BBeast

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

MADNESS!!!!

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

Gerrik Far-Teacher

Level 9 Hain Hero
10 Khookies

circa 8 years Post-Realta, roughly 5 years after the last post

The golden wheat fields around Tallgrass rippled in the breeze. Hain with sickles made from hammered star-fiend carapace were out in the sunshine reaping the grain, collecting sheaves of wheat. Gerrik supervised the harvest, selecting sheaves which he deemed suitable to be used to seed the next crop of wheat and taking them aside.

When the grain which was ripe had been harvested, the farmhands worked on threshing and winnowing the wheat. Gerrik walked down the rows of young fruit trees, still a few years off from producing fruit. He crossed over the fields of potatoes and onions, and plucked one of the onions from the ground and tucked it into the pocket of his jacket. He passed by the crop of peas, and went in to remove a single leaf which had been infected by some small insects. He strolled past the pens of violet slugs.

Then, having finished his rounds of the farms, Gerrik headed down to the river and briefly washed his shell of the accumulated dirt and muck of the day, as well as washing the onion he had picked. Then Gerrik walked back into Tallgrass.

Tallgrass was no longer a little village of tents. While tents remained, partly to house the growing population, the burgeoning town now boasted a small number of smooth mud-brick huts. Between the huts were racks of drying hides and food. Outside children were playing and craftshain were working. Gerrik walked through the town until he came to his own hut and walked inside through the colourful woven cloth door.

Sharon looked up from her loom as Gerrik entered and lifted a palm. "Gerrik. Welcome back."

"Hello Sharon," Gerrik replied warmly. He leaned down to Sharon and they kissed each others' hands before Gerrik sat down beside Sharon.

"Where's Arlen?" Gerrik asked.

"Off hunting still," Sharon replied.

Gerrik nodded. "Tami is playing with her friends."

Sharon gave a snort. "I told her to do wood-carving with Sarey. I'll have to have a word with her when she comes home."

Gerrik got up, put the onion he had harvested with the other food in the hut, then walked over to a corner where there was a small nest with a large white egg in it. Gerrik knelt down and stroked the egg. "And how's our little baby going?"

"Why don't you tell me?" Sharon said.

Gerrik stroked the egg again. Sharon knew that Gerrik saw more than just the shell. "The embryo is growing healthily and is at a level of development typical of its age," Gerrik reported.

There was a moment's hesitation before Sharon asked, "Can you tell what gender it is?"

"Yes," Gerrik replied. He waited for a moment to gauge Sharon's response before continuing. Her body language indicated anticipation. "It's a boy."

"Oh wonderful!" Sharon exclaimed. She got up, came over and cupped her palms around the egg. Gerrik wrapped an arm over Sharon's shoulder as they crouched side by side.

"I think Tami would have preferred a baby sister," Gerrik commented lightheartedly.

"Well, she's getting a baby brother instead. Maybe the next one can be a sister, though." Sharon gave Gerrik a wink.

Gerrik winked in return and tapped Sharon on the mouth, who gently bit his fingers in response. Then Gerrik stood up and walked over to the cooking area, where he picked up the fresh onion, laid it against a wood block, and withdrew the star-fiend carapace knife from his jacket. "I'll cook up some dinner before tonight's lesson time."

"Something other than Violet Slug, please, Gerrik."

"Alright, just for you, Sharon." Gerrik rummaged among the baskets of food. "How about some of those mushrooms you collected yesterday."

---

Dibbler's white giant was parked outside Tallgrass, and a crowd of villagers were carrying sacks to and from it. In exchange for sacks of farm produce like grain, and secondary products like beer and clothing, Dibbler provided various commodities, such as cloth, rope, salt, dyes and spices.

Gerrik stood just aside from the throng barking orders, ensuring that the planned trades were being made. Dibbler and a few volunteers were helping to drop things down from the white giant and to hoist sacks up onto the giant.

The trade route travelled by Dibbler, and recently a few other aspiring merchants, had become essential to Tallgrass' growth. The trade routes provided access to many commodities not available locally. And since agriculture reduced the pressure on everyone to go hunting, the people of Tallgrass have had more time to pursue various crafts and trades, some of which produced viable export commodities. Dibbler's business boomed once he gained access to Tallgrass' high-value products, and in a positive feedback loop that allowed Tallgrass to buy more commodities as trade began to flow more freely along Mesathalassa.

