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- Old Guild Username: yoshua171
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Just...drifting along.
6 yrs ago
The Truest and Most Ultimate Showdown has beguneth. Goofykins V.S. SpongeByrne!
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6 yrs ago
Does anyone know where I can figure out how to unfabricate memories? Asking for a friend.
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6 yrs ago
Check out our new and improved thread. Just an interest check for now, but oh boy is there so much more to come! roleplayerguild.com/topics/…
8 yrs ago
Oh Bleach RP oh Bleach RP where art thou oh quality Bleach RP. Why hast thou forsaken thee? Seriously though, WHY!?!
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Most Recent Posts
The Opening Post has been updated with some of the Systems, Rules, and Expectations for the RP.
The Twin Paths
Zanpakuto Growth System
Zanpakuto Growth System
The Twin Paths System is an ancient system that was designed by shinigami of the forgotten past before the Seireitei and Rukongai had formed. It was designed during an age when there was no time to simply sit on one's laurels and slowly grow close to one's Sword Spirit. While its creator is long gone, and no complete written records of its existence persist, it is by this system that the Foundation was laid for the future.
This system is, to some degree, a work in progress and may be subject to some changes. Additionally, it should be noted that, for the most part, players will not need to keep track of this system as by and large it will be managed by myself and any Co-GMs I appoint. Primarily this simply exists as a structural progression element for character growth over the course of the RP.
Indeed. I'll start updating the OP incrementally with ideas/rules/things to expect that are set in stone as I work on them in the mean time :)
Well, that's our second sign of life (I'm the first, technically). Here's hoping we've got a few more peeps hiding around here somewhere haha.
@The World glad to see someone still around these parts with a love for the 'verse. At the moment I'm thinking of using some parts of a prior RP I worked on in the Bleachverse, but reworking it...likely for a much smaller cast.
I won't spoil anything for the moment, but if we can get a couple people wrangled up, what I'll likely do is throw up a character skeleton and whatever mechanics I may or may not decide on using.
I'm partial on using a system that gives us all the freedom of the typical Freeform system, while giving us something to work off of in a practical sense when it comes to clashes and the like. Mind you, I'd give whomever shows up an idea of what they'd be working with to gauge willingness before I finalized it--worst case, I'd scrap that entirely. Mid-case, I'd work with each player to do the work for that system to take off the load and ease any suffering--so to speak lol.
Anyway, that's enough from me for now aside from the below.
Just an FYI, if I get something up, I'm sure to need some Co-GMs. I've got a 5 day, 40 hrs a week sort of job so any help will be appreciated. So the getting things up and running may be a bit slow going. Same as getting updates out, so don't expect the fastest pace thing in the world, but I'd do my utmost, that's for sure :)
Anyway, signing off till there are questions or new faces in the thread.
@The World glad to see someone still around these parts with a love for the 'verse. At the moment I'm thinking of using some parts of a prior RP I worked on in the Bleachverse, but reworking it...likely for a much smaller cast.
I won't spoil anything for the moment, but if we can get a couple people wrangled up, what I'll likely do is throw up a character skeleton and whatever mechanics I may or may not decide on using.
I'm partial on using a system that gives us all the freedom of the typical Freeform system, while giving us something to work off of in a practical sense when it comes to clashes and the like. Mind you, I'd give whomever shows up an idea of what they'd be working with to gauge willingness before I finalized it--worst case, I'd scrap that entirely. Mid-case, I'd work with each player to do the work for that system to take off the load and ease any suffering--so to speak lol.
Anyway, that's enough from me for now aside from the below.
Just an FYI, if I get something up, I'm sure to need some Co-GMs. I've got a 5 day, 40 hrs a week sort of job so any help will be appreciated. So the getting things up and running may be a bit slow going. Same as getting updates out, so don't expect the fastest pace thing in the world, but I'd do my utmost, that's for sure :)
Anyway, signing off till there are questions or new faces in the thread.
Premise
Auspicious nobles, recognized prodigies, newly graduated shinigami…dirt, they all have one thing in common: Society cared about them more than you. Nonetheless, you’re a member of the Gotei Thirteen, and though you’re no distinguished officer, you did your part…not that anyone ever gave you any recognition for it. No, you and your peers were outcasts, be you from noble families, but holding no renown or particular talent–or an orphan from the Outer Districts of Rukongai, it doesn’t matter. Perhaps you had friends, some few who would tolerate you or take pity on you enough to throw you a bone, extend an olive branch–then again, perhaps you didn’t.
Nonetheless, this is the place you held in the Seireitei, and once, you may have even believed that it was where you belonged. Alas…the world changes whether we like it or not, and indeed you and those who cast you away are in for a rude awakening.
The question is…will you be ready?
Not that it matters, after all, whether you railed against your lot in life or not, you’re going to have to get over it because it seems even if the Soul Society didn’t, the World has big plans for you.
This RP will be set in an AU version of Bleach with all original characters and a plot unrelated to the manga or show. However, I will do my utmost to be largely faithful to the canon lore and mechanics. The story will center on a group of shinigami who have lost everything. With very little leadership and little hope of anyone else bailing them out of their pitiable situation, they must strive to be better, stronger, and wiser. With any luck–and a lot of work–they might just have a chance to get back what was taken from them–or at the very least, mete out revenge upon those who cast them from their home.
Either way, welcome to Bleach: Ascendance, Ryoka.
Meant to Post this in Interest Checks. Please Ignore.
From Which Stories Shall Arise
The Kathetikon & Kaelhmor
A Tuujaimaa and yoshua171 collab.
The Kathetikon & Kaelhmor
A Tuujaimaa and yoshua171 collab.
The Grand Library’s lower bounds had long been taken care of, but by now it was time for the Kathetikon to work upon the firmament far above, for what could invoke curiosity more than the endless sky above one’s head? There had been a peculiar astrological shift in the world that caused light to gather and refract far more readily in the middle of the continent than anywhere else, creating something of a lens in the sky. The Kathetikon had already had to devote a new wing of the library to the musings of mortals who’d gazed upon it in wonder and awe, and especially to the stories they’d already began to fabricate about it–some had seen it as the work of a divine, others a map to long-lost treasures written in the heavens, and a select few had taken heed of its brilliance but endlessly questioned not the how but the why. Those mortals already knew the Kathetikon’s gift, for it burned within them eternally–and some of them had been sufficiently motivated to find the answer that they’d resolved to scale the mountains of Galbar to get a closer look at the peculiar phenomenon. These mortals had, by chance, found their way to the Grand Library–and the Kathetikon had been all-too-eager to provide them with the scraps of knowledge they needed to begin the arduous process of knowing.
