World Creation Superdraft 2: July 2018

[Psybolt]

Secondary Ream of Influence :  Manipulation

[death tribble]

And to be clear this means getting others to do what you want and not physical manipulation.

And as Trickery is a valid domain then it is ok

[Cancer]

I assume he gets Regency romance novels for free with that.  :-|

[Pariah]

Side note: Lady P is currently reading a book entitled Lies Jane Austen Told Me.

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

I'm on a tablet right now so my postings will be brief but be assured I am writing a lot in my head. Cannot wait till I get home (for many reasons). Secondary domain: earth and stone.

[Hermit]

Well, the town is burning. War often leads to flame, doesn't it? Flame can lead to war. Swords are forged in the heat, cities are left behind crackling and popping like a pyre for the many dead now laying there. Some say the goddess wasn't originally associated with fire, but that when folks began to note its use in war and creation of weapons alike, they begin to attribute to her and she made it so. Myself? I have to wonder if it wasn't a vanity? our goddess is a redhead herself, is she not? Flame-haired and Fiery hearted. Perhaps being able to look into the flames is akin to looking a mirror for mortal women for her? She sees much of herself in it. Goddesses are allowed their vanity.

But keep your eyes open for stray embers too close to our tents.

 

(Another) Secondary Domain of Influence: Fire

 

 

 

[csyphrett]

10 hours ago, death tribble said:

Or Typhoons ?

Or Tempests ?

or Whirlwinds ?

Or Spitfires ?

Or Bolton Paul Defiants ?

 

But no bombers like the Wellington, Lancaster, Flying Fortress, Superfortress or Liberators.

Thanks for the ideas

CES

[death tribble]

Third domain is pleasure.

[death tribble]

Lucius,

 

You are a couple of picks behind. Do you want a reminder of all the choices you made last year ?

I can lt you know via PM or posting it here if you want.

[csyphrett]

I am going to take sailing as my third domain unless this impacts with Old Man's journeys/traveling.

CES

[death tribble]

No-one has navigation as a domain but as you have the Oceans I'll let you take Sailing

[Cancer]

 

Anuanu creates and proclaims Its chosen people, the T'skha'morch.  They are fossorial, spending most of their lives underground in burrows, caves, tunnels, and subterranean complexes wholly or largely of their own construction.  Perhaps appropriately, these folk are sometimes called Darklings by surface-dwellers.

 

The T'skha'morch are beetles, about a meter and a half in length, running on six legs about as long as their bodies, and with a pair of meter-long antennae.  Their forelegs have their final three segments quadrupled, so that they can function as "hands" with four zygodactyl digits.  They resemble tiger beetles most among terrestrial insects; they are swift runners and strongly prefer the dark, but bright light does not cause them physical discomfort.  They have large chewing mandibles, larger eyes, and a hard, tough pair of elytra (outer wings) which give them something like armor on their top sides.  The mandibles are strong, and they can carry heavy loads (up to several hundred pounds) with these, while fine manipulation is done with their "hands".  The underwings are functional but can be used, enabling them to fly about a hundred meters or so beginning with a vertical leap; it takes them a second or two to stretch the wings out before launch and fold them away safely after landing.  The flight is quite audible.

 

The T'skha'morch communicate in a language of clicks generated by ratchet-like movements of barbs on some of the leg joints, and hums made by drawing one shell-wing against the other, like a bow over a string.  They are omnivorous, with all that means; they do perform agriculture in caverns and tunnels, they hunt below the ground as well as on the surface by night; they do some herding, chiefly of worms, amphibians, reptiles, and some large fossorial insects, where the substrate is soft enough to be easily worked and the movements of the herd controlled.  They have domesticated a few species of mammals (mustelids), amphibians (toads), and insects.  They consider other insects, chiefly wasps, to be their most serious natural enemies.

 

They can deal with fire, using shaped flat stones as both shields and shovels, though fire rarely is a problem in their underground dwellings.  Fast-flowing water is more difficult, but the T'skha'morch can cling to vertical and overhead surfaces without difficulty, so most of their dwelling complexes have "flood bay" sections, which are chambers only accessible from below, which trap air and give them a place to wait out a flood in the main tunnels.  They do not swim well, however, and in areas around large bodies of water they have domesticated crustaceans as underwater steeds.

