- Astarte recieved Vestec's invitation to play with the Tree-minds and accepted it, joining him for a few short moments.
- They indeed played with the Tree-minds, turning them into a bunch of predators. Astarte didn't do much this time, though. She instead told Vestec to instill an affinity for corruption in them in place of forcefully turning them into mad beasts.
- Before leaving, Astarte asked Vestec for some of Julky's essence in exchange for her own. Vestec obliged and threw a bit of his essence into the trade, and then Astarte was off.
'Tree-Minds?' Astarte frowned. She had not heard or seen these things before, so perhaps she needed to put more effort into exploring Galbar. It was alright if Vestec didn't know about that species' existence, since he had a lot to do with his battles and armies, but her, who had nothing to do but mess around with Big?
Astarte groaned and slumped her shoulders. She looked at the injured bird she'd picked up onto her hands a few minutes ago. Blue feathered belly and black everywhere else. It had been flying when one of Zephyrion's nearby elementals caused a strong gust of wind and made it crash against a tree.
She leaned her head toward the bird, slowly so it wouldn't be too scared. The bird stretched its good wing and tried to chirp. The chirping died in its throat as soon as Astarte kissed its bad wing.
Astarte leaned away and smiled. She saw the bird hesitantly stretch its bad wing and give it a few tentative flaps. Then the bird flew off.
"W-Wait-" Astarte said, "I heal you and you simply fly off without even an affectionate nuzzling or something, you DAMNED BIRD?!" The bird happily chirped as it got away from her.
"I'll murder your entire family if I see you again, you know..." Astarte huffed and decided to visit Vestec. In the blink of an eye, Astarte had taken up Vestec on his invitation and appeared in his Realm.
The first thing she saw, apart from the writhing bodies of mutant looking bears, was Vestec waving away a portal.
Astarte turned her gaze back on the bears and chuckled.
"I think you're a bit obsessed with creating predators, Ves." As quickly as she chuckled, though, she frowned and gave him a glare out of the corner of her eye, "I'm also annoyed that you told me to go somewhere and you weren't there when I arrived."
"Someone has to, my dear. Everyone else just expects their creations to live in peace and harmony and not have to struggle for anything ever. That is not the way of the world. That is not how the world is meant to work. So, I create and craft, and cause struggle."
Vestec spoke as he put the finishing touches on his new races, their screaming finally quieting as he shaped them. He paused, looking up at Astarte. "I do apologize. Jvan showed up, smashing me through the planet. I couldn't be there simply because I wasn't allowed to be there. Vowzra showed up and stole Slough away before anything else could be done, and I followed him to where he took her. Found these lovely creatures." He gestured to the three remaining Tree-Minds. "Take a look in their minds. It'll tell you all you need to know."
Astarte shook her head, crossed her arms and looked away, "I haven't done much mind-looking in a few hundred years. Would you mind telling me what you want me to know?"
It was embarrassing, but she hadn't done many things involving sentient beings so far and looking into the minds of animals only ever showed basic needs they had yet to meet, like a need to reproduce or a need to eat. She was out of touch, and the possibility that she'd damage the mutant bears' minds due to carelessness was too big.
Vestec looked at Astarte, his colors flashing slower, moving towards the Goddess of magic in a distinctly curious manner. He shrugged, and went back to it. "They're all created by Vowzra. He hid them up in that forest to the far north. Kept it quiet and we all didn't notice. That is, until he lead me right to them. I stole six and was working on a new race with three of them. I figured you'd want to play with them a bit as well, so you have three of your own to mess around with."
He scooted the three unmutated bears over to her. "Do with them what you please."
Astarte put a her hand over her mouth and flew close to the three Tree Minds. They recoiled away from her. "See, Vestec, they're afraid of me!" Astarte said, her voice cracking at the end.
"Something I've learned over time is that we don't have to be so violent in our approach to mortals. I mean, it's fun to just get in their minds and cause some havoc, but don't you think that after a few thousand violent transformations, instilling such transformations gets boring?" Astarte stretched her arms toward the one Tree Mind in front, one slightly taller and thinner than the rest. It stared at her with narrowed eyes.
She bit the tip of her tongue and flew back. When she was back by Vestec's side, she wrapped her arms around his. "Why don't you show me a subtle, non-violent way to corrupt them, Ves?" She said, looking up at him.