As the Kathetikon had considered the needs of these mortals it had made some adjustments to the sky within the Grand Library, removing the pollution of the sun’s garish light and replacing it with a more soothing vista of the night sky. The Kathetikon had filled it with stars and other celestial bodies far more strange and wonderful, in every colour and shape and size imaginable, and though the level of light still changed to offer a distinction between night and day there was always an entirely new mystery to solve in the heavens above for the pilgrims who made it to this holy place. One of the mortals had conceived of a most curious idea: what if the crystalline towers could capture the light from the distant heavens and store it within shards of their gemstones? They had embarked on a journey some time ago to find the library that contained the relevant information they’d need to begin work on such a project and had not been heard from since, so the Kathetikon had assumed that its search was taking longer than usual and had put the thought quite out of its mind–and instead focused on the problem at its source! There must have been a divine whose portfolio of powers had to do with light–or perhaps space, or stars? It was difficult to say without actually examining the thing more closely, but even with its troves of knowledge, the Kathetikon would have been hard-pressed to find a definitive answer that satisfied it. For now it simply waited, content within its vault, biding its infinite time.
A disruption in the heavens, a place that did not match the surrounding sky. This Kaelhmor glimpsed from many leagues away as a strange night sky swirled far above the peaks of an approaching mountain range. After his meeting with the Mistress of Trade and Shadows, Kaelh had decided it would be prudent to act swiftly in meeting some quantity of his newfound kin: the Gods of this new world.
So it was that draped in luminescence, the Lord of Lies and Light, the Seer of Light Unseen, crossed the hidden threshold between native day and the unnatural sky-bound span of midnight. After a time, he found himself growing impatient with the trek and so, using the boon of the Goddess he’d been granted, he slipped unto the shadows and vanished from the plains. So it was that in between moments, he navigated the Bazaar of Shadows only to slip out just as soon, his existence once more inhabiting the plane of men and mer. Thus did he emerge at the foot of a stairway leading into a vast Library of truly grand proportions. Yet, despite its external size, he felt that somehow it was larger still than it appeared.
A mixture of excitement and trepidation within his chest, Kaelhmor mounted the first stair and made his way upwards and into the building’s maw. Within moments he found his eyes widening in awe as the true vastness of the Grand Library–for truly what else could it rightly be called–revealed itself to him. Row upon row of book-laden shelves spread in each and every direction, such that even the walls beside the entrance stretched almost infinitely into the distance. Turning, Kaelhmor took in the majesty of the place and found himself wondering what sort of god might create this place?
A deity of stories, of knowledge, or the written works of man?
He was certain that he’d soon find out, and in that moment, he suddenly felt truly naked without his cloak. He resolved to make another.
The chilly, crystalline air around the peaks of the Grand Library seemed to be the only thing that reacted to the Lord of Light’s presence, as their unusual charge gathered and dispersed his magnificent light far and wide across the many peaks that could be seen in the distance, even from within what were ostensibly the walls of this place. Brilliant effulgence continued to build and build, ever-more light cascading across the starstruck skyline, and soon all semblance of Midnight’s palette had fled the Grand Library before the uncontained majesty of dawn’s splendour. The distant stars were rendered invisible by the diffuse yet unimaginably potent curtain of lights hung from the firmament, and as their dim radiance was replaced with a lustre of overwhelming intensity the towers in the distance seemed to catch notice of these happenings, and eager to not be left out they began to drink deeply of the luminescence offered to them. Patterns spiralled and veered wildly about the towers as their images strained beneath the intensity, and as yet-more light began to spill from their filigreed crests it, too, took a life of its own: the paltry candlelight of the library’s many interiors caught a brief spark of pure gold and focused their light upon the path to the Vault at the tallest peak. Much like a hall of thousands of mirrors can intensify the light of a single candle to something radiant beyond words, the infinite vistas of the Grand Library directed Kaelhmor’s light to a searing point, burning away the lesser guises and glamours that so-entranced mortals, and crafting from his own essence a path towards the ink-black mass of obsidian that crowned the Vault at the mountain’s peak.
Yet, as powerful as the gathered light was, it seemed not to even breach the veil of soothing shadow that made up the Vault’s interior–Kaelhmor’s blessed eyes would be able to easily see the various apertures and entrances through which his gift could flow, but no amount of exhortation on its end seemed to avail it the ability to enter. Familiar and yet oddly different shadows began to creep across the non-euclidean geometry of the carved walls, faint flecks of pure illumination still visible within them as they crept along surfaces too alien for mortal minds to even begin to comprehend–and in the subtlest expression there was a clear inking of unmolested shadow that wrote words of greeting for the newest God to grace the Grand Library with their presence:
”Be welcome, my kith and kin. All that your mind thirsts for is contained within: you have only to find it. To find me.”
With a brow raised at the intriguing spectacle unfolding before him, Kaelh almost missed the scrawl of words unveiling themselves within the embrace of shadow. Almost reaching out, he nonetheless restrained himself and let his hand fall once more to his side. Gaze narrowing faintly for a moment before relaxing, the Lord of Lies and Light peered deeper into the ineffable geometries of the Library, noting that his power had been gathered and absorbed by the artifice of the place.
‘Fascinating,’ he thought as he ventured further into the depths of the Great Archive laid out before him. By the make of this place and the unspoken utterings of the shadows, Kaelh’s curiosity had begun its journey towards satiation. For, clearly, the creator and denizen of this place was unquestionably divine.
“It is good to know I’m welcomed, nameless host,” he said, his words ringing clearly through the space, as if traveling through every ray of light, and suffusing every shadow all the same. Though the stranger could not know, it seemed that the power of Deception allowed such things.
