[u][b][center]His First Encounter[/center] [/b][/u] [color=ed1c24]“I am positively hideous.”[/color] Grym gawked at a reflection of himself through the surface of a great lake that spanned most of node 18’s northern hemisphere. Akky snorted and shook her head, acknowledging the consensus. The two had ventured out from the cave for a late-night drink. Akky did not require water, though it was still refreshing to indulge, and her partner enjoyed the sight of a mirrored starry sky cast over the water. Out of all the things he’d observed in this mortal world during the last several weeks, it was the sky and the stars that continued to demand his utmost admiration. They remained a perfect example of a realm outside divinity’s reach. It was their very nature that made him question the destiny of all “Gods.” If the stars and the sky could exist without the intervention or guidance of beings like him, then there was no need for pretense; no promise to keep. [color=ed1c24]“Peninal-... Dad, you were wrong.”[/color] Grym spoke aloud. [color=ed1c24]“It wasn’t cowardice to avoid your imposed destiny. Whatever we are, we aren't Gods. The stars shine themselves, without us. This world too does not need us once the nodes are stable. So I will act selfishly and without remorse to make sure that all others can do the same in a world unabated by any singular prevailing power.”[/color] Grym reveres the cosmos with open arms and bellows, [color=ed1c24]“I will capture every bit of land and sea underneath this Godless sky and throw it all away. To show you that this is already enough. It’s perfect.”[/color] Perhaps it was too early in his lifespan to say so, but Grym was not the type for grandiose dramatics. This exception was a sort of proper goodbye to his predecessor in the form of a declaration. So with that Grym let out an exasperated sigh and let his shoulders slouch. Akky met his side and stooped low so that Grym could saddle himself properly before embarking on a journey back toward the node. The map that denoted all other nodes had been the object of interest Grym hadn’t been able to inspect during his chaotic ascent. The stone guardian had returned to its disheveled post atop an almost ruined tomb and the hydra slumbered around the node yet still, probably unsure of what else to do now that the node was captured and its master was nowhere to be seen. Akky made her dissent toward the pedestal housing the map like that of an owl’s; graceful and silent. Grym had to hold his skeletal jaw still to prevent it from chattering with excitement. The map contained far more information than he’d ever anticipated. It relayed in real-time the layout of every node and who controlled which ones. This would prove to be an invaluable resource for keeping track of events as they unfold. It was lucky nobody else had the foresight to trace back and capture this node. And as if purposely timed, Grym felt the presence of another divine cross into his threshold. The truth is he’d been staring at the map for roughly an hour trying to decide whether to go north or south first, so this broke the stalemate in his mind at least. Aboard Akky he made his way back up north toward the lake where he was sure to run into whichever divine had returned home. The sun was brimming just below the horizon now and it only occurred to him mid-flight that he hadn’t cleaned up the place or gotten ready a ‘welcome home’ gift. Frantically he tried to think of a simple, yet cordial gift. Rays of emerging sunlight revealed the approach of a female figure gliding in from across the northern shore. Grym reached out ahead holding a large fruit and announced his bone-faced greeting. [color=ed1c24]“I am Grym. Please accept this welcome home watermelon.”[/color] The pale winged-woman came to a halt before him, held aloft with magically influenced winds softly whirling around her and granting her the grace of flight. She hesitated before speaking, an anxious expression affixed to her face as she introduced herself. [b][i]“I am Monica. Hmm, thank you… for your generosity, Grym.”[/i][/b] She slowly flew closer; her forward movement more akin to walking across an unseen bridge hovering in the sky as opposed to natural flight, though considering the impractical placement of the wings upon her back on a shape that was evidently not designed to fly, the strange sight was as sensical as any other means of otherworldly magical motion. Her hands were hidden beneath wide white sleeves, but even so she still managed to grasp the watermelon and held onto it securely afterwards while wearing a small smile during the exchange. [b][i]“I am afraid I have nothing like this watermelon to give to you, so please forgive me for my unintentional rudeness.”