[center][h1] Silverfall [/h1][/center] [hr] Long did they labor in the dark of the world with only starlight to abide them. Such was the ineptitude of herself and her kin. They, who held creation in the palm of their hands. Who had fought and bled during the invasion. Who now murdered each other over little gains. She was tired of it, of them. Her peers. This world was but darkness and even that was only to be banished by a cursed sun. For such a short time, mortalkind knew nothing but cruelty and the dark. It was not enough. Long had she waited for any one God to ascertain what she had but none had ever stepped up to the challenge. Now, many had faded into the requiem of silence. Forlorn and soon to be forgotten, if not already bent by toil. Sylia would show those who remained what it truly meant to be divine. With the vastness of space behind her, Sylia turned to look upon the jewel of their universe. Galbar. Oh, Galbar. The deep blue sea of the Land of Origins, with its twin trees, gazed up like a vast eye. Brilliant was the World Tree. Brighter was the Tree of Firmaments. She would show Allianthe the truest reach of the celestial heavens. Even if Life could never again be reasoned with. Even when it came to blows, which it would, sooner or later. She would show that grounded Goddess. Yet, despite it all. She wished her sister well. Did she not know that pain? As fickle as it was? She, whose heart did not know love? “You think so little of me…” She whispered in the dark, her slender hand over where a heart would be. She pulled it away and looked at her fingers. What was love but a chemical reaction, induced in two mature beings to create healthy offspring? Not every animal felt such an allure but the mark of greater intelligence pulled so often in such a direction, that chance fell away. She shook her head, such questions had been eating at her since that fateful confrontation. Where she had not acted… Well. She shoved it away, a project for another time. Try as she might, however, Sylia could not shake the burden of her ever growing tasks. Even weightlessness as she was in that place between places. It had seemed that Civilization had fallen before her solely. El’zadir was not fit for the task, nor could she truly count on any other. She knew not why but it was evident that something had befallen El for the very sword she had created for the reticent goddess, had vanished. Gift, she had called it. Sylia’s mercurial blade. She would find and retrieve it in time. Still, Sylia sighed. Perhaps she’d go and look for El too. Perhaps not. For now, it was time. She had not been to the inky black between worlds since the dawn of creation. Now she spun and gazed out at the majesty of it. One day she would travel to another world and see what creation had to offer. For now, she focused on the task at hand. The creation of a celestial body was no easy matter to undergo. She had her plan, sketched with the holiest place of her mind. None had seen it but they would. She raised her hand and the cosmos was changed forevermore. [hr] Althea sat on the roof of Ophelia’s house, knees at her chest. The air held a gentle cool breeze upon its winds. It was a reprieve from the stifling day. It was the only pleasant thing when the dark took dominion. So there she sat, having forgotten how many times she had watched the stars up above, in their myriad beauty. She knew in her heart she could watch them forever and never cease finding something new in the heavens. It calmed her mind and she even had begun to deign that it was mending what had broken inside of herself. But that was a fledgling hope she had no inkling of stoking. The stars were hers for a time and they would remain so. The distant sounds of Sylann nightlife were her only company. That and the occasional buzz of an insect or other night denizen. From the vantage of Ophelia’s estate, for it sat upon a hill on the outskirts of the city’s center, Althea could see soft lanterns dotting every street. A new technology, one where extracted oils from animals were burned for a light source. As genius as it was, the lanterns did not stop the occasional bonfire. She had kept away from the hustle and bustle of the city for a long time, having found that a peaceful life was her calling. She told herself that it was better that way. Of course she helped around the estate and kept Ophelia and the baby company. Yet she could never shake that unwanted feeling of idleness. The pull to do anything but mope around, it was returning. A small comfort, she supposed. “There you are.” Ophelia said. Althea turned her head to see her friend, wrapped in a blue blanket, walking towards her. She sat down beside Althea and the lilac smell of her was not unwelcome. So too was the bit of body warmth they shared. “Couldn’t sleep?” Ophelia eventually asked. Althea looked upon a face that only had the gaze of stars. “I could sleep for days.” She confided, turning her head back up to the stars. “But if I did I would miss this.” “True. They are lovely tonight. No clouds at all.” “Mhmm.” Althea mumbled. Silence fell between the two. Content as they were in each other’s presence. One did not always need to talk to pass the time. “Oh!” Ophelia gasped as a star blinked past in a torrent of distant light. “A shooting star!” “Make a wish.” Althea said, turning to see Ophelia’s beaming grin. She could not help but yield just a little to it, producing one of her own. “A wish?” her friend asked. “Well,” Althea blinked, suddenly feeling foolish. “I once overheard some kittens saying that if you saw a shooting star, you got to make a wish. It’s probably just… Children being children.” She looked back up at the stars but felt Ophelia’s hand upon her own. She looked back at Ophelia, her fellow Syllianth now smiling softly. “Done.” She said after a moment. “Done?” Althea asked. “I made my wish.” Ophelia's chin rose as a playful smugness overtook her features. “Oh,” Althea let out a small chuckle, her own smile returning. “Well, what did you wish for?” Ophelia opened her mouth to speak but another star streaked past and both of their heads snapped to it. Then another streaked past, and another. A meteor shower? Althea got to her feet, helping Ophelia up as more stars streaked past. They