There was salt in the air as the boat came to dock, carrying with it passengers from all different walks of life; some tourists, some wishing to start a new life, and some looking to join with the Sol Restoration Network. It was Sevipia who had sought out and joined the SRN, having been held up due to choppy weather and partially due to touring Florida and witnessing some of the native fauna that was rather interesting to her. She had found out that the North American Alligator was an exceptionally lethal ambush-predator that hid in the water, granted the young specimen that she held did not seem all that deadly. Although, the focus of her escapades mattered little when she had a job that needed to be done and so she had bought herself a boat ticket to get to Havana. However, that boat had been delayed for two days due to storms that decided to blow into the area, meaning the waves were too treacherous for civilian departure.
Sevipia, in the end, still managed her way to Havana despite the delays. That said, it was not the tourist destination that she had thought that it was going to turn out to be, while true the beaches seemed pristine, there was still destruction that she could see. Yet, there was still spirit in the city, with people seeming to carry on and moving on from the past trauma that the Reapers had dared to leave elsewhere on the planet. It brought happiness to her weary heart, knowing that people could move past the detriments of war and carnage, knowing that there was light at the end of that scarred tunnel. However, she knew that it would still take some time for certain wounds to close, a fact that made her gentle smile turn to a frown. With a huff, Sevipia gathered her belongings and stepped off the boat and onto some wooden dock, nothing compared to the ship ports she had seen while in the military.
Yet, there was a rustic happiness she could feel with it. There was a culture that was completely and utterly foreign to her, some new distraction that she could focus on as she walked forward. The Turian kept her eyes down for the most part, not quite wandering aimlessly as she knew where she was headed for the most part. However, she stopped at a park, sitting upon a bench under a tree that was generous enough to cast a fair amount of shade upon her. For a moment, Sevipia sat in silence before an older human decided to sit on the other side of the bench, accompanying her in silence. Granted, that was before she was caught awkwardly side-eying him.
“May I help you?” he asked.
Flustered, Sevipia responded, “Erm, no. Sorry.”
Letting out a light chuckle, the older man asked, “It’s a good day out isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is,” the Turian said, letting out a light hearted laugh of her own as she turned her head to the man fully.
“Hah! Trick question! It’s hot out and I can feel my shirt sticking to my back,” he retorted in a friendly manner, letting out a laugh as Sevipia herself couldn’t resist his infectious laugh.
“It’s not bad out to me,” Sevipia said, matching his sarcastic tone as she leaned back on the park bench, shifting her bag to the side.
“Yeah well, I don’t think you Turian have sweat glands like I do! I’m like a water fountain over here” he continued his jests as he wiped some sweat from his brow. Yet, his smile disappeared as Sevipia held out a water bottle to him standing from the bench with what seemed to be a smile on her face, an unexpected gift that he gingerly took only hearing a few parting words from her. Her form turning as she continued on her path to report in with those who she’d be working with in the SRN.
The prison began to take shape, beginning to be populated and decorated in mass by the gods that had been summoned forth by the Monarch of All’s own body, yet there was still much that needed to be wrought for a world that was coming to fruition with each and every passing moment. His eyes studied the ball with intent, traveling down the newly formed continents that were wrought by Voligan, and toward the great tree in the south that had been spawned by Aethel. It was a beginning, one that He hoped would last indefinitely into the countless aeons that would proceed this moment, though this beginning of His came at a cost as His eyes settled upon the great watery expanse that was the ocean. A great sadness rippled through His being, knowing that death seemed to be an eventuality for even the gods that had spawned from His mighty form. A hand went to touch the outer edges of the wound upon His chest, allowing mortality to become a temporary thought as He stared at the great pison ahead of Him.
It was a wretched realization, that the Monarch of All had hoped that He could be saved from His own mortality and inevitable death. Such things were often cast to the back of the Great Being’s mind, shunted from existence by pure force of an almighty will alone, and yet, it seems to work its way back time and time again. The Monarch of All knew he needed to distract himself from this malaise, knowing that to succumb to the ponderance of the mortality of gods was to allow the prison to win and the Monarch of All was determined to continue on. So, He looked away from Galbar and those that had departed from His palace, choosing to look to His throne before the light gazed upon those that remained within. A new feeling stirred within Him, a great impatience at those that have yet to depart to Galbar along with the rest of their peers. Had He not given them their orders? Had He not proclaimed to them that they must go and create upon Galbar? The Monarch of All outstretched the four great arms of His body as He beckoned their attention, allowing all to gaze upon His magnificence and opulence. Only when their gaze met His did the Monarch of All choose to speak His declaration.
’I shall depart from the palace, my subjects! For the time being I will keep the bridge open to use, but, should I come back and see you all still here, know that I shall punish you for negligence of duty. You were all spawned to create upon the Galbar, not to malaise in my palace!’
The Monarch of All was then gone from sight, abandoning those that remained to their own devices for the time being as He moved at full haste towards Galbar and let His own curiosity roam free. Eventually, he came to a stop above one of the continents formulated by Voligan, inspecting it and making note of the design of each and every coast, every plateau and mountain top; each crevice and ravine were laid bare to His all-seeing eyes. The Monarch of All allowed himself a moment to bask in the beauty of this newly found nature and so delighted was He that He felt the need to explore it all, to experience it as if He were but a mere ant lost in the grandeur of it all. Yet, He reeled in His desires for experience, pulling back the innate wanting to feel more, as He knew that He had a duty to the world and the subjects that made His court. The Great Being knew that should He give in to that temptation, then He would roam Galbar for constant ages doing nothing more than exploring the planet from a mortal’s own view.
Yet, such architecture was not lost upon the Monarch of All, as He careened the coastline at such speeds that the waves themselves went further inland, or were driven back entirely if He veered closer to the land. The Monarch came to a sudden stop at an inlet, safe from the trepidations of the water outside and noticed a serene calm brought upon a world that was just getting over its destructive makings. He graced the planet with an unseen smile as He watched the day pass into night and once more and again, merely taking in the beauty and calm before He came to a decision.
An announcement spread across the planet, letting all those divine know,
’Voligan, God of Earth, for the beauty of these continents and bringing together your peers for such an undertaking, you are bestowed the title of the Great Bearer of Lands, come to me and I shall grant you this title more formally! May your efforts inspire your equals and urge them to conjure things as great as these lands!’
He allowed a moment of respite after the announcement, taking a moment to shrink His form to walk along the beach of the inlet, noting how much the prison that He inhabited has already improved. The Monarch of All looked to some of the fauna that had been seeded, stopping His gaze at a tree that stood mighty and strong. It cast a long shadow over the inlet, standing alone as the shade moved to touch the base of the Great Being’s form, causing Him to look upon it with a slight disdain before backing away. There was still more to do, too much to check upon, but the tree reminded Him of that great tree of Aethel, with its roots spread all across the prison that was Galbar. With a thought, He moved once more and turned to face the direction of the tree, his haste creating towering waves over the water.
