World Creation Superdraft 8: July 2024

[Cancer]

No: Pooftah puts at Kjosa's disposal the ability to expunge the transgressor so absolutely that it is impossible even in principle for it to happen again.  It doesn't eradicate the memory of the transgressor, but that's the only thing it doesn't do.  In modern jargon, not even their atoms exist when the ball lightning dissipates.

[Hermit]

10 hours ago, Cancer said:

No: Pooftah puts at Kjosa's disposal the ability to expunge the transgressor so absolutely that it is impossible even in principle for it to happen again.  It doesn't eradicate the memory of the transgressor, but that's the only thing it doesn't do.  In modern jargon, not even their atoms exist when the ball lightning dissipates.

 

WOW.

 

And she didn't get him anything.

 

May have to fix that

[Hermit]

Kjósa was stunned, few gods would so trustingly lend such power into the care of another, even with provisos. Pooftah, who had struggled so hard to bring order to the world had enabled her to enact FINAL consequence that none could deny.
It rather put her own feet to the fire too. Kjósa had fewer excuses to shirk her duties, to tolerate the ultimate evils getting away scott free. She was glad of that, but also, it felt like almost too much.
What was next? Sovereignty of the gods based on who got to throw all powerful lightning bolts? Hellenic Hogwash, that.

I need checks as well, She realized. And there should be balance.

Just as there were some who, through the choices of others, faced horror and pain without it being a consequence of THEIR actions at times, there were those that did everything, right, made the world a better place and gained no reward. This was frustrating, for consequences CAN Be positive as often as negative.
And she went to the God of Winds and Sorrow vented, of Healing , of Oaths and order, and declared, "Here me now, Pooftah. Just as you have trusted my judgement, I shall trust yours." She gathered up a crosswind before him and transformed it, and it trippled, returning it to him, "This is now a wind of prosperty for you and I to share in with one other. It will bring good fortune and metaphorical windfalls to individuals we consider most worthy, or most in need of it. You shall have the right to veto my sending of it forth, and I yours. No than ten uses a year as mortals know such from any one windfall. The third wind of prosperity's ownership will change every year to whatever god or goddess you decide. Good luck and prosperity are  funny things, often in the eye of the beholder. A man who is pushed off a cliff is 'lucky' to find a branch to catch him. A farmer with good crops beyond his skill is prosperous, but so is a merchant who finds a new trade route. It need not be stale in the gifting. But try to pick good people who suffer despite good choices or the like. "

 

Kjósa took a breath, "Lastly, all who use the windfall must not let the mortals know it exists. Else mortals might feign virtue hoping for reward instead of virtue itself. Certainly do not tell them I had a hand in this. They'll think I've gone soft." she sniffed, "Give credit to my brother if you must, he's a sentimental sort."

 

Interference:  The Windfall/Winds of Prosperity blessing, for Pooftah, herself, and a yearly third god chosen by Pooftah

[Hermit]

And with that Cosmic Carrot to Pooftah's generous stick... my picks are done.

 

Player Hermit, Goddess of the Crossroads, Kjósa  (Twin sister to Tranvers God of Bridges)
    Geography: The Transcontinental Rail Network of Kjósa (Located on the Continent of Quidsi!)
    Sentient Life: Valvi (The Antlered folk, the trespassers, etc)
    Gift to Civilization: Shamanism
    Fauna: Gigagallus (Giant Riding Chickens)

    Interference: The Windfall/Winds of Prosperity blessing, for Pooftah, herself, and a yearly third god chosen by Pooftah
    Mythic Monster or Guardian: The Woman In Black
    Secondary Domain: Choices and their consequences!
    Secondary Domain: Ethics (Situational or otherwise)
    Secondary Domain: Teachers and Teaching

[Cancer]

On 7/18/2024 at 12:24 PM, death tribble said:

I have noticed a couple of things:

 

1) The Tour is all encompassing so I do not have the time to do this properly. That and on Saturday I am away for the day. So the draft will not take place in July again.

 

2) I need to come into the draft with an idea of what to do. With Crax and Orlandria I had an idea and it worked. I fit in with everyone else and that did not work

 

Since I have retired and am no longer subject to regular the calendar-driven crunches of scheduled courses, my preferences about scheduling this no longer are as strong as they were.

 

Having something like a concept to start ... shows.  Even when things Get Weird and you have to extemporize, the foundational concept helps in wildly groping in the darkness for new ideas.  Even if you losers insist on not liking mud wrasslin'.

