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Bright_Ops Member

The Insane Scholar

STATUS: Sorry for my lack of posts lately. I've just... been struggling to get the energy to write something up. I'm trying some new meds through so hopefully that will change soon. 7 yrs ago
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7 yrs ago
Current Sorry for my lack of posts lately. I've just... been struggling to get the energy to write something up. I'm trying some new meds through so hopefully that will change soon.
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In The Grim Crusade - A Warhammer 30000 RP → 2 yrs ago Forum: Advanced Roleplay
//Planet: New Welshland
//Designation: Imperial World
//Governor: Uchelgais Tywyll (Contested)
//Status: Civil War



"While I appreciate any support at this time, I admit I am a little... confused. I was under the impression that the second legion was sending forces to assist us." Governor Tywll offered as respectfully as a governor who's rather tedious situation meant that insulting or dismissing any ally that presented itself with troops and and equipment simply wasn't an option, even if they weren't the reinforcements you were expecting or hoping for.

For his part, Audi kept a professional face on as he stood on the other side of the Governor's rather expensive desk. As the highest ranked commander of the Imperial army forces that had been deployed to New Welshland, protocol demanded that he met with the rather... inflated Governor of the planet. Despite the respectful tone that Tywll was using, Audi had to admit that the Governor rubbed him the wrong way; The planet was actively in the middle of a rather brutal civil war with a separatist faction with tens of thousands wounded and dying each day with shortages of food, water and supplies on just about every part of the planet... and yet the Governor still maintained at least three chins and a small team of slaves in order to assist him in getting his bulbous body to his feet from a sitting position.

Then again, he did generally distrust anyone in a position of authority who was obese enough that if he ran a sword into their stomach all the way to the hilt, there was a chance he wouldn't hit anything vital. "Yes, to my understanding the original plan was for a company of Night Watch to arrive but they've been delayed. There are a number of other rebellions in progress in this region of the Imperium and they've been required to deploy elsewhere... However, since they did not wish to abandon the people of New Welshland to current conditions, they have sent myself and my forces in their stead to try and stabilize the situation."

Audi couldn't help but notice the expressions that surfaced on the Governor's fat, disgusting face. There was a brief expression that reminded him on a small child about to throw a tantrum because they weren't the center of everyone else's universe, but it seemed that whatever political skills Tywll had gathered over the course of his life kicked in to stop him from saying or doing something stupid. "Well... there are worse things then getting an army of fresh, veteran troops. If you'll report to my high commander they'll be able to best position your forc-"

"I believe-" Audi interrupted, his face still professionally blank but some small degree of pleasure at seeing the Governor look annoyed at being cut off "-that there has been a slight misunderstanding. My forces are not here to fight your civil war or take orders from you."

There was a brief moment of silence, broken by Governor Tywll looking livid as he said "Excuse me?"

Pulling out a copy of the orders that had been sent to him from the Primarch of the Night Watch, Micholi himself, Audi offered it to Tywll so that the man could read it with his own eyes. "We have been sent here on a humanitarian mission. Our job is to secure key utilities like water and the power grid while offering those displaced by the conflict shelter and medical aid. To that end, I am not apart of the local chain of command and thus receive my orders directly from my superiors in the second legion."

The livid expression deepened on Tywll's face as he glared at the letter, then at Audi himself. "Why?"

Audi for his part let out a put upon sigh that he had long practiced. "My superiors believe that by presenting the Imperium as a neutral but benevolent entity in this conflict, anti-imperial sentiments will fade away while providing citizens caught in the crossfire somewhere to go to for safety that doesn't require them actively joining a side in the conflict. Personally I feel that there are faster ways to resolve a conflict like this, but orders are orders. If nothing else, our presence will mean that you don't have to garrison forces in those regions."

The Governor still looked somewhat heated... though that could also have easily been just his natural level of warmth since he had been a rather sweaty mess when Audi had entered the office, but it seemed his little performance had unruffled some feathers. "I see... A little round about for my tastes, but help is help I suppose. However, since everything is in order, unless you have anything else to say I think we will end this meeting here. You no doubt have preparations to make and I... well, I believe it's time for lunch."
In Crucible of Gods - A New Divine RP → 2 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
Let them come.


The birth of Princess (and future Queen) Agniya should have been a happy occasion. A time of celebration and jolly festivities. It was but... the oncoming war cast a deep enough shadow to make it a somber, limited affair. Any gathering or celebration was a small, brief thing between family and friends; A toast to the new born leader where villages, towns and cities should have been having a party.

The sky briefly turning red and refugees fleeing from Brey's former lands told a dark tale; Brey was dead and his murderer and their horde would be continuing the march soon enough. The fact that there had been a betrayal of a diplomatic deal made between the two sides earlier didn't really provoke the sense of outrage within Vatarr that it should have as he paused on his way towards the border between the heartland of his realm and Nodes 22 and 23 to stop by his throne and the Node of the Fungal Marshes. Brey had witnessed the first 'invasion' of his realm and the fact that he had seen the enemy and not instantly deduced that co-existence would not be possible meant that Brey had, in the end, proven to be a fool.

The mortals of Vex were already in the process of extending their defensive line now that the enemy could come from two nodes rather then just one, but Vatarr felt the need to add his own... personal touch to the defense of his realm. He would be taking a more active role in repelling any invaders of course, but he could only be in so many places at one time and he had a realm to secure... and his skirmish in Node 23 had given him information he was going to make use of to do it.

Placing his hand on the Node, he channeled his strength into it in order to subtly reshape the Fungal Marshes as a region. The change itself was small... but at the same time, affected everything. Every aspect of Node 26, be it air, earth, water or just organic material was infused with and released a chemical compound that was perfectly tailored to destroy the spores that infested the horrors that originally came from Node 18.