It was but a few scant moments until He reached the tree, though, rather than going to the tree itself, the Monarch of All dove towards the water at the last moment, parting the liquid before he made contact. He travelled along the side of one of the massive roots that anchored it to the prison, moving down further and further until water gave way to rock and rock gave way to metal. All parted for the Supreme Being’s coming, moving away from the path of the Lord as if the inanimate had become animate until He reached the very core of the Galbar, willing a massive cavern to reveal itself so that He may see how the very roots of the tree interacted with the center of the prison. There was no scratch, no damage, to the realm’s center and with that He gave but a small sigh of relief, thankful that nothing had compromised the integrity of His cage. A small chuckle escaped Him as a voice echoed throughout the cavern in a muse, His glare still set upon the core of his prison.
Location: The Celestial Palace. Interacting with: The Monarch of All (@lauder) Mentions: Ao-Yurin.
Shortly after her test of Ao-Yurin’s ocean Ruina wandered into the depths of The Celestial Palace. Investigating around its many rooms until she found one in particular that suited her fancy. The room was fairly compact in setup. Some moss-covered rocks around a clear stream of gently flowing water. Perfect to rest in while she waited for the phantom pains of her expenditure to fade away. To bring forth the pure destructive energy that she could was taxing on Ruina. Nothing that wouldn’t heal, of course. But it still left her with various aches and pains that needed a few moments to fade away. It was like a sprinter that had been training for an event finally being able to compete. By the end of it they’re sore and tired, but happy.
That described Ruina well as she stepped softly into the water. Giving a sigh at the cool sensation passing across the surface of her second skin, Ruina found a large rock embedded into the stream and braced herself against it. Pushing her tail out to the side and allowing it to drift and wiggle freely with the current. This… Was fairly nice.
Settling until the water was up to her neck, Ruina closed her eyes and let out a sigh as she relaxed and began to feel the aches from hurling orbs of destruction down to Galbar. The holes in the ocean that had been left behind would likely be resolved by Ao-Yurin. Or if not then Ruina would likely have to see about taking a look at them if she was asked to. If she wasn’t then she would likely just leave them as-is. They didn’t bother her and might make for something interesting to use later if someone found a use for them. Fortunately that wasn’t really her problem right now. Right now her problem was waiting for her aches and pains to go away. This did leave Ruina with a curious question: Was using their divine powers this taxing on anyone else? Or was it just her? A consequence of being distilled and concentrated destruction in that she was equally harmful to herself? Perhaps she would ask, or perhaps she would simply accept it as the way of things.
Letting out a hum, Ruina did her best to stop thinking for now and instead focus on having her aches and pains fade away.
’Enjoying yourself, little destroyer?’ came an all too familiar voice that had wormed its way into the mind of the goddess. Looking up, there was the form of the Monarch of All standing across the water, His form noticeably smaller to fit into the room. He was looking down upon her, allowing a moment for her to bask in His radiance before He stepped onto the water. The steps of the Great Ruler did not disturb the flow, no ripples coming from his movements as He loomed over her with His hands folded together. After another moment, the divine voice found itself working into her mind once more, ’I apologize for not addressing you earlier when you had tried to speak with me. I had a pressing issue to deal with.’
Ruina had closed her eyes by this point. Not yet to the point of attempting to snooze, but not fully aware of things either. As The Monarch of All appeared, she didn’t react for a few moments until His voice wormed its way into her head. It was then that her eyes opened promptly, her pupils focusing quickly upon His form. At the two questions she was asked, Ruina gave the answers in the same pattern that the questions came. ”I’m enjoying this stream washing away my aches and pains at the moment, yes. Though your sudden absence when I attempted to speak with you is no issue with me. I could tell what was going on and understand why you had to go so quickly. A dance that nearly ended the world… To be honest, I hadn’t thought of that. But then again my purpose doesn’t feel like that of a world ender… Though I’m sure I could if I so desired. My purpose is to test… Is it not?”
Ruina layered an interesting twist into that question. Since The Monarch of All had departed before giving her the first instructions, she had taken a guess as to her grand purpose, and by this point she had taken actions that solidified her role, even if it was not intended by The Monarch of All. So with her last statement she poked at His mind to see if that was in fact the reason for her existence, or if The Monarch had intended something else for her and she, by her nature of destruction, had ruined that plan. The only thing now was to wait and see.
The Monarch seemed to ponder the question, tilting His head to the side with clear thought echoing across the serene chamber. There was a brief silence in that ponderance, nothing beyond the sound of moving water that flowed through the chamber during that time where the Monarch merely stared at Ruina. Though, all silence is meant to end as His voice came to fruition, unsure yet confident in His answer, ’Your purpose… is to make of it what you will. I made you and your peers to bring meaning to this prison of existence. That meaning is whatever it is you desire, if you wish to test other creations then that is of your own volition. So long as you are contributing to the world, I will not bat an eye.’
With the news that Ruina’s existence was hers to define, she let out a hum. She had already made such a majorly defining decision that shifting away from it would likely cause more harm than good, and with the news that The Monarch of All wouldn’t bat an eye at her activities… Well, then it would probably be best to see that they continued. But then, what to test next? She would have to keep watch on all of creation in order to stay up to date on what was being made… And perhaps The Monarch could help with that. Speaking up, she posed a question to Him. ”Very well. I will define my purpose as testing the creations of others so that they may be perfected enough to please you. With this purpose in mind, I would like to request a gift of sorts. If I might be allowed, could I request of you some means of keeping an eye on Galbar, regardless of my actual location? ‘Twould aid in ensuring that I bring testing down on all that needs it and that none that need my attention go without.”
’Done,’ came His voice after a swift deliberation, a small head tilt as His hand came up to His eye and motioned a few fingers around the glowing orb. The Monarch of All then pulled the eye from its place, only for another spark of white light to take the temporarily vacant space. Crushing the orb in His hand, a pressure exerted itself into the space around His clenched fist, the room trembled slightly and the water itself began to swirl upwards and around the form of the Monarch of All. The trembling stopped as His hand opened, in its place was a white circlet, embroidered with gold and jade. A single jewel came down, casting a crimson glare upon all of Galbar, and through it could be seen everything on the grand scale that was happening on the planet. It was one that would fit perfectly onto the form of Ruina, one that would bring her much ease in locating the newly created objects of the gods. He lowered the circlet to Ruina, holding it out for her to take as any ruler would give a gift to a loyal subject.
’I trust you to serve me well through these tests. Should you do well, there will come further rewards in the future. Fail me and I shall take this gift back.’
Ruina was slightly surprised that the gift came so easily, but she was not one to shun something asked after, especially since it came from the hands of The Monarch himself. As the energies of creation began to warp the area Ruina pushed herself upwards and used her tail to brace herself against the bottom of the stream so that she could stand properly. It would be rude to take such a gift sitting lazily, after all. As Ruina stood from the river something of note was how easily the water ran off of her suit, to the point where mere moments after she had left she was dry aside from her calves and most of her tail, which were naturally still submerged.
Grasping gently at the circlet. Ruina bowed her head in thanks before speaking. ”Of course, if at all you should find me or my tests wanting I shall relinquish this gift as easily as you give it, tis only fair.” With that said, Ruina gently brought the circlet up and placed it gently upon her head. Immediately she was greeted with a sight beyond sight, causing her to shift and gasp slightly as she bore witness to nearly every inch of Galbar at once. As quickly as this vision came, it went. With a slow blink Ruina found herself stable again, comprehending how to control and direct this new sight of hers. Blinking a few more times, Ruina nodded in thanks once more before speaking again. ”I will do my best to satisfy your desires and perform the role that I have chosen.”
