@Goldeagle1221@Scarifar I apologise if my introduction arc is a bit underwhelming! Seihdhara is indeed a mighty martial lady, but she also lives in the moment. Therefore my plot decisions have been very in the moment also. I have purposefully refrained from overplanning, focusing instead on her themes - her joy, the importance of her hair, etc. I also enjoy building up the small and seemingly irrelevant aspects of a character or their previous actions or events that have happened to them. So during her entrance she appears to have lost parts of her soul and her hair also. These have impacted the decisions she has made so far but have also had a tangible effect on her physical form - its weakness etc.
It is a character and story development arc. If the way I have gone about it has bewildered you and others or is not to the liking of everybody, then I am deeply apologetic.
@Crispy Octopus No no, there's no need for you to explain anything from your end. It all has to do with Seihdhara being incomplete, and so weaker and more susceptible to mortal wounds than she should be. Once this arc is complete she'll go back to the Architect's moon and beat him up.
@BBeast Righto - you might have missed this edit to my above reply:
Edit 2: To assuage your panicked mind, I assure you that there is a good reason (to my mind at least) for why Seihdhara was killed by the blast while others - even Asceal who got it at point-blank range - didn't. It has to do with Seihdhara's hair, and now that you have given me the idea of her hair being the carrier of her divine essence it makes even greater sense. If you'd like a fuller explanation I can pm you three.
And I don't seem to have seen any mention of the Giant's Bath in the IC, I must have not paid that any attention while reading. In any case, thanks for letting me know!
Once I have worked out what the river Seihdhar's properties are I'll update the FP expenditure accordingly. It would still fall within the remit of Freepoints, right? Else I'll wait until next turn to properly canonise that with some MP expenditure. o-o
@BBeast I bigged up her hair, and it has lived up to that bigness! None can accuse me of hyping stuff that ain't hyped! >.>
In truth, it would make a great amount of sense for Seihdhara's divine essence to be in her hair rather than her blood. It readily explains stuff I was going to divulge in later posts. So if it is an acceptable divergence from the canon, or building upon it, I will go with her hair being the primary carrier of her divine essence. Much as it would be great for everything to either die or become a demigod we'll hold off on that no doubt brilliant idea. It shall therefore fall to @Muttonhawk, as our very own blood god, to decide what that blood does. YOU CAN'T MAKE ME TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR MY ACTIONS!
edit: i joke. i'll work it out when i make the wiki page for it.
As for the river, I actually didn't know that. I just thought rivers flow along any easy downward slopes even if that means different branches develop. But if it should be a single river then the person who makes the final version of the map can go with any of the river-mouths feeding into the World Water. Though that one feeding into the Giant's Bath (which is Narzhak's hole if my understanding is correct) was pretty cool.
Edit 2: To assuage your panicked mind, I assure you that there is a good reason (to my mind at least) for why Seihdhara was killed by the blast while others - even Asceal who got it at point-blank range - didn't. It has to do with Seihdhara's hair, and now that you have given me the idea of her hair being the carrier of her divine essence it makes even greater sense. If you'd like a fuller explanation I can pm you three.
@Lmpkio I think there might be an interaction between the living strand and some other gods (if anyone is about and is interested in stumbling across it), and perhaps we can then get to that collab depending on how those interactions go.
Edit: Unless Sartr is out and about exploring Galbar, that may hasten an interaction and the progression of what I have in mind. Which is probably quite evident after my last post. ^^'
Goddess of Martial Combat 0 Might and 20 Freepoints
Time: The Day the Gods Came
When Seihdhara awoke, Orvus had disappeared and Galbar was bright and blue and big before her. It took her breath away, stretching in all directions endlessly and immensely, and it was only after a few moments of beholding the glorious blue jewel that she realised it was getting closer - and quickly at that. All about her was heat as she began passing through the planet's atmosphere, and she winced in pain even as the living strand of red hair seemed to burn ever brighter and grow in strength due to the fiery protective layer. Seihdhara's sun-kissed skin, though used to heat and light, did not fare so well. Indeed, once she was past the worst of it, the withered white hairs that remained of her beautiful red locks were burnt to cinders, and her olive skin had hardened. Already different parts of her body were swelling and showing signs of scalding and peeling. The cool air rushing against her sensitive skin provided some respite, but the pressure was huge and her speed was great and so the wind seem to cut away at her like so many razors. And indeed, even as she fell her skin split here and there and blood and puss seeped out and was swept away behind her by the pressure.
