assault Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 As Ma the All-Mother rested from her monster-making, she turned to the gifts of the God of Peace for solace. Inspired by his music (and perhaps his poppies), she began to dance, chant and sing, to paint on the walls of her cave, and to sculpt the clay upon the ground. Ever fertile, her works sprang to life as new goddesses - the Muses! She sent them forth from her cave, bidding them to seek Peace and follow his ways. --- 4th Pick. Gift to civilization: the Arts (technically aside from Music). The Muses are the embodiment of this gift, and will attach themselves to the God of Peace's retinue unless he rejects them. --- In my previous post, I wrote "Unfortunately Ma hasn't given birth to - oh right, now I know." I'd started to write "Unfortunately Ma hasn't given birth to the Muses, so inspiration is lacking.", and then realized what I was saying. The fact that Psybolt had already grabbed Music was a worry - I didn't want to start chopping up "The Arts" into fine categories - so I built Psybolt's music (and poppies) into the story, and then handed the result over to him. If he wants it, of course - he doesn't have to take it. This seems like how the All-Mother would work. The God of Peace is the "father" in this creation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan D. Hurricanes Posted June 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 I'm not really sure if this is a secondary attribute, or a species pick. The Mother of All is also: the Mother of Monsters. --- Ma, the All-Mother looked upon the world, and grew wrathful. Life sprouted throughout the world, but in whose womb was it conceived? What respect was she receiving? She withdrew from the world, and unfathered, alone, she conceived her greatest children - ferocious, hideous beings that would plague the upstart races and their patrons. Monsters. If she was not to be respected through love, she would be respected through fear. -- Loose inspiration: Gaia. I think I'm a pick behind. Unfortunately Ma hasn't given birth to - oh right, now I know. But still, I can't always rely on timely inspiration, and am rarely able to write more than a couple of paragraphs at a time. Also: "monsters" is a catch-all category. So far, it excludes dragons, giants, the undead... It's basically the weird stuff. It excludes anything anyone else wants to pick. I fear 'monsters' is a bit too broad. Choose a specific type or small group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 I fear 'monsters' is a bit too broad. Choose a specific type or small group. Not easy, since every one is different or at most are members of a single litter. They aren't members of a species, but are random monstrosities. For example, the closest thing to a humanoid would have three heads, three eyes and a hundred arms. "Chaos spawn" is about as close as I can think of, but that's not really what I was aiming at. Some of them might be able to reproduce, but most of them are "immortal until killed". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 Kaiju might cover it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sociotard Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 "Constructs"? "Abominations?" Although, your suggestion of muses and monsters together made me think of the Irish Leannansidhe. Basically a muse/vampire. It drained the life of artists by inspiring them to create until they died from overwork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 Although, your suggestion of muses and monsters together made me think of the Irish Leannansidhe. Basically a muse/vampire. It drained the life of artists by inspiring them to create until they died from overwork. I thought the Irish word for that concept was 'whisky'. assault 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 Not a draft pick, but I should have a Name. The True Name of the Lady of Death and Rebirth is of course a Mystery known only to those of the highest Initiation. It is the almost silent, gasping intake of breath, as in the first breath of a newborn or the last breath of the dying. But for most purposes She will use the name Arepo. She will answer to that name in prayer. Dwarves were the first mortals to live in the world, and so they became the first to die in this world. Winter claimed some with storms, War claimed some with quarrels over wealth, some fell in Water and a small handful even dreamed themselves to death on the Gift of Peace. And they who lived would sometimes prop up the bodies and talk to them as if they were alive, until the stench brought pestilence among them, or some would bear their dead away and drop them in some random place, not knowing what else to do. And so they were haunted, for the spirits of their dead could not pass the Gate, and gibbered at them in dreams and in reveries, and one cold night as the year waned again towards Winter, all the corpses in the world rose and marched to stand confronting their kin, sightless faces accusing. The Dwarven people wailed with grief and fear, and it was I, Lady of Death and Rebirth, who came to them, taking pity on their ignorance. In awe and dread they averted