Since the horrors took advantage of all manner of organic creatures to serve in its tide, a solution that purged all organic life in a region already filled with it was not the best solution... so Vatarr had already decided to take advantage of what he had discovered in the creatures in Node 23 to strike directly at the root of the problem and target the means in which the infection animated and controlled its victims. Any creature sent into the Fungal Marshes for any length of time that was infected should have the infection destroyed and be cured of it...

Unfortunately, this alteration required more alterations. The chemical infusion was perfect for killing what it needed to do... but it also had the unfortunate side effect of being toxic to a number of other life forms as well. This was a problem since it was kind of pointless employing this method of defense if everything you were trying to protect died as well.

The animals and plantlife of the region could be altered in order to survive and thrive in the post changed region: Altering the lungs to better process and filter the air and some minor tweaks to digestion and how the blood deals with the chemical once it enters the system were generally easy enough to do without any major developments or mutations. Normally he would be against this sort of mass alteration, but since it was in response to a change he was making to the environment it seemed only fair. It did also mean that they wouldn't exactly be able to leave the Fungal Marshes without... complications, but that wasn't a major issue. At least not an issue to worry about for the time being.

The real problem was the humans. While some of them had been born in the region, they were not native to Node 26 and thus, couldn't be altered in the same way that the native creatures could be. Granted the change wouldn't be instantly fatal... but some measures had to be taken all the same because it would take lives otherwise.

While he did trust the people of Vex to come up with means of surviving until he rested and was able to alter them to be better able to survive the change in the environment, that would take time to do. Thinking of the issue for a few moments, a temporary solution presented itself. Around settlements large and small (as well as along where the defensive wall was currently being manned and constructed, since there were a sizable number of people there) a series of trees and bushes would spring up with dark purple leaves.

The plants had a fairly pleasant scent, but it was the leaves and berries that were important. If the leaves were placed in water, it would infuse into the water and when drunk, would allow the human body to temporarily be able to process the the new chemical. Eating the berries caused a similar effect. They weren't a counter to the chemical as much as they were designed to allow the human body to deal with it.
It wasn't perfect, but for the moment it was the best he could do and still keep people safe. He trusted that they would figure out other methods of survival as time passed.

Taking a deep breath, he started his announcement region wide about the changes that had taken place, why they had happened and the properties of the new purple plants in question that had sprung up nearby baring berries.





In Crucible of Gods - A New Divine RP → 2 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
The Birth of a Dynasty


It started with pained screaming.

Despite the advanced nature of Vex's medical knowledge, their understanding of biology and the usage of painkillers, the act of giving birth was still a tiring, painful process. It was just a lot easier and safer to give birth within Vex for both the mother and child(ren) involved.

While Oxana might have been the first to figure out the knowledge that had been crafted by Vatarr in order to educate the mortals that had followed him into his realm, she wasn't the only one. As was the nature of things, once one person figured out how to do something others tended to follow suit shortly afterwards. One such person was currently tending and aiding the Queen-Regent and future mother to be during this tying time with a small staff of trained nurses in order to assist.

Under normal circumstances the situation would have been stressful. Vex had been united under the banner of a woman baring the child of one of the divines and that mortal born demi-god being their future leader; This birth being complicated would risk the young kingdom dividing and falling into infighting for dominance on the eve of biological horrors invading and trying to add them to their mass. It didn't help that Vatarr himself was in attendance.

The deity had arrived shortly after the Queen-Regent had gone into labor, shedding the insect like flying form he had been in for his traditional one before quietly stepping into the room and finding a place to take a seat to witness the birth. Normally the staff would have insisted that the father wait outside, but none of them really had the nerve to try and tell Vatarr that he wasn't welcome in the room and since he was staying quiet and out of the way they just did their best to ignore him while they professionally carried on.

After hours through, the screams and moans of pain started to quiet down as they were replaced by a new type of cry altogether; The cry of those who had just entered the mortal world for the first time. The freshly born baby was disconnected from her mother and cleaned up quickly before one of the nurses nervously carried them over to the waiting father. "W-Would you like to hold her, Vatarr?"

It was almost comical and definitely fey, watching the divine being gently take the new lifeform in his hands carefully as he looked her over. Despite her parentage, the child looked like a normal human as her appearance clearly took after her mother Oxana, through an unkind person might point out that the baby seemed to be lacking the unsightly 'fishy sheen' of the skin that the Regent-Queen did. In fact one would think she was pure human... until she opened her eyes. Her eyes were her father's and no one could ever mistake her for being fully mortal once seeing them. While Vatarr didn't say anything, something about his presence and the way that he held the small baby caused her to stop crying... and start giggling.

After a few moments, the deity walked over to join Oxana, carefully offering the small bundle of joy to her tired mother so that she could see her for the first time. "Did you have a name in mind, Oxana?" Vatarr asked softly with a surprising degree of tenderness that suited the circumstance rather nicely.

Oxana couldn't help but offer a soft sigh that morphed into a yawn as her droopy eyes gazed down at her child. "...I did. I can't remember what it was through. I'm just... rather out of it at the moment. Did you have something in mind?"

There was a moment of silence... before Vatarr muttered one word. "Agniya."

Oxana pondered it for a moment, figured she was too tired to really give it a whole lot of thought, before softly answering "I like it. Welcome to the world Agniya."





In The Grim Crusade - A Warhammer 30000 RP → 2 yrs ago Forum: Advanced Roleplay





In Crucible of Gods - A New Divine RP → 2 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
Digging in and preparing for war.


The border between the Fungal Marshes and the unnamed lands of Node 23 had been transformed over a matter of weeks. Land had been cleared for line of sight, a deep trench dug so that any attack would be at a disadvantage and the resources of both projects used to build a great defensive wall made of a mixture of wood, giant mushroom, dirt and stone. While a wall built completely of stone might have been more solid, the Fungal Marshes alone didn't have enough stone for the project, so it would have to be dug up and transported from another region... which was possible, but it would have taken months or even years to create a fully stone wall on this scale and they simply didn't have the time for that.

