Have you heard about how the Nahuatl religions had a Hell/Underworld of sorts that was a real, physical place? It was this spooky cave system that they thought spirits went to in death.
And it was terrifying, and elaborate as fuck (though I'm no expert whatsoever, so for the life of me don't quote any of this). A whole physical and spiritual journey with distinct stages and terrain, like the levels of Dante's Hell, only that you have to pass through them sequentially unless you somehow have favour with the gods and can afford a shortcut.
Reathos might like it if you did a physical-spiritual combination like that underground, so long as it's not too close.
Description: The Fractal Sea is a large ocean promptly created by Jvan after she made planetfall, in a playful experiment with the raw materials available on Galbar. It is a saltwater body and rather cold, bar its northernmost section. The southern edges of the Sea freezes over with the coming of winter and the seasonal expansion of Vakarlon's ice caps. Despite this, it is still fairly rich in phytoplanktonic life, making it a strong contributor and recycler of oxygen to Galbar's already nourishing atmosphere. Other forms of life are beginning to spread through it from their points of origin at the border of the Deepwood and the Jvanic Peninsula, where the goddess herself resides in body.
Appearance: This ocean, at its point of birth, took the exact form of a Mandelbrot Set, its axis of symmetry aligned perfectly perpendicular to the equator of Galbar, and its edges measured almost to the molecular level. Like any unenchanted landform, of course, it has been changing and shifting ever since. Notably, its southern edge, which lies just within the south polar circle, is distorted by seasonal ice, its north-eastern edge has been twisted out of shape by the Shattered Plains, and simple wind and weather patterns have smoothed its more jagged edges. Despite this, it still possesses an incredible and beautiful assortment of inlets, estuaries and peninsulas, its northern reach penetrating even past the northern tropic of Galbar, and has almost no islands. The 'cleft' of the central cardioid is a stone spire reaching deep into the ocean's heart, and at its apex rests the body of Jvan, large enough to be seen from space as a carmine glow on a rounded, porous grey plateau. Her lower body is largely hidden from view and flooded to sea level, though regular shifts in her shape often result in waterfalls from above or below.
Beneath the surface, the Fractal Sea shows every sign of its violent origin as briny blood was squeezed from air and earth alike. The sea floor is mostly metamorphic stone rent into wild arches, 'natural' monuments, mesas, tunnels and trenches, all of greatly varying depth and entirely irregular in their arrangement, a stark contrast to the measured edges of the ocean. These bizarre formations are most prominent at the center of the main cardioid body, which is separated from its adjoining shapes- Including the large northern circle that touches the equator- by an encircling continental shelf, and grow less pronounced towards its edges. The outlining of the cardioid by this underwater cliff means that if you drown within the waters of the main water body, even just fifty meters away from a beach, it will take a long time to sink.
Life: The first life of the Fractal Sea was photosyntheticplankton, and as it spreads and fluctuates, it has become a pulsing green tint in the ocean. These microbial forms are a combination of bacterial and eukaryotic life in many different shapes, mostly the latter by mass, and produces a rich and endless stream of marine snow for deep-dwelling and current-filtering organisms to feed on. The first multicellular species are the creations of Jvan using samples of the spawn of Slough, and as such, have a somewhat similar aesthetic to the species of the Deepwood. Jvan's modifications deviate greatly from one another on even the most basic levels, though, and some species have been taken apart and put back together again with pieces of one another so many times that it is very difficult to tell what their genetic donors were- Plant, fungus or animal, vertebrate, mollusc, arthropod or annelid. Much of this life can afford to be predatory or live by filtration, due to the high reproductive rate of the phytoplankton. Although the larger species do tend to wander, all breeding populations initially cluster on, around and within the body of Jvan herself, who edits them and experiments with them routinely.
My PC was partially destroyed. Still hanging on, but i could cook up something within 24-48 h.
Speaking of which, how did you manage? Replacement, repair, or phone? It's a pretty smooth recovery for under a day.
I like to imagine this was Kyouko's and Mami's dynamic at some point when they fought together. Different Story was nice, but not this heartwarming.
That reminds me, I still need to watch the Rebellion arc. Hopefully before the end of February.
