“ATTENTION FELLOW GODS! What if I told you there was a way to interact more closely with the world? All you need to do is bind a small piece of your soul to another form, and send that form to Galbar. It will be able to pass through without interference from the Lifeblood, walk the world, and perform divine actions on your behalf. You can thank Gibbou for this trick. Oh, and if you haven’t set foot outside your realm’s portal yet, please do; it’s perfectly safe! That will be all!”
Thaa was not particularly pleased.
In fact, Thaa was quite affronted that anyone would tell him what to do! Especially as he was planning on doing that anyway! Although the trick mentioned was quite a nice piece of information to have, and clearly rather than just not coming out of spite he now had much more important things to get to.
As Thaa retreated from the portal back into Aquibeophates, he did leave behind a few meager beings to guard that entrance to the realm, at the very least they might grant some pause to any interlopers as Thaa would act more properly on them, and determine their intentions.
A piece of his soul now was it? Quite the thing to try of course, although the whole thanking Gibbou he was not quite so sure of given that while some of her actions were quite good, it wasn’t entirely clear that they were intentional. Afterall he had the memories of the first trolls to mull over. While troll-kind had done a great deal of benefit to the world below, encouraging death and such, the first numbers revealed the intentions may not have been so noble.
To focus on the task at hand, Thaa had a great solution, he cut off his ‘hand’. More precisely he cut off a portion of himself to act as his soul-let piece to be sent to Galbar. He did not let this new thing form entirely on its own of course, he forced it to form properly into something that could traverse Galbar, as well as spewing most of his own knowledge about the world into the forming mind.
It is precisely this intervention that caused a bit of an inconvenient circumstance, as it happens, trying to form a barely prepared and still formulating divine creature, may not be the most stable of affairs. Almost immediately it tried to fall apart, Thaa did not permit this, roughly keeping it mostly together as it still stabilized before him. It was somewhat fragmentary at best, three pieces were quite distinct even if it could not quite fully collapse, still Thaa helped the fragment form into a stable being.
Three snake heads at the end of long necks came into being as a form of their curious fragmentation. Each met a markedly scaled body that served as their primary means of locomotion with four legs and a long tail. Soon each began to look around at the environs they found themselves. Thaa spoke.
“What are your names, little ones?”
“Kiim.”
“Jaav.”
“Guul.”
“Good, well you know your tasks as I have imprinted them upon you and I expect great things.”
A brief pause as the three heads looked at one another, the middle head, Jaav, spoke.
“Actually, might it be possible that we could remain here for a little while longer?”
Thaa thought, he needed them to get to work so he needed to be firm but not too harsh. Make them see the necessity of the task at hand and that such pleasures could await another time, for now they needed to go to Galbar and complete several tasks. He needed them to know that they shouldn’t disobey but not to be so harsh as to distance themselves from him. Yes he could do that.
WIth the screaming of a million discordant voices,
“Absolutely not!”
With that Thaa grabbed them by their body that they shared and threw them through a portal to Galbar, specifically the Vescii Temple in orbit. Yes, very firm.
Once their heads stopped spinning, Jaav spoke,
“What a prick!”
And Kiim replied, [color=YellowGreen]“Come now, I’m sure he had his reasons even if it was a bit harsh and sudden.”[/color
“He threw us into this golden mess! I think we might have even dented the wall back there, if he’s as good as he makes himself out to be with all this shit in our heads I’d hate to meet those, ‘demon-hearted originators of evil’ he was sooo fond of ranting into my permanent memory.”
Kiim replied once more on the defensive, Guul however, was done listening and had started walking them to the central room of the Temple. The tasks wouldn’t get themselves done and Guul was quite hopeful about the possibility of sleep even as the other heads bickered. Let’s see now, deattach the central First Soul Crystal, form a remote control mechanism in its place…
“...and even if it was unnecessary to be quite so strong on the throw Thaa could not have known if there would be resistance on account of our divine nature now could he?”
“Resistance! He could have gotten us killed! What if we weren’t small enough to be ignored by the Lifeblood? Here you are making excuses when really we should…”
...take said Soul Crystal out of the Vescii Temple and create a secondary array to boost the signal from the Galbarian side and increase rates of Soul accumulation…
“...even given that, if it is the case, why should we worry about Galbar at all! If in the case that creatures born of and from the realm of death are superior and it is the case that death allows for the supreme victory in the end over any living thing, then why should it even be cause of worry what happens on Galbar? Truly I think your argument has…”
...finally a craft to descend to Galbar outside of the Vescii Temple with and to descend to the surface of a continent, what was it now…
“...it is a moral obligation to assist those in need of someth- wait a moment, Guul! What have you been doing this whole time, where have you brought us?”
“Hey is that the Temple back there!?”
“Well I got tired of listening to both of you bicker about all that so I just went and did everything, goodnight!”
With that Guul rested her head, curling her neck in of itself and settling down on top.
“Well I have to say this craft is quite gaudy, gold and all that everywhere, just seems like a shinier version of a mortal craft really.”
“Oh you would say that wouldn’t you? I bet you think the Vescii Temple is ‘gaudy’ too. Just shows that you have no taste in the finer elements of design.”
“Finer elements of design? Slapping gold on everything you mean? I say you do not have a singular grasp of anything…”
We are back with Thaa, he hears a certain someone and is affronted that they might suggest he do something he was already going to do! Of course the best solution is to now not go out into Antiquity and instead explore creating an avatar, which he does but almost botches by throwing a bunch of information into it before its reallly all that stable and almost causes it to fall apart! Luckily Thaa with with quick thinking stops this by not doing much of anything besides holding it together and hoping, which creates Kiim’Jaav’Guul the multi-headed, multi-personed avatar of Thaa. He asks their names and suggests they get to work. They want to hang out a bit longer so Thaa is calm and reasonable and throws them through a portal to the Vescii Temple.
This starts a whole argument between Kiim and Jaav, Kiim defending Thaa’s actions while Jaav is a critic. Guul meanwhile does all the work while the two bicker. Kiim and Jaav realize whats happened after Guul has gotten them to depart the Temple on a new craft, promptly going to sleep as the two begin to bicker once more on Thaa’s general design coloration.
Start 5 MP 5 DP Titles for the Vescii Temple, 2 mp:
Remote Guidance I: The Temple can be controlled by those with the appropriate knowledge of its functioning from a distance. Engaging the Temple to move even when not present in the Temple itself.
Remote Location I: The Temple informs those with the appropriate knowledge of its functioning of its location from a great distance. Allowing the locating of the Temple even when not otherwise visible.
Titles for Artifact, Soul Array 2 mp, 5 dp, two free titles:
1 mp: Lock of the Array I: The Array is sealed to those without the proper coded response to the lock.
1 mp: Unbreakable I: The Array is very resistant to damage, especially from non-divinely made sources.
3 dp: Soul Lure III: The Array attracts souls of the dead from Galbar and the nearby environs into the Array itself.
2 dp: Crystal Harmonization I: Any Soul Crystal or other appropriate artifact that may fit within the structure of the Array and connect with the Array can Harmonize with the Array and access the abilities of the Array to enhance its own functioning.
Titles due to Afterlife: Gateway to Aquibeophates II: The Soul Array has a particularly strong ability to transmit souls to the realm of Thaa and the Dead, that of Aquibeophates, or to receive souls should any ever be sent back.
Titles for artifact, Yaavel Barge 1 mp:
Flying I: This Barge despite its materials and structure has the ability to fly and move mostly in any degree at the willing of its owner. Although it is limited by some extent the general lack of good flight structure.
The two large rivers rushed by the walls of the great city, the Great Azumai and the Riinara which fed into it. A great number of river boats had been docked all along the myriad docks, the peninsular city had a greater border with the rivers than it did the land.
In the great square of the city a crowd formed around the raised platform stone that led back to the central palace-temple. The palace was layered, level built on level, each ringed with ever more senior officiants. Noble Retainers ringed the lower levels as was their duty rather than their status. At the top the highest of priests and the royal family sat, as well as a few trusted advisors.
All around the square were shops for the most part, a number of closed market stalls that had been repurposed for guards in this event, most of everything was closed in the city for now, one bought and prepared in the days before the festival.
Horns blared from the parapets of the mid levels of the palace-temple, Noble Retainers calling the crowd to order below. Reluctantly the crowd went silent, watching with intent as the faint sounds of the river could be heard in the distance. A Retainer walked out onto the central lower platform to make her announcement.
The scrapping of her sandals along the stones of the platform could be heard throughout the square, the crowd held silence in the softly growing darkness waiting for the correct time.
Unlit braziers sat on rooftops around the square, guards with torches waited by them. The square was filled with the peoples of the city, Humans most wearing simple clothes as they came from their various workplaces during the day. And Night Elves wearing krazhafans, a kind of combined veil and hat to dampen the sounds and light of the city during times like this. The few Itztli in the city were among those in the palace-temple, serving in various roles there.
The Retainer stopped near the end of the platform, and she stood in the middle of the crowd and spoke out.
“I present to you the Guardian of the Peace of the City, the Supreme Architect on the River, your ever faithful King-”
She was interrupted by the crowd chanting the final word.
“NAZ-GA-MUN-DI”
A shadowed figure at the top of the palace-temple stepped forward up onto the parapet and lept off. He was caught by streams of water that shot out of hidden jugs in the palatial levels, flames flared from every level of the palace-temple as the guards around the square lit the braziers lighting up the square.
Bolts of fire lit up the skies in many colors of brief mage-fire, the streams of water lowered the figure from the palace top down to the platform below as the Retainer hurried back to her assigned position along the palace-temple wall.
The crowd cheered and surged towards the platform trying to get as close as possible, the height of the platform made it impossible to scale with the disorganization of the crowd but some tried nonetheless.
