Act One

Discussion in 'Role Play' started by Domino355, Dec 24, 2016.

  1. halisme

    halisme Contributor Contributor

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    Year 350

    Arzian gave a reminder to the dragons to prepare questions for him, before promising to return in till years. Till then, he returned to maintaining his silent vigil, overseeing all that proceed in the world, absorbing all the knowledge that was produced and filtering much that entered his mind, while his book retained all. Despite the lofty title that so many might associate with the term knowledge, the vast, vast majority of it was either useless or so mundane as to only be useful to one. Shopping lists were utterly inane. As was "Uncle Yurns special recipe" for spiced berries. He would have to set up his own system at some point. Something to make the people produce something much more useful items. It was then that he noticed that a god was wandering to his temple, led by a Simian who had felt Arzian's touch. After a moment, he dive bombed towards the temple, speeding through the blue sky like a dark comet.

    As Yurius entered, he would see the vast open square that served as a plaza, with stairs going upwards and dozens of other corridors breaking off, along with stairs going up three levels and providing more doors to other sections, each of them having a strange rune above them that served as an identifier of what the section of the library was for. Dangling from the ceiling was a great chime, the pipes horrifically misshapen and made a metal that seemed to absorb light instead of reflection it. To Yurius, it seemed utterly silent, simply hanging there, yet Aramis looked up at it in wonder.

    "Do you hear it's beautiful call, my Lord?" The simian asked, looking to the god.

    There was a glitter in Aramis's eyes that seemed altogether too reverent when he spoke of the chime. To Yurius, it simply sounded like a church bell. "This way, Aramis!" Yurius touched the Simian's shoulder and pointed in the direction Yurius remembered the portal was the first time he ventured to this temple. He then motioned for Aramis to follow and continued to the portal's former location.

    Aramis followed after him slowly, spotting the now shattered ground where the portal had once stood, surrounding clumps of stone scattered on the floor, while some of the books' spines had been lightly scorched as well. The most apparent thing about the place was, apart from the way to the portal, everything else was covered in a layer of dust. Not a single part used. Then, there was the sound of the doors behind them opening as Arzian arrived, gliding above everything and raising the question whether Arzian didn't use the place, or simply hovered above the dust, and was not bothered by it. "Well, you must have risked quite a lot to come here, crossing through the lands that belong to Khaline."

    "Lord Arzian...How do you do? I did not expect to find you here." Yurius bowed cordially. "Coming to this temple is no difficult feat for me any longer, at least nowhere near as much as my first visit. We ventured within a mile of the place via a portal and walked the rest of the way. I doubt Khaline or her followers even realise we're here right now. What of you? You have been well since our last meeting, I trust?"

    "Her people likely will not, nor would they care. In truth, I imagine you repairing the portal would be of great service to them." He stated, starting to move in a great circle around the, staring at the ruined portal. One could only image the newfound wealth that would have to travel through their lands to get to yours. As for myself, I am apt." He stated. "As for the goddess herself, she slumbers, or that's all that people know of at least. I imagine that will be exerting herself in one way or another. The wilds never stay idle."

    As he listened to Arzian's response, Yurius inspected the dais where the portal once stood. It was completely ruined. Yurius could open another portal of his own making in its place, but his portals were temporary and would close on their own in short order. A more permanent solution was needed and such was beyond Yurius's own natural abilities. But the Temple itself was sprawling; there were staircases and hallways in every direction and a multitude of rooms full of specimens and multi-volume tomes that quite possibly provided knowledge on everything in existence. I wonder, Yurius thought, as he eyed the hallways branching out of the portal chamber if there was a contingency built into the Temple itself somewhere in case the portal should ever become destroyed. Perhaps if he searched, he might find the tools needed to create a new permanent portal in one of the many unexplored rooms throughout.

    "There is indeed great wealth involved in this trade route, as I am sure you are well aware. The Rephlonians sell furs, crops, woods to the Hot Mine clan. They then use the money to buy the Hot Mine's goods fished from the sea--fish for eating (in addition to magma), sea salt for seasoning, medicinal herbs found only in the ocean, seaweed for cloth and rope, and other such goods. They then move onto the home of the Dragons and unload the maritime goods, as well as any Rephlonian goods still leftover, to the Dragons, who are at war with the Yammu of the ocean and unable to acquire the goods for themselves. With the wealth they gain from those sales, they purchase from the dragons metal ore and jewels and return to Rephlon to sell the Dragon goods and buy furs, wood, crops, and animals to start the cycle over again. It is an exceedingly dangerous route, especially with the risk of being robbed by Khaline's followers or dying to the extreme conditions of Ignus, but if a merchant can successfully make even one round trip and live, he will never have to worry about money again for the rest of his life, nor will his children for theirs. Without this trade, the societies that make up all three parts of this triangle are deprived of valuable goods, so it is vital that the portal be reopened as soon as possible."

    "Tell me, sir, do you know of anything within this temple that would allow us to reopen it? Might Realiti have created a failsafe in case the portal ever were to close so that it could be reopened?"

    "There is no need for you to ramble upon such things," Arzian stated, still patrolling in a great circle around the ruins of the portal. "Every time a merchant walked the path I got the exact some knowledge. Though I have filtered much of it out. What I say now is that they will have no choice to pass through Khaline's lands. They will either attack or charge a toll every step of the way. The later most likely, purely for the fact that is safer, less likely to deal damage to the pack and keep give them wealth." He stated, before looking around at the old temple. "And I do not know if there is. Her changing to Wysdom removed the knowledge of this place I had from when she built it. If one was to ask her now, I might know, though you could as equally ask her to build to a new portal nearer to your own home." He replied.

    "Hm. We shall have to investigate, then. Perhaps in one of these many voluminous rooms, I shall find the information we seek. If we find a way to create a portal nearer to the cities and away from Khaline, all the better; if merely repairing it is all we can accomplish, however, we will have to accept it."

    Yurius gestured to Aramis and pointed to a nearby room, indicating that he was going to search it. Aramis seemed to understand but shook his head no. He pointed to the layer of dust which covered everything. "We may not have to search aimlessly for a way to reopen the portal. You see, there is dust wherever things have not been disturbed. It has even started to accumulate on the pathways the traders used to use six months ago; however, there are some paths that are not quite as dusty as the others. Except for the hall straight to the portal, I can assure you that none of the traders from my company went along these paths. Perhaps our mysterious visitor already found a way to reopen the portal in one of the rooms he or she searched."

    Yurius looked carefully at the floor and noticed he was right. In addition to the footsteps left by Yurius and Aramis when they entered the temple in the main foyer, there were some older ones that led from the front door to a massive tome sitting on a pedestal where none who entered could fail to see it. From there, the footsteps disappeared, indicating perhaps that the person who left that spot could fly, but there were handprints on the wall, doors, book covers, and specimen cases that told of someone zooming around the temple in a desperate search for something. The person's trail went to various rooms until traces of his or her movements stopped suddenly in one room in particular that contained drawings of all the Gods on the walls. Most telling about this particular trail was that while footsteps came from the front door to show their owner entered normally, all signs of their trail ceased abruptly in the room with the God drawings, meaning the owner did not leave through the front door as he or she had come in but instead left directly from here. Yurius decided this must have been where Wysdom gained the ability to use her Throgmir lookalike and his portals and used the latter to depart. He decided to ask Arzian about it.

    "What do you know of this room, Lord of Knowledge? It seems evident that Wysdom was here before she somehow gained the ability to create a portal and left it by using one."

    "This room holds some lockets that Realiti or Wysdom produced, I'm not sure which, though I do know of their effects." He stated, finding his own, a small, jagged shard of obsidian that seemed to ripple and pulse, changing shape every few moments into a new, irregular shape. It was dangling from a silver chain, and he quickly removed it from the wall, taking it into his dark form, though not wearing it. Eliphon's was similar, though the gem for his was a smooth, black opal. Marama's was a pearl, Realitis's a diamond that seemed to hold a sapphire inside, that being Wysdom's gem, with Khaline's being a piece of ivory, as well as Yurius's resting on there as well. "I will be moving all of these to a much safer place." He stated, removing each delicately and absorbing them into his form. "I will need to visit Realiti to reclaim yours as well. I imagine that allows for the making of portals" He stated.

    "So...one can claim the powers of other Gods. Wysdom was not able to use my powers for a very long time, however. It seems these jewels have time limits as well, is that not so? Regardless, perhaps this is the failsafe we need! Simply use Realiti's jewel and we will be able to make as many Interstellar Portals as we want wherever we choose to put them. A simple and elegant solution."

    Yurius gave it a moment of thought and his eyes widened in sudden epiphany.

    "Before you take them, I ask that you allow me to borrow Khaline's jewel for a time. I have been searching for an opportunity like this for almost 200 years. I can use that jewel to return my friends to their rightful minds. Finally, they can be free again!"

    He looked to him and shook his head. "I am sorry to say this, but unless you somehow supplant her as the deity of nature, she will always be able to whisper in their ears, and her whispers will be much, much louder than yours. If you desire your friends back, then the solution is to sever them from her touch entirely." He stated before the necklace of Realiti came out of his form, hovering by a single slither of darkness. "I can aid you with that, and provide you with this, but I require a deal to be made for both. I shall speak of the smaller deal first. The second shall require much more explanation." He stated. "Are you willing to listen to my words?"

    Yurius looked sceptically at Arzian. What could he want so badly that he would hold an entire civilisation's livelihood hostage to my agreement with his bargain? If he wants it that badly, furthermore, how can I be sure he isn't lying when he says Khaline's crystal would not work to free my friends? He might say that whether it's true or not to manipulate me into agreeing to his deal. Whether he's lying or not, however, I suppose I ought at least hear what his terms are before I make a decision one way or the other...

    "I will tell you whether I agree to your terms only after I hear what they are, Keeper of Knowledge."

    "The first is for getting the Interstellar up and running. To put it simply, your people produce remarkably little knowledge. Your society is stagnant, lacking in education, or technological growth. This is good for neither of us. For this gem, you shall create a centre of learning and experimentation within your empire. One that will produce a good amount of knowledge at a consistent rate." He stated. "I will aid you in this in fact. Just so that your culture produces something more interesting than shopping lists."

    "That seems beneficial to everyone involved. Very well; however, you will leave the details of the project to me. I know of several Simians who would be eager to head such an establishment, the intellectual juggernauts of imperial society who spend their time tinkering away at projects of engineering or looking at the stars, and all they require are the resources to begin formalising their hobbies and teaching their crafts to others. When their university is up and running, you will be free to inspect it to ensure it is up to your standard and, if not, they will accommodate any changes you wish to make. Is this acceptable?

    Furthermore, I ask that you allow me to be the one to create the interstellar portals. I wish to create one or two on each continent rather than a single portal in this temple to mitigate the danger of travelling through hostile lands run by Khaline's barbarians."
    "No. This shall be a joint venture, I shall aid in its organisation, though I shall leave no physical items behind, apart from a single dragon who will serve as an observer of the place." He replied. It was not as if it was needed. In fact, the dragon would be there to burn the place down should Yurius ever turn against him for some reason. "You shall devise the masonry of course.

    As for the portals, you may do as you wish, though I advise against you having a society reliant on them, in case something similar happens again."

    Yurius grabbed a blank scrap of parchment and a quill from nearby; there were blank pages in every room, oddly, perhaps for visitors or researchers to take notes on their findings. On the parchment, he wrote the names of several Simians whose work was known in academic circles among both the Simians and the dragons.

    First, there was Helion, who was renowned for studying stars and celestial bodies and was very interested in how their movements could be used to make extrapolations about the size of the universe and the length and temperature of days on Rephlon.

    Next, Robbie, a mechanical engineer of unsurpassed prowess. He was currently working on a device he claimed would revolutionise the world forever, something he called a "printing press" that would allow books to be produced and distributed en masse without the need for hand copying every word.

    Next, there was Zoileau, who was mocked by most of society for her intense and perhaps abnormal interest in numbers and mathematical theory that no one saw the practical point in. Despite this, Yurius was long interested in her work for it displayed the inner workings and hidden laws of the universe in a way that no other discipline could do. Her work seemed to say that the universe was a book full of physical and logical laws and math was the language in which it was written. He would be a welcome addition to any institution of learning.

    Next was Dunly, the prince consort of Queen Lilibut and a lifelong legislator. Over his long career, he had gained more knowledge of politics and lawmaking than any other Simian alive. He was retired from lawmaking now, but students would benefit from his teachings of the inner workings of power and how government ruled effectively and not so effectively as well as the hidden alliances and enmities that made the whole system work.

    Last was Aramis, the very Simian who travelled with Yurius currently. As the head of the largest trading company on planet Rephlon, no one had a better understanding of either inter-species relations nor of the economy and its functioning. When he was not leading expeditions through portals, he would make a valuable instructor and pass on his knowledge.

    When he was done writing, he handed the parchment to Arzian.

    "I will agree to let you handle the arrangements if you include these men in your university. Do not force them to participate if they do not desire to do so, but at the same time, if they do, collaborate with them and heed their counsel. The school will be much better off for their assistance."

    Arzian didn't even look at it, instead giving a sigh. "You don't seem to quite understand my, know all knowledge thing, but yes, these are in fact, suitable candidates. Each will be made the head of their own department, with the dragon acting as overseer of them all. I will bless the beast so it knows much and can retain much more. Once it is started, my interference shall be minor." He stated, offering the amulet now. "I will need it returned."

    Yurius was letting his imagination run away with him. He really liked this idea for an institution of learning. "You might also include Pistis, a master builder I once helped who can teach architecture and his daughter who became a cleric and knows more about the gods and our personalities and relationships than any other mortal. She often consults with Wysdom's oracles and-"

    Yurius noted the look of growing impatience on Arzian’s face and took the pendant from his outstretched hand. "Aheh. My apologies. I got carried away. I will put this to good use. What are your conditions for the freedom of my men?"

    "The other issue is, much, much more complex, and I bind you to a pact of secrecy before I tell you. If you listen to my words, you may refuse, though you may not share a single syllable I have spoken with anyone." He stated. "Break my terms, and you will feel my wrath. Are we in accord?"

    Cryptic, Yurius thought. What could this possibly be about? "I agree to your terms, Arzian, but I cannot be held responsible for anyone such as Wysdom, who has the power to read minds, learning of what I know without my saying a word. I would ask that you allow me to tell Zokmod whatever it is as well. He is my spymaster and he will be suspicious if I set him to a task without telling him the purpose. He will also be much more effective at anything I set him to if he knows what he is actually doing rather than some contrived pretext. You can be sure of his confidentiality."

