STATUS:
Sorry for my lack of posts lately. I've just... been struggling to get the energy to write something up. I'm trying some new meds through so hopefully that will change soon.
7 yrs ago
Current
Sorry for my lack of posts lately. I've just... been struggling to get the energy to write something up. I'm trying some new meds through so hopefully that will change soon.
Despite the advanced nature of Vex's medical knowledge, their understanding of biology and the usage of painkillers, the act of giving birth was still a tiring, painful process. It was just a lot easier and safer to give birth within Vex for both the mother and child(ren) involved.
While Oxana might have been the first to figure out the knowledge that had been crafted by Vatarr in order to educate the mortals that had followed him into his realm, she wasn't the only one. As was the nature of things, once one person figured out how to do something others tended to follow suit shortly afterwards. One such person was currently tending and aiding the Queen-Regent and future mother to be during this tying time with a small staff of trained nurses in order to assist.
Under normal circumstances the situation would have been stressful. Vex had been united under the banner of a woman baring the child of one of the divines and that mortal born demi-god being their future leader; This birth being complicated would risk the young kingdom dividing and falling into infighting for dominance on the eve of biological horrors invading and trying to add them to their mass. It didn't help that Vatarr himself was in attendance.
The deity had arrived shortly after the Queen-Regent had gone into labor, shedding the insect like flying form he had been in for his traditional one before quietly stepping into the room and finding a place to take a seat to witness the birth. Normally the staff would have insisted that the father wait outside, but none of them really had the nerve to try and tell Vatarr that he wasn't welcome in the room and since he was staying quiet and out of the way they just did their best to ignore him while they professionally carried on.
After hours through, the screams and moans of pain started to quiet down as they were replaced by a new type of cry altogether; The cry of those who had just entered the mortal world for the first time. The freshly born baby was disconnected from her mother and cleaned up quickly before one of the nurses nervously carried them over to the waiting father. "W-Would you like to hold her, Vatarr?"
It was almost comical and definitely fey, watching the divine being gently take the new lifeform in his hands carefully as he looked her over. Despite her parentage, the child looked like a normal human as her appearance clearly took after her mother Oxana, through an unkind person might point out that the baby seemed to be lacking the unsightly 'fishy sheen' of the skin that the Regent-Queen did. In fact one would think she was pure human... until she opened her eyes. Her eyes were her father's and no one could ever mistake her for being fully mortal once seeing them. While Vatarr didn't say anything, something about his presence and the way that he held the small baby caused her to stop crying... and start giggling.
After a few moments, the deity walked over to join Oxana, carefully offering the small bundle of joy to her tired mother so that she could see her for the first time. "Did you have a name in mind, Oxana?" Vatarr asked softly with a surprising degree of tenderness that suited the circumstance rather nicely.
Oxana couldn't help but offer a soft sigh that morphed into a yawn as her droopy eyes gazed down at her child. "...I did. I can't remember what it was through. I'm just... rather out of it at the moment. Did you have something in mind?"
There was a moment of silence... before Vatarr muttered one word. "Agniya."
Oxana pondered it for a moment, figured she was too tired to really give it a whole lot of thought, before softly answering "I like it. Welcome to the world Agniya."
Oxana gives birth to a daughter. Vatarr, who arrived shortly after she went into labor, holds the surprisingly human looking baby for a while before noticing that she has his inhuman eyes. After a brief moment of tenderness with the mother of his child, Oxana says she's too tired to remember what she was going to name a daughter and asked Vatarr to come up with something, so he selects Agniya.
Start: 8 (5+3 due to Quiz)
Agniya, Heir and Future Divine Queen of Vex. -2 Might for Advanced Blessing of Tremendously hard to kill -2 Might for Advanced Blessing of Incredibly Skilled -1 Might for Blessing of Super Strength.
Homeworld: Sometime in the far, distant past Abenteuer was originally a tropical world. Humid, covered in vast and lush vegetation and inhabited by a large number of different mega fauna alien species that came in herbivore, carnivore and omnivore varieties. Originally it was settled in the hopes of turning it into a farming world, be it for planets or its animal population. This hope proved... unfounded. The soil proved ill suited for sustaining edible corps on a mass scale and the mega fauna was discovered to be uncooperative to domestication.
Despite these setbacks, Abentueuer's colonization continued. Rather then food production, it turned into a scientific hub as botanists and biologists from all over humanities worlds flocked to investigate what Abentueuer had to offer from its native life. It also proved to be a remarkable tourist destination for various big game hunters in the galaxy who were interested in the planet's mega fauna and the stories and trophies they could provide. It helped that a lot of them actually tasted pretty damn good when cooked.
When the Age of Strife struck and isolated the world, both scientist and big game hunter factions banded together for the sake of survival rather then fight a pointless war for dominance. After all, they were stuck there for the foreseeable future due to the rampaging warp storms, so they might as well get comfortable and make themselves at home.
Many years later in the modern day, about a third of Abentueuer's landmass has been converted into man made settlements and structures while the rest of the planet its flora covered self. One would think at first glance that this was a death world situation in which humanity had fought tooth and nail in order to claim what it had from the world but this is actually not true: Their scientific and hunter ancestors both had a deep respect for the natural world, even if for different reasons. As such, they largely invested their time and resources into developing and making use of 'green tech' in order to preserve as much of the world of Abentueuer as possible while allowing themselves to have comfortable lives.
Even if they are no longer bound to the resources of Abentueuer, its people continue to show the same respect their ancestors did. After all, if you hunt all of a species to extinction then the next generation isn't going to be able to make hunting stories of their own.
Appearance: Strahlender is a giant of a man at 14 feet tall. While he is incredibly physically strong, he is actually somewhat naturally chubby in both body and face. His hair is brown and kept short, while his mustache is generally kept prim and proper while the rest of his face is kept clean shaven with a few exceptions (namely, long term campaigns in which there is little time to break and stop fighting).
Strahlender's power armor was originally based on an early design for terminator armor, but like the rest of his legion it has been combined with the designs of Abentueuer's 'Knight Armor' in order to maintain the same functionality and purpose, but have that familiar feel of home. The primary difference between Strahlender's personal armor and that of any of his legionaries is that of scale, since he tends to tower over them.
Personality: Strahlender is a jolly, polite and honorable man who desires to travel the universe in the name of adventure, witness the wonders that it holds and collect and share stories of it. A moral man, it isn't strange for him to feel honor bound to defending those who cannot fight back or refusing to engage those who clearly aren't fighters. It is actually rather difficult to incite his ire with insults or aggression, but cruelty and indifference to the suffering of others will rile up a response. Never afraid to lead the charge into battle, but willing to ask himself if the battle needs to be fought before jumping in.
While he is very much onboard with the grand quest of uniting humanity from all across the stars, Strahlender is one of the Primarchs that doesn't judge others for their species and has no ill intent towards xenos races solely because of them being xenos. For him, they are just another interesting part of the universe and more reason to explore it. That being said, the actions of these species can quickly result in Strahlender making it a personal mission to wipe their breed of evil from the universe but even then he'll still be prone to sparing civilians in the event that the species in question understands the concept of non-combatants.
Orks are an interesting species in that Strahlender doesn't hate them. In fact he honestly enjoys fighting them! The savage greenskins always make an for epic tale of battle and glory on the battlefield and their actions against humanity, while horrible and clearly needing to be stopped, actually lack the malice intent that normally incites his ire. Granted their are individual orks who trigger it by being sadistic bastards, but Strahlender cannot help but feel that the greenskin's vile actions off the battlefield are caused by the fact that to them, there is no concept of a place that isn't a battlefield. To them the Orks aren't butchering civilians, they are merely fighting the poorly equipped and trained dregs of an enemy force. They clearly have to be purged to make a safer universe of course, but at least the fighting will be interesting until their final days.
Prone to festivities, drinks that have been designed to be strong enough for the legionaries to be able to enjoy and the collecting and telling of stories, Strahlender has a charisma about him that makes people see the universe the way that he does; To want to be apart of a universe where adventure is possible and that the honorable are remembered for their deeds for eons to come.
Skills: Leader of Men: Strahlender is a strong, charismatic man who fundamentally feels that humanity doesn't need to be driven like sheep, but led. He will never ask someone to do what he is unwilling to do himself and if battle must be fought, he will always be among the first leading the charge. These convictions bleed over into his words and actions and inspire loyalty and a desire to follow him on his cause and to do the best that they can in its name.
Weaponsmaster: Strahlender makes use of a number of different weapons, depending on the battle in question he is about to fight. He knows how to use all of them at a inhuman, master level.
Strength of Conviction: Strahlender is an honorable knight who follows his own code of chivalry and glory. He will follow this code of honor above the laws of men and Emperor. There is no force in this universe that would make him deviate or abandon it, consequences be damned.
Science Nerd: Despite being a adventuring knight with a code of honor and a desire for glory, Strahlender is rather intelligent and highly educated in various fields of science and technology.
Assignment Grade: Kappa
Strahlender really doesn't have much in the way of psychic ability, nor has he ever tapped into it before. Maybe one day he might sit down and actually explore this side of himself but for the time being he has better things to do.
