A Lowly Wretch

Tabrasa\- Born of Chaos.

@Dealdric - In your recent post I noticed a certain detail which drew my attention.

"instead of making the user and god weaker, it makes them both stronger."

So, what's the deal with "Holy Magic"?

The only source of energy from nothing in this universe are from Divine Cords and even those will wane in their lingering reserves when used. You can't get more energy out of something than what is put into it, even with divine power. So, unless Dirka is footing the bill for all this strength that's supposed to be gained for Hyperion and his casters I'm at a loss for where she's pulling all that extra power from.

If the answer is meant to be secret do feel free to message me privately. This is something that I should know about before I can let it become a part of the established setting however.

Tabrasa\- Born of Chaos.

Damn. This chat sure exploded in the time I was gone.

All I can say is to rest assured as all answers regarding order, chaos and the state of the universe as a whole will come in time. For now we'll deal with the plant spire event while I plot out what comes after. I do want to leave some time for the deities to resolve their internal plotlines before the next big time skip.

While I have discussed certain matters as was necessary regarding the introduction of new deities I have disclosed very little of what lies ahead.

As an additional note I remember one or two of our current members wanted to put forward deities of combat & purity unless I'm mistaken. I've forgotten who wanted their new gods introduced from the current cast of our participating roleplayers so if those who want their new deities introduced can message me about them I'll discuss their introduction in private.

Like always if I've missed any questions from anyone asked earlier in the chat do please let me know as I have a fair amount to go through and my memory doesn't always serve me with perfect recollection of past posts. Given how popular this chat has been it'd absorb pretty much all of my time combing the prior OOC posts to try and stay on top of everything that's said by everyone for the most part.

_
By the way since it's a somewhat incendiary topic I must ask you all to please not discuss real world religions in this OOC. I wish to maintain a relatively civil chat for everyone and such topics are sadly tinder for heated debates which this little thread is not the place for.

Tabrasa\- Born of Chaos.

@thewizardguy - It's great to have you back! With both you and Kalas having returned I can move plans ahead of what I had projected. I trust you both so I have little reason to believe you'd up and disappear on me without due cause or at least notice.

I'll be working around the introduction of some upcoming deities after the plant spire arc which roughly coincides with my next great event, one like none before it.

Also Oao might want to be BFFs with Sommler sometime.

Unheroic: The Fish and The Falls [Closed]

Once the littler lizard people were finished etching something onto this new anchor they gave her she finally hoisted the great nautical devastator onto her shoulder. Though the one that talked gave her arm a hearty pat and a shake she barely budged an inch. The feeling was dull like the limb was just starting to grow numb. With her sense of touch a punch would feel like a mild caress. She knew better of course, having learned these lessons in time.

"Doonn't woorrry miisterr lizzaard thingy! I'll use this neeww anchorr pleennty!" She reassured him before her attention was stolen away by another fellow from their group. She recalled seeing him but who or what he was escaped her. She watched him run in and get the ire of the lizard person thing that got them some stuff. Mild banter kinda lost her attention so she started wandering on out of the room to where the main group resided.

"Heeyy eeveerryoonne! Thiis stooraage roomm's got some goood stuuff! Annd somme ffuunnyy taallkinng lizzarrds tooo!" She excited bellowed to the whole group, her voice echoing off the walls as she cheered from the doorway while waving her free arm to them all. Striding towards the middle of the room she casually dropped the end of her anchor down on the blood stained table, the bill cracking into the wood a bit as the whole thing bent for a moment under the force of having an anchor land on it.

"Theeyy didn't have my annchoorr ssoo theeyy let me keep thiis oonne innsteeaad." With her off hand on her hip she stood and took in the craftsmanship of it, giving it a firm nod.

Razelia: The Kingdom Of Magic (FINISHED)

Got my post up. Sorry it's so late. My current sleep schedule's been fairly out of wack and my creative drive has been stuttering a fair bit so this thing took me a fair while longer to author than it normally should.

Razelia: The Kingdom Of Magic (FINISHED)

Thessir

Another day, another opportunity to fling himself at the face of the proverbial cliff and hope it crumbles before he does.

It wasn't fun but at least it worked thus far.

Standing there across the arena from Varjan was Thessir, fully decked out in his baggy attire with his travel pack on his back and a long sharpened stick in his left hand. The brim of his hat cast a shadow which concealed his face in darkness, hiding his somber expression as listened to the announcer run down the basics he was familiar with by this point. The day was hot. The sun was bright. He had four pillars and no clue what to expect. Needless to say he wasn't starting all too chipper.

His expression changes however when he saw the mages cast the illusory trees that somehow cast real shadows!