Besides, it was hoped that the combination of materials making up the wall would prove effective in its own right. After all, just because something was good at digging into dirt didn't mean it could get through stone and vice versa. Once you threw in the timber and mushroom it would prove to be a fairly solid obstruction. Once you factored in the trench in front of it and the armed solders who would be patrolling it, in theory it would be enough to stop the invading monsters dead. If that was what was going to happen was yet to be seen.

Regent-Queen Oxana was still a month or two away from giving birth, but the stresses of pregnancy on her body had caused her to slow down and take a less stressful role in the day to day managing of the kingdom of Vex, allowing other members of her government to handle the bulk of the work while she handled the paperwork side of affairs.

While Node 28 had been created as a toxic, volcanic hellscape in which organic life was unwanted and ill suited with death being the certain outcome of anything foolish enough to enter it, several interesting discoveries had been made along its border. New weapons of war that were being tested and developed as various volatile powders started to prove their worth, even as old and tested weapons were improved with new designs.

Despite the storm clouds that heralded harsh times of war in the future, Vex's present was brighter then ever.



Vatarr needed more power. While in singular combat he was confident that he could take on any opponent, his skirmish into Node 23 had proven that he wasn't fighting a singular foe. Fighting an army alone was not impossible, but he needed to stack the odds in his favor and that would require the aid of those humans that lived in his lands. Of course he had given his word that he wouldn't demand their allegiance to him and he fully intended to keep his word; He wouldn't to conscript them. They were already preparing for war because they knew that the infection of Nodes 18 and 23 was a threat that needed to be stopped, even if they had yet to see it for themselves.

He couldn't help but feel proud of them for that. But they needed to be more if he wanted them to have any hope of standing against the infected tide... and Vatarr had an idea of how to do that.

Whenever he had claimed Nodes in the past, while they had flooded him with god like power, he had also noticed that he had been spending some of his power in turn. At first it was only a small amount, but as time passed he had noticed that bigger 'donations' were required without truly grasping why. He had his theories, but seeing how quickly his mortals had advanced as far as ideas and technologies went he started to put two and two together.

Naturally, evolution of society and creatures were generally slow paced. Something that happened over generations as circumstances changed and solutions were required. Whatever he was offering up was directly granting his followers ideas, knowledge and abilities on a board scale.

Logically, he needed to give them more.

So he flew to Node 29. Between Life and Death and his new armor, it wasn't even a contest as the chaotic cat squid was dashed to pieces and the Node claimed. For about a third of the territory, it seemed as if the Volcanic Bulwark was being extended as more fire, stone and poisonous air claimed more ground... but the nature of the land would soon change as fire gave was to snow and ice. A forest of pine trees sprung into existence on a regional scale, their evergreen branches covered in snow and icicles while a chill wind blew. A realm of fire and ice that was beautiful, if harsh and unforgiving.

Then he turned his attention to Node 31.

This trip took a bit longer, if only because the region was bigger. If a chaos beast called this region home Vatarr didn't see it, flying directly to the Node itself and planting his hand upon it. Around Node 31, the world froze. The temperature plummeted as the wind picked up into a bone cutting gale, condemning this realm to an wind blasted, ice covered desert in which life shouldn't have been able to exist for any period of time.

And yet, even as Vatarr focused on the offering of his energy to fuel the development of mortal kind in his realm, he could still feel the presence of living things existing in this harsh, unforgiving and brutal landscape. It actually made him chuckle just a little to himself; Life existed where it could... life existed where it couldn't.

With the task he had set out to do complete, Vatarr used the last of his might to ward the Node and let him know if anyone came to take it from him before at last turning towards home and taking flight once more.





In Crucible of Gods - A New Divine RP → 2 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
Vatarr: Preparing for War.


With the various tribes and peoples of the Ashen Planes and Fungal Marshes uniting under the leadership of a pregnant Oxana, both due to her status as the first of their people to unlock the full knowledge of the copper bound guide to life and death alongside her status as the chosen mother of the deity Vatarr, news could travel a lot quicker then it could during earlier days. So when Vatarr had returned to his realm, the messengers found him quickly. They didn't find him in order since some discovered him faster then others (some were simply faster and better at traversing the land then their peers as well), but after a while a picture of events started to form that could be deciphered.

The start with, some kind of hive came into existence in Node 18 that created monsters. The hydra, that had since the dawn of the world been there to protect Node 18, had been corrupted by whatever was at the heart of this hive. A great many humans from Node 18 had fled from the region into neighboring areas as quickly as possible, with some arriving at the Fungal Marshes or pushing on to the Ashen Planes. Recently, this army of monsters had invaded the realm of Node 23, causing the humans of that region to flee as well. The newly united people were preparing weapons and armor on an unheard of scale and were fortifying the border with possible plans to invade Node 23. Messengers were being sent to Brey and his people to look into the situation there... possibly even to the realm to the west as well, since there were people in that direction as well.

To say that the situation had quickly developed would have been an understatement, but even as this information filtered in Vatarr kept his head level. Oxana was not asking him for his direct intervention: This was as much a challenge for the leadership of herself and their child as anything else. Her concerns as far as Vatarr were concerned was the possible involvement of another deity. From his own point of view, this was a valid concern to have; A hive that spits out an army of corrupt creatures generally doesn't come out of nowhere after all.

So Vatarr left a message that he was going to secure a safe place for those who weren't interested in fighting the coming conflict before he started to run.



In the early days, when Vatarr had originally sort out Node 26, he had crossed the chaos wastes at a jog. The battle for Node 27 had been a slug-fest, slowing his progress down considerably but never fully stopping him. Even the failed attempt at Node 25 had been at a relatively reasonable pace for a deity. This was the first time that Vatarr had felt the need to push himself to the limit. The Fungal Marshes came and went, the Ashen Planes passed by soon after... until at last he crossed over into the chaos region of Node 30.