    Arzian tilted his head to one side, a frown appearing on his brow for a moment, before he stopped entirely, seeming to freeze. No, net yet. He thought to himself, before drawing his book. "Actually, this will be given for free, a gift to aid in the start of our friendship." He declared, before his tome flicked open, page over page flipping before it snapped quickly to a single page. "Mamba with her sorcery should have knowledge of spirts, and how to convert them to be no longer dependent on Khaline. And here it is." He stated, putting his finger along one section. "A simple ritual." After that, he set about describing the system to change them. A great circle of salt around the spirits, with Yurius placing some aspect of his own power into them beneath a full moon. "Understand everything?"

    Yurius was not naive enough to think this would come without a price to pay somewhere down the road. Arzian would want something more concrete than "friendship" from him later; yet this was the opportunity he'd been searching for centuries! A way to cut the strings that bound Khaline's puppets to her whims and give them the ability to choose their own worldviews and allegiances once more. Whatever price Yurius himself would have to pay for that, he had to believe it would be worth it. What of the price the spirits would have to pay, however? It would be tragic beyond reason to free them from Khaline's shackles only to inadvertently place them in fetters of Mamba's or Arzian’s design instead.

    "What negative side effects might I expect from this process? I have enough first-hand experience with that woman's sorcery to know her magic's 'gifts' are never entirely as beneficial and free as they first appear."

    "Not that I or Mamba are aware of, though they shall be turned into spirits of justice, not of nature. This is how the link is severed." Arzian stated, looking around nervously for some strange reason, before regaining his composure.

    "I see...well, this appears the best opportunity I will ever have to do what needs to be done, so I ought to take this ritual, along with Realiti's pendant, with gratitude. And so I will." Yurius bowed deeply. "My deepest and most heartfelt thanks, Arzian."
     
  2. MagicPenguin

    MagicPenguin Active Member

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    Year 350, Arzian's Temple, portal chamber:

    After he finished his discussion with Arzian, Yurius mentally prepared himself and then sat upon the dais where the Interstellar portal once stood. He clutched Realiti's gemstone tightly in his hand and began to harness its power. As the pendant began to glow, he felt his mind open and become one with the cosmos. The secrets of its laws and creation laid bare with the power of Realiti's gem, Yurius knew that he could create or obliterate whatever he chose with a thought. There was a momentary overwhelming temptation to simply think Khaline out of existence; it would be so easy with this much power. Before he could fall completely under the sway of Realiti's sheer power, Yurius caught himself and steeled his resolve with a supreme effort of his long-tempered discipline. He had a time limit and one job to do and he could not let this power tempt him so badly that he forgot his duty to his people. How did Realiti live with such power every day without succumbing to the sweet song of the corruption it promised? Suddenly, he understood why Wysdom seemed so unbalanced most of the time.

    No matter. On to business. How to create an Interstellar portal, Yurius wondered? Was it similar to Yurius's own portals? He tried to join two spatially distant places and then poke a hole in the fabric of reality that separated them, as he would do if he were using his own portals, but instead of using his own magic to do it, he used Realiti's. The difference in the source of the hole did not make a difference in the portal's properties, however. As usual, the fabric of reality did not like to be torn and shredded and repaired itself with all haste; the portal he created disappeared at the normal rate. This first attempt was a failure. It was clear that the differences in their portals was not due to a difference in the scale of their powers; Realiti's methods of creating a portal were just something altogether different from his own.

    Instead of poking a hole in the fabric of space and time, Yurius tried something different. He created a separate dimension altogether. This dimension consisted of nothing but a long hallway. At both ends of the hallway, he created doorways which led out of this new dimensional space. One exit led to a spot on the Easternmost Rephlonian continent, an isolated area roughly equidistant from Stonebow City and the Arbiter's Meadow. Around the portal a new temple emerged, much simpler and less labyrinthine than Arzian's, though just as large in size; in addition to being the house of the first of the new Interstellar portals, this could also serve as the Temple out of which Arzian's school would operate. The other end of the inter-dimensional hallway led to the center of the Forest of Fire on Ignus, the new home to which the Hot Mine Clan was slowly but surely migrating.

    Yurius had created a portal like the first Interstellar connecting the Eastern Continent and the Forest of Fire and his first thought was that it was a great deal harder to use this method of portal creation than his own. In a roundabout way, it sort of made sense; it would always be easier to break and destroy a thing than to create it from scratch. So it was with Yurius's portals compared to Realiti's. His portals were tears in the fabric of what already was and hers were the creation of completely new dimensions to serve as shortcuts between one part of existence and another. It was naturally easier to poke a hole in a cloth that was already made than to weave a new fabric altogether, but the result of Realiti's more strenuous method was permanent: these portals would never go away unless another tragedy like Oblivion's attack were to occur again.

    Next, Yurius created two portals on the middle ring-shaped continent. The first was in the new ocean off of its Southern coast. The portal's connecting pocket dimension was full of seawater and was linked to the suburbs of the capital of the Yammu Empire. Through this portal, the Yammu would have access to Rephlon. Yurius was not sure if this was the best idea considering their aggressive tendencies...but they got along well with the Hot Mine Simians and trade was plentiful between them. They would likely be equally well disposed to more direct trade on Rephlon to obtain goods they would usually have to get second-hand from the Hot Miners. Also, there was the political side of things to consider; if the Yammu had to contend with both Dragons and Simians, they might not be so eager to war with either race for fear the other would side against them. Introducing the Simian Empire to the dynamic between the Dragons and Yammu might create a system of checks and balances where no race could become too aggressive toward the others lest they find themselves facing both as enemies and consequently completely destroyed. It was a form of mutually assured destruction and it could paradoxically lead to peace between all three societies when they were forced to work together for trade goods lest they all destroy one another. That was Yurius's great hope, anyway.

    Yurius thought deeply about where to place the other portal on the middle continent. He did not want the portal to become a game piece in the ongoing civil war between the factions of the former Empire. The war was a conflict that he was increasingly trying to distance himself from so he was not seen as arbitrarily taking sides in a geopolitical tug of war that ultimately did not concern him. He could easily see the more powerful kingdoms try to monopolize trade by using military force to forbid other kingdoms to use the portal unless they bent knee and paid homage. This would quickly force kingdoms trying to become independent to submit to the monopolizers' hegemony, lest they lose access to trade vital for the livelihoods of all the kingdoms. In order to prevent this, Yurius first tried to create a separate portal for every single faction. The creation of so many separate pocket dimensions proved too difficult and time-consuming, however, and the attempt ended in failure. Instead, Yurius decided to create an island smack dab in the middle of the crater lake in the center of the continent that was left over from the lunar impact. He would place the portal within a small shrine on this island. The portal connected to the Drakhold, where the precious metals every kingdom needed could be traded for as before. The island was roughly equal in distance from every kingdom involved in the civil war, so it was technically neutral ground and no one could realistically claim it was part of their territory. The Simians were not yet accustomed to naval combat and, until they learned the basics of fighting on the water, no one would be able to use military force to take exclusive control over it. This was an imperfect solution, Yurius knew, because when the kingdoms learned how to build battleships and fight with them, that neutrality would no longer hold, the imperialists would battle for control of the island with the ever-growing number of rebel factions who would in turn fight both the imperialists and among themselves for control of the portal, and the lake would become a bloodbath. Whoever came to hold that island would inevitably become the most powerful kingdom in the ever-splintering Empire except for Stonebow, which had its own portal on the Eastern continent. A naval arms race was inevitable, but every citizen of every kingdom needed those trade goods and this was the best Yurius could come up with, unfortunately, to make sure that every kingdom was able to obtain what it needed to survive and flourish.

    The location of a portal on the Western continent was no easier to decide. He could simply place the portal in the Temple of Arzian, where it had been before. The problem with that was that the Temple no longer warped around as it once did, so it was a lot easier to get to. This continent was full to the brim with bloodthirsty tribesmen who followed Khaline's philosophy. An easy-to-get-to portal would provide quick and efficient access to every civilized nation on both planets and they would no doubt take advantage to raid and pillage as they pleased. To prevent this, he decided to place the portal at the peak of the highest of the frigid arctic mountains at the northern end of the continent at the base of which the Coldskull Simians made their homes. He connected this one to the location on Ignus of the former portal, the highest mountain on Ignus where the battle with Oblivion had taken place. The Rephlonian mountains' harsh climate would ensure that no one could easily reach the portal, much less an organized army or raiding party bent on using the portal to attack other civilizations; furthermore, the exit location on Ignus was very isolated from the Dragons, Yammu, and Hot Miners; even if the prospective attackers did not die from the intense cold or the high altitude of the climb, they would be in no shape to attack anyone by the time they arrived on any Ignus race's territory. Still, if they were determined enough and sought peaceful trade, the portal would ensure they were able to offer goods and petition for goods in return. Fair was fair, and now with this portal they had the same chance to succeed in trade as all the other kingdoms, should they choose to pursue it. They just would not be able to abuse it to harm others.

    Just as Yurius finished creating the last of the new Interstellar portals, Realiti's gem stopped glowing and transported itself back to the pedestal where it resided when he first entered the temple. Eight hours had already passed and that meant he could no longer draw on its power. Arzian would no doubt come to collect it from its pedestal later on, as he had the others. Yurius was not completely satisfied with the portals' locations and the wars that would inevitably be fought over them, but he did the best that he could do with the tools he had been given. Now, at least, trade, cooperation, and cultural diffusion between all races could continue. That done, he gave Aramis a portal back to his company in Stonebow. He left the adventurous Simian with a warning to expect a call from Arzian about his new learning facility. He then bid his farewells and returned to the Meadow. The full moon was in three days, and he was eager to start preparing the ritual Arzian had provided him for his imprisoned friends to test its effectiveness.
     
  3. gibble410

    gibble410 Contributor Contributor

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    The wizards of Rephlon flourished in their small village near the past location of Eliphons tower. In ten years they had fortified the wood walls to stone, made huge construction programs and dares, and managed to succeed in making a small but advanced civilisation. Chanter was not made a king nor president, but a chief of the Council of Magical Properties, Beings, and Dimensions, or COMPBAD. COMPBAD governed the wizard community on Rephlon as well as magical beings on Rephlon. They studied and created rules for the tampering of Magical Dimensions while putting strict rules on the use of Magical Properties such as wands or dragon clover. The council consisted of 7 wizards, each skilled in a different art. Chanter, the chief of COMPBAD. Culdren, the potions master. Akwa, the water master. Flyme, the fire master. Marygolden, the earth master. Bri, the wind master. Finally on the council, there was Spire, the spiritual/oracle master. The council ruled over the human community of Rephlon and occasionally dealed with dangerous magical beasts.

    The tower...

    Realiti gave permission for Abel to wander.

    Realiti watched Abel grow and wonder with a great joy in her heart. She knew how desperately the other gods wished to have a few more words, but for her son, it could wait. Realiti did not wish to spoil the young Abel, but she granted him anything he wished whether it was a new toy or specific food, she let the offspring god have anything. She knew despite what she did, he would leave, and Realiti was dreading the day.

    Why was the tower falling?

    Wasnt there any other way to keep an eye on Oblivion? Why destroy their home? But while the tower was falling, she distracted Abel with stories of the other gods who had never met Abel before. He seemed to particularly enjoy the story of Creation, which was 360 years before his birth.
     
    Last edited: Apr 13, 2017
  4. Domino355

    Domino355 Senior Member

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    Fun Fact!: The Yammu tongue will sound to the landling like a drowning person, making it hard for any but the most talented linguisticans to learn it. For example, names like Glurg and Gulp are written as such because that is the closest the written languadge has to capture this sound. Their voices can't produce any sound that resembles landmen.
    360
    After asking and not recieving an answer, Abel decided to go and see the world for himself. He walked around the western continent, until, by chance, found his way into Khaline's forest, just as she was chasing away yet another atempt of Rephlon to court her. With a child's curiousity anmd carelessness, he moved forward to take a closer look.
    367
    Just as Yurius feared, war broke out over the portal island in the middle continent. Stonebow managed to take it, and as long as the former empire held the island, their power grew as ore and valuble resources flowed from Drakhold down to the city. A great fortress was built around the portal, larger than even those buildings created by the gods such as Arzian's temple or Mamba's tower. It was a sign of how much mortals could achieve, once they set their mind to it.
    373
    Chanter had to fight the unbelievable headache that tore through his head like a spike. Ever since taking the responsibility of the head of COMPBAD these pains plagued him, but the week he had was so much worse. For years he had tried to get every magical folk in the worlds to join in the council. Finally, he managed to convince the chief sorcerer of Drakhold to leave Rephlon under the oath that Goria will not dare venture so close to where Realiti resided. Yorbec, the only Grot shaman, agreed to join for a promise of five hours of magical sunlight every day. Fortunately, the Simians and Yammu had no prominent magical members. That left him with the Alfar.

    Finally, Mamba's folk agreed to come and speak their terms. The city-folk of the eastern continent came first. Their demands were to be able to listen to the "screams of release" once more, whatever that meant, and a promise that the necromancers of the western continent would not be allowed to join. Unfortunately, the necromancers came later that week, their only requirement wa that the city folk of Mamba's tower will not be allowed on the council. Deciding that this decision was beyond his clearance, Chanter decided to ask for conference with Realiti, for maybe she would know what to do with his problem.
    375
    At the age of 91, Queen Lilibet died of a ripe old age, as the head of the strongest and most stable kingdom in Rephlon. The year before her death was a difficult one for her. In addition to her failing health, Lilibet had to worry with three aging children none of them fit to wear the crown. She mused about naming her grandnephew, the young Leng, as her heir, but feared the consequences of moving outside the herditary line of succesion. The hot nature of the Simians, as well as Khaline's deciples, meant that anything outside a clear and obvious rule of succession would cause the kingdom to dissend to civil war, or force the Simians to once again rely on Yurius to decide for them. Finally, on her deathbed, Lilibet decided to call her granddaughter Jard as her heir. Queen Jard was not the brightest of rulers, but she was more fitting than Lilibet's aging children, and stuck to the hereditary line of father-son, mother-daughter. It was, however, the first time in Simian history, when a woman was crowned queen while sons were still alive and able, laying precedent for years to come.
    380
    The Thoothed Yammu, or Freeswimmers as they called themselves arrived first on Rephlon. The new ocean, with its wide spaces and endless posibilities, was a fresh start for them, far from their Toothless cousins, those who broke their pride in return for kingship. Knowing that Marama's people were not far behind them, they began building their forces in the north ocean of Rephlon, far from the portal and any posibility of surprise attack.