Gerrik organised the bulk of the trade, as he organised most of Tallgrass. Always aware of every event and detail in Tallgrass, and better qualified than most for the cognitive gymnastics of coordinating a complex entity, Gerrik was well equipped for such a role. Being at the forefront of the fields of innovation, having gained the respect of the townsfolk, and having a commanding presence naturally qualified Gerrik for a position of leadership within the growing town. Of course, the village elder was still formally in charge, but for matters of economics, industry, civic planning and agriculture the villagers would listen to Gerrik's direction.

As the last of the sacks was loaded onto Dibbler's white giant, Gerrik approached.

"You have the star-fiend carcass I ordered."

It was a direct statement. Dibbler shuddered a little. Gerrik always knew everything he had in stock, regardless of whether it was clearly visible or not.

"Yes, well, about that-"

"We had a deal." Gerrik interrupted sternly, "Our price was surely more than enough for you to buy it. I'm sure they would have been happy to get rid of it."

Dibbler almost believed Gerrik could read minds too, given how uncannily he could see through his lies and exaggerations. (This was not entirely accurate. Gerrik has no psychic mind-reading powers. However, his ability to observe and interpret body language and other physical and physiological cues was indeed uncanny.)

Dibbler waved a hand, then gestured to one of the bundles on the white giant. "Yes, yes. There, third one on the right. Let it down."

One of the helpers undid the ropes binding that bundle and it plummeted to the ground with a very heavy thud. Gerrik walked over to it and pulled back the coarse cloth, with many other hain peering over his shoulder or around the side. It revealed a hainoid figure, twice as tall as a hain and made entirely of a lustrous grey material. It was also quite dead, being totally immobile with a puncture clean through the skull.

Gerrik pulled the rest of the cloth off the star-fiend. There was a deep indent in its back and a minor puncture on its left wing. This was the Realta Gerrik had fought back in Fibeslay. His expression darkened for a few moments as memories of the event resurfaced. Then he stood up and said, "Excellent. This should provide enough carapace to make tools for a few more years. We will likely want another one in future, Dibbler."

---

Gerrik still taught lessons in Tallgrass on most evenings. The topics were wide and varied. Some nights he had blacksmithing demonstrations. Some nights he lectured on herbs for treating particular ailments. Occasionally he would retell one of the many stories from his decades of travel.

The lessons were usually well attended by the people of Tallgrass. However, owing to Gerrik's fame, Chippers from other villages would sometimes attend the lessons as well, staying for some days before returning to their home villages. As such, Gerrik hadn't thought much about the latest Chipper to come into town until he came up to talk to Gerrik after a lesson on fletching arrows.

"Gerrik Far-Teacher! It is an honour to meet you," said the hain.

Gerrik's beak turned and he sized up the newcomer. He was about 24 years of age, and carried a leather bag holding his belongings and his own tools. This hain had shown exceptional aptitude during the lesson, and demonstrated a keen mind and inventiveness beyond that of most other hain.

"Indeed," Gerrik replied, "We haven't been properly introduced."

"Of course. My name is Elword, and I've travelled here from Ambermoor," said the hain.

"That's a long way from here. How long are you intending on staying here?" Gerrik asked.

"Indefinitely. I have heard great things about you, about how much you know, and I want to study under you," Elword explained.

Gerrik paused and stared at Elword, scrutinising him. Elword met Gerrik's gaze. Here was a hain who showed remarkable intelligence, thirsted for knowledge, and wasn't afraid to put himself on the line for it.

"Alright, Elword. Come along."

A New Cycle

Tallgrass has developed into a thriving agricultural town. Gerrik's basically in charge, organising everything. Under his supervision the farms have flourished.

Gerrik is also starting a family with Sharon. He has a baby egg. Gerrik's going to be a daddy.

Tallgrass has also become a center of trade in the region, providing exports in the form of farm produce and crafted goods in exchange for various commodities. Dibbler and his white giant is one of the major traders. Of course, Gerrik is heavily involved in dealing with the trade flowing through Tallgrass. (-2 Khookies to develop trade routes)

Gerrik orders and buys a star-fiend carcass from Dibbler. This particular star-fiend is the very one Gerrik had battled in Fibeslay. This will be used to make more metal tools, which are already used extensively on the farms.