Of all the chaotic waste regions he had witnessed so far, Vatarr had to admit that Node 30 was a devious bastard of a landscape in the fact that it looked stable. In fact it almost looked like a deity had come through and made it an idealistic, subtropical paradise complete with bountiful plant-life and a coastline so beautiful as to be utterly captivating... If strangely devoid of life. The trick was that it didn't stay like this. Simply at random the land shifted from its near ideal form for a grand total of four and a half seconds before returning to its subtropical self.

While this didn't sound that bad, so far these little 'shifts' in reality had resulted in Vatarr wading through knee deep magma, so deep underwater that he actually got a bit of a headache from the pressure and being blasted by sub-arctic winds blowing so harshly that even with only four and a half seconds of being exposed, a mortal would likely be in a lot of trouble. During the journey, Vatarr couldn't help but ponder the nature of the chaos around the nodes before stability set in... and why some of it seemed to process a malevolent will.

Regardless, Vatarr arrived at the Node, gave it that stabilizing tap so that it would remain a subtropical realm that could now be expected to support life and started north-west to Node 28



Node 28 was, by and large, uninteresting.

It was just the standard flavor of chaos compered to the interestingly cunning chaos of Node 30, complete with an unremarkably remarkable two headed giant zebra that surged with lightning and unleashed torrents of lightning bolts. It died within the opening strike of Life and Death and so Vatarr had continued onward in relative peace.

Reaching the node, he took a little more time in deciding what form this realm should take. The results however, spoke for themselves.

While the Ash Planes had some volcanic activity, this realm was nothing but rock, ash, poisonous gas and molten fire. What few rocky paths that were relatively safe to walk upon often found themselves so close to the lava streams that the heat alone would cook a mortal... provided that the stream didn't wash over the rocks at some point. The air itself was a mixture of poisonous fumes belched froth from the deep places of the earth. This was not a place for life... and yet, life existed anyway.

In rare pockets where the fire couldn't reach could be found a variety of stubborn, ugly and almost certainly poisonous plants with their roots embedded deeply in the dirt and rock. Creatures made of stone and crystal could also be seen scampering around, clearly unbothered by the heat if not actively wading through shallow pools or steams of lava as they went about their existence.

A hostile land... and a barrier to all but the most specialized of creatures from passing through. The Fungal Marshes would not need to worry about their defenses being flanked if the deity being this tide of monstrous creatures tried to claim this region as their own.








In Crucible of Gods - A New Divine RP → 2 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
Vatarr meets Asvarad


Truth be told, compared to the almost endless battle of Node 27/The Ashen Planes the march through the chaos wastes of Node 25 were laughably easy for Vatarr. There had been a small period of discomfort when something tried to get close without his knowledge, but that had resolved itself with a noise that sort of sounded like pouring water on top of a stone that had been resting in the middle of a fire… If stone was a gas and the water in question was ice. Either way, whatever it was disliked the encounter with the mists of Death and ceased trying to bother him.

He had actually been making some pretty good time towards the Node itself when suddenly the world changed. Where once there was a chaotic mess of possibilities and alternative realities competing for dominance and existence all in the same moment, now the world of Node 25 was a stable realm of metal plants and giant trees.

For a moment Vatarr paused, looking around at this new realm and feeling a moment of disappointment that he had been beaten to this prize. But with a small shrug he continued on towards the Node of this now stable land. If it turned out that Brey had decided to come south then the chance to catch up with him would be nice. If it turned out to be a new deity… Well, there was no harm in finding out who it was and having a conversation. Get an idea of how the future was going to unfold and all that.

Yellow moss crumbled to dust before Vatarr and grew thick in his wake. As he neared the node a land constructed tame itched at the presence of the god and the power he wielded. Prickly lizards and colourful birds watched from hovels and branches, in the first moments of their existence transfixed by someone they knew to be other and different. They were not alone in the observation.

Before the node and in Vatarr’s path stood a sapling. A silver tree akin to the others in its substance, but itself different in that it truly did stand on its own two legs. The young tree born anew in the shape of a man faced off against the intruder, a god armed with the power of life and death itself, and managed to only shake a little as it raised its ‘fists’. The tree spared a glance back at the node where, coiled around the monolith, the violet scales of its apparent creator rose and fell in the steady rhythm of sleep. Facing Vatarr again the tree seemed to settle on an idea as it began backing up slowly as it could manage.

For his part, Life and Death had their respective mists turned off as it became clear that the land wasn’t inherently hostile to travelers and Vatarr didn’t wish to make a bad impression. Of course, sooner rather than later he arrived at the Node itself to discover the telepathic snake deity from the original awakening, as well as its relatively tiny guardian.

There was a moment where Vatarr considered just striking down the guardian with the intent of killing the slumbering god, removing them as a threat and claiming their lands for his own but doing so felt… wrong to him. At least not until it was clearly the only option anyway.

Turning his skull head towards the guardian in question, there was a surprisingly polite inquiry as Vatarr asked “Could you kindly wake him up? I would leave him to rest and talk later but I’ve come all this way and I would like something to show for the effort. Even if it is just knowledge.”

At Vatarr’s words the tree froze. As if in panicked thought its head whipped back and forth between its creator and the interloper until it seemed to decide. Without words, for the tree had no mouth with which to speak, the young sapling turned and sprinted back to the node as quickly as its newfound legs would carry it.

When it reached its creator it jumped up onto the vast serpent’s head and, rather uncertainly, began trying to pull open the sleeping gods eyelids. The tree only managed to get hold of one before all six of the serpent’s eyes fluttered open. The god shuddered as it woke and began to shake the little creature off of its head as it extricated itself from the node and rose to regard the being that had woken it from its slumber.