Edited July 21 by Cancer

[Old Man]

 

1 hour ago, Cancer said:

Even when things Get Weird and you have to extemporize, the foundational concept helps in wildly groping in the darkness for new ideas.

 

Gift to Civilization: Wildly groping in the darkness for new ideas, or, Insight

 

When mortals find themselves out of options, or otherwise unable to solve a difficult problem, they may undertake the spiritual practice known as a Walk in the Dark. This entails leaving behind all sources of illumination and journeying deep into one of the many vast, unlit subterranean spaces of the World Machine, in faith that Umbscurnox will guide them safely through. It may take days or even weeks, and the supplicant is likely to emerge somewhere completely unknown. But often, somewhere in the Dark, Umbscurnox will answer their prayers, and the solution to their problem will come to them in a flash of insight.

 

Or they might die. Umbscurnox is not the god of guarantees.

 

[Old Man]

 

Mythic Monster or Guardian: The Dark Templars

 

They are not of the Dark like the Creepusculan, but mortals who devote themselves utterly to the cause of safeguarding others’ lives and hearts may be blessed with the ability to wield the Dark in furtherance of these ends. How they wield this power varies by individual—some may cloak or armor themselves in it, for others it may take the form of a blade or guns, yet others may wield it as an amorphous extension of their bodies. For all of them it grants supernatural strength, quickness, toughness, and stamina, and the knowledge of what lies in the hearts of others. Though they too may travel the Dark like the Creepusculan, they also can walk in the light as any other mortal.

 

The main restriction on their power is that they must not call too much attention to themselves, for if they step too far out of the Dark, they may lose their connection to it.

 

 

[DShomshak]

The End approaches... but takes it's own sweet time arriving. Sorry this got so long.

-----------

The guards shoved Lem into the elevator and handed his papers to the talos operator. The metal figure glanced at them, nodded, shut the elevator doors as the human guards backed away. The operator pulled the lever to send the elevator down, the rumble of the machine blending with the ticking and hiss of the talos. The card indicating the floor flipped from Ground to Basement, then Sub-Basement. The talos twisted the handle and pulled again. Lem heard the clack of new gears engaging as the elevator descended again for a very long time. Lem watched the card, still saying Sub-Basement, because there was nothing else to do. (What could he do, really? What could he have ever done?)

 

At last the elevator stopped. The talos slid open the door, bowed slightly, and said, in a tinny voice with a hint of hissing steam, “Destination. Leave, please. You will be met.”

 

Lem shuffled out. The elevator doors closed behind him. He heard the rumble of it ascending again.

 

The room was not much larger than a closet. Concrete walls ten feet long, maybe seven feet wide. An iron bench along one wall. At the far end, a bronze door bearing hammered designs resembling gears and pipes. Facing the bench, a tile mosaic: flames rising from an anvil, three wide lines extending to the upper left, the upper right, and straight down. Sign of Jarnvoldir over the Forking Path of Kjósa?

 

Lem sat. There was nothing else to do.

 

He did not wait long. The far door slid open and a figure walked in. A talos? No; the figure was smooth, sculpted bronze with no hint of machinery; an animate but abstract sculpture of a man, though brilliant flames flickered in the slits of the figures eyes.

 

Lem knew at once who it must be. His jaw dropped in surprise, but he still just sat. What did it matter that he was face to face with a god? What did anything matter, anymore? His fate was out of his hands. Had been out of his hands since he signed the contract for himself and his son. Oh, for years before then.

 

“Lem.” Jarnvoldir spoke in a brassy rumble. “I have bought out your contract. You work for me now. You must now choose the form of your labor.”

 

Lem shrugged. “Whatever.” Wait… “Choose?” Not that he’d really had a choice when he signed the last contract… Likely a con or a trap or a bad joke, like the rest of his life.

 

“Choose,” Jarnvoldir said. “I know you despair. Of your life, and that of your son, Zeke. I do not approve of despair. I do not find it useful. That is why I bought out your contract. And now you must choose the rest of your life.” The god pointed at the wall mosaic and the Forking Path shone with its own light.

 

“You shall work. You can work to maintain the World-Engine, and, thereby, the World. In time you shall die. Your body and soul shall go to the flames, and your soul shall venture to seek a new life.