Bowing again and with naught else to say, Ruina lowered herself back down to the sitting position gently, careful to ensure that the circlet didn’t touch the gently flowing water.
The Monarch of All looked up, sending His gaze past the goddess of destruction, as His hands interlocked once more with His fingertips pointing upwards. A stern voice rang into her mind as His voice became domineering, a command came to her, ’I expect greatness from you, Ruina. Do not fail me.’
Then, He vanished, leaving her with her new gift and task.
Ruina could do naught else but nod at the silence and speak to the nothing that remained. ”Understood. I will do my best.”
It was then that she took to resting a bit more, her eyes closed and her form still as she slept a sleep that she did not need. When she awoke, she pushed herself free of the stream with ease and walked from the room and into the palace once more, eager to get to the next test.
Ruina finds a room to chill in for a bit, because destroying things hurts a bit. The Monarch of All pops in to apologize for vanishing so abruptly in order to prevent the world from being destroyed by dancing, and Ruina tells him it’s no issue. She talks about her purpose and decides that yes, testing things will go well. As a part of this she asks for a gift to help her find things that need testing and The Monarch grants her a circlet that lets her observe the surface of Galbar with ease with the clause that if The Monarch finds her unsatisfactory he’s taking it back. Agreeing to give it back without a fight, Ruina puts it on and thanks The Monarch and resumes relaxing. The Monarch tells her to not be found wanting and leaves to go do Monarch things, and Ruina tells the empty space that she’ll do her best before taking a nap and then leaving.
A voice spoke into void, filled with anger and pain.
A lone being floated in the finite expanse above a barren wasteland, allowing the cosmic winds to carry Him a short distance as He contemplated, knowing what was reality and all that it currently was. It was a desolate and isolated existence filled with nothing but the prison that was the planet of Galbar, a prison that confined all that existed. His chest ached, a great wound had rippled and shone light upon the dark lands, showing its crevices and heights, all the imperfections that blemished the surface. By all intention, that was how the prison had been made in the cataclysmic fire that birthed into the emptiness that was reality as it was. The existent primordial shone his gaze away from the prison and allowed a hand to run along the wound that ached, feeling the shards that made up his inner being.
Before any work could be done, the king needed a throne to rule from and the great Monarch of All intended to not rule from the prison that confined Him. While He could not fully escape Galbar, He would rule from a true palace. In a swift motion, He slammed His four hands together, the sound of which resounded even through the great void beyond His prison, and pulled His palms into the great wound. The Monarch of All let out a gasp of pain as the light shining from the wound grew more and more with each passing moment before, with a force to threaten the very fabric of reality, He ripped out a light that shone with all that would become the heavens. The light illuminated the prison, casting away the cold darkness of the void that has so depressingly found to let itself remain known, though now forced to retreat to the other side of rock.
Inside the light, He could see the source of the opulent light, and within it was a palace fit for only those who could truly claim to be of divine blood, His blood. A smile would have crept across His face if He could muster it, but He saw red marble spread tall, yellowed roof tiles upon the mighty pagodas with white trimming the bottom walls. Gardens of all varieties teemed and joined together in the outer edges of the place ground, their plants intermingled and their earth mixing. A multitude of rooms inhabited the palace, so many that counting was a fool's errand and each one unique, some being barren armories yet to be filled with ornate and ceremonial garb while there were also great libraries that had yet to be filled. Then, a great jade throne at the very center of it all, looking straight upon Galbar and all that it was. A fine, wooden bridge extended forwards, inviting the Monarch of All to walk the grounds within that star-shaped palace that He had crafted so intricately. If He had the inclination, He would have done so without hesitation, but now that His place of rule had been built, He would need subjects to rule. He would need Lords and Ladies to lay claim to the prison that trapped Him and make His existence bearable in this reality of His. His eyes returned once more to the shards as He pushed away the orb of light, allowing it to expand as it travelled away from Galbar, slowly but noticeably.
His gargantuan form lurched forwards, pulling the shards toward Himself with the invisible force that was His exceptional will, allowing them to be humbled at His before giving them but a single pained utterance.
’My subjects, I am your creator, you Lord. Know that my will shall be done and there shall only be my will. You shall be my instruments, my hands, of creation for this world - for Galbar. The work that remains for us is indefinite, yet such is the nature of my realm.’
His words resonated with a power felt by the shards, causing them to glow with a power to rival the stars that lined the indefinite void. None, though, matched the light that shone from the wound that travelled into the Monarch of All, but His hands spread themselves wide, not hiding the injury from any to see. The shards were not yet complete; as His power had yet to be truly infused into them and simple words would not transform them into proper subjects for a divine rule such as He. The inordinate ruler looked past the very aspects that were once a part of Him, now giving a defiant gaze to Galbar that prevented him from leaving. Further words that urged the shards onwards rang out, the Monarch raising His voice at the planet and making His intent clear.
’This will not be our prison, not a stockade so that reality itself may keep us from the rest of the infinite beauty the void holds! This is my realm! This is our canvas to paint! Know this, o subjects mine, know that this light shall be our light! We are naught but creators! Artists! We shall take Galbar and make it mine! Raise now, o great primordials of my flesh and blood! Rise of give meaning to this blankness! Let my will be done!’
The glow of the shards surged with power, threatening to burst as they hummed with divine might that could only be wrought by the Monarch of All, the primordial god of gods that beckoned his subjects to rise. His many hands raised themselves above His head, deliverance reaching a fever pitch as the humming of the crystals grew louder and louder, becoming the choir of Galbar, the great song that would become the first the great venture of a new pantheon in the cosmos. Knowing that He could not stop now, the opulent one clasped His hands together once more, sending a shockwave across the stars.
’Rise! Heed this call of mine! Become the gods of Galbar!’
And in that moment came the roar of shattering shards that ushered in the age of the divine. It was that moment, when He felt his very essence split further sending a pained scream throughout all corners of reality as the gods birthed themselves. Yet, in His scream of triumph, as the newly born gods siphoned the great primordial energy from Him, He clutched the great wound from which the energy spilled before willing it to temporarily close.
He had cut the connection, and now the gods were free.
Mamang wanders the oceans in darkness and silence, hunting, dreaming. The thoughts that cross its simple mind are few and without words. The instinct that guides its elder heart is sovereign and pure. It is a whale.
Life
Is Mamang a god? No. Mamang commands no divine principle and wears no sacred crown. It is a whale.
Will Mamang die? Yes. In time Mamang will die. It is a whale.
Perhaps Mamang will be reborn.
Perhaps Mamang is not one particular whale, but a Whale, whose name endures long after any one Mamang's bones lie buried in the deep silt.
Perhaps a whale swims as it pleases through the ocean of time itself, and is not bound, like man, by such things as years.
Perhaps Mamang is simply long-lived.
After all- It is a whale.
Can Mamang be slain? Yes. Be it by demon, by man or by god, Mamang can be slain. Its fate is guarded by nothing more than the strength of its body. Its death is lured by nothing less than meat fit for one thousand men. It is a whale.