[/i][/b] She murmured with a mixture of forlorn melancholy and bashfulness which contrasted with her immediate close proximity - close enough for Grym to easily hear her quiet voice almost whispering into where his ears would be, close enough to feel the ethereal warmth of her presence where both the pristine and the putrefied skin still clung to his form. She seemed utterly unfazed by his decaying and rusted visage, until she realized how she was imposing herself upon him in her current position and flew back a short distance. Grym cocked his head and thoughtfully clinched the part of his jaw where a chin would normally be. Then with a gasp he remembered and waggled a pointed finger in her direction. “Yes, yes.. Monica, the goody good girl. You were given quite the runaround during our little birthday bash. By the clever one; Benea was it? From the look on your face, you must have realized by now.” He arrested his gaze from her and turned toward the sunrise climbing over the water’s horizon. There was much he needed to know that the map couldn’t tell him. At least Monica might be able to fill in the blanks and perhaps he might have a lasting effect on her indecisive nature. The silence broken by a single clap, summoning a checkered sheet into existence. It fell evenly upon the loose dirt of the lake’s shore, where Grym wasted no time sprawling lazily on a portion of the blanket. [color=ed1c24]“You should sit, Monica. We’ll have melon and you can indulge some of my questions; then I, yours. I’m sure you’re curious why I know such things after all, and why I knew of your arrival in the central node. I’m a great deal curious as well.”[/color] He spoke plainly. Whatever Monica might think, there was no obvious angle to his inquiry; no intimation of intent for which to gauge him. [b][i]“If that is what you would like then…”[/i][/b] Monica alighted upon the blanket, folding her knees underneath her and resting beside Grym. [b][i]“Ask your questions, and I shall answer.”[/i][/b] She said in a demure manner as she caressed the watermelon and continued to watch him with a studious shimmer in her eyes. Though it was not difficult to discern her troubled thoughts and innocent intentions based upon her words and actions, the difficulty lay in experiencing the cold pressure of her complete attention which was akin to being peered at by the many heads of the serpentine monster that idled around the 18th node. She possessed the eyes of a predator, prepared for violence. In another mundane act of creation Grym conjured a crude knife with which to split the melon, quartering it evenly for the both of them. He offered a wedge to Monica before taking one for himself. Each bite he took let loose chunks of sweet melon. Some of which sat in the cavity of his jaw while others spattered over the face of his skull and the rest of his armor. Notably, none of it appeared to find its way into his actual body. Nothing connected the swiveling skull to its host, after all. The mess being made was certainly obvious, but Grym finished “eating” all the same. Whatever sense of ominous surveillance Monica had brought with her, the man she met was not concerned. [color=ed1c24]“Thank you, dear. I knew you’d oblige.”[/color] Grym mimicked Benea’s demeanor for a moment, deliberately so to see if it provoked her. It may have been incorrect before to say that he wasn’t at all concerned with whatever baggage Monica had brought with her. Grym was particularly less concerned with her potential ire and, in fact, would aim to push her over the precipice of whatever crossroads she found herself. In a way, her flagrant display of turmoil provided an irresistible opportunity for Grym to stir the pot. He couldn’t resist poking a cornered beast. [color=ed1c24]“Let’s start with the basics then. How about you tell ol’ Grym the details of your adventure with Benea and company? All of it that lead you alone back to my humble home. ” [/color] Unlike Grym, Monica did not deign to eat her slices of watermelon, only momentarily inspecting a single slice before causing it to regrow its cleaved sections and form into a whole watermelon once more. She then laid the fruit closeby and closed her eyes as she regaled Grym with what happened throughout her journey alongside Benea and Xavior, and their eventual separation. She spoke with little inflection, lifelessly sharing her story of claiming her node and the creation of Maelite, where she awoke to find a world filled with death and darkness, at which point after a lingering silence has passed in her telling she offered to share a vision to truly let Grym comprehend the nightmare that was her realm, should he wish for the details that no description could convey. During Monica’s retelling of events Grym gave his full attention in digesting it all, though