Biography: No one knows the details of Strahlender Viktor's early life apart from Strahlender himself and he doesn't speak of them. While many might find such a thing odd, the people of Abentueuer understand that Stranhlender is embodying the knightly virtue of demut: Humility. While the knights of Abentueruer and later the 14th legion have a practice of telling heroic tales of their exploits, it is considered highly improper to tell the stories of ones own achievements; Abentueruer knightly tales are designed so that the group in question will all take their part telling the story, enshrining the virtues and achievements of their comrades and allies rather then their own.
What is known is that one night, lucky residents of Abentueuer looked up into the sky and witnessed what appeared to be a shooting star. Those of a more astronomy bent even calculated the trajectory and found that it's course found it crashing into a section of their homeworld far from civilization and generally home to some of the more aggressive predators on Abentueuer.
For the most part this was just viewed as an interesting tidbit of information. Something to talk about with friends or coworkers but not really an earth shattering event... despite the fact that the point of impact likely suffered its share of earth shattering because of it. With one exception.
A group of young knights, who were planning an expedition into that region anyway in order to prove themselves and earn some stories and glory, not only saw the falling star as a good omen for the hunt but also decided to make finding and collecting it an objective in its own right. They were going there anyway, might as well make the adventure all the more interesting by seeking out a hunk of star metal that crashed down.
The adventure of this group of young knights was an epic tale in its own right filled with heroism, comradery among brothers and sisters in arms and tales of combat deserving of song, but when they reached their destination the story encountered a twist that would make it the foundation of legend. It took them over a year and a half in order to reach the area of their quest and their search for the 'fallen star' proved surprisingly easy. It was hard to miss the pod in the middle of a boneyard of various animals of the region.
While one would have thought those bones were caused by the impact itself, that idea was quickly disbanded due to the the fact that some of the dead were fresh and had clear signs of having their flesh and meat cut off... alongside the small boy that was sitting by a campfire by a leanto made of a mixture of bone, leather, wood and other plant materials. This seemingly six year old boy, wearing makeshift hide clothing and cooking a stew with a hand made stone pot with stone and wooden tools carefully placed around a camp in the middle of one of the most dangerous regions on the planet, looked up at the arriving knights and tilted his head in curiosity for a moment before beckoning them over to join him.
What followed was a surreal meal. The child didn't seem to understand the knights at first, but was a remarkably quick learner and before the stew was ready to be served up they had clearly learned enough to at least be able to understand what was being said... or at least the underlying intention behind the words. In return he didn't speak because the knights suspected he didn't know how, but the boy proved to be very good at charades when it came to imparting meaning of his own, even if it wasn't as detailed as he might have wanted it to be.
At any rate, after some discussion and a day or two at this camp site, everyone agreed to head back to civilization and to take the pod with them. Considering how long the journey back was, the young boy would spend a lot of time with the band of knights. Within the first month he was able to fluently speak to them. With six months he had gone from a remarkably effective but brutish method of fighting which had been developed to survive out in the wilds to the fourth best fighter of the band of knights, despite the fact that he was still much smaller then they were. By the end of the year he was not only grown into the body of a teenager, but he had taken the undisputed title of the best duelist of the group.
By the time they had returned to civilization, the leader of the young band of knights Herrliche Tapferkeit had unofficially adopted the strange boy from the stars as family and gave him the name of Strahlender Viktor before personally vouching for him to undergo official training for knighthood. This was largely just a formality, since by this point Strahlender was more skilled at combat then most veteran knights and the band had done a solid job of teaching him the various codes, oaths and ideologies of being a knight, but as they were willing to admit that while they were officially recognized as full knights there were better, more experienced teachers. Everyone agreed that Strahlender's time with the band (and the time alone before that) counted as far as proving himself a full knight via questing was concerned.
Unsurprisingly Strahlender officially became a full knight of the order within record time, through he credited the achievement largely to his friends and family in arms for giving him a solid education to work from. Rather then go on a quest like most newly minted knights did, he instead turned his focus towards the scientific.
The scientific community on Abentueuer was still active after all this time, through one might have found it was heavily slanted towards certain fields; While the planet had originally served as a hub for science research, it had largely been focused on researching plants, animals and biological factors of the planet. Cut off via the Age of Strife, this resulted in having limited resources on other fields... if they had resources at all. As such, much had to be developed from scratch. In all fairness they had done a remarkable job of retaining what they had while expanding their knowledge base from practically nothing in a lot of cases over the length of the Long Night.
Strahlender taking part in the scientific community took the hard work of all those who came before and accelerated it beyond their wildest dreams. Optimistic estimates had placed the first maned mission into space as Abentueuer's first step to reclaiming their spot in the stars between 40 and 60 years. Because of Strahlender, they were able to land a manned craft on the planets moon and return within 3. 2 years after the first trip, a colony had been established as probes and satellites were sent out as plans to visit the rest of the system were being made before a Rogue Trader detected one of the probes and followed it back to its source.
The visit proved rather beneficial for both parties, with the Rogue Trader finding a pretty good world with a respectable human population open to joining the Imperium and picking up a fighting force of the planets knights in the process because they wanted to go on an adventure to see the stars and Abentueuer in turn was brought to the attention of the Imperium... and quickly drawing the personal eye of the Emperor himself after the Rogue Trader met the giant science knight that had pushed the planet to take to the stars so quickly and flagged him as a possible Primarch.
The Emperor arrived soon afterwards and quickly confirmed this and welcomed his lost son to the Imperial fold, as well as putting him in charge of Abentueuer. Strahlender in turn decided that the local government had been doing a pretty good job of things as it was and more or less empowered them to continue doing what they were doing as he went with the Emperor to study and learn from the best that the Imperium had to offer before he took control of his legion.
When Strahlender learned about the 14th and their brutal but effective nature which reminded him very much about how he once was, he sat at the top of a staircase that led to a training field that was used by the elite forces of the Emperor's personal guard and pondered deeply for eleven hours and twenty three minutes. When one servant of the Imperial Palace asked Strahlender if he was alright, Strahlender was rather jolly in his response as he answered 'Oh, yes. I was just pondering how to turn my poor lost children away from the savagery that they have had to use to survive and remake them to be paragons of ideals they were meant to be. Some might consider that an impossible task, but the more impossible the task, the greater the tale when it is achieved!'
The solution that Strahlender came up with was to reorganize his legion from the ground up. This would take time, since it would require getting legionary production from Abentueuer's knightly stock up and running in record time, but it was manageable. Rather then sending new recruits to reinforce the existing legion structure, he instead called the various task forces of the 14th to Abentueuer one at a time in order to break them up in implant them into the new task forces. Officially this was a 'Veterans teaching the rookies' kind of scheme in regards to combat on the galactic stage, but Strahlender made sure that in whatever force they were apart of, the Terrans would be in the minority. Nor where they the highest ranking authorities.
This created an interesting environment where the Terran's hard one experience and knowledge was valued due to the fact that a number of foes that would be encountered upon the Great Quest to unite Humanity were completely devoid of honor or just complete bastards and these lessons would prove vital to many of the Abentueuer marines going forward, but the overwhelming Abentueuer culture would encourage the Terran marines to become their better selves and follow the example of their Primarch. This wasn't a perfect system, for more then one Terran marine rejected the possibility of becoming something better then a savage brute in tactics or ideals. Since these often proved to be the most monstrous and sadistic of people who reveled in the atrocities they committed, they would usually be executed via being killed in an honorable duel with Strahlender without anyone missing them. With one exception.
Sergent Metzger, when challenged to a duel by Strahlender due to his inhumane, dishonorable and cruel actions on the field of battle, murdered two of his former squad mates and tried to hijack a thunderhawk to flee. Strahlender subdued Metzger, but took him alive and dragged the murderous traitor back to his flagship. That was the last time anyone saw Metzger alive and while there are numerous theories ranging from throwing Metzger into a plasma reactor to dangling him outside of the ship via a cable and then entering the warp, if asked Strahlender will insist that Metzger is very much alive and will remain as such for the foreseeable future.
The Meeting: Abentueuer had been expecting a proper Imperial delegation to further cement the diplomacy that Rogue Trader Roberts had started. In a manner of speaking, they got more then they bargained for when it arrived.
Strahlender had donned his armor and stood at attention in the ranks of the other high ranked knights as part of Abentueuer's diplomatic welcome. His choice of position at the end of the line put him right next to the science representatives, physically making him the link that overlapped both fields and honoring his achievements in both. He had not been expected to speak during the welcoming ceremony; There would be a chance to have conversations with the Imperials later, but despite all his achievements earning him the honor of being apart of the welcoming party, he was not of a position of authority to speak for Abentueuer to a foreign power openly.
There was something about the Imperial landing craft through that drew his attention to it, even before he had been able to see it up in the sky. Granted, the transport itself was a sight to behold; The amount of light from Abentueuer's sun that was reflecting off of it was almost blinding, as if a second, smaller star was descending. Only once the craft had properly landed that the reason for the sheen was the amount of gold that seemed to be covering the whole thing, carefully crafted to look artistic and impressive instead of gaudy like the Rogue Trader's own personal transport had appeared with its decorations.