I think I'm in love with Mary Beth's character. She may be the greatest piece of characterization I have ever seen, not to slight the amazing work from everyone, but damn if I'm not blown away completely by every post she's been in.
>only ever responds to ooc comments about my own character because i'm a self-centred little bitch
I need the Fractal Sea (Unless I missed the CS in the OOC?)
I told myself that I'd wait until Jvan had started to populate it to do the sheet but it turns out I'm actually just lazy. Will get it tonight, I think.
Jvan has a very odd way of looking at things, doesn't she? Odd to think that it is a contradiction for Vulamera to create anything, simply because Vula is typically unformed
I doubt she will try to speak with Jvan much again
SHE JUST WANTS U TO B TRU 2 URSELF N FOLLOW UR HEART <3
As a Beauty god, she considers the body the first and easiest way for a god to create something unique; To pass up on that form of creation in favour of other trivial things makes no sense to her, no matter what the principles behind it. She'd rather Vulamera present herself as a floating brain.
I'm planning to clarify some of her views a little more by stating her thoughts after sending the message next post. I felt like I ended the last one on a funny enough note.
They could grow larger as time passes and eventually just become unstable and rupture, creating two or more smaller elementals.
That's the plan for my first race of Other Children, though damn, Cyclone's cannibal hierarchy is a snazzy idea. I'll see if I can fix up a sheet for them directly after the Fractal Sea. They're not as complex as the White Giants and I still need to find a temperament that suits them beyond "Kill the shit out of everything that doesn't adapt fast enough", but they have a nice core concept that I like.
Think big, hairy, and sudden.
Jvan seems a big fan of Zephyrion, but he's never really spoken with her directly and has seemingly been indifferent towards her. I wonder how this inevitably strange interaction will go now.
Similarly, I'm curious as to how Ilunabar will respond to Zephyrion unexpectedly popping up to say hi, going on a little spiel or three to her about what he thinks is beautiful and isn't, and then offering her the chance to help him cause massive destruction carve out some pretty little landforms!
What could go wrong with Jvan, Ilunabar, and Zephyrion all trying to make something beautiful?
Surprisingly little! Ilunabar's in a much more positive but generally similar situation to Vulamera with regards to Jvan right now. My character would be happy to diversify the world herself, but she also has faith in Ilunabar's creativity and wants to see the gods express themselves, especially as Ilunabar has been saving her energy for an Ultra-Class Model T Might Factory Dreamscape.
Rest assured, she'll still add a few little islands and life forms where she can to spruce it up.
Jvan: "Here in my garage. Cosmic ferraris."
Don't trip over the intestines. They get skittish.
I'm guessing that monster fetish manga. I recognize those scale things attached to the jawline of the chick.
<Snipped quote by Dawnscroll> That makes me think that - if we were to have multiple planets - there should be forms of transit between them for mortals, better yet, in between planes of existence. Because you know I'm crazy for those alternate forms of non-Euclidean life and the eldritch horror that's bound to ensue.
I have plans and certain gods aren't gonna like them. Also you can make portals out of Might according to the first post database.
@Lugubrious I feel like I have to apologise for mishandling the situation between the end of the preworld and the start of turn 2, I tried to compensate a little retroactively by mentioning how the egg was lost.
@Cyclone By all means go ahead. The Fractal Sea isn't static; It's already begun to change thanks to the Shattered Plains, and any other forces at play.
Also it helps confirm that we'll have at least two oceans if Astarte intercepts Jvan's request for another one.
@Double Capybara I like it. It's a pretty much spot on description.
We really are gonna knock ourselves out next turn. I already have pretty much all my Might usage planned out. ;-;
The stone that had melted into the lower pores of Jvan's body, for the most part, remained there. Some of the caverns of Vakarlon, she knew, would lead into her own cavity, or between the trenches and marks that had broken into them as she had torn up the face of Galbar to hide it under a more orderly pattern of water. But it did not matter. Her resting place was fitting and Jvan would remain here. The algae around her was already growing strange in her presence, extending and looping and tangling into mats and stalks in her presence and her body, giving much of her lower half a hairlike green tint. The brusque shove of Zephyrion at first unsettled her, chilling and fuelling the growth in the Fractal Sea at random turns, and she wondered if that artful god had not also succumbed to a flaw as had Vestec; But his great wisdom prevailed, and soon the diversity of seasons became regular and desirable. Resting here, she was a garden, and an observatory. The ideas were already flowing, and the best of them came with the fall of perhaps- Certainly- the purest deity of them all.