 

“Or, as parts of your body fail, they can be replaced with machines. In time, nothing shall be left but your soul, and you will become a talos. You shall work a great deal longer, but you shall not die. Probably. Accidents happen. But you shall probably live, and work, a very long time. But you may come to find the work interesting. Many people do. If not… Well, in some centuries you can depart to seek other interests.”

 

Lem’s mouth twisted. “Some choice.” He was foolish to mouth off at a god. Then again, how could his life get worse?

 

“It can always be worse,” Jarnvoldir said. “Except now. The worst thing I could do would be to send you back, to live without meaning or die in despair. In my service, your life will have meaning. And there is one more path you can choose.”

 

The forking path dulled as the glittering tile flames around the anvil glowed, extended upward into a third path, a trail of flame. “You can enter a hecatoncheire.”

 

Horror gripped Lem. Shaking, he slid off the bench to kneel on the floor. “Not that, Forge Lord. I will do anything but that.” Prisoned in the immense talos? His life leeched away to give it power?

 

“I know the reason for your fear. You have not been told lies, but your information is incomplete.

 

“It is true: You will die in the hecatoncheire. You will indeed suffer. But it may be worth it.

 

“I do not approve of suffering without purpose, just as I do not approve of despair. Hear, now, of my subtlest gift to the World: Suffering, whether of the body or the soul, never has to be pointless. Always can mortals make of it a crucible, in which they can refine themselves to become greater than they were before.

 

“Such transcendence of self is not certain. No choice ever is, my kinswoman says. But the hecatoncheire shall help you all it can. It and the other mortals held within. Though the trials are great, at the end your soul may be strengthened and purified enough to join with the other souls it has held. For this is my next-to-last smelting. To merge hundreds of mortal souls and create new gods. And the hecatoncheires are my smithies for this work, and shall become gods when it is complete. Lem. You may become part of a god.”

 

Lem sat, stunned. He knew Jarnvoldir spoke the truth. When gods want to be believed, mortals believe them.

 

Jarnvoldir tapped his chin, clink clink. I did not intend my hecatoncheires to require mortal lives and souls to function. I am still not sure why, though I suspect one of my kin had something to do with it. But I have found a way to re-forge this flaw into a feature, this horror into glory. A rather fine joke, to my thinking.” And suddenly it was not a man of bronze who stood before Lem but a metallic bamf, with flames of mischief in its eyes.

------------

Interference: The Crucible of God. Suffering always includes the possibility of becoming, in some way, a greater being than you were before. Jarnvoldir makes no judgment over what form that greatness takes: For instance, one deeply wronged might learn forgiveness and compassion, or embark on a revenge epic to become a villain for the ages. People may still be crushed despite their efforts. But there is always a hope of some meaning to be had, or some great deed to be done. The hecatoncheires slow collection of souls and fusing them into nascent gods is merely a special case of this principle, guided by Jarnvoldir himself.

 

NB: Such travails of body and spirit are a good motivation for mortals to become Dark Templars. Like, the trauma of seeing beloved parents gunned down in an alley might drive a boy to train his mind and body to the peak of human perfection for a one-man campaign against crime, like a certain fellow we see above...

 

Just sayin'.

 

And the god takes one more personal action in this regard.

-----------

Another meeting. The gods appeared as Jarnvoldir had invited them, but Dagnabbit thought his kinsman might be trespassing on his domain. The meetings were getting annoying. There’d better be more presents at the end of it…

 

And then Jarnvoldir was there, standing in front of the great hatch to the central furnace of the World Machine.

 

“Thank you for coming,” he says. “If this is inconvenient, I assure you it is also important. Tomfoolery, thank you for the joy buzzer but please do not place your whoopie cushion under the Crawling One. This is serious.” Tomfoolery rolls his eyes, but withholds the joke for now.

 

“We have all grown beyond our original beings,” Jarnvoldir says. “And some of us now shape the World in subtler ways than we began. Pooftah Blowhardt, you gave Kjósa a force of terrible and final consequence for those whose deeds are evil beyond bearing. Kjósa, you have balanced the gift with a force of fortune to reward the kind and the righteous. I have… made opportunities for both, I think, by offering mortals the chance to turn their suffering into power, for good or ill.

 

“And while I thank you, Mistress of the Crossroads, for sharing your windfalls with the rest of us, I shall not need it. I have called you together to say goodbye.

