@Frettzo one day Lei is going to wake up in the middle of the night, in the Citadel, with Ipeyr's wood right outside, thinking, 'damn it Aella, why did you have to make them so god damn fertile.'
She's going to have a big infestation of Ugs and Uggettes soon enough!
These were her brother's creations, made in his image. She stared at them sleeping, huddled together. They were in a clearing of the original forest, the one also created by her brother Ipeyr. He had good taste in creations, she thought with a smile as she saw their chests rising and falling with each breath they took.
Something was missing, however. They were all males. There was no way for them to reproduce like that, so Aella had to take it upon herself to fix their plight.
She smiled lovingly down at the sleeping men and after a moment of silence, standing in the cool breeze of the forest, she walked up to each one of them and kissed their foreheads, sending them into a deep, dreamless sleep.
"Sleep peacefully, my sons." She whispered to the last one, brushing her hand through his long hair. Gently, she opened the man's mouth and put her hand inside, reaching for one of the man's wisdom teeth. When she felt said tooth, she gripped it tightly between her fingers and...
CRACK
The tooth came off, torn from the jaw. Aella's hand came out of the man's mouth covered in blood. Quickly, she make sure no debris or part of the tooth was left in the man's gums and healed the deep wound with a caress to his cheek. She placed the removed tooh next to the man's head, and went to the next. She did the same with all seven men. When finished, she washed her hands in nearby creek and went back to the first tooth she removed.
She got close to it, held the tips of her index fingers to its sides and closed her eyes. "You'll be so beautiful and gifted, my daughters..." She smiled as she muttered. Soon she felt the texture of the tooth change and she felt it grow. Eventually, it was no longer a tooth, but a head that she felt, completely with soft, long hair. She heard the breathing, she felt the heartbeat.
When she opened her eyes, she saw what could have been a reflection of her, but shorter and much more nude. Complete with blonde hair and fair skin and, she assumed, bright blue eyes. Aella kissed her forehead and immediately felt a strong bond to the woman. "You are Caritas, my daughter." She said to the sleeping woman and went to the next.
To the others she gave no name. Instead choosing to let them decide for themselves. She tried to deny it to herself, but it was clear that she had just now developed a clearly bigger love for the first she had created.
Just like that, she stood and watched the now fourteen men and women sleeping, cuddle up the each other. They were now paired up, man and woman. One last thing to do now. The men had been blessed with virility, so it made sense that the women would be able to keep up. With a single silent prayer, she gave the men and women healthy bodies, so that disease or injury would be minor walls in their objective.
She grinned when she finished, "Love each other as you love the earth beneath your feet and the sky over your heads, my children. Spread out and fill the world with your offspring, so that the land feels the warmth you harbor in your hearts." She said and observed as the men and women woke up and looked at each other. First with surprise, then with fear, and then with attraction and curiosity.
Finally, as some of them embraced, they looked at Aella, the Winged Goddess, smiling warmly down at them before vanishing in a flash of light.
Aella sees a bunch of men sleeping bunched up and thinks, 'This is sad, we need women to liven this up' So she created women by extracting a wisdom tooth from each men and turning that tooth into a woman.
She ends up creating 7 women, one of which she names Caritas because she's her favorite, as she looks exactly like her but shorter and cuter in that weak-mortal way.
She blesses them with healthy bodies and tells them to spread out and fill the world with their offspring and leaves them to their business.
Level 3 9 Might left 4 Miracles 2/6 to Level
Used 1 Miracle to bless the bodies of the 7 men and 7 women so they're extra healthy and resilient. Also made the women a bit more fertile.
Remaining: Level 3 9 Might 3 Miracles 2,25/6 to level
Regulus had looked into his reflection well, and had observed what had been occurring in the world while he mediated in the cave. There he found a very dreadful thing, a tree of temptation. He could hear the whispers from through the well, but it had no effect on the god, and the spirit he saw the world through had no mind of its own to be inflicted. This was different from Larwen's other creations. He inspected it, and found that it was the creation of the mad god, and someone else. He could understand the mad god working with Larwen, but he did not feel the same darkness in this other god. He had a brief talk with Yggdrasil as to what he should do with this other god, and he accepted the tree's council. He went to back to the reflection well, and spoke into it, "Send my summons to this other god or goddess. We need to speak. Immediately."
A few moments passed before a flash of light covered the area and the Winged Goddess, Aella, stepped into the private plane. She looked around the room, noticing the large Yggdrasil and the abundant vegetation. Finally, she looked at Regulus and smiled, "Brother, it is good to see you. This is quite an interesting place, it's the first time I see such a design." She said, walking towards Yggdrasil and putting her palm on it while closing her eyes, "So, this is the being that called me here, is that right?"
Regulus paused, this new god did not immediately seem dangerous, but she was conspiring with Larwen and Gremju. "No. Yggdrasil's soul is bound to this castle. I had another means of contacting you. However, I did not summon you here to speak about my creations. Tell me, why do aid Larwen."
Aella sighed and turned toward Regulus, no longer keeping her palm on Yggdrasil. "Because he's our brother, and he's suffering," She clasped her hands and looked away, "and when our family's suffering, the last thing we do is attack them..."