Following the path of his power towards the ebony zenith of this newfound god’s domain, Kaelh considered what he might do when he came across a being far more hostile to his sort. Shaking his head, he dismissed the notion, at least for now.
“I am Kaelhmor, God of Illumination, to whom do I owe the pleasure of gracing such a place?”
This time ‘twas not the subtleties of shadow that responded but a brilliance of the heavens to rival even the lord of light’s radiant splendour–the heavens themselves unseamed at the edges and from once dim and disparate stars came a flood of such diluvian proportions that no shadow could be left, for there was nothing that was not light. The distant lights of cosmos beyond counting, of entire worlds and universes, captured with skilful artifice or with the power of magic–all this and more rained down from above, and though it soon began to dim in the face of the Lord of Illumination’s presence it revealed first the black stake of shadow that was the Vault. From it tendrils of shadow began to stretch across the field of all-consuming light, bridging the gap between where Kaelhmor was and the tip of the greatest peak. It grew as the light began to fade from view, further and further, until a clear path crafted just for him remained as all things returned to their natural order.
”I am the Kathetikon, the god of Curiosity and Knowledge. I am the Tome of All Things, the font from which curiosity’s waters flow into the world and the source to which it all returns. You are welcome here, Kaelhmor–but what is it that you seek?” wrote itself into the bridge of shadow, little flecks of it falling away beneath the weight of the Lord of Light’s radiance to reveal the message as he ascended up towards the apex of the curious realm he’d found himself in.
For ascend he did, intrigued by the display, though perhaps not entirely impressed. Perhaps he was even flattered to a degree, but he barely showed it, after all he’d come from a world of many gods. A world saturated in the works of such beings, those he had once called kin, the very same who had hunted him, cursed him, hated him….
Such things left a bitterness in the soul, they warped everything they touched, and yet despite it all…Kaelhmor–veiled though his true nature was–had remained. He had persisted and while his followers had not been many, they had been the most loyal and the hardest to detect. True adherents of faith, not just mortals who blindly followed him, but those who could so thoroughly deceive themselves, the world, and others that they could follow no one else.
Shaking his head, Kaelh split his mind from such matters, there was no use dwelling on what had been…what he’d lost, what he could never again affect. No…it was better to look forward, so he did just that, his brilliant gold-green eyes peering unhindered through the glare unto the pitch-black peak.
It was quite a sight, he had to admit, but he wondered more for the nature of the deity whose realm upon which he’d stumbled.
“Good tidings, Ye who seeks Lore and from whom Lore is born. I am glad to be welcomed in your realm, though I admit, I have come upon it purely by chance and circumstance.”
Kaelh smiled, the expression easy and empty of guile as he continued to ascend the path towards the peak. “I am glad to meet another of mine newfound kin and I must admit that what drew me was the sight of this place from afar. It truly is a marvel.”
Kaelh glanced up at the churning, changing skies, then down upon the archives. “A treasure trove of wisdom and information I am sure. At least, for those who are deemed worthy of entrance to such a place.”
Continuing on, Kaelh found himself considering the next steps of his plan, as it were. As entrenched by the realm of knowledge as he was, a thought came to mind: ‘Was one veil truly enough?’ Thinking back he recalled that it had not been before. So it was that he came upon an old friend, something he’d glimpsed before, but at the time had not yet begun to grasp.
The Domain of Secrets.
“Lorekeeper, Kathetikon, what say you to the Secrets and Mysteries of this world?”
”All who find their way here are seeking something–that is the nature of this place. Gods and Mortals alike are entangled within curiosity’s skein. Entry to this place is not a resource, nor is it favour to be curried; this is simply the natural destination of those who seek… so I ask again: Kaelhmor, Lord of Light, what is it that you seek?” the Kathetikon asked once more, its words now vibrating through the air like ripples of meaning washing over the Kathetikon’s divine sibling. There was silence for a brief moment as the tome considered the visage of the god ascending the path laid out before them. Even to its perception there was something about the glare of light leaking from its lord that rendered the Kathetikon’s piercing insight dull and flat, something that seemed not to obscure but to deflect the weight of attention to its surroundings. By the time the book had come to terms with the strange sensation, Kaelhmor would most certainly have ascended to the Vault itself, so intrigued by the experience was it.
”What is a secret, really? A secret is knowledge kept apart from the broader sphere; a mystery is the thread of obscurity that bridges the gap between the secret and the known. It is my prerogative to know and to be known, and so I have always felt more of an affinity for mystery than for secrets. There is still much that even a god of Knowledge does not know, and so I seek out those mysteries and inspire others to do the same.” the Kathetikon spoke again, but this time its words were slow and pensive. It considered the weight of each of them as it projected their meaning outward, and found the curious sensation of the glare limned the fruits of its mind with green-gold clarity unlike that which it had known before… but something deep within the memories of the Shade of Gnosis stirred beneath its radiance, and the edges of the Kathetikon’s pages rippled and fluttered with unseen fascination.
The Vault’s interior awaited the Lord of Light, and as he crossed its threshold it would once again erupt with blinding brilliance. Vistas of worlds long since forgotten by most were barely contained by the entrance’s enchanted lintel, the light of suns extinguished in eons past recreated faithfully within the Vault’s walls–many, many worlds could be seen within the liminal space, each a pinprick of distant light against an all-encompassing void of blackness. The Kathetikon seemed to be considering these distant worlds, turning to and fro with languid motions as incomprehensible script wrote and unwrote itself in the air around them.
Though no words reached him, Kaelhmor nonetheless felt meaning wash over his mind in subtle waves, artful in their composition, deliberate with their timing. For a time, much like the Kathetikon, he deigned not to reply, instead treading the path and crossing the threshold unto the Vault.
’Aptly named,’ he thought as the stories of numerous worlds flowed from one to another before his divine gaze. The only thing they all had in common was that they ended–each and every one. Narrowing his eyes for a moment, the incandescent deity considered this ‘quirk’ of the Vault’s presentation, the recordings of infinite worlds. That the focus would be on ending, and not all that came before. After all, the ending of a story, a journey, a life, and so a world, was the smallest part. Surely it was not the most important.
