BBeast

The Horde of Evil - Tresspassing through treacherous tribes' territory! (RP closed)

I'm getting a little tired of fighting orcs. Thanks to the diplomatic virtues of D'Artagnan, I think we should join forces and such.

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

@Double Capybara, Did I invent a whole religion without even knowing it?

Cool.

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

@Antarctic Termite, I think I should get around to having Teknall respond to Jvan's request in my next post (I can save the invention of fire until afterwards. Then after that I can make Gerrik a Hero. Then I can make Tetra). Do you want to make a collab of it?

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

The air was cold and crisp that morning up on the Great Steppes. The Hain here, normally content to wear nothing other than their exoskeletons, all wore coats of thick fur. Yet despite this cold, Gerrik had still managed to attract a sizeable audience for his hands-on training session on stone knapping. Gerrik had been growing in the skill of education, and often Teknall would let him teach on his own, as he did today.

He wandered through the village until he came across an elder telling stories to the children. He stopped, leant against a hut, and listened with even greater attention than the children, although he did not let it show that much. While he innately knew many things, the culture and traditions of the Hain was not one of them, so he had to learn such things through observation. Today was told the story of their origins, at least according to this tribe. Details differed. Some suggested they had lived a long time before their banishment. Some added other gods to the story, both before and after the banishment. Some linked their own creation to that of the rest of the world. Most differed on the moral behind the story. Yet there was a common thread in every single version- that they were made in some paradise, before the god who made them violently cast them out, scattering them across the world.

While Teknall had not witnessed the events of the Hain's creation, he believed he could deduce the sequence of events from the legends and what he knew of Toun the Perfectionist. The Hain were created, numerous in number. The description of their location suggested that this may have been in the Valley of Peace, if he assumes they were made on Galbar. Then Toun decided that they were imperfect- that they did not achieve his high visions. Teknall had seen the rage Jvan had sent Toun into, so he knew his violent side, at least to some degree. And he had seen his desperate attempts to 'fix' the Codex just before that. Toun was not one to do things in halves, so he would have attempted to either destroy or repair them. Yet he obviously failed, probably because of the nature of the Valley of Peace, so he settled on banishing them all from his sight.

Teknall would have to talk to Toun some time about the Hain. Yet for now, he realised something. They had no god. They had been abandoned. Sure, some of the tribes worshipped Slough, the Life Deer, or at least revered her. Tales of her were very common along a path through the Gilt Savannah and across the northern coast of the Fractal Sea, which also seemed to be places most touched by her influence. Some worshipped spirits, entities Teknall knew to be the elementals brought forth by the power of Zephyrion, but those made a poor substitute for a god. Really, they had no one to look out for them.

He had seen what this meant for them. Vestec had taken some liberties with the Hain, driving whole villages to fight themselves, sealing them in a dome of chaos and filling the surrounds with his giggling laughter, then abducting the survivors. A couple of villages had been butchered and cannibalised, with definite evidence of the occult occurring. Djinni had destroyed entire villages in their petty wars and vain displays of power. And he had come across one village, levelled as if a great blade had cut right through it and the surrounding terrain, with the Hain living there reduced to red smears and slices of meat and porcelain. This last one especially made his blood boil. There had been no motive, no reason. Even Vestec's crimes could be understood, but this one defied comprehension. Murder for the sake of murder. The Hain were without a god. Abandoned. Left to die.

No.

He, Teknall, had not abandoned them. He would not leave them to die. Since no one else would, he would protect them. He would speak up for them. He would nurture them. While he had not made them, he would adopt the Hain as his own. Teknall would be their God.

Teknall looked at the Hain children, at the village, at Gerrik teaching the Hain to shape stone. At the years he had spent teaching and nurturing them. He would not just be their god. He already was their God.

Summary

Gerrik teaches the Hain on his own today.
Teknall listens in on legends told.
Realising that the Hain are an abandoned race, he resolves to fulfill the role of their God.

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

Re: death. Reathos built his Primordial Pool, which controls where spirits go when they die. It was not part of the Codex, but it was still part of the pre-universe creation process.
But yeah, being apart from the Codex puts it in the same category as dreams, with Illunbar's Dreamweaver. Does that make it inferior? Only time will tell...

Re: maths powers. You could navigate n-dimensional space. You could numerically simulate the outcome of the entire Universe, or some subset there-of. You'd have the ability to read and predict physics probably as good as Logos (he's still got the whole controlling physics bit, though). You could create incredibly intricate devices which function as computers (or actually are computers). You could invent whole new branches of mathematical reasoning. For Jvan, she'd get a whole lot better at fractals.

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

@BBeast Man... Ilunabar will rain on your parade quite a lot. Can't have the hain learning so many truths, think about all the folktales which will never be born thanks to someone explaining that tge galbearth spins around the sun

@Double Capybara

Actually, in Gerrik's model, Galbar is sitting put, just rotating in place to create day and night, and the Sun hangs in a fixed position in the space. Galbar is still the center of the Universe in his model. It's just that it made more sense for Galbar to spin than for the entire universe to spin.