Vestec looked at her in surprise. "Of course they're afraid of you. They're in the Realm of Madness and just watched their friends be horribly transformed by me."
"That doesn't mean they have to be afraid of me, though. I'm a pretty nice Goddess to have around. Also, have you ever seen my hair and how long it is? It makes animals want to touch me."
He shrugged. "Fair enough. Give me a moment." He tossed his new creations through another portal, to another part of the Realm.
He grabbed one of the remaining Tree-minds, his hand pulsing with energy. "Mortal Minds are so fragile. To much push and you snap their minds like twigs. To little and they merely have a slight irritation at the back of their minds. You have to get it juuuuussst right..."
The Tree-mind began to twitch and shake, as Vestec slowly moved his fingers on the scalp of his victim. "Just a bit more push...there we go." He let go of the Tree-Mind. The fear was gone, replaced by a palpable aura of aggression and menace. "There we go. Far more subtle. Not enough for any true infiltration and sudden manipulation, but more subtle than violently crafting them."
Astarte flew to the recently corrupted Tree-mind and wrapped her arms around its neck from behind in a soft hug. After a moment, she angled her head to look at Vestec. "See now, this kind of corruption is so much better-" The beast shook a bit and thrashed lightly for a while. It was quick to calm down.
"Uh, you see, it could pass for just general anger and frustration while being observed by members of its own species. A grumpy old bear, Ves! Best part is you could plant an affinity toward fully corrupted beings in these influenced ones. That affinity could make these things offer shelter and safety to your agents should they ever need to go into Vowzra Bearland." Astarte said as she rubbed her face against the soft fur at the back of the Treemind's neck.
"Fair enough my dear." Vestec replied, finishing his final touches on the new race. "Pack-Minds, you shall be called. Predators of the Tree-minds." Vestec clapped his hands together delightedly. "Now, time to find the rest of the Tree-minds, make some changes to some of them, and give them all back to Vowzra!"
Suddenly, the room shook with screams of rage and pain, madness tinging the sound. Vestec shook his head irritably. "One second my dear." He opened a part of the room, stepping out into a whirling chaos of darkness, souls, and pure chaotic energy. "Julkolfyr, we've been over this! You have to play nice with your new prison!" The room closed behind him.
Thunderous explosions sounded beyond the room, turning the screams of anger into shrieks of agony and eventually silence. Vestec stepped back in, dusting off a bit of stray darkness. "Sorry about that, Julky doesn't seem to like his new home. Not fit for a would be king, apparently." Vestec giggled.
"This Julky sounds very... Active?" Astarte half-asked, shrugging, "If he's not content with his current home, I could make a new home for him in some random place on Galbar. I could always just drop him in the middle of some town, too. Maybe they'd end up selling their sword in more ways than one." Astarte smirked.
"I have a request, though," Astarte put one of her hands over her mouth and furrowed her mouth for a moment, then perked up once more, "It's more of a trade offer, now that I think about it." Astarte said as she flew close to Vestec, brushing her hand against the darkness Vestec had brushed off of himself.
"I'll give you some of my magical essence, I know you know it's useful, and you'll give me some of your darkness. What do you say, Vessy?" Astarte pursed her lips
"Oh no. Our brother is quite, quite mad by now. Releasing him on Galbar would just result in an even bigger genocide than what Grot attempted." Vestec shook his head. Now wasn't the time to release Julky. Not for a good while yet. He tilted his head at Astarte, curious as she began to speak and even more curious as she brushed the darkness.
"My darkness, or my chaotic energy?" Vestec held a ball of darkness in one hand and ball of chaos in the other, displaying the two options to Astarte. "The Darkness belongs to Julkofyr. The Chaos belongs to me. I can get either for this little arrangement, just one requires a bit more effort than the other."
"The darkness," Astarte said, "I need it for a very specific reason."
"Fair enough. One moment my dear." Vestec stepped through one more time through his sheltered portal. "Julky my dear boy! I neeeed something from youuuuuu!" He declared in a sing song voice. As the portal began to close behind him, Julkofyr begans shrieking in pain and there was a ripping sound, driving the trapped god to even higher notes of pain, the realm shaking with his struggles.
Vestec returned, carrying a chunk of darkness that was dripping black. "Here you go dear Astarte! I'll even give you a piece of mine for free." He drew some of his essence out, holding the ever changing orb in his hand. Extending both out to Astarte, he giggled. "Have fun with these!"