Gerrik still does lessons.

In a scene paralleling Gerrik's own entry into the story, a hain Chipper named Elword travels to Tallgrass and becomes Gerrik's apprentice.

Khookie Summary
Start: 10 Khookies
Spent: 2 Khookies
Earned: 7 Khookies (9000+ character post)
End: 15 Khookies

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

"Help him," Niciel ordered them, and they flew off to accompany the clockwork dog,

@Scarifar

Clockdog is always worthy

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

Welcome back, @Kho! I hope your exams/etc. went well.

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

>See BBeast's flurry of activity on the wiki

@Muttonhawk

Exams are finished, so I've got plenty of procrastinating time now.

I'm finding expanding upon Teknall's relationships with all the other characters to be a very interesting exercise.

@Antarctic Termite, congrats! That looks like it was hard work.

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

Ah, exams. That could do it.

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

@Oraculum I also agree that the Crawlers act at such a base instinct level that they wouldn't generally trigger the hostile intent alarms except for when they are actively trying to eat people. But at the same time urtelem are pretty clever now and would recognise them as a threat regardless.

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

What queer times are these when my friends list says dear Kho has vanished for nigh two weeks and a wild Hael was detected recently

@Cyclone

I find it concerning that Kho's been gone so long. I'm trying to write a collab with him, and he's vanished.

@Oraculum Don't forget urtelem.

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

The Great Artisan, Divine Mason, Builder of Civilisations
Level 5 God of Crafting (Masonry, Carpentry, Smithing, Alchemy, Armaments)
31.5 Might & 2 Free Points

The whir of servo motors. The buzz of saws and drills. The heat of forges. The crackle of electricity. The rumble of excavations. The clanking of wheels on rails. And the invisible light show of radio and microwave communications. These were the sensations Teknall felt as he walked between the rows of Promethean Processors, arranged like houses along a street. Promethean Manipulators scurried around and over their larger cousins like ants, assisting in the perpetual tasks of upgrades, re-purposing and maintenance. One could almost be forgiven for thinking the Processors to be static buildings, except they would get up and crawl to some other destination whenever the Nexus readjusted its priorities or otherwise deemed a rearrangement of the colony necessary.

The Processors were connected to the supply network by a system of motorised trolleys on rails. Via this railway minerals were brought in from the mines, intermediate parts were moved along the supply chain, and finished components were sent to the Nexus to be assembled into more Prometheans, or sent to the other colonies to supply their needs.

And many Prometheans had been made. Thanks to the kick-start to their population provided by the Workshop, the Prometheans now numbered in their millions, and their population was growing exponentially. One thing that helped to maintain that exponential growth was some more advanced chemical synthesis techniques provided by Teknall. On planets like Galbar, life performs a lot of the work in making complex molecules, and the work of the synthetic chemist would generally involve manipulating these preexisting molecules. However, on this lifeless rock, short-chain hydrocarbons was the most complicated naturally occurring chemical. In order to access advanced chemicals such as functional polymers, plastics, carbon fibre, and metal-organic semiconductors, as well as creating advanced materials such as superconductors, far more sophisticated synthetic methods would be required. So Teknall provided such methods, which saw extensive use within his Workshop, allowing the Prometheans to synthesise materials from the raw elements if absolutely necessary.

Teknall came to a clearing among the Processors, where there was a new type of Promethean he had built earlier. Its chassis was a large box, 40 meters long, 15 meters wide and 15 meters tall, covered in lightweight composite materials in an aerodynamic form. Wings 40 meters wide swept back from the top of the Promethean and shaded the clearing. The sides of the chassis were opened to reveal a hollow interior, with robotic arms moving cargo in and out of the hold. An Energiser was nearby charging this Promethean.

This new Promethean was a Carrier. Their size would vary significantly depending on their intended cargo and means of locomotion, but their primary purpose was transportation. Gifted with the ability of powered flight, Carriers could rapidly transport resources, equipment and other Prometheans between colonies.

Teknall stepped into the Carrier's cargo hold.