But through the pain, Seihdhara beheld the glorious planet that lay before her, and she spread her arms and gave a great whoop of delight, declaring her arrival to the four horizons. And yes, the sounds she made all came out garbled due to the wind, but Seihdhara was loud and she was happy and this world had no idea what was coming its way. Eyebrows furrowed, mischief glinting in her eyes, and grinning unrepentantly from ear to ear, she leaned forward, let loose a cacaphonous peal of laughter, and dived with dangerous speed towards the planet. All the battering Galbar had taken before this would be as childplay when she landed! And her laughter - and it was not really quite clear why or how, but only that it did - filled everything in existence with joy; the trees of Phystene's making and the birds Azura had crafted and the plankton Ashalla was so assiduously seeding into the World Water - and why, the World Water itself and the rivers and the newly risen (or fallen) lands! All knew unadulterated, unbound, abiding joy as they saw - with that single sound - into the fire-soul of the goddess with soul aflame.
Have you ever heard the screams of a dying god?
Unexpected as it may be, but they sound... unexpected. When Seihdhara was cloven in two, it was somewhat unexpected. The goddess blinked a few times, registering only that the world was very bright, that- were those her legs falling down there?! Then pain exploded in the back of her head, a small umph escaped her lips, and she fell right out of her body. She blinked a few times, hovering in place, and watched as her upper body - golden-red ichor exploding from her gored bald head and oddly making it seem like she yet had her flaming red hair hair - tumbled awkwardly earthward like a tattered and broken ragdoll. Seihdhara frowned deeply, her lips pressed one against the other in a worried straight line. Tha'... she said (but not really), cannae be good. And before she could consider how the flaming fuck that had happened or chase after her sundered body, she was swept away. And all about her was screaming and agony, and ethereal hands clawing at her face. And sticking their dirty flaking fingers up my nose! Tell them the important details, twit-head! I had soul bits in my nose for who knows how long after that!
Why can't I be the narrator of my own bloody story anyway?
The body - or at least the upper part of it - was still warm. The large crystal that had cleanly bisected it lay not too far away, golden ichor dripping from it. A short distance from that was the rest of the body, from the waste downward. It was gushing an enormous amount of ichor. So much that it had now become a small pool and had already expanded to encompass the razor sharp crystal that had split Seihdhara in twain. For a long time, all was silent and still but for the gushing flame-red ichor and the growing pool of it. Then an arm moved, dragging Seihdhara's half-buried torso an inch forth. And all was still again. Then the arm jerked and the body jolted forward once more. This occurred a number of times, leaving behind a narrow but relatively deep ditch behind the large goddess' dead upper body into which the pooling blood swiftly streamed.
The single strand of living hair unravelled and rose above the half-corpse. While Seihdhara's body had been battered and burnt by the passage through the atmosphere, the strand had only savoured in it and been strengthened by the heat. If anything, it seemed to have gotten longer and thicker than before, its glow more notable and its redness more pronounced. Wrapping itself tightly about the half-corpse, the strand began to drag it off with renewed vigour, and the blood pouring from the half-corpse met that flowing after them from Seihdhara's lower body. And where the ichor flowed the earth gave in and the small narrow ditch grew wider and deeper. For how long the strand dragged the half-corpse, it was not clear, but eventually it reached the World Water and dragged her even thence. The ditch, which had grown into an almighty river flowing with flame-red, burning ichor, met the World Water with eagerness and fed into it. Its source had become an almighty pool of the stuff, Seihdhara's lower body becoming utterly submerged and pumping eternally. The River Seihdhar, for good or ill, flowed across the blood god's continent. And, perhaps, it was rather fitting. Though what effect such a profusion of divine ichor would have on Galbar... the strand of living hair could not know, and it did not consider it its job to know. Why, the river was an accident, and afterthought.