    Glurgurl was one of these Freeswimmers. He was a Watcher, staying far from his northern home near the south portal. The Watcher's job was to observe and inform any of the Toothless movements around the protal, and to sabotage any of their attempts to move to Rephlon as well. In his many years there, he noticed many merchant ships sailing over him, many of them saying prayers to Yurius for luck before they left. The mention of the new god intrigued him. The Yammu only knew two gods by name, Marama the toothstealer who they called Glumgburg, and their sister/enemy who they called Glumgbruth. There were other gods, of course, but they had little to no meaning in the Yammu culture. Yet this god, as Glurgurl learn eventually was a god of justice. Justice, which for so long evaded his people, who were still being hunted back on Ignus. One day he decided to pray as well. Not knowing whether the god would hear him, or even understand the seafolk tongue, he began.

    "God Gluriurl, (was the best he could prononce the landling name)" he said. "You may not know of my people, but the Yammu has always been split into to races, forer locked in war. When we came to be, Glumgburg demanded that my race sacrifice our teeth for her. While the Toothless agreed to this humiliation, my people stood proud and refused. For that we have been hunted for years, our children taken and having their teeth ripped out. If there is justice, god Gluriurl then I demand it."
     
  5. MagicPenguin

    MagicPenguin Active Member

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    Year 350, Arbiter's Meadow



    Yurius watched with eager impatience as the final preparations for the ceremony were completed. The full moon hung high in the sky, illuminating the scene before him with perfect clarity. All the prisoners had been cuffed and hauled onto a hilltop not far from the main barracks and Zokmod, with the help of a few other spirits, was in the process of surrounding the hilltop with a ring of salt harvested from the seas of Ignus over the last three days by the Ocean Spirits who once called those waters home. Atop the hill, the restrained nature spirits hissed and snarled at their captors. Borin hurled ugly profanities in Yurius's direction and swore retribution and ruin upon all present. “Just a little longer, old friend...your suffering will be over in mere moments.”

    “The ring is complete,” Zokmod said. “Now we just need you to provide the finishing touch and the ritual will be finished, Commander.”

    “Well done, Zokmod. Let us put an end to this nightmare once and for all” Yurius replied solemnly. Then, he reached behind his back and, as if from no where, he pulled his signature silver scale, used to judge the morality of the actions and characters of mortals since the time of Yurius's own birth. Nothing was more emblematic of the justice, honor, and ethics that was his domain than this scale; surely it would fulfill the requirement for an aspect of his own power that Arzian had described. He placed it just within the salt circle, stepped back, and closed his eyes. He prayed with all his might that these spirits might once more be the masters of their own destinies, no longer beholden to the whims and desires of Khaline or any other. As if in response, a vibrant hum began to fill the air. The full moon changed color to an ominous scarlet red and the scale within the salt circle began bobbing back and forth at an incredible speed. The nature spirits trapped atop the hill began to scream as if in pain and as the speed and ferocity of the scale's tipping increased, so too did their cries. One by one, they each began to undergo a physical transformation of one kind or another. Skin of tree bark and animal fur peeled off of the spirits in great quantities revealing the wispy, glowing essence of the spirits beneath. Clearly visible within each essence was an ivory colored thread that reminded Yurius of Khaline's jewel back in Arzian's Temple. The scale's tipping reached its apex and, all at once, the lights that represented each spirit's essence glowed a bright golden and the ivory thread that slithered within like a worm within an apple simply evaporated. Evidently, the ivory thread was the metaphysical manifestation of Khaline's influence over these spirits. Her magic extinguished from their most essential forms, the spirits would be returned to the dispositions and mindsets they had before her meddling. That was not the end of it, however.

    Their essence cleansed, skin and bone and limb began to grow around the spirit forms once more; however, it was not the tree bark, animal fur, or foliage that they once possessed. Instead, about half of them grew to a height and breadth equal to that of the Earth Spirits with smooth skin and rich clothing instead of the chisled marble features of the rock spirits. On first inspection, one might have thought these looked just like the humans that Realiti had created but for their size, their ears, which grew to points instead of being rounded, and the massive pure white wings that now sprouted from their backs. Their eyes glowed with a deep golden light that seemed to penetrate and weigh everything they fell upon with abnormal scrutiny. These were the first Spirits of Light to be born into the universe.

    The other half of the spirits grew gray, seemingly dead skin and stood hunched over where the Light Spirits stood up straight and proud. They had wings of pure black like those of a raven and they grew horns and had deep red eyes in opposition to the gold of their light brethren. These were the first Spirits of Darkness.

    Just as Arzian had said, the ritual worked to free the spirits by changing their domains from that of nature to one closer to Yurius's own; however, what Arzian did not predict was exactly what this would mean. In the instant the ceremony took place, the scale judged the actions and characters of each spirit individually based on every thought and action it had since its birth up to its enslavement at Khaline's hands. The result of that judgment was that the especially just, honorable, or pure of heart took the form of Light Spirits and the more callous, neutral, mischievous, vindictive, wrathful, or downright malevolent became Dark Spirits.

    Borin was the only spirit who had retained some semblance of his former appearance; though his fur was now bright golden as opposed to its former brown hue and he sported a new pair of pure white wings and deep golden eyes common among Light Spirits, he was still in the same enlarged Simian form as before, perhaps because of his continued relationship with the Great Tree of the Simians in Durbag Forest. Overcome by emotion, Yurius and Zokmod both embraced their long-absent friend, who was happy to see them, but was also quite confused as to what had happened and how he had gotten where he was.

    Returned to their right minds for the first time in nearly a century and a half, each of the spirits, whether Light or Dark, now had a choice to make. In time, many spirits from both the Light and the Dark ranks would decide to stay and retake their places in the Immortal Legions. Others, however, decided to make their own ways in the world and follow the instincts that came with their new forms and domains. Some Light Spirits made it their mission to protect other spirits' minds and essences from being tampered with as theirs once were. They were equipped with the ability to heal and cleanse and decided to use that ability to ensure gods like Khaline could not repeat the same mistakes of centuries past that led to their former enslavement. Others decided to search for worthy mortals to bless and to protect. Others still decided to seek out wicked evildoers among mortals and spirits alike and bring them just and divine punishment.

    The Dark Spirits who decided to leave were no less varied in their activities. Some were not outright evil, but simply mischievous tricksters. These liked to play pranks on mortals and spirits and Gods alike for their own amusement. Some more enterprising tricksters decided to strike bargains with mortals who sought power or money or fame in exchange for their souls in the afterlife. Other varieties of Dark Spirit decided they no longer wanted anything to do with other beings and found secluded spots on both planets where they could haunt and ravage without interruption; beings who were unlucky enough to stumble upon these spirits' preferred stomping grounds were quickly driven insane, possessed, or simply murdered outright for daring to disturb their "peaceful" seclusion. Some unlucky spirits of other domains who crossed their paths were even forcibly transformed into Spirits of Darkness themselves.

    The most malevolent and evil of the Dark Spirits actively looked for ways to corrupt and tempt others so that they could destroy what goodness and light existed in the universe and make everything and everyone as dark and evil as they were. Always these spirits were opposed by the just Spirits of Light, with whom they were in eternal conflict. Light Spirits who took it upon themselves to oppose this most virulent and demonic type of the Dark Spirit stopped at nothing to protect innocent mortals and their societies from their corrupting and destructive influence.

    Now that Yurius knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the process worked, it was time to start planning the freedom of the spirits kidnapped by Khaline who now resided with her and her followers on the Westernmost continent of Rephlon...



    Year 380, Southern Durbag Sea



    This was a moment he had been waiting for for a very long time. Finally, his help was sought and Yurius would have a chance to deal with the injustices of the currently dominant Yammu Empire. He could help to create a world where toothed and toothless Yammu lived together in peace and worked with other races to elevate all living species to greater heights. He spoke and his disembodied voice boomed all about Glurgurl where he dwelt at the bottom of the ocean.

    “I have known of you and your plight for eons, son of the waves, and now that you have asked, know that justice shall be done.”

    A portal opened before Glurgurl's eyes and Yurius stepped through. This was the bottom of the ocean, but Yurius walked, talked, and moved as if he were on dry land, completely unaffected by the water around him. His cape even fluttered in a wind that was not there. The Yammu stared open-mouthed in shock. He was utterly floored; whatever he expected to come of his impulsive, desperate prayer, it was not an immediate visit in person from the God himself.

    “But know this too: I will not punish your enemies for you directly, nor will I marshal my forces to attack them on your behalf. I will instead give you the tools, discipline, and strategy you need in order to grasp justice for yourself, just as I did so long ago with the Long Tooth Simians in their ten year siege of Durbag Forest. Your toothed people have been persecuted and chased all across the oceans of Ignus and you have been prevented from organizing yourselves and forming a cohesive resistance. The first step to freedom and justice is for all of your people to come together as one, and so unto you I set this task that you will complete if you truly desire justice as you say: find every single one of your persecuted brethren and bring them together under one banner with the promise of freedom and lives of unmolested peace. Leave a few tribes to hold the portal and the Northern Rephlonian Underwater Fortress you've created; then, organize the rest of them and create a similar fortified settlement in the Ignus Ocean outside the view of the Toothless Empire and then call on me again. If you are able to do that, I will know your conviction is not false and the true battle will begin. Until then, son of the waves...”

    Yurius left through the portal he had arrived in and it closed behind him, leaving him back in the small lake next to the Arbiter's Meadow. In truth, he had utmost faith that Glurgurl would be able to find and organize all the currently disparate factions of Toothed Yammu into one army with a single fortified position from which to operate. In preparation for that day, Yurius immediately made his way to the Drakhold and petitioned an audience with the high council of the Six Winged Lords of the Drakhold. The dragons had been in a fruitless war with the Toothless Yammu for centuries, and no wonder. Dragon battleships were state of the art compared to their Simian counterparts, but were still laughably slow and clunky next to Yammu water maneuvers; they would never beat an organized force of swimmers with those. The Dragons with wings could commit brutally efficient and effective air raids by flying overhead and snatching unsuspecting Yammu right out of the water, but that was it, and such small victories would never be sufficient to topple an entire army of them. Now that there were so few winged Dragons, even those small victories were in shorter supply than before the Oblivion incident. They had the organization and discipline that the Toothed Yammu lacked, but did not have the numbers nor the naval capability to fight the fishmen on their own turf. The Toothed Yammu, in contrast, were enormous in number (though even they were outnumbered still by the sheer size of the Toothless Yammu's population) and could fight in the water if backed into a corner, but were separated into cowering, hunted factions and lacked the organization of the Dragons and of their Toothless counterparts, and so they could not mount a credible resistance. If Yurius could forge an alliance between the two peoples, one species' strengths would compliment the other's weaknesses and it would only be a matter of time before the Toothless Empire buckled under their combined power. While Glurgurl and the Toothed Ones created their army, Yurius would begin laying the groundwork for this alliance. When he finally stood before the Council of the Six Winged Lords, he belabored all these points at length with practiced eloquence.

    “Know this, Dragonlords! Fighting as you are now, you will never topple the Toothless Yammu Empire. You know nothing of fighting an enemy that lives in the sea. They topple your boats like they were children's toys, they mock your aerial raids for the ineffective measures that they are, and they openly speak of how easy it is to intimidate and kidnap Dragons and drag them to the bottom of the sea. Do you not want to see an end to this madness? If so, you will listen well to what I say, for it is your only option: ally yourselves with the Toothed Yammu. They are not as many as their toothless brothers and sisters, who outnumber them by 5 to 1, but they are still stupendous in number compared to your armies and they possess all the naval prowess that you lack. Provide them with weapons, listen to their counsel, and coordinate your currently failing aerial and naval attacks with their underwater strikes instead of flailing blindly in the water like a drowning animal, and victory is all but yours.”

    There was open contempt on the faces of three out of the six high councilors. Ally with their ancestral enemy? The creatures that so brazenly kidnap Dragons and steal their fish and forbid them to live in anything but abject terror of the oceans? Never. It would never happen. Besides, it was well known, the Toothed savages could not even ally with their own kind, let alone a completely different race! But the other three Dragonlords looked pensive. They were all tired of this never-ending, seemingly hopeless struggle with the fishmen. Perhaps something radical was indeed called for...

    Yurius had planted this seed as best as he could manage. Now it was up to them to deliberate and come to the correct conclusion. He answered their objection about the Toothed Ones' inability to cooperate by assuring them that he had already set the wheels in motion for an organized force. Once the audience was at an end, Yurius returned to the Arbiter's Meadow. Now that the Dragons were primed and almost ready to negotiate an alliance, he need only wait for word from Glurgurl; it might take months or even years to find and connect all the many separate Toothed tribes together as one, but he knew how they all suffered and he was confident Glurgurl and the Rephlonian Toothed Ones could compel them to come together and fight as a single, combined force. It was just a waiting game now...
     
    Last edited: Apr 8, 2017
  6. halisme

    halisme Contributor Contributor

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    Fun fact! The Bleeding Wound Tribe, while understanding those to the north and south are also followers of Khaline, see themselves as her true chosen, for being allowed to remain so close to her. Their greatest chief, Kha, considers himself her husband, though the goddesses herself is unaware of this fact.

    375
    His words were carried upon the wind. A gentle whisper passing over both worlds, and finding its way to the ears of a good. Seven year and seven days, after I have given my words to the dragons is when we shall. I shall speak of us, and I shall listen as you speak. And so, Arzian continued his silent vigil, watching over the world and waiting, till, seven days before he was supposed to meet them, he went to the Drakhold, and looked to the remaining dozen dragons. "Now, give me your questions, and I shall answer you.


    380
    Little Sven watched as his father smashed the rock against the ice, hammering away till it was fully cracked, before taking out a sharp piece of flint and cutting along one of the cracks, and lifting up the ice to one side. The young simian passed his father a piece of string, watching as the elder simian lowered a piece of string ending in a hook with a fresh piece of Dolsroot. Afterwards, he looked down to the path that they had taken, seeing the other three dozen strings that they had put down in the past two hours. Once all was done, they stood up, and returned to the huts that formed their village, snow supported by wood with pieces of bone shaped into charms to Khaline and Mamba, portrayed as entwining sea serpents, one of jade, one shaped of jade and the other of bone that was chipped away at by hand. At the moment, a group of whale winters, who made great longships from the forest to the west, that, when summer came, bloomed in all the colours that Khaline could give them, were butchering a whale, gathering its fat to use for fuel, the oil to use as a base for elixirs and concoctions, bones for charms and meat for food.