As the figure touched down, his sandals landing on the stones of the platform the streams pulled back and he threw off his cloak, revealing the form of young Nazgamundi. Long curly black hair and pointy ears, bluish-grey skin, his eyes sparkled, some features pointed towards Elf, others pointed toward Human, a person who straddled both worlds there, the King as it was.
His hair cascaded down to his shoulders, his beard was long, styled and well groomed. He was bear of anything clothing save an elaborate kilt and jewelry. Armbands of bronze as well as rings of various metals, a bronze circlet encircled his head, all showed his high status. He stood for a minute, flexing and showing off his power. Not just physically, some signalled mages to direct out fire or other displays on his command. The crowd cheered louder.
He flexed his arms upward to the cheers of the crowd before clenching his left hand into a fist and lowering his right.
Horns blared out again to silence the crowd and they gradually came to a semblance of order once more, the various magics came to a halt as well leaving just the light of the grand braziers in the square and the dying light of the setting sun.
“My people! We have survived another year, another winter, we grow ever more prosperous!” He paused and the crowd remained silent, waiting. “For the fourth time I stand before you as your King at the start of this joyous time when great Amashu and her people will soon prepare the fields once more, and so once more we must celebrate the success of our great city, but also you the people to which I love so dearly.”
At the edges of the square, the guards had descended from the braziers to prepare the various jars and pots filled with beer brought out from the palace, they removed the sealing caps and placed the necessary drinking straws, no one wanted to swallow a barley hull after all.
“Under the gazes of the gods above I dedicate this Spring Festival to you! The People of Amashu! May the Festival commence, Luck for the new year!”
“Luck for the new year!”
With that most in the crowd fell quickly towards the beer, others stayed where they were eagerly watching the platform as King Nazgamundi left and performers came up.
They were of many kinds and types, some did great acts of ability or skill, others tricks of the eye, some were mages eager to show off some trick or skill. Over the course of the night many would come from acts of ability, or brief skits. The Skits always were the most popular, typically no one was punished for the skits so they easily ranged from the profane, to various criticisms or brief dramatic interludes often of foreign or far away events from the ‘civilized’ east or the ‘barbarous’ west. Some were better than others but the beer generally helped with that.
The night was long for Elves and Humans alike.
We come to a city on the river that is doing pretty good in the Hreelcii Isles. It is the coming of Spring and it is time for Celebration! There are some theatrics and King Nazgamundi (cheer) says some stuff after a dramatic entrance, free beer is given, lots of performances are held and all is cheerful. Woo! Party!
Thaa was in the Vescii Temple, he was comforting the many souls of the dead as it orbited over the surface of Galbar. He had not felt it coming, if he had perhaps he would have done some more, or taken other actions, but as it was he was preoccupied with the souls of the dead.
It hit without warning, the power of the Lifeblood drew Thaa out, taking him away from Galbar. Thaa tried resisting but such was nearly pointless, he did manage to grab onto one thing, the Second Soul Crystal before he and it were whisked away to a void.
Thaa was not pleased, although he kept himself enough in good mind to set down the Soul Crystal, for what limited value of setting something down was in this void he found himself in.
Returning to Galbar had turned out to be a complete waste of time in the attempt, still feeling the effects of trying Thaa was mostly creating and then destroying various stones or such things to try to release some of his anger. He had been getting close, he thought, he was getting a good picture that it might just be possible to make things better, to ease the tyranny of life. And now he was whisked away by the same foolish lifeblood which had birthed evils of the first life gods. In his rage he released endless waves of death energies out into the void, filling it with a deep fog.
A small whisper interrupted his ruminations, a soul. A dead fish as it was, or better yet its soul was here with him.
How…?
Thaa traced it back looking for the source of this surprising interruption, the Soul Crystal he had managed to bring with him, it was still in resonance with the First Soul Crystal, back on Galbar.
He moved quickly, he created many things. Towers and an endless world, not for some means of gratification but because he knew he had a purpose here. He was not yet finished and nor was him grip completely gone from Galbar, he could still comfort the dead.
He brought peace to fish as he set up the most important work, deep within the realm he was creating, although it did not follow those same rules off Galbar it did make sense to Thaa. Amplification. A stronger connection so that the dead may cross over into this place this…
...Aquibeophates. It would have to do.
And then they came, the souls. Those which he had stored away in the Vescii Temple and those of the newly dead. Drawn by the First Soul Crystal on Galbar and then in resonance with the Second Soul Crystal and with Amplification from Aquibeophates, they came to Thaa.
Thaa would bring them peace, joy, and a better existence then Life.
Thaa did not know how long he had been, there was always a new soul, with a new story, new developments but never any real change. They had not wanted to die. A last curse of life, to prevent the living from realizing the superiority of the dead. But Thaa knew better.
He watched them sometimes, and spoke with those who prayed. They were annoying for the most part, they did not listen. They spoke of relief from death or to bring it upon others, foolish nonsense.
Some however, wished to speak with those who had parted. They often begged. Thaa told them how to come and be with those they loved or needed. Some came then, others came later if they did not listen. He brought them comfort all the same when they arrived.
Thaa did not see the portal form, he had not bothered to try anything with portals for centuries. But he did notice it, and Thaa went silently to it.
This was unwelcome, but with many unwelcome things there might be an opportunity in it. And so Thaa prepared to go through, two thousand years was a long time, even if it was not in isolation. First however, he created some guardians limited to the realm, they were of death and imbued with purpose to protect the dead. They would serve him while he explored this new possibility.
Thaa is dragged out by the Lifeblood, manages only to get a grip of the Second Soul Crystal which is dragged out with him.
Thaa is having a bit of a tantrum over this until he realizes that souls can come through to him as the Second Soul Crystal is still in resonance with the First which is still located around Galbar. Thaa then makes his realm of Aquibeophates to amplify this connection and to house the souls of the dead and then he continues to comfort them over the two thousand years.
When Thaa discovers the conenction to Antiquity he makes a bunch of guardians in his realm to protect it and the souls of the dead before he heads through.
Thaa was beginning to regret having set down that set of Elves on that endarkened land. In a fit of rage sure but still that village was a good set of numbers of the Elves that he had managed to acquire in their stubborn defiance. In truth they had done little to merit he had to admit, but when he was only trying to help and they did not see that, they tried to escape! Such defiance and utter arrogance, could they not realize that they might be wrong and that they should simply trust in Thaa?
In any case he would comfort them when they died, they would live out their lives on that island, whatever its purpose. Perhaps it was meant as some form of torture for a different kind of life? Without light or such? Sun Elves perhaps if such a thing existed, although he had not encountered such on his many travels so far.
He had seen floating sheep of a sort that betrayed a strangely ungalbaric nature. He had taken them from their Islands as he had so many other interesting creatures he had encountered so far. Those strange geckos that the Elves had ‘lived in harmony’ with before Thaa came around, using harmony for such a disgusting thing such as life was rather sickening he had to admit.
In any case he had moved on from that and picked up a type of lizard that fed on rocks, could have some good purposes there he felt, besides, he kind of liked the whole body shape somewhat but perhaps a little different...
...well it was something to ponder for the future in any case.
Of course then he had moved east away from the seemingly myriad islands to the mainland where he had acquired a great many species so far. First he had come across a kind of winged predatory beast, he had grabbed up quite a number of them. While they were quite the handful during the day to keep them in the Temple, he felt they would be well worth it in the end for his plans.
Besides it seemed somewhat cruel to have made a winged creature that was so clearly poorly aerodynamic and then set them in a climate that had many tornadoes and air disruptions. It truly spoke to the meticulous nature of whatever evil deities sought to promote life.
Next he had come across a floating archipelago in the skies above the continent and taken some of the inhabitants there, mostly of the more dispersed kind but he did manage to reach some of the others closer to the center of the islands. He was admittedly regretting it somewhat since they were persistent and inquisitive it seemed. Other intelligent mortals seemed continent to be miserable but clearly these were designed to spread their misery in their incessant ignorance. Admittedly their mind’s structure seemed to be sound, even if he could quite say that he liked them that much in their matters of living.
From there was the simple matter of taking up more life from around the continent and the islands, some dear that had the unfortunate effect of living even when they died. Thaa took them almost wanting to study how this happened so that he might even prevent such a cruel fate in the future, but for the meantime they might serve some useful purpose. As well he grabbed a few other less significant things, some kinds of plants for variety mostly.
He took a small detour off the continent after picking up a kind of wispy creature, he wasn’t quite sure why they existed, perhaps the life god was still trying to figure out the best way to make things suffer? In any case they didn’t seem to be much to them but he took them anyway as he hoped some of the more intelligent races might find them interesting enough to be somewhat excited at the prospect of a new home with new and wondrous things for their short lives. They did not seem to fulfill such hopes in any case.
The detour led him to another set of islands that had more mortal peoples on which he promptly took them as well. Of course they would turn out to already have an ingrained superiority ideals seemingly to the other races unfortunately enough. He could perhaps find some use for them but for his main project they would not do.
Coming back to the mainland however he had gotten a new bounty of useful subjects, another race, he would call them Day Elves or Sun Elves if they seemed to have any particularly strong attachment to that part of the cycle. They were remarkably similar, perhaps someone was copying from the same general idea? Or maybe one was made to replace the other in a different location? It was a mystery that these life deities seemed so compentent in cruelty and then so utterly incompetent in following through.
With the ‘Humans’ as the Day Elves insisted they should be called he had also found bounties of useful plants, a useful herbivorial creature with quills, and some birds which had some strange interaction with a force he did not yet fully understand. In truth he had found a whole lot of nothing in terms of grand plans or anything that bespoke of any organized opposition.
In Thaa’s various travels he had not yet come across something so obviously the work and development of a god, if not the present form of a deity in of themselves, as the massive tree he now directed his golden temple to now. If there was any present solution for his evident need and desire to meet his fellow deities and learn of at least one of their own selves, this was a good case for that.
