[color=007236][center][h2]Vatarr: Preparing for War.[/h2][/center][/color]

With the various tribes and peoples of the Ashen Planes and Fungal Marshes uniting under the leadership of a pregnant Oxana, both due to her status as the first of their people to unlock the full knowledge of the copper bound guide to life and death alongside her status as the chosen mother of the deity Vatarr, news could travel a lot quicker then it could during earlier days. So when Vatarr had returned to his realm, the messengers found him quickly. They didn't find him in order since some discovered him faster then others (some were simply faster and better at traversing the land then their peers as well), but after a while a picture of events started to form that could be deciphered. 

The start with, some kind of hive came into existence in Node 18 that created monsters. The hydra, that had since the dawn of the world been there to protect Node 18, had been corrupted by whatever was at the heart of this hive. A great many humans from Node 18 had fled from the region into neighboring areas as quickly as possible, with some arriving at the Fungal Marshes or pushing on to the Ashen Planes. Recently, this army of monsters had invaded the realm of Node 23, causing the humans of that region to flee as well. The newly united people were preparing weapons and armor on an unheard of scale and were fortifying the border with possible plans to invade Node 23. Messengers were being sent to Brey and his people to look into the situation there... possibly even to the realm to the west as well, since there were people in that direction as well.

To say that the situation had quickly developed would have been an understatement, but even as this information filtered in Vatarr kept his head level. Oxana was not asking him for his direct intervention: This was as much a challenge for the leadership of herself and their child as anything else. Her concerns as far as Vatarr were concerned was the possible involvement of another deity. From his own point of view, this was a valid concern to have; A hive that spits out an army of corrupt creatures generally doesn't come out of nowhere after all.

So Vatarr left a message that he was going to secure a safe place for those who weren't interested in fighting the coming conflict before he started to run.

[hr]

In the early days, when Vatarr had originally sort out Node 26, he had crossed the chaos wastes at a jog. The battle for Node 27 had been a slug-fest, slowing his progress down considerably but never fully stopping him. Even the failed attempt at Node 25 had been at a relatively reasonable pace for a deity. This was the first time that Vatarr had felt the need to push himself to the limit. The Fungal Marshes came and went, the Ashen Planes passed by soon after... until at last he crossed over into the chaos region of Node 30. 

Of all the chaotic waste regions he had witnessed so far, Vatarr had to admit that Node 30 was a devious bastard of a landscape in the fact that it [i]looked[/i] stable. In fact it almost looked like a deity had come through and made it an idealistic, subtropical paradise complete with bountiful plant-life and a coastline so beautiful as to be utterly captivating... If strangely devoid of life. The trick was that it didn't [b]stay[/b] like this. Simply at random the land shifted from its near ideal form for a grand total of four and a half seconds before returning to its subtropical self. 

While this didn't [i]sound[/i] that bad, so far these little 'shifts' in reality had resulted in Vatarr wading through knee deep magma, so deep underwater that he actually got a bit of a headache from the pressure and being blasted by sub-arctic winds blowing so harshly that even with only four and a half seconds of being exposed, a mortal would likely be in a lot of trouble. During the journey, Vatarr couldn't help but ponder the nature of the chaos around the nodes before stability set in... and why some of it seemed to process a malevolent will. 

Regardless, Vatarr arrived at the Node, gave it that stabilizing tap so that it would remain a subtropical realm that could now be expected to support life and started north-west to Node 28 

[hr]

Node 28 was, by and large, uninteresting. 

It was just the standard flavor of chaos compered to the interestingly cunning chaos of Node 30, complete with an unremarkably remarkable two headed giant zebra that surged with lightning and unleashed torrents of lightning bolts. It died within the opening strike of Life and Death and so Vatarr had continued onward in relative peace. 

Reaching the node, he took a little more time in deciding what form this realm should take. The results however, spoke for themselves. 

While the Ash Planes had some volcanic activity, this realm was nothing but rock, ash, poisonous gas and molten fire. What few rocky paths that were [i]relatively[/i] safe to walk upon often found themselves so close to the lava streams that the heat alone would cook a mortal... provided that the stream didn't wash over the rocks at some point. The air itself was a mixture of poisonous fumes belched froth from the deep places of the earth. This was not a place for life... and yet, life existed anyway. 

In rare pockets where the fire couldn't reach could be found a variety of stubborn, ugly and almost certainly poisonous plants with their roots embedded deeply in the dirt and rock. Creatures made of stone and crystal could also be seen scampering around, clearly unbothered by the heat if not actively wading through shallow pools or steams of lava as they went about their existence. 

A hostile land... and a barrier to all but the most specialized of creatures from passing through. The Fungal Marshes would not need to worry about their defenses being flanked if the deity being this tide of monstrous creatures tried to claim this region as their own.


[hider=Summery]
Vatarr claims Nodes 30 and 28. There are reasons for this, but that's really all you need to know.
[/hider]


[hider=Might]
Start: 5

Spend: 3 Might to improve the currently unnamed kingdom made up of the Fungal Marshes and the Ashen Planes from Tier 3 to Tier 4. Welcome to the Iron Age.

End: 2
[/hider]


[hider=Node 30]
Node 30 has been transformed into a subtropical paradise, complete with bountiful plantlife and beautiful beaches. Lumber, herbs, animals and fish are plentiful and it is a rather peaceful region.
[/hider]


[hider=Node 28]
Node 28 is a hostile hellscape of volcanoes, poisonous gases and fire. Earthquakes and eruptions are common while water sources are, outside of a few dirty, ash filled puddles that form when it rains, non-existent. The volatile nature of the region make 'safe' passages through temporary at best as the landscape is prone to sudden, violent changes while the air itself is filled with a mixture of fumes that are actively poisonous to most forms of life.

Surprisingly, there is life here. Stubborn, poisonous plants grow where they can while the animals appear alien due to their metalloid natures allowing them to survive in this lava coated landscape.    
[/hider]