As the landing ramp lowered and the figure strode forth, Strahlender stared at the Emperor of Mankind; There was simply no way that the shining, gold covered figure before him could be anyone else. Someone who, despite having never seen them before... he felt a deep connection to that he couldn't explain right away. As the speaking members of the delegation went forward in order to great this guest to their world, the figure... ignored them. Walked right passed them as if they weren't there as he made his way with total authority right towards where Strahlender was standing. Their eyes met, despite the fact that his head was covered by his helmet.
When the Emperor came to a stop in front of Strahlender, there was a moment of silence that hung between them. It surrounded the whole area, as all watched this breech of decorum with a mixture of shock, awe and confusion. Until at last, Strahlender was the first of the pair to speak. Despite how loud and proud his voice naturally was, the knight spoke with a gentle softness that might not have been heard if there had been any other noise at the time "Do not worry. We will talk soon enough. I'm not going anywhere. But we both have our duties and obligations and you're being awfully rude right now." before with a simple gesture beckoned towards those that the Emperor should have been speaking too right now.
For his part, Strahlender got to see the small look of surprise as the Emperor turned and seemed to notice the diplomats for the first time. There was another moment of silence before the Emperor offered a small, barely noticeably nod and turning in order to greet the representatives of Abentueuer.
The two would talk later and the discussion would prove enlightening in many ways. In fact, the fact that the Emperor of Mankind had, for a brief moment, forgotten himself and his duties as Emperor due to finding one of his long lost children after an accident separated them while Strahlender was a baby many years ago not only excused his slip in protocol, but ended up wiping away any lingering doubts of the Abentueuer people swearing their loyalty to him and his Imperium. Once Abentueuer had officially joined the Imperium, Strahlender was proud to kneel and swear his services and loyalty to his lord, master and father and rose as a Primarch of the Imperium.
Legion Name: The Honorbound (Stralender's rename) Condemned Ravagers (Their former name)
Legion Number: XIV. The 14th.
Legion Strength: 93,000
Armour Appearance: The standard suit of power armor for The Honorbound is the Mark III, with the Mark II and IV being assigned to its supportive units. The bulk of the armor plating is painted a light shade of grey, with the joints being being a darker shade of grey. The pauldrons are the only part of the armor that get touched by other colors, both of which are painted in heraldry.
The left pauldron is always painted in the coloration and symbol of the marine's original squad; The one they joined when they officially became a true legionnaire after proving themselves as an aspirant. There are some rather byzantine rules when it comes to the design of a squad heraldry and all new ones are checked against the record of heraldry before meeting approval. The left pauldron of the Honorbound will always bare the original heraldry, no matter what happens or what kind of career the marine in question leads. It will of course be touched up and redone, but it will always be the same imagery and coloration.
The right pauldron bares the heraldry of the marines current squad. Unlike the left pauldron, the right one is prone to change and will be repainted in the event that survivors of two or more squads need to be combined into a new squad. Generally, the 'new' squad will continue to bare the heraldry of one of the squads that made it up, normally decided by the number of marines from each squad and the biggest number winning: In the event of a tie, a new heraldry altogether is designed and submitted, normally taking aspects of all the former squad heraldry as inspiration.
Warcry: "I am insert name here of insert planet of origin and you will feel my WRATH!" "HAVE AT THEE!"
Dramatis Personae: WIP
Favored Tactics/Battlefield Role: The Condemned Ravagers and later The Honorbound both favored a straight up melee fight and both had a vary similar method of operation: They would select a location on the battlefield or some objective and and assault it in force, the front elements wearing the heaviest armor in order to tank enemy fire while charging to close the distance and start fighting while the lighter armored supporting units would provide covering fire, medical aid or mobilize to help in the event of changing circumstances such as a surprise enemy flanking attack.
The primary difference between the two was in the nature of their targets. The Condemned Ravagers tended to favor weak and poorly defended positions or just outright civilian targets altogether, since terror tactics to insight emotional responses among the enemy was part of their play book; Ideally, the longer the campaign lasted the more the enemy would fear, dread and hate the Ravagers to the point that it would compromise their ability to think and operate clearly, alongside dealing with the issues that the blows to the civilian infrastructure was causing.
The Honorbound will by their nature always aim for a military target, the stronger then better. Despite what their critics might say through, they're not stupid about this. They're not going to charge over a minefield if they can help it after all. While there is much honor and glory in fighting a strong opponent getting your comrades and brothers in arms killed in the process isn't ideal but in certain situations is grimly understandable if there are no other options; Getting them killed in a battle that didn't need to happen because you were a glory hungry idiot is a deep mark of shame and often personal guilt.
The Honorbound will actively seek to aid allied forces where they can. Their record and reputation for doing this is such that if the 14th cannot dispatch anything to answer a call for reinforcements or aid, the situation they are currently in is so intensive and dire that they physically cannot spare a single marine without risking defeat.
The Honorbound are also known for their views on civilian life. Namely, they will not harm or kill civilians unless there is literally no other option to take. This applies to enemy civilians; If an enemy civilian pulls a weapon, a Honorbound marine will actually try and subdue them and resort to killing only if lives are actually in danger. This applies to xenos civilians as well. Of course, this is dependent on the xenos race in question actually understanding the concept of civilians and not being horrible hive mind like monstrosities, but the Honorbound will invoke the EoT in order to protect a xeno civilian population of an area they have taken by force. Normally the 14th will have moved on to the next campaign before the ruling on if the species is accepted or failed EoT requirements is made.
Legion Characteristics/Ideology: In the past, when the Legion was called the Condemned Ravagers, the 14th held a sinister reputation. They were the ones that the Emperor and the Imperium sent in when the target needed to be made a brutal example of and many of the old guard took a sadistic delight in the work that they did. They would recruit from the worst elements of humanity, often giving brutally violent criminals that under any other circumstances would have been condemned to die for their actions a chance to serve the Imperium in a manner more... suiting to their temperament and skills.
The Imperial Army hated working alongside them due to the Ravagers habit of using, abusing and discarding their solders in a heartbeat on mass if it meant achieving their objectives and ends. In pursuit of victory, any cost in lives was acceptable... not their own lives, of course but the cost of human solders was perfectly fine.
The arrival and take over of Primarch Viktor changed the 14th on a fundamental level. Instead of the worst in humanity, the legion strives to embody the best humanity has to offer. The practice of recruiting the scum of humanity was abandoned and those who refused to abandon the monstrous practices of the past despite the Primarch's efforts to reforge the 14th into a new legion were given the small mercy of an honorable death at the hands of their disappointed genesire; The one shred of honor they could call their own after a lifetime of vile, wicked deeds.
It took decades of time and effort, but the 14th managed to prove that the change in their character was real to the Imperium and the Imperial Army via their deeds and actions. It isn't strange for members of the Honorbound to take on small 'quests' of their own creation while stationed on a world or passing through a system that is dedicated to aiding or improving life in that area for the people living there. For younger marines who were recruited after the return of the Primarch, these quests are done purely out of a sense of adventure and a desire to improve the lives of others. For the older members, these quests often serve as a self imposed penance for their actions back when they were Ravagers.
Despite the change, there are places within the Imperium where the dark legacy of the 14th remains even after all these years. Systems that still remember what happened when the Condemned Ravagers were sent in to deal with the situation.
The 14th has an... interesting relationship with Xenos races in that they are not inherently xenophobic. This was true even back during the dark days of the Condemned Ravagers, as shocking as the idea might seem. They are not xenophiles either through. Rather equal in its treatment of humans and xenos alike, the 14th in both renditions has generally always dealt with either with the same mentally: If diplomacy can get reasonable results without having to spend resources or waste lives, great! If not, war it is.
Relationships: The 14th has a... complicated history with the various branches of the Imperium. It's dark actions and reputation as the Condemned Ravagers linger still in some places for both the Imperial Army and the civilian administration of the Imperium have long memories, but in the modern day and after decades of hard work the deeds and actions of the Honorbound have largely banished most of the actions of the Ravagers to the pages of history. It's not strange for the average Imperial to mistake the Honorbound and the historical Condemned Ravagers as two completely different legions.
Of all the enemies the Imperium has faced, the Honorbound favor fighting Orks the best. This isn't because they hate the Orks in as much as they actually like fighting the bastards. They're fun! Make for some truly epic and sometimes funny stories!
The border between the Fungal Marshes and the unnamed lands of Node 23 had been transformed over a matter of weeks. Land had been cleared for line of sight, a deep trench dug so that any attack would be at a disadvantage and the resources of both projects used to build a great defensive wall made of a mixture of wood, giant mushroom, dirt and stone. While a wall built completely of stone might have been more solid, the Fungal Marshes alone didn't have enough stone for the project, so it would have to be dug up and transported from another region... which was possible, but it would have taken months or even years to create a fully stone wall on this scale and they simply didn't have the time for that.
Besides, it was hoped that the combination of materials making up the wall would prove effective in its own right. After all, just because something was good at digging into dirt didn't mean it could get through stone and vice versa. Once you threw in the timber and mushroom it would prove to be a fairly solid obstruction. Once you factored in the trench in front of it and the armed solders who would be patrolling it, in theory it would be enough to stop the invading monsters dead. If that was what was going to happen was yet to be seen.
Regent-Queen Oxana was still a month or two away from giving birth, but the stresses of pregnancy on her body had caused her to slow down and take a less stressful role in the day to day managing of the kingdom of Vex, allowing other members of her government to handle the bulk of the work while she handled the paperwork side of affairs.