Regulus took a deep breath, "That monster is not my family. And when they threaten existence itself, I believe that is grounds to attack him. Tell me, when he spreads his filth across an entire continent, will you then see we need handle the problem. The world? The universe? The multiverse? Tell me how much life he must snuff out before it justified to take action against him."
Aella remained silent for a while, but eventually walked closer to Regulus with slow, deliberate steps. "Regulus, I've spoken to Larwen, I've created with him. He's just like us, but he suffers. His very self is damaged and twisted, but I've felt it! We can help him heal, we can do it! We only need to accept him and love him, no matter what." When she got close enough to Regulus, she grabbed one of his hands with both of hers and locked her eyes with his.
"Brother, I know what you're thinking, how you're feeling. It is okay to feel annoyance, hatred, but to desire the death of a fellow God..." She went silent and looked down at the ground.
Regulus allowed her to grab his hands, "I once again ask. How much death and misery must he spread. How much of his own sickness does he need to spread across the land. Will you choose Larwen, or would you choose the world."
"There is no choice to be made. I choose all." Aella frowned, "Have you even bothered to experience your brother's world? To try and see what he sees and feel what he feels? He felt so alone, Regulus. None of his family wishes to truly interact with him, none but me." She said and let go of his hand, disappointment clear on her face.
Regulus sighed and took another deep breath, "I will feel neither sympathy nor remorse for a monster that wages war for the sake of war. That has no respect for the sanctify of life or law. But, do you truly believe that it is possible for Larwen to coexist with the other gods."
"Yes, I do! He's allowed me in his home, asked me to create gifts for him and enjoyed my company. I believe he is more than capable of coexisting. Gremju and I tried to dissuade him from war, I'm sure you're aware." She spared a glance toward Yggdrasil, "He was very receptive, but told us that he couldn't consider peace, as everyone else was set on destroying him. He's not a beast, he's just made a lot of mistakes." Aella said, 'Like me.'
Regulus once again paused, before calling out to the room, "Spring, the map." he said. And as he did, a female Green Sylvan scurried across the room with a map in her hands. Regulus took the map, and then handed it to Aella.
Aella took the map with some hesitation and looked at it, noticing the circle drawn around Mount Pervanon. She looked at Regulus with an arched eyebrow, "What is this?"
Regulus looked at with a stern look, "An ultimatum, take it to Larwen and tell him that he keeps his corruption to that area, I will leave him be. Otherwise, I will mobilize my forces against him."
Aella looked between him and the map a few times, then spoke, "Could you add the westernmost Oasis in the Frontier to his territory, Regulus? I've already told him that I wanted him there, you see." She said somewhat awkwardly.
There was a pause, before Regulus waved his hand over the paper, and the circle stretched and contorted to include the mentioned Oasis. Just barely stretched beyond it by a few miles. He felt very guilty for what he did next, but he took Stormcaller and sounded it, dispersing the fog around Larwen's domain. "A token to show my serenity." he said.
Aella was speechless. She had never expected Regulus to cede any ground on the matter, much less give Larwen a chance. "... Thank you," Aella said and a moment later, embraced Regulus with arms as well as wings, "It means a lot to me that you're willing to give him a chance, Regulus."
Regulus grunted, "That is enough. And remember, this is the only chance I am giving him. I will always choose the world over him. And I will also choose the world over you." he said, in a harsh tone.
Aella broke the hug, looking like a lost puppy and nodded. In the blink of an eye, she was gone.
Regulus sees the tree of temptation, and sees that it is the work of a gods other than Larwen. He has a conversion with the Yggdrasil before calling Aella to his domain. They have a talk about Larwen, and after some debate Regulus has one of his Sylvan bring him a map, and hands it off to Aella. The map denotes a region of Galibar in a circle around Mount Pervanon. He tells her that if Larwen stays in that area, he will leave him and even begrudgingly dispells the mist around the mountain, but also ensures her if leaves that area, he will attack Larwen. After some further discussion, and Regulus probably breaking Aella's heart, Aella leaves.
Aella: Level 3 9 Might left 0 Miracles 2/6 to Level
Sorry for delaying so much on getting this map 'update' (read: scribble I sent Wrongend to get him up to speed on where shit is) out, but here's the world prior to the Frontier:
White stuff is sea ice, averaged through the year. There'll be more in winter, less in summer, and land ice will be more extensive around those latitudes. Blobs near the citadel are, from north to south, prairie, forest and swamp. Red spot in the southern continent is the Temple of the Book, yellow spot is Aella's retreat.
@Frettzo The Frontier squashes most of the purple grass, and a river. You can reconcile this how you'd like, but it's probably best if the purple grass survives around the oases and the not!Nile river.
Ooh, I was thinking the River would basically be the Nile, with tons of purple grass growing around it when fertile and purple grass making up the entirety of the grass in the northern and western oasis.
Edit: NotNile is unnamed as of now, and it's an extremely easy way to travel through the Frontier... Until civilizations in the Oasis spring up and they regulate whoever passes through heavily.
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