In any case, Thaa still hung beneath his golden Temple and its great domes and spires on each towering layer. He still kept tendrils of his form out below should he need such to manipulate and guide his divine energies. The Vescii Temple, which still held his numerous collected beings and samples, approached the great Tree. Thaa centered his gaze on the thunderous form before him as he approached in his Temple, looking for any sign of communication for his purposes of communication with another Divine.
Out of the ground came several great roots, lifting themselves to the skies to meet and block the path of the Temple. It was far enough, it seemed. And on top of one of the closest roots was a single mortal form, with an intense yellow light leaking from within its wooden body.
It did not speak loudly, for it knew that the only kind of entity capable of such feats of power was a God. ”I am the First Voice, and I speak for the Tree of Genesis. I welcome you to The Garden of Dreams, Master.” He proclaimed in a deep, refined voice, bowing his head in apparent respect. ”May I be graced by your name, Master…?”
From the golden temple a thundering voice replied, “You speak to Thaa, God of Death and Protector of the Dead.”
Thaa continued as he recentered his eye on that of the mortal form before him, the Temple slowed its approach to stop right before it might collide with the great roots. “You will address me as Thaa or one of the titles I just gave, there will be no more of this ‘Master’ speech now that my name is known to you. Thank you for welcoming I must say, although I cannot say to have the knowledge of this ‘Garden of Dreams’, I assume it is some fantastic work of the Tree of Genesis? I can see clearly it is as Divine as I.”
”It is the wish of my creator to refer to all Divine entities as ‘Master’ or ‘Mistress’, Master Thaa. As for the Garden of Dream, it is what you see. A work in progress… It is the land within the direct orb of influence of the Tree of Genesis, where the Dreams of a great race shall be birthed and nurtured in the near future. It has shown me visions,” The Voice said with its monotonous tone giving way to a slight shiver, opening its black eyes and looking down at the view. Dozens of massive roots forming arcs, with vines and thick foliage growing on them… ”Visions of villages hanging from the Roots of Genesis, of a grand civilization populating the Tree itself… Of a beautiful People delivering the world from suffering and evil and violence!”
There was a moment of breathless silence as the Voice recovered, then looked at the Vescii Temple and nodded, recovering his stoicism. ”So, Master Thaa, how may I be of assistance to you?”
“I must say that the Tree of Genesis is quite ambitious in its plans, but I can help but approve of such, to attempt to purge suffering and evil from life…
...well it is an experiment well worth watching. As for how you may be of assistance, I would ask what you know of other deities as I have seen little of my own ilk and I am most curious to what you and the Tree of Genesis have to say.”
The Voice seemed to frown, an expression that proved somewhat difficult for him to pull off given his wooden and black hay flesh. After a while, it spoke again, lifting a hand to cup his chin. ”Mistress Gibbou of the Moon is rather pleasant. She visited us some time ago to ask for a blessing. I’ve personally met Aeinwaje, co-sign of Master Boris of the Mountains, and he was curious as is expected of mammals…” He trailed off and rubbed his face, then shook his head and relaxed. ”And we had an… ‘Encounter’... With Masters Firinn and Aicheil. I would suggest not touching what they call the ‘Weave’.”
Thaa shifted in his hanging perch on the Vescii Temple before he replied, “I will take your suggestion for now as of your ‘encounter’ and the no doubt valuable experience you have in the matter. It is good to have some names for my fellow deities. I must say there is one more matter that the Tree of Genesis could assist me in should it be so inclined as it has already been so kind to even provide you to speak with me.”
Thaa paused, shifting his eye away from the Voice to that of the Tree itself. “You see I have sought after the souls of the dead and I fear that some aspects of life have a tendency to keep them from fully embracing death, and so I would like to create a measure to ensure that the bodies of the dead are disposed of regardless. I also believe that some creatures would be best suited towards this task given the current state of life over this whole world of ours and I need some help in creating such a creature, I have no good understanding of what makes these things continue to live so and would appreciate the insight and assistance in such an endeavor.”
”Disposing of the bodies? What is the issue with the current system, if I may ask? I was under the impression bodies would normally rot and return to the earth over time, master Thaa.” The Voice asked, tilting his head slightly and clasping his hands behind his back.
“That, is precisely the problem with the current system,” Thaa shifted his eye back to focus on the Voice as he continued. “Over time and gradual change leaves too much to the operation of the world, it does not give proper severance from Life. While there may be some beasts which pick and choose the corpses of the dead as well, all is much too gradual, there must be an inducement of a stricter separation. It is not the content of the bodies, not the material aspects of what maintained their life. I have come across souls which bemoaned their fates, they all burned and in their death they remained, tortured with the gradual charring of their corpses as they could not move on.”
“I cannot say that I know this will be successful, but I know there must be proper severance between the living and the dead as otherwise I fear the dead souls may be much to enamored with the remnants of their lives. I wish to ensure that such a connection is completely rent apart, torn not for the sake of living things to make use of their corpses’ components, although I care little what actually becomes of them, but to ensure the dead look beyond that which was a part of them. That the souls of the dead might look elsewhere and so come more freely into my proper care.”
”I see...” The Voice muttered and closed his eyes. A minute passed, and suddenly his face twisted in what seemed to be… Pain. Agony. It only lasted a split moment, however.
”I’ve received a vision. After death, a soul usually yearns to return to their body in order to have another chance at life. This is a misguided wish and therefore should we make it impossible for a soul to locate or feel its former body, this should discourage their attempts at coming back and encourage them to embrace their new existence with you, Master Thaa.” The Voice explained and wiped at his nose which was leaking a little bit of golden sap.
”Apologies if I am mistaken, I am but a mortal trying to interpret the Great Tree’s Will.” He bowed his head apologetically.
“A most eloquent explanation as induced by the Tree of Genesis, clearly one of the better of the divine beings. Yes that is might intention to so create a kind of creature to accomplish that. I would tend to think that such a creature could survive on the remnants of the corpses after the appropriate rending has been done to ensure the true purpose of the continuation of soul movement. Such creation would be necessary to survive for long with the continued existence of such varied forms of life.”
”The Tree of Genesis is most pleased by your kind words, Master Thaa. As for the creature, the Tree of Genesis is capable of creating any and all vegetation-based creature you’d like to request. My personal suggestion would be different species of omnivorous flora that feed on the innards of corpses and perhaps still-living organisms. Perhaps using a substance that causes the skin to harden, turning corpses into hollow, brittle statues. Of course, the vegetation in charge of this process would excrete a big enough quantity of nutrient and mineral-rich material so that its activities would not disrupt the fertility of the soil.” The Voice shifted his weight.
“I will take your suggestion, I care not what form they take as long as they are mobile and capable of the task they need to accomplish, I can outfit whatever creature with the necessary ability to locate the dead that they need to proceed after.”
”I see. In that case, I trust you’ve brought sufficient samples of organisms from biomes around the world? The process to create our corpse processors will be long, but if you stay and provide the Tree of Genesis with ample samples, it is perfectly doable.” As he said that, the Tree’s roots began to retract back into the earth, taking the Voice with them on their slow, steady descent. ”Since the Tree of Genesis has perfect knowledge of the Garden of Dreams, it will most likely start by creating a processor for this area.”
“I do have a number of samples of many kinds of life around many locales as it would happen, and I can spare a good few of those. I do not know why they will be required but I also have no issue with providing it.”
With that Thaa’s great body began to move and shift from his perch below the Vescii Temple, the long tendrils of the corpse copies that made the majority of his bulk reached deep into the Temple on many levels to retrieve various kinds and forms of life from within. He took many living things from inside the Temple to serve as the Tree of Genesis's samples, whether they be of various forms of predator such as the western Landsharks, or a grasp on a prairie Leon, or other creatures such as the numerous Hedgecows.
For all the great and strange creatures of faraway lands that the God Thaa showed, the Voice never showed an ounce of fear. Despite being mortal, despite the fact that most of the samples could destroy him, unarmed and unprepared as he was, he was not afraid.
Eventually the roots had taken the Voice to the ground level, and he took to guiding Thaa into the hollow interior of the Tree of Genesis. It was a long walk, so long in fact that even though it had been morning by the time they came into the Tree, at the time they reached the ramp to go either up or down, moonlight was already shining through the gaps in the Tree’s outer shell.
And so down they went. One level, two levels, ten levels, twenty… Until the Voice took the God and his samples to the twenty-third level where the ramp ended, and also where several smaller roots were intertwined with a larger one in the center of the level, with a different colour of bioluminescence coursing through each intertwined root, each the width of two Voices.
In order to keep going down, one had to cross the dozen kilometers wide level to the opposite side, where a large crude door made out of bark and vines blocked the path. Of course, the Voice did not lead the God on any more walks. Being on that level was enough, as an untold amount of roots suddenly burst out from behind the crude gate leading to the depths of the tree and began prodding and yanking the specimens around.
”It is making sure which specimens are docile and which aren’t.” The Voice explained, just in time for one of the Leons to snap with a roar, biting down on one of the annoying roots with enough force to destroy its tip. However this did not deter the root’s advance, which even though it leaked its thick sap everywhere, quickly secured the Leon and at breakneck speed yanked it across the dozen kilometers to the gate, and then down into the Depths of the Tree. ”The more violent ones always go first, for safety purposes. The rest can be safely herded down. It will take a while.”
True to the Voice’s explanation, several other predators and some of the more stressed specimens were quickly zeroed in on by the roots and promptly given priority over the rest, and soon the calmer beasts were taken in a much gentler manner down into the depths.
”They’re lucky, to be able to step on the Heart of Genesis. Not even I know what’s in there...”
“As should be decreed by your creator and master, wondering will likely not do you much good.” Thaa spoke, having long given up his hold over the foremost specimens to the various roots grabbing out for them. The great mass of bodies had stretched out to manipulate and hold onto the many specimens while keeping pace with the mortal, now those specimens were gradually being brought forward to be handed to the roots. The central disk and eye of Thaa stayed upon a mass that sat by the Voice as the rest of his body brought the remaining specimens forward to be handed off.