While Node 28 had been created as a toxic, volcanic hellscape in which organic life was unwanted and ill suited with death being the certain outcome of anything foolish enough to enter it, several interesting discoveries had been made along its border. New weapons of war that were being tested and developed as various volatile powders started to prove their worth, even as old and tested weapons were improved with new designs.
Despite the storm clouds that heralded harsh times of war in the future, Vex's present was brighter then ever.
Vatarr needed more power. While in singular combat he was confident that he could take on any opponent, his skirmish into Node 23 had proven that he wasn't fighting a singular foe. Fighting an army alone was not impossible, but he needed to stack the odds in his favor and that would require the aid of those humans that lived in his lands. Of course he had given his word that he wouldn't demand their allegiance to him and he fully intended to keep his word; He wouldn't to conscript them. They were already preparing for war because they knew that the infection of Nodes 18 and 23 was a threat that needed to be stopped, even if they had yet to see it for themselves.
He couldn't help but feel proud of them for that. But they needed to be more if he wanted them to have any hope of standing against the infected tide... and Vatarr had an idea of how to do that.
Whenever he had claimed Nodes in the past, while they had flooded him with god like power, he had also noticed that he had been spending some of his power in turn. At first it was only a small amount, but as time passed he had noticed that bigger 'donations' were required without truly grasping why. He had his theories, but seeing how quickly his mortals had advanced as far as ideas and technologies went he started to put two and two together.
Naturally, evolution of society and creatures were generally slow paced. Something that happened over generations as circumstances changed and solutions were required. Whatever he was offering up was directly granting his followers ideas, knowledge and abilities on a board scale.
Logically, he needed to give them more.
So he flew to Node 29. Between Life and Death and his new armor, it wasn't even a contest as the chaotic cat squid was dashed to pieces and the Node claimed. For about a third of the territory, it seemed as if the Volcanic Bulwark was being extended as more fire, stone and poisonous air claimed more ground... but the nature of the land would soon change as fire gave was to snow and ice. A forest of pine trees sprung into existence on a regional scale, their evergreen branches covered in snow and icicles while a chill wind blew. A realm of fire and ice that was beautiful, if harsh and unforgiving.
Then he turned his attention to Node 31.
This trip took a bit longer, if only because the region was bigger. If a chaos beast called this region home Vatarr didn't see it, flying directly to the Node itself and planting his hand upon it. Around Node 31, the world froze. The temperature plummeted as the wind picked up into a bone cutting gale, condemning this realm to an wind blasted, ice covered desert in which life shouldn't have been able to exist for any period of time.
And yet, even as Vatarr focused on the offering of his energy to fuel the development of mortal kind in his realm, he could still feel the presence of living things existing in this harsh, unforgiving and brutal landscape. It actually made him chuckle just a little to himself; Life existed where it could... life existed where it couldn't.
With the task he had set out to do complete, Vatarr used the last of his might to ward the Node and let him know if anyone came to take it from him before at last turning towards home and taking flight once more.
The newly named Kingdom of Vex prepares for war, as well as start to develop some new technologies. Cannons and longbows will serve alongside sword and other martial weapons for the war ahead.
Thinking about the war to come, Vatarr goes and captures Nodes 29 and 31 because he needs more power and he's figured out that using the Nodes and offering some of his strength, he can advance them technologically at a truly advanced, unnatural rate having done so before... even if he hadn't quite known what he was doing at the time.
Job done, he sets up a ward on the frozen, hellish wasteland that is now Node 31 and starts heading back home so he can have a nap.
Start: 5
4 Might is spent on advancing the Kingdom of Vex to Tier five (Early Fantasy Industrial Era)
With the various tribes and peoples of the Ashen Planes and Fungal Marshes uniting under the leadership of a pregnant Oxana, both due to her status as the first of their people to unlock the full knowledge of the copper bound guide to life and death alongside her status as the chosen mother of the deity Vatarr, news could travel a lot quicker then it could during earlier days. So when Vatarr had returned to his realm, the messengers found him quickly. They didn't find him in order since some discovered him faster then others (some were simply faster and better at traversing the land then their peers as well), but after a while a picture of events started to form that could be deciphered.
The start with, some kind of hive came into existence in Node 18 that created monsters. The hydra, that had since the dawn of the world been there to protect Node 18, had been corrupted by whatever was at the heart of this hive. A great many humans from Node 18 had fled from the region into neighboring areas as quickly as possible, with some arriving at the Fungal Marshes or pushing on to the Ashen Planes. Recently, this army of monsters had invaded the realm of Node 23, causing the humans of that region to flee as well. The newly united people were preparing weapons and armor on an unheard of scale and were fortifying the border with possible plans to invade Node 23. Messengers were being sent to Brey and his people to look into the situation there... possibly even to the realm to the west as well, since there were people in that direction as well.
To say that the situation had quickly developed would have been an understatement, but even as this information filtered in Vatarr kept his head level. Oxana was not asking him for his direct intervention: This was as much a challenge for the leadership of herself and their child as anything else. Her concerns as far as Vatarr were concerned was the possible involvement of another deity. From his own point of view, this was a valid concern to have; A hive that spits out an army of corrupt creatures generally doesn't come out of nowhere after all.
So Vatarr left a message that he was going to secure a safe place for those who weren't interested in fighting the coming conflict before he started to run.
In the early days, when Vatarr had originally sort out Node 26, he had crossed the chaos wastes at a jog. The battle for Node 27 had been a slug-fest, slowing his progress down considerably but never fully stopping him. Even the failed attempt at Node 25 had been at a relatively reasonable pace for a deity. This was the first time that Vatarr had felt the need to push himself to the limit. The Fungal Marshes came and went, the Ashen Planes passed by soon after... until at last he crossed over into the chaos region of Node 30.
Of all the chaotic waste regions he had witnessed so far, Vatarr had to admit that Node 30 was a devious bastard of a landscape in the fact that it looked stable. In fact it almost looked like a deity had come through and made it an idealistic, subtropical paradise complete with bountiful plant-life and a coastline so beautiful as to be utterly captivating... If strangely devoid of life. The trick was that it didn't stay like this. Simply at random the land shifted from its near ideal form for a grand total of four and a half seconds before returning to its subtropical self.
While this didn't sound that bad, so far these little 'shifts' in reality had resulted in Vatarr wading through knee deep magma, so deep underwater that he actually got a bit of a headache from the pressure and being blasted by sub-arctic winds blowing so harshly that even with only four and a half seconds of being exposed, a mortal would likely be in a lot of trouble. During the journey, Vatarr couldn't help but ponder the nature of the chaos around the nodes before stability set in... and why some of it seemed to process a malevolent will.
Regardless, Vatarr arrived at the Node, gave it that stabilizing tap so that it would remain a subtropical realm that could now be expected to support life and started north-west to Node 28
Node 28 was, by and large, uninteresting.
It was just the standard flavor of chaos compered to the interestingly cunning chaos of Node 30, complete with an unremarkably remarkable two headed giant zebra that surged with lightning and unleashed torrents of lightning bolts. It died within the opening strike of Life and Death and so Vatarr had continued onward in relative peace.
Reaching the node, he took a little more time in deciding what form this realm should take. The results however, spoke for themselves.
While the Ash Planes had some volcanic activity, this realm was nothing but rock, ash, poisonous gas and molten fire. What few rocky paths that were relatively safe to walk upon often found themselves so close to the lava streams that the heat alone would cook a mortal... provided that the stream didn't wash over the rocks at some point. The air itself was a mixture of poisonous fumes belched froth from the deep places of the earth. This was not a place for life... and yet, life existed anyway.
In rare pockets where the fire couldn't reach could be found a variety of stubborn, ugly and almost certainly poisonous plants with their roots embedded deeply in the dirt and rock. Creatures made of stone and crystal could also be seen scampering around, clearly unbothered by the heat if not actively wading through shallow pools or steams of lava as they went about their existence.
A hostile land... and a barrier to all but the most specialized of creatures from passing through. The Fungal Marshes would not need to worry about their defenses being flanked if the deity being this tide of monstrous creatures tried to claim this region as their own.
Vatarr claims Nodes 30 and 28. There are reasons for this, but that's really all you need to know.
Start: 5
Spend: 3 Might to improve the currently unnamed kingdom made up of the Fungal Marshes and the Ashen Planes from Tier 3 to Tier 4. Welcome to the Iron Age.
End: 2
Node 30 has been transformed into a subtropical paradise, complete with bountiful plantlife and beautiful beaches. Lumber, herbs, animals and fish are plentiful and it is a rather peaceful region.
Node 28 is a hostile hellscape of volcanoes, poisonous gases and fire. Earthquakes and eruptions are common while water sources are, outside of a few dirty, ash filled puddles that form when it rains, non-existent. The volatile nature of the region make 'safe' passages through temporary at best as the landscape is prone to sudden, violent changes while the air itself is filled with a mixture of fumes that are actively poisonous to most forms of life.
Surprisingly, there is life here. Stubborn, poisonous plants grow where they can while the animals appear alien due to their metalloid natures allowing them to survive in this lava coated landscape.