<Snipped quote by Legion02>

He knows of Raethos. His quick glance into the Codex of Creation let him gaze at the essences of all the Gods. It's why he had prior knowledge of Slough despite not seeing the stag in the Allure fight.

@poog the pig

Actually, Reathos and Illunbar were the only two gods to not make any mark in the Codex. I suppose, by virtue of the Shattering Disunity, there would be traces of their essence in there, but since they didn't write anything in it you wouldn't be able to identify them, even if you could detect and distinguish those faint traces of essence.

@Cyclone, Yes, this god-party must be a thing. I should also visit the palace I helped build some time...

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

@Kho You know how you wanted that first turn summary? I took it upon myself to summarise the important aspects of Creation, namely the Codex of Creation. I did not record the individual events, for those do not have a lasting impact on the Universe (maybe on inter-god relations, but that's an issue for people who were there and witnessed those events first hand). Use it as you will.

Additions are written primarily in chronological order (as in post order. Might not quite match plot order), with only a couple of exceptions (the 'amendments', and those which weren't part of the Codex). Everything is colour coded.

The Codex of Creation

The Codex of Creation

Recorded here are all the additions to the Codex of Creation, and their authors, such that knowledge of the Codex may carry on for all eternity.

From the memory and trial of Logos, as transcribed by Teknall, Order, and the Laws of Physics upon which all else is built upon.

By the hand of Teknall, the elements Adamantine, Mithral and Orichalcum.

By the hand of Toun, suitability for life.

From the scrawls of Vestec, impossible and ridiculous distortions of some objects.
By the amendment of Teknall, at the command of Logos, bounds upon the chaotic variations.

By the editing of Vulamera, unity of the Codex, so it would work as one.

By the hand of the Adversary, the occult, magic inherent to objects, materials and rituals.

By the hand of Vakarlon, luck and chance.

By the touch of Julkofyr, emptiness, and uncertainty at the quantum level.

By the mark of Zephyrion, reactivity of gases.

By the breath of Zephyrion, Change, such that the Universe will always be dynamic and even the Codex is not inert.

By the hand of Niciel, a bit of purity.

By the mark of Astarte, her own magical essence, a wild kind of magic which will suffuse the Universe.

From the touch of Slough, universal palatability for life.

By the hand of Belruarc, arcane, lawful magic.

By the mark of Jvan, the Other, life existing outside the Laws of Physics.
By the amendment of Teknall, at the command of Logos, imprisonment in the Gap, keeping the Other outside the Universe unless freed.

From the efforts of Toun, vain attempts at perfection.

By the touch of Ull'Yang, stellar evolution, and unity.

From the defiance of Julkofyr, the Orbs of Darkness.

By the power of Kyre, resilience for the Codex.

By the power of Vulamera, mind, intelligence and sentience.

By the will of Vowzra, something inscrutable, unknowable until the Time has come.

By the irrevocable word of Fate and unmatched power of Amul'Sharar, many things, incomprehensible to all.

And all these things were written into the Codex, and by the will of Fate the Codex was written into the Universe and the Universe was born in a Shattering Disunity.

Recorded here are creations made separate from the Codex, yet still form a fundamental part of the World. They are written here such that they may not be forgotten.

From the essence of Reathos, the Primordial Pool, the plane in which all souls go when they die, and is part of the cycle of Life and Death.

From the creativity of Illunbar, the Dreamweaver, a magical harp with the power of dreams.

It is through all these things that the World was made. Thus it was Fated. Thus it has been.

You're welcome.

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

@Skyrte, I was thinking Teknall would just carve you out of stone, then bring you to life with a drop of his divine blood. Building things is how he normally rolls.

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

In regards to where to go next, I think that we should think about moving on from world-building soon, although there's no need to rush ahead.

Also, I still have this question outstanding.

Semi-random question (I had this question from before all this talk of god-wars, I swear): How nuke-proof is a god? I'm talking point-blank A-bomb. How about a demigod?

BBeast

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

It was a clear and starry night out along the coast of the Fractal Sea. In a cluster of trees, two hammocks were strung up, one holding Gerrik, the other holding Teknall. The hammock had been a sleeping solution Gerrik had devised early on in their travels, so they wouldn't have to sleep on the tough, uneven and ant-ridden ground, and it was basically a long, strong net. The sky above them was a spectacular display of cosmic objects.

Teknall eventually spoke up. "What do you see up there, Gerrik?"

Gerrik thought for a moment, then replied, "Stars. Many stars, which are tiny points of light floating high above the sky. I see moons, which travel around this world, casting their light on us. There is also the glittering ring, with its shifting colours. Occasionally, specks of light, similar in appearance to stars, streak across parts of the sky. Oh, and that's new!"

