[center][h1][b]Excelsis[/b]
[i]&[/i]
[color=darkgoldenrod]Khthon[/color][/h1][/center]

The underground was very different from the surface. It was dark, rugged, cold, and isolating. As the god-orb travelled through the dark caves of the world, a constant stream of ideas for new trials and visions of future triumphs filled his mind. These caves and underground rivers would be excellent challenges for mortals. It would test their endurance and sense of direction, most certainly. That wasn’t why he was in the underground though.

Excelsis eventually found what he was looking for deep in a cavern. In the middle of the cavern was a lake of lava with a crystalline root stretched over it. Excelsis had seen the same sort of crystal roots before, but smaller. This one was by far the biggest one. It was oddly akin to Excelsis, when he was born. He, too, had been grasping at the world with strange tendrils.

His hundreds of senses stretched themselves to observe the crossing of the lake of lava and the crystal root. He flew over it. Tiny tendrils stretched out towards the molten rock. It was clearly trying to figure out its environment. [b]“Consciousness?”[/b] Excelsis asked out loud. [b]“How else could you attempt to comprehend?”[/b]

He got closer to the root. It was clear that the heat of the magma below was affecting it. However, Excelsis needed it in its base form first. [b]”Let’s give you some reprieve,”[/b] he said, as he willed the lava below to cool for now. He allowed small pools of lava to remain, so that the crystalline tendrils reaching out wouldn’t be shattered by hardening rock. Already, the main root was cooling. [b]”There you go,”[/b] he whispered as he reached out with two dozen arms, several more mortal-like senses, and his god-sense towards the crystal root.

However, Excelsis’ tampering did not go unnoticed.

[i][color=darkgoldenrod]”Trespasser! Invader! Vandal!”[/color][/i] Khthon’s furious voice boomed through the cavern, making the walls tremble in its wake. [color=darkgoldenrod]”[i]You![/i] How [i]dare[/i] you! How dare you come here, without my knowledge, without my permission, to take what is [i]mine?![/i]”[/color]

The Earth God’s body emerged from the lava, dripping with molten stone and glowing red hot from the heat. [color=darkgoldenrod]”Answer me, God-Brother, lest I see fit to expel you by force.”[/color]

Excelsis forced himself to remain rather calm in the face of such an outburst. If he was ever going to be crowned king of the gods, he would have to handle his more temperamental kin as well. [b]“My apologies,”[/b] he said as he retracted his senses from the crystal root. [b]“I did not intend to trespass, and was unaware that anyone had claimed dominion of all the underground.”[/b] That being said, he had seen the strange piles of food and small sculptures at the cave entrance through which he stepped into the underground. Perhaps they had been offerings to this god? 

[b]“As for invading I-”[/b] He was about to defend himself when he realized he did alter something. He stopped exerting his influence over the recently solidified stone below him. It cracked, bubbled, and boiled as the superheated temperatures quickly consumed the stone.

[b]“Now, we might have gotten off on the wrong foot here, I’m afraid,”[/b] Excelsis continued as he slowly and as non-threateningly as he could floated away from the crystal root. [b]“Allow me to explain. I am Excelsis, god of discovery, and I am burdened with a grave duty. This world is being torn asunder. By us, I’m afraid. I am trying to find a way to prevent that. These roots—”[/b] A crab arm, a humanoid arm, and a tentacle one motioned towards the root below, already being heated again by the lava. [b]“—seem to be foundational to the existence of this world. So I merely wished to examine this root just now. Since the strange seismic and volcanic activity is breaking them apart.”[/b]

The trembling of the walls ceased as Excelsis moved away from the crystals, but Khthon still wasn’t fully satisfied. [color=darkgoldenrod]”When this world was born and we awoke on the black shore, I turned my gaze to the world below. No one else did. My claim remained uncontested, and so, [i]yes[/i], the underground belongs to me alone.”[/color] Khthon approached the crystal root and slowly looked it over for any crack or damage. Satisfied to find none, he fully emerged from the lava lake and climbed onto solid land.