Can Mamang be recruited? No. Mamang does not speak. To bargain with Mamang is a fool's errand and an insult to the dignity of both parties. It is a whale.
Can Mamang be blessed? Yes, Mamang can be blessed. It is a being of grace, ancient and innocent. It is a whale.
Can Mamang be cursed? Yes, Mamang can be cursed. It is a wild beast, fierce and without mercy. It is a whale.
From where did Mamang come? From the sea did Mamang come. It is a whale.
Unto where will Mamang go? To the sea will Mamang go. It is a whale.
Aye, it is a whale, now and for ever more.
Addenda
Mamang will continue swimming with no particular aim until it is killed. As it is not a god, it will neither gain nor spend any units of Vigour. Instead, its presence will influence the lives of nearby mortals simply by virtue of being a 150-tonne rorqual.
Only mass and bestial willpower stand between Mamang and the divine forces at work around it. Any enchantment that falls upon the whale by will or by accident will be both wielded and suffered to its greatest extent. As time passes, it may become something like a canvas reflecting the falling inkdrops of the celestial arts, or a sponge steeped in the grime of heavenly negligence.
You have a very well-written character sheet here, you took a relatively narrow Aspect and you managed to make something of it, which is something we amongst the GMs do love to see. You make some great use of the imagery and metaphors of the cold that give credit to you as a writer. Of course, we must always caution people with narrow aspects such as these though, we do hope that you have enough ideas of things to do brewing in that brain of yours to assuage our concerns of you making a tundra or two and falling out.
The personality does give us a little concern for Chailiss is described as a bit of a reclusive god, one that may not have reason to come out of his winter filled fun lands. We do not wish to see anyone become self-isolating but we know you tend to thrive on interaction and may have plans to counteract this. That said, of course, these are just the concerns we see with the sheet itself and I know you won’t just abandon the Winter Lord to sit on a Frozen Throne like Arthas in Warcraft.
The true form is quite thematic and evocative, I certainly enjoy it.
Well you cheated and wrote your CS alongside Cyclone so you already appeased him without incurring my own wrath.
My concern is the Doom seems to be an Aspect that comes across as just narrow enough that it might not have a whole lot going on, we may just see the same things going on with it. A lot of it seems to be coinciding with it just bringing about the end of things, though I do like how you have described it. You have described it in a rather chilling fashion as Doom is the end of things, no matter which way that end comes it happens. Props to you on that one.
The persona is exceptionally well-written and it gives me a good idea as to what the Monarch of All will be dealing with as this arrogant upstart god claims that everything, including Him, will end. He is nihilistically arrogant and that offers a flavor that is only enhanced with him not favoring neither mortals nor the divine.
Your sheet is accepted. This review may be brief but that is legitimately because I had little fault to actually find. Good job.
And a sheet that’s very much on the minimalist side, and I had similar concerns with Palus.
The biggest concern we have with Epsilon is that this narrow aspect he may not have an incredible amount to do, not enough plans to follow through on. But you have assuaged my doubts for the time being as Frettz has brought some of your ideas to our attention. That said, I think that the Aspect needs to be expanded on a bit more, not saying you haven’t given us plenty of ideas as to exactly how you wish to use this Aspect, but I think it needs a good bit of meat on the bare bones of it. It is just that what is had now is a bit narrow and deserving of a bit more exploring. What is it all he can do to shape the world around him using his expert knowledge? He can teach well and invent well enough but what does that mean for when mortals come around? What is it that the Aspect of Knowledge can be used for in the grand scheme of the roleplay? Once these are answered I will be more than happy with Epsilon.
The personality is where we actually did like Epsilon, he comes across as vengeful and petty which is not something we often see in a knowledge god. Though you aren’t giving us much of his desires past him just wanting to collect knowledge and hoard it, how will he interact with people? What is it going to be like if he finds those who seek to hide knowledge away from the masses? Does he even care about such trepidation amongst mortals of knowledge is threatened to be destroyed?
Then we come to the True Form, you do make an exception that mortals can withstand the form for about a day. Since you make this to be the exception and not the norm, some of us are willing to allow it. I will allow it.
The sheet is accepted with the caveat that you can expand upon your aspect and persona a bit more, he comes across as a bit one-dimensional and I feel that needs to change.
Aside from some grammatical errors such as the constant use of ellipsis,at first glance we hold the issue with the aspect as it is since it does not state any of the limits of mana are, what they can be used to achieve. Our concern over it is largely that you go into a lot of detail about what magic might be considered but not what it really is, what it can do, or how the mortal might be able to use it. Next you go on to state that magic cannot exist without mana, which we had, I believe, discussed would step on the toes of those who wish to do magic without having to go through this monopolized mana. In our eyes, a god of magic should state exactly how it works but rather show how it can be used. Rework it more, give us a tangible feel as this is an important Aspect.
Next, moving onto Aethel’s personality. It comes across at points as a bit contradictory as you refer to her as a trickster but also wholly literal and will follow instruction, deals, and the likes to the letter. It frankly does not make much sense as a trickster is someone who, while yes can operate within a ruleset, is someone who is well versed at BENDING those rules or finding loopholes to exploit. Next you allude to her having a darker nature, that should be elaborated upon as that could mean a wide variety of things, does it include murder? Pranks? The general subjugation of an entire species?
I do like, however, that Aethel cannot ever get good at playing instruments. I find it funny.
Due to the aspect, the sheet is currently rejected. Once you rework it, we will see about including Aethel, as I do like your concept with her and I know you can make it work!
Kho, you never fail to give an interesting god in Divinus games past. The Aspect of Dance is one that is INCREDIBLY narrow and had it been anyone other than you, we would probably have not allowed it. Yet, here you are, giving us this 5 paragraph explanation that explains in depth of what Dance is and how Rosalind is going to use it. I, personally, cannot stress enough how great it is to see this and I know we can expect to see some great stories come from it.She is not just the Goddess of Dance, but you encapsulate that she IS dance but she is afraid to truly give in!
And you start with a modern man in a suit for a ‘normal form’ which caused Cyclone to start frothing at the mouth once more. You have caused no less than five deaths to occur before his tranquilizers kicked in.
Yet, with Deimos we grow weary for he is a God of Domination. When we see gods that are meant to be pure evil, that implies that they cannot and will only act out of their own self interest with disregard to everyone else which would be fine if it were not for the fact that being such an evil god requires much nuance. In your Aspect you do not attempt to hide the fact of how much evil Deimos will bring into the world, wanting little more to enslave and dominate all of mortal kind and even the gods. I do see potential in it, however, as it is, it just reads as a bit cartoonishly evil.
This is also supported by the fact that his personality points to how cruel and depraved he is as the self-thought ‘perfect’ being. There is nothing but an evil god, not in the same manner, almost in the same vein as Molag Bal from the Elder Scrolls. This will no doubt cause much clashing with other gods and it almost seems as if he will just be the god who sparks wars for his own benefits only to get smacked back down into place by a coalition of gods or even the big Monarch himself. We have had gods who are inherently evil in Divinus before, I played one, Vakk, the God of Speech (Deception). While he was exceptionally fun to play at first, he became boring very quickly. I caution you against playing an outwardly evil god nor do I want such a god to be present, which again as I speak from experience, makes for drab and boring storytelling over time.