    As they passed, they noticed that a small gathering had arranged themselves around the great hall that was in the centre of the town, and where the village mother lived. Sven looked on as a Simain in thick furs, and who's own pelt seemed a little thin to the child. "What's going on?" He asked his father, who in turn, inquired what was happening from the the crowd.

    "The Mountain men of the south have come, bringing words of new herbs. Apparently, they have been trading with fish that sound like the drowned, and lizards that breath fire, and a world of molten rock. I doubt they speak the truth, it sounds rather outlandish, though the Mother maintains that she has not seen these plants before, and so has made a deal that we shall provide healing for those of the tribe that fall sick and provide out alchemy, while those of the south shall provide tools of bronze from their mountains and herbs from their supposed molten world, and their mountains, and from the The Jungle of Our Lady as they pass by."
     
    Last edited: Apr 9, 2017
  7. gibble410

    gibble410 Contributor Contributor

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    The day Abel left to go explore the world was the day Realiti decided to expand the god's universe. For if Abel did not want to stay confined, she would help him in his quest to see the worlds. She knew the other gods could have used her stone to create these new worlds, so Realiti was glad that her fellow gods left this to her. Not that she had much experience in world creating.

    A day after Abel left, Realiti flew to the nearby village, where a monthly meeting of COMPBAD was being held. She slowly descended to the ground and phased through the wooden walls that stretched around the village. Realiti had helped with the building of the wall, for animal raids were becoming frequent. That was why non-magic archers stood guard with sword wielding warriors near the entrance of the gates.

    That aside, Realiti disguised herself as a peasant girl, clothed in rags with her red hair tied down in braids. She roamed the streets of the village, proudly glancing around as she saw the humans of Rephlon forging weapons, selling bread, dying clothes. The activities of these humans always surprised Realiti. True, she was against the idea of currency they developed but all the same, she gave them her blessing and gave them a large ball of gold in which they created coins with. Chanter, despite his business with COMPBAD never failed to govern the non-magical community of this village, and he made sure those with much passed along food and shelter to that with none. These humans were very smart, so Realiti tried to help hone their skills. It was a good decision, she reflected as she passed Promise, the school of the village. Promise taught magical and non-magical alike so it was a good place for the two breeds of human to find some peace together.

    Forcing her thoughts back to the purpose of why she came here, Realiti took several paths along cobbled and shop strewn roads on her way to the COMPBAD building. It was stone, unlike most of the village buildings, and it was by far one of the largest. Only some of the temples and bell towers came close to matching its size.

    When Realiti reached the stairs of the COMPBAD building she quietly walked up to them and into the building. The meetings were free to the public, so the guards at the door let her pass with just a warry expression to follow her inside. She understood why only the richest and most educated of the town attended COMPBAD meetings. Trying to freeze thoughts of doubt from this unfairness, she walked down the main hallway to the meeting room. The building had many rooms, some for COMPBAD council members, some for storage, some for relaxation and sanitization. The hallway she currently was walking down had glass cases on either side, that were filled with achievements over the 10 years of human existence. Some of them had plaques, like the invention of the Capturing Charm, (This was made by Chanter, in the humans 6th year), which's plague read;

    The Capturing Charm, invented by the president and residing Cheif Officer of both the non-magical community and COMPBAD. This charm specifically targets dangerous beings and creatures, who can be captured by this charm and put into a bubble like prison which can be manipulated into changing size and shape as to fit into whatever sort of solid material, for example, a beast with the Capturing Charm placed over it was forced into a small glass vial, which had the circulatory area of a wand. The creature shrank until it was able to fit inside, where it still is. This creature was origi.....

    Realiti stopped reading and continued on, wondering why these humans kept a record of accomplishments on display instead of in a scroll or tome. But it was of no concern to her plans today, which she had come to discuss with COMPBAD, and upon passing the doorway into the meeting room, Realiti found herself in the small waiting room. Only 8 people were inside this room. 2 of them sat in the designated area for those wishing to discuss something with COMPBAD but the others were evidently here to watch. The room was shaped like a square, with a large arching ceiling. This ceiling depicted different constellations, which gave a somewhat ghastly glow over the two rows of pews on the opposite side of the waiting room. The waiting room had walls on either side, that made the plain focus on the COMPBAD seating area. She knew the walls on either side of the small room like area held a script for COMPBAD members. A singular raised pedestal halfway between the waiting area and the pews was where the selected member with a question or concern would stand. Other than that, the room was somewhat bare. Realiti had heard Marygolden complain that this was not a sufficent room to hold meetings, and it needed more decor.

    (I'm ending the post here so Domino can post and I can start writing the other scene without holding us up)
     
  8. Domino355

    Domino355 Senior Member

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    Fun Fact! The dragons are far longer lived than other races, and those who live now are the same ones who were created by Tesni. This long lige, however, does not translate to immortality, and eventually these dragons will die, after a millenia or two. Goria, however, baring Eliphon's fire in her veins, will be as long lived as any of the gods.
    360 Abel creeped closer, until the goddess Khaline finally noticed him. He cocked his head to one side, and went over to her.
    "Who are you?" he asked.

    Unlike his brothers, Chanter recognized the goddess immediately when she entered. He stood up and bowed, his foreheaf touching the floor. Then he stood up, "Goddess Realiti," he said. "To what do we owe the pleasure of having you company?"

    375 The dragons gathered around. They had twenty five years to consider their questions, too few, in their opinion. However, such an opportunity was two little to miss, and they hastily put together three questions for the god.
    "God Arzian," the first dragon spoke. He was the military leader of the dragons. "Tell us about Goria, the beast of our kind, and how we can hope to defeat her."
    "God Arzian," the second dragon said, the chief sorcerer of Drakhold. "Tell us about magic, what it is, where it had come from, and why only some of us get that power."
    "God Arzian," the philosopher of dragonkind said. "Tell us about our purpose, about the life beyond, and how we ought to live so that we will please the gods."

    380
    Glurgurl listened to the god's words with concern. A budeon as large as one of those whales of the north now seemed to rest on his shoulders. How could he possibly hope to achieve this goal? Not only were his folk notoriously known for their inner disputes, he would have to transfer an entire nation to another world, without the empire noticing.

    However, cheered by the god, he immediately set to work. He left his post to where his people were gathering, and told then of his meeting with the god. Together, they sent out spies over to the harsh waters of Ignus, talking to their tribes, and secretly moving them to Rephlon. The quests were harsh and dangerous, but luckily for them, the Yammu principle of killing any Toothed member on sight still stood, and so none were taken to questioning.

    Over the years, more and more crossed over, until by the year 386, more than ninety percent of their race gathered together at the northern waters of the Ring Continent. Then Glurgurl called Yurius again.
     
  9. gibble410

    gibble410 Contributor Contributor

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    Unlike his brothers, Chanter recognised the goddess immediately when she entered. He stood up and bowed, his forehead touching the floor. Then he stood up, "Goddess Realiti," he said. "To what do we owe the pleasure of having your company?"

    "Stand, Chanter," Realiti commanded. As Chanter stood, the rest of the Council started filling in. "I am only here to discuss a matter of magic, and see what the Council deemed wise," Realiti told Chanter while ignoring the stares of the others there. "As I have come last, I do not wish for my matter to have more importance over those who came before, so my inquiry will be last."

    "Of course, my lady." Chanter said as he hurried back to his spot in the Council Pews. Soon the council was fully assembled, and those present were asked to stand.The two people sitting next to Realiti were the first to rise, the other six watchers stood rather slowly. "I proclaim the Council of Magical Properties, Beings and Dimensions to be assembled on the new moon. Our patron, Realiti the bringer of creation, created us from thought. We ask her to hear our silent intentions and grant us peace and prosperity in our thoughts, words, actions, and decisions." With the opening statement out of the way, Chanter glanced towards the seating area. "In today's meeting of the Council of Magical Properties, Beings, and Dimensions, or furthermore known as COMPBAD, we have three wishing to speak and six who wish to watch."

    Over in one of the corners, a small child clothed in dark purple was hastily writing down the record of the meeting. Realiti quickly wondered why one dressed in fortune would be doing the job of a peasants child?

    "First up," proclaimed Chanter, "We have Connla Ruslan. You may rise Connla and bestow upon us your troubles." Trembling ever so slightly, Connla stood and took her place on the raised dial. Facing Chanter, she gave the formal statement for one who was asking a question to another designated Council member. "Residing Chief of the Council of Magical Properties, Beings, and Dimensions, I ask permission to speak to the residing fire master, for this question concerns his or her speciality's, without offence, I implore."

    Chanter narrowed his eyes, and Realiti knew he was running through what she had said. She needed it word for word or else Chanter had to deny her request. It was only customary for her to show respect to them if they were going to help her. Realiti knew what Chanter had just realized, she did give the statement word for word, so Chanter nodded and Connla turned away from Chanter and instead was facing Flyme. "Ask and I shall give." Flyme rumbled, barley moving a hair on his shocking red beard. "It is my fireplace Lord Flyme. It keeps going out, despite my efforts. I believe it is my neighbor, an Ice Witch who unintentionally chills the pit. I ask if you can help me find a way to light it and keep it lit, sir?" Flyme pondered the question, twirling his ivory wand in his fingers. Letting it fall into a pocket of his plum robes, he stood and spoke. " I will come to your house at middle sky tomorrow, and then I shall help. You are dismissed Connla."

    Connla Ruslan walked quietly away, smiling brightly. Realiti felt proud of these humans, once again. They continued to show good judgement, compassion, and warmth towards one another. All throughout Firdos Carl Jitendra Petrescu's request, Realiti changed her form back to her original clothing and pondered what she might say. She was a goddess, so the standard rituals did not apply to her. With the dismissal of Firdos, Realiti stood and walked near to pedastal. She did not stand on it, but behind it as a sign of recognition that she was not human, but a god.

    Chanter stood, leading the other Council members in a deep bow. "We recognise the goddess Realiti, who has come before the Council. We will uphold utmost respect for this god, and hope that we may help with his or her troubles."

    "I understand what you are trying to do, and I understand you are mortal and therefore can make mistakes, so anything you say here will not be used against you or so help Realiti's wrath." This citement was mainly used for other gods if they ever came before the Council, but it was a standard passage for her because she was still a god.

    Straightening up, Realiti faced Chanter. "I am seeking advice, Council members. For a while, the other gods seem to have wanted other worlds. I can see now that this decision would greatly benefit others. Your advice on this, Council?"

    "New worlds, my lady? What is wrong with the ones we have?" Bri asked in her sing-songy voice, her sky blue robes fluttering, despite the lack of breeze.

    "Yes, Bri. We seem to be cramping up in these two worlds. Gods are appearing left and right, as are other powerful beings." Realiti replied. Spire stood, facing Realiti, a faint green glow in her lavender eyes. "Are you referring to the future, Realiti? The oncoming threats of a god war, or perhaps the invasion of a universe far more powerful than ours? Will these worlds prevent or aid us in hard times?"

    "It will help in terms of growth, Spire." Contradicted Spires neighbour, Marygolden.

    Chanter held up a hand to silence them all. "I believe a vote is in order before we decide what sort of answer we give our god." He looked around. "Those in favor of not creating these new worlds?"

    Spire and Akwa raised their right hands. More slowly, Culdren followed suit. "Those on the opposite sides of belief?" Chanter asked while raising his hands. Glancing around, Bri and Flyme put their hands in the air. Marygolden nodded towards Chanter as she did the same.

    "In the majority vote, my lady, we believe it is nessccesary to create these new worlds. That will be our advice." Chanter said to Realiti. With her nod or approval, he called out, "This meeting of the Council of Magical Properties, Beings, and Dimensions is now concluded."

    Realiti turned and left growing village within seconds. Her mind was made up. She would create several more planets. all connected by one Interstellar. These planets were not going to be like Rephlon and Ignus, made within seconds, these planets would be made over the course of years, slowly changing and growing. Fashioning a phoenix from the fire of a star, Realiti soared away from Rephlon, occasionally throwing out bolts of dark blue energy.

    The first bolt was the planet closest to Rephlon, it would become the planet Fring. Fring was specifically designed to host Simians, with forests similar to Rephlon and mountains that could be taken for Ignus. Springs and lakes bubbled up near the poles of this world and became more desolate as you traveled farther from the poles.

    The second bolt of energy created a world called Parla. Prala was one, wide dessert. The only thing on its surface other than sand was one tree. The biggest tree in all the worlds, with one giant hole near the base. This world was for those preferring to live and work underground. Perfect for Oracles, ones who preferred isolation.

    Seeing a scrap of paper fly towards her, the one that Ignus wrote, it wrenched her heart. Children was too loose a term for those two, yet the trio shared a bond. So for Ignus, she created Module Tyme, the smallest of all planets. But it was by far the most beautiful. The landscape was constantlly shifting, with dazzling eclipses and sun rises. It held one structure, a palace. The gods could teleport to it from anywhere and anytime, as long as they had been there before.

    (To be edited/continued)
     
  10. MagicPenguin

    MagicPenguin Active Member

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    Year 355, Northern Arctic Ocean off the coast of Spartalios:



    It was done. It had taken five years of non-stop work by the Immortal Legions, but the preparations were finally complete to liberate Khaline's puppets from her enslavement. As soon as Yurius had confirmation that Arzian's ritual worked on Borin and the others with no ill long term effects, he'd put Stonebow in charge of the operation and ordered it started: a massive circular rock structure, raised by Earth Spirits, in the ocean completely surrounding the entire continent of what had come to be known as Spartalios. Atop that, as the Earth Spirits raised the structure, Sea spirits extracted salt straight from the surrounding ocean and placed it atop the circular enclosure. The top was an unbroken circular pathway wide enough for three men to walk across shoulder to shoulder, but the structure had gaps between the supports that held it up in the air so that ships and travelers could get past it and onto or off of the continent if need be. The result of five years of constant stealthy work by Stonebow and the spirits she'd been given to complete the task was a circle of salt big enough to surround every spirit that existed on the continent of Spartalios with Khaline and her people none the wiser. It would have been difficult to find and capture every single nature spirit in the Nature Goddess's possession to use the process upon individually or in small groups without Khaline becoming aware of his actions and preparing for them, so Yurius decided they would use this strategy and take them all back in one fell swoop before she even knew what was happening, and all without fighting a single battle. Yurius congratulated Stonebow and her unit on their hard and expertly done work.