Truth be told, compared to the almost endless battle of Node 27/The Ashen Planes the march through the chaos wastes of Node 25 were laughably easy for Vatarr. There had been a small period of discomfort when something tried to get close without his knowledge, but that had resolved itself with a noise that sort of sounded like pouring water on top of a stone that had been resting in the middle of a fire… If stone was a gas and the water in question was ice. Either way, whatever it was disliked the encounter with the mists of Death and ceased trying to bother him.
He had actually been making some pretty good time towards the Node itself when suddenly the world changed. Where once there was a chaotic mess of possibilities and alternative realities competing for dominance and existence all in the same moment, now the world of Node 25 was a stable realm of metal plants and giant trees.
For a moment Vatarr paused, looking around at this new realm and feeling a moment of disappointment that he had been beaten to this prize. But with a small shrug he continued on towards the Node of this now stable land. If it turned out that Brey had decided to come south then the chance to catch up with him would be nice. If it turned out to be a new deity… Well, there was no harm in finding out who it was and having a conversation. Get an idea of how the future was going to unfold and all that.
Yellow moss crumbled to dust before Vatarr and grew thick in his wake. As he neared the node a land constructed tame itched at the presence of the god and the power he wielded. Prickly lizards and colourful birds watched from hovels and branches, in the first moments of their existence transfixed by someone they knew to be other and different. They were not alone in the observation.
Before the node and in Vatarr’s path stood a sapling. A silver tree akin to the others in its substance, but itself different in that it truly did stand on its own two legs. The young tree born anew in the shape of a man faced off against the intruder, a god armed with the power of life and death itself, and managed to only shake a little as it raised its ‘fists’. The tree spared a glance back at the node where, coiled around the monolith, the violet scales of its apparent creator rose and fell in the steady rhythm of sleep. Facing Vatarr again the tree seemed to settle on an idea as it began backing up slowly as it could manage.
For his part, Life and Death had their respective mists turned off as it became clear that the land wasn’t inherently hostile to travelers and Vatarr didn’t wish to make a bad impression. Of course, sooner rather than later he arrived at the Node itself to discover the telepathic snake deity from the original awakening, as well as its relatively tiny guardian.
There was a moment where Vatarr considered just striking down the guardian with the intent of killing the slumbering god, removing them as a threat and claiming their lands for his own but doing so felt… wrong to him. At least not until it was clearly the only option anyway.
Turning his skull head towards the guardian in question, there was a surprisingly polite inquiry as Vatarr asked “Could you kindly wake him up? I would leave him to rest and talk later but I’ve come all this way and I would like something to show for the effort. Even if it is just knowledge.”
At Vatarr’s words the tree froze. As if in panicked thought its head whipped back and forth between its creator and the interloper until it seemed to decide. Without words, for the tree had no mouth with which to speak, the young sapling turned and sprinted back to the node as quickly as its newfound legs would carry it.
When it reached its creator it jumped up onto the vast serpent’s head and, rather uncertainly, began trying to pull open the sleeping gods eyelids. The tree only managed to get hold of one before all six of the serpent’s eyes fluttered open. The god shuddered as it woke and began to shake the little creature off of its head as it extricated itself from the node and rose to regard the being that had woken it from its slumber.
Words reverberated in the minds of all that thought in the forest as, unaware of Vatarr, the serpent god questioned the young sapling, “A... Tree? What are you? I was asleep-”
As if silently warned by the sapling the serpent’s eyes suddenly fixed on Vatarr, and so too did its thoughts, “Ah, you. I have yet to perish, despite appearances. Take your maggots elsewhere.”
“Oh I’m aware you’re not dead. Congratulations on surviving so long by the way. I was actually on my way here when you beat me to the Node so… I decided that now was as good a time as any to have a chat.” Vatarr began, looking at the larger serpent with… well, not a smile on his face because deer skulls can’t really smile, but with a positive tone in his voice all the same.
“What is it you want? If you’re the last deity standing, what does your ideal world look like?” Might as well start with the important question after all.
“I see you’ve still not found your sight,” The serpent’s thought came steeped in contempt, “You witness chaos, peer into the nodes, and ask what I want as if our creator didn’t lay dying in shame and failure when he delivered his lie. What any of us want is irrelevant, worm-king.”
Just a one of the serpent’s eyes glanced down at the sapling that’d woken the deity and a thought as foreign as it was determined echoed in Vatarr’s mind, “What I- What we who see will do, is endure. If I am the last one standing it will be because the rest of you have destroyed each other in ignorance and the callow belief that this world and its nodes will not betray you at the end.
The response that Vatarr offered… likely wasn’t the one that the serpent was expecting. Tilting his head slightly to the side, Vatarr gazed into the eyes of the snake and answered “And? You say that as if any of us are going to live forever.” A small chuckle actually escaped him at the very idea. “Nothing is or can be truly immortal and to pretend otherwise is to invite hardship and disappointment as the lie fails to live up to reality.”
“Of course, as is the nature of the Cycle… who says death is the end?” The deer-headed god teased, seeing if he could peak his counterpart’s interest.
“How very early it is to speak so confidently of nature,” The serpent slithered forwards and curled around a towering ironwood, pulling itself further up to glare down at Vatarr as it spoke, “But perhaps you are right, and all things must end in time whether that be at death or beyond it. If that is so then we are fortunate. For this cycle has run its course, its victims beyond counting or memory, and more than I alone will see to its own ending. If our doom is destined then destiny itself must be broken.”
There was a brief pause… before Vatarr just sighed a little. “Look brother. Myself and Brey… who’s claimed the nodes just south of where Node 18 is… I like to believe that we’re coming to an alliance of mutual understanding since what we want for the world to be can be combined into the same bigger picture. I would like to offer you the chance to join this arrangement and make this alliance a trio rather than a duo.”
“It appears that rather than unite the nodes under your influence, you’re more interested in understanding the nature of the world upon which we have come and the cycle of deities that seem to be a part of it. That’s fine. If anything, I suspect you and Brey will have a lot of fun puzzling out such mysteries together. But war is coming… while I suspect those who traveled north together will likely start fighting each other first before the survivors turn their attention south, but sooner or later they will come and I would prefer all three of us to be united in defending ourselves.”
Taking a few steps, Vatarr moved a few paces from where he had been originally standing as he put his arms behind his back. “Of course, I’m sure you’ve considered the idea of being attacked by some of our kin and have made diplomatic moves towards Brey in much the same way that I did.”
The violent serpent withdrew in kind as it answered slowly, “I asked for a message to be delivered to him, yes.”
“And we do share an interest in peace,” Six eyes met Vatarr’s two and the serpent finally introduced itself as it agreed, “I am Asvarad, and on my name and the safety of my people you have my word that me and mine will brook no interference from the fools that set out north. If you seek more than that... I would require assurances. I will not grant you the power to endanger those under my protection unless I am certain you would not interfere with our work. We won't share our creators fate.”
Vatarr shrugged his shoulders just a little. “A peaceful agreement and a willingness to support either myself or Brey when trouble comes around is more than enough for the time being. I am Vatarr. May this be the start of a beneficial arrangement Asvarad.”
Hm, very well. Asvarad thought back with a tinge of caution.
“One thing,” The serpent god added gravely, “I mean to leave a piece of this world to chaos, and I ask you respect that if we are to be allies. Even ones of convenience. I do not believe it wise to banish what may well be the true nature of this world when we’ve yet to begin understanding it. Do you?”
There was a small shrug. “Considering that there are two nodes further west of here, part of our arrangement would be to leave them in your care to do with as you wish. I will focus my attention elsewhere.”
There was a small clearing of the throat before Vatarr added “With all that said, if there is nothing else that needs to be discussed in the here and now, I will let you get back to your slumber.”
“That will not happen again,” The serpent Asvarad spoke for the first time, his voice a low reverberating growl that served as reminder of the hundred feet of muscle trailing behind. He half turned to the silver sapling that’d watched the two gods meet and thought to it as much as Vatarr, “It seems none of us have time to waste.
Turning from the serpent, there was little fanfare to Vatarr’s departure. They both had things to do and first on that last a couple of days of hiking through a metal forest in order to get back to his own territory. Still, a combination of a non-aggression pact and a vague defensive alliance was nothing to sneeze at.
As Vatarr was crossing the chaotic wastes of Node 25, it suddenly stopped being a chaotic waste. Another god had beaten him to the node. Rather then get upset by this, they continue on to meet their new neighbor.
Vatarr meets the serpent Asvarad for the first time since they parted ways at Node 18. The two have a brief chat, with Asvarad being their melodramatic self... but in the end the two part ways with a non-aggression pact and a vague defensive alliance that includes Brey.
The walk back across the Ashen Planes to the Fungal Marshes was nowhere near as long as the endless slog of a battle that had been the journey across the chaotic wasteland that had been there before, alongside its inhabitant. For his part, Vatarr had only remained at the node of the Ashen Planes to ensure that if anyone else came to mess with his control of the region that he would be alerted to the fact.
There was a part of him that wanted to push on; To simply continue to tame chaotic nodes until the majority of the southern lands were under his control... But he resisted the urge to do so. A more power hungry or militant deity might have done so, pushing mortals loyal to them to colonize new lands as they were presented to them... and if some of the stories that visitors from the northern lands brought with them were to be believed, even before those lands had been safely calmed down. Already he had passed by or seen humans from the Marsh traveling into the Ashen Planes, likely to explore what this new land had to offer without needing his instruction or command to do so.