For the time being, Deimos is rejected. Once he is revamped to be less of an opposing force to literally just about every other god, we can come back to see him.
All in all, we actually enjoy Ruina, she is clearly well thought out and certainly well described and fairly original for a destruction god to boot! One of the biggest questions we are left with is how can she be polite while destroying things? If a god or mortal politely asked her to not do something destructive against them would she not do her thing? It seems as a bit of a contradiction to politely kick over a kid’s sandcastle, so they could do with a bit of explaining or rewording.
Additionally, we want to know how she goes about her destructive rampages. Does she send natural disasters to mortals to test them? Does she go into combat and just smite everything in the general vicinity? Or does she corrupt things like taking some people and turning them into the orcs or goblins? We do like how she views her own aspect. We just want to know a bit more on how she’s going to go about things!
Lastly, the origin took me by shock myself personally but the others told me to look at a different angle and I found myself to tolerate it. Obviously it is not a section we asked for but the concept itself is fine, we do want to make the clarification that we’d like to actually see this play out in your first post or two.
All in all, Ruina is accepted on the grounds that you clarify how she does her thing and explain that little paradoxical politeness of hers.
Long and complicated as far as the name goes, to pop which we will praise you IMMENSELY for making that marvel of a BBCode. It looks nice and we love it.
Our primary concern with Yoliyachicoztl is that the Aspect has some of us unconvinced that it might actively do much, it is a specific category such as heat after all. You name a few uses such as burning things, diverting lava, and the likes but we think what would make your aspect immensely better would be if you considered to take on an emotional connotation with it as well, an example being could ‘heat’ be taken to mean anger? It is mostly food for thought, and heat certainly is not invalid as an aspect we are just afraid there may not be much for it. Additionally, we feel that it’s important to clarify whether Heat allows you to remove heat, as doing so would most likely step on Zee’s toes, as he’s aiming at Cold as his Aspect.
Now, the personality section is certainly something that we enjoy as she seems erratic and obsessive and takes on her burning passion! We like it a whole lot, so good job there!
Accepted once you do a few edits to the aspect so that way it gives us a clearer path and more options with how it is described!
So, we do have a problem with how short the sheet is, it is pushing the limits of minimalism with only having a few lines per section.
With how you described Toxin, it is incredibly narrow and some of us are concerned with if you will have enough to do with it. We suggest that maybe it should be broadened to be something such as “Alchemy” as we had noticed that you wanted to include some positives with an otherwise negative, and mostly harmful, Aspect such as Toxins. We get some Parvus vibes from the ye olde Mk. III but insects were an easier portfolio to interact with and more importantly a bit broader.
Moving onto the personality, it has us somewhat optimistic with a specific line showing great promise to us, “His stoicism is born from his desire to protect the world from himself.” It shows us that Palus has the option of a complex-emotional journey that could be extremely interesting to read, though we have our reservations because it would be hard to pull off. We are afraid that Palus will go into isolation and hiding, something the Monarch would not want any of his subjects to do and would lead to an otherwise boring character than none would wish to interact with.
With how the sheet is currently, we unfortunately cannot accept it. I personally wish to see a bit more, try to escape that minimalism and give him more meat on those bare bones, the aspect needs to be reworked.
As was stated in our Super-Secret-DM-Discord-Channel the writing is fine and the ideas have potential.
Great, iridescent shards floated above the barren canvas below, only the great darkness of the void above contrasting them. The crystalline ones were only accompanied by Him, the almighty creator of those very shards that gathered around Him.
He lurched forwards, hands weaving a fine cloak of ever changing colors and textures around His form. Two glowing eyes looked to shards before a great booming voice overtook the cosmos itself as he scanned the world, conveying no emotion on a featureless face. The great being allowed Himself to bask in the infinite silence that was the world for the moment, taking in His accomplishment before He turned a hand to touch the great wound on His chest. He grasped into the wound and from it pulled another shard, another being of His essence. He held the shard above Him, allowing it to shine before speaking.
”You shall be my artists, my architects. You will do whatever it takes to make this world beautiful, for that is all it means to be from my own form. With you, there will be creation beyond even my own imagination, beyond the limits of what can and will be. You shall be my attendants.
You will be gods of this new realm of mine.”
Credits
Praise unto the following, their contributions to Divinus have been much inspiration to me.
@Kho, @Cyclone, @Rtron, @Muttonhawk, @BBeast, and [@AntarcticTermite] for being amongst the GMs for all the Divinus games that I have been a part of, Mk. 2, 3, and GODSPEED. I legitimately thank all of you for being with Divinus.
@Lord Zee, @Enzayne, and @Not Fishing for being the GMs of MK. IV, I may not have been a part of it, but I did watch it with great interest.
Divinus is a story of gods, their creations, and the world to be made by their collaboration.
The realm is ruled over by the almighty Monarch of All, to which all the gods owe their creation to, and He has deemed them to be the architects of the blank canvas of the world that He has made. He is their lord and, ultimately, the supreme being of the cosmos. He expects the gods to follow what He has said for them to do; to fail in such an endeavor is to incur His wrath. Though he is much more powerful than any one god, his rule may not be infinite as the Monarch could perhaps be overthrown one day through the combined efforts of multiple, powerful gods. After all, the gods will grow with time and they shall accrue their own power to shape the cosmos to their whim!
Though these gods may start small, in time they will raise mountains, gouge rivers, sow jungles and freeze oceans, and having done so they can create every manner of flora, fauna, spirit and mortal folk to populate them. Their colliding visions for the world may drive them to invent mighty weapons and field vast armies, conjure horrific monsters, and sanction glorious heroes to defend their dreams from the passion of the other gods.
The game of gods has many rules, but do not be daunted! This RP is about weaving interesting tales, not about such crass motives as winning or losing. All rules are here for your benefit to make sure everyone plays fairly, in a collaborative manner and to work for the betterment of the story. We've put a lot of effort into the system, so I hope it brings as much pleasure to you as it has to us.
The Rules
The Golden Rule--Do not godmod/metagame/powerplay. It’s ironic because this is an RP with actual gods as characters; however, there are definitely limits as to the power level of our gods. We’re trying to make a collaborative story rather than host a game meant to be ‘won,’ so please keep that in mind as you write.
The Rule of Fair Warning--Before significantly influencing someone else’s creations, especially if it is going to be in a destructive way, give them some fair warning OOC so that potential objections can be made ahead of time and plans can be shifted. Ideally conflicts between two gods that lead to destruction or harm of one god or its possessions will be written with the consent of both players, but if you think that somebody is being unreasonable us GMs can intervene.
The Good Summaritan Rule--Somewhere in every post, please attach a hider box containing a short summary of the post’s actions, including how Vigor has been expended in the post if applicable. As Divinus RPs have traditionally had some massive posts, this helps greatly when trying to keep track of all that’s been going on and when trying to make sure you didn’t miss any important plot point within some massive post. That being said, please do still try to read all IC posts and not just the summaries.
The Bookkeeping Rule--We will be using the character tab to store character and creation sheets. For all creations of significance, please make a hider for them in your character sheet post and slot in some information about them, this way we can keep track of what everyone has done to contribute to this ever changing world.
