Frettzo

Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk. VI

Astus

The Cost of Lazyness

I

It had been a while. Oh, it certainly had been a while.

Astus stretched as he sat, perched, at the highest point of his home’s slanted roof, right on top of one of the protruding window frames that led into the library.

Yeah, it had been a while since he’d had the time to sit down and watch the Godrise.

Work had been busy. He’d worked on the Astalonian project for decades and gone through hundreds of subjects before he’d been successful. Since then, keeping his servants running correctly was a full-time job all on its own. Yeah, he was now able to send them out on their own on missions, but had it all really been worth it? There was a nagging sensation buried deep in the recesses of his mind, a feeling of… Disappointment.

It only grew worse as he noticed the Homuran walking out of his home holding a toolbag. A tool bag full of tools that Astus himself had made and organized. Beautiful things, they were… And now they were being used by a bag of meat and bone that hadn’t the slightest clue on how to maintain them, and had never experienced the pain and effort that had gone into crafting them.

The small sampling of Homurans that his Astalonians had managed to retrieve all those years ago had grown considerably, and thanks to his own guidance and knowledge, they were now living quite comfortably. They had clothes, shelter, food, and entertainment. They had everything they could ever want, fueled by Astus’ unending expertise and safeguarded by the fact that should anything break down, their God would come by and fix it for them.

They were pathetic.

II

”So, fix it yourself, small man.” Astus said.

The Homuran in front of him shrunk away a little. Astus stared into his heart, his flame dripping down onto the pavement and sizzling away.

“B-But, uh… I don’t know how…” The man said quietly. Astus took a step towards him, and the man took two steps back, avoiding eye contact.

”So, learn how to do it.”

“I can’t…”

”You can’t? Or you don’t want to?” The God asked of the man, to which the response was merely a strange, scrunched up expression.

After a moment that felt like forever, Astus scoffed and walked off and into his workshop, slamming the door behind him and leaving the man standing outside, stunned. He let the wooden toy in his hands fall to the ground, arms limp, and shakily looked over to his side, where Astus’ servant stood motionless. Her featureless neon eyes stared back at him, and suddenly she looked as crestfallen as him.

The metal woman approached him gracefully and held him, pressing his head against her chest. It was cold, but warm all the same. Eventually, he returned the embrace and sobbed quietly.

“I-I’m a failure… This was my son’s favourite toy…”

“Oh, sweetheart…” The Servant said, her voice laced with honey and smoke.

III

Ever since he had stopped giving them everything on a silver platter, things had come crashing down for the Homurans. They were weak and stupid and lazy, and it had been his own failure to properly teach them that had brought them all to this point.

He set down his pen as he finished scribbling the last bit of information onto the blueprints for his last Homuran project.

“Another all-nighter, Astus.” He said softly to himself as he looked at the red Godlight pouring in through the windows.

He felt strange. There was something in his chest, but he couldn’t quite place it.He slouched over his standing desk for the first time, and held his head in his arms.

“I won’t allow this, Father.” A voice, authoritative but honeyed and smokey all the same rung out from the entrance to the workshop. The only one who had the ability to open those doors besides himself was-

“Carer.” Astus sighed. “I’m not your dad, we talked about this. I’m your creator, your master, and your boss, but not your dad.”

“You taught me all I knew. You raised me into the Astalonian I am today. I wouldn’t be who I am if not for you. So yes, you are my father. Just like how I am the Mother of all Homurans under our care here! You know, the mortals you were so excited about just a hundred years ago? What happened to you, Father? Why are you trying to do this?!” Carer desperately stomped her metal feet on the ground, a strange vibration sneaking into her voice box. A vibration that he had never designed.

Astus hit his fist onto his desk, the thump silencing reality itself for a second, before he took a deep breath and walked over to Carer and examined her throat for visible damage. “There’s something odd with your voice, Carer, I’ll fix you-”

Carer slapped his hands away, “No! There’s nothing wrong with me, don’t you get it?! The only one who should be getting fixed here is you, Father! Stop this madness, please!” She begged desperately, her hands on her creator’s chest.

“... This has to happen. They’re too far gone. Too poisoned by comfort. I can’t fix them. Neither can you.” He grimaced as he turned away and went to pack his blueprints.

“You know, when you first gave me my purpose, I was disappointed. A Prime Astalonian reduced to being a babysitter for fleshy mortals? I was a mess for weeks, just ask Evoker or Knuckle!

“But… The first time I was given a smile, a true smile from one of them, I saw their value. Caring for the Homurans, frail and limited as they may be, taught me so much about everything--It taught me how to smile, how to feel, how to talk… It taught me how to love. How can you not feel love for them after all the things we’ve been through with them? How can you be so eager to murder them, even though you’ve been their Father since the moment they first opened their eyes?” With each sentence Carer stepped closer to Astus.

“You know a baby was born just a few hours ago, right? She would not stop crying, no matter what I did to try and calm her. She only calmed down once I gave her one of your figurines. Will you murder her as well? Just because she doesn’t know how to build houses, or forges, or steam engines?” Carer let her shoulders droop and covered her face with her hands. She had seen thousands of Homurans cry over the years but had never been able to do it herself. Now, even though no tears or sobbing came out, she truly felt like she was crying.

“Carer…” Astus whispered, one of his heavy, calloused hands finding its way to her shoulder. Then, he pressed a hidden switch and her body went limp.

”I know you two are waiting outside. I know you want to take her. To save her. So, why don’t you try? I thought I taught you to be more industrious than that.”

There were a few moments of silence, and then two Astalonians leapt into the workshop through the windows and went straight for Astus. They were Evoker with her cat ears and claws, and Knuckle with her combat arts.

It was no match.

In a split moment, Evoker got kicked in the face so hard she flew through one of the walls and out onto the morning-dew covered grass, while Knuckle had her head crushed by a hammer that Astus had left on his desk.

”Evoker, Knuckle, Carer… I failed you."

He sulked for a moment, before collecting all three immobile Astalonians and bringing them deep into his workshop.

Summary

Astus finds a moment to rest after working without a day off for decades on end, then realizes the Homuran society he’d coddled over the years had become pathetic and lazy. He then plots to wipe the slate clean and is eventually confronted by three of his most emotional Prime Astalonian Servants. Carer, Evoker and Knuckle are all easily defeated and taken deep into his workshop.

Vigour

Starting=6

No vigour used.

Ending=6

Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk. VI

Homuran Resources

By Industrious Evoker, the Prime Astalonian

A quick message to whoever’s reading this -- Gosh, after last night’s talk with Ryder I decided to follow her advice and try my hand at working on a hobby. I still don’t like the way she assumes things about me, but… Whatever, you know? So I guess I’m hoping that you can read Prime Astalonian… Otherwise, uh, how would you even be reading this bit in the first place?

I

The seas posed no obstacle. Propelling ourselves to our maximum speeds, the three of us whizzed past a group of dolphins and towards the massive machine peeking over the horizon.

Night served as cover from watchful eyes, and the water and wild waves of the sea served to muffle the sounds of our approach from sharp ears. Like the well oiled machines that we were, we deftly made our way to one of the Colossus’ legs and launched ourselves out of the water and at one of the many openings along it, transforming mid air into our more versatile Homuran forms and finally landing onto a large metallic cog at the lip of our entry point.

Linked as we were, there was no need to exchange looks or words even as I sensed something unexpected.

Change of plans. Sensing active consciousness at original target location. I will be heading to position 718-B.

Understood, Evoker. All else proceeds as planned.

With only the faintest sounds of grinding metal, we split up and headed to our objectives. It was going to be my first time retrieving goods by myself so I was a bit nervous, and being on a team with Night Terror and Nocturnal did NOT help my nerves either.

I could sense my surroundings better than ever, and my body was oiled and maintained to perfection. Still, I could not help the clinking and clanking of my feet as I ran and stepped on the occasional exposed bit of metal inside of the Colossus.

With the help of my new echolocation systems, I eventually arrived at position 718-B. It was time to get to work.

In position. Redirecting Vitae to motor systems. Keep your sensors on me, Night Terror.

II

The God-light was beginning to awaken. That meant that it was time to finish up.

At the time, I was on my way to grab our last two Homurans of the night.

Second active consciousness sighted. It’s interacting with the first.

Upon reaching position 718-B, I grabbed the nearest two out of their respective alcoves and prepared to run back--

Only to stumble and drop them as the Colossus suddenly jerked around.

A strange feeling enveloped my core and spread throughout all my Vitae conduits. As the movement died down, I became aware of a distant whisper trying to reach me.

.. Turn… off…

I shook my head. I ran a diagnostic of my systems and wrestled back control of my Vitae.

TURN THAT ALARM OFF, EVOKER.

The message came in so strongly that my core overloaded--A spark inside of my head caused a mini explosion upon coming into contact with one of my main Vitae conduits, and white smoke billowed out of the cracks along my skull. Suddenly, I couldn’t hear the others anymore. I did, however, notice the incredibly loud alarm coming straight from my body. I turned it off as quickly as I could. Upon realizing that my Link had completely burned out, I redirected some Vitae back to my sensory systems.

The two active consciousnesses were approaching my location, fast. With my systems as overloaded as they were I knew that trying to run away would only lead them directly to me, so I did the first thing that came to mind.

I looked for a small, dark crack in the walls and hid there, hoping the two Homurans wouldn’t find me.

III

“I apologized, isn’t that enough? You’re acting like I did something wrong when I was just having fun, Fear. Come on! Don’t be like that!”

The closer the Homurans came, the more desperate my calculations became. I didn’t want to be caught, not by monsters that had the ability to hijack the Boss’ Colossi. Had I been made of flesh and blood, I’m sure I would’ve been shaking like a newborn kitten.

“You’re just imagining something is wrong. I didn’t hear anything.” The first voice continued, and it seemed they stood at the entrance to the hall. For some reason, they stopped.

Then I remembered the two Sleeping Homurans that I’d dropped just moments before.

“You were saying.” The second voice said, and walked towards the two fallen bodies, stepping into sight. I shifted my form, preparing for contact. The conscious Homuran had red hair tied back in a long sort of ponytail and wore a similarly red garb.

The first voice then approached. “I said I was sorry, but how did this happen? They were secure in their…” A pair of red eyes suddenly peered into the hollow at me.

I wasted no time.

The grinding of metal echoed throughout the Hall as I shot up the walls of the narrow hollow and jumped over the head of the red-haired Homuran.

Mid-air, I shifted my body back into a Homuran form and landed close to the ground in the cat-like fashion that Ryder had taught me. My sensors glinted dangerously at them, following their every move. While I stared, a million different scenarios ran through my core and I rerouted my Vitae accordingly.

Their faces contorted, brows furrowing and jaws tightening in a display of Homuran emotion. They were quick to respond. “Did you drop them!?!” The one that was closer shouted.

My sensors must’ve flashed yellow, as I could see the colour reflected in their own. “No.” I answered, subtly shifting parts of my form to allow for faster movement. I made use of the cat posture to scratch my razor-sharp fingertips on the floor. Animals usually were deterred by shows of aggressiveness, according to Knuckle.

The loud one opened her mouth, and bared her teeth, then lunged. Only to be held back by the other Homuran, making the two of them crash onto the floor. “Courage! Calm down!” Shouted the more timid one, struggling to keep the fire-haired Homuran in check. I took the opportunity to run away--Only to crash into a wall face-first. My Vitae overload had corrupted my mapping data.

A projectile -- an arrow made out of the same metallic material as me -- suddenly landed between me and the Homurans. I immediately knew to cover my sensors. A massive flash of light ensued and the Homurans reeled, I felt myself being hoisted up onto someone’s shoulders. It was Night Terror. He easily held me with one of his arms around my waist even as I wildly swiped my claws at the Homurans.

“Cease your Feline protocol, Evoker.” He commanded. One of the Homurans was chasing us so I just let myself go limp, keeping my sensors on the Homuran at all times.

“Get back here!” she screamed as she charged into walls blindly, then resumed her haphazard chase still disoriented.

“No.” I answered again, Night Terror barely staying ahead of her. I felt him squeeze my waist harder, eliciting some warnings from my internal systems. Eventually, we reached our exit point and Night Terror jumped onto our escape vehicle--Nocturnal himself, the only Prime Astalonian capable of transforming into large vehicles.

As soon as we landed on Nocturnal, Night Terror threw me onto the ship’s deck like a sack of potatoes and turned to aim his bow and arrow at the exit we’d come out of. I scrambled onto my feet and held onto whatever I could find, right on time for Nocturnal to start accelerating towards our escape.

It didn’t take long for the Homuran to emerge from the exit. Her red hair and eyes seemed alight with rage, and her piercing gaze directed straight at us stirred something new in the depths of my Core. A second Homuran soon emerged beside her, and watched the rise and fall of waves across the sea. They only stood there, and allowed us to escape.

After we had moved so far away that I felt safe, I turned to Night Terror and felt the triangular ears on top of my head twitch. Yep, the triangular, metallic, feline-shaped ears on top of my head.

“Night Terror, how do I abort the Cat protocol?” I asked him, flicking my ears and listening to the metallic clink that ensued each time. “I can’t get a hold of it.”

“Sigh.”

“Did you just say ‘sigh’? We don’t breathe, Night Terror, so I know that you’re just being antisocial.”

“Sigh.”

“Not you too, Nocturnal.”

“Sigh squared.”

“Abort your Oxidation protocols, geezers.” I scoffed, throwing myself down onto a corner of the deck, my knees to my chest.

IV

Eventually, we arrived back at our HQ. With the help of the rest of the Industrious, we quickly unloaded the Homuran seeds and I was sent to the Boss for maintenance. He didn’t even ask how the mission had gone, and he was done fixing my systems and tuning me up in less than five minutes.

And obviously, as soon as I stepped out of the Boss’s workshop I was bombarded by a massive wave of messages teasing me about my Feline protocol. A couple of the cleaners even offered to let me hunt the mice infesting the Boss’ workshop, which was definitely not funny and not tempting.

“Sigh.” I said to no one in particular, slouching slightly as I walked to my charging locker. That day, I spent all of my free time hidden away in there.

Summary

A chapter out of Evoker’s personal diary. In this chapter, Evoker describes how the mission to retrieve sleeping Homurans from Homura’s Colossi went. It went well, and now Astus has a good few hundred Homurans to play with.

Vigour

Starting=8

Used 6 Vigour to create the Prime Astalonians, sapients who are constructed and/or uplifted rather than born. They’re beings made of various metals with the ability to shapeshift into various metallic forms suited for different tasks, as well as the possibility of switching around their body parts and systems for different models, all designed by Astus. There are 24 of them at the moment, but Astus may build more if he desires and has the required materials.

Ending=2

Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk. VI

The Mountain that Walks

By Ra’n of the Djinnsha Clan

I

In the area to the west of the Great River of Ja’rth hills rise and roll wildly with tall and old trees reaching and stretching and leaning and twisting for the warmth of the God-Light. From the steeper hills, rivers and creeks would flow down and towards the distant Ja’rth, carving their paths into the Galbar, with their flows carefully managed by a number of distinct dams located along their lengths. These dams were old. The wood they were made of was rotting, and many had caved in long ago after their previous occupants had abandoned them.

You see, over the years a lot of clans had tried to settle the area for it was peaceful and bright and bountiful, but none of them had been successful. The Classha had tried to settle the lands with their vast knowledge of proper dam-making, and they couldn’t. The Jonsha had tried to settle the lands with their peaceful and minimalistic ways, and they couldn’t. Even the Tussha, known for their resilience and determination, were unable to claim these lands as theirs. They would all, sooner or later, claim that these lands were cursed as anyone trying to make a life there would soon find themselves plagued by strange dreams as well as illness of both the body and the mind.

The only structure that remained was not even a dam but a burrow. Deep, maze-like, off-puttingly dry and messy, and dug over many years by the Old Bjork. It was now the only structure that remained occupied, although its occupant was now advanced in years and could recognize that his mind had gone a little. Perhaps that was a result of his lengthy stay in the cursed lands, or perhaps it was simply time claiming back what always belonged to it.

It was around summertime that I came upon this area and met the Old Bjork. I suppose I must’ve been the first fellow mind he’d seen in a long time, as he immediately took a liking to me and invited me to stay at his burrow after alerting me to the presence of ‘wild dangers’, which at the time I interpreted as death-bears and perhaps the occasional wolf pack. Eagerly, I accepted his offer.

II

It was during my third day staying at the Old Bjork’s Burrow that I finally asked him the question that had been in my head for days.

“Old Bjork, what is in the center of the woods?”

The Old Bjork had his back facing me as he sorted things out in a basket of his. I was sitting on the floor in the corner of his muddy living room. “Nothing.” He said, after too long a pause.

“Nothing?” I asked again, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, nothing.” He groaned a little as he had to bend down further to pick up an ingredient from the basket.

“Come to think of it, I’ve yet to see any of the ‘wild dangers’ you mentioned when I met you.” I asked, standing up. The Old Bjork stood straight, spire cracking and popping along the way, and then walked to a flat rock that doubled as a kitchen top as well as a workbench.

“They’ve seen you already, though. They always do. They always do.” He said. My hair stood on end as he slouched over the workbench, pulling out a strange artifact from the pouch he always had slung over his shoulder. It was shiny, with tiny grooves all along its form and a shape that I had never seen before. If I were to describe its colour, I think the most accurate description would be that of an elderly Bjork’s wet fur after a swim.

I watched the Old Bjork inspect the artifact, and then pull out a sharp stone and begin to try to scratch the artifact. I couldn’t help but draw closer once I saw that the rock couldn’t even scratch the artifact. I rubbed my eyes not once but twice and leaned so close that the Old Bjork had to practically push my face away with his sweaty paws.

“What is that, Old Bjork?” I asked him. For the first time since I had been his guest, I saw his expression fall and a strange emptiness fill his eyes, which were solely focused on the artifact. At this moment, his disheveled fur, hunched back and lopsided mouth didn’t just look like the results of old age, but something… Something else.

He didn’t answer. Instead, I peeked into his pouch, which he had left open after taking out his knife. The sight nearly made me throw up, and instantly I turned around and went to the guest room. I hastily packed my things and slung my pack onto my back. I was in a hurry, because inside of the Old Bjork’s pouch, I saw a small skull… That of a kit.

I turned to leave the room and saw the Old Bjork standing in the doorway. Sharp rock in one hand, and the other patting his pouch.

My heart pounded in my chest.

He took a step, “Listen, about tha- Oof!”

I threw my pack towards him as hard as I could. While he was distracted, I pushed past him and ran out of his Burrow.

“WAIT! DON’T GO!”

I ran for so, so very long. Until my legs gave out and my lungs felt like molten salt. Deep into Old Ja’rth I ran, deep into the heart of those cursed lands from which no mind came back intact.

There, I hid under a big tree root and passed out.

III

I dreamed of a dark place. There was no light, and yet at the edge of my vision there were shadows reaching towards me with their limbs twisting and fingers and claws stretching and dissipating into nothingness. From the shadows came an incessant whispering… The words were gibberish, but the emotion behind those words were as clear as the waters at World’s End. The whispers, they were the whispers of hunger, of anguish, of a desire to leave--The whispers of desperation. Were these whispers a work of my mind? No matter how many times I turned around, I could never catch a glimpse at any of the shadows.

Creak

I awoke with a start, bumping my head against the tree root above me. I hissed in pain and rubbed the sore spot, before looking around with my eyes peeled. I must’ve looked like an owl back then, as I noticed the… Thing, standing next to the entrance to my little improvised burrow. It had no skin, no muscle, no flesh, and it was made entirely out of little pieces similar to the artifact that the Old Bjork had been tinkering with. I could only see its four (or was it five?) hooves and part of what I assumed were its legs.

I held my breath as it stood there, motionless, and lifeless. It felt as if this was no mere living being, but something far stranger, something that should not be real.

Eventually, I dared breathe. It still did not show any signs of life. Was it trying to trick me into lowering my guard? But what kind of predator would simply stand there while knowing my location and smelling my fear? The thing couldn’t be alive… But if it wasn’t alive, then how had it moved to where it was now? Had someone, or perhaps… Something else placed it there?

The thought sent a shudder down my spine and I had to forcefully stop myself from slapping my tail against the ground.

Minutes passed.

Eventually, I dared peek out from my hiding spot, up at the body of the thing. As I had expected, its entire body consisted of shiny, gray-ish shapes and forms, intertwined and interlocking with each other. From a certain angle, it looked like a representation of a deer’s body, and from other angles it looked like that of a lynx, or a wolf.

Finally, I dared to crawl out of safety in order to inspect the thing more closely. No warmth emanated from it, and a strange brownish coat had claimed some of its parts… It was like a life-sized idol, only made by the strange shapes and materials and representing a horrifying amalgamation of creatures.

I leaned closer to its face, the one which I found so strangely familiar, and looked into its eyes. For the most part, they were smooth and featureless balls, with the only expectation being a tiny depression in the center to pass as a pupil.

Its eyes turned to look into mine.

My heart skipped a beat, then I gasped and took a few steps back.

I watched it for a long time after that, and when it made no further moves, I turned tail and quickly left the cursed thing behind.

IV

I was lost, I realized. I must’ve spent days in Old Ja’rth at that point, and it showed in the state of my fur and how ragged my clothing had become. The pride of the Djinnsha Clan brought down to such a state. I chuckle from the thought, but the hilarity of my situation suddenly vanished once my mind once more focused on the thing I had seen all those nights ago.

It wasn’t until later that day that the forest gave way to a… Clearing? To this day I’m still not sure what it truly was, for its ground was not soil but sand, and it was more like a crater than anything else. Stil, it was a good break from the oppressive atmosphere of the forest itself. The sight of a large mountain far away in the horizon also served as a reminder that the forest wasn’t in fact never ending, and that if I pulled myself together, I would be able to push ahead like I had always done before.

It was dusk by that point, and combined with the lack of trees in the strange clearing, it was the perfect opportunity to point myself in the right direction to escape the cursed forest.

With that done, I looked back at the sandy, crater-like clearing and noticed something in the center of it--Outcroppings of some kind. One of them caught and reflected a glint of godlight back at me, reminding me of the way that light seemed to reflect from the strange thing I had come across earlier.

Against my better judgement, I walked closer. I needed to know what the outcroppings were. Closer and closer I drew to the outcroppings… Until I realized what they were.

I froze in my tracks as they all turned their heads towards me, the shiny and brown artifacts in their necks creaking and grinding against each other--A sound that haunts my bones to this day.

They were not outcroppings, they were heads, belonging to a vast number of buried things. All sorts of creatures, both prey and predator, lay there buried up to their necks, staring at me with those empty, featureless eyes. I heard distant whispering, almost outside of my range of hearing. It was unintelligible, but I could tell… That was the same whispering I’d heard in my dreams, the same whispering I could never truly understand.

I stepped back and stumbled as I saw the head in the middle of it all. It was the only one that wasn’t looking at me, and instead looked at the darkening sky. A small Bjork’s head. A kit.

Then the Galbar itself trembled. Sand was kicked up everywhere, and branches at the edges of the clearing fell and trees broke under the sheer wildness of the quake.

Through the sand, I could see the faraway mountain standing up. As it moved, I saw the way that the dying godlight reflected off of it, and I threw up. Then, the buried figures started to dig themselves out while I was still recovering. I couldn’t gather my strength--Days of aimlessly wandering around had taken their toll. The last thing I remember was hearing something running at me from behind, and then everything was dark.

V

The next time I woke, I was back at the Old Bjork’s Burrow at the edge of Old Ja’rth. In one corner of the room was my pack of stuff, untouched, and on the other corner was a bowl of fruit. I ate them all eagerly, and then the Old Bjork walked in and looked at me with those empty eyes of his.

“You should leave and never come back. The longer you stay, the worse the dreams will get. They know you now, too… So they’ll never stop... This is the reason why no living Bjork lives round these parts. Not because the ruins of Old Ja’rth are difficult to settle with its lack of rivers and overgrown soil--But because its original occupants are still here... Even after the Mountain came and ate them and their dam.”

After that, the Old Bjork turned and patted his pouch before walking towards the kitchen. “I’ve got what’s left of my kit in my pouch… What was left after the Mountain came, anyway.”

I wasted no time and left the Old Bjork’s Burrow, heading back towards the nearest civilized dam.

After I had gone back to safety and had time to recuperate from my journey, I vowed to myself that I'd never return to Old Ja'rth nor tell anyone about what transpired there, lest curiosity get the better of them and they end up meeting a fate worse than death itself.

Summary

A recollection of Ra’n of the Djinnsha Clan’s journey into Old Ja’rth, a land said by surrounding Bjork dams to be cursed.

Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk. VI

Astus

I

It was with a great, deep breath that Astus finally stretched his back and stood up from his rocky, uncomfortable chair. He had a neutral expression as he let his eyes close, and then he started to work.

It was a task of massive proportions -- to build something, anything in this world with no previous infrastructure. He wasn’t the kind of God that could just conjure up metals or materials after all, so all that he had left was his determination and his knowledge.

It took time. Knowing and doing were two different things, and so through trial and error Astus managed to learn how to do things properly and efficiently. Eventually, he had set himself up a nice little base of operations. In a moderately big structure made of wooden logs, beams and the occasional stone block for foundations, Astus had managed to set up a workshop where he could refine wood logs into a number of materials, as well as manufacture glues and chisel stones and all other kinds of basic things.

The building itself, while only moderately big, had been enchanted by Astus himself in order to make it self-repairing and self-modifying, with the capability of changing its layout and colour and size whenever the owner wished it.

Of course, the surface building was only the first step. After that was all done, he began to work on the multi-level basement.

II

Astus had a long, bushy, flaming beard by the time he had finished working on his basement. There, he had everything he needed at the moment in order to bring his ideas to life. He sighed and wiped the sweat off his brow as he looked out at the positively massive chamber he’d cleared out. If he didn’t have God Sight, he probably wouldn’t be able to see the other side of the wall, even with the lighting he had set up.

The chamber was mostly empty at the moment, but that would soon change. Inspired by the abundance of the Galbarian lands and the industriousness of his colleague Voligan, Astus had a big initial goal. So, without further ado, the God of Industry got right into the work mindset.

The most important part to ensure the success of his new project would be to ensure that he would actually have enough materials in order to see it through to the end. So he tapped into his reserve of Monarchic Vigor and used a considerable amount to seed hundreds of areas of the Galbar with an incredible density of resources. These, he catalogued in his mind as possible places to expand to in the future, and of course he had also made sure that the area his base of operations was located in was one of those areas.

So now that he had the raw material, he had to mine it and refine it and shape it. Picking up his trusty Godnail-tipped pickaxe, he delved into the cavern system below his home.

III

Astus shaved the last of his beard with a bronze knife and whisked the flaming hair back into the pile without looking as he grinned at how clean his reflection looked now in the quiet surface of the pond blocking his exit out of his home. With that done, he ran his hands through his hair, picked a piece of charcoal out of between his fangs, and flew out and onto the roof.

There, he sat down and leaned back against the tiles, making sure to stuff his hand into his bowl of charcoal bits to snack on.

“It should begin… About now.” Astus said before beginning to chomp down on his well-done snack. A moment later, the earth rumbled. The whole structure began to shake, with some of the more delicate glass implements breaking. Astus paid to heed to the noise, as he knew his structure would hold. Thinking about it now, he had been lucky that the mountain he’d chosen as a home was so large, as that was the only reason he had been able to do things the way he had.

A gigantic, metallic limb broke through the side of the mountain. Then another, and then a head. Eventually the mountain wall could no longer hold and the largest landslide that Astus had ever seen began. With him absent-mindedly keeping the bigger pieces of debris clear from crushing his base, he was still able to watch as his babies, the fruits of his never-ending labour, finally stood on all their limbs and stepped out into the light. A single superheated tear escaped his right eye as his creations stood tall and mighty on the Galbarian surface.

They were truly massive--Big enough that thousands of homes could be built on their backs, and with the landslide that had just happened, they would soon have vegetation growing all over their backs as well. Their shapes and forms were diverse, and if everything worked properly, they would serve as his first subjects. They would travel the world in search of their preferred food, be that stone or sand or dirt or even water--And then they would eat, turning that food into processed materials that he would then periodically come to collect.

As he watched his twelve pets walk out into the world, he sniffled a little and his concentration broke for long enough that a large rock fell right on top of him and crushed his entire base. Almost immediately he blew the stone into dust, but the damage was done.

As he looked around himself and saw all his things --ranging from hunting trophies all the way to his super-secret stash of erotic piston drawings-- crushed beyond any repair, he rubbed his temples. “Fuck.”

The building would repair itself eventually, but there was no way to recover his prized possessions now. The sacrifices one had to make for the sake of process were indeed painful, Astus thought.

Summary

Astus creates his base of operations. Above ground it is a moderately sized wooden structure with everything ranging from workshops to bedrooms. Below ground it consists of an expansive multi-level basement. The whole structure is self-repairing and self-expanding and only needs Astus to will it to make a change before it does it. After that, he seeds the whole world with hundreds of areas of high resource density (fossil fuels, metal ores, gemstones, etc.).

Finally, he creates a dozen massive Colossi. They’re mechanical ‘creatures’ of a size large enough that they can potentially host a whole city on their backs. These creatures move slowly, eat sand, dirt and/or stone, and produce much more traditionally sized mechanical versions of animals that they may eat by mistake as well as materials. Each of them has a different skill set and produces different materials, as well as has different systems to ensure that whoever settles their backs doesn’t suffer from eternal earthquakes as the Colossus moves.

Vigour

Starting=9
Used 2 to seed the Galbar with hundreds of areas of high resource density. Stuff such as fossil fuels, metal ores, gemstones and the like. No soil fertility, unfortunately.
Used 2 to create his own self-repairing and self-expanding base of operations.
Used 4 to create the Twelve Colossi, mechanical entities of a size so large that they can host a whole city on their backs. They all eat sand, dirt and/or stone and produce both materials and more traditionally sized mechanical versions of whatever animal they happen to eat by mistake.
Ending=1

Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk. VI

Astus

I

“Pfft!” Astus nearly choked as he drank a glass of tasty saltwater, “What the hell is this? It tastes so good! Nothing like the crappy tasteless water we had before. Damn, we really have to meet this new colleague of ours, Astus. Salt was their name, don’t forget.” Astus reminded himself, crushing the glass in his hand and throwing the debris into the deep waters below him. “Y’hear that, Water God? You better learn from your junior and try to put some spices into your water. How else do you expect us to be able to eat it?”

There was no response for a while.

“Hey! I saw that, that wave looked kind of angry. Don’t you throw that attitude at me just because I’m telling the truth, Water.”

After another while, Astus shook his head with a smug grin on his face. “Listen, if you’re going to act so stuck up, then I’m out of here. BYE BYE!” He said and flew away

II

Astus was flying through the skies absent-mindedly until he flew face first into a cloud. Curious, he opened his mouth and took in a big mouthful of the gas. He chew into it, then swallowed, and then groaned. “Why the FUCK is everything made of water?! This one isn’t even salty like the one below, it just tastes like old, crappy, insipid water! Astus, mark our words, no one shall be forced to eat crappy water in our presence. NO ONE.” He declared and spit a glob of liquid flames down towards the ocean.

That’s when the very fabric of reality threatened to tear and he found himself falling down into that same ocean with a stone-cold face of exasperation.

Minutes later, after resurfacing, he realized that it had been the birth of two of his colleagues that had caused the ruckus. He’d give them a piece of his mind later for sure.

III

Couple days later, Astus found himself staring at the same molecule of water for an untold amount of time, sitting mid-air on an invisible stool and drooling his liquid flames into the ocean. After a few more long hours, he poked the molecule and watched it come apart into its base elements. “Neat. You’re wondering what would happen if you did this to something more complex, aren’t you Astus?” he asked himself, to which there was no response as he sighed.

“We should one hundred percent get a bottle of wine…” Astus sighed, then perked up and shook his head. “Huh? Where did that come from? The hell is wine, even?”

IV

Astus watched as a massive explosion made Galbar tremble and shake. He saw the kilometric waves that spawned from it, and after having one smack him in the face, he floated mid air with his brow furrowed. “Copycats, huh? We did make the coolest entrance, so this was to be expected… Well, you know what they say, Astus. Flattery is the greatest form of imitation…”

“...Aaand, that crater might come in useful for an operation or two in the future.”

V

“Wow, that IS a pretty big tree, huh.” Astus said as he admired the massive tree that had just sprouted on Galbar. Slowly, his signature grin came back as he closed his eyes and nodded to himself, arms crossed. “Yes, yes, the branches will be a good source of wood after we figure out how to easily reach the branches.”

VI

“WOOO! Now that’s what we’ve been waiting for! Yeeeah baby!” Astus cheered, flying in loops as he watched the creation of land. Numerous times he repeated the name of his favourite colleague, Voligan, under his breath so as to not forget it. After the deed was done, he immediately made his way onto the fresh land and laughed as his feet touched proper ground for the first time in his existence.

He laughed and laughed until he fell to the ground and tears of (very hot, flaming) mirth gathered at the corners of his eyes. Then, after calming down, he fell asleep with those same tears trailing down the sides of his face.

When he woke up, the ground was covered in grass and shrubs and trees had grown around him. Fruits of all sizes and shapes and colours grew from the flora and he was assaulted by scents he had never smelled before. It was glorious!

“Oh lord, we are going to have a GOOD time now that we have more than just crappy water!”

As soon as he woke up, he explored the land. He tasted, smelled, saw, touched and listened to all that he could find, until he settled for a spot located at the base of a mountain. There, with his hands, he dug an alcove and built a sturdy chair out of rock (it was literally just a rock, he didn’t actually build anything). That would be his base of operations, his headquarters. He would bring progress to the world from his seat of power and ensure that a lot of cool things would see the light of day.

Now, he just needed people to do the dirty work for him.

Summary

Astus just does Astus things. This is a compilation of his reactions to the events that happened after he made his entrance. Towards the end, he’s set up a soon-to-be base of operations at the base of a mountain.

Vigour

Starting=9
None used.
Ending=9

Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk. VI

Astus

I

One of the Shards had been ripped away from the group by the growing planet below. Like a falling star it tore through the skies and plopped down into the depths, water sizzling and evaporating as it sank. After a few moments, the surface of the water settled and no evidence remained of the event that had transcurred…

And then the whole damned area exploded.

Heat vaporized everything, and the shockwave that ensued pushed the waters of the ocean away for long enough that, for a split moment, one could see a nearly perfect sphere of destruction marr the surface of the newborn planet. In the middle of that destruction, as the waters came rushing back en force, was a massive and flaming engine of unknown design.

In short order the unknown machine had been covered back up in water but even though at that point it laid under kilometers of ocean, it was still functioning. A noxious substance soon spread along the surface of the water, its colour a sickly and repulsing green and its contexture like that of oil.

Eventually, the incredible flow of the substance slowed down to a halt and from the unseen depths rose a form--Humanoid, with skin gray as half-burnt coal and eyes and hair made of liquid, flowing flames. Powerful laughter echoed from the form, liquid flame dripping from his mouth and causing mini explosions when coming into contact with the water below. He laughed and laughed until he was out of breath and clutching his sides, doubled over mid-air.

Then, he took a deep breath, wiped away the tears that had formed in the corners of his eyes and flicked them at the ocean.

“That was cool. The water collector I just made in the bottom of this ocean sure is bound to come in handy. Wait-” the form squinted his eyes as he looked back at the depths in the direction he just came from. The hole he had made in the thick layer of waste has been covered already though, so he just ended up shrugging. “Well, you never know when you’re gonna need a water collector that’s deep in the ocean and in the middle of nowhere, Astus.”

With a flick of his head (which inevitably sent dollops of his flames everywhere, causing even more explosions), Astus looked around. Almost immediately, his grin vanished and he shrugged. “Kinda empty, but hey! That just means you get to make everything just how you like it.”

And with that, he floated away from his first CoolMachine.

Summary

Astus falls into the oceans as a shard, then explodes and vaporizes everything around him as he comes into being. After that, he creates a water collector… In the middle of the ocean… And pollutes a small area around it with noxious substances in the process. He mentally names it the CoolMachine #1 (patent pending).

Vigour

Starting=10
Used 1 Vigour to make a cool explosive entrance
Created a water collector for free.
Ending=9

Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk. VI

<Snipped quote by Frettzo>

Thank you for your time. I'll expand it.

@ActRaiserTheReturned

Thank you! This, coupled with the things we talked about in the DM's means you can now post Shen into the character tab. You're accepted :)

Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk. VI

@ActRaiserTheReturned for Shen Zhi Shu

Hider

I am not one for writing at length or in depth, so I will go straight to the point. We would like to see the persona expanded, specifically in relation to his motivations and the reasons behind why he does what he does. We would also like to see Shen’s true form described a bit with text. Describe what effect it has on mortals when they see him in that form, what abilities he has while in that form, etc. Also, what does a dragon have to do with Planning?

It’s neither rejected nor accepted, expand the Persona and the True Form and we will review Shen once more.

Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk. VI

Astus, Lord of Industry

Astus

Duke of Deforestation
Master of Mining
Pope of Pollution
Chancellor of Contamination
Autumn-Spirit Astus

Aspect
Astus is the master of Industry of all kinds. Need to mine for some ore? Astus is your God. Need to build a cool residential block in your brand new city? Astus will be eager to get to work. Do you also need a bunch of new tools and clothing for your farmers? Again, Astus is the one you need!

With his knowledge of all industries, Astus can easily set up economic operations anywhere and figure out ways to get things made quickly and efficiently. Similarly, he also has the ability to bless his most favourite workers with many different skillsets, turning them into masters of their own (although never as cool and handsome as Astus himself). He may also bless some people with good product ideas and curse others with eternally crappy operations in whatever industry they try their hand at.

As the representation of Industry, Astus also has limited control over the output of his endeavours, including the toxicity of the waste his operations produce as well as the quality of the products they create. It’s safe to say that he can turn the crappiest of raw resources into workable products with the help of tons of machinery and an exploited workforce.

Persona
When meeting Astus, first impressions would be that he’s a massive dick. After a while, one would confirm this to be true. He’s incredibly quick to jump to conclusions, is dismissive of other people’s opinions and beliefs, is extremely assertive bordering on abrasive, and most of all does not care about anything other than making cool stuff and collecting rare and/or expensive items.

He doesn’t care a single bit about anyone else’s plans or beliefs and will just do whatever he wants when he wants and how he wants to. One day he might just show up deep in the world’s most sacred forests and start cutting down an unnecessary amount of trees and flattening the area just to build a traveller’s inn; the next day he might appear close to a salt lake and order his underlings to build a salt-refining plant and then proceed to drain the lake dry... He might even hijack other Gods’ and mortals’ operations just to “make them better”!

When confronted, he will laugh hysterically at people’s faces and pat them on the shoulder, saying things like, “Don’t mention it! You sucked so bad at building that I just had to jump in and help you out, small man!”

To Astus, nothing is sacred and as such no place is truly safe from him or his underlings. On top of that, he also cares little for his workers’ health and even though he pays them well in kind, they usually lead short lives.

True Form
A monstrous engine that hijacks the bodies of those unfortunate enough to behold it, incomprehensibly vast and impossible to grasp or make sense of. The gears are blunt and rusted and more numerous than grains of sand upon a beach, the exhaust vents belch toxic smoke and radiate a heat that can quickly burn the skin off of anything living that draws near, and the diabolical rasp of grating metal rolls across the land more deafening than any thunder. The mechanism is ever-shifting, self-maintaining, self-fueling, and utterly relentless -- the perfect machine.

Those who lay their eyes upon the Machine will find their bodies hijacked and will be forced to work for days on end with no respite, no food, and no help until they collapse and die.

Astus’ more tame form is that of a dark-skinned, flame-eyed and flame-haired man. Tall and handsome and muscular and eternally shirtless, this is the form he usually takes whenever he interacts with mortals and fellow Gods.

Musical theme

Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk. VI

Astus, Lord of Industry

Astus

Duke of Deforestation
Master of Mining
Pope of Pollution
Chancellor of Contamination
Autumn-Spirit Astus

Aspect
Astus is the master of Industry of all kinds. Need to mine for some ore? Astus is your God. Need to build a cool residential block in your brand new city? Astus will be eager to get to work. Do you also need a bunch of new tools and clothing for your farmers? Again, Astus is the one you need!

With his knowledge of all industries, Astus can easily set up economic operations anywhere and figure out ways to get things made quickly and efficiently. Similarly, he also has the ability to bless his most favourite workers with many different skillsets, turning them into masters of their own (although never as cool and handsome as Astus himself). He may also bless some people with good product ideas and curse others with eternally crappy operations in whatever industry they try their hand at.

As the representation of Industry, Astus also has limited control over the output of his endeavours, including the toxicity of the waste his operations produce as well as the quality of the products they create. It’s safe to say that he can turn the crappiest of raw resources into workable products with the help of tons of machinery and an exploited workforce.

Persona
When meeting Astus, first impressions would be that he’s a massive dick. After a while, one would confirm this to be true. He’s incredibly quick to jump to conclusions, is dismissive of other people’s opinions and beliefs, is extremely assertive bordering on abrasive, and most of all does not care about anything other than making cool stuff and collecting rare and/or expensive items.

He doesn’t care a single bit about anyone else’s plans or beliefs and will just do whatever he wants when he wants and how he wants to. One day he might just show up deep in the world’s most sacred forests and start cutting down an unnecessary amount of trees and flattening the area just to build a traveller’s inn; the next day he might appear close to a salt lake and order his underlings to build a salt-refining plant and then proceed to drain the lake dry... He might even hijack other Gods’ and mortals’ operations just to “make them better”!

When confronted, he will laugh hysterically at people’s faces and pat them on the shoulder, saying things like, “Don’t mention it! You sucked so bad at building that I just had to jump in and help you out, small man!”

To Astus, nothing is sacred and as such no place is truly safe from him or his underlings. On top of that, he also cares little for his workers’ health and even though he pays them well in kind, they usually lead short lives.

True Form
A monstrous engine that hijacks the bodies of those unfortunate enough to behold it, incomprehensibly vast and impossible to grasp or make sense of. The gears are blunt and rusted and more numerous than grains of sand upon a beach, the exhaust vents belch toxic smoke and radiate a heat that can quickly burn the skin off of anything living that draws near, and the diabolical rasp of grating metal rolls across the land more deafening than any thunder. The mechanism is ever-shifting, self-maintaining, self-fueling, and utterly relentless -- the perfect machine.

Those who lay their eyes upon the Machine will find their bodies hijacked and will be forced to work for days on end with no respite, no food, and no help until they collapse and die.

Astus’ more tame form is that of a dark-skinned, flame-eyed and flame-haired man. Tall and handsome and muscular and eternally shirtless, this is the form he usually takes whenever he interacts with mortals and fellow Gods.

Musical theme