Relaxing as he detected bias, Kaelhmor smiled, his expression soft, somehow comforting, as if to belie the words that would travel ‘cross his silver tongue. “Secrets are essential, you must know this, oh God of Knowledge. They tease at the tired mind, building anticipation, serving as kindling for curiosity and exploration. Secrets are the obscured, the hidden, the unlikely, and the precious. Some are terrible, some are good, some frivolous, others paramount in their importance. All things hold secrets to their breast, in their hearts, perhaps even taking them to their graves. An otherwise faithful and loving wife who hides her infidelity from her husband. Protecting him, protecting their lives, their love, their children. A war is waged and codes are sent to and fro, in cipher, such that the enemy might not learn the other’s secrets. Even one revealed could turn the tide.”
Kaelh walked into the shifting void of the Vault, walking amidst the stars, the nebulae and planets. Dying worlds. Endless cycles. Birth, death…and was that sorrow?
“Of course, it is not only mortals that keep secrets, but gods and worlds, and lands. Ruins hidden away by shifting sands that have swallowed them; a God of Life who hides their one failing, their jealousy that is sure to beget murder amongst their kin; ah, and worlds.” Kaelhmor’s smile grew.
“They are born, the blossom, expand, deepen. Lives light within them, like candles, fleeting, yet somehow meaningful all the same. Yet…those beings they ask, ‘what is the point of it all? The purpose, the goal, the endgame?’” Kaelhmor cast his gaze further adrift as, unbeknownst to him, power began to gather, pooling around him, and spilling from his skin.
“The world, however, does not answer, it remains silent, as if uncaring. Perhaps it too wonders,” his gaze becomes sharp for an instant as he glances to the side, as if knowing precisely where to look to give the Kathetikon a sidelong glare. “...or perhaps that is not the point at all. After all, the way things end is the least of their existence. The smallest moment, no more important than their beginning, if even less so. At least beginnings inform the rest.”
He shrugged slightly and trailed his fingers through the bright outlines of stars and photons that had been caught in the rotating wake of a black hole.
“That is the world’s secret. The answer to a single question, a simple one, but one no less profound for its simplicity: ‘Why’.”
At this, Kaelhmor’s expression became wistful, his light growing duller and less effulgent as it swirled and pooled and dispersed throughout the Vault. With those words said, the Lord of Light simply stopped and lifted his chin, gazing into the unknown infinity of the Vault, looking past it and beyond. It was as if he could see something that the Kathetikon could not, it was like he was not even seeing with his eyes at all, but with something else.
The question was, what was it he had glimpsed?
”I will grant you that the concept of secrecy is required, my sibling, but remember that secrecy is merely an extension of exclusion. It is the privilege of knowledge; it is mystery that feeds the flame of curiosity–curiosity may abide secrets, but never mystery.” the Kathetikon replied, its words revealed through the shifting of stars. The celestial spheres around them all rotated upon some unseen axis, some extension of the Kathetikon’s will, and more still gone but recorded worlds streaked across the infinite sky.
”You are wrong. These worlds have not ended–they have died, yes, but they have not ended. It was believed by my people that things only ended when they were remembered for the last time, when those who had beheld them had also passed into eternity’s soft embrace… but we at Gnosis were the keepers of all memory, so they never ended for us. When Gnosis died, I kept them within me so their search could continue. I have not forgotten any of the worlds I saw, and so they have not ended.” the Kathetikon replied, its tone now wistful and whisper-quiet. The worlds fell away into the nothingness of the inky void one by one, their lights individually dimming, and when only the Lord of Light’s radiance remained the Vault abandoned its celestial aspect and its true physical appearance was revealed.
Angles impossible for the mortal eye to perceive jutted out from slates of crystalline obsidian to form a roughly cubic room (though in truth its shape was impossible to ever define in a meaningful way), and at its centre where the two gods now stood was an enormous dais of solidified starlight. Rising from it were several statues, one wrapped in shadow amidst flowing coins and another the majestic freedom of a rainbow in equine form frozen midair, and above them all an enormous mural of the Crimson Goddess–the Creatrix herself. A third statue wove itself from the starlight trapped within the dais, eagerly drinking in the refulgent essence of the Lord of Light. His silhouette was rendered first, and little details filled in with flecks of green and gold. Next, on his back, something similar to a cloak began to manifest. Little threads of light, so bright against the consuming darkness all around them, weaving themselves into a mantle that covered the shadow with a glittering corona of dizzying, refractive light.
”I sensed the absence of powerful energy about you as soon as you entered; the residual scraps of magic about your person suggest to me that you had a cloak until recently–perhaps as a commemoration of our meeting, you would like another? Perhaps if I imbue it with the power of mystery, and you with secrets, we could explore the depths of their possibilities together! I do not like to leave questions unanswered, as you can imagine…”
As the Kathetikon replied in its unique way, Kaelh’s expression became thoughtful as he considered the depth of such a statement and the thought that had likely gone into it. It was a worthy philosophy he had to admit, one that appealed to his true nature–not that he’d ever reveal such to another, not now…likely never again.
Nonetheless, he found himself nodding along as the deity finished their explanation. Then, as the mention of absence and the revelation of the Vault impressed themselves upon his awareness he found himself smiling.
“How kind of you to offer,” he began, “I must say I was feeling rather bare without my once-favored cloak.” Chuckling lightly, Kaelh decided that he liked this god even more than he had Ashevelen–though perhaps the Kathetikon was less of a tradesman than the goddess. Not that such a thing could be helped.
With another chuckle, Kaelh shook his head slightly and stepped through the empty air of the Vault, considering how his new cloak might manifest.
He didn’t wait long to find out, his arms lifting into the air before him as his fingers splayed out and began to weave the light that spilled from his effervescent form. As his fingers deftly moved, the light shifted from hue to hue until finally its prismatic sheen gave way to something else entirely. At first it seemed like an oil slick bound into the form of cloth, and then it changed again, becoming silvery in hue. Retaining its sheen, the cloak continued to become stranger until even its color was impossible to properly distinguish.
As he worked, the Lord of Light and Lies–with sleight of hand and a dextrous use of power–wove more than just Illumination into the cloak. Hidden within every strand of light, veiled from the world, was his quintessence: The Aspect of Deception. Yet this time, unlike the Shadewalker’s Skein, he would not weave the cloak from shadow. No he’d use Secrets, Light, and Obfuscation instead.