Words reverberated in the minds of all that thought in the forest as, unaware of Vatarr, the serpent god questioned the young sapling, “A... Tree? What are you? I was asleep-”

As if silently warned by the sapling the serpent’s eyes suddenly fixed on Vatarr, and so too did its thoughts, “Ah, you. I have yet to perish, despite appearances. Take your maggots elsewhere.”

“Oh I’m aware you’re not dead. Congratulations on surviving so long by the way. I was actually on my way here when you beat me to the Node so… I decided that now was as good a time as any to have a chat.” Vatarr began, looking at the larger serpent with… well, not a smile on his face because deer skulls can’t really smile, but with a positive tone in his voice all the same.

“What is it you want? If you’re the last deity standing, what does your ideal world look like?” Might as well start with the important question after all.

“I see you’ve still not found your sight,” The serpent’s thought came steeped in contempt, “You witness chaos, peer into the nodes, and ask what I want as if our creator didn’t lay dying in shame and failure when he delivered his lie. What any of us want is irrelevant, worm-king.”

Just a one of the serpent’s eyes glanced down at the sapling that’d woken the deity and a thought as foreign as it was determined echoed in Vatarr’s mind, “What I- What we who see will do, is endure. If I am the last one standing it will be because the rest of you have destroyed each other in ignorance and the callow belief that this world and its nodes will not betray you at the end.

The response that Vatarr offered… likely wasn’t the one that the serpent was expecting. Tilting his head slightly to the side, Vatarr gazed into the eyes of the snake and answered “And? You say that as if any of us are going to live forever.” A small chuckle actually escaped him at the very idea. “Nothing is or can be truly immortal and to pretend otherwise is to invite hardship and disappointment as the lie fails to live up to reality.”

“Of course, as is the nature of the Cycle… who says death is the end?” The deer-headed god teased, seeing if he could peak his counterpart’s interest.

“How very early it is to speak so confidently of nature,” The serpent slithered forwards and curled around a towering ironwood, pulling itself further up to glare down at Vatarr as it spoke, “But perhaps you are right, and all things must end in time whether that be at death or beyond it. If that is so then we are fortunate. For this cycle has run its course, its victims beyond counting or memory, and more than I alone will see to its own ending. If our doom is destined then destiny itself must be broken.”

There was a brief pause… before Vatarr just sighed a little. “Look brother. Myself and Brey… who’s claimed the nodes just south of where Node 18 is… I like to believe that we’re coming to an alliance of mutual understanding since what we want for the world to be can be combined into the same bigger picture. I would like to offer you the chance to join this arrangement and make this alliance a trio rather than a duo.”

“It appears that rather than unite the nodes under your influence, you’re more interested in understanding the nature of the world upon which we have come and the cycle of deities that seem to be a part of it. That’s fine. If anything, I suspect you and Brey will have a lot of fun puzzling out such mysteries together. But war is coming… while I suspect those who traveled north together will likely start fighting each other first before the survivors turn their attention south, but sooner or later they will come and I would prefer all three of us to be united in defending ourselves.”

Taking a few steps, Vatarr moved a few paces from where he had been originally standing as he put his arms behind his back. “Of course, I’m sure you’ve considered the idea of being attacked by some of our kin and have made diplomatic moves towards Brey in much the same way that I did.”

The violent serpent withdrew in kind as it answered slowly, “I asked for a message to be delivered to him, yes.”

“And we do share an interest in peace,” Six eyes met Vatarr’s two and the serpent finally introduced itself as it agreed, “I am Asvarad, and on my name and the safety of my people you have my word that me and mine will brook no interference from the fools that set out north. If you seek more than that... I would require assurances. I will not grant you the power to endanger those under my protection unless I am certain you would not interfere with our work. We won't share our creators fate.”

Vatarr shrugged his shoulders just a little. “A peaceful agreement and a willingness to support either myself or Brey when trouble comes around is more than enough for the time being. I am Vatarr. May this be the start of a beneficial arrangement Asvarad.”

Hm, very well. Asvarad thought back with a tinge of caution.

“One thing,” The serpent god added gravely, “I mean to leave a piece of this world to chaos, and I ask you respect that if we are to be allies. Even ones of convenience. I do not believe it wise to banish what may well be the true nature of this world when we’ve yet to begin understanding it. Do you?”

There was a small shrug. “Considering that there are two nodes further west of here, part of our arrangement would be to leave them in your care to do with as you wish. I will focus my attention elsewhere.”

There was a small clearing of the throat before Vatarr added “With all that said, if there is nothing else that needs to be discussed in the here and now, I will let you get back to your slumber.”

“That will not happen again,” The serpent Asvarad spoke for the first time, his voice a low reverberating growl that served as reminder of the hundred feet of muscle trailing behind. He half turned to the silver sapling that’d watched the two gods meet and thought to it as much as Vatarr, “It seems none of us have time to waste.

Turning from the serpent, there was little fanfare to Vatarr’s departure. They both had things to do and first on that last a couple of days of hiking through a metal forest in order to get back to his own territory. Still, a combination of a non-aggression pact and a vague defensive alliance was nothing to sneeze at.





In Crucible of Gods - A New Divine RP → 2 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
What makes a Ruler?


The walk back across the Ashen Planes to the Fungal Marshes was nowhere near as long as the endless slog of a battle that had been the journey across the chaotic wasteland that had been there before, alongside its inhabitant. For his part, Vatarr had only remained at the node of the Ashen Planes to ensure that if anyone else came to mess with his control of the region that he would be alerted to the fact.

There was a part of him that wanted to push on; To simply continue to tame chaotic nodes until the majority of the southern lands were under his control... But he resisted the urge to do so. A more power hungry or militant deity might have done so, pushing mortals loyal to them to colonize new lands as they were presented to them... and if some of the stories that visitors from the northern lands brought with them were to be believed, even before those lands had been safely calmed down. Already he had passed by or seen humans from the Marsh traveling into the Ashen Planes, likely to explore what this new land had to offer without needing his instruction or command to do so.