    On the night of the next full moon, Yurius placed his scale just inside the circle and, as he did five years ago, prayed with all his might that the spirits currently under Khaline's control would be free to make their own choices once again. Specifically, he focused his prayer on the idea that ONLY the spirits under Khaline's influence should be affected, rather than spirits of nature or other domains that were on the continent, but not under her control. The scale and the salt circle responded to his prayer: the moon began to shine with its eerie crimson light, just as it had done all those years ago. The scale bounced furiously back and forth as it judged with lightning speed each and every spirit that was the target of the ritual. A blinding flash of light enshrouded the entire continent and for a single night it was as if Planet Rephlon had two moons the flash was so bright. Even the Dragons and Yammu on Ignus could see the light that shone from Rephlon in their night sky.

    One by one, the Feral Nature Spirits of Spartalios shrieked in a harsh pain that seemed to come from no where. Their skin sloughed off and their essences were laid bare for all the present tribesmen to see. The ivory thread that dwelt within each essence evaporated as it had with Borin and the others and, in a matter of hours, the Nature Spirits were Nature Spirits no more. Again, they were divided roughly in half into Light and Dark Spirits. No longer under the influence of Khaline, many spirits of both light and dark fled to pursue their own devices or to rejoin the Immortal Legions; a notable faction of newly freed Dark Spirits, however, were so enraged at their long captivity and forced guard duty that they vowed vengeance upon the Goddess Khaline and the tribes she had once commanded them to protect. They wrought horrible destruction upon the tribes of the disciples, going so far as to wipe some out completely in retribution for the years of their lives that were stolen from them. As ever, the Spirits of Light, both newly freed and five years liberated, moved to oppose the Dark Spirits who would harm the innocent mortals, but the wrath of the Spirits of the Dark was a fearsome thing and many people of every tribe were counted among their victims. Occasionally, even the humans of the fledgling COMPBAD would be forced to act in unison with the defending Light Spirits to oppose particularly powerful Dark Ones, lest all the mortals of Spartalios perish in agony and despair.

    Those who were hosts to the Nature Spirits which Khaline bid possess and empower the strongest of her tribespeople were now hosts to either Spirits of Light or Spirits of Darkness. What long term effects this would have, Yurius could not say. Some spirits might decide to abandon their hosts, no longer forced into symbiosis by Khaline's whim. Others might decide to stay and continue to empower their hosts, but what effects it would have upon the minds, bodies, and powers of the mortal hosts, including Khal herself, as well as how hosts of light and hosts of darkness might compare and differ, would remain to be seen.

    As the morning sun broke over the horizon, Yurius smiled to himself in satisfaction. His work was done; every spirit that had once been forced to follow Khaline and make whatever choices she wanted them to was once again the master of his or her own destiny. Proud of his work and the work of Stonebow, Zokmod, Borin, and all the other subordinates without whom this would not have been possible, Yurius created a portal and stepped back into the main barracks of Arbiter's Meadow. The freed soldiers who chose to return to the Army would need guidance. On top of that, there were always more prayers to answer and Yurius was ever eager to return and continue fulfilling his duty as a God. There was still plenty of work to do and Yurius was prepared to do it, ever mindful of his responsibilities as the God of Justice and War.



    Year 386, Northern Rephlonian Sea, Freeswimmer Fortifiation



    Yurius was pleased.

    “You have done well Glurgurl. Your children and your grandchildren and your grandchildren's grandchildren will know of your deeds here and they will sing of how you led them to freedom.”

    There were about 100,000 Freeswimmers in fighting condition arrayed in orderly columns before him. It was a wonderful start and it would be enough to begin an offensive. Despite Glurgurl's success, however, Yurius was ever mindful of the risks. They were still heavily outnumbered by the Imperials; furthermore, there were still about 10% of the Freeswimmers missing and, on top of that, Glurgurl was not able to secure a fortified position on Ignus as Yurius had initially desired. They could not mount a sustained offensive from beyond the portal; it was too easy to defend from the other side. They would need a quick, sure strike at an unprepared, fortified target on Ignus that they could use as a stepping stone for a wider offensive against the larger Empire. They could use that victory as both a signal to the Imperials that they were ready to fight to the death and as a sign to the Dragons that they were united and capable of victory if given support. The next move would be very important in determining how the Freeswimmers' bid for freedom and equality within Yammu society would play out. Yurius told Glurgurl and several other Freeswimming tribal chieftains all of this and asked if they knew of an isolated target that would be easy to defend from attack against large numbers, but also would be unprepared for an attack and easy for them to take. The Yammus' faces stretched in what might be thought of as a smile. They knew the perfect place to strike.

    General Glork of the Toothless Empire was a famed soldier among the citizens of the Empire. He had an outpost fort that he manned which was self-sufficient and relatively far from the main capital of the Empire. He and his force were in charge of leading the counteroffensive against the Dragons foolish enough to take to the water in their battleships. The fort was inside of a cave with only one entrance at the level of the seafloor; beyond that small circular entrance, there was a long natural hallway of underwater rock with murder holes carved in the sides and top where soldiers with harpoon guns could fire into the hallway at invaders trying to get in. Beyond that stone hallway, there was a large cave surrounded on all sides by thick walls that rose all the way to the surface of the water. Cut into the walls all along the circumference were small holes similar to the ones in the hallway entrance that were also designed for soldiers with harpoons to fire at surrounding foes trying to break down the walls by force or swim to the surface and try and climb over the top on dry land. In the event of a siege, a portcullis was lowered over the front entrance of the stone hallway and also over the exit of the hallway and supplies and foodstuffs could be traded through the top of the structure at the surface with passing Hot Miners or, in truly desperate times, the Empire could try and launch supplies over the top of the underwater wall at the surface. The cave contained Yammu-constructed stone barracks for the soldiers and a much larger dwelling for the General himself. The place was a natural fortress, and, properly manned, all but unconquerable; however, the soldiers within had never actually experienced an attack and were unprepared for anyone to actually try and attack them. Dragons could not travel far enough underwater to get to the entrance at the bottom, nor attack from the top, and the Freeswimmers never dared attack the place for fear they would shatter themselves against its formidable defenses. All that was about to change.

    Normally, taking such a structure would be impossible, but the Freeswimmers had two distinct advantages: first, the soldiers within were inexperienced and unprepared. They'd only ever fought against Dragons in their slow-moving, clunky battleships. That was as easy to beat for a group of Yammu as stabbing fish in a barrel for a surface-dwelling race. They had never fought underwater, however, except to hunt fish or to torture and kill the occasional passing Freeswimmer for fun. The second advantage they had was surprise. No one in the Empire expected the Freeswimmers to come together to fight as one army and even fewer expected them to attack such a well defended fortress. The idea was considered so stupid that the guards routinely got drunk and slept at their posts. What did they have to watch for? Who would be idiot enough to attack General Glork's impregnable Outpost Fortress? Famed as he was among commoners and nobility of the capital for his defense against the Dragons, Glork himself was not well-respected among his men because he was lazy and gluttonous and had very little charisma. His initial attempts to restore order and discipline were roundly ignored and he simply gave up after that, addressing them only when they needed to sortie against a group of Dragonships.

    Under Yurius's instruction, the Freeswimmer Army crossed over the portal in small groups so as not to attract Imperial attention. Over the course of a week, they made their way to a camp on the outskirts of the Outpost Fortress and carefully avoided the scouts and messengers that routinely entered and exited the Fort. When all the men were gathered, they waited until the dead of night to make their move. The guards and harpooners within the wall were usually either drunk or sleeping at this point of the night and even the most vigilant of the Outpost guards tended to doze a bit. The only ones wide awake were the two guards who manned the gate that guarded the outside, open ocean entrance of the stone hallway and the two that guarded the gate on the inside, barracks side of the hallway at the end opposite the entrance. The majority of the Freeswimmer army stayed at attention far enough away that they would not be noticed, but close enough to see the portcullis over the mouth of the cave entrance.

    It was time to begin. Glurgurl went alone past the gate so that the guards would see him. He acted desperate and hungry. All the guards saw was a Freeswimmer separated from his tribe who was desperate enough for food and shelter that he was careless and wandered too close to the Outpost Fortress in search of fish to eat. “I'm bored. And tired,” said one of the two guards on the front gate. “Let's go get some target practice to keep ourselves awake,” said the other, gesturing to Glurgurl, who made sure to loiter so that he was seen by all four gate guards. The second guard smiled cruelly at his colleague and pulled the lever within the hallway that opened the front gate. That was the first hurdle, Yurius thought, watching with the main army. Now they just needed to open the second gate at the other end of the hallway and the Freeswimmers would be able to waltz right in.

    The guards approached Glurgurl and raised their harpoon guns. “Toothed savage!” bellowed one. “Death is too good for you! We'll make sure to make this as painful as possible. Have you ever wondered what it felt like to be skinned alive? We'll educate you before the night is through, barbarian, make no mistake about that. You'll curse the day you were born with those oafish things you call teeth” said the other as he fired his harpoon at a nonlethal area of Glurgurl's body. At once, Glurgurl changed his demeanor from a desperate, hungry beggar to a savage warrior. He snaked out of the way of the incoming harpoon and lunged with lightning quickness at the first guard. “Let me show you what wonderful tools you surrendered all those eons ago, coward!” he screamed, and then dug his razor sharp teeth into the throat of the guard and tore out his jugular vein in a brutal display of blood and savagery. The other guard, enraged at his comrade's visceral death, charged Glurgurl with his harpoon positioned for the kill, but Glurgurl was prepared. He grabbed the harpoon midthrust, ripped it from the guard's hand, and then shoved it point-first right into his brain through his open eye socket. The nameless guard's dying screams were a beautiful symphony to Glurgurl. The guards on the inner gate watched all this and their rage grew with each passing second. When both front gate guards were finally dead and Glurgurl laughed like a madman, cursing them for cowards and calling for them to leave the safety of their stone hiding place, the two decided to take action. “There's only one of them; we don't need to worry about the defense of the inner gate or of the hallway” said one to the other, blinded to the risks of leaving the entrance completely unguarded by anger and hatred and arrogance. He roused the group of harpooners lounging nearby who were in charge of shooting through the murder holes in the entrance hallway should an invading army try to get through. Then, he opened the gate and he, the second guard, and the troop of harpooners left all as one to surround Glurgurl as if he were a shark that was the target of a large hunting party. “Not so cocky now, are you, beast?” raged the inner-gate guard as he and all the harpooners raised their weapons for the killing shot.

    Yurius saw the defenders of the front gates open the second portcullis and leave all at once to deal vengeance to Glurgurl. “NOW!” he yelled to the army of Freeswimmers behind him. “CHARGE! FOR FREEDOM! FOR EQUALITY! CHAAARGE!” All at once, a torrent of 95,000 swimmers descended on the group of guards, who heard the screaming and turned around before they could fire at Glurgurl. They saw the oncoming charge of Toothed Yammu and, for several seconds, could do nothing but stare dumbfounded in shock and awe at what should have been completely impossible: an army of Freeswimmers come to take one of the most well-defended fortresses in the Empire. The two inner-gate guards at once realized the severity of the danger and, forgetting about Glurgurl completely, tried to rush back through the main gate to close them so the approaching army could not get in. Unfortunately for them, Glurgurl was faster. Before the surrounding harpooners could act, he darted out from among them toward the gate and grabbed the retreating guards by their finned feet. The harpooners quickly turned and fired at Glurgurl, hoping to stop him before he made it inside, but the Freeswimmer hurled the guards into a position between himself and the oncoming harpoons, using them as shields. As the army descended upon the defenseless harpooners, they shot at a few in the front ranks, killing a few Freeswimmers in the vanguard, but the rest swamped them like a tidal wave before they could reload. They were dead in seconds.

    The army blitzed freely through the front gate, the hallway, and the inner gate into the main compound. The harpooners stationed around the holes throughout the circumference walls realized what was happening all too late. Seeing no one attacking the approaching army through the murder holes in the front hallway, some abandoned their posts to try and do it themselves. They were mildly successful, as the army was still in the process of moving through when they got there. The first half of the Freeswimmer group got through unimpeded, but the second half had to contend with harpoons flying through the holes in the wall, killing many of them as easily as if they were hunted fish. It was a short-lived victory, however, as the Freeswimmers intercepted them and killed them before they could continue their barrage. In short order, the Freeswimmers had killed the guards inside who tried to resist and imprisoned those who were caught unprepared for the assault and unable to do anything before the fight was upon them. The off-duty guards sleeping in the barracks were also taken prisoner. Glurgurl and Yurius led a group into the massive palace-like structure that served as General Glork's dwelling and took him prisoner; he would be a high ranking hostage. When all the fighting was done, the impossible had been achieved through stealth and strategy: the Outpost Fortress was theirs. Thousands had died in the assault, but still about 88,000 lived, minimal casualties against the Fortress's garrison of 50,000. Yurius assembled the victorious Freeswimmers and spoke:

    “Not since the days of the Siege of Durbag Forest have I been so proud of an army that sought my guidance and my blessing. Do not take lightly what you have accomplished here today. This will serve as a beacon of hope for the Freeswimmers who still roam the seas and they will quickly flock to you here. Expect your ranks to swell even further. This is but the first step on the long road that you have chosen to walk, but after the valor I have seen on display here this night, I am confident you will gain the freedom you seek, no matter the price!”

    The Freeswimmers cheered. In the days to come, many of the soldiers that remained in the Rephlonian Northern Fortress to guard it would migrate to the prize they had won in Ignus. The weapons depot left behind by Glork's Garrison had enough harpoon guns, spears, swords, shields, and other equipment for every soldier who could fight. Even with their inferior numbers, the Freeswimmers would be able to hold this fortress against a vast host of men many times larger than themselves so long as they were vigilant, disciplined, and manned their posts properly as their predecessors had recently failed to do. Glurgurl and the other chieftains conferred with one another and with Yurius and together they sent out a message to all who would read it, both under the waves and on dry land via trade ships. Soon it was read by every educated citizen of every race. It was a list of the many wrongs done by, and demands for, the Imperial Royal Family in the Yammu capital. It described how Freeswimmers had been chased and tortured all across the ocean for no other reason than what teeth were in their mouths, how they intimidated and instigated conflict with the Dragons unprovoked, and how the nobility and military looked down on and abused the common citizens of their very own empire. Soon, after reading this, all races, Simians, Humans, Dragons, Grots, Alfar, everyone, whether they cared or not, would know of the injustices wrought by this deranged Empire and its insane ruling family. In retribution, they had taken the Outpost Fortress, the notice next declared, and the famed General Glork was now their hostage. If the Yammu Empire did not wish further war, it would meet the following demands with all haste:



    -The current Emperor would step down and stand trial for his and his family's longstanding policies which led to the murder and persecution of innocent Toothed Yammu, Dragons, and commoners for generations. A new Emperor of Freeswimmer descent would be put in his place, but otherwise, Toothless Yammu could remain in places of power.