This last comment was directed at a comet, which Gerrik had just noticed. This was a new object, and the first of its kind to appear in the skies of Galbar. This gift of Ull'Yang would be a wonder to appear periodically in the sky, appearing like a falling star yet moving slower than the moons, until it eventually leaves the heavenly sphere. Teknall too had only just noticed it, and as it was much further from Galbar than even its moons Teknall could not analyse it with his divine sense. The object was just as mysterious to him as it was to Gerrik, although he at least had the advantage of knowing how physics worked, and supernaturally keen perception. The tail of the comet was pointing away from the Sun rather than being indicative of its motion, so this suggested to him that it must be made of relatively volatile materials. He guessed its orbital scale to be the same as the planets.

"Interesting. I wonder how long it will last..."

"I'm not sure... It's pretty, though."

"You've told me what you can see, but not of the nature of the stars and other objects. This will be a tricky exercise, for sure, but we already have an important clue- the shape of Galbar."

Teknall was referring to how they had earlier deduced that Galbar was probably spherical. The argument that Galbar was rounded in shape was a simple one- the existence and nature of the horizon attested to it. That it was spherical was a continuation of this idea. They had travelled, yet they had not observed the ground sloping beneath them, as it would if the world were one big hill. That must mean that whatever was keeping everything on the ground, something they had decided to call gravity, must always point ground-ward, following the curvature of Galbar. By that logic, there was no reason that the surface of Galbar could not continue curving, even going upside down, until it closed back in on itself, forming a sphere.

Gerrik paused to think for a few minutes, until he said, "The stars are extremely high up. They all move as a group over the course of the night, similarly to the moons, or Sun. They seem to move across the sky at about the same rate as the Sun. Since the stars all move together, perhaps they are affixed to some surface, encircling Galbar at an enormous height. Maybe the Sun is also affixed to that surface, and it is bigger and brighter than all the other stars. Then that surface must rotate above us, to bring about the cycle of day and night."

Although he knew otherwise, Teknall restrained himself from outright correcting Gerrik. He would hint and suggest, but he also wanted to create an independent thinker. "Hmm, a great celestial surface, upon which the stars and Sun are affixed. An interesting idea. We'll need to test it, of course.

"If the surface is that far away, it must be huge. And if it is so huge, then why should it rotate around us? If we are smaller, shouldn't we be the ones spinning?"

"I hadn't thought of that," Gerrik replied, "I suppose that makes sense, too. I figured that Galbar would be a bit heavy to be moving, but really all that does is make it harder to stop."

He thought for a few moments more, then vocalised his thoughts. "While we might not be able to ascend to the stars to observe them up close, we can at least test the idea for consistency. The moons do not seem to follow quite the same path as the stars. In fact, they all seem to follow different paths. Only slightly, that is. They still sweep across the sky at roughly the same rate, but every night they change their positions in the sky. This suggests that they move independently of this 'surface'. Their similar movements to the rest of the sky can be explained quite easily if we take Galbar as being the one which spins. This means the moons must be moving relatively slowly, rather than whizzing around us at great speed. Why they don't fall down... I'm not sure. Perhaps some force, probably the same one which makes them move, holds then aloft. Such a force would probably be associated with the surface.

"Then there are the so-called falling stars. While they look like stars, I don't think they actually are stars. If they were, we would see them hanging in place before they fell. Whatever they are, I do think they are falling, maybe even burning, which is why they disappear.

"This new object, this... what should we call it?"

"How about comet?"

"Sure, comet. It shares the form of a falling star, but moves like a moon. Given how little I know about falling stars, it's hard for me to say something about this new object. Maybe it's falling really slowly? Maybe falling through the celestial surface rather than the sky? Hard to say.

"Finally, there are the rings. They do not seem to be solid, rather made up of lots of tiny shiny bits, like sand on a beach. The moons move behind it, so this suggests that it can't be part of the celestial surface. So that must put it in the space between the sky and the moons. What holds it aloft, again I can not tell, but it is probably the same power that keeps the moons up."

Seeing that Gerrik had finished, Teknall commented, "Excellent observations. There is some deep insight into the nature of the Universe to be had by looking to the stars. I'm sure that, with vigilant recording of the motions of the celestial sphere, an even better model can be made."

Gerrik yawned, and said, "True. But it's late. Can I get some sleep before the Sun rises?"

"Of course. Good night, Gerrik."

"Good night, Stone Chipper."

And the world continued to turn, the view of the stars above rotating until the dawn light would outshine them and bring about daytime once more.

This time, in the adventures of Teknall and Gerrik...

Teknall and Gerrik do some stargazing and astronomy.
Earlier, they had established that the world was spherical.
Gerrik models the Sun and stars as being bound to some celestial surface, extraordinarily high above the sky. Between the sky and the celestial surface are the moons, the ring, and any other celestial objects which have motions independent of the celestial surface, and have some perceivable sense of depth.
They also observe a new object in the sky- a comet, from Ull'Yang. It is too distant for Teknall to positively identify it using his divine awareness.