began to shoot by so quickly that it began to blur into a vast ocean of how white. Ophelia gasped at least a dozen times. Althea could hardly believe what she was seeing. There had never been anything like this before. No one had ever mentioned it, at least. Ophelia gripped her hand tighter and she returned it with a squeeze of her own. When the streaking stars became one in all motion did the heavens at last reveal what lay beyond the curtain- An explosion of light that brightened the very skies into day. Next followed the tremendous sound of a hammer clanging metal. It rippled across the earth and down into her very bones. Harmony came in the form of invigoration, as the sky settled back into night, not so dark as before. Althea scanned the heavens, to the very epicenter of the light and she saw now a thing that took her very breath away. There was the goddesses’ symbol. A gigantic silvered hand. Each finger, ringed with golden circles and crowned with starlight. All coveting the great golden ball in its palm. Althea felt her knees begin to wobble and it was only Ophelia helping her down that she didn’t collapse so completely. She couldn’t take her eyes off it. She coursed with every sort of emotion, from pure elation to the smallest of inferiorities. She had bore witness to an event that would be remembered forever. It was then that it began to rain. Not of water, she realized. It was… “Silver?” Ophelia asked, picking up a small silver shard. “Silver…” Althea repeated, feeling the smile tug across her lips on its own accord. “It seems my wish came true.” Ophelia said as she scooted in close, resting her head upon Althea’s shoulder as they watched the Hand rain silver. [hr] Sylia sat upon a dias of chiseled marble at the apex of the middle finger. From her viewpoint, Sylia saw [i]everything[/i]. A bespeckled Galbar in all its glory. She had dictated that place as her most holiest of sanctums, far beyond the scope of the Atelier. Her Observatory would never be unmatched. She could only beam with triumph. Her great work was accomplished and now mortalkind did not have to be so afraid of the dark. With the Hand now in orbit and acting as an artificial moon, Sylia could further advance all life upon the planet. It would be in the hopes that one day, perhaps generations in the future, the scope of civilization can be turned upon the distant stars. Mortals would one day be able to live here, free from the duress of grounded life. Here they could achieve the progression of all-kind. The refinery at the center of the palm would furnish wonders. And most importantly, Sylia would not have to worry about further invasions upon Galbar’s surface and skies. She had surprises for any would be invaders but that would have to wait. She couldn’t show her hand, well, with a bemused smile, she could and she already had. But such a place would need to be protected and mended from the inside. Toil… She would have to fix that error one day but it ever remained one of her chiefest concerns. Thus Sylia fashioned with her hammer a being much like the Formed but lesser in scope and size. More humanoid in shape and made entirely of metal. Steel. For the realities of their duties would be ceaseless. She needed something that could last and be produced somewhat easily if needed. They would have no faces, just like her Watcher of old. Then she replicated the process a hundredfold until a mass of lithe, hardy automatons stood before her. “You are the Sylicants.” Sylia proclaimed. “Caretakers of this installation. Stalwart defenders of the Hand. This I declare, your Goddess. Now go.” So they did and Sylia went back to her observations. There was still much to do but for once, she had earned the right to simply watch. [hider=Summary] Sylia ruminates upon the failings of her kin and herself. She then inacts her greatest work yet. We skip to the mortal perspective of Althea, the Syllianth at Sylann and witness the Hand take shape in the orbit of Galbar. Praise by the new Moon. [/hider] [hider=MP] Sylia 8MP + 10 from the Pool 18MP -12MP(Boosted x4 (Crafting, metal, earth, war) = 48MP) to create a Transcendental Superstructure; The Hand, Sylia’s Moon, The Crafting Moon, etc. A great hand brought into existence by Sylia and placed within the orbit of Galbar. It now stands as the pinnacle of her achievements (so far) and with it, a new age begins. Capable of sustaining life in vast unformed cities, the Crafting Moon also acts as a hub for all things to do with crafting, forging, metalworking, etc. It is maintained currently by a new worker race of Sylia, the self named Sylicants. -12 (crafting) - Sylia’s Foundry. At the very heart of the Hand, like a vast beating heart, lies Sylia’s domicile. It’s powered by vast solar complexes and sheer Divine Will. Here, and unlike at the Atelier, she is capable of crafting anything into existence with but little thought beyond the scope of mortal civilization. -12 (metal) - The refineries and forges at the Palm of the hand are vast and self replicating. Capable of allowing vast constructions from swords all the way to vast ships. The magnetism at the palm can be used to gather raw resources from the stars and even from Galbar itself. -12 (earth) - In its creation, Sylia used vast amounts of cosmic earth as its foundation and in doing so, much like the Black Wall, it was with a mind for durability. As such, the installation is almost entirely impervious to molestation by cosmic forces (meteor strikes and other debris running into it). It’s so dense it has its own gravitational pull. -12 (war) - The great golden orb above the palm was fashioned by Sylia for one purpose- a stratagem of demise. It is simply a weapon capable of firing upon threats be they in space or upon Galbar. Why suffer any invasion when they can be annihilated outright? -2MP to create a barely sapient species called the Sylicants. Inhabitants, caretakers, and protectors of the Hand. Made entirely of metal without gender or faces. They were designed to look after and fix any damages the Hand might incur in its long existence. -1MP to create a Holy Site, The Observatory. At the apex of the middle finger, lies Sylia’s newest holy site. With it she is capable of seeing many, many things. 3MP remaining. [/hider]