    -All persecution of Yammu based on the presence or lack of teeth was to be outlawed immediately.

    -Laws were to be created protecting the rights of lowborn citizens so they could no longer be abused and discarded without consequence by the aristocracy.

    -Freeswimmers were to be allowed in the capital without harassment and given homes, food, jobs, and/or high places and voices in government as appropriate. Taxes would be paid and laws would be followed as required by law by the new citizens as it was by every current citizen.

    -Peace would be made between Yammu and Dragons; no more unjust kidnapping or killing would be warranted.



    If these demands were not met, the notice declared, Freeswimmers would descend upon the capital in blood and warfare and make the Toothless tyrants suffer for every one of their people who had unjustly suffered under their long rule. If freedom and equality for all Yammu was not given freely, they would take what was theirs by force.

    No one expected the Empire to actually acquiesce to these demands. War was all but inevitable now. For better or worse, the die were cast. The notice was simply a courtesy, and also a message to other races that might wish to support the Freeswimmers with trade of goods and weapons as necessary. To the Dragons specifically, it was a message that they were united and able to fight and they were willing to ally with them for the common goal they had of the downfall of the Toothless.

    As Glurgurl and the Freeswimmers waited inside the Outpost Fort for an official response to their list of demands, growing their numbers and planning their strategies, Yurius went again to the Drakhold to seek audience with the Six Dragonlords. Last time, he went to them with nothing but promises and words, telling them that the Freeswimmers would unite and battle as one with no real proof. Now, he had not only proof that they were united and could fight, he had the reality of a resounding military victory to reassure the Councilors of their viability as a fighting force. Additionally, the Dragonlords would hopefully see the Freeswimmer willingness to cooperate in the last of the demands they'd issued. They'd been given enough time to deliberate and now all the conditions, military and otherwise, were right. It was time to get this alliance off the ground. Yurius stood before the High Council and delivered a piece of parchment from the Freeswimmers formally requesting a military and economic alliance with the Drakhold for the good of both peoples. He watched hopefully as they read it and waited for their response...
     
    Last edited: Apr 14, 2017
  11. gibble410

    gibble410 Contributor Contributor

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    Module Time, Parla, and Fring were created within a day. Set to grow and become planets fit for inhabitation within years. But the one planet Realiti created that was ready was the planet of Glaceeiar. (Glaze-ee-ar). Glaceeiar was the farthest planet out, covered in ice and riddled with snow and crystals. This planet could only be inhabited by supernatural or fire creatures. Like Parla, it had a desolate surface. Yet many animals spawned and began to thrive, snow foxes, winter hares, arctic wolves and more. These creatures would be able to find some survival in the half-frozen lakes and small creatures of Glaceeiar.

    Swinging around, Realiti headed back to Rephlon. As she passed Module Time, she knew it would take a while for the pretty planet to grow a castle fit for gods. If it grew any faster then the magic and ecosystem of the planet would be destroyed. But eventually it would grow, and like the sprawling forest's and crystalline streams, it would become part of a landscape that the flocking birds and animals would enjoy. Module Time did host a lot of animals, such as impossibly gleaming bears who stole honey from bee hives. It was a perfect place of peace that Realiti would visit often.

    Flying through the space Realiti passed Parla. Snakes and lizard would be the only animals resourceful enough to find survival in the harsh winds of Parla's desserts. Yet on the inside of Parla, underneath the Home Tree, there lay small animals, Moles, rabbits, worms and more sat against the gleaming ores and dark caves of Parla. When it was finished, Realiti would add a creation of Chanter, a race he called elves. Dwarves would also prove prudent she was told by Spire. She would consult with them about the creation of these men and how they would survive Parla.

    Realiti was almost home. She just had to stop by Fring first. It was somewhat of a replica of Rephlon, but more forest and lakes sprawled over its surface. With the occasional volcano or mountain, it looked somewhat like when Rephlon and Ignus hit eachother. Proud of her work, Realiti flew home.



    373
    Chanter had to fight the unbelievable headache that tore through his head like a spike. Ever since taking the responsibility of the head of COMPBAD these pains plagued him, but the week he had was so much worse. For years he had tried to get every magical folk in the worlds to join in the council. Finally, he managed to convince the chief sorcerer of Drakhold to leave Rephlon under the oath that Goria will not dare venture so close to where Realiti resided. Yorbec, the only Grot shaman, agreed to join for a promise of five hours of magical sunlight every day. Fortunately, the Simians and Yammu had no prominent magical members. That left him with the Alfar.

    Finally, Mamba's folk agreed to come and speak their terms. The city-folk of the eastern continent came first. Their demands were to be able to listen to the "screams of release" once more, whatever that meant, and a promise that the necromancers of the western continent would not be allowed to join. Unfortunately, the necromancers came later that week, their only requirement wa that the city folk of Mamba's tower will not be allowed on the council. Deciding that this decision was beyond his clearance, Chanter decided to ask for conference with Realiti, for maybe she would know what to do with his problem.


    For nearly 10 years, Realiti hid in the tower of Eliphon in a depression like state. She found herself inching farther and farther away from the other gods, and away from the humans. Upon receiving Chanter's request, she realised she had not seen the wizard in several years. The goddess had done nothing but sit in the tower an waste away. It was somewhat of a comfort that the humans still looked towards their patron but it was not much.

    Anyhow, a conference with Chanter was something that probably wasn't to be ignored. So she decided that before falling deeper into the underworld, before falling deeper into depression, she would hold a conference with Chanter. So she just thought of a pigeon, and suddenly a pigeon flew into her arms. Realiti thought of a message, one of an agreement. A message appeared on the small bird's legs and off it went.

    Several days later.....

    Realiti had spent her time preparing herself for her meeting with Chanter. She had cleaned herself up and used a new creation to view the surrounding planets which seemed to be growing rather well. Yet it did not lift her from the claws of sadness that gripped her heart. Rage boiled underneath this sadness, rage at the gods and these worlds and herself. For despite her efforts, nothing she did could explain what Oblivions last words were. For years it drove her into depression, for she wanted to know the creature that had almost ruined it all. Another part of her rage was Wysdom, she was always inside her head and the peace they seemed to have made inside Wysdoms head did nothing to ease the burden of fighting her back day after day. Small things often evoked sadness and rage in her, for example, the family of simians she had killed. They came to Realiti, begging for help, but she was not some wishing well that could be used at a peasants whim!

    Despite all of this, Realiti decided to meet Chanter. They met where the council held most of their meetings. Dressed appropriately, Realiti soon found herself standing before the expanded COMPBAD council, with a desecsion at hand. Looking sharply at the pained Chanter, she spoke.

    "Speak now Chanter, you do not have much time left."
     
  12. halisme

    halisme Contributor Contributor

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    "God Arzian," the first dragon spoke. He was the military leader of the dragons. "Tell us about Goria, the beast of our kind, and how we can hope to defeat her."
    "God Arzian," the second dragon said, the chief sorcerer of Drakhold. "Tell us about magic, what it is, where it had come from, and why only some of us get that power."
    "God Arzian," the philosopher of dragonkind said. "Tell us about our purpose, about the life beyond, and how we ought to live so that we will please the gods."


    Arzian tilted his head at the first question. "I am no master of the martial arts, despite knowing everyone currently in existence and the ones that are currently forming within the minds of the followers of Khaline and Yurius, and your own. However, the weakness of her is and will be the weakness of your entire kind. Belzian, a creature I created from one of your kind, corrupts the water it swims through, imbuing it some fraction of a fragment of my power. Barely noticeable unless someone was looking for it, or if the creature had till the end of time and swam through every inch of water before it went through the rain cycle. Find what it leaves behind, and either drown Goria within the waters, or evaporate the liquid, collect the dark green powder that remains, and forge it into a covering for your claws. You will find it most useful.

    As for magic, whenever I or the gods move around, we release energy much like Belzian does, each focused on our aspects. When Realiti created the word, it was imbued with some of her power, which was likely absorbed by your kind during your creation. It will be passed down through blood, and you may use this knowledge to breed your next generation to have access to magic, though I would advise against being too stringent with your attempts at doing so. It could reinforce other issues within your blood.

    As for your purpose. This is a complex issue, and I know not if my words can convey what I seek to tell you, so I must do so through analogy. When someone needs to hit a nail into a plank of wood, they make a hammer. It is created with an explicit purpose. Yet what if someone created something by accident? Would imbuing it with a purpose make it a tool? If it was sentient, would enforcing a purpose upon it rob it of it's own ability to chose? I am enslaving you by doing so?" Arzian paused. "Ponder these questions. If you still desire a purpose, you may go to myself or any of the other gods. If you wish to seek your own purpose, then I shall not stop you either. This is your blessing amongst all of the creation. You are truly free to choose. And it is your curse as well."

    And with that, Arzian started to walk away, actually walking, and not simply transforming into his more bestial form. He hoped that the dragon would understand, before finally finding a suitable spot to speak to the others, a simple plain with long grass.
     
  13. Domino355

    Domino355 Senior Member

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    Fun Fact! Grot leaders change each year. At the height of each spring, the tribe gathers around, and the member who has the largest bloom will lead their tribe for the rest of the year
    360 Having been ignored by the goddess, Abel followed Rephlon to a small spring near Goria's mountains.

    "Why did she attack you?" he asked.

    Rephlon cocked his head. Fear was evident in the god's eyes. Winds gathered around him, and clouds began to form in the sky. It would be a stormy autumn.

    "I think she likes you," he added.

    A spark lit in Rephlon's eyes. He looked down at the godly child, who looked back up to him innocently. Rephlon ran back to Khaline's territory, covering ground faster than a tropic storm. And for the second time in the same summer, he tried courting the hunter goddess once more.

    373
    Chanter tried hard to hide his fear, without prevail. After all, any sane creature would tremble before a goddess who can erase their existance with a thought, even more so when she was irritated. With a shaking but measured voice, he explained his dillema concerning the alfar, and the importance of having representatives of all magically gifted in his council.

    375
    Arzian suddenly saw a shadow materialize in front of him. Before his eyes, the shadow became smoke, then the smoke became fire, and soon a pheonix stood before him. It opened its beak, and Eliphon's voice was heard from within it.

    "So, is this where your conference will take place?"

    386
    The first time Yurius came to them, the dragons were too preoccupied to take much interest in what he had to say. Arzian's wordsade a heavy impression upon them, and an entire race left all their occupations for one goal, decode their purpose in the world. Groups of five or six dragons would sit on top the mountains, and spend their days asking each other questions, and try to answer these questions themselves.

    When Yurius came for them the second time, the dragon lords soon realised that events too large were happening in the worlds at the moment, for them to stop and think. An order was goven out, that the dragons should return to their occupations, those they abandoned for eleven years. Smiths returned to their forges, traders renewed their connections with the Hot Mine and Longtooth kingdoms, and the dragon lords sent an envoy to the Outpost, to negotiate an alliance with the Freeswimmers. Their help came mainly through trade of weapons and armour. Dince metal proved to be useless in seawater, the dragons developed new weapons made of volcanic stones. Those dragons who stayed in the mountains were called Philosophers, after Philo, a dragon who became infamous for having spent two years composing a question, and then seven years answering it.

    Gulp VII heard the news of the fall of the outpost with a mixture of rage and fear. His first order was to send Moonwatchers, creatures who would watch Marama's fortress for any change or sign. The last thing he wanted was for the events to awaken the great Glumgburg and incure their wrath.

    An attack was quickly set against the Outpost, which failed miserably. Gulp realised a quick victory would come by harder than he thought. He will have to act wisely next.

    Next, he sent out envoys to all races and kingdoms he knew, for he knew he would need a strong alliance. An alliance was forged with the Hot Mine clan, for whom a strong empire was essential for their survival. The grots of the fire forest refused to take part in the Yammu war.

    Next, he sent scouts and envoys out to the Rephlonian waters, realising that ignoring the place had been a terrible mistake on his part. At first his scouts were all intercepted and killed by the Freeswimmers. Then, in 390, a new type of spies were sent. These Yammu would take teeth of slain Freeswimmers, and sow them into their own mouthes. They were highly devoted, ruthless, and extremely well hidden. Some were found, but most infiltrated Glurgurl's army and Rephlon, beggining to do Gulp's bidding.

    387
    Turkdash, the king of Longtoth was in dillema. As the current controller of the Ring Continent's portal, he was well aware of the going ons on Ignus. A war was emerging, and a realisation came to him that if he would not reap its rewards then another of the rivalling kingdoms would.

    After weighing his options, he came to realise that siding with the Freeswimmers would be his best course of action. Sure the Yammu empire was stronger, and such an action would also alienate him with their allies, the Hot Mine clan, but after one of the most brilliant acts of war he had seen, he was sure that the Freeswimmers had a chance of victory. All they needed was the right allies.

    There were two other reasons for his decision. It would help him secure the alliance of the dragons, who proved to be valuble allies, while quite unreliable. Second, and even more importantly, it could help him win te favor of his god. Turkdash remembered stories his father would tell him, of a time when Durbag was the center to all Simian population, united in their servitude to the great god Yurius. What would he give for such an opportunity again. Emperor Turkdash did have a nice ring to it.

    On the dawn of summer, uear 387, he held a meeting. Glurgurl and his guards, a pair of dragon ambassadors, and Turkdash met on the portal island. There, he called for Yurius, to help with the negotiation of their alliance.
     
  14. gibble410

    gibble410 Contributor Contributor

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    "La Mamba the witch's people? Or necromancers?" Realiti cast a hand out, gesturing to the assembled COMPBAD council. "My vision is clouded when I think of a full magical council unable to make a decision on who to admit to their ranks. Fortunately, I am merciful and I am somewhat glad that I was included in this decision. I knew La Mamba, but I have not seen her since after the attack of Oblivion. So I choose the people of La Mamba, and if the Necromancers choose to challenge this decision then they will not be around much longer."