"Great worm! I gotta git the ricipe for that illusion!" He balked, eyes wide with excitement since the prospect of generating real darkness sounded highly promising. Surely there was a catch to it but for now all that meant was that there was slightly less sun to go around. It was something to look into when he had the time.

"And without further ado... BEGIN!"

_
Show time.

Expecting pretty much anything at this point the first stratagem of his was to move out of direct fire.

Strange... For someone reportedly so powerful he must care little for dispatching foes quickly. That or he's more of a close combatant. Thessir considered that as he fell back, kicking off the first step of his one step plan. As he fell he sank into his very own shadow. Over in the shadow of the pillar behind and to the left of Varjan Thessir didn't just rise from it's shadow, he rocketed up from it. As he's tested quite thoroughly if the shadow he enters disappears while he's still in it he'll be ejected quite quickly from the remaining shadow. This can apply to either shadow which has certainly made for some entertaining albeit painful learning experiences. He's never seen what happens if both shadows he's inside disappear completely. He's fairly certain he never wants to test that theory on himself.

As he ascended at rapid speeds he let the wind rush past him, taking in the thrill of wingless flight. Near the top end of his arc his ascent slowed, his body a fair few feet over the top of the pillar. He fell a short distance and landed with casual grace. From above he looked down to his opponent, his coat actively being tussled by the swift high-up winds. At this angle those below could see the wide grin that split across his face. Reaching up he secured the tip of the hat so it wouldn't fall off his head.

"Here's to an honorable duil." He took a bow, or at least something that looked like a bow and a curtsy met halfway in the matter. He had brought his right leg back and bent it a bit, swept his right arm out and to the side in a broad gesture and bent forward over the bottom of the sternum a bit. It was a bit like a stage bow only somewhat contained as he was none too keen on falling off the pillar onto the lit sections of the arena floor.

_
"May the bist man fall... Eheheheheh." He really couldn't help but laugh sometimes. It wasn't even like it was all that funny. The real joke ran much deeper than what words could convey.

With that said he quickly cast his pride and joy, his Dark Form. As it took hold of his matter he shrugged off his pack and stuffed it into his coat where it disappeared. He hid the pack behind the tree to his right which was shortly followed by the sharpened wooden dowel. As for his spell his head and torso were transformed into living darkness. He left his arms and legs unchanged up to their base, keeping just enough mass to count for up to half of himself. As his bones became liquid his posture changed. His upper body was leaning forward and he had his hands tucked in his sleeves as he watched for what his foe of much fame would do.

To be quite frank the young man's gait was rather relaxed. Perhaps he has something he wanted to say? Or does he just care so little? He wondered, waiting on his opponent while watching like a hawk through his eyeless face.

Unheroic: The Fish and The Falls [Closed]

Her face lit up when they brought out what looked like an anchor. It felt so good to be reunited with... This?

Back to confusion. It was an anchor but it didn't look like hers. It was much less rusty and sharpened to boot. She craned her head to the side as she dwelt deeply upon the subject.

Aha! She arrived at a conclusion. This must be someone else's anchor! But then that means...

"I guueess my aanchoorr issnn't here thennn." She looked over this particular anchor. "Thiis is a nnice gifft thoouugh. I'll hoolld onnto this anchor unntill I finnd mmy oowwnn."

That being said she waited for the lizard fellows to complete their engravings, curious as to what they were doing.

"Thaannk yoouu foor this aannchoor thoouugh." The thanked them, resting a hand on the head of the anchor while they worked. She had yet to try it out. She hoped that it handled like her old one at least, she was well accustomed to how it was balanced. She was already winding the chain which connected to it's shackle around her right arm, the supporting arm to her dominant hand which would control the weapon from higher up on the shank.

Now all she needed to do was find some armor and she'd be set.

Tabrasa\- Born of Chaos.

The update is now up! The tree is now encompassing a great deal of the land and blocking out a fair amount of the sky. It hasn't even finished growing yet! Fear not, it's only a couple updates away from being cut off from the core. What happens until then? We'll all see soon.

Edit: I've decided to tag those who the information within this last update pertain to. Apologies if you've read it already and got tagged, it's a catchall measure.

Tabrasa\- Born of Chaos.

Taller and taller the trees did grow. What started as roots at the base of the spire had grown into a massive trunk which was twisted in a spiral which reached high up in the sky. The black spire was no longer visible, having vanished within the great mass of the tree that grew. The entirety of the mountain at this point was gone, having been converted into the trunk that formed the great tree. It's head was quickly sprouting branches which reached out far and wide, grazing the bottoms of the clouds above with their outstretched twigs. Already the surplus of brilliant red and orange leaves which grew upon the great tree's canopy cast their shadow across the lands below. The wider the tree grew the more trees were pulled into it's mass, the great woods below merging into this gargantuan tree's mass as it ballooned outward and upward. The only space this massive tree did not cover was a hole set precisely in the middle where the helical beams were cast forth past the comforting blue of the day lit sky into the yawning infinity.