[color=darkgoldenrod]“I am well aware of the struggles of the world as it adapts to the heat I have instilled in its bowels. A sad necessity. But I am not striving for the demise of our world; rather, I am working towards its further continuation,”[/color] Khthon explained. [color=darkgoldenrod]“You must think not of the immediate present, but the far future. The Earth was inert, and what world can survive when its very basis, the very thing it rests upon, is already dead?”[/color]

[color=darkgoldenrod]“I have given it warmth, and the power to change. I have calmed its thrashing, so that it does not tear itself apart as it learns its new shape. If harm came to your creations on the surface, I apologize; but it is not my fault that fragile life emerged when my work had still been unfinished.”[/color]

Khthon took a short pause, letting his words sink in. He did not seek forgiveness for his acts, for he did not regret them. He only hoped for some form of understanding of the necessity of such drastic changes.

[color=darkgoldenrod]“You say you are Discovery. Then I must warn you that I am Secrets, and that I and my realm alike resist such intrusiveness; our secrets are our own, and we do not appreciate attempts to rip them away from us.”[/color] The God’s gaze fell back on the crystal root, and he briefly fell silent once more. [color=darkgoldenrod]”...But we are willing to make an exception. You seek to understand these roots, and protect them. I seek the same. Perhaps… cooperation is in order.”[/color]

The god of discovery was visibly pondering the information given. When Khthon explained his reasoning Excelsis felt himself get filled up a little bit, as if the discovery of the purpose behind the tectonic activity was making him a little bit more whole. It was an intriguing sensation for a god. A part of him admired the forethought of this god of secrets and the underground. Of course, such a being would be an excellent architect for a world and its many necessities. The explanations satisfied him greatly.

[b]“If my creations could not deal with most of the upheaval, then they should deal with the harm that followed.”[/b] Excelsis said dismissively. [b]“My concern is for mortality as a whole. I would not want to see it smothered by rivers of molten rock or ash-choked skies. Right now, volcanoes are still belching out lethal smoke and rivers of lava.”[/b] Even if, for individuals, a cataclysm was a most excellent catalyst to embrace their own greatness. Even as he spoke, he felt the small sparks imbued within countless mortals across the world. Each of them would fight the world as it was right now in their own way. So many would die, but many would also be triumphant.

Then his gaze too fell upon the roots. A part of him wanted to engage Kthon on the nature of secrecy. Was the ultimate purpose of a secret not to be uncovered? The greater the secret, the harder anyone should slave away to pull its dark essence into the light of comprehension or understanding. Such philosophical debates would have to wait. [b]“Cooperation would indeed seem like the most expedient action!”[/b] he said as he approached the heated root. [b]“This one seemingly is trying to comprehend its environment. Notice the tiny geometric outcroppings stretching towards the molten stone.”[/b] Excelsis continued, freely offering everything he had learned about the roots. He told Khthon about his theory of sentience, the great bell in the cave, and the broken roots he had seen in another cave.

After the lengthy pseudo-lecture on everything Excelsis had learned about the roots and theorized further still, he finally came to the end of his spiel. [b]“So in conclusion, I think we should work towards finding ways of restoring and regrowing these crystal roots.”[/b]

Khthon let all the new information roll around in his mind. He had not been aware of the bell, or of its possible connections to his precious crystal roots. He had however intuited the possibility of them being alive, in a strange mineral way. The death of some of them he had witnessed only reinforced that idea. [color=darkgoldenrod]“Very well. I have already worked towards acclimating the crystals to magma, and protected the more fragile ones from heat they could not withstand. It is slow work, however.”[/color]

[color=darkgoldenrod]“Though I am loathe to letting someone run through my domain unhindered, I believe splitting up would yield better results. Your mastery over Discovery might even help them adjust more than I can as of now.”[/color] Khthon hummed a bit in thought. [color=darkgoldenrod]“You will see many things within the stone, and you will tell no one. In exchange for your silence, I am willing to fully stop the raging of magma. It has found its place, and can now be calmed.”[/color] Of course, the occasional eruption and earthquake would still happen, that was a reality he could not change without further unbalancing the world, but they would now be much rarer events and much less destructive too. The kind of seismic catastrophes that could wipe an entire tribe off the map would be once-in-a-few-lifetime events, rather than daily or weekly happenstance.

[color=darkgoldenrod]”Do we have an understanding, God-Brother?”[/color] Khthon asked.