    "With this out of the way, I request your help Chanter. I am sure some of your wizards including yourself can handle this. I need you to look into Oblivion. I shall grant you passage to the underworld if you accept, and I hope that you can talk to the monster. What was he saying before he was destroyed? If you succeed then I may be able to reward your people. If not, then...." Realiti paused. She needed to stress this decision to the council. She had to make an example, for she was one of the most powerful beings in this universe, she needed to act like it. She needed to do something when she felt powerless or was plagued with feelings of sadness. "Spire. Come to me." Trembling, Spire stood and slowly made her way to kneel before Realiti. "Flyme, Culdron, Marygolden. Come before me as well." She halted Bri and Akwa as they started to stand. "Only them."

    She waited until the four COMPBAD council members were kneeling in front of her. If Chanter and his band of minor magicalities failed, they had to know the consequences. For Realiti should not have to do anything herself. "Die."

    As quick as the word was spoken, the light fell from the wizards and witches eyes. Their robes silently flopped to the floor where their masters lay still. Then Realiti manipulated the emotions and minds of the present beings. From that point forward, they would not feel any sort of resentment for Realiti, or any form of pity or sorrow for the loss of the fallen wizards. It would be like when the humans were not yet created, they were present in some form of reality but not present at all with their senses. Realiti glanced towards Chanter once more, a sinister gleam in her eyes and dead on the floor.
     
  15. MagicPenguin

    MagicPenguin Active Member

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    Year 382, Simple Long Grass Plain

    Seven years and six days after he'd heard Arzian's voice carried in the wind, Yurius approached the plain where the God of Knowledge sat and waited for the others so this conference could start. The only way he'd even known where Arzian was so that he could attend the conference to begin with was that Zokmod had informants who'd seen him waiting throughout the last seven years; he had little idea how the other Gods were supposed to know where to come as Arzian had never actually said explicitly where he would be waiting.

    Flanking him on his left and right were Borin and Zokmod. Zokmod had insisted on coming, telling Yurius that he did not trust Arzian. He knew from his network of spies that, shortly after the battle with Oblivion, Arzian had hidden something at an unknown location on Rephlon and set his water beast to guarding it. He did not know what he hid, nor did he know exactly where, but he'd spent years working with his spies to find out the answers to both questions and he was slowly narrowing down, river by river, ocean by ocean, and lake by lake, the possible location of Arzian's hidden treasure and the beast that guarded it. He was convinced Arzian was hiding something in order to heighten his own power or betray the other Gods at some later date. Ever the suspicious one, Zokmod; Yurius himself was not sure if Arzian was ambitious or interested enough to hatch some convoluted conspiracy against the rest of the universe, but the truth was that he WAS interested in what Arzian had his sea monster guarding so assiduously in secret, so he brought Zokmod along both for the sake of lending his cunning to whatever negotiations were about to take place and also for the sake of working to uncover this mystery.

    Borin was brought for a different reason. As a Spirit of Light freed from Khaline's mental domination, he was immune to further mental attacks such as Wysdom's hallucinations, Arzian's ability to instill madness, or Khaline's attempts to change mindsets and he could heal the effects of those powers inflicted upon others. Yurius was a being of martial power, unrivaled in war, weaponry, and hand to hand combat, but magic and mental attacks were not as straightforward as a simple fight, and so would likely prove to be his biggest weaknesses should the conference go south and fighting erupt. Borin was there primarily to support Yurius and Zokmod against those types of attacks in addition to healing them and fighting himself. As long as he was present and in fighting form, mind control, telepathy, attempts to read their minds or induce hallucinations or madness, or other attempts at mental trickery would not work on Yurius nor on his two companions. He did not expect fighting, but it never hurt to be prepared just in case.

    He approached Arzian and spoke:

    "We meet again, God of Knowledge. I trust you have been well, as you always have been. Tell me, for what reason have you called this meeting? I and my companions have been most eager to learn your purpose here."

    Year 387, Portal Island, Daktylios

    Yurius was eager to begin the negotiations, but there was one more person upon whom they were waiting. Though the Empire of old was long sundered and fractured into many warring kingdoms, Long Tooth had long been able to count on the royalty of Stonebow as staunch allies and supporters; indeed, they would not have been able to hold this island to begin with if not for their support. As such, its current Queen, Jard, was the last participant in the negotiations and the only person for whom they were still waiting before they could begin. Finally, the naval fleet of Stonebow City appeared on the coast of the island and, from the largest of its ships, Queen Jard descended with the Dragonhead Sword of Stonebow Royalty at her hip and a sizeable royal guard at her back and joined the waiting congregation.

    Yurius began:

    "I call this meeting to order. We are here to begin negotiations for an alliance of size and scope the likes of which this universe has never seen before. Together, you three peoples, the Simians of the Cities and the Forests, the Dragons of the Mountains and the Skies, and the Yammu of the Sea and the Waves, represent the oldest, the wisest, the strongest, the most experienced, and the best and the brightest our two oldest planets have to offer. I have no doubt that, with your powers combined, you will fear no enemy, you will suffer no injustice, and you will inspire your societies and others to ever greater heights, harpooning our worlds into a brighter and more magnificent future for all who live upon them, mortal and God alike. With the guiding principles of justice for all, protecting the weak, and equality for the marginalized, I implore you to work together and create a world in which all can seek their own happiness and thrive and prosper in unity and freedom."

    With that, they set to work hammering out the details of the negotiations. Glurgurl and the Yammu asked each race present for their support in the war against the Toothless Yammu. In return, once they were in control of the capital, they pledged their eternal friendship to the others, including exclusive economic trade, military support in any endeavor, and free reign of the seas for the others so long as they acted in peace. They suggested that the members of this proposed alliance would always support one another both economically and militarily, no matter the cost; that was what friends did, after all.

    King Turkdash graciously accepted the alliance, knowing that such exclusive trade, reinforced by his nation's current stranglehold on the portal and consequent trade monopoly, would further ensure his Kingdom's dominance over the others of Daktylios. All he need do was support the Yammu and they, in turn, would support his bid to rebuild the empire. What's more, the Dragons were some of the oldest and most powerful beings in existence; should they buy into the alliance as well and allow Turkdash to count them as official allies, it would bolster his legitimacy and his military might to heights not seen since the Simian Empire as it was at its strongest. The other Kingdoms were already suffering for lack of trade; faced with the military might of four nations, including Stonebow, they would have little choice but to re-join the Empire or die. Soon, all would be as it was in the golden age of the Simian Empire, and his family would rule a unified Rephlon once more.

    Queen Jard, who supported her Long Tooth allies as her grandmother did throughout her long life, agreed with these terms as well; however, she added the stipulation that, should she accept this alliance in the name of her people, Stonebow would obtain exclusive control of the entire Eastern Continent of Athelios. While it would always remain a staunch ally of the Long Tooth Empire, should it reemerge, it would no longer consider itself a mere vassal of the Long Tooth, but its own independent nation that had vassal states of its own and comprised its own continent. Turkdash was not pleased by this prospect, but he saw little alternative but to accept if he were to both retain their current necessary support against the other kingdoms and also gain the support of the other races present. He agreed, reluctantly; however, even if he agreed to this now, he mused while agreeing out loud to Stonebow's independence, it was not the end of his dream of a completely reunified Empire. Queen Jard was still young and unmarried and she was not unattractive. Perhaps, in time, if he could woo her and marry her, their two nations would become one through marriage rather than war and the mighty Simian Empire would be reunified in fact as well as in name.

    The Dragons were less enthusiastic about the alliance. They liked the idea of destroying the hated Gulp Dynasty once and for all, but were not excited by the prospect of supporting these other races in their future military affairs, nor by the idea of trading only with them and cutting out the Spartalios Simians and the Hot Miners, with whom they did a great deal of business. Furthermore, these short lived races changed their minds so quickly and their emotions always ran so hot and fickle; currently they all agreed to join forces because it just so happened it was in all of their best interests, but who knew what would happen in ten or twenty years from now? They might all be at each other's throats by then, as quick to change their minds as they all were.

    In order to sweeten the deal for the Dragons, the other three nations made some concessions. Instead of wholly exclusive trade with only members of the alliance, the alliance would merely require that all four nations only prioritize the other members in trade. The members of this alliance would come first and foremost to the others, but they could still trade with non-members as before otherwise if it did not conflict with alliance trade. Furthermore, they all agreed that the military alliance would not become binding for future endeavors outside of the Yammu War unless two conditions were met: first, the Freeswimmers must win their war against the Toothless. Second, both Hot Mine Simians and Tribal Spartalios Simians must be persuaded to join the alliance as well. If both those conditions were met, only then would the members of the alliance be forced to support one another in future military affairs.

    The Dragons were happier with these terms. They would still obtain the support of the others in destroying the Toothless monsters, but they would not be forced to forego trade altogether with the factions of Simians not included in the negotiations with whom the Dragons had good relations. They would also not be forced to support the others in future military endeavors unless two constantly warring factions of Simians, Khaline's followers on Spartalios and Yurius's followers on Daktylios and Athelios were to make peace, a wholly unrealistic prospect, seemingly rendering that part of the alliance effectively irrelevant. It almost seemed too good to be true for the Dragons. On the downside, there was still the possibility that they might be forced to involve themselves at some point in the distant future in the affairs of beings they considered overly emotional and too quick to fight, and they would still lose some trade with former partners not in the alliance who would have to take lesser priority. All considered, though, the ambassadors thought this might be the best possible agreement for them.

    Turkdash smiled mischievously to himself as the Dragons confided with one another about the agreement. The condition for Khaline's followers to join the alliance was his idea. As he watched them confer, he almost felt as if he could read their thoughts: Khaline's and Yurius's Simians will never make peace, so what have we to fear of providing future military support if that is a necessary condition? What they did not realize, and what Turkdash counted on them not realizing until it was too late, was that this condition was a trick, an illusion wrought by creative semantics. It most explicitly did NOT say that ALL of the Spartalios Simians that worshiped Khaline must join the alliance. Only that some unspecified "Simians of the tribes of Spartalios" must join. It was a very subtle difference and not easily noticed by the untrained eye, but what this meant, in practice, was that as long as they could get at least ONE tribe or even PART of one tribe to join the alliance in addition to Hot Mine, that condition would be fulfilled as it was written; the fine print did not require every single tribe to join, nor every single member of even one tribe or every single member of the Hot Mine Clan, despite what the Dragons might currently believe. Turkdash knew little of the politics among Khaline's tribes, but he DID know that the Mountain Tribe was the only Spartalios Simian tribe that traded at length with the other species of the planets; the other tribes all got their off-continent trade goods through them. Consequently, that tribe in particular stood to lose a great deal in monetary wealth, political power among the other tribes, and international influence among all the other species of the planets if their trade was cut off by this alliance when the others were forced to prioritize other trading partners over them. As such, Turkdash suspected, no matter what god or goddess they worshiped or hated, practical affairs would win out over religious and they would quickly agree to join the alliance if only to maintain their economic and political dominance on Spartalios.

    Queen Jard and her advisors were the only others who appeared to notice the wordplay, but she did not say anything since the military alliance with Dragons would be as beneficial to her people as it was to King Turkdash and his. She even sort of admired his guile at introducing such a sly sleight of hand. Such games of semantics were commonplace in the everyday affairs of the royal court, so it was rather easy for her to spot the fact that "Simians of the tribes of Spartalios" did not necessarily mean ALL tribes or even all members of ONE tribe, even if she was not as proficient as her grandmother had been at such things. The Dragons rarely treated with other species, so they were comparatively naive to such political tricks and much more unlikely to catch it before they signed the treaty.

    In the end, the conditions of the alliance were formally written out in the form of a treaty as such:

    -Let the signees of this treaty become a part of the alliance henceforth known as the Brothers of the Sky, Ocean, Mountain and Forest, or the BOSOMOF Alliance.

    -All parties who sign are in agreement to support each other militarily until the end of the Yammu War, whether the Freeswimmers win or lose.

    -Whether the Freeswimmers face victory or defeat, all parties will henceforth share eternal friendship and fraternity; they will trade goods with each other before any other nation and they will forever share the ideals of freedom and equality for all people, defense of the weak and defenseless, and the ever forward progress of all sentient beings in existence from now until the end of time.

    -If the Freeswimmers win the Yammu War and not before then, all members of the BOSOMOF alliance will hold, once a month, a United Council where they will deal with issues concerning individual member nations or issues concerning all member nations. Each nation will choose two ambassadors to represent them and their country's interests for a starting total of eight ambassadors, to be increased with the addition of new members; both ambassadors need not agree to vote the same way all the time. Proclamations made by the United Council will be enacted by majority vote of all ambassadors and binding to the governments and people of all member nations. In the event of a tied vote, the proclamation will be postponed until the next session, where it will be voted upon again, and if tied again it will be postponed and voted upon until a consensus is reached. The location where the United Council is held will change with each session: it will alternate between waterfronts on Portal Island, the Harbor District of Stonebow City, the beaches of the Ignus Sea nearest the Drakhold, the beaches of the Northern Rephlonian Ocean, and the beaches nearest the Yammu Capital on Ignus. More locations can be added as necessary to represent any nation that signs the treaty and joins BOSOMOF after its initial introduction.

    -Let it be known by all parties that sign this treaty that, should the Freeswimmers win control of the Yammu Empire and should Simians of the Hot Mine Clan and Simians of the tribes of Spartalios at some future juncture ever join the BOSOMOF Alliance, all members of the alliance will thereafter support their Brothers in military affairs: An enemy of one will be the enemy of all. An attack upon one will be an attack upon all.

    Signed,
    King Turkdash of Long Tooth Forest
    Queen Jard of Stonebow City
    Glurgurl of the Freeswimming Yammu

    All the present parties had signed the treaty except for the Dragons. Now all the others looked with mounting anticipation to the Dragon Ambassadors as they read the treaty to see if they would sign as well...
     
    Last edited: Apr 20, 2017
  16. halisme

    halisme Contributor Contributor

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    "The reason for us being here is to explain how we are here. How we, as entities come into being. If someone else were in my position, they might speak of this in a reverant tone, but that is not my role, nor do I know how to apply the true gravity of the situation to the explanation. So, I shall not." He stated, before looking around. "In the beginning, there was a nothing, but, oblivion." He began, drawing his book from within himself, and opening the first page. "It was the end of another cycle, and one before that, and one before that, and so on to the infinite, and he shall be the end of this cycle, and the one beyond that." As he spoke, an image that seemed to float in the air above his book, a humanoid made of darkness, though that was not accurate, for Arzian's book could not portray the nothingness that composed the being. "But it had nothing to consume, so it receded, and the material was formed."