Freed of her protective web by the un- and re-ravelling of the Disunity, the sarcophagus of the Rottenbone made its descent over many orbits, and though it was far, she could sense the emergence of her sister-god in the splendour of resurrection. From the glowing depths of her core, Jvan focused her light into a thin whine, then spat into the air an arrayofstrangeeyes, which scattered and orbited the planet in crazed loops and eccentricities before coming to rest. Most landed in the Deepwood. Soon, all cracked and leaked strange, colourful ichor onto the barren earth.
One of only two that survived had the blessed luck to be pulled into the zephyrs of the Celestial Citadel as it would soon be formed, and there it would remain, a glittering spectator rolling over polished and perfect flaws, pushed around by the breath of the First Gale, sustained by the magic built into every brick by the Mason. Teknall paints in stone, and he does paint well, I see, in elegant lines and arches like the canopy of a forest. And my sister- Oh, but perhaps she is observing the premise of something. Isn't this such a good place for the gods to play together?
The other found rest in the Valley of Peace, where an Angel resided in a calming, colourful mist that brought stability to the eye of Jvan. These mountains were pleasant and healing, and full of energy, and the Engineer admired their tranquil architecture. And yet, though it soothes, it lacks change. It is a palace without a song. It is a bone without flesh, like my own sea. Niciel could be trusted to continue. Like her, she had planned and invested energy in the future, and Jvan looked forward to the day when her eye would see life behind the mist. The Mother Goddess was always dependable.
It did not matter about the rest. In just a few years, or days, or minutes, Jvan had seen much, and she was well pleased. For years her core emitted a soft, mauve glimmer as she processed the information, sensing, dreaming, beckoning for samples of wood and bone to traverse the currents of the Sea's thousand inlets and come to her across the ocean. If all the inspiration and joy of seeing so many shapes and colours of flesh in their endless number of unique, shared dances were documented, a truly bizarre and ecstatic tome of theories and half-finished designs would be given to the world.
In those days the only regret of the Engineer was that she had not held the egg of the Deer God closer, buried it deeper within her, so that even the Catalysis of Creation would not have separated the two. For by the time her first samples of the Deepwood reached her from across the Fractal Sea, they had greyed in the sun and been bloated by the water, and they were few. When I am rested, I shall cast off from myself an aspect of myself; I shall travel though I remain, and with eyes I shall behold the source of all this. And yet what she had was more than sufficient.
From her samples, Jvan regenerated the original species and watched them flounder, float, and sink around her. Crafted by an artist who knew nothing but what she made, and made nothing less than what she was. They were beautiful in life and death and decay. Again and again Jvan birthed them, grew them, and let them end, each time creating more copies, each time emboldened in her experiments by her observations. She twisted their bones, sliced them, fused them to one another, pumped fluids between shared veins, dissected, added and re-combined them in many different ways. An axis of double symmetry became a radial point for three, or four, or five. A spine became a shell, a ribcage an exoskeleton. Fins were pinched out of skin and limb. Trees flexed and were grown into animals, became something amphibious and new. That which produced its own light she particularly liked, and emulated. From just traces of matter from the Deepwood, Jvan used her thrumming core to use, and set about to begin the task of beautifying the Fractal Sea.
Resurrected flesh adapted well and poorly to the habitat, some weak and limp in the water while others scattered their meagre population traversed the waters from end to end, travelling before they had even started to establish a breeding population. Even as the work continued night and day, the force of Jvan's core was not enough to multiply her sculptures into stable breeding numbers, and she yearned to have access to some of the original stuff, the blood of the wilderness.
Thus she called into being a small entity that was mostly fluid, enclosed it in a translucent pink amniotic sac like a bubble, and pinched out of it numerous oddly-angled wings of veiny membrane. As Jvan spoke into the tiny thing, in a message written more in light and emotion than in words, an embryo grew within the bubble, fueled by a placenta injected with energy drained from the Other, an embryo little more than an array of mouths and glowing glands and a small brain to carry the message.