their eyes from Me, save one; he met My gaze and in him I saw the yearning to understand. "The Dwarves suffer" I said to him, "To relieve the suffering of the dead and of the living, would you yourself choose to die?" And there was fear in him yet he said "I would." "Follow" I commanded, leading deeper into the cave they had made their dwelling, and then "Nay, take no torch. Only in darkness will you be able to see what you must see." And we walked until he was sure the cave, that he knew well, was not nearly so deep as we had gone into the Earth. There I shared with him the Moment of Ceasing to Be and the Moment of Becoming, and showed him the Gate, and the Solace of the Dark Deep Within, and I led him to the rest of the Deathless and We taught him much. He learned how to treat the bodies of the dead, to bury them or burn them, and to call My Name that I might welcome them. He learned the process of grief and the Truth of Returning, that those who perish shall again in time reincarnate. He learned of the Cycles, and how it is that herb and fruit and beast and too the sacred poppy all renew themselves endlessly. He learned how to sing away the restless dead, and how to compel one to reveal its Name, that it might be sent through the Gate. He learned how and when and why to offer sacrifice to the Gods, how to sing a prayer, and the setting up of altars and shrines. He learned to Bless those newly born, and the child reborn into adulthood, and other Blessings fit for beginnings and endings. He learned the secrets of Initiation, and how to choose others to initiate so that there would be more priests after himself, the First Priest. As the sun rose we came forth again and the Dwarves still stood vigil, shivering at the dead who stood without, a silent curse on them. The First Priest begged, "My Lady, please, lead them away from us to their proper place." And I said "No. I will go now, and you will send them after Me, for it is in your power now to do so." And so it was, for he had learned The Mystery of Priestcraft Including sacrifice, initiation, and funerary rites. From the same myth, I claim: Geographical Location: Temples, Shrines, and Sanctified Ground (such as is used for burial or for pyres.) Lucius Alexander Copyright Palindromedary Enterprises Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clonus Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 And Mizu's Secondary Domain is "Life that breathes water". Yes. I talk to fish. Wanna make something of it? And I'll add a human variant for my domain. Let' call them "Seaborn" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 Pick #4: Secondary Domain: Judgment Mortals, being mortal, you each will find yourselves collected by Lucius at the closing of your lives. As she has stated, "All that dies must be reborn; all that falls, shall rise again." And so it shall be. But each samsar, each cycle of your existence, will differ as you evolve and the World evolves. How shall be the manner of your rebirth be determined? When the dark minions of Lucius bear you through the Gate and across the River, you will find yourself before the Celestial Circle, over which I preside, and you will be sorely tried. My own questions you know well. Did you seek to increase the wisdom of yourself and those around you during your samsar? Or did you squander it on desire and the ignorance of avadya? Were you compassionate or selfish? Did you build or destroy? And mine are hardly the only questions that will be put to you, nor will they be the most difficult. Welond will ask what you have built. Tribble will ask if you fought well. Hermit will ask what you have changed. And so on, for what may be an eternity unto its own. For little is as important as the continued evolution of each soul. Which sphere you return to, and what form you take there, will be the decision of any and all Council members who have formed an opinion of you. So do not fear death, mortals; it is only part of the cycle which you will endure many times before you earn mokkusha. Instead, fear our judgment, for it will affect you for many lifetimes to come. Cancer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Shadow Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 Gift to Civilization: Crystal-based Technology (including Aether-ships and Weapon Gauntlets) death tribble 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 High in the peaks of the Spines lives a kind of mountain goat that grows as large as a small horse. Surefooted and agile, they have been domesticated by the Dwarves as beasts of burden, and are also kept for their hair, flesh, and milk. Neutered males are used for riding. Gift To Civilization (option pick): Ibex Cavalry! death tribble and Hermit 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sociotard Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 The god of Travel approves. L. Marcus 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 Harhoog's Gift to Civilization is, of course, something Our chosen folk mastered first. It is the trick of forming shaped solid objects out of hot, mineral-saturated fluid or vapor. Probably the expression that comes closest to this process