>new_task(Type="move",Destination=[21.50 -15.11])
promethean.C000073: New Task received from "Teknall" (Task No. 089102)
promethean.C000073: Completing loading/unloading Sub-Tasks
promethean.C000073: Loading/unloading Sub-Tasks completed
promethean.C000073: Processing Task No. 089102
promethean.C000073: Running launch sequence

The Energiser disconnected from the Carrier and withdrew as the Carrier's jets roared to life and vectored their thrust downwards, lifting the Carrier into the air.

As the ground dropped away, the colony came into view. In the center towered the Nexus, now over a hundred meters tall and surrounded by scaffolding and ramps, providing a continuous flow of components to be assembled into new Prometheans. Radiating outwards were roads and rails, and between those were grids of Processors, arranged like an organised city and stretching outwards for many kilometers. Manipulators traversed the colony, swarming around and being busy. A few Energisers, distinguishable by their large roundish forms, dotted the colony, connected to vast webs of conductive cables. Other Carriers could be seen landing and taking off from various places in the colony like great metal birds. In a few places, in pits breaking up the otherwise continuous cityscape, Harvesters worked, extracting every bit of useful ore from underneath the colony.

However, the majority of resource collection was now being performed in the other colonies. Larger railways connected this central colony to the others, shipping in raw materials and shipping out fresh Prometheans in cargo trains stretching for hundreds of meters. The Carriers, as far as terrestrial applications went, were good for rapid deliveries and transportation to and from newer colonies which did not yet have the rail infrastructure.

While the interior of the colony was relatively static in layout, the outer fringes were in constant motion. Processors were moving into place. Harvesters were clearing stone and levelling ground. Manipulators were building infrastructure. Nearby a new railway hub was being constructed, a logistical center for more efficiently distributing deliveries, for efficiency was vital if exponential growth was to be maintained.

Yet Teknall hadn't come here today to marvel at the efficiency. Today Teknall was troubleshooting. One of the mining colonies was reporting some quite strange errors. And considering the robustness of everything Teknall made, that any errors at all were being reported was troubling.

When the Carrier arrived at its destination, Teknall disembarked and walked down the road. Around him hummed the Processors as they did their work, and to the side was a slightly different Energiser. Rather than have a nuclear fusion core fueled by water, this Energiser operated on the principle of nuclear fission. Several of its side ports were dedicated to moving parts associated with control and fuel rods. At one point a Manipulator came up to the Energiser as it ejected one of the spent nuclear fuel rods. The Manipulator removed from a lead box a fresh fuel rod, which it inserted into the Energiser, and placed the spent fuel rod into that lead box. The lead box was carried away for its contents to be safely processed. While Prometheans might not contain any biomatter to be mutated, sensitive electronics could still be harmed by radiation, so care had to be taken when dealing with these hazardous materials.

This particular colony had been set up as a uranium mine. While nuclear fusion provided more energy, nuclear fission was a lot cheaper to manufacture, and cheap energy led to more rapid expansion. Many of the Processors here worked on isotopic enrichment, converting pitchblende into fissile fuel. This was then used in nuclear fission reactors, both here and in other colonies as a cheaper power source for the earlier stages of development. The fission byproducts were also being processed into radioisotope thermal generators, to provide more power options for the Prometheans.

Yet the mines had hit a problem.

promethean.N000028: Error: Survey data corrupted [21.502 -15.129]
promethean.N000028: Error: Unable to continue part of Task No. 069738 (Type="harvest",Target="Uranium"): Unable to access location [21.502 -15.129]
promethean.N000028: Error: Communication failure with H100298. Last known location: [21.502 -15.129]
promethean.N000028: Access to [21.502 -15.129] restricted.

When Teknall's Perception reached the site of the problem, in the mining trenches, he understood why the Prometheans were having problems. Teknall walked on into the mines and approached the scene. An exclusion zone had been set up around this trench. While the Prometheans outside that zone carried on with their work, busy as always, all activity stopped abruptly at the border of the exclusion zone, into which no Prometheans entered.