As the process took place, the Voice seized the moment to, for the first time, truly take in the form of the God he was guiding. The sea of corpses. At one point deep within the writhing masses of flesh, he could see the dull shimmer of what looked like his own yellow light. The Voice looked away immediately and felt a shiver go down his spine. ”I believe I just saw my dead body Master Thaa’s own body. What does that mean, Master Thaa?” The Voice asked with a slight shiver to his deep voice.
“I take the forms of many who have died. All that live will also die and continue their existence as part of the dead, all those that did once live continue their existence as I care for them. Your life is temporary, your continued existence is not quite so fragile. You speak for the Tree of Genesis, a Voice as it were, you did not arrive into existence with no planning and no experimentation before hand.”
The Voice sighed. ”The bodies of the unborn, huh...”
Time passed. Eventually all the specimens had been taken, and waiting was the only thing left to do. That is, until bioluminescent plants and mushrooms lighting the level dimmed slightly. A very small number of them wilted, and some others never really regained their full splendor.
And then most of the lights recovered, and the gate at the far end of the level opened and from it a single root carried out an unidentifiable carcass, half-eaten by some unknown predator, still bleeding as if it was fresh kill. The root roughly threw the carcass onto the ground in front of the Voice and Thaa, and then retracted. Yet the gate did not close and eventually from the depths crawled out hordes of two-meter long worm-like vines. They moved slowly, but the God could easily see they had a purpose. They were all heading straight for the carcass. Eventually the fastest of them reached it, and the one vine immediately inspected the carcass. It felt the fresh blood, pressed itself against the unrecognizable carcass’s chest, then when satisfied revealed a row of short, sharp teeth lining a mouth as wide as its head, and wormed its way into the creature’s mouth.
The wet sounds of flesh ripping and the sickening crack of bone filled the air as the wormvine completely dug itself into the carcass, and the longer the show went on, the yellower the creature’s flesh became. At a certain point it stopped looking like flesh entirely.
Suddenly, the eating noises stopped. A few cracks appeared on the hardened skin of the creature’s chest, and from those cracks burst the wormvine, looking slightly larger and thicker. It quickly crawled out of the empty, hardened husk and disappeared up the ramp to the upper levels.
After a few moments, the Voice gulped and stretched his mouth into a grim line, then walked up to the husk and stuck his hand into the cracks from which the wormvine emerged. The texture was like smoothly carved stone, and yet it was so brittle that the mere act of leaning on it made the husk crumble. Still, the Voice dug in deep into the empty chamber that was the carcass’s thorax, and then pulled out a small, writhing green thing. A new wormvine.
”One wormvine enters a carcass, and two leave it. It is how they reproduce. The young will eat from carcasses and grow, while the adults eat and multiply. Any nourishment leftover will be excreted so the world can feed on it.”
“An excellent innovation I have to say, although not quite finished as I have a little touch to add to them of my own that should make them all the more effective.”
With that a mass of corpses that were a part of Thaa exploded out after the wormvines, grew into a stream from the shifting mass of corpses that was Thaa’s body. It wasn’t long before the wormvines were dragged back down by Thaa, the numerous corpse-forms grabbing them and bringing them back to the lower level.
The wormvines were now restrained, although struggling against the ‘corpses’ that were not the dead flesh they had been made to seek, and Thaa turned his eye upon them as his great disk shifted among the mass that made up his body.
“I have to say I think the design works better than anything I could have come up with, and will no doubt be of great use for my purposes, excepting a small ability they should have to be more effective in their task than the common carrion-seeker. You see, the issue with most carrion eaters is not that they are too unthorough, it is often that they are far too slow to the chase.” The wormvines began to writhe with increased fervor as energies poured into them from Thaa, changing and manipulating the essence that linked their souls to their bodies, a slight edit in how they experienced being alive. “These however, need not be the fastest of creatures no that would not truly solve the issue. They need to be much better at actually getting at the bodies soon after the soul has departed. I will give them both the ability and intense draw that they need in their little minds to go after it all so quickly.”
As soon as the last word left Thaa, so did the wormvines become freed from his grasp. They quickly bolted back up to the high levels, evidently in whatever reasoned within them to move with excess speed.
”A great addition, I believe. It’ll make the creatures more efficient.” The Voice said, just in time for the next batch of creatures to emerge from the open gate. As usual, a new carcass was dropped in front of the pair and these new creatures, human-sized flora-based birds with flint beaks, rushed up to the carcass and tore it apart, before taking the pieces and flying off into the upper levels. One of them got intercepted by the God of the Dead and received the blessing. The Voice took a step back and averted his gaze.
”It’ll be long. It is creating several creatures in order to adapt to all the biomes from which the samples came from.” He said, ”It’ll be long. So, Master Thaa, since we have some time to spare… I was hoping you could listen to a selfish request of mine.”
“Speak then Voice, tell me of your request.”
”The Tree of Genesis is going to create a new race of sapient beings. Mortals, like me, who will live for a short time and then die… So, I would like to ask if there is a way to reuse the souls of those who died. To bring them back, into a new body and life, and give them the chance to live over and over again? I believe this would encourage the living to create a perfect world, as they will be living in it forever in one form or another. Perhaps… In order to make it fair, the souls could spend an equal amount of time in the realm of the dead as they spend in the realm of the living?”
Thaa listened in silence to the whole of his speech, finally at the end saying, “I will allow this at a price, but I will say I will not force any of the souls to return to the realm of the living if they do not wish to, they will be allowed to remain dead should they so desire.”
The Voice let out an almost inaudible sigh of relief. ”That is fair, Master Thaa. I could not ask for more. What is the price you mention?”
“In some future time I may call upon these people, nothing too great, but I may ask little things of them, and I would expect them to honor such as I continue such a service for them.”
”I will take it upon myself, to teach these new sapients about the importance of upholding agreements and honoring traditions. This should not be a problem… But if someone refuses to honour your requests, whether out of ignorance, incompetence, or small-heartedness, then their souls are yours to do with as you see fit. Whether that be forgiving their transgression, or revoking their reincarnation ability...”
“As I see fit,” Thaa merely confirmed.
”Indeed. Thank you, Master Thaa.” The Voice said and fell into silence, and time began to pass more quickly. It seemed like a blur to him. Dozens of different and new species of mobile flora were birthed in such a relatively short span of time at the mere request of the God of the Dead… It seemed to the Voice that the Tree of Genesis was different from before. It had learned to be more accomodating, it seemed, from its encounter with the violent alien gods.
Eventually, one last species jumped out from behind the Gate, and then the Gate closed.
”It seems that is the last of them. By my current estimations, it should take one human generation for the species to spread across our current landmass. Less in the case of those capable of flight, of course. What would you like to call this group of beasts, Master Thaa? They’re an entirely new category, after all.”
“They are ghouls. Destroyers of the remnants of ended life. They take such a great many forms and manners that to name them all would a pointless exercise, their purpose is in common and their power is as well.” Thaa and shifted his gaze once more to directly look at the Voice.
“Now, I have much to do and this has taken some time already. I do have one more request of you and the Tree of Genesis, please tell me of any more interactions with the fellow kind of mine, I wish to keep in mind my fellow deities.”
”Yes, I will personally keep you updated, Master Thaa, as long as the Tree of Genesis allows me to.” The Voice confirmed, then nodded his head in respect, ”We are thankful for your visit and hope it was satisfactory. Where will you be going next?”
“I believe I shall be heading back finally to the Hreelcii isles to finish some still waiting work there.” Thaa responded, and the Voice watched as the huge form of the God started to move further away, then disappeared up into the upper levels of the Tree.
Once the Voice could no longer feel the soul-crushing presence of the foreign God present, he groaned and collapsed onto his knees, panting for breath.
”I swear, all these divine encounters will be the death of me...”
Returning to his Temple and ensuring that everything was back in its proper place was no small feat but Thaa did have the advantage of divine power in this instance. What he did not expect was to be comforting the dead souls of the Eloxochithli he had brought aboard, there were few enough of them.
Thaa did intend to get to the bottom of how exactly they all died but he had the feeling he wouldn’t like the answer.. While he wasn’t quite sure how they all were slaughtered in his several hour absence, he had a vague idea it might have to do with that fact that he had separated each intelligent mortal race from each other and there were several very predatory species on board of his Temple.
In any case he would have to sort it out later, he had work to do in the Hreelcii Isles.
It was actually fairly quick work all in all. Set up all the biomes and finish sculpting all the lands with plains and rivers and such good things. He even made some nice radiant cave systems for the Night Elves to live since they were so ungrateful. He released most of the creations that he had been collecting in various places over the newly lively islands. A lot of the plants he had made sure to bring along the various grasses that were most suitable for the mortals here and there. As well he decided to change the Land sharks to be a bit different given his experience previously in introducing mortals to predatory beasts.
He made two new kinds, one which stayed the same size roughly keeping a hammerhead shape but becoming much more group oriented and docile like the Quillats, also modified their diet to an omnivorous one. As well as the necessary digestive organs and other such necessary bits that made up life as it seemed. The others he made smaller and group oriented like some small hunting wolves or some such thing, he had no need to import such creatures here although he admitted that the cology might do well to have something in that place.
He released the Night Elves, the so called ‘Humans’ and the Itztli here. He did keep some of the ‘Humans’ and the Reshut of course as he felt he might set them up over in the Island chain he had started, he had gotten a lot more of the Humans than he had managed for the others so he figured splitting up their population would help keep things even here.
It was quite nice to have purged out the life from his Temple Thaa had to admit. It was quite the noxious stench having to keep so much of the living around. He didn’t dislike them as such, it was more that what the core essence of what they were was in constant denial, that living was actually good for them in some twisted way. It was a truly perversion he had to admit.
In any case he had finished his mission for now. He had settled the Reshut on the Western Islands in the chain and the ‘Humans’ he had settled in the center island, to the west of the Island that held the Tomb of the Forgotten. Perhaps he should pay a visit to make sure none had destroyed such a marker.