 

The T'skha'morch know of the surface-dwelling humanoids, and generally maintain peace with them, since the two kinds of sophonts are uncomfortable in each others' preferred environments.  Conflicts can arise when miners inadvertently penetrate one of the nest-complexes, a new insect-burrow erupts in a surface village or a field, or when each others' herds start making use of the same plot of land on the surface.  Communication is often difficult and rudimentary, with the T'skha'morch resorting to rather bizarre bagpipe-like constructions to mimic voices and speech, and the humanoids bringing an array of percussion instruments to produce the insects' clickings and raspings.  Writing helps, as does strong drink; both the T'skha'morch and the surface humanoids make wine, and are happy to trade for the others' casks.  There have been extraordinary cases of young of each species dwelling with the other, and becoming valued, full-fledged members of the "other" society; some of these have been tragic figures, others peace-making heroes and leaders, and still others travelers, storytellers, traders, and ambassadors.
 

[Cancer]

(Anuanu laughs silently at the domains still available and which It will choose.)

[DShomshak]

I wish I could participate, but my internet connection is still very slow and erratic. I'll follow as best I can. The last one was terrific, with special kudos to Cancer and Old Man for their wonderfully original races.

 

Dean Shomshak

[Old Man]

2 hours ago, csyphrett said:

I am going to take sailing as my third domain unless this impacts with Old Man's journeys/traveling.

CES

 

Stop worrying about interference; it's a draft.  Sailing and navigation don't really impinge on my concept anyway.  Arguably navigation is the opposite. 

[L. Marcus]

Ut-Mark's people is as old as the hills. He made them strong in magic -- very strong -- but somewhat lacking in reason. Or, to say it plainly, they are mad as crazed weasels. Not evil, really, but wild of mind and thought. Even more aware of their honor than the lords of mortals, they have a tendency to avenge every slight, real or imagined.

 

They live in the wilderness, in caves and in hollow trees and under boulders. The few who have dealt with them and managed to tell of it describe the wild folks' halls as worthy of the courts  of any three kings you care to mention, silk draperies decking the walls and golden chalices to drink from, food and wine that one cannot describe the taste of but would give an arm and a leg to taste again ...

 

While really, there is nothing there but illusions and figments. The thronged hall a den in the earth; the delectables merely mud pies; the sparkling wine actually rain water; the whole court and the prince with it just one person, weaving it all out of magic. No two descriptions match of the same individual, for they change appearance on a whim -- and in all probability, they have no true form.

 

Ut-Mark names his people: Di Sma Undarjordi.

[Lucius]

On ‎7‎/‎3‎/‎2018 at 7:13 AM, Hermit said:

A list for those coming in on the second day (And for our Commish to edit in on his first post or a google doc if he wants)

 

 

Cancer

Deity: Anuanu

Primary Domain: Darkness

 

Csyphrett

Deity: Roy

Primary Domain: Oceans

 

Hermit

Deity: Aerobell, goddess of war

Primary Domain: War

 

L. Marcus

Deity: Ut-Mark, The Green One, the great god of the wild.

Primary Domain: Wilderness

 

Logan

Deity: Gravitius

Primary Domain: God of Order

 

Lucius

Deity: Arepo

Primary Domain: Death and Rebirth

 

Old Man

Deity: Vyago, The God of the Way!

Primary Domain: Paths and Journeys

 

 

Psybolt

Deity: Brother Chaos

Primary Domain: Disorder, Chaos

 

Sociotard

Deity: Dee-Ell, God of Secrets!

Primary Domain: Secrets

 

 

11 hours ago, death tribble said:

Lucius,

 

You are a couple of picks behind. Do you want a reminder of all the choices you made last year ?

I can lt you know via PM or posting it here if you want.

 

 

More helpful would be a roster like the above, including all the secondary Domains claimed so far....

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Handier than a palindromedary

[death tribble]

I'm working on the full roster at the moment and it is causing me problems. But domains ?

Stay tuned.