 

“While I regret leaving you — well, some of you — I have no other regrets. I have done the work of Jarnvoldir and made wonders. My hecatoncheires rest as they discover their nascent divinity. They and the taloi can maintain the world Machine without me. Mortal smiths now can forge divinium, and they will forge wonders of their own.

 

“But I am at my limit. If I continue, I shall only repeat myself. The work of Jarnvoldir is done. And so Jarnvoldir must cease to be Jarnvoldir. I submit myself to the Crucible of God. Perhaps I shall be annihilated. Perhaps I shall spread through the world as a Spark of genius that lets blessed mortals create wonders beyond dreaming. Or perhaps I shall find some new state unknown to Gods. I do not know. And that is why I must do this!

 

“Fare well, my kin. Perhaps we shall meet again in some other World, bearing new names and wearing new forms. Know that I have enjoyed our time as Gods of this World. Mostly.”

 

The door of the great furnace opens behind Jarnvoldir. Even Gods flinch back from the terrible heat, the primal fire of creation and destruction. Squinting against the glare, they see Jarnvoldir turn and stride into the fire.

 

----------------

Final Update:

Player: DShomshak

Update:

Jarnvoldir, God of the Forge

• Geography. Volcanoes

• Sentient Life. Taloi

• Bonus Sapient Life: Bluecaps (provisional)

• Gift to Civilization. Steampunk Technology

• Fauna/Flora/Ore. Divinium

• Interference. The Crucible of God. Hardship can bring greatness/self-transformation.

• Mythic Monster or Guardian. The Hecatoncheires

• Secondary Domain. Tools and Machines

• Secondary Domain: The World Machine

• Secondary Domain: Reincarnation by Cremation

   

  Dean Shomshak

Edited July 25 by DShomshak

[Old Man]

Fauna/Flora/Ore: Aranabats

 

Emerging from their dark lairs to feed, these adorable, furry sprites take to the skies on leathery wings. They feed not on blood, or insects, but on emotions. As such, they are attracted to couples or groups in the throes of passion, and they have come to symbolize love in the way that small winged archers do in other realities. Thus it is said that one who has become infatuated has been bitten or bound by an Aranabat.

 

Aranabats exist in numbers so vast that their swarms often block out the Sun, and their wings spontaneously generate gusty winds. With some effort they can be tamed and trained to carry messages and repeat phrases, and have famously been employed for secretive communications between lovers.

 

Spoiler

 

Edited July 20 by Old Man

[Old Man]

Umbscurnox spake, "Why is this on page 2?"

 

Gift to Civilization: Echolocation

 

 

 

Updated roster:

Player: Old Man, God: Umbscurnox, God of The Dark

• Geography. The Aether Currents of the Infinite Blackness of the Heavens
• Sentient Life. Vampires!
• Gift to Civilization. Wildly groping in the darkness for new ideas -or- Insight
• Gift to Civilization. Echolocation
• Flora/Fauna/Ore: Aranabats
• Interference.
• Mythic Monster or Guardian. The Creepusculan
• Mythic Monster or Guardian. The Dark Templars
• Secondary Domain. Safety
• Secondary Domain. The Heavens
• Secondary Domain. Romance

My interference is up for auction. 

[Hermit]

5 minutes ago, Old Man said:

 

My interference is up for auction. 

 

Kjósa has... nothing to trade.

Ooh do you want a discount on train fares?

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

I see your train fares and  raise toll bridge passes!

[death tribble]

I'll post an update either tomorrow or Wednesday. L Marcus and I are the ones with the most to do, I have dropped him a note.

[DShomshak]

20 hours ago, Old Man said:

My interference is up for auction. 

Jarnvoldir is no longer available to bid. He has moved on.

 

Dean Shomshak

[death tribble]

Update time !

 

Somebody remind Death Tribble and L Marcus that they are behind in their choices.

 

WORLD CREATION SUPERDRAFT 8

OUR WORLD CREATORS THIS YEAR ARE . . .

Player Cancer, God Pooftah Blowhardt, God of Winds and Weather

• Geography. Blowhardt zone

• Sentient Life. Nightflyers

• Gift to Civilization. the Soothfrost, appearance of which after the appropriate ritual verifies the responder has spoken the truth

• Ore. Frostite or feathermetal

• Interference. Ball Lightning  

• Mythic Monster or Guardian. Bunjil the Great eaglehawk

• Mythic Monster or Guardian (bonus): Balayang the Unseen, bat who consumes demons

• Secondary Domain. Mourning and patronage of mourners

• Secondary Domain Oaths and Oathkeeping and fidelity. 