is 3-D printing. The Kallu'un Qaroof learned how to shape the minerals precipitating out of the hot water of the ocean-floor vents into structures they wanted, things useful, beautiful, or both. Gradually they found ways to select the precipitating substance in the hot water, and control the precipitated crystals' size and the thickness of the mass buildup. No hammer or fire touches the work, and so pieces of fantastic fine detail can be made routinely; yet by the same basic technique they can also make massive rock structures that can retard the tsunami and yet stand intact. Dry-land races have learned this trick of making too -- whether from Kallu'un Qaroof in the shallows, or other couriers of lore, mortal or immortal, the Trickster knows. Because they do not have the hot mineral-laden water of the deep vents, the dry-land races first practiced this art with more water-soluble minerals and let the solutions cool and dry. With long development, they can make stunningly beautiful crystal items, delicate and intensely colored. As they have extended the craft to robust, stronger materials, and learned the requisite control to build thick uniform layers of precipitated matter, they can form these in shapes no smith can hope to mimic. The Kallu'un Qaroof have extended the technique beyond the utility of made objects. When the water in a locale is becoming fouled with too much of something, they can set up a shop and start causing that substance to precipitate out into solid form. The solids can be carried away and traded, sold, or merely buried; if need be they can first be encased in a tough, impermeable layer to keep them from escaping into the water again. In this way, the water is purified and the vicinity becomes more clement for their habitation. Someday, when the fire-using surface dwellers go too far in digging up the buried organic and inorganic carbon of the shallow lands and the smoke and vapor of its burning accumulates in the air, they will threaten their own lives and civilizations, and increase the influence of the demon-lords of the Choking Hells upon the surface world. Perhaps the dry-walkers will learn from the Kallu'un Qaroof how to draw the vapor of burned coal back out of the air and make stone of it again, restoring the benign coolness to the air and delivering themselves and their world from the excesses of their fires. Maybe the God of Wisdom will judge them worthy of salvation, and lead them to avail themselves of this art, so that they restore the air they must breathe and Heal the world in which they live using a trick first given to those who knew not what air is. If so, this will be one of Our greatest tricks, for as We have noted before, the greatest trick ... is Life. Old Man and Burrito Boy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 Dorrauch saw that to better spread commerce and amass wealth for his followers commonality was needed. A community would be birthed to get dwarven goods through human lands to Giant vendors. The Silver Frost's first idea was conquest. He was talked out of if during a feast with the God of Magic. His second idea was conquest. He was reminded by his high priests that he had been talked down from this. Dorrauch knew this would require all his mind and matter. Conquest? No...too obvious. "What if I threaten them with eternal winter unless my demands are met?" he asked aloud in his favorite temple. "My Eternal, that...sounds a lot like Conquest." His high priest said with great deference, "Also they might not understand your heralds unless you grant us the ability to speak their tongues." Dorrauch stewed. He looked ruefully at his hammer, Hvelvbryter. It was such a marvelous weapon. Capable of great acts of diplomacy. The God of Winter growled. The God of Winter mumbled. The God of Winter sulked. "Alright, I have an idea." Dorrauch stood from his frozen throne and strode to his scrying pool. Calling upon an image of the known world he spoke in a booming voice. "Praise my name, peoples of the Not-winter. I have decided upon a gift for all of the mans of my world." "I call it Tradespeak. And honestly the God of Diplomacy should have thought of this." GIFT to the World: A universal language. Pariah, L. Marcus and Old Man 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 Goading the God of War are we Enforcer84 ? Meanwhile I await an adjudication from the Log One on one venture so my sentient species goes like this:- The God of War, Diplomacy and Commerce looked upon the world and noted the land. Humans, Giants and The Aleph roamed the land while Dwarves roamed both above and below the ground. The God of War, Diplomacy and Commerce looked upon the world and noted the sea. The Kallu’un Qaroof and Sea Born roamed the sea. Then he God of War, Diplomacy and Commerce looked upon the world and noted the air. Here there be Dragons and the God frowned. There were flying islands but only humans and others could reach them in the Aether Ships. Then the God sought out their compatriot the God of Wisdom. ‘You have raised The Aleph to spread wisdom while our bothers and sisters have raised beings which roam the land and the sea both above and beneath. However there is nothing in the air except the dragons but they are few and far between’. The God of Wisdom then spoke ‘You wish therefore to create an airborne race but why come to me ?’ ‘Because I wish to raise up a race from something renowned for its wisdom and I want you to know so that you may object’ The God of Wisdom nodded ’Very diplomatic. I accept’ So it was that the God of War, Diplomacy and Commerce came upon the bird kingdom and its wisest resident, the Owl. ‘The world has need of warriors, diplomats and merchants in the air and that will be your role. I ascend Thee and send you forth’ Palladians are direct descendants of Owls and can reach anywhere on the world under the air especially the flying islands. They are winged humanoids although those that more resemble owls have powerful talons and are ferocious warriors. They rotate their heads like owls and their hearing is similar. When on diplomatic missions they are often seen with or accompanying The Aleph. And Pariah ? That is another clue to the God. Any guesses yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sociotard Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 The aspect of the Owl pretty well clinches it. I'm just sad they aren't sentient clockwork owls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 You have an interference pick.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 Which would upset the god of craftmanship as well and that is not a good idea. I would like those who don't have sentient species to pick that option as my geography option will be affected. It is a BIG idea and needs that input. Apologies to Doc Shadow if he feels that the Palladians violate his area of expertise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 Strangely enough, the Trickster is still casting around for a brilliant Interference trick. I've got beginnings of ideas for the rest, but.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sociotard Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 I have at least three picks that I'd like to interfere with. I must take due consideration. Once there was a city state, perched on the edge of a shallow sea. The god of Travelers was pleased with them, for they journeyed far and bravely. And so, that god was watching when the refugees arrived. First one boat, then two, then as the tears of a grieving parent, boats and boats overburdened and overflowing. Across the sea, a competing state had fallen to barbarians, and its citizens were its citizens no longer. The god watched with curiosity. Many of the ships were of fine make. Inadequate to the task of bearing so many, but fine nonetheless. Would this city take the boats and add them to their own fleet, casting off the people as they would a shrimps carapace? But no, they took them in, and even consulted their Oracle so they could send their navy to save those whose ships didn't quite make it. And the masters of the city looked out at the throngs and cried out, begged for the strength to support so many. Get them through the crisis, and they would honor that god as they did no other. And the god of Travels was also the god of Hospitality, and the god heard and was pleased. With the gods power, the city not only survived the crises, but grew, its laws and government spreading out over the whole of the shallow sea, and all ten of the fertile river valleys that fed into it. Geography Pick: The Ten River Republic A vast Republic that includes a few large connected shallow seas that open up to oceans on either end. Ten fertile river valleys feed into it, each separated by small mountain ranges, and each dotted with racially cosmopolitan cities. If it weren't a republic, it'd warrant calling an Empire. (I'm sick of all the fantasy kingdoms being kingdoms. There were ancient and medieval republics, some of which even had human rights and a dash of democracy. This is one.) Hermit, Doc Shadow, Old Man and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 Again, this has been referenced tangentially, but not specifically selected, so Pr'Jah, Master of Earth, claims it for his own. 5th pick -- Secondary Domain: Metallurgy I look forward to working with Doc Shadow Ætheria and Welond to spread the knowledge of this most fascinating art to the various sentient species. Doc Shadow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Shadow Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 I should probably mention the Sky God is in fact a Goddess. Aetheria, Goddess of the Sky, Goddess of Knowledge, Goddess of Beauty, Goddess of ... one other of other thing I haven't picked yet. Old Man 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psybolt Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 Secondary Domain: Alcohol Hermit 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 Secondary Domain: Alcohol You win Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 I look forward to working with Doc Shadow Ætheria and Welond to spread the knowledge of this most fascinating art to the various sentient species. My fellow deity! *celestial five* Pariah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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