they allowed themselves to undergo the process of decontamination. An idea had already, pun intended, taken root in their mind but the details needed to be worked out just a little. 

It was once they had left the tent that they got to work. With a small show of flare, Aethel walked about an arm's length away from the wall of the quarantine zone, pausing every few meters in order to throw what appeared to be some kind of seeds into the air away from the wall. This would continue until at last they had done a full circuit of the wall… and then they turned around and repeated the process by going the other way. At no point did Aethel actually reveal a bag or container for the seeds they were throwing; It was as if they threw their hand out and the seeds appeared.

Once the second circuit was done, Aethel came to a stop to take a deep breath. Their eyes closed, they tilted their head upwards as they let out what would appear to the mortal eye as a rain cloud, floating up out of their mouth and spreading out, growing in size until it easily surrounded the Quarantine Zone so that it had a ring of cloud cover, but none of it drifted past the wall. Those with the ability to see mana would easily be able to spot the green that laced the cloud that Aethel was creating.

Once the cloud was at an acceptable size, it stopped coming out… and Aethel closed their mouth before bringing their hands together in a loud, thunder-like clap that caused the clouds to suddenly start raining.  

For a few minutes there was no change… and then the flowers started to pop out of the ground. At first they were small things, but within seconds they started to swell in size until a massive ring of brightly colored, beautiful and pleasant smelling flowers surrounded the other wall. Then the flowers started to push themselves out of the soil, revealing that the ‘flower’ was simply the top of what appeared to be a dark bluish humanoid body with legs, arms and a pair of small red eyes and a small mouth. 

[img]https://assets.pokemon.com/assets/cms2/img/pokedex/full/045.png[/img]

While they were all a variety of sizes, shapes and colorations, the biggest of these plant characters was almost two meters tall… though while there were hundreds, if not thousands of them, few actually came close to that massive size. As the plant animals started to look around and move, spores started to leave their flowery heads, filling the air to seemingly no ill effect. Satisfied with their work, Aethel turned to Stabber and Cleaver and offered “[color=pink]I do believe this will help you and your feline companions out in keeping things under control.[/color]”

“The Divine Creature’s work is appreciated.” Stabber nodded, his visor blue.

“The Divine Creature’s work will ensure the outbreak is contained.” Cleaver said, his visor red.

“[color=pink]And if you let them wander around and do their thing in peace, it should be rather difficult for further outbreaks to get rooted.[/color]” Aethel offered, but didn’t feel inclined to explain the details of it. “[color=pink]Before I go wandering again, you wouldn’t happen to know where Astus is, would you?[/color]”

“That information is classified.” Explained Stabber.

Aethel looked at Stabber in their blue visor with the look of someone who knew what the outcome of this conversation was going to be, but they were still slightly inconvenienced by the fact that the other person was insisting that the steps be taken in order all the same. “[color=pink]I was under the impression that Astus wanted to see me at some point. He was made aware of my presence after all. At this stage I feel like it would be awfully rude to have enjoyed the hospitality of his domain without at least meeting with him personally.[/color]”

Stabber’s visor flashed yellow, “A report of the Divine Creature’s presence has been submitted to and received by the Chief. No further reports have been made. Does the Divine Creature wish for us to submit a request for an appointment with the Chief?”

“The Divine Creature would have to be really fuckin’ lucky to get one. Worth a try.” Cleaver added.

Glancing towards Cleaver, Aethel’s face was unreadable as they asked “[color=pink]You are suggesting that Astus wouldn’t make time to meet one of his kin?[/color]”

“The Chief is a busy Divine Creature. The Chief will make time if the Divine Creature requests an appointment and He deems it worthwhile.” Stabber explained, his visor slowly going back to blue.

For a moment, Aethel placed a hand on their hip and slowly started to tap it with their fingers in a slightly put out manner… but they shrugged as they answered “[color=pink]In that case, please send a message on my behalf that I was intending to move on and leave his domain, but would have liked to see him in person before going.[/color]”

Stabber’s visor flashed yellow again. “Request submitted. Orders received. Engaging R.C.M.” A split moment later, Stabber’s visor turned off entirely and his entire body seemed to twitch. When his voice box activated again, it wasn’t the smooth and calculated voice of the Twin Primes, but a rough and obnoxiously loud one.

“IF IT ISN’T ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES! CUT TO THE CHASE AND JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT, SMALL MAN. I GOT A 155,000 HORSEPOWER ENGINE PROTOTYPE WAITIN’ FOR ME TO GET BACK TO WORK.”

For their part, Aethel sort of leaned back as the yelling started. Despite having a form that didn’t have visible ears, their ‘hair’ seemed to fold onto their head as if trying to protect them all the same. “[color=pink]I’m assuming I’m speaking with Astus. Why are you yelling?[/color]” was the first question that came to mind. 

“AIN’T YELLIN’ SMALL MAN, MAYBE YOUR EARS ARE TOO WEAK? I GOT AUGMENTS HERE THAT YOU COULD PURCHASE, HAH!” 

There was a deep, [i]deep[/i] breath as Aethel took a moment to respect the fact that this was Astus’ domain and thus he was the host. A short explanation was offered quickly“[color=pink]I was passing through the region when I encountered some of your people. After a bit of a chat, I decided to assist them with their Fungus problem… but before I departed I wanted to check in with you, since this is your domain. I would have done so sooner, but I was exploring the depths of your infestation problem.[/color]”

“I’VE ALREADY SEEN THE PLANT THINGS YOU MADE. THEY’RE GONNA BE REAL HELPFUL, SO THANKS! NEVERMIND THAT THOUGH, YOU CALLED YOURSELF RAINBOW TREE WHEN YOU SPOKE TO CARER. YOU AETHEL? CREATOR OF THE AETHELIC FIELDS?”