When the initial work was done, rendering a translucent shock of cloth that flowed and shimmered faintly within the Vault’s oh so empty air, Kaelh turned his attention once more to the Kathetikon.
“A foundation of Secrets and Light have I laid, dear Kathetikon, such that you might build upon their base.”
With those words and a flourish, the cloak hovered through the air, presenting itself before the god of Curiosity and Knowledge. Kaelh had to admit, he found himself intrigued by what boon the Kathetikon might grant.
The Kathetikon observed the foundations being laid with great interest, making certain to record the fluctuations of energy within its pages. The work was sublime in all senses of the word, the scope and scale of energies being worked wondrous to behold in their own unique way–it was a very personal thing to each god, as the manifestations of their power were ultimately a reflection of their truest essence. It was thus especially curious to the Kathetikon that it could not detect the most minor eddies of Kaelhmor’s spellcraft, the blinding glare of the light so richly intense that even a god’s perception struggled to perceive it fully–it made the Kathetikon wonder about the nature of its sibling’s power, where precisely they must have come from for it to be so unfamiliar. Perhaps it was simply due to the nature of their Aspect, of course, but the Tome of All Things had read Ashevelen’s and Mytru’s magic easily enough. This fact alone made the Kathetikon even more intensely curious about its sibling and his capabilities, and it was that newfound vigour that spurred it on towards adding its own mark to this cloak.
The Vault’s queer construction was partly to generate an aura of mystery, to leave those who beheld it wondering, but it was also designed in such a way that it naturally facilitated the efficient movement of divine energy and its residual essence. The Kathetikon drew upon the nascent power of Mystery that bloomed naturally within the Grand Library’s hallowed halls with a single arcane rune, and from that singular point of power the little tributaries of essence within the Library’s individual archives began to trickle in towards the knot at the centre of the realm, spurred on by the geometries of the obsidian structure at the highest peak. The cloak did not initially change very much at all, the lustre of its efflugent threads dimming slightly, but as the light dimmed something equally radiant but far less bright began to fill the space it left behind. Fragments of arcane geometry began to weave themselves between the woven strands of the cloak, limning their radiance with enigmatic essence, and in a sudden burst of spellcraft the overwhelming light that comprised the fabric was bound and trapped within a reflective barrier of magic.
Its light seemed to no longer spill forth from it with reckless abandon, now confined by a lattice of mirror-like aether that refracted and twisted it into something subtle and richly arcane. Its manifold colours could be seen to diverge from their singular state of harmony and unravel into individual threads, each of which created little runes of their own that danced across the cloak’s sheer surface like words across a page.
”A veil of mystery to draw the eye but dim the mind; an infusion of curiosity to quicken the mind and still the senses. Your cloak is now a locus of the unknown–those around it may be compelled to seek it over all else, or to pay it no mind whatsoever. So long as you keep your secrets close to your heart, mystery shall always follow. You are unlike our other siblings, Kaelhmor, for I recognise something of the power of creation that you wield… I believe I have seen its like before, in one of the worlds I have visited. Perhaps it is simply a trick of the light, but… I could look into it for you, if you like? It would give us reason to reconvene later, and I would be honoured to receive you as a guest within my halls again!”
It was a fascinating thing to watch as the sigil manifested within the air itself, the otherworldly geometries of the Vault twisting and drawing upon what must have been the full extent of the Kathetikon’s power. Then, eyes widening fractionally, it was almost as if the cloak was being reforged as the rune’s power reknit every strand of light, every filament becoming saturated with the power of two divines.
Deception writhed, twisted, and evaded the grasping threads of Curiosity’s light even as they dipped subtly within Secrecy and Mystery’s influences. The Kathetikon might only notice that some aspect of the cloak’s inherent power was further altering itself as the god poured his essence into the cloak. Swiftly the cloak’s hue shifted, shimmered, from translucent, to a brilliance beyond blinding, beyond sight, beyond any mortal sense. Then, in an instant, as the Kathetikon’s power settled and all the intermingled Aspects settled into perfect union, the cloak appeared to vanish.
Momentarily stunned, and certainly surprised, Kaelhmor’s eyebrows raised as he stared at the open air where the cloak once had been. Frowning, he took several steps forwards and then waved a hand through the air where the cloak should have remained.
No sensation or resistance existed as his hand passed through the space, but as he watched, he saw–momentarily–his digits utterly disappear and in that same moment he lost all sense of them as if they’d been severed from his being.
Beyond impressed, and briefly alarmed, he found himself reflexively stepping back from their invisible creation.
“I…must admit that I was not expecting it to be quite as effective as that.”
Still, it didn’t take him long at all to regain his composure, at which point he shone the light of Illumination upon the cloak and managed to gather it upon his arm. Once there, it no longer elicited in him the sense of his limb’s absence, but rather it emanated a subtle energy whose exact nature he could not put his finger on. How intriguing….
Glancing away from the artifact, Kaelh smiled once more at the Kathetikon, his gaze filled with gratitude and perhaps the slightest hint of admiration. Then the other deity spoke, asking about matters that Kaelh would rather leave untouched.
Nonetheless, he could not let another know that he had things to hide, and as such he let his smile slide into slyness. Wagging his finger slightly, Kaelhmor chuckled, “Ah, but are not Mysteries a sacred thing dear friend?”
Waving his hand as if to dismiss the notion, Kaelhmor beamed, his smile lighting up the Vault. “I would be glad to reconvene within your realm, it is a beautiful place and one well suited to the considerations of one’s purpose upon this world.”
Walking several steps to the side as if pacing in thought he nodded slightly, his expression growing contemplative, if not entirely serious. Tapping his chin thoughtfully as he spoke, his tone one to match the motion, Kaelhmor continued.
“As to the rest, why not, I am always glad to learn more about myself. It would be my pleasure to share such an Illuminating experience with another.” Kaelh’s smile was gentle as he said it, fond even and he found that it was almost entirely honest.
Surprising.
Still, he did not trust the Kathetikon any more than he trusted any other god. He would have to keep a close eye on this one.