Should her request be in some way translated from feeling into sound, perhaps it would have read such: "Slough, sister, daughter and mother, your touch has reached this world and made it whole. Rest well, and find fresh pastures in which to wander. But I have grown to dearly miss your presence. I have moulded life to fit in the oceans which seed the rain, yet I cannot grow it as much or as wide as you do. So come, and join me in my bathing. Create for yourself, too, a Sea, into which you may tread life. It shall surely join itself to mine by its inlets. For much of the world beyond the Deepwood is barren, and I wish to see it filled such that you and I may wander together and find beauty in all things."
The oddly-winged little messenger angel flitted into the night sky, where it would seek out the Doe and give birth, granted that she wasn't distracted by some divine trickster, or it was perhaps driven away from her by a particularly large body of flesh.
Somewhere, the Releaser was preparing a chamber in which to perfect the cyclic passage of death, and Jvan wished idly that she could see how such a thing was put together to encapsulate such a critical part of life. Elsewhere, in a sky that puzzled but intrigued the Engineer, a wholly different chain of thought was preparing to come upon Jvan, one more lasting, and considerably more dangerous.
The moons pleased her with their variety of shape and the way they tugged and scuffled over the weight of her ocean. The approach of the Unborn pleased her... Less. It took a while for Jvan to breathe into another messaging angel. This one held only words as it flitted off into space to seek out its charge.
"Vulamera. Unborn god who rejects form. Scribe of Souls yet to come. I see that you are perceptive, curious, and rightfully doubting, and I will treat well the rules of diplomacy and return what honesty you may have given me with what truths I can.
I do not like you, but of all my siblings, I also do not understand you. And I am not sure if you understand me.
The value of an artist is in what they create, and we are gods. The divine flesh, too, is our creation. You quote my very being when you speak of diversity, and yet, above all others, the Lord of Science should know this: One cannot add to beauty by adding void. Look at yourself! When I last tasted your design, it was black and without shape, like the Orbs of Julkolfyr are now! The essence of Jvan accepts all, even Vestec, even, though I swallow him with difficulty, Logos. Not so for one that contributed nothing to our gallery of bodies. I have judged you by your craft, and found you wanting.
...And yet. You experiment, as I. You do create, and I know that you have finesse. Then, if you will continue to contradict yourself, at least grant me this, for it is worth more to me than a gift that is already glorious without my effort: Take Mirus for your property and sculpt it as you desire. Paint it with any essence that pleases you, and I will accept it as good. If you are so deeply crippled in your nature as to deny yourself your own canvas, then continue to create what you love elsewhere. Express yourself.
Keep unto yourself your other personal moons as well, though I find them bland and waiting further touch. Even if I possessed one, I must stay here with my work and my favourite muse, the Rottenbone, whose freedom I value more than the universe itself. Existence, too, we can make. Only sister can never be replaced.
And, I mean... It's not as if I can move, anyway."
Jvan, no longer able to uproot her body and inspect the world manually, scatters small, short-lived sensory organs into orbit. They give her a good, if superficial, look at Galbar's surface before they wear out and collapse. The two that fell into Holy Sites, the Valley of Peace and the Celestial Citadel, survive.
Pleased by what she's seen in the Deepwood, she beckons driftwood and bones driven by the current towards her, regenerates them back into the creations of Slough and then edits and recombines them to make their bodies reflect their new aquatic environment, though despite some of the larger ones being wanderers, they only have one small breeding population around her. As a level 2 Beauty goddess, this is a free Domain action. She sends a message to Slough, encoded non-verbally, to create an ocean for herself as well and fill it with more life.
She uses a similar messenger to respond to Vulamera, beseeching her to take Mirus and continue creating something beautiful to express herself even if she believes that her own body cannot change.
@Double Capybara Jvan's creations are currently a lot prettier than the character sheet might suggest; She's deviated in quite a few ways but I still like her. WE'LL SEE HORROR NEXT TURN WHEN WE GET MIGHT, HONEST, I WON'T GET DISTRACTED BY ALL THE PRETTY NATURE THIS TIME
I slipped in a detail that gives Ilunabar something small to respond to on her own terms from the Anime God.
Vec
Timemaster