Meanwhile down on the forest floor where the trees still grew ever larger Hayim could hear the movement of a tree behind him, great orange leaves rustling high above him.

"Wh... Who are you?" Asked a great, rumbling voice which emanated from the wood that loomed over him. The source of the voice was a large face naturally formed into the trunk. The face which once belonged to a man was now stretched and distorted into the natural shapings of tree knots which, despite their wooden nature, flexed and moved like natural muscle. As was clear by it's query this particular fellow either didn't know of Hayim or couldn't recognize the deity now that he, like himself, was changing still.

_
"It matters not... I know not what I've become or how but it's clear your feet are free, unlike mine." The man who was now a tree bent down, lowering a great branch to Hayim's level.

"Whether or not you can fix all this I do not know... Seeing as you haven't ran like those more fortunate than I you clearly have your aims set upon this... fountain of light." Even as the tree man spoke, sluggish though his new form was, The roots from the great tree were started to lift the earth below them. The whole landscape upon which they stood rose to a tilt like that of a hillside and had no appearances of stopping.

"I can get you to the top where the tree opens up for the lights... I must implore you, if it is within your ability... Please disentangle my tribe from the tree... Many rest upon the tree's face but I fear some may have been pulled inside of it... If they remain I fear they may never see the light of day nor the escape of death."

It awaited his response, ready to help bring this wayward being into the heart of the tree with it's newly gained branches of great length.

_
Meanwhile well further behind him the girl whom was now sinking below the dirt could only look on in helpless despair. Had her patron deity really failed to hear her or did he simply not acknowledge her plight? Forsaken by the one she called to in her most dire hour she hung her head low under the great weight of her sorrow as her upper torso was now submerged in the dirt. Strangely enough the dirt below felt strangely smooth and perhaps a tad slimy. She knew not what to make of it for the most dominating thoughts currently occupying her mind were both the terrors of being buried alive combined with the inevitability of it all.

Even as her neck sank into the loamy earth she breathed in deep despite the weight of the earth on her chest knowing that this would be the last time she would know the invigorating joy of having air fill her lungs. As the earth closed in over her face she shut her eyes tightly before disappearing below.

In her bravery she prepared to face the greatest fear of all: the certainty of one's own impending demise. Or so she thought...

---

Meanwhile down in the dwarven colony...

---

Deep within the home of the dwarves they could feel a deep tremor throughout the earth. What started as distant tremors had grown into a constant rumbling which shook the mountain itself. Much like thunder the sound was heralding the arrival of it's cause: Roots.

The roots that arrived were simply the tips of far greater branches that ran below. Even still they wormed they way through the worked earthen walls of their homes, poking up from the floors and reaching out through the walls. This was definitely cause for much disturbance amidst their community. For as far as the roots reached however they reached even deeper, growing down further and further towards the core as the great tree rose higher and higher.

How did they react? Well...

---

Relevant to - @Duoya@Leotamer@Lmpkio@Legion02

Tabrasa\- Born of Chaos.

@Lord Zee - Basically demi-gods are like any other divine creation in that they get as much as what's put into them. If you pour a years worth of power into a demi-god then they will have that much power for a year. The more powerful the demi-god's capabilities are the power they require, effectively determining the rate at which a demi-god depletes the power given to them. Thus, a demi-god with a years worth of power could be as powerful as it's parent god for a year or half as powerful for two years and so-forth. Like any other being who lacks a Divine Cord they cannot replenish their power themselves and they are not immortal. Should a demi-god cease to receive power from their patron deity they will slowly lose their power and eventually die of old age if they aren't slain before then.

As for deities if I were to try and quantify their power then I'd say that if the barest minimum amount of power expenditure was 1 power then I'd say a deity generates 1 power per second to a maximum of ten years worth of power. To grant some perspective on that, for example, Oao could use her power over darkness to create massive hands formed from the night sky to tear the main continent in half and that would exhaust all ten years worth of power from her. She'd require ten years worth of rest in order to return to full power capacity. In contrast Ragnageddon could use 1 power to generate a small candle flame.

_
On a separate note I'll be updating the front OOC page to include some more detail regarding the recent lore that's been uncovered. I'll have a new post updating the situation at the plant spire up sometime this evening approximately.