Some of the mortals of the Fungal Marshes had asked him before why he hadn't followed the examples of his divine kin and install himself as their leader, uniting the various clans and tribes under his banner. He had always answered that to do so would betray the very people who had faith in him. To date none had ever truly understood what he meant by that answer and he refused to explain further.
By the time Vatarr returned to his throne at the Node of the Fungal Marshes, he was surprised to find a supplicant waiting for him. Such had never happened before, since mortals generally were content to give him a berth and handle their own affairs. And yet, the young woman waiting for his arrival had clearly set up camp and been waiting for a few days for his return. The woman was pretty in her own way, but her raven colored hair was somewhat offset by the fact that her skin had a shine to it that put Vatarr in mind a little of a fish or some kind of small lizard. Her attire was made of local resources, simple but practical... and while her ears were decorated with more traditional copper, he could easily tell that some of them were of alternative metals to create and interesting display.
Taking a seat on his throne, Vatarr gazed directly at the woman as he politely gestured and said "Good morning. If I had known someone had been waiting to greet me I would have taken a quicker pace. Forgive me, but who am I speaking with at the moment and why are you visiting today?"
The woman in question offered a small bow before answering "My name is Oxana. I am here because I wish to be the mother of your child."
To say that there was a moment of silence... or at least as silent as the grove around the throne truly got, would be an understatement. But suddenly Vatarr laughed louder then they could remember before answering "Okay, I wasn't expecting to hear that." The good humor in Vatarr's voice easily betrayed their amusement as they rested their elbow on the arm of the throne before pressing their deer skull against a closed fist as he gazed directly at Oxana. "May I ask what has inspired this request? I admit to not being used to visitors, but I cannot help but feel it is a strange request all the same."
For her part, Oxana looked... rather bashful as she shuffled her feet against the ground. "I... I recently finished the final of the tablets you gave to the tribes back when we settled here and... I think I understand." Pausing to acknowledge that her statement was rather vague, she continued "I think I understand you... or at least the forces you represent. By extension, why you never tried to create a kingdom or be the leader of my people. It's because if you did, you would have to let it rot and fall at some point. You don't wish to betray your followers with this false idea of an eternal kingdom under your rule."
There was another moment of silence... before Vatarr chuckled. Lifting his head off of his hand, he offered a small clap as he answered "You're correct. It is simple to preach about the balance of life and death. However, when the time comes not to sow a new crop and to let the bounties that life offers to the harsher decay and rot of death few are willing to actually carry out the act. Nor is it really something I expect mortals to do. However, forgive me if I'm not seeing why this means I should father a child with you." The deity offered somewhat playfully.
For her part, Oxana didn't answer right away. She wanted to make sure that her words were just right before speaking. "I want to unite the various tribes of humans in your domain together into one kingdom. Missionaries from up north keep showing up, trying to lure people away with the promises of other gods and while no one has followed them that I know of, I fear it might just be a matter of time before some outside force tries to play us against each other when we need to be united."
"If I give birth to your child, not only would that mean that I've been given your blessing and thus be considered a legitament ruler of my people but when our child is of age they will naturally be a rallying point for our kingdom because of their connection to you. However because they would only have divine blood rather then be fully divine, they would still be mortal. The cycle would be appeased, your lands would be united and respect you enough to listen to your council and you wouldn't have to betray anyone when the day comes that our child's line dies out and the kingdom they forged falls and another kingdom or family takes over."
Once again there was silence in the grove... before with a small chuckle Vatarr rose from his throne. "In that case Oxana, I accept your request."
After warding the Node of 27 in order to be alerted if someone messes with it, Vatarr hikes all the way back to Node 26 to spend some time at home when he encounters a human woman named Oxana waiting at his throne for him, asking to be the mother of his child.
Clearly amused, Vatarr asks her why. After explaining her understanding of Vatarr, his nature and the nature of the Cycle in which he is the embodiment of, Oxana basically sells the idea that by them siring a mortal child with divine blood, they could form a united kingdom with Vatarr as a strong pillar of influence, but distant enough from it so that he doesn't betray either the mortals or his loyalty to the Cycle.
Vatarr accepts and the scene fades to black.
Start: 1
1 Might spent to ward Node 27. No stealing without his knowledge.
The search for the axe hadn't taken long, but it and the walk to the nearest settlement had provided Vatarr with some time to think. The unnamed deity in question that had originally owned the axe had proven to be rather... unstable, but they were still a deity; By the time a mortal managed to catch with the bugger, not only would they had liked replaced their weapon with a new one, but odds were good that the unstable god would lash out and murder them to reclaim the axe without actually hearing them out first and thus missing the fact that they were offering it back to him freely.
Vatarr could of course make the run himself, but between the whole having to pin the bastard down to actually get him to stop shitting himself and trying to flee and the fact that Vatarr had other things to do, he didn't really want too. He also didn't want to keep the axe because... well, Life and Death were better companions by far.
So instead, once he arrived at the nearest settlement, he had bartered for the services of a messenger. In exchange for one of the members of the settlement running both a tablet and the axe northwest into the realm of the deity Brey in order to deliver both items to him, he would teach the settlement how to better construct their buildings to be more comfortable, warm and sturdy. The bargain was struck and after a clay tablet was brought forth and written upon, a young man was selected on the grounds that he was physically up to the task, but not so strong as to the vital to their survival for the few weeks he would be gone.
As per his own end of the bargain, Vatarr spent the rest of the week in the settlement, educating the mortals present on a number of different subjects. While construction was the primary topic most of the time, those who were able to take the time to attend in-between the daily chores of survival and life found that there were other lessons sprinkled within the deities' words. Ideas that by themselves meant little... but when combined with another idea or something that Vatarr had been talking about before, started to take brand new, interesting forms.
So it was that when Vatarr finally departed the settlement, they were already in the process of a few new projects as they worked to refine the knowledge that they had gleamed. As was the nature of humanity, these ideas would soon spread to other settlements and tribes within the Fungal Marshes and the future would seem just that little bit brighter for the humans that had traveled south so as not to bow to the whims of a deity.
Vatarr turned south east. To Node 27.
The nature of the chaotic wastes outside of the stabilized nodes hadn't fundamentally changed from the original journey to Node 26. The raw, chaotic pathways of possibility striving to exist all at once at the same time. Devoid of life because while potential is an almost limitless source of energy, few things can survive the onslaught for long. Those that could were entities worthy of legend, awe and dread.
The battle for Node 27 started the moment Vatarr crossed the border between it and the Fungal Marshes. A chimeric mass of horrific mishmash fangs, stingers, claws, spikes, clubs and tendrils burst from ground, sky and everywhere in-between in a flurry of near mindless hate and fury as they lashed out towards the deity in their midst. Vatarr in turn was a blur of motion as Life and Death swung in an unending counter barrage, melting away the unnatural flesh and bone while healing what blows their master actually sustained as they shattered whatever they made contact with without cruelty or mercy.
The battle raged for days with neither side backing down. Even as limbs and tendrils of the creature were broken or dissolved new ones would spring up to take their place to continue the onslaught, but Vatarr returned in kind as they kept moving forwards regardless of any injury he may have taken along the way. It was a battle of attrition in every sense of the word with both sides prepared for it.
What should have been a three day trip was dragged into a week and a half of unending, vicious bloodshed and battle... but in the end, Vatarr pushed his way to the node at the center of the region and pressed his hand against it for merely a second. The stabilization of reality proved a more decisive, mortal blow then all the destroyed limbs of the battle prior; As all but one reality ceased to exist, those limbs that had been extended and exposed in the combat were shivered from the source, dissolving into a sickly goo before disappearing altogether while an unspeakable roar of pain and fury and anguish faded into an echo.
In its place was a land lightly coated in ash as the molten blood of the world found places close to the surface to bubble and burst. Several minor volcanoes were scattered around the region, providing both mountains rich with ores and fertile ash covered planes in which plants could grow. Water was plentiful, through some of it was acidic to the point of being deadly to anything that tried to swim in it, let alone drink it... the scent of sulfur and the ring of barren ground or dead plant life serving as a warning. Life native to the region would be well equipped to read and respond to its dangers... and while the rewards for settling here were many, those seeking to come in from outside would have to learn quickly or perish trying.
Having given out meeting some thought, I have come to the conclusion that we will be well able to work together in order to create a more permanent world. We will have to get together in order to discuss the finer details of what form our future world will take, but as a show of good faith in both my opinion of you and our new alliance, I offer you two gifts freely.
The first is the region belonging to Node 23. The deity who stabilized it, who's name I do not know since it was never brought up, invaded my realm and caused much hardship and destruction. After a brief one on one duel between us, I bested him... and instead of slaying the fool then and there I claimed Node 23 in exchange for his life and banished him northwards. I am afraid you will have to take the time to travel to Node 23 in order to claim it personally, but you are unlikely to meet any form of resistance.