"Great!" Astarte grinned and gave Vestec a quick hug, "Now it's my turn." She snapped her fingers and a clay jar full of water appeared. She dipped her hand into the water and after a moment, the liquid turned opaque and started emitting a lavender-coloured light.
"There," She said before taking the two different essences from Vestec's hands, "I bet you'll love what I have planned more than anyone, Ves!" Astarte gave an exaggerated wink and disappeared.
Vestec Level 4 God of Chaos
Might: 8
Freepoint: 3
Vestec dropped off the Tree-Minds and the Pack-Minds in the frozen northern wastes. Some of them were none the worse for wear. Others had been changed, subtly, to be more friendly and receptive to any servants of Vestec. Still others had been changed entirely to the savage Pack-Minds, already beginning their hunt for the bears of the wastes. The Mad God surveyed the area, giggling slightly, before heading off into the bowels of the world.
It had been a long time he'd seen Mammon. Vestec's many colors illuminated the dark halls as he walked towards the throne room of the forgotten God. "Mammon. It's been a long time." He mused, quietly walking towards the shell of the God. "You're a ruin now. What happened?" The shell of Divine Essence in front of him flickered briefly. Images entered Vestec's mind, seeming to explain the situation he's in. "Ah. Spent to much of your essence upon your creatures, hmm? Now you don't have enough energy to keep yourself alive. Your legacy is worms. Pitiful." Mammon flashed and the room filled with the feeling of irritation and weary acknowledgement.
He strode closer to the forgotten God. "I can help your legacy be even more than this. You can live through the lives of hundreds of souls. " Vestec lifted a hand, tearing a hole in the fabric of space. The Realm of Madness glared through, souls howling, things shifting and coloring. "These spirits need something to guide them. To give them purpose. You can do that Mammon. You can mark your legacy upon the world." The God of Chaos held out his hand. "Let me guide you, Mammon. Let me guide you into the new world." Questioning feelings filled the air, hope interlaced betweent hem.
Mammon reached out and took Vestec's hand. THe God of Chaos guided the dying God to the Realm of Madness, and Mammon's essence flooded the realm, fusing with the spirits and giving them new lives and bodies. The area changed and began to become more firm, more solid, less likely to fall apart.
Demons began to enter the realm of Madness, formed from the binding of Mammon's essence and the spirits of the Realm of Madness.
Vestec sealed up the tear in reality, and looked up in surprise. Some new divine essence had entered the world. "Oooh. I wonder who this is?"
In an instant he was there, staring at where the cocoon had been. "This is interesting!" He looked around, tsking in annoyance. "How rude. Stealing my things, Amartia. Simply rude." He opened another tear in the universe. "Lets see how you react too-" There was a thunderclap as something moved impossibly fast and crashed into Vestec. A reaper's Scythe and claws lashed out and Divine blood splattered over the ground. Something between a shriek and a roar echoed throughout the world as Vestec and Reathos flew into the Realm of Madness.
-Vestec finds Mammons deprived and dying essence
-Convinces it to meld with the Realm of Madness
-Demons are created.
-Vestec notices a new Divine Essence.
-He goes to investigate, and calls Amartia rude. He opens a hole into the realm of Madness, presumably to reprimand Amartia for being rude.
-Reathos attacks Vestec, sending all three into the Realm of Madness. The tear is still there.
IMO a smaller world allows us to put in more detail and do more intrigue. I'd save everyone going to their own planets until the puny mortals create FTL drives and start going everywhere.
Also I'd be all up for not downplaying demigod powers. Let's give us some power. Totally no bias here. Not at all.
Demi-God power isn't downplayed, it's just a stage.
From Weakest to strongest it's
Mortals/Monsters
Heroes
Demi-Gods
Gods
Without help from the Gods to create something, it wouldn't exactly make sense if a Hero could just duke it out with a God. Or for a Mortal to smash a Demi-God. Demi-Gods can fight Gods, Heroes can fight Demi-Gods, Mortals can fight heroes without getting curbstomped. But without an edge, the lesser powered ones will lose.