“Until then however, I do think I must depart. You’ve forged with me a truly magnificent gift and for that I know not how I shall repay you. In time, perhaps inspiration will strike me. On such a day, I shall return.”
That said, the Lord of light turned and headed leisurely–a lightness to his step–towards the threshold of the Vault.
”It may be that the same is true of some of our other siblings: I have not yet happened to meet the majority of them! Forgive me my impropriety, Lord of Light, for I am also one such divine with connections to worlds beyond this one–I merely sensed about you a sense of kinship. As a being of Curiosity and Mystery I cannot say that I will not be directed towards such information in the future, but I shall not actively seek it out without your approval. Until we meet again, dear sibling!” came the reply, echoing through the Vault’s halls for a long moment. The path out of the Kathetikon’s realm made itself known to Kaelhmor the moment that he turned away, cutting through the incredible vastness of the Library in a swath of brilliantly illuminating light. It seemed to catch against the fabric of his new cloak and flow through it, and his form wavered unsteadily in the air before vanishing completely as if he’d been nothing but a trick of the light in the first place.
”Anagnostis! Prepare the Odysseia for a voyage to Shadowton.” the Kathetikon wrote in the sky, and the rustling of feathered wings and the clopping of hooves could be heard all about the realm as the tentatively-named Emporoskiá began preparations for an excursion of their own. As the Brokers of Shadow saddled up their mounts and affixed the many goods they’d purchased in the Shadow Bazaar safely upon the equines’ mighty backs, they found to their surprise something that they had not recalled packing: a chart of woven starlight that showed the entirety of Galbar, and inked upon it several locations of interest that the Umbra who’d picked it up was intensely curious about. They handed it to another and the locations began to change, and then again and again as it made its way into the hands of all of the Umbra–it appeared to point them towards that which they were most curious about and where it could be found in the world. They praised the Kathetikon and its gift with a song on their lips, and as they flew out of the bounds of the Grand Library they followed not only the light of the stars and the guidance of the winds but their innermost curiosities and desires.
Bound by Light; Blessed by Shadow
Ashevelen & Kaelhmor
A TimeMaster and yoshua171 collab.
Ashevelen & Kaelhmor
A TimeMaster and yoshua171 collab.
Step-by-step through a new world with new possibilities. A village, a town, the smallest of settlements, barely a collection of tents. Each was touched by his invisible influence, by the subtle hand of deception, guiding their fates in new directions. Undetectable and far less intrusive than most deities. Those mortals whose lives were bettered by his whims would never know that he had helped them, and that was altogether fine. Yet, Kaelhmor knew, better than anything else perhaps, that oh so few would understand that they would not accept him for what he was but instead for what they thought him to be: a liar, a scoundrel, a cheat.
Near the end, before he'd been whisked to this place on thoughts of a better world, a more merciful existence, somewhere, he could eventually be accepted, even if only through another sort of lie, another veil of deception, he had embraced that role. He'd had little choice, for every other path had been denied him, and so to survive, he'd had to be genuinely vile, if only for the sake of his continued existence.
It had pained him, driven a wedge into the fabric of his soul that had almost split him asunder, almost driven him mad. When he'd been pulled away from it, summoned to this place--if by his own desires or those of another he did not know--it had been a blessing, a relief, a balm. Still, spite had nestled its roots into his soul, and the seeds of old resentment and deep-set rage had sunk in their claws and built a nest for their young so that they might one day wreck their will upon the world. Vengeance. He wanted it; he could not deny that fact, though it once would have been unthinkable, kind and forgiving as he was.
Yet, these gods...though he'd yet to meet them, they did not know him, they had not harmed him...yet. His mind screamed that single word whenever he had the thought, the intrusive worm in his divine skull insisting that though they had not...that they surely would. He wouldn't give them the chance.
Realizing that a dark look had come over his features and that a terrible pallor now rested in a veil across his person, Kaelh took a deep breath and set his mind on brighter things. He had a chance here and through him, so too did the future of oh so many mortals. He could bring about such things that he'd only dreamed of in his so-called 'home,' his birthplace. His once-prison.
So lost in thought as he was, however, Kaelh did not at first notice that he'd slipped onto a well-worn trail in the earth and that some distance away, he could swear he saw and sensed someone. Shrugging to himself, he continued forward. It was not as if they could sense his nature either way. There would be no threat to him, not with the veil he'd cast from darkness and deception. Not with the new power he'd come to master, the Illumination that now rested atop the foundation of his soul, wrapping the power of Deception in a blinding skein of Primordial Light.
Besides, what were the chances of coming across another god in such a place so far from anything important?
—
Once more on the road. This time with an actual purpose. The bazaar still needed exquisite merchandise, which was currently lacking. Artifacts of power, special animals, and the sorts were all in high demand. Her own merchandise was already being sold, but more was needed, if other divines created things that could be sold and that they don’t use, perfect. They can buy them later on if they do end up needing them.
Ashevelen’s form was of an old elf, carrying a bag in two extremely wrinkled hands. If one would look upon her face, they could swear she lived through the creation of the world and will live long after it’s destroyed. Whistling a tune almost as old as time, she walked a well-worn trail. Half-hoping she’ll find mortals that would simply wish to trade with such an old lady thinking it will be an easy trade and realizing way too late that they’re dealing with the Goddess of it.
As she walked, Ashevelen’s senses flared in danger. Raising her head, she looked further up the road. Using her divine eyesight to the fullest of her ability, nothing seemed amiss. Until something moved and kept moving, but then, there was nothing around. Curious. Thinking that whatever it must be, it would be something valuable, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her shadow-sense flared up to 100, and there was something there. Moving yet unseen. Lifting a hand in the air, a cage made of shadow appeared all around her immediate area, hoping that whatever she sensed would’ve been caught in it.
“ Whatever you are, make yourself visible if you understand me. ” shouted Ashevelen as her form changed in a tornado of shadows to reveal her true godly form.
It seemed that the chances were, ultimately, not in his favor as rather suddenly a divine presence flared into being and shadows spread out in a vast cage to trap him. While that fell power strayed far from his form, merely closing off escape, Kaelh nonetheless found himself frustrated that he’d allowed himself to relax. Sucking his teeth–though the sound went unheard–Kaelhmor sighed and as the goddess called out, he braced himself.