Thaa-position time as Thaa talks about how he threw some Night Elves on Neverday Isle, stole a bunch of life from everywhere including but not limited to- Leons, Leeoli Wisps, Quillats, Salamanders, Celestial Sheep, Reshut, Itztli, Eloxochithli, ‘Humans’ (pretty sure they’re just Day Elves though), a bunch of plants from everywhere and Auroran Deer. Thaa comes upon the Tree of Genesis and is met by the Voice. They chat about what the fuck Thaa is doing in this neighbhoor, and all is well Thaa talks about his stuff and how he would like to know about other deities and if the Tree could help him make something.
That something is Ghouls which Thaa gives the Tree a bunch of samples from everywhere that he stole shit from in his travels. Thaa then gives Ghouls supernatural abilities to find the bodies of the dead and all.
The Voice also asks if the new people the Tree is going to make can be reincarnate-able, Thaa says sure with the caveat that they don’t have to reincarnate if they don’t want to and that they gotta do some small favors for him down the line for this service of not fucking with their reincarnation. All is well and Thaa leaves.
Tree of Genesis 2 MP - 1 DP
Used 0 DP to create the Ghouls. Several species of flora-based wildlife whose whole purpose is to track down the freshly deceased and to destroy the body so that the souls of the dead are forced to fully embrace the afterlife, knowing their former bodies are no longer in existence. At least one species was made for every biome known, but I leave all the descriptions to those who are interested in adding them to their lands, in order for the ghouls to fit in well with everyone’s themes.
2 MP - 1 DP Remaining
Thaa 0 MP - 2 DP 1 DP spent on giving supernatural dead bodies radar to the ghouls Free Biomes and Such in the Hreelcii Isles Free Landscaping the Hreelcii Isles Free Cave systems in the Highlands of the Hreelcii Isles Free Cave Biomes in the Hreelcii Isles
From the west came the great temple, casting a long shadow on the sea in its approach to the great island north-eastern island of the continental chain. Seen from the coasts and high points of the isle came the shimmering temple of gold, the gargantuan form that was Thaa hung beneath its spiral towers and tower domes of the layered temple. His great eye peered out at the isle he now approached for he had come across other islands in this chain and sought further collection even as he had as of yet failed to meet any of his sibling deities.
He kept his purposes to himself, for the least matter that he had not yet encountered any to explain his actions. In the great halls of the Vescii Temple he had collected some wildlife already, a kind of shark that found itself walking the land and a peculiar crab which he thought he could find some use to put it towards.
Although such additions were a bare fragment of the space in his grand temple, he was not selective for lack of space. Thaa simply had found little to be impressed by those landed creatures he had yet encountered on the journey, for he knew there would be a great many that he could find a greater purpose for from merely the dead that had yet come to him.
And so his gaze continued, settling to examine the land as the Temple approached, to examine its land for any life he might find useful for his purposes, and of course to watch out for signs of his fellow deities. Even as he kept himself attached to his temple through the masses of the sympathetic corpses that he kept as his form, he kept some free in loose chains hanging down, he found they were useful in collecting the life he found of some interest.
Unfortunately, perhaps, for the life beneath the temple, it was the black of night, meaning there was, indeed, activity below. Particularly, right beneath the temple at the moment, there was a young night elf female picking some dewy mushrooms by a crevice creek. The temple’s quiet, predatory approach was inaudible even to her, and she had no way of seeing it, as dark as it was on this night.
Thaa’s gaze shifted along the landscape below him, and while it did settle upon the young night elf it did not linger long. That did not mean he had no interest however. In the dark of the night the loose chains of corpses brushed down to the land below and reached and plundered it. Here the grasping mouths of fish tore grasses and plants from the dirt and soil, and over there a stray animal, or insect was caught by the simple grasping talons of a predatory bird. All were lifted upward to the grand Vescii Temple.
Amid this sudden cacophony of action, of the bare escapes of a few and the squeals and cries of the many captured, a chain reached for the elf and even the mushrooms she picked. Grasping arms and hands reached to lift what Thaa sought to the sky, although safely even in his rapid attempts at acquisition.
The screams from above had tilted the elf’s head upwards in a curious manner, but it had been much too late. She was drawn upwards by the chain, kicking and screaming all the way up. “HELP! HEEELP! CAYEN! ROSE! ANYONE?!”
“What is your name, little night elf?” The voice echoed around her, seemingly drowning out any other noise even as it was not quite itself thunderously loud. The chains continued their work, Thaa continued to take samples and examine the land for more even as he spoke to the young elf.
She didn’t respond at first, too frightened of the voice. Eventually, though, she caved: “Ci-Cinnamon,” she responded shudderingly, frozen completely with fear.
“It is good to meet you Cinnamon. I am Thaa, Protector of the Dead and God of Death.”
“H-hello,” she replied and looked down. “Wh-why have you taken me?”
“You are going to lead me to others of your kind and then we’ll all go together to other lands where you will all have a much better time while you live your lives.”
“I-I--...” Cinnamon took a deep breath. “Do you mean you’ll… Take us to the afterlife?!” She began to hyperventilate. “I-I-I-I… I can’t! I don’t wanna die!”
With those words the great disk and eye of Thaa shifted to look at Cinnamon, gliding over the great mass of bodies that the chain was slowly drawing them towards. “No. Not until you have died in whatever course you choose to let life bring you.”
“Why do you not wish to die? You have a long time before your life gives way but you do not embrace death nonetheless?”
“B-because!” Cinnamon swallowed. “B-because I’d leave my family behind - my friends. And death is, is scary.” She shook her head. “Please, Thaa - great Thaa! Sp-spare me!”
“You will not die yet, or for a good many decades, nor will you leave behind your friends and family. There is nothing to be spared.” Thaa paused before switching tracks, “Why do you pick mushrooms by a creek?
“T-to eat. The air is moist there, s-so the mushrooms grow large and, and juicy. Oh, please, great Thaa, I don’t, I don’t want to leave here!”
“There will be many more things to eat where I will take you, many better things to have, it will be easier there.”
As Thaa stopped speaking the chain went into a great motion once more, taking Cinnamon up into the great upper levels above where Thaa perched below. She was set down safely in one of the great halls of the Vescii Temple, having taken through a gate into one of the many domed structures that helped form the Temple. What little light there was in the dark night shone through the great windows of the entrance hall, deeper into the Temple where Cinnamon had been recently set free and the chain that was part of Thaa still sat in the golden hall.
After setting Cinnamon free the chain of ‘corpses’ shifted, and a cornucopia of life sprung out around Cinnamon. Soils flooded the floor around her, and mushrooms half again the size of the largest from the creek sprung up. Flora collected from the land grew anew around her, more lush and if tried succulent than normally on the land below.
“You and your family, your friends could have this and more, not just in my Temple but you would have a new land to live upon, one that suited your needs and made life all the easier, you need not fear this young Cinnamon. Where do you live? What is it like that so entices you to stay?”
The night elf did not seem particularly enticed by anything at the moment; rather, the slew of magic and divine growths around her clearly frightened her, for she dove for cover underneath a mushroom cap and started sobbing.
Thaa was nonplussed, it was the nature of life to be so ill designed that it had to fear from every such thing. He could only pity that such creatures were made in the first place by such cruel and despicable gods. Thaa did little more with Cinnamon, he did not comfort her for he knew the attempt would likely to more damage than the temporary suffering she was undergoing. When she died he could comfort her in all the horrors that had been inflicted by life, for now he had work to do.
Outside the Temple, Thaa’s eye searched onto the land once more, looking for more of the night elves to take with him, as well as any other creatures that he could think of some use for.
Nearby, merely what would’ve been a thirty minute walk from where he had found Cinnamon, a small grouping of animal hide tents leaning against canyon crevices stood out in the darkness. The village centre was buzzing with silent activity, as night elves villages did at this time of night, but as the keep approached, the activity halted and all the elves ran for cover inside their homes. A small band armed with sharpened sticks and rocks was all that remained in the village centre.
The chains descended once more, a few circled over the village as if looking for more subjects. All around the village however, chains dived into the ground around the village. Soon the ground the village built on and into, a great portion of it was lifted out of the land below. It was held together by divine energies as Thaa kept the village intact, merely taking the whole of it into sky.
The chains of ‘copses’ that were a part of Thaa made their purpose clear in circling above the village, in keeping any of the elves from getting off of the platform. Only upon reaching up high to a gate in the Temple did the platform split, taking in the whole of the village in pieces into the great halls of Temple, each piece was brought settled down in that same room he had left Cinnamon to cry in.
The elves tumbled into the room, screaming and crying in terror and shock. Cinnamon, who had begun to calm down, tried her best to calm her friends and family down, but to no avail. The guardian band that had stood ready to protect the village fared little better - some ran to make certain their families were alright; others hunkered down and tried to shut out all the panic. Cinnamon had managed to find the chieftain, but even she was completely lost to her instincts, hiding inside her still-intact tent and trying to convince herself none of this was happening.
Even if Thaa knew that this was the manner of life, he could not do nothing. Clearly the creators of these beings had been cruel, to make them live, to give them an existence which was so begotten by the need of fear and terror at change for the danger it might present. But their cruelty was no excuse to act poorly on his own part, and while he knew it would not be easy, it would not be moral to do otherwise.
In the center of the grand hall a shining silvery ball appeared, it was faceted not as a purely smooth orb but rather a gradually sloping series of plates, each in turn shining out soft divine light into the room. Although the light shone out in Thaa’s divine sense, to mortals they could not see, for rather than a light such as that of the sun, this light was of a feeling a sense of serenity. Everywhere the light touched, with each beam that shone out briefly then disappeared again, fears and worries slide away, all over the great hall, no matter the coverings or where the elves cowered, the light put them at ease.