• Secondary Domain: Healing and recovery from Illness.

Player Csyphrett, God Crose, God of Flaws

• Geography. The Canyon of Crose

• Sentient Life. Petrosapiens

• Gift to Civilization: Random wormholes

• Ore. Giant Diamonds

• Interference: Murphy’s Law to meddle with tech

• Mythic Monster or Guardian. Maxwell’s Demon

• Secondary Domain. Breaks and Breakage

• Secondary Domain. Entropy

• Secondary Domain. Structural Weaknesses 

Player Death Tribble, Goddess Rethormathe, Goddess of the Earth and Nature 

• Geography. 

• Sentient Life: Humans

• Gift to Civilization. 

• Flora/Fauna/Ore: 

• Interference: 

• Mythic Monster or Guardian. 

• Secondary Domain. Fertility

• Secondary Domain. Agriculture

• Secondary Domain. 

Player Dshomshak, God Jarnvoldir, God of the Forge

• Geography. Volcanoes

• Sentient Life. The Taloi, Souls in Steel and Brass

• Sentient Life (Bonus): Bluecaps

• Gift to Civilization. Steampunk Technology

• Ore. Divinium

• Interference. 

• Mythic Monster or Guardian. The Hecatoncheires

• Secondary Domain. Tools and Machines 

• Secondary Domain. The World Machine

• Secondary Domain: Reincarnation via Cremation

Player Hermit Goddess Kjosa, Goddess of Crossroads

• Geography. The Transcontinental railway of Kjosa

• Sentient Life. Valvi (the Antlered folk, the Trespassers)

• Gift to Civilization. Shamanism

• Fauna. Gigagallus (Giant Riding Chickens)

• Interference: The Windfall/Winds of Prosperity blessing, for Pooftah, herself, and a yearly third god chosen by Pooftah  

• Mythic Monster or Guardian: The Woman in Black

• Secondary Domain: Choices and their Consequences

• Secondary Domain: Ethics (situational or otherwise) 

• Secondary Domain: Teachers and Teaching 

Player L Marcus God Mhaille, Messenger of the Gods

• Geography. 

• Sentient Life. 

• Gift to Civilization. Roads

• Fauna/Flora/Ore: 

• Interference: .  

• Mythic Monster or Guardian. 

• Secondary Domain.  Trade

• Secondary Domain: 

• Secondary Domain / Option.

 

Player Log God Tranvers God of Bridges

• Geography. Arboretia, the highest city

• Sentient Life. Ocardi

• Gift to Civilization. Architecture

• Flora. Colossals (giant 300-400 ft trees)

• Interference: .Stealing the secret of metal

• Mythic Monster or Guardian. Gorgotha the colossal serpant

• Mythic Monster or Guardian (bonus). The Psychopomp Mors Valentine Witzky

• Secondary Domain. Connections

• Secondary Domain.  Ropework

• Secondary Domain:  The Other Side

 

Player Old Man  God Umbscurnox, God of the Dark

• Geography. The Aether Currents of the Infinite Blackness of the Heavens.

• Sentient Life: Vampires

• Gift to Civilization. Wildly groping in the darkness for new ideas or Insight

• Gift to Civilisation (bonus) Echolocation

• Fauna. Aranabats

• Interference. 

• Mythic Monster or Guardian. The Creepusuclan

• Mythic Monster or Guardian (bonus): The Dark Templers

• Secondary Domain: Safety

• Secondary Domain: Romance

• Secondary Domain: The Heavens 

Player Psybolt, God Tomfoolery, God of Humour

• Geography. The Stage

• Sentient Life. Bamfs

• Gift to Civilization. Music

• Flora: Marijauna

• Interference. Practical jokes played on the other gods

• Mythic Monster or Guardian. Len Grossman (Tropic Thunder)

• Secondary Domain. Drama

• Secondary Domain. Tragedy

• Secondary Domain. Performing arts 

 

Player Sociotard, God The Crawling One

• Geography. The Oil Caves

• Sentient Life. Agoraphobic humans

• Gift to Civilization. Contracts

• Fauna. Spice Lice

• Interference. The Hecatoncheires contains a few hundred Oubliettes

• Mythic Monster or Guardian. Sleep Paralysis Demon

• Secondary Domain. Just giving up and accepting it

• Secondary Domain. Single focused obsession

• Secondary Domain. 