Leave of Absence--Please give us forewarning on the OOC if circumstances dictate that you will become inactive in the RP for a time. I’m sure we’ve all seen the phenomena of people simply vanishing; it’s frustrating and leaves work where the others have to pick up the narrative pieces. Failure to follow this rule can potentially lead to your god being deposed IC.
Mechanics:
The closer one is to the Monarch of All, the greater the status in His court. Each rank brings greater Vigor, and thus a greater ability to allow a god to apply themselves to a further task per cycle, but all the gods merely start out as attendants. Of course, the more a god is an active part in the world then the more a chance that their status in the heavenly court increases. Gaining titles is also done in a more narrative sense, meaning that the Monarch of All will have to interact with the other god and see all that they have done for the world, if He is not impressed then he will not gain the title. This is often treated as the gods gaining honorifics, such as Master of the Monarch’s Robes. With each new honorific comes two more Vigor per cycle to denote their increase in power.
On top of these more honorific titles, there are some that carry with them true responsibility that each god must uphold, these ones include those such as the ‘Champion of the Monarch’ ‘The Emissary of the Palace’, and the ‘Monarch’s Ancient’. Each of these titles’ responsibilities will be explained as they are awarded, additionally they can be usurped by other gods, but these give 3 Vigor for each cycle.
All gods make a base of 4 Vigor per cycle.
Gods will create things using an arbitrary currency called Vigor, representative of the god’s effort in a task. Vigor is used for creating life, heroes, artifacts, and massive landmark creations. Larger and more complex things increase the costs, or more powerful artifacts. Each god only receives and stores Vigor dependent upon their status, with the Monarch of All dictating who gets more. Examples of how to use Vigor is as follows, any questions about a cost can be brought to the GMs who chall make a ruling:
1 Vigor: Create a Champion. 1 Vigor: Bless or Curse, the will of the gods are an ever fickle thing and as such are able to turn crops sour and make the land devoid of crop growth as a curse, or make the fertility of a peoples’ livestock ever greater as a blessing. 1 Vigor: Form a society. 1-3 Vigor: Create an extraordinary species of unintelligent life; plants and animals, with great power. 2 Vigor: Creating small landmasses, such as islands or mountains, or water sources such as rivers or great lakes. 2 Vigor: Create a single powerful creature, such as the kraken or hydra 3 Vigor: Resurrect a dead creature. 5 Vigor: Create a sapient species, such as humans. 1-5 Vigor: Create an artifact.
2 Vigor: Creating a relatively minor change to the landscape; rending a small valley or canyon, creating a river, raising a mountain or a (small) island. 4 Vigor: Significantly changing the landscape; creating a chain of mountains, or an entire desert, raising a large island or an archipelago of smaller ones. 8 Vigor: Causing extreme change to the landscape; raising an entire (mostly empty) continent from the sea, or willing into existence a sizable (moon-sized) piece of land. 2 Vigor: Create a small ecosystem, which can fill a region such as a river, valley, mountain or small island. 4 Vigor: Create a large ecosystem, which can fill a large geographic region such as a whole mountain range, an archipelago, or desert. 1-3 Vigor: Create an extraordinary but unintelligent species. More powerful species need more Vigor. 2 Vigor: Create a single beast of phenomenal power (e.g. the Kraken, the Thunder Bird, Jormungandr). 4 Vigor: Create a sapient species. Something like humans, but they don't have to be exactly the same. 6 Vigor: Create an extraordinary sapient species. Exceptionally powerful traits may require extra Vigor.
1 Vigor: Form a society. Congregate a group of peoples into one a band that may or may not withstand the tribulations of the gods. 1 Vigor: Teach people an idea or technology. This idea or technology should be reasonably attainable from the people’s present culture and technology. 1 Vigor: Blessing or cursing. These should come in different flavours for different gods, but in general, incurring the curse of any god should be a frightening thing indeed. The curse or blessing is like a whip or a carrot respectively; though it is the will of your god made manifest, it is not so powerful as to spell certain doom or utter paradise for those affected. A blessing or curse can be broken by another for the same cost it was to put onto them. 1 Vigor: Create a Champion. These are exceptionally powerful individuals among your creations whose powers and skills are renowned and well beyond the capabilities of normal members of their species. Those who gain such an honor may also receive agelessness, immunity to diseases, and superhuman resilience--effectively a degree of immortality, but not true invincibility. These blessings can be made conditional, and the extent of powers gifted onto the hero can be decided upon by the god (within reason). See the additional rules under ‘Champions’. 3 Vigor: Resurrect a mortal or a hero.
1-5 Vigor: Create an artifact. It does one or more cool things which you decide on creation. Vigor dictates a rough amount of power. If multiple gods work together to create an artifact, each can contribute up to 5 Vigor, so the most powerful artifacts will be ones that were made through the combined efforts of several gods. Artifacts can be lost, stolen, destroyed, traded, etc. 1-3 Vigor: Create a monument. This is like an artifact but is generally a large physical structure that cannot be handed around, like a temple, a tower, or a formation of menhirs. As with artifacts, multiple gods can contribute to a monument. Monuments are more powerful than an artifact of the same Vigor value, however this advantage is offset by their disadvantages in being largely immobile and possibly harder to defend.
Aspects are the elements of the cosmos over which a god has great control over, such as a god of Lava, Forges, or Love. They are a keyword that exemplifies what your god is a true master over. The aspects also allow a god to do things within that category without expending Vigor, or at least enhance the product of a god that chooses to use Vigor. These Aspects cannot be shared with other gods. These are awarded by the Monarch of All, much like titles are, as a result of a god's growth and contribution to the world. However, the biggest difference in how an Aspect is earned is that a god must spend at least 3 Vigor specifically in relation to the desired Aspect.
For example a good of Lava wishes to branch into Fire, as such he spends two vigor making a flaming sword and 1 Vigor to teach a gaggle of cavemen how to use fire. As such, he becomes eligible to gain the Aspect, though he must interact with the Monarch of All no matter what.
A cycle is a turn of time, a time where the Monarch of All replenishes His power, and by proxy the power of the other gods, by going upon a sacred venture into the center of the world from the Divine Palace. Once a cycle is turned, the gods gain renewed vigor, each god gaining power dependent upon their status.
Great heroes of legend, whether they be warriors, scholars, or leaders, are those chosen by patron gods and gifted extraordinary power. These champions can be devastating forces on the field of battle, or they may even be wizened sages with little affinity for fighting. All champions are exceptionally resilient individuals but all champions can be felled one way or another, whether they have a singular weakness and such. Champions are able to, like gods, grant boons, create lesser artifacts, teach their people a technology or idea, or perform tremendous tasks using their own Spirit.
Spirit is a currency of sorts that is not meant to limit the pacing of a champion’s story or impose costs upon actions that normal mortals can do, but rather to act as a bonus that lets the champion occasionally get rewards or perform things that should otherwise require divine intervention. You can think of spirit as being akin to accumulated favor with the gods, or perhaps even bits of divine power itself.
As of now (late November) we’re overhauling the flat 2 spirit per post that was standard up through page 7. This new policy doesn’t apply retroactively; it’s unfortunate that your old posts will have likely earned you less spirit than they now would have, but auditing the old posts and going back to retroactively do some accounting would be too tedious.