Although a brute force solution of divine power and influence, the Orb of Serenity was something that might be a tool to help at least. Thaa was not one to use brute simple solutions alone however. Whispers, whispers at that combined, in parts and pieces in different places to say different things. Thaa spoke not just to the night elves as a whole, to but each group or family or quivering individual, he explained what was happening, why he was doing it- to bring them to a better land. He spoke to them to ease their worries, although cheating perhaps with using an artifact of divine power rupon them at the same time.
The elves settled down eventually, the gentleness of the orb oozing through the hall like a gentle perfume. While many of them still struggled with the trauma of the experience, they didn’t show it - everyone instead sat down in a circle in the centre of the hall, eyeing the surroundings curiously. Cinnamon rubbed her eyes tiredly and looked up. “What did you do to us?” she asked the presence.
“Forced Serenity upon you, it is temporary while the Orb remains. Your own feelings and sense will return gradually after it is removed.” Thaa’s spoke to them although most of all of his form in the chains had retreated from the room.
One of the elves, an elder female, rose up. “I am chieftain Alspise. Cinnamon whispered to me the gist of our situation… You say you will take us to a land much richer and greater than our home of Scenta? Where?”
“The Hreelcii Isles is the ultimate goal, although I will be passing through many lands collecting many others before then. Most directly once I am finished here, I plan to head north to the islands there. Why do so ask Chieftain Alspise?”
“Well, up until a few moments ago, we were living below in harmony with the land and each other in accordance with the law of the Great Peace. Then, like a sapling trampled over by the buffalo hordes, you ripped us from our soil by the root. I believe we have the right to know, since we evidently don’t have a choice in the matter.”
“An interesting proposition, a right to know. A novel idea I must admit, I do not believe it has been one that many of my fellow deities have decided to uphold. I hope you were not too attached to the idea as it may not be very popular. And what is this law of the Great Peace that you speak of, if we are to be sharing such that we know.”
“What is the law of--...” started the chieftain as if someone asked her to explain why water is wet. She cleared her throat. “W-why, the Great Peace is a rule upheld by nightkind all across the land - silence and quiet are to be upheld at all times, so as to not disturb your fellow men and women, whose ears would be much too pained by all the noise. This is why we speak as we do, play our music as we do, sing our songs as we do. You ripping our village out of the ground, however - that breaks this sacred law.”
“How cruel a creator you must have had, I did not realize they were so clever so as to make such a race with a necessity such as this. While this is all very fascinating and I would like to keep speaking with ones such as you Chieftain Alspise, I am going to bring more of your kind to this Temple and bring more of them with me. You have a choice in that you may be able to help me to do so. I would ask you to tell me where other villages of your kind might be, and if all of your village are present now?”
The chieftain shook her head, internal emotions evidently battling with her ability to express them in face of the Orb of Serenity. “We are all here, but we will not give up more of our kin. To have ourselves rooted out this way - we wish it not upon anyone else. We are sixty here already - can you not be sated by that, great Thaa?”
The last chains in the room finally shifted, instead of the long chains they retreated to the entrances to the hall, sealing them with a wall of ‘corpses’. Thaa remained silent for a long moment as he did this, he finally responded. “My name is ‘Thaa’, no need for this ‘great’ nonsense. And no, I cannot be sated at this Chieftain Alspise.”
“I can proceed without your assistance, I would have hoped otherwise but it shall have to work for now.”
“So be it,” said the chieftain and sat back down. One could tell that her inner emotions were erupting within her, evidenced by the shivers running up and down her body where she sat. Her tribe members, Cinnamon included, all huddled around to comfort her, quivering immensely as their emotions were suppressed still.
A small chain of bodies reached for the Orb of Serenity now that the conversation had finished and Thaa prepared to move onwards.
An elf named Cinnamon picks mushrooms when THAA appears and snatches her up. The uncharacteristically loud elf is soon joined by her co-villagers as Thaa reveals his intention to collect them and put them on the Hreelcii isles. The tribesmen are all screaming and panicking when Thaa collects them, so Thaa makes an orb of serenity to calm them down. This works, and the chieftain and Thaa talk about how Thaa interrupted the Great Peace and should at least tell them where he’s taking them. Thaa responds by saying he doesn’t care much for what they think about rights to know where he’s taking them, nor much about the concept of the Great Peace. He then demands the elves help him find the rest of their kin, which the elves refuse. The conversation ends there.
Thaa Start: 1 MP, 2 DP -1 MP Orb of Serenity (Serenity Aura I, brings all within its aura to a state of calm serenity) End: 0 MP, 2 DP
The Vescii Temple headed west, out over the great ocean. Indeed the Temple had been heading west for a good while as Thaa directed it that way, he had left behind the many large islands of the east a while ago, he had plans to go to the western continent. He knew from his approach to Galbar that there were lesser amounts of changes occuring there than the eastern continent, and he also knew he needed some time to think.
He came upon the eastern coastline of the western lands, or above them rather. He was rather unimpressed with it all, filled unfortunately with life as most regions seemed to be. Even the Ocean had life in it, and he had collected some dead from there as well in any case.
While along the coast of this land Thaa did note one thing of interest that caught his eye before he completely turned away. But it was nothing on the land that did so, rather it was in the watery depths of the ocean off the coast of this land. While he had taken note of the continued infestation of the planet in the waters as was on the land, he had not seen such complete concentration of life over the journey over the ocean as he did near this coast.
Underneath the surface layer of the ocean, not right adjacent to the coastline nor out into the deep ocean, in the shallows there was a great abundance of life. Structures beneath the water housed great locations for a truly astounding number of species of marine life inhabited its many crevices and nooks. While Thaa was not one to be particularly taken aback by life itself, the sheer mass of it was impressive to a degree, even if it was another symptom of the disease.
Thaa moved the Temple onward, to go along the coast. Personally he retreated into a more interior room of the whole structure, he needed to think, not be distracted by the excesses of the most hateful creators of life.
In truth to Thaa he was considering the issues of these lands so soundly made before his arrival, he knew little of the lands and their inhabitants or of their creators and those same creators’ plans. He could make guesses, he could tour the lands and find out some of that information but such came with risks. And he was not sure that he could afford such risks in a time of such crisis. Crisis, of course, as it was clear the current times were. The sheer abundance of life globally bespoke of if not cooperation in the global climate of suffering, at least passive assent to it.
Thaa was not blind nor had he been, he could see clearly as he approached Galbar that there were several creative divinities, or divine forces at least, working on this world which unfortunately put to rest the idea that all life could be the result of a singular cruel divine completely alone in blame. Although the hope that perhaps others were merely passive to its existence was possible, Thaa could not afford to act based on hopes alone, he had to be prepared at least for less fortunate circumstances.
That was in part why he did not think to take a risk like touring the various landscapes, and why he had gone to the one that had seemed to have the least creative forces acting upon it. If the other divinities were as malevolent as he had feared then coming before them and declaring himself a threat in such a manner as sizing them up may not go unpunished. He knew not whether he was alone in seeing how truly wrong this global system of self-perpetuating suffering was, but he could not dare assume that he would have allies against it, or that he would come upon them easily.
Additionally on a more person note it bothered him that how all life was, all of it seemed so temporary, he feared that the dead might be forgotten by the living entirely, that any divinities of life might plan to, or have already conspired to hide the truth of his salvation from the living so that they might not seek it. Or even worse that in his struggles against them that he himself, Thaa, might forget what it was that he fought for.
Thaa wanted to do something about that in particular, the memory of all those who were dead. After all while he had made the Tomb for those many sapients that had died, there were countless more souls that he feared might be forgotten as well. Fish and other creatures of the deep who had perished, countless plants from grasses fed on by hedgecows to trees felled by storms, even to a multitude of land animals from birds of countless plumage to the various prey of mighty Leons. He needed to do something to remember them by, if not for others than at least for himself.
He couldn’t go around making Tombs for all life, it was much too tiring to be worth much consideration, he could never keep up with the frenetic pace of life that some unknown cruel gods had imposed upon this world of Galbar. Let alone the fact that for so many of the dead there would have been little enough recognizably left of them not incorporated into something else to put into the Tombs.
Perhaps there was something he could do now that his thoughts pondered on it, while he could do little to shape the world to remember the dead, he could perhaps shape himself. Thaa was a god was he not? Why not take a form in remembrance of all those dead? It would give a constant reminder for himself and the opponents of his moral actions of what he was prepared to fight for.
Out of the back of the great disk that was part of Thaa came bodies. Seemingly endless, grasping onto each other in an endless form, slowly filling some of the great halls of the Vescii Temple as Thaa’s form grew. Each was of the dead, each from their own sense of self, Thaa made a copy to serve as part of himself, so that the dead themselves may take some part in the actions of Thaa, that he might remember them as he undertook his grave duties to safeguard the proper moral order.
Even still his great eye emplaced in his disk slide over the mass of the bodies that had been added as part of his form. He flexed and swayed, he could use this more than just for memory, he could put this more physically direct form to use. As Thaa changed and added to his form, he returned to his musings as the great Temple flew along the coast.
Thaa had guided the Temple down the coast although he no longer waited inside in its chambers, instead Thaa dangled from beneath the Temple. Connected grasping ‘corpses’, that served him as limbs, reached through the gates of the Temple into its interior where he supported himself. The great disk and his eye emplaced within it sat below on the mass suspended beneath the Temple, watching the land and sea-scape below.
In truth Thaa had come to a solution to his issues before, it would require some effort but it was well worth it in several respects. He would create a land, separate from any other and with that he could use it as a cover and method to reconnoiter the various lands of Galbar, their inhabitants, and the other gods as well. In addition, having a land separate from others more intimately controlled territories would allow him to operate better without fear of attracting the unwanted attentions of certain as of yet unidentified deities.
Thaa turned the Temple out to sea, he remembered that after passing the larger island a little while back that there wasn’t too much land further south from that, he had a good idea of where he was and therefore where he needed to go to emplace his lands. He did not intend to move to isolated from the greater land mass but nor did he intend to connect with it.