one could be mistaken in thinking him distracted as his sight had been fixed upon the melon she’d regrown. Like an apparatus for which the purpose was not yet known, it was evident that a great many instruments were moving internally; the gears ever turning in the elongated stillness toward an end Grym would know when he reached it. With a sharp exhale he broke the silence and returned his physical attention to Monica, meeting her eye to socket. [color=ed1c24]“You know, Momo, I am confused. Outwardly, you act purely and avoid confrontation. However, your mannerisms clearly display a sort of dissonance with this behavior. But most importantly, you didn’t eat my melon. You.. “fixed” it instead. I think you’re a confused sort, Momo. You saw your realm and maybe you were so afraid that it came from you, that it shook your conviction to the core.”[/color] Grym stood up and approached the base of the shore, close enough that water would wash over his boots when the tide rolled in. The sunlight cast an imposing shadow over his silhouette and he cocked his head halfway around to address Monica once again. [color=ed1c24]“What I dislike about you is your indecision. You won’t indulge yourself, nor can you truly commit to another’s cause. You’re clearly in anguish and still, you continue to put on a facade of neutrality. But I’ve got plans, Momo; plans to free the sun and the stars. For those plans, I’ll need help. Now I don’t care [b]what[/b] you decide, but if you can’t pick a side right now I think I may try killing you to see what happens.”[/color] [b][i]“Will you answer my questions before you resort to murder?”[/i][/b] Monica impassionately inquired. [color=ed1c24]"Well of course. I promised, so ask away dear girl."[/color] Grym clasped his hands behind his back in eager anticipation for her questions. Hopefully her questions were interesting. [b][i]“Hmm… You say I fixed your melon, but what does that mean and why do you consider it most important that I did not eat it? I confess, I was curious how it seemed to be continually changing before you cut it, and I was going to eat it after enjoying a thorough analysis to better grasp… what a watermelon is… Lastly, I should mention that I was preoccupied with providing the details of my travels alongside Benea and Xavior, making it an arduous task to simultaneously eat as well. Now, allow me to reiterate, it was never my intention to be rude.”[/i][/b] Monica asked and added afterwards, holding the aforementioned fruit aloft with one hand as though it were a trophy she had claimed, or perhaps a piece of evidence in a mystery she sought to uncover. Grym turned to face her again, scratching his scalp in a contemplative manner. [color=ed1c24]"Why [i]is[/i] the melon important?"[/color] The way he phrased this reiteration was as if he was not quite sure either. Gusts from over the lake swept through to fill a brief pause before he piped up to answer his own question. [color=ed1c24]"Because it's a delicious summer fruit that ought to be eaten when offered. A snack is too much of a task to endure during a simple conversation, yet you allow Benea to tell you your worth and how to act. You're missing the point, Momo. You came back to the central node alone and brooding, you entertain a stranger's confrontation with a facetious courtesy when you've evidently brought baggage, and you've given almost no reaction when threatened with violence."[/color] Akky once again emerged from his shadow with wings outspread and the full face of the sun cast a great shadow toward where Monica sat. [color=ed1c24]"I want to know who you are, Monica. As you are now, you're boring. Just a ball of pent-up passive aggression with no will of her own. Not a selfish bone in you and it's infuriating."[/color] Grym saddles himself to Akky and idly strokes her mane. [color=ed1c24]"But, as I said, I'm a busy man. If you're willing to take a chance, indulge your own desire for once, then come with me. I ask only for your company, not your subservience nor your loyalty."[/color] Akky begins her ascension and Grym reaches out a hand toward Monica for her to follow him if it suits her. He was headed back to the node again. He'd already dallied too long here and there was something he needed to do before the other Gods catch wind of the central node's capture. Monica remained rather reticent; refraining from divulging whether she would take the chance and accompany him, yet she still silently traveled with him to the node while carrying the watermelon. He clasped his hands and nodded. [color=ed1c24]“A step in the right direction!”