1 spirit, at a minimum, is awarded to a champion for every post in which they appear as more than just a passing mention in one line.
1 spirit is additionally awarded to a champion if they are the main character and central focus of the post. This only applied to one champion per post; however,
1 spirit is additionally awarded to all relevant champions if the post is a collab.
1 spirit is additionally earned if the post is of medium length (think about 10+ non-dialogue paragraphs). This is just so that it’s not so much more ‘optimal’ to break posts into lots of smaller chunks to farm spirit.
1 spirit is additionally earned if the post is particularly long (25+ non-dialogue paragraphs), and the champion features throughout it all.
4 spirit can be awarded as a lump sum if a champion embarks upon and completes a significant mission, quest, or personal goal of some sort that they either set for themselves or were given by another champion or mortal.
10 spirit can be awarded as a lump sum if a champion completes a divine quest. These can be handed out by any god or demigod for free, or potentially even by the Monarch of All, but they should be somewhat arduous and span over several posts in order to justify this princely reward!
Of course, given that heroes are far weaker than gods, they are not able to achieve the same great abilities or use spirit to perform feats as grand as a god might. What a god could make or do pertaining to their aspect at no cost, a champion must spend a significant amount of Spirit to even come close to replicating. Champions just generally cannot hope to outdo the gods without Herculean efforts. Some examples of how to spend Spirit are as follows:
Tor the Scholar desires to found a community behind him, choosing to found a tribe he spends 10 of his Spirit to found the group and imposes upon them his philosophy that plagiarism is sinful, and other such unifying thought.
Tor the Scholar then wishes to make a magical glowing tablet that does not naturally decay and which codifies the history and laws of the tribe; he spends 4 of his Spirit to make this minor artifact that will exist in the tribe until it is either destroyed or forgotten about.
Tor the Scholar then seeks to solidify his power by creating a magical crown that confers not only style and charisma, but also imbues its wearer with the ability to taste plagiarism if one licks a parchment or tablet in question. For this more potent artifact, 10 spirit is appropriate.
In general, about 10 Spirit is equivalent to 1 Vigor. Because heroes are uniquely suited to organically teaching things like technologies or new ideas, whereas gods are more capable of enchanting or crafting artifacts with divine power, that relationship isn’t exactly 1:1. For instance, it only takes 8 Spirit for a champion to teach something that might cost 1 Vigor for a god. Ask if you want to do something and are unsure of an appropriate spirit cost for it, but to help convey at least a sense of scale, here is a non-exhaustive list of Spirit expenditures:
2 Spirit: Push their limits to perform a single great feat well beyond what they're normally capable of, and far beyond what normal mortals could do. (e.g. wrestle with a much larger beast or creature, cast some gigantic spell, journey for many days without stopping for rest) 4-12 Spirit: Craft a powerful artifact. These artifacts are not meant to be as potent or extreme as those made by gods, and can be broken if mishandled; in general they are weaker than an artifact made by a god for 1 Vigor. (These Artifacts can range from Throgg the Death Knight attaching his soul to his sword to making a crown that scares away goblins). Spending additional spirit can allow you to upgrade the artifact, and you can do this incrementally over time.
8 Spirit: Invent and teach people a new basic technology, spell or idea. (e.g. stone houses, mercantilism, commune with birds)
10 Spirit: Somehow enhance a community to become exceptional. You need not spend Spirit to merely raise an army or found a city -- normal mortals can do such things -- but doing this will make them much grander. Think raising a mighty warband, founding a kingdom that shall endure for a long time, creating some subversive cult that might rapidly grow and undermine (and perhaps even destroy) a nation, or anything else. This can freely include some new technology or idea that binds them together, from the bullet point above.
12 Spirit: Anoint another Champion.
15 Spirit: Consecrate an area with some blessing or otherwise imbue it with power; for instance, making a farmland especially fertile, or a fortress’ walls almost impregnable.
25 Spirit: Found a holy order, which can include giving them unique powers: think along the lines of a new magic system, or martial art, or knowledge of how to craft some sort of exotic weaponry.
~100 Spirit: Attempt to attain demigod status. At this point, a champion will have shown sufficient valor to begin drawing the attention of the divine, and perhaps even the Monarch of All!
Sometimes one or two champions isn’t enough, and instead a god might choose to create some large group to perform a similar role. Just as champions can come in a variety of forms and flavors, holy orders can likewise be a marauding horde, a circle of wizards, knight-paladins tasked with healing the sick and keeping the peace, or anything else. A holy order costs 3 vigor for a god to found, but champions can alternatively create them with spirit.
The general rule of thumb is that the more members are present in a holy order, the less potent you should expect them to be individually -- for instance, a sacred band of ten warriors might have each one rival a champion in strength, but a vast army of a hundred thousand crusaders should probably confer only modest powers upon the members. This isn’t to say that if half the holy order is wiped out the remaining half grow twice as powerful as they don’t have to share some source of power with as many people (though it might make sense to say that the survivors were generally those that were more powerful to begin with) or that a circle of five wizards adding a sixth member should expect each individual to grow much weaker. It’s just that very powerful holy orders should generally be small in size, and that much larger ones shouldn’t expect to grant as much power.
However, you can have individuals that are both members of a holy order and champions, and/or individuals that are part of two or more holy orders at the same time.
Much as champions earn and spend Spirit, holy orders earn Prestige. This is once again meant as more of a reward that allows a holy order to create things that would otherwise probably need to be made by a god using vigor, or to do truly exceptional feats, and not as some tax that they must pay in order to fulfill the everyday functions the holy order was created for. Prestige is generally more valuable than Spirit, but harder to earn. 5 Prestige is equivalent to about 1 Vigor.
1 Prestige: Quickly recruit and train up to standard a significant number of new members. You can recruit members for free over time and hand out a uniform or whatnot to almost anyone, but it would normally take time to fully anoint them and get them up to par with the rest of the order’s members.
3 Prestige: Invent and proliferate some new technology, philosophy, or skill among themselves and/or surrounding communities.
3-8 Prestige: Manufacturing or enchanting some unique artifact. Much like artifacts bought with a champion’s spirit, these are meant to not be too extreme and to generally be inferior compared to those directly forged by a god using vigor. Still, an 8 prestige artifact might be roughly equivalent to a 1 vigor one.
5 Prestige: Making significant upgrades to the holy order’s powers, equipment, or tactics; think of this as being equivalent to a 1 vigor blessing or somesuch.
5-10 Prestige: Consecrate some place as sacred, effectively either creating a monument or bestowing a blessing upon the region.
7 Prestige: Anoint a champion from some promising member of the order’s ranks.
10 Prestige: Forming a new holy order. This may splinter off as something wholly separate and rivalrous, or be a friendly sister organization, or be something akin to an upper rank within the holy order (with the two overlapping)
1 Prestige is awarded for every post in which the holy order is not just offhandedly mentioned, but plays a significant role.
1 Prestige is additionally awarded if on top of the above point, it’s also an especially long post and they play a role throughout most of it.
5 Prestige is earned if the holy order completes a divine quest or directive of some sort that was assigned by a god. This should be somewhat challenging and take a while for them to accomplish!