Upon reaching a decent distance from the continent Thaa got to work. He raised up a great mass from the seafloor as the Vescii temple flew, he made sure to keep it of decent size. He was slow and deliberate, raising a great mass at a time but only in part of the whole he intended to create. Thaa continued at it until he had a great mass, roughly a block longer on the west-east axis than it was on the north-south axis.
Satisfied with the mass he thusly created in scale, he began carving away, or more precisely shaping with the fantastic abilities inherent to gods. He started in the northeast, lowering some portions back into the sea, others became split, some land heightened into mountains as other regions lowered into valleys and plains. He etched details into the land for most things, rivers and passes, coves and caves, bays and islands just off the coast.
Thaa worked his way south, then west, then north again. He passed over all regions of his lands, shaping each and every portion according to his wishes. Not of some great plan really, but more rather of the creative whims of the moment to create a good thing of his own even in these dire times of life.
When Thaa finally finished he had created a real archipelago of islands of many sizes and shapes, mountainous as a general truth, but not without regions that could sustain quite the possibility of life. With the lands thusly shaped Thaa turned his attention to the sea.
First he shifted the seafloor, making it shallower and providing sets of areas that would be well suited for those reefs he had found earlier. They would work well to keep out the less desirable sea creatures from plaguing the connections between his islands. He continued this raising of the sea floor, making less room for those deep sea beasts to cross near, all around this set of islands except for a passage near the main continent in the west. He could not be sure what the future would bring so he would not attempt to fully close off this place, and he reasoned it was always possible to change such in the future.
Thaa then did spread life across those spaces he had made for it in the sea, they would soon come there anyway and they served a purpose in providing his cover, although he regretted the suffering all the same. He copied what he had seen earlier, in this he did not have a great urge to be creative, he simply needed it for a purpose. Finally he turned his attention back to the land, his great eye pivoting, as the disk that housed it slid up his great mass to gaze out over it all.
“These Isles I name Hreelcii, and so set forth for all time.”
With that, Thaa commanded his Temple to move out towards the great isles he had come down upon, it was time to see what this world had, to bring to the Hreelcii Isles and to know for his future plans.
Thaa is out in the sea and needs to do some thinking, heading towards Kubrajzar. Does some thinking, comes upon the continent, isn’t impressed with the land but is rather astounded by some coral reefs. Heads down the coast thinking some more, takes up his Domain form as per his reasoning and eventually decides to make some islands as per his reasoning there as well. Makes the islands to the south east of Kubrajzar and names them the Hreelcii Isles, also makes a lot of coral reefs around the Hreelcii Isles, and raises the seafloor for the reefs, except for a passage that goes by the continent. Feels a bit bad about creating life but feels he needs it as a part of a cover to go recon what other gods that he mistrusts might be doing.
The pain had ceased long ago, yet they still felt it.
Their lives had been snuffed out within moments of their creation, and in their masses they had despaired to find death little better. The physical agony no longer weighed on their spirits, but memory remained. That was, for many, a curse. Spirits wailed through day and night, trapped in the moment of their demise and unable to break free from the horrors that clung to them through the veil of death itself. Some were silent, but only because they lacked words to speak, and their screams had fallen on a deaf reality.
They too dwelled on their short memories of life. Memories of heat. Searing, dreadful, agonizing heat. That, the few of them who retained some semblance of their wisdom knew, was all that there was for them. All there would ever be. The force which had created them cared naught for what remained. They were alone, save for their fellows and the pain they all shared.
And yet from the Heavens came action with purpose, something the despairing masses had not known for some time. The shining temple of gold, Thaa's Vescii Temple came to hover over the isle that so much suffering had been wrought upon. From the smoldering remains to the terrified and despairing souls, left without any actionable purpose, with only the memories of the incredible pain and burning heat that had been their lives.
From his temple came his voice, “I have arrived, come to me and you shall find comfort, for I am Thaa, God of Death and he who shall give you rest!”
Thaa did not boom out his command without purpose as soon the souls felt the draw of the souls crystals, lifting them up into the Grand Temple, through the golden gates. They were met with the power of Thaa, not to stop them, but to welcome and guide them. He reached into their minds, so tortured with their memories of suffering and terror and despair, and gave them peace. Overpowering their memories with feelings of bliss, happiness and finally he gave them rest. Thaa guided the souls into the many chambers of the Vescii Temple, where they could rest and be at peace in death, not merely reliving the memories of their short lives.
Thaa did not simply power over them with idle thought or without care. Instead he reached out to them as they came into his temple, within his power. He reached for them, he reached into them and spoke to them, to say that they were not alone, not unloved, that he knew their pain and their suffering. He spoke and promised that they were safe, they would be cared for, for they were within the power of Thaa, the good and gracious.
As each soul flowed upwards to the temple he was with each and everyone of them. As each soul in their remnants of a mind lived the intense burns, the horrific realization of their own existence over again, Thaa was now there. He whispered that it would not happen again, they were safe, they would rest, they would not have to live that life again. In each soul and in each case of the desperate and terrible suffering that Thaa saw he took note, he did not leave a soul to suffer alone as he spoke with each one on their own terms.
Where one soul had found themselves alone, burning without knowing why, without knowing even what they were, only knowing the pain, the feeling of their boiling and melting flesh. Thaa now knew their pain, their horror and suffering. He spoke and made promises of safety and comfort. He brought feelings of peace and rest and all the joy and freedom from the life that had terribly mistreated them.
Most were content with this. Most could not care for anything more than the succor they had been generously given. Such had been their pain. Most, but not all. One soul, who had suffered in life longer than most and thus had wailed in death more loudly, heard Thaa’s whispers and spoke in the whispers shared only among the dead, “Why?”
A simple question, the only question the soul could have asked, and yet, one which was greater than most.
In answering Thaa did not delay, “You ask why but I have only the most satisfying answers to give you. You have suffered greatly, perhaps more than any yet to live. And therein lies the problem, you lived.”
“Deities alike in power to me, but distant in their propensity for cruelty have created life, created you. The purpose of life is nought but to suffer, to wither and scream and rage against the cruelties inflicted upon them until their mortal forms give out against the strains of the world. Then those Deities discard you, they leave you. But I shall not leave you, I care not for living, for the suffering that is so infecting this world. I care for you and will keep you safe because that is right and so am I.”
It was an answer both compelling, and perhaps, confusing. For the soul understood much, but it did not understand everything. Another question clawed at the spirits psyche, but it was not sure that it was a question that should be asked. It was not sure it would like the answer. Nevertheless, it voiced it, “What do they get from it? Those deities? Our suffering, what do they get from it?”
The question cut deep, it gave Thaa pause, although not for long.
“Satisfaction I have to guess. In truth, I know not why they enact such terrible cruelties, I came forth only in the aftermath of their evil. But I need not know why they act, all I know is that they do. There are no legitimate motives I can conjure to set such suffering in motion on such a global scale, a whole world alike in pain. It speaks only to the weakness of their morals and the evil in their beings in these actions of theirs. I fear I may not be able to fight the system as a whole, but I will fight them and their evil to whatever extent I can manage.”
“I cannot promise that such suffering will not occur to another. But I can protect and save you from further suffering, I can give you peace, I can give peace to all which escape the cruel confines of life. And in time I may be able to work vengeance and stop those terrible and evil beings that seem boundless in their cruelty.”
“In… Time…” The soul whispered and faded into the throng. For it had never been greater than the others, merely more tortured. It had, in its way, needed more from the God. Now though, it longed for the relief Thaa offered, and drank greedily from the kindness of the divine. It was the first such the spirit had ever tasted.
With that there was a terrible, and beautiful, silence. The wailing petered out, and none demanded further knowledge. Wisdom, knowledge, the future, these were all things beyond the dead. They had lived, suffered, died, and now their trial had ended. They embraced a rest they knew to be eternal, and they did so in comfort.
Thaa was not entirely done however. The ground shifted beyond the golden walls of the Vescii Temple, the bodies of the dead carried with it as a new structure arose. The burnt remains were taken to a place that would house them and their memory even when they were otherwise forgotten by the rest of the world. A Tomb of the Forgotten, golden like that of the Temple, the base rose high and upon it pillars to uphold the main chamber. There the dead rested in sarcophagi, each of golden color and divinely melded to the Tomb. As the sarcophagi were enmarked not with names for these dead had none, but with what they had suffered, and that they were now free. A script that none save the gods might decipher had these words written, and finally on the lone entrance to the Tomb were a final message.
‘Forgotten but not lost’
Thaa now turned away, and the Vescii Temple left the isle.
The souls of the dead of those sapients made on the still smoldering island are in anguish and Thaa comes and comforts them. Puts them to rest. He speaks to them and one in particular who has suffered greatly speaks with him asking why all this happened. Thaa has a bit of a conversation giving his view of the world to explain all this. Then the soul goes on to accept Thaa’s rest.
Thaa then makes a tomb for their bodies, the Tomb of the Forgotten, as sets it up in the memory of their existence on Galbar. He then in the Vescii Temple with all the souls.
Thaa Start: 1 MP, 3 DP -1 DP Tomb of the Forgotten, Holy Site (Peace 1, a sense of serene transquility pervades the entire Tomb) End: 1 MP, 2 DP
Thaa approached Galbar, but he delayed his arrival, for he felt that to arrive so late, one had to at least make an impression in another way. Although he had souls of some of the dead that he had collected on his approach, he feared that many lingered on Galbar, lost and unsure since their cruel imprisonment in life.
In truth he had collected a great many souls of very little size and strength, the vast disparity caused his anxieties to worsen. Thaa was certain that the great tyrants of Life that had so endeavored to create the living torture on Galbar would not have spared greater forms from such a horrible fate as to live, instead it made the msot sense that he was too far, and the souls still too attached to what they had left behind to have much hope of truly being able to move on and find proper rest with a moral being such as Thaa. He had no doubt that the creators of the prime evil of life were to be so clever in their workings as to attempt to trap those who had even escaped their mortal prisons.