In the event I am wrong, the second gift will serve you well. The axe the messenger is offering you originally belonged to the deity whom I claimed Node 23 from. I rather generously offered to let them reclaim their weapon for their journey to the North, but they elected to abandon it instead. I considered sending a messenger after the fleeing deity to return their weapon to them, but between the speed difference and the fact that the deity in question is rather... unstable, I have deemed that you would be better served making use of this thing. If you decide to keep it, I hope it serves you well... but the decision of its fate is now up to you.
I will be seeking to tame Node 27 for the foreseeable future, but I look forward to hearing from you all the same.
Vatarr.
Vatarr sends a messenger to Brey carrying an abandoned Might 3 axe and a tablet containing a message for the nerd. In exchange for this service, Vatarr spent a week teaching the mortals of the Fungal Marshes a number of tips and tricks to turn them into a Bronze Age level Civ.
Once his work was done, Vatarr went to Node 27... upon which a massive week and a half battle of attrition between himself and the chaos monster living there ensures, ending only once Vatarr reaches the node and stabilizes the region, banishing the entity from the realm.
The realm Vatarr creates of Node 27 is called the Ashen Planes, which is a region with several minor volcanoes and semi-regular volcanic activity, resulting in the region having a somewhat regular 'shower' of ash that enriches the plains, promoting plant growth. The mountains of the region are rich with ore, while water is plentiful... through due to the volcanic activity some of it is so acidic that it's deadly to both drink and touch, through its sulfur smell and lack of living things near it should serve as a warning.
Starting Might: 3 (Due to the Quiz!)
2 Might spent making the Fungal Marshes a Bronze Age level Civ.
Some days had passed since the capture of the 23rd node. In divine fashion, it had taken a mythically short time for Cotazur to recover from wounds that would have killed anything else. Of course, even the fact that it had taken some days had cost him valuable time. Time that could have been spent doing… What?
The question had plagued him since he had woken up. What was he doing here, exactly? He had been alive for, what, a week, and probably five of those days had been spent in a blackout. The anxiety had stung deeper; what if he had been alive for months, but had been recovering from his wounds most of that time? And in his waking time, what had he done? Killed some people? Murdered some things? Made some stuff?
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, this was not the way, this was not the way. How would people recognise his greatness if, if he couldn’t even stay conscious for a full week? No, no, no, he needed publicity - he, he needed to get his name out there! He needed cronies, devotees, slaves to his will, oh yes.
Oh no, wait, that wasn’t the way to think about it. He, he needed friends first of all. People who’d die for him smilingly, yes. Yes, yes, yes, that was a good framing.
Now, how to do that?
Cotazur had spent the better part of the day traversing his nodelands, moving south at a determined pace. Despite the steepening of the incline, he hadn’t slowed down one bit, besting muscle fatigue with unblinking eyes and unabated speed. Within sundown, he had reached the highest peak of the mountain and stared across his own lands. The red sunset washed across his realm like the blush of a flattered face, but dared not pour into the black abyss that was the sea and the southern lands. Cotazur frowned - he would take those lands in time.
Then he turned around and saw… Swamps. Swamps and forests. Like his forests, but worse. Yes, he was certain they were worse, probably because of the mushrooms. They popped up all around like zits on skin. Disgusting place.
He had to go there.
Charging down the mountain wall, the crazed man moved into the neighbour’s land.
As his strength had recovered during his meditations, the list of things that Vatarr needed to do presented itself once again in his mind. However, as he pushed himself from this fungi throne to stand one idea rose to the forefront of his mind beyond all the others.
Closing his eyes again as he focused on keeping his mind clear and calm, the only sound that originated within the clearly around Vatarr’s personal glade was that of his own deep breaths as he placed his hands against two different sections of his own body; His left hand planted itself on his upper thigh since that was currently were the new growth of his body was strongest, while his right found its was to his left shoulder, were decay held the most sway.
There was a moment of silence. Of mentally preparing oneself for what had to happen next. Then…
The roar of pain that echoed throughout the fungal marshes was loud and inhuman, but it was brief. While ripping two handfuls of your own flesh out of your own body was a brutal and rather painful experience, the deity was a fast healer if nothing else. As Vatarr lumbered with their breaths for a few minutes, the two carefully selected pieces of his body that he had chosen rested within his hands while the wounds they left behind were already starting to heal.
Once the pain started to fade, Vatarr focused intently on the former pieces of his flesh and what they both represented in their own way. One represented the bloom of life itself, while the other was the symbol of its decay and rot. As he focused his divinity into them, both started to…melt? What were once chunks of divine flesh turned into a liquid like putty in his hands, twisting into a pair of censors made from some kind of metal, but told apart by being different colors (green and black respectively).
From both censers grew a chain that allowed them both to dangle in the air, before the final touch of what appeared to be a wooden shaft formed within both of Vatarr’s hands; Long enough that he could use both of the censers in his hands as a flail, but short enough that he could tuck them around his waist to let them hang freely as the censers that they were.
With the creation process done, Vatarr gazed upon the newly created Life and Death for a moment… before he turned his gaze towards the second of his borders to be claimed and calmed. There didn’t seem to be any harm in stopping by before he moved out to claim some new territory of his own.
Kicking over a mossy stump, Cotazur stormed mirthlessly into the woodlands. The mountainside hissed with rolling gravel as he came to a stop at its food, spying into the thick overgrowth and dense undergrowth. He found his first giant mushroom; it taunted him with its mycelian vigour and myconic pride. Cotazur would not suffer its continued existence.
With a raged jump, he skipped ahead and cut it down with a single chop of Flawless. The mass of mushroom came crashing to the forest floor, clouds of spores rushing into the air like the dust off an old mattress. Cotazur kept chopping it up into thick rings; all around him, animal life cowered and escaped deeper into the woods. The madman screamed and kept chopping away with murderous glee, reducing the mushroom trunk to little more than spore sand by itself.
“YES!” he squealed, “UN-EXIST, YOU FOUL CREATION!”
He kicked over a nearby innocent ant hill and started chopping at a tree trunk thereafter. Before long, he had left a small trail of timber behind, making his way deeper into the woods like a drill through a mountain.
Of course, Cotazur’s one man rampage against the innocent scenery and creatures of the Fungal Marshes wasn’t exactly… well, subtle. One creature fleeing from something was just perfectly normal predator and prey activity; All of them fleeing from something, regardless of where it was in the food chain… that caught Vatarr’s attention.
It rather helped that they were all running away from the direction that he had been heading in the first place… and the rest of the ‘tracking’ that needed to happen was simply following the insane shouts and yelling.
So it was that Vatarr was the first of the divine to bare witness to Cotazur in the flesh. Stepping out from the yet to be destroyed wilderness in front of the murderhobo of a deity, the lord of the Fungal Marsh looked every bit as intimidating and powerful as a deity should be as the tall, deer skulled entity stood shrouded and veiled in a mist that was a mixture of light green and dark green… that seemed to be both encouraging the plant life within its reach to grow out of control while at the same time causing it to wither, sicken and decay into melch almost as fast as anything could grow.
“Under normal circumstances, I would like to think that I would be a generous host for my guests. Doing one’s best to make them feel welcomed and trying to make them feel comfortable after taking the time to come and visit.” The tone had started with a general feeling of the speaker being put upon… and quickly devolved into annoyance from there. “You are not acting like a guest. You are being a nuisance. A pest. I suggest you reconsider very quickly.
In his steps, the madman froze like a twig in a winter storm. He chopped his final chop and looked around, his eyes finally settling on the horned creature a rock lob away. He swallowed, straightened his back and dusted off his sawdust-covered cloak some. “The trees, they started… They, uhm…” He looked around. “Uhm, actually, I cannot be a pest, because… Uhm… Because I am a person. Yeah, that’s right. Why are you accusing me of being something I am not, huh? Why aren’t you, you applauding my efforts?” He gestured to the trail of death behind him. “Can’t you see all the weeding I just did for you?”
There was a soft sigh and a shake of his head. “I don’t even know your name yet… and I can already tell that coexistence isn’t going to be possible. I don’t know what you represent sir, but there is no place for it in my world.” This wasn’t said in anger or boastfulness. It was simply said in the same manner one would say they were going to finally deal with whatever was causing that awful smell in the storeroom.
The source of the mists revealed themselves as Vatarr started to spin his twin flails, his attention locked on this intruder. The crazed man scoffed.
“Wh-what! You, you would dare raise a hand against me?! You absolute cretin, you mindless bafoon!” Cotazur readied his axe again and raised it over his head. “You… YOU WOULD DARE?!” He then charged ahead swinging wildly. “YOU WOULD DAAAAARE?!”
There wasn’t a verbal response from Vatarr. There was just the patiences of a predator as he waited until the axe wielding idiot was in range… and then two things happened in quick succession. The first was for Life to come swinging from the right on an interception course with the axe blade, the goal being to ‘slap’ it to the side in order to knock the wielder off balance and open him up to attack.
The second was for Death to take advantage of this opening to connect with the side of his face, hard, the impact coming with pure entropy and pestilence to really make it stick.
As planned, so it went. By Life, Cotazur's tool of harm was obliterated from his hand, soaring into the unknown depths of a nearby swamp; by Death, his face suffered the same fate, though his neck was fortunately just strong enough to pull the rest of his body along. Cotazur soared through the air and crashed into a mass of moss and grimy water, forming a small crater.