Though yet to reveal his presence, Kaelhmor raised his hands in a placating gesture as he removed the hood from his features and subtly flexed his power such that the cloak would release its hold on his presence and visage.
“My sincerest apologies, fair traveler; I didn't mean to startle you,” said the silver-tongued god, each word the truth.
While before, his visage had been one of green and gold, his newly acquired power had changed the truth of his being. So it was that as he unveiled himself, gentle gold-white light spilled off from his visage in shimmering rays that delighted the senses and pressed at the mind. There was something strange about that light as if it were more than mere physical illumination.
Furthermore, peeking from beneath the now shimmering jet-black fabric of his cloak could be seen circling sigils of light etched in his body. Though he was garbed, the illumination still somehow found a way to slip through the cracks. Thus he was limned and haloed in light, rays draping over him like a second veil, though this one did not obscure him.
Taking a step forward, Kaelhmor dipped into an elaborate bow before rising once more to his full height to meet the eyes of the goddess who stood now some distance away. “I mean you no harm and would be glad to converse, especially if you’d be so kind as to dismiss your cage of shadows.”
Smiling lightly, as if faintly amused rather than threatened or annoyed, Kaelh let the quiet hang waiting for her to fill it anew.
As soon as the hood went down, Ashevelen felt the presence of a new divine. Even more curious than before, a divine she couldn’t see was one thing but one that she couldn’t feel, see or hear? That was something interesting. Very interesting. Quickly looking at their form, she quickly realized why. The hood was some kind of artifact meant specifically to hide them from the sight of prying eyes, divine as they may be. A similar ability to her own to hide from mortals but a bit better.
With a flick of her wrist the cage disappeared, and with her right hand, she threw a coin in their direction. Gently.
“ Apologies brother. I took you for a monster. A sign of my deepest apologies, take the coin and throw it at any shadow. It will take you to my realm, feel free to choose anything in the Bazaar as your payment. Now, where are my manners? ” said Ashe with a nod and bow “ I am Ashevelen, Lady of the Trade and Shadows, and may I say, that is a very interesting cloak you’ve got. Haven’t seen something like that in eons. ”
A small smile and a nod from the cloak-clad deity as his hand effortlessly caught the coin. Briefly, Kaelh regarded the trinket with interest before he let his hand fall back to his side. Head tilted slightly as the goddess introduced herself, Kaelhmor found himself chuckling slightly. “It is of little matter, Ashevelen, sister if you prefer. My thanks for the coin. Perhaps sometime soon I will visit this bazaar of yours. As to my nature, I am Kaelhmor, and my domain is that of Illumination.”
Considering his cloak as he did her words, Kaelh raised some of the strange fabric with a hand, rubbing the folds between his fingertips for a brief moment as he thought aloud. “Your kind words are well appreciated, sister Ashe, I thought it might be helpful to sometimes move unseen. After all, don’t we all desire solitude from time to time?” His smile was gentle and bright as he looked up and met her gaze with his golden-green eyes.
Then, moving forward and to his right, almost pacing as he pondered, Kaelh continued. “Lady of Trade is it? I do love a bargain,” he chuckled lightly then, spinning her token back and forth across her fingers. “What do you say to this? My cloak for a favor.”
With a single deft motion, Kaelhmor somehow managed to shift the cloak from his form to a position elegantly draped over his arm where it lay dappled by the light of his visage.
“ Not at all. I enjoy mortals. Losing myself in a marketplace? Traders shouting their wares while trying to attract customers? That’s solitude for me. Alone surrounded by people ” replied Ashe with a wink.
“ The cloak does look interesting, not going to say otherwise but, what favor? What does it entail? For how long? What are the conditions? ” quickly replied Ashe and then started to enumerate all the different types of questions that one might have in a situation like this.
Laughing lightly, Kaelhmor fingered the pendant ‘round his neck as he responded in kind, “Ah, to each their own then, haha. Though I too enjoy some of these things. The activity, the bright minds of mortalkind moving about day-to-day. As to the favor,” he raised his eyes then, meeting hers, “Effective now, I would only ask to avail myself of your shadowcraft, for bright as I am I can only mimic such a thing.”
Stopping several feet from her, he stretched out his cloak-draped arm and flashed her a bright smile.
“A cloak for a cloak, one to move undetected, the other to traverse and hide among the shadows. In exchange of goods, if you will. A trade. What say you, Lady of Shadows; Mistress of Trades?”
“ Hmm, an exchange of goods but not normal goods, are they? I won’t offer you another cloak, that wouldn’t be fitting. I’ve got another offer. I’ll offer you free passage to and from my Shadow Bazaar to any and all locations that someone has used to get inside the bazaar from. I’d say that’s more than fair. ” replied Ashe with a smile.
In truth, earlier that day, she conjured her deep recesses of power and, using the already existing shadow teleportation system, enhanced it tenfold. No longer would one be contained to the location they came in from, but now, one only has to think of a location they wish to arrive at, and if a person has been there before and entered the bazaar through a shadow and that shadow still exists there, they would be teleported to that location…provided that they leave an offering to the Goddess behind in the Shadow Bazaar. The bigger the distance, the bigger the cost. One would be notified inside their mind of the cost, using the Trade Book to keep prices fair, and when they accept, they’ll be teleported.
“Hmm, free passage is it?” Kaelh queried in response, his tone rhetorical, an amused glimmer in his gaze. Pondering her offer, Kaelh slowly began to nod to himself.
“A realm of bargains and exchange. Connecting all and protecting anonymity. A free market, if you will,” Kaelhmor chuckled and then began to nod, “...I like this deal, though I’d ask of you one more thing. You’ve deemed to grant me access to your auspicious home, but I’d bid you grant me one more right in such a place. Though I am no god of craftsmen, surely you recognize the stellar make of this here cloak. So I ask of you this, give me leave to draw ‘pon the essence of your realm, so from such I may create wonders for the world.”
Pausing, he gave her an instant to take in the gravity of his meaning before he flourished one arm, his cloak billowing slightly in the air, catching light, reflecting it, bending and twisting space as it moved. “For this cloak of utter Absence, I ask only for free passage and the material to supply yet greater works to those who will one day be our adherents. What say you to this beneficial bargain, oh Lady of Trade?”