Thaa knew he needed not to come in a weak or suggesting manner, he needed to show that he was not daunted, he needed to come forward in full force of the power of a God. Thaa drifted over Galbar, thinking of a grand design to display his power and majesty as it should but still meet his needs and the necessary actions to advance his goals. Soon enough he came to a final decision and let creative power flow forth from him.
Golden spires rose among the expanding shapes of grand domes. Level built upon level as walls grew, shining in the light of the sun as windows weaved in the few gaps left. The highest point of the tallest tower centered as at that tower’s base a multitude of extravagant golden domes topped the first layer. From there golden walls with almost clear windows that seemed to have been weaved into the very structure itself reached down to gates into broad sets of courtyards between the bases of the domed structures and a new wall at the edges. New spires rose from those walls as they continued downward and bulged into new domes that continued the cycle of expansion of the grand structure in all its growing complexity.
Finally when the expansion of the enormous golden temple stopped, its base grew solid but not entirely flat as it was imprinted with a symbolic representation of Thaa. Near the base of the great temple, four grand gates at locations perpendicular across the temple formed. Across the great golden structure of the temple details and contours took shape, adding detail and form to the previously smooth and bare shining walls, spires and domes. This transformation continued inside as grand halls and rooms formed, all to Thaa’s design.
Thaa spoke, “Henceforth this temple to me will be known as the Vescii Temple! Know its name and find comfort within its walls for it is open for the comfort of those honorable dead!”
With these words Thaa compelled those souls of the dead with him into the temple, filing barely a small portion of the many rooms and locales in the structure for their rest. Thaa, however, continued into the Temple, he had in mind a central chamber at the heart of his Grand Vescii Temple.
In this central chamber, Thaa put the First Soul Crystal into an impression on the floor in the complete center of the room that had been designed for it, but he was not yet done. Directly above the now emplaced Soul Crystal hung a frame. And inside of that Thaa channeled energies to create a Second Soul Crystal, one greater and more powerful than the First but not made to replace it. Instead this Second Crystal would resonate with the First and together he hoped all the many Souls of Galbar that had been freed from the tyrannic grasp of Life might yet come to Thaa’s hold.
This second crystal glowed with energies that mortals might find a sickly ‘green’ although Deivinites would recognize the power of the Dearth energies contained within. The First Crystal while tinged in that color did not yet resonate so greatly as did the more powerful Second.
His plans now sufficiently enacted, he commanded his grand Temple to descend towards Galbar. The Grand Gates opened to the souls of the dead as the power of the Soul Crystals radiated outwards.
Thaa delays his arrival as he feels he needs to arrive in force. He has only been collecting small souls, likely that of very small creatures or plants on his journey and worries that other souls are lingering on the surface. He also feels he needs to make an impression as he is distrustful of, to him, unknown life deities.
So he created the great Vescii Temple which is a massive flying golden Temple of many spires, walls, and domes to create an impression while also housing the First Soul Crystal within and creating a more powerful Second Soul Crystal to enhance and increase the draw on souls of the dead to him.
Then he orders the Vescii Temple to descend towards Galbar as he prepares to take in more souls of the dead.
In the dull forgotten void away from the vast works of the newborn gods, the last true remnants of that first life, that which had been set loose from their bodies when they died, wandered, unknown and alone. Ever so small, their lives had been short and without much meaning.
The brewing of the Lifeblood did not let this stand for long, an opposite to that which had been set free found itself loosened, those few remnants called to it. It became him, and he found himself in a name. Thaa.
First came the eye, then the disk, then the spikes. The eye saw and sought, it looked for those few fragments that called out to Thaa, those first dead that had been left alone, wandering without anchor as their previous existence was short and left them loose. He drew close, his eye had sought them and now he could feel them so evidently.
Thaa could see them truly, what they had felt, what their existence was and all that they had known. Cold. Ever so cold. And desperate painful gasping, deprived of something so evidently needed for flesh prisons they had been born into by some unknown force.
Thaa could not understand why anyone would do this. To have brought forth this creation only to suffer and then when it was completed to have let such fleeting remnants alone, to wander. It made no sense to him.
“Shh, be calm now little ones,” Thaa cooed to the little lost fragments. “Rest now, you are safe, I have you, I will make things better.”
Instinctively Thaa reached out with something beyond his form and brought them bliss, brought them rest. He knew how to care for these, while they would not forget their sufferings they might not only be sustained upon the rumination of such horrors that had been inflicted upon them.
Thaa knew not why they had been created, or why they were created only to experience such suffering, but he knew enough that he had to act to do something about it.
Thaa pounded out energy into form, it rose out, ordered, a crystal. Not one of rock but one of that ordered energy as calling siren into the void, to draw forth the lost, suffering souls of the dead that were so callously left alone to wander. To be brought near and to be comforted, to bring them to rest and to bring them more than that which had so imprisoned them in life.
He could now turn to the greater challenge, that of life in the first place and its creators. To have such cruel action taken to make a life for it only to suffer, the only blessing is that of the shortness of its lively existence. Thaa felt torn at such evil having been enacted, he drew himself into being from such a cruelty true, but only he felt of necessity in the true protection against the evils of life as he could himself accomplish.
Thaa viewed the great works of other beings, the surface of Galbar was awakened with activity. Oceans predominated but life spread across the raised landscape. The Moon orbited and the Sun shone. These others had among them no doubt great cruelty, but whether it was all or perhaps only one who had such callous and cruel a person.
Thaa dragged his crystal along with him. He had to go closer to the action, to Galbar.
He needed to know more. Then he could act.
Thaa comes forth and dives immediately towards the meager existence of the dead souls of the first of life. He is not pleased with their suffering and brings as much comfort as he can to them as he induces them to rest.
He muses for a bit about whether other gods are cruel or just a few to have done such great evil as to gasp create life!
He also makes a crystal to call forth the dead to him so he might comfort them. He heads onwards to Galbar to find out more about the other gods and what is what.
Start: 5 MP, 0 DP -1 MP (Enhanced) Crystal that draws the souls of the dead to it. (Artifact) End: 4 MP, 0 DP
Death. Although those who have limited scope and vision may see it as the ultimate end, perfect destruction, Thaa knows better. Thaa is a deity most attuned and in command of the aspects of things that continue on after that which is alive has departed. Separate from the passage between Life and Death, Thaa holds power of that which is dead, that which is separate and distinct from life and all that lives. Thaa has great control over many aspects of existence past life.
Portfolio:
Afterlife. When things die, that which continues must go somewhere, beyond the numerous fields and masses of those who still live. It is Thaa who guides, who protects, who houses these souls after they have died and passed beyond the veil into the realm of Death. Thaa holds great power over these souls, it would be almost impossible for a mortal to resist his will on their own, and difficult but far from impossible for another deity to contest him over the souls of the dead.
Realm:
Aquibeophates. A realm of mist and unending towers, a field of stone that stretches onwards for seemingly forever anchors the towers. If one tries to venture too far into the mists one will find themselves where they started before too long. Aquibeophates is not quite like the physical realms of Galbar, its rules are different and sometimes strange. One cannot get much of anywhere unless they know where they are going first. Although if one knows what they want, and where they need to go, it is not difficult to find oneself there.
Although servants of Thaa may traverse and move along the towers, they do not care much for the living. For mortals, one typically should have the protection of a god or to leave very quickly indeed if they seek to leave at all. Aquibeophates is a place souls come to stay and rest, it is not well suited to those who wish to stay particularly alive.
Persona:
Thaa is rude, short-tempered, and most would describe him, if they were free from consequences, as a dick. He shows a generally arrogant attitude on the value of most living things, and an extremely possessive disposition towards anything that has died. Thaa also shows a sometimes disturbing lack of introspection.
Despite all that, Thaa doesn’t hold much ill will towards most of anything. His disregard of life stems in part that he considers it inferior to what he can do in death towards those masses, namely peaceful, pleasant rest, free from fear and harm. Thaa considers it his duty to have death be better than life, because for him it is and others must be made aware that he is right. Thaa is and will act as quite the jerk, but he does not truly hold malicious intent towards anything that has not slighted him, and even then his temper while burning hot, does not last long.
Base Form:
Thaa’s base form is that of a massive singular eye, emplaced in a disk that radiates spikes.
Domain Form:
The Domain form of Thaa takes his base form as a kind of mask for a gigantic body of what would appear to be corpses of every and any thing that lives, although they merely are the form of Thaa. This body has a degree of malleability, moving the ‘bodies’ as it were into different configurations.
Avatar:
The Avatar of Thaa are Kiim’Jaav’Guul. They are three in the body of one, each a snake’s head, Kiim, Jaav, and Guul. Kiim’Jaav’Guul has three snakeheads at the end of three necks that meet a scaled body. Four legs ending in clawed feet as well as a long tail mark their body. Although quadrupedal, they are capable of standing on their hind legs.
While looking quite bestial in nature, Kiim’Jaav’Guul are quite capable of speaking and are fond of doing so at some length when roused. Kiim’Jaav’Guul are not precisely motivated individuals and as a collective can find quite the reason to delay any kind of activity, although Thaa would not let them do so for very long had he a purpose in mind.
Most relevant to most mortals, Kiim’Jaav’Guul are not very healthy to be around for any extended period of time, one typically finds most living creatures near Kiim’Jaav’Guul do not live as long as they might otherwise. Most tend to wither away for seemingly no cause, no great pain or damage accompanies them, there just seems to be less cause and will to live.
Fortunately for a great many, Kiim’Jaav’Guul do not typically find life to be all that pleasant, although wishing to go to Aquibeophates, they make do with regions not so afflicted with the most egregious forms of life. Although Thaa is less than likely to allow them to do as they would wish.
Helios
Lord Zee
DX3214
Vec