Player Pattern Ghost, God Dagnabbit, God of Minor Annoyances

• Geography. The Great Mall of Mina (Annoyances) 

• Sentient Life. Gremlins

• Gift to Civilization. Allergies

• Fauna/Flora/Ore. Noids

• Interference. Traffic Jams

• Mythic Monster or Guardian. The Pet Peeve

• Secondary Domain. Puns

• Secondary Domain: Perseverence

• Secondary Domain: Intrusive Thoughts

 

 

Edited July 24 by death tribble

[death tribble]

As promised

 

People look at Arboretia and marvel at it. They are entranced as it sits beautifully and fittingly in the trees. Some even wonder if this was an accident or the design from the start. But what if it did not have the support of a god, what then ?

All the races have a racial memory of something that they call ‘The First City’ and it makes them shudder. No-one knows where it was or who built it. Nothing remains of it now and no knowledge of it now exists. All agree that it offended not just one god but all or most of them.

It was too bright for the God of the Dark, it was perfect thus offending the God of Flaws, it resisted the effects of wind and weather angering their God, there was no place for humour and no such thing as annoyances angering those Gods. How the God of the Forge and the Twins were offended is unclear but who destroyed it is known and it served as the premier example of what happens when a god unleashes their full power.

It offended nature itself and that is why Rethormathe acted in the way she did. The most powerful earthquakes ever brought down the walls and every building was levelled. No-one was spared as they might be tempted to rebuild. Some sources claim that other gods were involved and the names that come up are the God of the Dark and the God of Wind and Weather. They covered the city in darkness and carried away cries for mercy into the air and dissipated them. None can say whether this is true but all agree that Rethormathe was the instigator and that she could have, or would have, called upon the others to help.

She does not answer any questions about it but she can often be seen in or around Arboretia even on the roofs which easily bear her weight.

 

Don't mess with nature or the next thing you will feel is an earthquake. 

[death tribble]

For one full week it rained on Tomfoolery. Little insects bedevilled him and it was sometimes too dark to see. It seemed that Rethormathe did not have a sense of humour and she had connections to the others. After that everything was normal but occasionally it happens again when the goddess suffers a practical joke, then she reminds Tomfoolery that there are consequences.

 

(I could not think of what the practical joke was. But I could think of the consequence). 

[DShomshak]

Well, he k. In my last update, I forgot to include Jarnvoldir's Interference -- right after I wrote it!

 

(Correction made to post.)

 

Anyway, DT, in brief Jarnvoldir gave the World a principle he called The Crucible of God. When people suffer greatly, there is always a possibility -- not certain, but possible -- they can use that hardship to change and grow in some manner, and become a greater being than they were before. Sometimes the growth is purely mental/spiritual, but people who suffered much have become some of the World's greatest mortal heroes... or villains. The God of the Forge does not decide outcomes, except in one special case.

 

The Crawling One interfered with the hecatoncheires by ordaining that each of these great taloi contains 100 prisons whose mortal occupants power them with their lives. Jarnvoldir can't just unmake this Interference, but he can redefine it. The mortals suffer and eventually die, but their souls are smelted and alloyed to forge a new god-spirit for each hecatoncheire. That process is very nearly complete, at which point the hecatoncheires need no more mortal sacrifices, and the World gets three new gods to oversee the World Machine.

 

When Jarnvoldir is confident the project is a success, he submits himself to the Crucible of God by walking into the main furnace of the World Machine, hot enough that even a God might not survive. Perhaps he will ascend to some new plane of reality beyond the present comprehension of Gods. Perhaps he will be destroyed. Perhaps something will happen that he cannot imagine. That's why he's doing it.

 

Dean Shomshak

[death tribble]

Tranvers wondered at the sight. A lush forest and rolling plains protected by mountains teaming with life just not the sentient races. How had he missed this ? He noticed his sister approaching and she too was surprised by what she saw.

‘Is this why you wanted to speak to me ?’ she asked.

‘No’, he corrected, ‘You wanted to speak to me’ he replied

Both gods were confused and looked back at the pocket that they had not been aware of.