There was a brief moment of confusion on Aethel’s part… before they blinked as it hit them. “[color=pink]Yes, I am Aethel… and I am the creator of Mana. I’m not sure if that’s what you’re talking about though because I’m not prone to naming things after myself.[/color]”

“K, SO I’M GONNA ASK YOU. NO COPYRIGHTS ON THIS MANA THING RIGHT? I’VE BEEN USIN’ IT FOR A LONG ASS TIME NOW, WOULDN’T WANNA HAVE TO PAY FOR THE RIGHT TO USE IT.”

There was a glance offered to Cleaver that summed up in a single look the sentence ‘The fuck is Copyright?’ before they turned back to Stabber and answered “[color=pink]I did create it with the intention that it was going to be used. Granted, using it to create a machine heart to develop metal life wasn’t something I had planned but that’s why I’m happy to let people play around with it. Wonderful things come of it after all. So yes, you may continue to use it. However, there is one question I would like to ask of you while I’ve got you here.[/color]”

“[color=pink]Carer mentioned that you needed to purge a number of your organic mortals due to some ‘taint’, but she didn’t know what it was. You mind filling me in?[/color]”

“AH, THAT. YEAH THEY WERE LAZY AND DUMB CAUSE I DID EVERYTHIN’ FOR THEM. SO I WIPED ALL THE TECHNOLOGY OFF THE ISLAND AND FORCED THE SURVIVORS TO LEARN STUFF PROPERLY. WHAT NOSTALGIA! SO, YOU DONE SMALL MAN?”

“[color=pink]It would seem so. Thank you for your hospitality Astus. Though I must confess the coincidence of how your organic mortals bare a striking resemblance to the mortal template that Homura created and started gifting to other deities to finish.[/color]”

“IT’S ALMOST LIKE I MIGHT HAVE GOTTEN THEM FROM HOMURA TOO. WHAT COINCIDENCE! WE BOTH CAN CONNECT THE DOTS. YOU IMPRESS ME, RAINBOW TREE.”

“I see I have contacted you at a bad time. Thank you for taking some time out of your clearly busy day to speak with me, Astus. I’ll let you get back to playing around by yourself in your workshop.[/color]”

“AND I’LL LET YOU GET BACK TO DANCIN’ IN THE SWAMP.” And with that, Stabber’s visor turned back on and settled on a deep purple. 

“Is the Divine Creature satisfied?” He asked, his voice back to normal.

There was a small sigh as Aethel answered “[color=pink]About as satisfied as I can be under the circumstances. I will take my leave… that being said, I do hope that whenever Astus brings the wrath of other deities down on himself that you survive it. It would be a shame to lose such a marvelous people like yourselves after all.[/color]”

The Primes nodded at Aethel and went back to standing at either side of the chain link gate.

[hider=Summary]
Aethel arrives at Astalon’s southwestern area, an overgrown swamp. There, he meets a bunch of kids and he talks to a lone kid until a Prime called Carer arrives and takes over. Aethel then requests to be taken to the closest Fungal Hivemind outbreak with ends up being a Stage 4 Quarantine Zone, meant to keep a sentient-level outbreak contained. He goes into the quarantine zone on his own and when he emerges he creates a bunch of plant creatures that upon walking, spew out spores that can combat Fungal Hivemind spores. After that, Aethel requests to talk to Astus, and Astus immediately takes control of the Prime in front of Aethel and they both chat for a short while. After that is done, Aethel leaves.
[/hider]

[hider=Vigor]
3 Vigor: Create an extraordinary species of unintelligent life; plants and animals, with great power. 

1 Vigor (0 Due to divine aspect): Blessing or curse.

Hummers: Created by Aethel in order to counterattack the Fungi Hivemind and its attempts to expand, the Hummers (as named by the local Astalonians) are a plant based bipedal creature with a dark blue body, a pair of legs and arms for a total of four limbs, a pair of dot like red eyes and a small mouth. The most noticeable feature of the Hummer is its flower-like ‘hat’, which grows atop of its head and is generally about as wide as the body is tall. 

While the flower can take a wide number of shapes and colorations, all of them allow the Hummer to draw energy from the Sun while also serving as the exit point for the Hummer’s spores, which are released every time that the Hummer moves around (through the Hummer can expel spores in a cloud if required). These spores are completely harmless to living creatures and plantlife… with one exception. 

Hummer spores are naturally toxic to the Fungal Hivemind, killing off its spores and the more ‘mundane’ fungus that it develops as it terraforms an area and outright paralyzing any organic ‘host’ that has been infected, leaving them defenseless to the elements and the Hummers themselves, who while normally content with sunlight, water and the nutrition they can get from the soil will descend and eat Fungal Hivemind biomass, regardless of whatever form it might take.  

While the Hummers are unintelligent and are plant based animals, they are completely passive and friendly to all non-hivemind life. They naturally flock towards those tending to plants and are named Hummers due to the whimsical, music-like noises that they produce and their habit of bursting into dance when they hear music they like. 

Those who can sense mana will also detect that the Hummer’s are a living font of Green Mana, bathing whatever aura they are in with green mana and encouraging the development and growth of healthy plantlife. Combined with their natural spores, this tends to make any area they inhabit for any length of time will be filled with healthy plantlife.

While immune to the corruptive nature of the Fungal Hivemind’s infestation, the Hummer’s are completely dependent on their spores to protect themselves from direct attack from the one entity that they are hostile to. They do not have any actual means of protecting themselves in a mundane sense beyond being made completely of plant matter (discouraging carnivores) and are prone to moving around and running away if something tries to take a bite out of them. 

Vigor start: 6
Vigor end: 3
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