Some of the mortals of the Fungal Marshes had asked him before why he hadn't followed the examples of his divine kin and install himself as their leader, uniting the various clans and tribes under his banner. He had always answered that to do so would betray the very people who had faith in him. To date none had ever truly understood what he meant by that answer and he refused to explain further.



By the time Vatarr returned to his throne at the Node of the Fungal Marshes, he was surprised to find a supplicant waiting for him. Such had never happened before, since mortals generally were content to give him a berth and handle their own affairs. And yet, the young woman waiting for his arrival had clearly set up camp and been waiting for a few days for his return. The woman was pretty in her own way, but her raven colored hair was somewhat offset by the fact that her skin had a shine to it that put Vatarr in mind a little of a fish or some kind of small lizard. Her attire was made of local resources, simple but practical... and while her ears were decorated with more traditional copper, he could easily tell that some of them were of alternative metals to create and interesting display.

Taking a seat on his throne, Vatarr gazed directly at the woman as he politely gestured and said "Good morning. If I had known someone had been waiting to greet me I would have taken a quicker pace. Forgive me, but who am I speaking with at the moment and why are you visiting today?"

The woman in question offered a small bow before answering "My name is Oxana. I am here because I wish to be the mother of your child."

To say that there was a moment of silence... or at least as silent as the grove around the throne truly got, would be an understatement. But suddenly Vatarr laughed louder then they could remember before answering "Okay, I wasn't expecting to hear that." The good humor in Vatarr's voice easily betrayed their amusement as they rested their elbow on the arm of the throne before pressing their deer skull against a closed fist as he gazed directly at Oxana. "May I ask what has inspired this request? I admit to not being used to visitors, but I cannot help but feel it is a strange request all the same."

For her part, Oxana looked... rather bashful as she shuffled her feet against the ground. "I... I recently finished the final of the tablets you gave to the tribes back when we settled here and... I think I understand." Pausing to acknowledge that her statement was rather vague, she continued "I think I understand you... or at least the forces you represent. By extension, why you never tried to create a kingdom or be the leader of my people. It's because if you did, you would have to let it rot and fall at some point. You don't wish to betray your followers with this false idea of an eternal kingdom under your rule."

There was another moment of silence... before Vatarr chuckled. Lifting his head off of his hand, he offered a small clap as he answered "You're correct. It is simple to preach about the balance of life and death. However, when the time comes not to sow a new crop and to let the bounties that life offers to the harsher decay and rot of death few are willing to actually carry out the act. Nor is it really something I expect mortals to do. However, forgive me if I'm not seeing why this means I should father a child with you." The deity offered somewhat playfully.

For her part, Oxana didn't answer right away. She wanted to make sure that her words were just right before speaking. "I want to unite the various tribes of humans in your domain together into one kingdom. Missionaries from up north keep showing up, trying to lure people away with the promises of other gods and while no one has followed them that I know of, I fear it might just be a matter of time before some outside force tries to play us against each other when we need to be united."

"If I give birth to your child, not only would that mean that I've been given your blessing and thus be considered a legitament ruler of my people but when our child is of age they will naturally be a rallying point for our kingdom because of their connection to you. However because they would only have divine blood rather then be fully divine, they would still be mortal. The cycle would be appeased, your lands would be united and respect you enough to listen to your council and you wouldn't have to betray anyone when the day comes that our child's line dies out and the kingdom they forged falls and another kingdom or family takes over."

Once again there was silence in the grove... before with a small chuckle Vatarr rose from his throne. "In that case Oxana, I accept your request."





In Crucible of Gods - A New Divine RP → 2 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
The search for the axe hadn't taken long, but it and the walk to the nearest settlement had provided Vatarr with some time to think. The unnamed deity in question that had originally owned the axe had proven to be rather... unstable, but they were still a deity; By the time a mortal managed to catch with the bugger, not only would they had liked replaced their weapon with a new one, but odds were good that the unstable god would lash out and murder them to reclaim the axe without actually hearing them out first and thus missing the fact that they were offering it back to him freely.

Vatarr could of course make the run himself, but between the whole having to pin the bastard down to actually get him to stop shitting himself and trying to flee and the fact that Vatarr had other things to do, he didn't really want too. He also didn't want to keep the axe because... well, Life and Death were better companions by far.

So instead, once he arrived at the nearest settlement, he had bartered for the services of a messenger. In exchange for one of the members of the settlement running both a tablet and the axe northwest into the realm of the deity Brey in order to deliver both items to him, he would teach the settlement how to better construct their buildings to be more comfortable, warm and sturdy. The bargain was struck and after a clay tablet was brought forth and written upon, a young man was selected on the grounds that he was physically up to the task, but not so strong as to the vital to their survival for the few weeks he would be gone.

As per his own end of the bargain, Vatarr spent the rest of the week in the settlement, educating the mortals present on a number of different subjects. While construction was the primary topic most of the time, those who were able to take the time to attend in-between the daily chores of survival and life found that there were other lessons sprinkled within the deities' words. Ideas that by themselves meant little... but when combined with another idea or something that Vatarr had been talking about before, started to take brand new, interesting forms.

So it was that when Vatarr finally departed the settlement, they were already in the process of a few new projects as they worked to refine the knowledge that they had gleamed. As was the nature of humanity, these ideas would soon spread to other settlements and tribes within the Fungal Marshes and the future would seem just that little bit brighter for the humans that had traveled south so as not to bow to the whims of a deity.

Vatarr turned south east. To Node 27.



The nature of the chaotic wastes outside of the stabilized nodes hadn't fundamentally changed from the original journey to Node 26. The raw, chaotic pathways of possibility striving to exist all at once at the same time. Devoid of life because while potential is an almost limitless source of energy, few things can survive the onslaught for long. Those that could were entities worthy of legend, awe and dread.