@Rtron True. This is one of the weakness of the god genre in general. There are no clear boundaries in relation to a god's power. Here, a god can do anything as long as he has sufficient Might and/or the right Domain/Portfolio. The power of demigods is downplayed and mortals are puny little ants that are of no significance. The thing that really disappoints me is that this second iteration of the RP on this site started out with one thing in mind. Expansion.
Yet, we are still stuck on one planet.
I don't know why that is the case. If we wanted to start over but completely ignore the rest of the Universe like in the previous RP, then we could have just continued from where we left off previously. There was no need for a new RP.
I expect that's in the late future. We're in the bronze age right now. It wouldn't be fun for anyone if you go to your own planet. What would that do? There'd just be a bunch of Acron's running around and Vestec can't visit them all!
I am of the mind that from the point a god creates a race/holy site/anything and places it in the world without any protection, ANYONE is capable of destroying/influencing/doing anything to it without permission. I treat the IC as an alternate reality and so, ANYTHING IS FAIR GAME.
Only problem with that is most Gods can react instantly to anything like that, so instantly destroying is out. Not to mention, poor lif or Belvast or Amartia would be SOL.
Vestec would have a great time smashing their pretty little empires.
But I suspect that I might be alone in the mentality that any influence of importance upon another's stuff should be done with permission. Maybe it's just because I like to plan ahead and having huge curveballs can sometimes torch a story that I was going for. Out of curiosity, what do the rest of you think about the degree to which we should require OOC permission to do destroy each others' stuff IC? Other than the fair warning rule, I don't think the OP's rules address this.
Depends on the stuff.
If it's like an entire race, an entire faction, a Holy site, a Hero, or a Divine Weapon/shield/item/whathaveyou then you should ask.
If it's a part of the race, a member of the faction (within reason. If it's a faction of robots and you want to corrupt a few of them it's gonna take a little bit of doing unless you hack or some such), or just attacking a Holy Site, hero, or weapon you have to ask shouldn't ask.
I wouldn't worry about somebody just randomly deciding to blow up all your stuff just because they can. I'd remind you that despite the two confrontations with the Dragon God and others in the last RP, there wasn't a single outright fight between two gods nor an utter annihilation of someone's creations and heroes.
Sure, if you only look at Might then Zephyrion could probably overpower Niciel and kill all her angels and blow up the Nice Valley, but first there's the question of how that could be justified IC and secondly there's the issue of permission. Nothing of that magnitude should really happen without an OOC discussion first
Zephyrion was angry enough to be ready to fight Vulamera over some blood.
That was probably because of M.A.D No one God tried anything because the Gods were all relatively balanced in Might. Everyone had enough might to go 'Hmm, maybe I shouldn't try to destroy this guys things who can easily destroy my stuff.' Now we have most people who really don't have to worry about that.
IC and OOC often don't match up. You really think if Toun or Kyre know that they can eradicate Vestec and his creations there will be a valid IC reason for them to not go to town?
The inactive gods don't need that Might and would've just been deleted. Essentially we're just pulling this out of nowhere. For all intents and purposes, I see this as us just handing out more bonus Might except only to a few people instead of everyone. Essentially, we'd be bailing you out.
<Snipped quote>
Not sure what to tell you or honestly how you can even say that. You chose to spend that Might then and I'm not sure why you'd expect to have the impact of that rendered pointless by you getting all that Might back.
If it was normal amount of might difference, it'd be different. 'Oh, okay, I spent Might, they didn't, it'll be made up for next turn.'
This isn't a normal amount of might difference. You either have below twenty because you did things or you have above thirty because you didn't do things for a long time. There is no way to make up this difference normally. Unless everyone with the large amount is gonna spend all a bunch of might now...which I doubt, those of us that have the less might will have two choices; Do nothing for several turns until we can hopefully get enough Might to balance things out, or just pray that people won't do anything with all that might that we have to react against.
Because currently, if Zephyrion gets angry at the Angels and does retribution, Niciel can't put up much of a fight. If Logos wanted to, he could go and wipe out all of Vestec's creations and heroes. If Teknall was so inclined, he could purge the world of Jvan's creations or take them over himself. Illunabar's phantasma and Mannequins could be destroyed.
There's normal consequences for our actions, which we accept. But then there's 'did a nothing for a long time and now have insane amounts of might to play around and be unstoppable with' Most of them, I suspect, weren't even planned periods of doing nothing.
It feels like you're being punished for enriching the world.
Member
Konan375
