[center][h1][color=darkgoldenrod]Khthon[/color][/h1][/center]
Had he had lungs, Khthon would have been breathtaken.

He had thought his brilliant transparent stone a beautiful and precious treasure, but the crystalline tendrils he had found snaking under the surface of the world were on an entirely different level.

The way they moved and twisted, and then slowly stopped as the Earth around them solidified... They way they glowed and refracted light in colors that had never yet been seen in this world... They way they traced beautiful and intricate shapes throughout the bedrock, mixing with the stones' own natural patterns and enhancing them...

Beautiful. Entrancing. Enchanting.

Precious beyond measure.

[i]His.[/i]

These were treasures meant to be kept safe and hidden. Meant to be admired and protected.

Perhaps it was greedy of him, but he did not wish to share the existence of such riches with the others. [i]He[/i] was the one who had found them. They were hidden within [i]his[/i] stones and [i]his[/i] caverns. Those were [i]his[/i] domain, not his God-Siblings'. They could find, or create, their own riches...

But then he thought of his God-Siblings who had gone over the horizon, driven by curiosity. His winged God-Sister had promised to share what answers they found, and though Khthon had only promised to find buried secrets, and not to share them, she did seem hopeful he'd cooperate.

...maybe he'd make an exception this time. Tell them of what he'd found, but not share the crystal veins themselves. He would offer the knowledge, and keep the treasures.

And then a great tremor shook the Earth, and a vision filled his mind.

[hr]
It was a stone. Impossibly light and impossibly heavy. Impossibly large and impossibly small. It was everywhere, it was nowhere. It was a gap where there was, and something where there wasn't. It was brittle and soft and hard and brilliant and dull and easily shattered and malleable and every color that could be thought of all at once.

It was hidden where nothing could find it. Where no one could know it. Where all would forget it, or never know of it in the first place.

[hr]
He awoke a mere moment later, as if nothing had happened. But something [i]had[/i] happened. And though the exact details, the true magnitude of what had been escaped Khthon's divine mind, it had left its mark in thousands of ideas and possibilities. He knew that the power to give birth to a million of beautiful things, just like the crystalline veins and his brilliant jewel, lay within him. He knew how to hide and protect them from those who would covet them. He knew how to hide all sort of things, should he ever find something else worthy of being called a treasure.

He focused his will on the distant presence of the crimson-winged Goddess, as well as the dark Goddess and bright God accompanying her, and sent the message he had intended to send before the vision, showing his findings.

[i][color=darkgoldenrod]"God-Siblings. Hear me. I am Khthon of the Earth. Witness what lies below,"[/color][/i] he intoned.

Khthon sent an image of long, crystalline roots, small parts of a greater whole. He showed their movements, the almost physical sensation of them gliding through the sand, and the slow hardening of the Earth around them. The roots, growing and growing, digging deeper still, and the strange pulse of energy coursing through them.

[i][color=darkgoldenrod]"Such beauty. It is a shame to share it. I have claimed it. I will keep it safe within the stone,"[/color][/i] he finished, a hint of protectiveness tainting his usually flat tone.

Khthon shifted, and the rock now half-burying his body cracked. He could move to a deep, quiet cavern, far from his noisy God-Siblings, but he was feeling inspired, and did not wish to lose time relocating before creating his next masterpiece. He had the vision of a soft and malleable stone-like material, of a brilliant yellow color and shining finish. It would spread throughout the Earth much like the crystal roots and tangle with his future creations, or simply adorn already beautiful stones as a few flecks. It would be a beautiful addition to his growing hoard of hidden treasures.

He exerted his powers once more, and the first gold veins grew within stone.

[@Necrodancer][@Theyra][@SilverPaw]

[hider=Actions]- Sent a message through telepathy to Adria, Arstus and Moren (Lucid, free.)
- Creating and spreading gold veins throughout the Earth (In-Domain, widespread. Hazy.) [/hider]