The battle for Node 27 started the moment Vatarr crossed the border between it and the Fungal Marshes. A chimeric mass of horrific mishmash fangs, stingers, claws, spikes, clubs and tendrils burst from ground, sky and everywhere in-between in a flurry of near mindless hate and fury as they lashed out towards the deity in their midst. Vatarr in turn was a blur of motion as Life and Death swung in an unending counter barrage, melting away the unnatural flesh and bone while healing what blows their master actually sustained as they shattered whatever they made contact with without cruelty or mercy.

The battle raged for days with neither side backing down. Even as limbs and tendrils of the creature were broken or dissolved new ones would spring up to take their place to continue the onslaught, but Vatarr returned in kind as they kept moving forwards regardless of any injury he may have taken along the way. It was a battle of attrition in every sense of the word with both sides prepared for it.

What should have been a three day trip was dragged into a week and a half of unending, vicious bloodshed and battle... but in the end, Vatarr pushed his way to the node at the center of the region and pressed his hand against it for merely a second. The stabilization of reality proved a more decisive, mortal blow then all the destroyed limbs of the battle prior; As all but one reality ceased to exist, those limbs that had been extended and exposed in the combat were shivered from the source, dissolving into a sickly goo before disappearing altogether while an unspeakable roar of pain and fury and anguish faded into an echo.

In its place was a land lightly coated in ash as the molten blood of the world found places close to the surface to bubble and burst. Several minor volcanoes were scattered around the region, providing both mountains rich with ores and fertile ash covered planes in which plants could grow. Water was plentiful, through some of it was acidic to the point of being deadly to anything that tried to swim in it, let alone drink it... the scent of sulfur and the ring of barren ground or dead plant life serving as a warning. Life native to the region would be well equipped to read and respond to its dangers... and while the rewards for settling here were many, those seeking to come in from outside would have to learn quickly or perish trying.







In Crucible of Gods - A New Divine RP → 2 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
Socialising - The Third Mistake


Some days had passed since the capture of the 23rd node. In divine fashion, it had taken a mythically short time for Cotazur to recover from wounds that would have killed anything else. Of course, even the fact that it had taken some days had cost him valuable time. Time that could have been spent doing… What?

The question had plagued him since he had woken up. What was he doing here, exactly? He had been alive for, what, a week, and probably five of those days had been spent in a blackout. The anxiety had stung deeper; what if he had been alive for months, but had been recovering from his wounds most of that time? And in his waking time, what had he done? Killed some people? Murdered some things? Made some stuff?

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, this was not the way, this was not the way. How would people recognise his greatness if, if he couldn’t even stay conscious for a full week? No, no, no, he needed publicity - he, he needed to get his name out there! He needed cronies, devotees, slaves to his will, oh yes.

Oh no, wait, that wasn’t the way to think about it. He, he needed friends first of all. People who’d die for him smilingly, yes. Yes, yes, yes, that was a good framing.

Now, how to do that?

Cotazur had spent the better part of the day traversing his nodelands, moving south at a determined pace. Despite the steepening of the incline, he hadn’t slowed down one bit, besting muscle fatigue with unblinking eyes and unabated speed. Within sundown, he had reached the highest peak of the mountain and stared across his own lands. The red sunset washed across his realm like the blush of a flattered face, but dared not pour into the black abyss that was the sea and the southern lands. Cotazur frowned - he would take those lands in time.

Then he turned around and saw… Swamps. Swamps and forests. Like his forests, but worse. Yes, he was certain they were worse, probably because of the mushrooms. They popped up all around like zits on skin. Disgusting place.

He had to go there.

Charging down the mountain wall, the crazed man moved into the neighbour’s land.



As his strength had recovered during his meditations, the list of things that Vatarr needed to do presented itself once again in his mind. However, as he pushed himself from this fungi throne to stand one idea rose to the forefront of his mind beyond all the others.

Closing his eyes again as he focused on keeping his mind clear and calm, the only sound that originated within the clearly around Vatarr’s personal glade was that of his own deep breaths as he placed his hands against two different sections of his own body; His left hand planted itself on his upper thigh since that was currently were the new growth of his body was strongest, while his right found its was to his left shoulder, were decay held the most sway.

There was a moment of silence. Of mentally preparing oneself for what had to happen next. Then…

The roar of pain that echoed throughout the fungal marshes was loud and inhuman, but it was brief. While ripping two handfuls of your own flesh out of your own body was a brutal and rather painful experience, the deity was a fast healer if nothing else. As Vatarr lumbered with their breaths for a few minutes, the two carefully selected pieces of his body that he had chosen rested within his hands while the wounds they left behind were already starting to heal.

Once the pain started to fade, Vatarr focused intently on the former pieces of his flesh and what they both represented in their own way. One represented the bloom of life itself, while the other was the symbol of its decay and rot. As he focused his divinity into them, both started to…melt? What were once chunks of divine flesh turned into a liquid like putty in his hands, twisting into a pair of censors made from some kind of metal, but told apart by being different colors (green and black respectively).

From both censers grew a chain that allowed them both to dangle in the air, before the final touch of what appeared to be a wooden shaft formed within both of Vatarr’s hands; Long enough that he could use both of the censers in his hands as a flail, but short enough that he could tuck them around his waist to let them hang freely as the censers that they were.

With the creation process done, Vatarr gazed upon the newly created Life and Death for a moment… before he turned his gaze towards the second of his borders to be claimed and calmed. There didn’t seem to be any harm in stopping by before he moved out to claim some new territory of his own.



Kicking over a mossy stump, Cotazur stormed mirthlessly into the woodlands. The mountainside hissed with rolling gravel as he came to a stop at its food, spying into the thick overgrowth and dense undergrowth. He found his first giant mushroom; it taunted him with its mycelian vigour and myconic pride. Cotazur would not suffer its continued existence.