[/color] [hr] [u][b][center]A Step in the Right Direction[/center] [/b][/u] With that, the two made their way toward Grym’s sole node. When the two drew near he motioned for Monica to tread cautiously, for the hydra still lingered warily by it. It was anyone’s guess how the guardian would react to Grym’s presence as well, now that it belonged to him. Luckily they both could remain at an altitude high enough that they wouldn’t be bothered. [color=ed1c24]“Your realm of darkness,”[/color] Grym remarked, seemingly out of the blue. [color=ed1c24]“It doesn’t define you, Momo. You could simply change it if it bothers you; that is obviously within your power. This world is here for us to shape, apparently. I disagree with many of the things Pops said to us, namely our destiny to bring the nodes under a single banner, but I do agree with one thing-” [/color] Grym levied a sudden break mid-speech, allowing a low rumbling from below the node to grow until it completely consumed the silence he’d left. Shrieking earth broke from all around the node, forcing dirt and dust in an upward current while the panicked Hydra clung tightly to the pillar. A brilliant crimson glow gleaned from the depths below, the same hue of energy that surrounded Grym’s body. The Hydra disappeared in the mess and the tomb buried, destroyed beyond repair now. An oppositional rasp boomed in contrast to the symphony of sundered earth.. Tendrils of a sickly yellow-green slithered up from the bowels and spread outward far as the eye could see, more and more of them until the epicenter of the mass had conglomerated into this colossal hive enveloping the protruding part of the node. Contact with the node caused the node itself to resonate as well and this continued even as the node became surrounded by the indeterminate organic mass that had sprouted into being. Tunnels and pathways became apparent as the mass grew and from above one would be able to tell that it rounded out into the shape of a hemisphere once reaching its monumental peak. Once it had finished growing it, the totality of this [i]thing[/i] was comparable in size to a small town and resembled a nest. The cries of unnameable creatures echoed from within its walls while puttering blisters scattered its surface. There were most definitely creatures residing inside this hive, but perhaps more frighteningly the hive itself was alive and sentient. Just when it seemed Grym was going to make his point after creating such a monstrosity, he didn’t yet. There was still something he was waiting for, the icing on the cake. First the Hydra burst out from inside the hive, but it was distracted and in indescribable agony. The same blisters that plagued the hive had appeared all over its body and the observant eye would be able to see its skin bubbling as if something had invaded the creature’s body. Before long the creature’s wailing ceased and it collapsed, though minutes went by and it rose again; this time seemingly unafflicted and calm. Its body remained covered in puss and blisters and its scales had dulled in color. At this, Grym didn’t bat an eye. Instead he held his gaze on a particular cavity within the hive, anticipative of another surprise. A silhouette took shape in the void, becoming clearer as it exited the recesses of the hive, and Grym eagerly leaned forward on Akky to see it properly. From the hive walked a familiar figure plagued by the same ailment as the Hydra, albeit headless. Despite the oddity, Grym was then satisfied. [color=ed1c24]“We are free to decide and shape the world as we see fit.”[/color] He continued. [color=ed1c24]“You see him down there? Dear ol’ pops, the one who told us who we are and what to do. Look at’im now. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not his fault. His mistakes are what allowed me to understand the truth, that none of us deserve the entire world to ourselves. I will free every node and oust every God from their post. Then, I will rest as well in the world that thrives without Gods.”[/color] Monica glanced at Grym, with a furrowed brow after she studied the scene below, then spoke softly. [b][i]“Your creation obscures the map of the Crucible, may I move it aside to view which nodes have been claimed and which ones have not, please?”[/i][/i] She asked, tilting her head with curiosity. Grym ponders the question for a moment. [color=ed1c24]“You might lie, but I’ll ask regardless. What will you do with this information, Momo?”[/color] [b][i]“Ah, well Maelite is lonely, so I must sing and dance in the shadows and darkness again. I would know where I should go once I have acquired the knowledge I seek here.”[/i][/b] Monica answered, and a faint smile appeared as though she thought that proclaiming she would aim for another node would appease him. [color=ed1c24]“I’ll give you one thing, Momo. You aren’t as easy to bully as I’d anticipated. Whatever you do, decide for yourself. It’s less boring that way.”