"Kh… Kh…" was all his shattered mouth managed to squirt out as hopelessly directionless limbs twitched and poked weakly at the air and water. The mass of fur that was his cloak had hardly cushioned any of the blow - his armour was cracked in places.
In another timeline, this would have been where Cotazur’s story ended; With one or two finishing strikes from Life and Death and his corpse left to be dragged down into the mud and serve as nutrition for a great many lifeforms. However, before these final blows could land, there was a moment's pause on Vatarr’s part as he gazed down at the badly wounded deity.
Silently, the dark green mists of Death started to disappear while Vatarr gently swung Life over Cotazur’s broken form, its life encouraging energies easily seeping past his broken armor and aiding his flesh in regenerating and healing. “You invaded my realm, terrorized its population, destroyed plants and animals with wild recklessness. By all rights I should kill you here and now for being the young and reckless idiot you are… but we are both young and capable of doing reckless, idiotic things.”
“In exchange for your life I am claiming your land and its Node to do with as I see fit and banishing you to the North. You may take your axe with you so that you may defend yourself and claim one of the still available Nodes to the North. Do you agree to these terms?” Some might have argued that the choice between being exiled and being executed wasn’t much of a choice at all, but one always had the freedom to suffer the consequences of one's actions.
Without so much as a word, Cotazur sprinted off to the north like a spooked rat, not even bothering to look for his weapon.
For a moment Vatarr watched as the lesser deity fled without even stopping to claim the weapon that he had generously allowed him to keep in the terms of the agreement. There was a moment of silence before a sigh escaped him. Turning towards where the axe had flown, the deer skulled deity calmly went to go and search for it; He was already going to have to make a detour to request a mortal to take a message to Brey, he might as well ask for someone to take the axe and run it up North after its skittish owner.
No one would be able to accuse him of being a thief after all.
Cotazur decides to come visit his neighbor, but hates the fungal swamp vibe they have going.
Vatarr tears out chunks of his own flesh to create Life and Death before he decides to go on a detour to visit his second neighbor before heading towards Node 28.
Vatarr encounters Cotazur in his domain, destroying the place and found the answer as to why wanting. Deeming this illogical idiot god to be more trouble then they are worth, Vatarr intends to kill Cotazur then and there. After a very brief 'battle', Vatarr is about to murder the disarmed and injured Cotazur before having a change of heart, instead allowing the deity to escape the encounter alive in exchange for Node 23 and banishment towards the North.
Cotazur accepted the offer and fled without his axe, despite being allowed to take it with him. Vatarr makes a small detour in order to find said weapon so he can send a mortal to run it up north and give it to Cotazur, as well as a messenger to Brey.
Vatarr spends 5 Might to create Life and Death, a pair of censer based flails made from his own flesh that respectively release a pair of mists that encourages healing, growth and regeneration and decay, pestilence and destruction.
Brey was reading what little there was to read in the Great Library. Soon it would not just be a library but a magnificent institution of learning. He sat at the end of a long table.He was not, however, reading as you would expect. He was eating his breakfast, a single fish, and a leg of chicken.
Having been roused from his meditative slumber sooner than expected due to a shift in one of the regions neighboring his own, Vatarr had taken the day required in order to cover the distance across his own realm in order to investigate this now somewhat orderly border.
Stepping out from the shade of trees and fungal giants and onto a grassy plane would have been an interesting experience for most mortals, but as Vatarr did so he couldn’t help but take a moment in order to admire the scenery. Of course, while the planes, forests and mountains were all interesting sights in their own rights, what truly drew the gaze was the rather rooftop that seemed to be standing out like a sore thumb in the distance.
Considering a desire to see who his new neighbor might actually be, the deer skulled deity left his realm behind in order to cover the distance offered by this new realm towards what was most likely where its creator resided.
Having traveled at speed for less then a day, the building they had been using as a logical destination was reached… and with a surprising politeness Vatarr raised his hand and knocked on the door.
A man in robes opened the door. Seeing the deer headed deity, he panicked and ran off for Brey.
For their part, Vatarr had just tilted his head down in order to look at the mortal in question before they fled. They hadn’t closed the door… but considering that they were likely fleeing to find their master or mistress for one reason or another, Vatarr decided to wait.
Eventually, in a couple of moments, Brey came to Vatarr’s location. “Oh, it’s you. I haven’t seen you for a little while.” “Welcome to this Library. What is your business here, Vatarr?” The man wrinkled his face, in curiosity.
As they tilted their head to gaze at the ‘old man’, there was a brief moment as they responded “My name is Vatarr. It has been a little while since we saw each other at… well, the beginning.” Taking a moment to make a show of glancing at the building in question, they added “I like what you’ve done with the place. So much better than the chaotic mess it was before.”
“Thank you, Vatarr. My name would be Brey. This place is all about knowledge. Sadly, you are a god, so you have nothing to learn from it’s scrolls and books. Something tells me you didn’t come here to learn any herbal remedy.”
“You would be correct.” was the simple answer to Brey’s statement. “In part my visit was to see who had decided to claim this region for themselves… to that end I don’t believe you spoke up during that original meeting at Node Eighteen so I don’t know what your name is.” That small confession out of the way with a small scratch of his cheek, Vatarr quickly followed up “I also wished to ask you a question. What is it you want?”
“I’m a teacher of mortals. I wish to elevate them all so they are all a lot closer to us. That’s it.”
“And how, exactly, does this vision of yours play out on the wider stage? If, when the time comes, you’re the only deity remaining and you get to shape the world as you will… What does your ideal world look like?”
“In my world, I would simply be an elevated teacher, rather than a god. All of the people would be more like little gods walking around, teaching others, all become Wisemen and Wisewoman teaching other for eternity.”
“I see existence becoming a cycle of never ending growing and learning.”
Vatarr was silent as they listened… before they held a rather serious tone in their voice when they started to speak. “In my world, the fundamental truth of reality is that there is a cycle. Life will come into this world and spend its time among the living as it deems fit before the end comes and they die. The dead will break down and serve as a source of resources and renewal so that new life can be born. Our visions are compatible… but the old teachers must in time leave the mortal coil so that new ideas can grow.”
“I see. So what exactly are you proposing?” Brey asked with genuine curiosity. “It is the fate of mortals to be born, grow old and die.”
“You wished to make mortals closer to us. Minor deities in their own right. That implies you intended to make them immortal.” Vatarr stated bluntly. “I am not against the prolonging of life… but all life must end at some point. Otherwise it has no meaning.”
“Mortals come with three forms. Their bodies, their minds, and their souls.” “I am intending to make their souls immortal.” “Eventually, perhaps some may transcend life in greater ways than this, living outside of space and time.” “For the masses, I intend for each mortal to have souls that will never fade.” “Imagine, if you will, mortals that can remember the things of the Spirit World, or, their past lives, in their present life.”
Tilting their head slightly, Vatarr seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. “...I will need to think of this for a time.” He offered at last.
“Well, what else is there? Perhaps you would stay for some honeyed fish?”
There was a polite shaking of Vatarr’s head, with small flakes of antler falling off and floating to the ground. “Thank you for the offer, but at this early stage I should return to my own realm. I wish you fortune in your future endeavors, for you have given me something to ponder going forwards.”
“Before you go, remember to be sure and watch out for those Node Monster things in the future.”
Vatarr goes and visits him new neighbor Brey. After spooking one of Brey's servants, the two have a brief discussion in which Vatarr probes Brey in order to work out if their views of what the world should be like are able to co-exist. While for the most part it appears that the two of them can work together, a small point of contention resulted in Brey introducing Vatarr to the idea of reincarnating souls, which Vatarr hadn't factored in before.
Politely excusing himself to go back home in order to think about this new development, Vatarr and Brey part of amicable terms.
As Vatarr returned to the node at the heart of his realm, the skull headed deity gazed upon it in thought for a few moments. Despite feeling somewhat taxed after putting in all that effort on the tablets he had left behind to the mortals of his realm, something about seeing the Node caused a sudden rush of energy. Not nearly enough to do any of the wider scale plans that had been running in his head, but enough to do something before he stopped to rest and simply bask in the glories of the eternal cycle for a while.
What to do through was the question... and honestly it was a hard one. Much like the question of what one wanted for breakfast, the smaller questions were generally the harder to answer. Enough possibilities for their to be a choice, but not enough to really do anything special with it either...
Suddenly, there was a spark of inspiration as Vatarr raised a hand and gestured towards the base of the node. A mushroom started to grow out of the dirt, it's back resting against the black stone of the node as it shifted and grew into a throne. Walking over to it and taking a seat, Vatarr was pleased at how soft and comfortable it was. Leaning back, their eyes closed as they simply listened to the world around them once again.
Vatarr returns to the Node and feels oddly energetic, but not in a major way. Thinking about what to do with the surprise energy, he decided to create a throne for himself out of mushroom that would be comfortable to be seated and nap meditate in at the base of the Node.
He promptly takes a seat to relax and bask in the Cycle of his realm.
Starting Might: 1 (Due to doing the discord quiz)
1 Might to create the level 1 artifact Mushroom Throne.
The Mushroom Throne: A living throne made out of a mushroom big enough to seat Vatarr, the Mushroom Throne's only supernatural gift is that it will always be comfortable, no matter how long one sits in it.