[death tribble]

This is just the domains claimed so far and the Gods/Goddesses

 

Cancer

Deity: Anuanu

Primary Domain: Darkness

 

Csyphrett

Deity: Roy

Primary Domain: Oceans

Secondary Domain; Waterways

Secondary Domain: Weather

Secondary Domain: Sailing

 

Hermit

Deity: Aerobell, goddess of war

Primary Domain: War

Secondary Domain: Weapons and Warfare

Secondary Domain: Fire

 

L. Marcus

Deity: Ut-Mark, The Green One, the great god of the wild.

Primary Domain: Nature, Wilderness

Secondary Domain: Magic

 

Logan

Deity: Gravitius

Primary Domain: God of Order

Secondary Domain: Earth and Stone

 

Lucius

Deity: Arepo

Primary Domain: Death and Rebirth

 

Old Man

Deity: Vyago, The God of the Way!

Primary Domain: Paths and Journeys

Secondary Domain: Time

 

Psybolt

Deity: Brother Chaos

Primary Domain: Disorder, Chaos

Secondary Domain: Manipulation

 

Sociotard

Deity: Dee-Ell, God of Secrets!

Primary Domain: Secrets

 

Death Tribble

Primary Domain: Love

Secondary domain: Beauty

Secondary Domain: Pleasure

[Lucius]

 

For it is I, Arepo, Who became the Goddess of Beginning and Ending.

For the Deathless met in council to consider the making of a world.

For we were agreed that a world should be made, but alas, also agreed that there seemed no way make a world that would long endure.

 

"From the Void I can forge the most powerful and intricate of implements" claimed Aerobell of the Forge, "But they do not last."

 

"All that is made from the Void dissolves like foam" agreed Roy of the Sea.

 

"Things we make vanish like shadows swallowed up in darkness" complained Anuanu.

 

Vyago the Wayfarer revealed "Far have I wandered in the Void, and nowhere in it is anything that endures."

 

"Perhaps," suggested Ut-Mark the Wild "There is some Secret of Creation that would permit One Who knows it to create from the void a World without End?"

 

Dee-Ell, Who knows Secrets, confessed "If such a secret there is, I do not yet know it."

 

"Such is the way of things, such is the Law" proclaimed Gravitius, Who had striven to set the Void itself to Order, "All We form from the Void returns to the Void and passes away; only We Ourselves pass not away."

 

And the God of Chaos told us what we should do with the "Law" and it was a most uncomfortable and impractical suggestion.

 

And after council I, Arepo, spoke with Dee Ell, for I had a Secret Plan. And I went to Vyago who was Deity of Time and asked of Him, "Make for Me two moments: A Moment of Becoming, and a Moment of Ceasing to Be." And I went to the Deity of Love and gave over the Moment of Becoming and said "You will know how to use this when the time comes. Trust Me."

 

And when next the Deathless met in council, I held the Moment of Ceasing to Be in My right hand. And to Aerobell the Warrior I said "I have a gift for You!"

 

"Show Me" She said, but I answered "Nay, it is closed up here in My hand: open My hand and You shall have it." And mighty is Aerobell beyond reckoning, but what I hold in My hand is held in the Grip of Death, and She could not force open My hand. "Take Your sword" I urged, "And cut Me in pieces, and My hand will open; You will have a gift, and too, Each of the Deathless will be given a gift." And Aerobell drew and cut, and so it is that Moment of Ceasing to Be rests both in My hand , and on the edge of the Sword of War. Dee-Ell came forward to help divide and share Me out, giving each what was required for the work of Creation:

 

To Roy My blood, for the seas and all waters of the world.

 

To Vyago My feet, for a road is made by walking on it and it is the tread of a foot that makes a path.

 

To Ut Mark My breasts, flowing with milk, for the from that milk wild things may be made and nourished.

 

To Anuanu My shadow, from which to make a lasting Darkness.

 

To Gravitius My bones, from which come stones.

 

None but I and Dee-Ell know what portion was for Dee-Ell.

 

Love came at last to claim a share and to use the Moment of Becoming. And I Became again Arepo, and stood among the Deathless as before,  but renewed.

 

And so it is that the World which was made, is such that all that dies shall be reborn; all that falls shall rise again.

 

So say I, and I am Arepo, and what I say is said with the certainty of Death.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

 

I am a palindromedary, and what I say is usually said in a tagline.

 

.