The demand that none of what would be learned in the dark could be shared with others was a steep one. So steep that it gave Excelsis pause for a moment. There was a bounty within the underground that was needed if Excelsis wanted to explore beyond his own limits. Not to mention that mortals would require resources from it, too. Not being able to talk about that would make it rather difficult.

But he could worry about the future of himself and mortalkind when he had secured it. [b]“We have reached an accord!”[/b] he enthusiastically agreed, as part of the god-orb began to slouch off of him and drop down onto the ground. The primordial sand, perhaps the last in existence, began to take shape into an arachnid-like creature. Its front pair of spindly legs reshaped themselves into thicker, clawed appendages to burrow through the earth and stone. Four pairs of eyes could each see a different spectrum of light. Ferro-magnetoreceptor spines along its back would make sure it knew wherever it was. More senses were added as well, and it got a thick carapace to protect it from the boiling lava. When it was fully formed, it was nothing but a marvel of discoverability and resistance to survive the underground. 

[b]“This is Anakalypso.”[/b] said Excelsis as he presented his work. [b]“She will roam the underground to examine, study, and work on the crystal roots at my behest. Her mind is linked with mine. All she knows, I know.”[/b] And so it was, but perhaps most striking was her mouth. It was a spindly thing, more akin to a spider’s than anything else. Sufficient to eat as an animal would, but without any vocal cords. Anakalypso would never speak.

[b]“I think that would conclude my adventure into your underground, my God-Brother. But before I leave, there is one small matter I must ask you about.”[/b] The God-Orb moved away from the crystalline roots for a moment. [b]“Above ground, there will be an empire that will stretch the whole of the surface. It must worship the gods, all the gods, in the ways that each god sees fit. Thus my question: how are they to worship you?”[/b]

[color=darkgoldenrod]”Worship… I do not see why I should seek out worship from the mortal creatures above. We live in very different worlds, after all.”[/color] Khthon thought back to the countless mortals who had foolishly perished in his caves, trying to steal his treasures, and of the few who escaped. [color=darkgoldenrod]”If they were to seek out blessings or gifts, however, a trade could be arranged.”[/color]

[color=darkgoldenrod]”I have no care for food or drink, but I am fond of beautiful things. Mortal craftsmanship, bones, things that can withstand ages and are not seen beneath the surface, I desire them all.”[/color] Khthon gave a jagged smile. [color=darkgoldenrod]”Let them bury their offerings, so that they reach me. Let them call unto my name. In exchange, I will gladly trade some of my wealth, offer them safe passage through my realm, or forever hide within my hoard what they wish to make disappear.”[/color]

[color=darkgoldenrod]”Let them know that the Earth is jealous, and that [i]nothing[/i] is given away for free.”[/color]

With those last words, Khthon exerted his will through the magma bubbling deeper in the Earth, finally calming it to a truly docile state. Volcanoes all over the world fell into a dormant state, with only a few smaller ones remaining active. Seismic activity slowed to a point where noticeable earthquakes became a rarity rather than the norm, except for a few places near major faults. Though it would take some time, the surface would now finally have a chance to [i]heal[/i] from the devastation.

[hider=Summary]

Excelsis goes for a little trip deep underground. He encounters a crystal root being heated by a lava lake and cools parts of the lake for a moment to better study the root. Khthon does not like this transgression and appears in a fury. The two talk about the roots and the tremors. They come to an understanding. 

Khthon quiets the earth a little bit more and allows Excelsis to examine the underground roots. In return, Excelsis will not tell anyone of his discoveries underground. Excelsis accepts and creates the avatar Anakalypso, an arachnid-like creature designed to live in and study the underground. Excelsis asks Khthon how he wishes to be worshipped. Khthon desires no active, aimless worship. Instead, he seeks a more transactional relationship, where he is willing to trade boons and minerals for offerings he deems precious.

[u]Conviction Spent[/u]
- Excelsis created an avatar (-1 Conviction)
- Khthon fully calmed magmatic and seismic activity to a much lower, normal level worldwide, except for a few areas of high activity (like volcano belts or near major faults like in San Francisco. Pretty rare overall) (Calm a disaster, In-Domain, Lucid, 0 conviction)
[/hider]