Granted growing strength by the great sun in the Galbarian skies, the living strand lifted the half-corpse right out of the water and ascended into the skies, Seihdhara's ichor watefalling from the corpse before quickly spreading and permeating through the skies in a gasseous state. Higher and higher the living strand went, as though trying to reach the sun. But the higher it went the colder it became, and the hair seemed to shiver and its glow dimmmed. And it remembered the coldness of what was beyond Galbar's atmosphere and knew that to reach the sun was impossible for it. Drooping slightly, it began its descent to warmer climes and greater strength. As it descended, it considered the gaping, eternally bleeding wound left behind by the crystal that killed Seihdhara. It proded at the gash, but the bleeding did not stop. It attempted to cover it with itself for a time, but that only made the living strand sticky and icky with ichor. It attempted to forcefully close the wound, but it seemed an impossible task. Even if it were to use itself it could not hope to sew the wound closed. Considering Seihdhara's burnt body, a flash of inspiration came upon the strand and a searing heat concentrated at one of its ends. Slowly, delicately, dilligently, it brought its heated self towards the gushing wound and began to burn it closed. It was an incredibly lengthy task, but by the time the stranded landed on a great island gushing with all kinds of life, the bleeding had stopped.
Unable to reach the sun, and not knowing where else it could find such a source of incredible heat to strengthen itself, the living strand wrapped itself around a dead wrist and took on the form of a torc once more. Perhaps... perhaps resting in the sunlight long enough would do.
Seihdhara wakes up and finds Galbar is very close. She descends towards it and is full of joy and laughter (despite being heavily burnt by the atmospher and having the remnants of her hair burnt to cinders). She laughs and whoops and her peals of laughter should be heard more or less everywhere. Non-Divine beings should experience immense joy, and perhaps some divines if they so desire. Then Seihdhara dies. ^^' It appears that, in exploding, the Lustrous Garden did not just release pretty crystals but dangerous missiles also. One of these, a rather large one, bisects Seihdhara. Another gores her head. Seihdhara's soul pops out of her body (sidenote: this is absolute evidence that gingers have souls, just saying) and she is both confused and worried. And angry enough to break the fourth wall the madwoman. Yeah, but fuck you though. So, uh. Anyway. She gets dragged into the Vortex of Souls or whatever that thing was. Meanwhile her body has been split into two, and ichor is flowing from both rather profusely. The living strand of hair drags Seihdhara's upper body across the continent, creating the River Seihdhar (it flows with divine ichor. Which can't be good... but we'll let BBeast deal with the details). The source of the river is Seihdhara's lower body which is now submerged in a pool, and potentially somewhat underground, and pumping ichor like there's no tomorrow. The living strand takes flight eventually in an attempt to reach the sun, but as it's colder the higher it goes, it quickly loses energy. Its power seems to be linked to heat. It decides to get back down, and along the way cauterises the wound on Seihdhara's upper body, finally stopping its bleedig. The living strand lands on a lush island - possibly one of those around the Eye of Desolation - and decides to stay there and think. It wraps itself around the corpse's wrist and takes on a torc form again.
--MIGHT & FP EXPENDITURE: ----Creation of the River Seihdhar across Kirron's continent - a minor landscape change. (-2 Free Points) ----Causing the River Seihdhar to run with Seihdhara's ichor rather than water and giving the River Seihdhar and the Seihdh Lake the properties detailed in the wiki page. (-6 Free Points) ----Making the Source of the River Seihdhar (the lower half of Seihdhara's corpse at the bottom of the Seihdh Lake) a Gateway to the Seal. (-7 Free Points) 0 MP & 3 FP Remaining
6/10 Free Points towards Health portfolio. 6/10 Free Points towards Physical Prowess portfolio. 6/10 Free Points towards Mental Prowess portfolio. 6/10 Free Points towards Fitness portfolio. 6/10 Free Points towards Athleticism portfolio.
@Lmpkio I'm all caught up now. I may have jumped the gun slightly with the idea I have for the Sei-Sartr collab. You don't need to wait on me for it. It's one of those things that might happen in a post, or in four turns, or in ten turns. It all depends on how Seihdhara's story develops. For the moment, I've got at least one post to make, and then we can see if the Sei-Sartr collab is suitable. So yes, if you have ideas etc. don't get held up waiting for me.
On a different note, I can't seem to access the google doc you sent me way.
Lord Zee
DracoLunaris
Frettzo
Cyclone
Vec
Torack