 

[Psybolt]

Secondary Ream of Influence :  Gambling & games of chance

 

I also had temptation earlier.  I should now have all 3 of my secondary realm of influence

[Lucius]

 

As the  T'skha'morch , they who delve in primal darkness under earth, were the first mortals to live in this world, they became the first to die in this world. Some fell to predatory wasps, some to a neighbor's powerful mandibles when a quarrel could not be settled peaceably, some drowned when tunnels flooded, and none were properly tended to in death. The survivors might prop up a body and clatter and hiss at it as if alive, hoping it would respond, until the stench brought plague upon them; or one might carry a friend's corpse around at random until dropping it in some convenient place, now knowing what else to do; and sometimes, especially when one had taken another's life, they would devour the corpse as if it were a herd-beetle. And so they were haunted, for the spirits of their dead could not pass the Gate. And it came to pass, one night as the year turned towards winter, all the corpses in the world rose up and marched stiff legged to confront the living, antennae drooping and crossed in the "what have you done?" position, legs clicking out "help us!" and wings humming the tone implying "you have wronged me." The People of the Dark trembled in grief and fear and it was I, Arepo, Lady of Death and Rebirth, Who came to them in pity. Like unto one of them I was, but larger, and powerful with pheromones that declared "Here is Greater than a Queen." The dead fell silent in My Presence, and the living covered their jewel faceted eyes with their hands and twisted away their antennae in the gesture that said "I am too ashamed to speak now" - save one, whose antennae stood straight declaring "I see You, I accept You, I would have words with You." In the way he held his body and in his odor I read compassion, a desire to understand, and the will to set right whatever had gone wrong.

 

That one I came to and spoke. "The T'skha'morch suffer" I said, "To relive the suffering of the living and of the dead, would you yourself die?" And there was fear in him yet he said "I would." I commanded "Follow" and lead him forth , past the assembled dead, onto the surface, even as the sun rose. There in the light I shared with him the Moment of Ceasing to Be and the Moment of Becoming, and showed him the Gate, and I led him to the Master of Secrets and to the rest of the Deathless and We taught him much.

 

He learned how to treat the bodies of the dead, what parts may be consumed by the blood kin and what by the oath kin and what must go to the grave worm, and how to cut off and preserve the antennae and present them to the eldest child or if one died childless, commit them to flames. He learned to call My Name that I might welcome the dead. 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 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 set, we returned to where his people still trembled surrounded by their dead, a silent accusing curse upon them. He begged Me to take them away to their proper place, and i said no. "I will go 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.

 

 

Lucius Alexander'

 

Copyright Palindromedary Enterprises

 

[Old Man]

 

We walked in silence for a long while, Vyago and I, and as we walked, a question grew in my mind.  

Eventually, I mustered the courage to voice it.  "Master," I asked, "You are a great god indeed,

presiding over the journeys of all beings and things across the lands and through the ages.  

Yet how is it that you have no temples, or worshippers, or monuments?  

Those we pass on the road, merely acknowledge us with a wave, if that.  

Should not a great god have a great religion?"

 

"But I do," he said, with the tone of a teacher whose student

has asked a stupid but profound question.  "Let me explain.

 

"I do not desire temples or walls, but doorways and bridges.

 

"I do not desire followers or adherents, but explorers and pioneers.

 

"I do not desire rituals or prayers, but stories and songs.

 

"I ask not that people kneel and bow their heads,

but that they stand, raise their eyes to the horizon,

and walk with me.

 

"So you see, all those who do not worship,

who do not chain and imprison themselves with laws and dogmas,

but who leave safety behind to chart a new path--

these are my people.  

If they wave as they pass, that is more than I could ask."

 

--The Forgotten History of Vyago the Unchained

 

Secondary Domain: Freedom

[Cancer]

Lucius, just for clarification: did you eradicate the whole species except for the priest (in which case that's an Interference), or leave some to carry on (in which case you used them as a trampoline to declare a Domain)?  There isn't a simple declarative statement of what that post was doing.

[death tribble]

14 minutes ago, Cancer said:

Lucius, just for clarification: did you eradicate the whole species except for the priest (in which case that's an Interference), or leave some to carry on (in which case you used them as a trampoline to declare a Domain)?  .

I don't read it as eradicating a whole species.