With a raged jump, he skipped ahead and cut it down with a single chop of Flawless. The mass of mushroom came crashing to the forest floor, clouds of spores rushing into the air like the dust off an old mattress. Cotazur kept chopping it up into thick rings; all around him, animal life cowered and escaped deeper into the woods. The madman screamed and kept chopping away with murderous glee, reducing the mushroom trunk to little more than spore sand by itself.

“YES!” he squealed, “UN-EXIST, YOU FOUL CREATION!”

He kicked over a nearby innocent ant hill and started chopping at a tree trunk thereafter. Before long, he had left a small trail of timber behind, making his way deeper into the woods like a drill through a mountain.

Of course, Cotazur’s one man rampage against the innocent scenery and creatures of the Fungal Marshes wasn’t exactly… well, subtle. One creature fleeing from something was just perfectly normal predator and prey activity; All of them fleeing from something, regardless of where it was in the food chain… that caught Vatarr’s attention.

It rather helped that they were all running away from the direction that he had been heading in the first place… and the rest of the ‘tracking’ that needed to happen was simply following the insane shouts and yelling.

So it was that Vatarr was the first of the divine to bare witness to Cotazur in the flesh. Stepping out from the yet to be destroyed wilderness in front of the murderhobo of a deity, the lord of the Fungal Marsh looked every bit as intimidating and powerful as a deity should be as the tall, deer skulled entity stood shrouded and veiled in a mist that was a mixture of light green and dark green… that seemed to be both encouraging the plant life within its reach to grow out of control while at the same time causing it to wither, sicken and decay into melch almost as fast as anything could grow.

“Under normal circumstances, I would like to think that I would be a generous host for my guests. Doing one’s best to make them feel welcomed and trying to make them feel comfortable after taking the time to come and visit.” The tone had started with a general feeling of the speaker being put upon… and quickly devolved into annoyance from there. “You are not acting like a guest. You are being a nuisance. A pest. I suggest you reconsider very quickly.

In his steps, the madman froze like a twig in a winter storm. He chopped his final chop and looked around, his eyes finally settling on the horned creature a rock lob away. He swallowed, straightened his back and dusted off his sawdust-covered cloak some. “The trees, they started… They, uhm…” He looked around. “Uhm, actually, I cannot be a pest, because… Uhm… Because I am a person. Yeah, that’s right. Why are you accusing me of being something I am not, huh? Why aren’t you, you applauding my efforts?” He gestured to the trail of death behind him. “Can’t you see all the weeding I just did for you?”

There was a soft sigh and a shake of his head. “I don’t even know your name yet… and I can already tell that coexistence isn’t going to be possible. I don’t know what you represent sir, but there is no place for it in my world.” This wasn’t said in anger or boastfulness. It was simply said in the same manner one would say they were going to finally deal with whatever was causing that awful smell in the storeroom.

The source of the mists revealed themselves as Vatarr started to spin his twin flails, his attention locked on this intruder. The crazed man scoffed.

“Wh-what! You, you would dare raise a hand against me?! You absolute cretin, you mindless bafoon!” Cotazur readied his axe again and raised it over his head. “You… YOU WOULD DARE?!” He then charged ahead swinging wildly. “YOU WOULD DAAAAARE?!”

There wasn’t a verbal response from Vatarr. There was just the patiences of a predator as he waited until the axe wielding idiot was in range… and then two things happened in quick succession. The first was for Life to come swinging from the right on an interception course with the axe blade, the goal being to ‘slap’ it to the side in order to knock the wielder off balance and open him up to attack.

The second was for Death to take advantage of this opening to connect with the side of his face, hard, the impact coming with pure entropy and pestilence to really make it stick.

As planned, so it went. By Life, Cotazur's tool of harm was obliterated from his hand, soaring into the unknown depths of a nearby swamp; by Death, his face suffered the same fate, though his neck was fortunately just strong enough to pull the rest of his body along. Cotazur soared through the air and crashed into a mass of moss and grimy water, forming a small crater.

"Kh… Kh…" was all his shattered mouth managed to squirt out as hopelessly directionless limbs twitched and poked weakly at the air and water. The mass of fur that was his cloak had hardly cushioned any of the blow - his armour was cracked in places.

In another timeline, this would have been where Cotazur’s story ended; With one or two finishing strikes from Life and Death and his corpse left to be dragged down into the mud and serve as nutrition for a great many lifeforms. However, before these final blows could land, there was a moment's pause on Vatarr’s part as he gazed down at the badly wounded deity.

Silently, the dark green mists of Death started to disappear while Vatarr gently swung Life over Cotazur’s broken form, its life encouraging energies easily seeping past his broken armor and aiding his flesh in regenerating and healing. “You invaded my realm, terrorized its population, destroyed plants and animals with wild recklessness. By all rights I should kill you here and now for being the young and reckless idiot you are… but we are both young and capable of doing reckless, idiotic things.”

“In exchange for your life I am claiming your land and its Node to do with as I see fit and banishing you to the North. You may take your axe with you so that you may defend yourself and claim one of the still available Nodes to the North. Do you agree to these terms?” Some might have argued that the choice between being exiled and being executed wasn’t much of a choice at all, but one always had the freedom to suffer the consequences of one's actions.

Without so much as a word, Cotazur sprinted off to the north like a spooked rat, not even bothering to look for his weapon.

For a moment Vatarr watched as the lesser deity fled without even stopping to claim the weapon that he had generously allowed him to keep in the terms of the agreement. There was a moment of silence before a sigh escaped him. Turning towards where the axe had flown, the deer skulled deity calmly went to go and search for it; He was already going to have to make a detour to request a mortal to take a message to Brey, he might as well ask for someone to take the axe and run it up North after its skittish owner.

No one would be able to accuse him of being a thief after all.




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