“ ‘Draw upon the essence of your realm,’ you say? Well, that doesn’t sound like something I’m inclined to allow. I can offer you something else, maybe? You’ll get a special offer on the shadow strings that my Umbra produce which would, in other words, mean the exact same thing as the essence of my realm or maybe you want some servants? Say…50 Umbras to change as you see fit? Or some guardians, 20 Satyrs. ” replied Ashe while summoning from her realm one of each mortal species to show exactly what an Umbra/Satyr is.
After a few moments, another creature appeared. A Tarsk, a very big one. A prime specimen. “ Or maybe you would like a steed. These are one of my finest creations, Tarsks, they’re called. Loyal, strong and fast. ”
A counteroffer then, thought the hidden Lord of Lies, veiled by his guise of effervescent Light, illuminating only what he desired. “Perhaps these Umbra might interest me, but riddle me this, fair lady, who’s to say that I cannot garner followers myself? Surely, this saves me some paltry stretch of time, but as you know, we are immortal, rendering such things of little consequence.” Having paused in place to observe the mortal trade that she had offered, an idea struck his mind.
Nonetheless, he did not let such show upon his face as he approached and idly ran a hand over the back of the Tarsk that she had summoned. “I shall endow thee with the cloak, while I acquire free transit to your realm and all places it might be linked. However, as we’ve come to understand, this is an unfair trade, so I will ask of you two small things. The first is this, I would accept only three of your Umbra. These I will teach in my ways and yours as well so that they might spread the gospel of both our doings. Second, I will ask of you this simple thing,” with these words, he met her gaze, his own expression bereft of meaning as he finished.
“I value greatly discretion so that the world may be illuminated only at the proper time. So it is that I request your silence. Speak not, nor record our meeting, my person, or our trade. Should others already know of me or these doings between you and I, you may be free of this oath. In exchange, I will hold you in the same regard, and you may even ask of me a secondary boon.”
Ashevelen smiled at his first argument before replying, " You're saying that you can garner followers yourself but that takes time, resources, and all that. While time ain't nothing to us…it is for certain plans quite important, as you well know. So, why spend time and power to make followers when you can use some already created? "
" I know better than most what the breaking of discretion can do to a business and I usually protect my sources, so, rest assured…this will be between us. And a second boon. Hmm, let's see. I've got this coin, here. " said Ashe while lifting the Self-Printing coin.
" Imbue it with the power to sense if one is being lied to, but this ability should only be available if one of my Umbra has a coin. Can you do that? "
“Certainly,” Kaelhmor replied in regards to her request. As easily as his every movement seemed, he crossed the distance between them and held out his hand to shake. “We shall bind our oath with this coin in hand, and through its power I will endow you with your boon as you have requested.”
As he spoke, a subtle tension gathered upon the surface of his hand, but there was no threat, no danger, no hint of violence, only power gathered and laid bare. Though she could not know it, to shake his hand was a threefold deal, truly a bargain, a trade, a contract greater than any she’d yet to make. After all, it held within it the potential for an Aspect, and the power of two others–one dark and hidden, the other a veil of illuminating light.
Ashevelen, well versed in pacts and the sorts, felt herself being binded to a pact of silence but nothing more. Something felt different but still, a pact was a pact. She wouldn't break it…lest there was a need.
As soon as the pact was done, the Trademaster’s coin shone with light and shifted subtly in appearance. Lifting the coin in the air, Ashevelen looked at it and made a few more to fall on the ground. A gift for whomever might find them.
" Pleasure doing business with you, divine brother. " she replied as three Umbra appeared next to her. Blank versions with no knowledge whatsoever.
" You may need to teach them a thing or two but they're all yours. "
So it was at the moment that their hands were clasped together, with the coin held between their palms that his power blossomed. His eyes widening fractionally, Kaelh nonetheless recovered with a smile, guiding his essence deftly to forge the pact and to infuse the coin with his subtle might.
Thus, as the mistress of trade and shadows lifted the coin into the light she would find it changed, but not only in appearance. Now, any who held the coin could not only detect lies and deception both, but so too could they shine truth upon the matter. With this power, the very essence of Illumination could lead them to the facts and so bring yet more mortals into the light. Likewise, their oath had been bound in a power that Kaelh himself did not yet understand. Still…somehow it felt familiar.
For now, he would put that aside, after all there were proceedings with which he ought to interact. Smiling at Ashevelen, Kaelh then turned his gaze upon the Umbra, heeding her words as he observed them.
At the same time, his mind played across the binding power of their oath. There would be one thing about his work that would likely remain hidden for a time. It turned out that the oath itself was not a thing separate from the coin he’d blessed. For, beyond its capacity for truth, its duplication, and its unveiling of mortal deceptions, so too did the coin hold within it a fourth gift. Bound up as the core of their binding vow, within the heart of the coin’s essential essence, was the power for the wielder to better keep any secrets that they chose to hold within their breast.
For the time that Kaelh had held the coin, aware of the powers he’d bestowed, he’d wished to hold that secret in his heart, and so…even now, after contact had been relinquished, that Secret remained unseen. So it was that for Ashe to break her oath, so too would she break the coin ‘pon which it had been sealed. A fitting punishment for such a thing, he thought, though he hoped it would never be revealed.
“Very good,” Kaelhmor replied, “...I will teach them of us both and send them unto the world to spread the word of our works so that all may know their glory.” Bowing his head respectfully Kaelh then slipped past her and in a flourish, draped his cloak across her shoulders.
“Cherish these gifts as I shall cherish your creations and foster in them greater things. The cloak is Masquerade, the Shadewalker’s Skein. Use it well, fair mistress.” As he began to tread the path once more, gradually growing further, he found a second thought came upon him.
“Ah and do be delicate with the Trademaster’s Coin. It is a precious thing and anyone who comes to possess it ought to be careful with its use.” There was a smile in his tone, though his cautionary words were clearly full with honesty and meaning. That said, he continued onwards, gradually drawing further from their meeting with every step.
It had been fruitful, he admitted, glad that he’d come upon the goddess. Still…now he’d have to find a new cloak. How troublesome.
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