 

‘You disappoint me’ said a voice behind them and both suddenly realised whose work this was and who had summoned them. She walked between them and then turned to face them. Her cloak was all the colours of the leaves starting at green at the top and finishing at brown at the bottom. Her face changed from youth through maturity to old age even as she stood still. She bent slightly and looked into Tranvers eyes. ‘Metal bridges’ she said

She then looked into Kjosa’s face and said ‘Transcontinental railway’ before turning her back on both of them and looking at the forest.

‘This’ she continued ‘is mine, and it contains a greater variety of plants and animals than anywhere else. It is sacrosanct and only I will decide what I will, or will not, tolerate here’

She turned to look at Tranvers directly again ‘If the Ocardi come here they may not build anything like Arboretia, that should exercise their architects. But no metal. Understand ?’

Tranvers nodded.

She turned again to Kjosa.

‘The Valvi’

‘They are mine and my responsibility’ said Kjosa before Rethormathe stopped her.

‘They need a home, let them settle here and tell them to live in harmony with the environment’

Kjosa was surprised and delighted, ‘Thank you, Mother’

Tranvers asked ‘May I ask why ?’

‘Because I am barring it to others specifically the Taloi and the Vampires. They are not natural’

‘That will have consequences, Mother’ he replied and he saw her smile.

‘Which is why you wanted to see my sister’

‘I ask your help in building a bridge to the others who may not like it. Your sister will help me understand what consequences will come from my choices’

Tranvers thought a moment and then said ‘Why not let the Dark Templers use this as base ? As long as they do not build here, that should keep The God of the Dark happy’

Rethormathe nodded as Tranvers continued ‘and let the Bluecaps live there as long as they don’t leave any ores, it will keep the place pristine.’

This made Rethormathe smile, ‘Let a colony of Nightflyers also dwell there. If you are seen to favour some of the others, then if another god gets upset they would also have to upset them as well’

‘Which reminds me I need to let the God of the Dark know that the Aranabats are not allowed here either’

‘He won’t like that’ said Kjosa

‘Why are you barring them ?’ asked Transvers

‘Spiders are fine as are bats but a combination of both is unnatural’ replied the Nature goddess. ‘And they give me the creeps’ she added.

 

‘Now give your mother a kiss and let me show you it all’ said Rethormathe embracing her children

 

Geography: The Vale

 

Any of the Gods having problems with this, let me know

[death tribble]

Rethormathe's Gift to Civilisation is Gardening either to grow fruit, vegetables or flowers.

 

And in case it is not clear to DShomshak, the Bluecaps are approved. 

Edited July 25 by death tribble

[DShomshak]

7 hours ago, death tribble said:

Rethormathe's Gift to Civilisation is Gardening either to grow fruit, vegetables or flowers.

 

And in case it is not clear to DShomshak, the Bluecaps are approved. 

I guessed, from the reference. Thank you for working them in.

 

Jarnvoldir doesn't like the Vale, but shrugs and grants it is certainly Rethormathe's right to declare such a place. After all, there's not much natural deep in the World Machine, so a balancing location is only fair.

 

Dean Shomshak

[Cancer]

So, have we concluded?  Will there be a poll?

[death tribble]

I have a few bits to tidy up. And I'm waiting for L Marcus to say whether or not he is still in or not.

[DShomshak]

Personality development bit: Jarnvoldir's attempt to show respect to Nature.

 

At some point, Jarnvoldir thought he really should offer at least some token show of respect to the power of Nature. He decided to get a pot of flowers for his office.

 

But he forgot to water them. Kind of stupid, given that machines need regular maintenance, so is it that big a stretch to remember that living things need maintenance too? Nevertheless, he forgot until it was too late and the plants were dead.

 

He tried again. He tried to solve the problem of neglect by building a machine to water the flowers for him on a regular schedule. It worked for a while. Then he had a really busy period overhauling the hecantoncheires, and forgot to replenish the machine's water reserve. By the time he remembered, the plants were, again, dead.

 

He still has a pot of flowers in his office, but they are artificial., made of tinted silk and wire.

 

(It is possible that one of Jarnvoldir's clerks, with a better sense for inter-deity relations than its master, keeps a potted plant alive somewhere. That talos probably hasn't told Jarnvoldir. It's not entirely safe to show you're better at something than your god, even for something as small as a potted plant. Of course, that discretion matters less once Jarnvoldir walks into the furnace. But Rethormathe might have that tiny outpost of influence deep within the World Machine.)

 

Dean Shomshak

[Old Man]

 

Playing around with AI and came up with this image of those cute fuzzy symbols of love, the Aranabats: