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Kalmar




Chasing. Fleeing. Hiding. Searching. Running. Attacking. Defending. Killing. Consuming.

This was what went through his head, as he was ripped from one world to the next. It was all he had ever known. He came from a place where it was a constant struggle for life, where you either killed and became stronger, or died and strengthened something else. That was all he had ever known, and he had never questioned it. In its own way, it had been enough to make him feel secure. Yet as he was deposited into the Architect's hall, that natural feeling of familiarity, of comfort, of security, was gone. There had been others like him, who he survived alongside, but they were gone too, and though he was aware of other presences, there was nothing familiar about him. He was alone.

But he also had power, and he used this power to shape himself into a form, partially based off the forms of others but with enough details to set himself apart. Golden hair sprouted from his head and face, and green attire materialized on his body. He looked down at his form, and then at his reflection in the water, and appeared content. He felt as though he had just woken up from something, as though he had reached a higher level of thought and awareness. He suddenly felt the idea that he should call himself something, and briefly wondered why he had never called himself anything before.

Kalmar. That seemed as good a name as any.

Kalmar turned to the being that summoned him, uncertain of its intentions, uncertain of whether or not he could win if those intentions were hostile. Instead, the Architect went on to address the room as a whole, and revealed why he had brought them here.

Just then Kalmar's mind was filled with purpose. He recalled the world he had left behind. If they were to build, then whatever they built would need inhabitants. Those inhabitants would need resources, and some would inevitably need to draw resources from lesser inhabitants, who would in turn need to avoid them. It was not a fair or gentle system, but it was a natural one, a functioning one, and Kalmar would be the one to maintain it.

His first step was to approach the crystal he now knew to be his. But he refrained. Who were these other beings, his fellow 'builders'?

And so he scanned the room, allowing his measuring gaze to fall on each inhabitant. Some, he noticed, had taken larger forms than he had, such as the massive titan, or the living fire, or the large-mouthed beast. Did that mean they were stronger? Perhaps, or perhaps not. Besides, even if they were stronger than him, with enough allies or cunning, strength could be overcome, so he was not concerned.

He watched a pitiful creature leap about, frightened by one thing after another. Another being also appeared terrified, but seemed to have been driven to stillness instead of movement. Kalmar found himself shaking his head. In his homeworld, the former might have lived. The latter would have died.

Others he was not certain what to make of, but he would surely come to know them in the following days. He would have to. He would need allies, partners, pack members.

He approached the pale-skinned woman, who was mobilized by what he assumed to be fear. Fear of what? Perhaps he might impart some sensible advice onto her, earning her trust. "Ah... eh... I... I am Kalmar," he said, speaking for the first time. "What danger do you sense? Why do you stay still? If you are in danger, you either fight or flee. It's better to fight, but some can only flee, like that one there..." he gestured at the floundering, revolting, terrified, eyeless creature, who was being swept away by the water. "If you stay still, you get eaten."


dying (we have a god of death, as in the afterlife and the fate of dead souls, and a competing god of undeath, but neither focuses on reaping or the aspect of murder or dying itself)


Funny you should mention that: I just decided to scrap the honour thing, and instead do a god of valour. A god that does not promote battle itself, but rather showing courage in battle, which includes dying.
I feel like each one of Aelius's "virtues" could have been a portfolio on its own. This system seems slightly unbalanced.

Edit: Just to clarify, I don't mean to specifically target the person who made Aelius. This is just an observation. He just happened to be one of the first gods I read about, and it was something I noticed.
Just letting you know interested in making a god character. Still need to read a few things in the thread, though.

Edit: Alright, quick question: is anyone making a dwarf-themed god?

If not I would like to claim the Portfolio "Honour."
Yeah if there's a point in the future where you think you're up to getting this running again, PM or mention me or something.
Nova Syrome

Aetius Palace - Doux Belisar’s Residence


Leofric couldn’t help but frown as he approached Belisar’s palace, flanked by two of his men. To Leofric, Belisar seemed almost as bad as King Badastan himself. This deal did not sit well with him, yet it was necessary - it gave him a reliable stopping point to sell his goods, catch up with the news, and offered some degree of protection should Eodaeland or another Kingdom make more active attempts to hunt him down.

Before leaving his ship, he had changed into some of his finest clothes. Officially, he was an Eodaen Earl who took to the seas like many others of his kind, which was true, only in the official story he was a merchant rather than a pirate.

Wiping the frown from his face, he approached the gates, and the palace guards looked at him expectantly. “I am Earl Leofric of Eodaeland,” Leofric introduced himself. “I request an audience with Doux Belisar of Syrome.”

The Syrioviigoc guards, while recognising the man were clearly on high alert and suspicious, though Leofric could not possibly know for what reason, as he could not have been aware of the other Doux’s surprise visit and stand-off.

The guards did not respond other than to tell him to halt and wait, as a guard captain whispered with another and then palace servants arrived, each gesturing and whispering to each other in a kind of rushed silence, servants moving back and forth.

It was sometime until another servant returned, and finally the guards turned back to Leofric.

‘’Your audience has been granted Eodaelander. The Doux will see you.’’ One of the guards followed the servant back into the palace, and the servant gestured for Leofric to follow.

While the palace was beautiful, it was clearly in a state of hasteful movement and sudden activity, with many guards, pages and other retinue members moving around - both cleaning up from the mess with the intruding thug of a Doux, as well as responding to the news concerning Tautom. The Servant and guard too, were rushed.

They stopped at the throne room rather than the seaside gazebo, and Belisar was busy discussing something with a guard captain when the servant knocked and announced Leofric’s arrival.

Belisar spun around, robes drifting in haste and immediately turned to Leofric.

‘’What is it that you require, pirate?’’

Bowing his head slightly, Leofric smirked.
“Your Grace, I merely wished to inform you that the better part of my ‘merchant’ fleet has arrived in your city. I thought it would only be polite to make sure you were aware, and to see if you had any special requests in mind before I set off again. And if you don’t mind, I would also ask if you have received any updates on the political situation in my homeland.”

Belisar nodded and quickly drew out a piece of paper from his robes, holding it out to Leofric.

‘’This letter came from a Pigeon, a Eodaland one. Your ‘king’, Badastan... he is coming here. It would be wise for you and your fleet to avoid him during his stay. Otherwise, I will require you to monitor activity along the coast of Tautom, particularly of any Chlotar activity” Belisar said, still holding out the letter.

Leofric accepted the sheet of parchment, and read it as Belisar went on to explain. “I see,” he noted. He wondered just how many ships Badastan would be sending, and whether or not they would all be grouped together, or if they would split up. Then he contemplated the idea of laying some sort of trap or ambush to sink or capture as many of them as possible. But there was no way to come up with such a plan given the limited information, so avoiding them was indeed the wisest course of action… unless they found him anyway.

Instead, he nodded. “Very well, I shall head west.” He was going that way anyway; many of his countrymen had fled to Chlotar, in protest of Badastan’s idiotic squirrel cult. While they were right to abandon the fat usurper, Leofric couldn’t help but think them foolish to so quickly pledge themselves to a foreign banner - the banner of the same man who killed Eodaeland’s previous King. Leofric would need to convince them to fight under his own banner instead, or - more likely - that of Prince Alric, the true heir to the throne, if the boy still lived.

“If there is nothing else, I would ask to take my leave,” Leofric requested.

‘’It is granted. Fair travels pirate’’ Belisar said, immediately turning to his guards and gesturing to escort Leofric out. Already moving to other concerns, Belisar turned back to his Guard Captain who had approached again, sensing the end of the pirate’s audience, and he began again talking, now in whispers.
Gary Riley

Gary remembered the phone resting in his pocket; a full recording of what he had witnessed. He had considered turning it over to the police. After all, it was video evidence, and could potentially be useful in locating the missing persons, or at the very least convince the police woman that he wasn't full of shit. Yet still, he was reluctant to hand it over, and continued wrestling with the idea.

"If anyone asks you, you never saw these pictures," the sheriff told them.

Oh. So they were trying to keep the investigation a secret, then. Why, he wondered. Were they concerned that it would look bad if the police station was committing resources to investigating ghost stories? Were they trying to cover the incident up to avoid a panic? Were they carefully regulating the information, to lure people in with the mystery, and maximize the town's tourism revenue?

He wasn't going to turn the phone over, he decided. It would be confiscated - he might not see it again, and if he did they would likely delete the video. The people had the right to know. The question was, how was he going to get this information out without running his career and his name into the ground, or getting into trouble with the local authorities?

In the meantime, he would help with what was in front of him. "I told you there was a tiger," he said, pointing to the photo of the tiger in question. "I didn't exactly commit it to memory, though, so I don't know if it's the same tiger. That girl and that kid, I saw them both in the diner. I don't know where they went to in all the chaos, though. And I don't recognize the rest of the pictures," he shrugged, and then frowned. "Some people went into the bathroom, and I don't know what happened to them, but I think they might be the next entrees on the missing persons list."

"Hope I helped. Not a word of this conversation will leave this room," Gary said, rising to his feet. "I'll ignore the fact that you just equated me to a raving old man, but I'll talk to him regardless." He glanced down at the woman he had escaped the diner with. "You coming?"
Sorry for my inactivity, I didn't think this was still going. How much have I missed, and is it still possible to get back into this?
Ah, I appear to have gotten the cultural names mixed up.
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