Teknall strode in. In the bottom of the trench was a Harvester, which seemed strangely inert. One might have assumed it had succumbed to radiation, frying its electronics, except that would not have caused such a fuss. As Teknall approached, though, the continuous radio chatter which normally filled the air became distorted, muffled with white noise and interspersed with strange chirps. When Teknall got close enough to touch the Harvester, he was able to hear its weak radio signal.

proṃethe̎an.H1͇͞002̗9᷊̾͒8: Runn͛ing reboot seq̽uencė
prome͙the̱͊a᷃n.H100298: Sys̃tems scan: ͯTel̀eco̙mmunic̖atio᷀n̮s͇ ̸̞̥̕f̣ail̂ure
p̯rom̒etheaṅ̯ͨ.H100298ͧ:̹ Sỷst̥ems sca᷅̌n̻̅: Hard drỉve̩ corrup᷿ted
promethean᷾.͊H1002͚98: Syst̨͉͕̍eṃ̱᷃̿s scan failed͡
p̄̿romethe͗ȁ̭n.̦H100298:̶ Assisẗ́ance ̾ͩcall̄ f̋ailed
promethea̱n.H̩10͊02͇9ͦ8:̤᷾ Re̗ͫboo̾tͧing͐

Teknall walked around to the Harvester's hopper. The gauntlet of his Mirror Armour covered his hand as he reached in, and pulled out a rock. Yet this rock writhed against Teknall's gaze. Nearby shadows seemed to lurch and stretch, and a low buzz rose on the edge of Teknall's hearing. He had seen an artefact similar to this before, way back in the cave from which Lazarus had been born. This rock carried traces of the Gap in it, and was interfering with nearby telecommunications and electronics as well as slightly warping reality.

Teknall waved his other hand and the pitchblende ore vein glowed incandescent. From it flowed forth molten lead, and this molten lead wrapped around the Relic of Perfectus and sealed it away from the world. The distortions faded and radio chatter was heard clearly again. Teknall slipped the object into his satchel and tapped the Harvester.

promethean.H100298: Running reboot sequence
promethean.H100298: Systems scan: All systems optimal
promethean.H100298: Reboot complete
promethean.H100298: Synchronising task list

The problem removed, Teknall headed out of the trench. The Prometheans proceeded with their regular activities. Teknall informed the Nexus what to do if it encountered a similar error again- quarantine the area and contact him. It seemed very odd that such a Relic would be found all the way over here, in this far corner of the Universe. He had not sensed any divine trails other than his own when he scouted out this region of space, and in such an isolated area even the faintest divine trails should be noticeable. Based what he knew of the last Relic, it was probably Vowzra's doing, but why he would have sent a Relic way out here was a mystery.

Perhaps he'd find a use for these Relics some day.

Von Neumann

The Promethean colonies have expanded considerably, industrialising huge swaths of the planet they were placed on. Their population continues to grow exponentially.

Teknall's also been busy working with them. He has granted them even more advanced chemical synthesis (1 MP, enhanced by Alchemy), railway (0.25 MP), powered atmospheric flight (0.25 MP), isotopic enrichment (0.25 MP, enhanced by Alchemy), nuclear power (0.25 MP) and hazardous materials handling skills (0.25 MP).

Nuclear (fission) power is used because such power plants are cheaper to build than the nuclear fusion cores, so its good for smaller colonies.

Teknall has also built a new Promethean sub-type: the Carrier (0.25 MP). It's job is to fly around transporting stuff, and currently they look a bit like blocky cargo planes. (I note that the thrust for atmospheric Carriers is provided by electric engines, because there's no oxygen here to burn fuel.)

Teknall goes to one of the mines, because the Prometheans have encountered an unexpected issue that has been interfering with their electronics and communications. Teknall inspects the issue, and the cause was a Relic of Perfectus a Harvester had inadvertently dug up. Gap and radio doesn't mix too well, it seems.

Teknall pockets the Relic and leaves, pondering why this Relic was left here and what to do with the Relics.

Might Summary
Before: 31.5 MP and 2 FP (12.5 MP reserved by Workshop)
Spent: 2.5 MP
After: 29 MP and 2 FP (12.5 MP reserved by Workshop)

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

If anyone wants to know what Heartworm's lab looks like.



To imagine certain areas inside Jvan, picture this, designed for zero gravity and a hundred times the size.

@Antarctic Termite

A friend showed me that a while back, and I immediately thought of Jvan. It is totally her style (and, by extension, Heartworm's style too).