[/color] Grym lurched his head toward where the map is generally located. [color=ed1c24]“Now, go see the map and be on your way. The Cradle won’t attack you unless I will it. Just remember this courtesy is a one time deal. That is, unless you properly share a ripe melon with me. Then I’ll consider being nice.”[/color] He snickered to himself in that tacky “I know I’m not funny” kind of way. [b][i]“Thank you for your kind words. I wish you good fortune in your endeavors, and await our next encounter with sorrow and joy in my heart. Farewell, Grym.”[/i][/b] She said, before she descended into the section of the hive where Grym had gestured towards. [color=ed1c24]“Live selfishly, Momo.”[/color] Grym lamented as he watched Monica fly toward the map. He’d remain close enough to monitor her should she do anything too ambitious, but he wasn’t particularly concerned right now. With the hydra now under the will of the Cradle, as well as Peninal as his vanguard, things had begun to shift. Grym used the remainder of his reservoir to replace Peninal’s missing face with a new one and armed him with a flashy swordspear. [hider=Summary]Grym dwells on his course of action utilizing the map of the nodes when Monica returns to the central node. The two meet for the first time and Grym prods at the sheepish God, trying to get a rise out of her. Tired of her indecision, Grym threatens violence before leaving to enact his own ambitions. She follows him to the central node, where Grym raises a great mythical beast that feeds on divine might to survive and grow. The parasitic hive revives the body of Peninal for Grym to employ, while the Hydra is overriden with and now under his command as well. Monica is allowed to use the map before leaving.[/hider] [hider=Might] Starting Might: 8 Spent: 8 [u][b]The Cradle [5 Might]:[/b][/u] The Cradle is essentially a living, sentient hivemind that survives by feeding off of the energy of divine might. It was created and entwined with node 18 purposely, providing it with a constant source of food. It is inseparably attached to and built around the node. In totality, it is the size of a small town with roots that spread through essentially all of node 18's lands. In accordance with its parasitic nature, it is capable of infecting those with or without divine might through spores that any of its offspring carry inside their bodies. It primarily seeks out and attacks those with blessings of divine might [Champions, Scions, blessed individuals, etc.] or sources of divine might such as other Gods or even nodes. It will generally only seek out mortals as a last resort or if ordered to by Grym. The Cradle is capable of acting on its own in accordance with its desires, though Grym does have the ability to control it/its offspring as well as give orders. The Cradle itself is capable of producing several different types of offspring to suit whatever needs are required. Swarmers which are essentially hand-sized grubs with legs that exist to suicide bomb for the sake of spreading parasitic spores, thralls which function as fodder and are usually seen in great numbers to overwhelm smaller forces, scouts which aren't combat-oriented and fly around for surveillance (they are also capable of carrying a small number of swarmers for aerial assaults), and juggernauts which are hulking behemoths made up of the same dense matter that the Cradle itself is made of. Other forms of offspring exist or may be created depending on what is necessary. The Cradle functions as a hivemind for all of its offspring, meaning it is aware of everything involving these creatures at all times. This information can be relayed to Grym as well, through the Cradle itself if he's close enough (inside node 18) or through one of the Cradle's offspring. The offspring of the Cradle act as Grym's legions and main acting forces, as he has yet to interact with or employ any mortals. The Cradle is powerful enough to even raise dead beings, although it's more of a reanimated corpse with just the properties of the original being still intact. The Hydra, for example, was infected and turned while alive while headless Peninal was raised from the dead. [u][b]Pop's Sword-Spear[3 Might]:[/b][/u] The weapon was created with several unique qualities. Primarily, when it is thrown there are 3 possible outcomes: 1. The spear can be thrown normally. There is nothing special here. 2. The spear will split into 100 spears in a volley that encompasses a wide area. After impact is made, all but the original dissipate. 3. The spear increases in size significantly during flight; mostly effective against larger beasts or structures. The Spear can be thrown quite a bit farther than an ordinary spear as well and will always return to its wielder after it's thrown[/hider]