Where there are the first gods forged from the shards of the Monarch of All, there are still a great multitude of shards that have yet to be forged into further gods. Gods can birth demigods either on their own or with another god.
Demigods function much in the same way as normal gods do, however, their power is far more reduced and they lack the ability to have a truly defined form that would kill mortals that gaze upon them. Vigor costs for them are doubled to reflect the greater effort they must produce in order to match anything a god can do. Additionally, demigods are barred from entering the Divine Palace, unable to fully bathe in the glory that is the Monarch of All. Now a demigod can become a god if they are bestowed with a shard of the Monarch of All, often if they prove themselves worthy of such a mantle of responsibility.
All new players wishing to join must start out as a Demigod.
Gods cannot be harmed by normal weapons or magic, they are simply far too weak to do anything to a god. However, a god can muster enough power to hurt or even ‘kill’ another, even though true death is for a god is a daunting task to pursue in a fair fight. Furthermore, gods do not age, suffer ailments, or suffer from any natural causes.
Gods are able to shapeshift between their true godly form and that of a mortal form, however, the true form of a god is far too much to be withstood by lower life and will often kill or blind those who come into direct eye contact with said form.
The very lands themselves can be bent to the whims of gods, all gods can create or modify the environment and weather in their localized area. This also applied to creatures.
The senses of a god stretch to that of the very horizons themselves, able to see in perfect clarity. They are able to see heat and magnetic pulls and they are able to hear for as far as they can see, selectively tuning out annoyances as they wish or discerning individual speech from a large crowd.
Traveling as a god is innately faster than what mortal eyes can perceive, being able to run, jump, float, swim, or merely fly, faster than most things in the cosmos. It hardly would take them a lot of time to traverse between continents and even between that of the world and the Divine Palace, but such a trek to that great palace is an odyssey in and of itself and often requires passage from the Monarch of All to achieve in a timely manner. Getting to the Divine Palace requires a bridge that is only ever opened by the Monarch of All, this is not to say that other ways in could not be discovered or created, but entering His domain without His knowledge and invitation would surelyanger the Monarch.
Character sheet
NAME
ALIAS (IF ANY)
Aspect The aspect of your god and what that encompasses.
Persona The personality of a god.
True Form A description of one’s god.
Musical theme Some spice to shake things up.
The Monarch of All
Aspect Creation
While creation is an art that all gods can achieve, few have true mastery over such an act of creation past their respective Aspects. In essence, the great Monarch of All can create anything that is desired at that time, yet, it does not compare to the proper Aspects. As such the Monarch of All can make a powerful sword fit to only wielded by Kings, but a proper God of the Forge will always have a finer blade for that Aspect is no longer a true part of the Monarch of All. He cannot match a god of fire in making flames nor a god of water for making great waves to sweep over others. Such matters are what allows the gods to be experts in their own fields, but He knows that if it were left to that then reality would be a boring and simple place. He is Master of All yet He holds no expertise over them.
Such is the nature of such a broad control, to merely be good at all that it encompasses while not truly being the master of any specific aspect that many of the other gods. That is not to say that He cannot make things of master artifice, certainly compared to the products of gods working outside their aspect. It is He who stands as the pinnacle of creation, a true artist that can take anything and make it beautiful. As the God of Creation, the Monarch is the Patron to Artists, Architects, Inventors, Storytellers, and all that those encompass. He can give mortals great boons of inspiration, even allow them knowledge of creation past their own mortal means. It is this nature that creation falls under, the antithesis of destruction, and so to those who seek to undo creation, He can take away the ability to create plans to undo culture and art and anything that makes a people. Without creation there is no muse, no ponderous action for mortal kind to commit, merely acting as automatons for the powers that be.
Creation is life, the very propagation of a species or idea all start with the act of creation to even continue in the great journey of life would require creation at some base level. While the Monarch does not jourostic the individual action of mortal species, He does watch over it making sure that the act of creation and change goes in accordance to how His mind wishes reality to be. For without Him, there would be nothing in the realm but the great Monarch of All, yet, what is a ruler without subjects and a realm to govern? Hence He took the great mantle and made it true, creating reality, the Gods, and Galbar as a whole. Creation was the beginning and creation will continue to spread just as the Monarch of All has dictated, so that all others may exist.
Persona
The Monarch of All is the one true supreme, where there was nothing there was Him and where there was the beginning it was brought about him. He is the Emperor of Reality, the Void, and the Gods, to that He is power over them all for He is the God of Gods, opulent, proud, and resplendent. From His throne in the Divine Palace, it is He who dictates what the gods shall achieve and what they shall do, He can bring upon them great rewards or terrible punishments. It is the Monarch of All who gives the gods their power and it is Him to which they owe their thanks for existence. There would be nothing without Him and it is the Monarch of All who seeks to let all those know that He is their ruler.
Yet, He is a disdainful being who prefers to not meddle in the creativity and the doings of other gods past dictating what is and shall be. He is higher than the mortals and to interfere in their squabbles would be beneath a being as mighty as He, it would be an insult to his own rank and position otherwise. The Monarch of All will allow fate to take its course over such matters, though, should a mortal fail to deliver the proper reverence to Him, the Monarch of All, He shall make his fury known and deliver it with swift justice. The great one will not suffer being ignored by any life, no matter how insignificant or important, for the proper respects must be paid before they are paid to any other.
He views Himself as an artist, a writer, a creator of all things, and He enjoys doing such tasks as interacting with the creations that either he or other gods have brought about. While He will not interfere with the creation of things or outright change something that has been created, He will interact with it by either idly watching or, in the case of mortals, speak with them and occasionally see what it is like to live amongst such basic creatures. He is a being of hubris, yet also one of care, never once allowing Himself to to strike so hard as to damage something that is blatantly not His or something that should not be interfered with by His hand.
There is nothing without the Monarch of All.
True Form To give name to the Monarch’s true form is to give name to the very act of creation itself, the very duty that the Monarch holds above Himself and the Gods themselves. His size is gargantuan, standing over mountains who claim the tallest peaks and gazing upon the horizon eternal. His form, while humanoid, is an ever creative one that is constantly melding and morphing into a different texture that almost always radiates an iridescent white. Then to stare into His face is to glimpse upon a blank canvas waiting to be painted upon, with the exception of two glowing orbs that bear every color and all colors that are unperceivable.
Yet, His chest bears a great crystalline wound, with great gems going inwards, all shining brilliant and magnificent colors of all variety. All of it leads to a space that doesn’t end, a great void of white that is not truly filled but still shines outwards. It is these shards that line the walls of the wound from which came the Gods, all of them aspects of reality itself and all a part of the Monarch of All.
If a mortal were to perceive this form, they would experience great epiphanies and inspirations, they would comprehend all that is and all that could be. It would be to look upon everything that makes up their reality, and that is something mortals cannot comprehend. These thoughts burn at them in that moment, and their minds become lost trying to comprehend it before ultimately succumbing to madness. This madness is only temporary, however, as within minutes they will die, their brain (or whatever may drive them) having stopped functioning trying to comprehend it all.
MarshalSolgriev
Snowdrops
Cao the Exiled
Grijs
Enzayne
Lord Zee
Frettzo
DracoLunaris
Vec