    At that moment, the entity faded away, and a series of flashing lights filled the space that had once existed one, then another, then another. "With the material, came reality." And the lights seemed to move forming into one. "This, or the idea of it, formed the basis of the goddess Realiti. However, with that, the material began to decay, to fall apart." He stated, now looking to Eliphon. "And so he was born. When they had perception of each other, they had knowledge of each other, for what is knowledge but perception of reality. Each of these is what we call an aspect, a concept, be it material or abstract, and forms a core of us. What determines the strength of a core is beyond me, though I know not all of them are cable of sustaining sentence by themselves, hence why they join together, and we have multiple aspects." With that, the book snapped shut.

    "That thing that we fought, that was a small part of the being that is to come. I took away part of its power, cut through it guts to claim it and hide it, and none but me and its keeper shall know where it is."
     
  17. Domino355

    Domino355 Senior Member

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    373 Chanter understood the goddess. Fear filled him, both at the task ahead, and at the sudden realisation of his fragile mortality. He drew a circle on the ground, and then he, his apprentice, and two younger wizards entered the circle.

    He sat down, cross legged, and began chanting (no pun intended). The trasportation was swift and uneventful, and soon they found themselves in a land which was as different from their home world as it was similar. The underworld changed since Oblivion's attack. It had grown, and new lands began scattering here and there, mirroring the new worlds now being created. But it had the same chaotic atmosphere that ruled back then. The place needed somebody to impose order there, and sooner rather than later.

    Chanter pointed towards a tall tower, which loomed over them. "That is Eliphon's tower," he said. "I suggest we begin pur search there."

    Messengers were sent to both Marama's Alfar and the nectomancers of Spartalios. The necromancers returned no answer, but for a skull shaped brand on the messenger's face. The Alfar of Athelios reminded COMPBAD of their second term, that they should hear the "Screams of Release" before joining.

    382 Arzian's voice carried through the winds all across the worlds, though inly the gids managed to understand his words' meaning and soon gods began showing up, gathering around the god of knowledge. First to arrive was Ignus, who looked annoyed at the fact her brother would not be able to appear. Then Tesni, coming from inside a cave. Abel arrived, sitting on one of the rocks, a curious look on his face. The youngest of the gods has grown since they had last seen him, and was now as tall as Yurius, and a small imprint of a beard appeared on his face. But his eyes were still young and innocent. Jojo fluttered and sat on Arzian's shoulder, and he looked around bored, not really paying attention to what was being said. Finally, a ray of moonlight shone across the field, and the grumbling and sleepy Marama came down with it.

    The pheonix fluttered away and disappeared in a burst of flame. When the smoke cleared Eliphon stood there, smiling beneath his mask. The god described the nature of the world quite well, though not perfectly, and that made quite a difference.

    "Fellow gods," he began. "The state of the Underworld troubles me. There is no order there, the spirits of the dead drift around purposelessly. I care not about this, only that it interrupts me in my ever watchful state looking for Oblivion. So if any would like to help solve this problem, I would be grateful. Plus it would allow you to care for those mortals who you worry for."

    387
    After a long consideration, for nobody could rush a dragon, the Lords of Drakhold signed the BOSOMOF treaty. Unbeknownst to the signing sides, however, spies of both the Yammu Empire and many of the free kingdoms of the Daktylios were present there.

    Many of the rulers of those kingdoms saw the new alliance with fear. This new force would rule both the seas, as well as control two portals. The Seamen alliance, who were the most sea capable Simians in Rephlon were greatly troubled by this new turn of events, as they depended on the ocean most of all. Knowing that an outright war would be suicidal, they began sending strings of secret messengers and spies to all the kingdoms of Dakytos. They deepened their trade connections, sending ships as far as Athelios and Spartalios and sent aid to many areas that had fallen to anarchy after Oblivion. Within five years their alliance numbered over thirty small kingdoms and city states, and a new colony was created in Arbiter's Meadow, through which more messengers were sent to the Hot Mine Clan.

    388
    Like Gulp feared, the new turbulance at sea woke Marama. At first they merely wanted to cleanse the sea of all life and return to sleep, but the little restraint they had told them to wait and watch for a while, to assess the situation.

    The situation enraged them. While the Yammu treatment of their Toothed brethen was unnecessarily cruel, Marama could not forget that they were the Yammu who refused to submit to them. Their arrogance was admirable, but also enraging.

    But once their anger subsided, Marama realised that siding with their subjects would also mean battling the dragons, Tesni's devoted followers. The last thing Marama wanted was for Tesni to be angry at them again. They'd have to llay it wisely.

    Khaline was walking through her lands, when a ray of moonlight shone over her. Through the light she, and only she, could hear Marama's voice.

    "Khaline, I belive you know me as Marama, ruler of the moon and ocean. I have a proposition for you, one which I am sure you'll find hard to refuse. I believe you know of my people, the Toothless Yammu, fierce hunters of the oceans. They have been fighting for centuries against those of their king who refused to bow to me. And now Yurius has taken their side. If the Taathed Yammu were to lose the war, I believe that would greatly humiliate him, and put me and the Yammu Empire in your debt. I suggest you enter the war as well. There are many powerful hunters in the waters, whose ferocity and power dwarfs that of your landlocked beasts. Come to the ocean, create a menagerie in the sea a well, and crush those weaklings, who believe that aligning with Yurius would save them. Oh and," they winked. "I have never spoken to you."

    The last thing Marama did was effect the ocean, tides and winds, only so subtly, so not to draw any god's attention. These changes made all the difference it took, and the Yammu empire won all their skirmishes with the Freeswimmers that year, killing one thousand warriors.
     
    Last edited: May 4, 2017
  18. gibble410

    gibble410 Contributor Contributor

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    373

    When Chanter disappeared, Realiti cast the bodies of Flyme, Spire, Culdron, and Marygolden into the abyss of the underworld. They would be lost forever. Raising her voice, she addressed the remaining members. "This council has expanded, far past properties, beings, and dimensions. Therefore it needs a new name. While this name does not fully sum up the extent of your powers and members, it shall give the idea. That is what we are looking for, my friends. You are now members of the Council Of Non-magic, Taboo, Alchemy, Magic, Inchantments, Natural power, Astrology, Time, Encantations, and Divination. Or if you still remain tied to COMPBAD, I have another acronym for you, CONTAMINATED. Send word when Chanter gets back."

    With a flash of light so bright it would blind all present for several hours, Realit teleported to Eliphons tower. Or where it stood. She stood there looking at the sky, trying to feel better.

    375

    A small fire crackled merrily, burning above the ground. Realiti was huddled close to it, although the warmth did nothing to help her. She had taken up hunting as a sport to keep herself entertained. This day she caught a deer, and under the sun she was cooking it. As it was about finished, a breeze blew by carrying Arzian's message. That god, like the rest, were ridiculous. Calling upon her only when they had use of her powers. Slightly angered and deeply depressed is the state Realiti flew as she headed to the meeting place of Th conference CE. It had taken her a while to find the remains of her human-creator coin. She would need it today, for she had plans. So she then arrived, somewhat late.

    Before she landed Realiti surveyed the scene below her. Abel was there, and her heart lept. Not as far as it once did. Other gods were there, although Realiti did not care for them. She descended down, next to Ignus and silently looked towards Azrian.

    When he finished, she let out a loud scoff. "Jester, you gather us here for this nonsense? What be it to us how we were created? So you took some of the creature's power, it will return and one day kill us. We can fight, sure, but now what is the point?"
     
    Last edited: Apr 26, 2017
  19. MagicPenguin

    MagicPenguin Active Member

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    Year 382, Gods' Conference

    Yurius listened to Arzian with interest. He was intrigued.

    “This is all fascinating, sir, but tell me...why do you feel it so important to inform us all of it now, after so long? Why go to the trouble of gathering us all just to tell us such things? Is there some immediate importance to this information that we all ought to know about?”

    Zokmod piped up beside him: “I would also ask, Lord of Madness, why you set your beast to guarding the remains of Oblivion and why you feel it so important that none but you know their location. That is an awful lot of power for one person to have, God or no, and I do not see why we should trust you to act wisely with it without any input from the rest of us. Come to think of it, you did the same thing with the gems in the Temple, didn't you? You take and you hide far too many powerful objects that can be used to great effect against the rest of us and you do it all in secrecy, as if you plot against us. I do not like it.”

    Borin, on Yurius's other side, simply looked bored. This meeting was all talk and no action. He wanted to DO something already. He started looking from God to God, pitting them against each other in battles to the death within his own imagination based on what little he knew of each of their abilities. Eventually, he grew bored of that too; he tapped Abel on the shoulder and, when he had the boy's attention, started making funny faces at the other Gods while they were not looking. When they turned to look at him, he ceased immediately, attempting to look as innocent as possible. When they turned back around, he started mocking them behind their backs again. He laughed silently to himself while the others spoke of serious matters and looked to see if Abel shared his amusement with his childish antics.



    Year 387



    After the treaty was signed and ratified by all member nations present, King Turkdash and Queen Jard wasted no time in sending messengers to unaffiliated groups of Simians in hopes of getting them to join the alliance as well. Queen Jard, now head of an independent nation of her own, sent messengers and negotiators to Kingdoms currently independent from the Long Tooth Empire; it was hoped that, now that Stonebow was no longer part of the Empire, the other nations with enmities toward Long Tooth would be more willing to negotiate with them. She also sent messengers to the seafaring Simians of the growing Seaman Nations of Southern Daktylios inviting them to become a part of the BOSOMOF Alliance, outlining the economic and military benefits of doing so. She also sent envoys to the Alfar of both Athelios and Spartalios as well as to the Grots of both planets and the humans of COMPBAD (or "CONTAMINATED," as they were now calling themselves). All races were welcomed to join this interplanetary, inter-species experiment in cooperation. After long negotiations, Jard hoped, BOSOMOF would grow ever larger and more prosperous and the peoples of all nations and races would be better off for it. She envisioned a world where, instead of war, nations were able to work out their issues diplomatically with help from other members of the alliance. Idealistic, impossibly so, she knew, but it was a dream worth fighting for.

    King Turkdash was no less busy attempting to grow the new alliance. He practically salivated at the thought of the military power he would possess once the alliance was solidified. The Empire come again! What a glorious day that would be. The focus of his negotiations were the Mountain Trading Tribes of Spartalios. Yurius was nominally and superficially the official God of worship in Long Tooth Forest, but everyone knew that the Long Tooth Simians were less pious and more practical than their Stonebow brethren, who truly exemplified service and worship of Yurius and his way of thinking. Turkdash hoped that, since his was not as devout or strict a follower of Yurius as Jard's nation, the Khaline Worshipping mountain men would be more inclined to treat with him. Negotiators were sent via ship to the Southern Spartalios Mountains where the trading tribes made their homes. The terms of the alliance were explained to their tribal elders in detail: from now on, Dragons, Yammu, and BOSOMOF allied Simians would not be trading as frequently or as plentifully as they once had with non-member nations. Prices would go up. Supply would go down. With loss of trade, the Mountain Tribes' influence would dwindle on Spartalios and they would soon sink into irrelevance and be swallowed by the other, more powerful Spartalios tribes. All this was likely to happen, the negotiators explained on Turkdash's behalf, unless the Mountain Tribe joined the BOSOMOF Alliance as well. If they did, they would still receive trade goods and services as before, which they could continue to sell and trade to the other tribes for wealth and power and influence as they had already been doing for years. In addition, they also would receive military and socio-economic support from other member nations of the Alliance, including Dragons. They would immediately become, without rival, the strongest tribe on Spartalios for their ability to call on other nations for soldiers and equipment. Power, wealth, and influence beyond compare, the whole of Spartalios, was theirs for the taking, if only they would sign the treaty. The negotiators made their case as well as they could and left to let the tribal leaders consider their options. Only time would tell if they would see reason and join, Turkdash supposed.

    The other, equally important task Turkdash had undertaken was to try and persuade the Hot Mine Clan to join the Alliance. They allied themselves with the Toothless only because they saw that that faction had more power and influence currently than the Freeswimmers. They had no particular ideological common ground with the Yammu Empire; their reasons were entirely economical and self-interested. It stood to reason, then, that if Turkdash could convince them that the Yammu would not only win the war, but be more willing to trade at fairer prices than the current rulers when they did, they could be persuaded to betray the Empire and join BOSOMOF as well. For this task, his negotiators and Glurgurl's worked in cooperation and went together to the oceans near the home of the Hot Mine Clan to ask for parley so they could speak about matters of mutual interest. To convince them of their power and reassure them that they could win, Glurgurl's men spoke at length of the massive fortress they'd taken and the details of the battle that led to it. They also talked at length about the great quantity of weapons they'd found in the fortress as well as the ever growing supply of new weapons and armor they were receiving from the Dragons of Drakhold. Their power was growing steadily; the Empire would not win the war, they assured the Hot Miners. In fact, betting on the current Empire was more likely to put Hot Mine's future in jeopardy than betting on the Freeswimmers, they argued, because the new military and economic alliance made them so much more likely to win.

    To further sweeten the deal, the negotiators promised that, when the Freeswimmers gained control of the Empire, they would lower trade tariffs, offer better goods, and lower prices for everything they sold compared to what the current Empire was offering. It was a very tempting offer for the Hot Mine Clan, which was primarily concerned with having a strong partner to do good business with so that they could continue to thrive on harsh Ignus.

    As he waited for responses from both the Spartalios traders and the Hot Mine traders as to whether they would sign the treaty and join the alliance, Turkdash could hardly contain his excitement. Once they both joined, the Dragons would be bound by the treaty to join his military campaign to bring the rebel Kingdoms back into the Empire's fold once more. Victory was so close, he could almost taste it...



    Year 389, Arbiter's Meadow



    While the Simians and Freeswimmers tried to expand BOSOMOF, Yurius himself did not remain idle either. There was a lull in the fighting as both sides tried to make their partnerships and rally their troops for the coming battle. Unfortunately, however, what fighting had occurred in year 388 had gone against the Freeswimmers. Casualties were minimal and there really weren't any major battles to speak of, but they had been losing skirmishes left and right. Freeswimmer ranks swelled with previously free-roaming Toothed Yammu after the Outpost victory, but now three years later, new recruits had slowed to a trickle. They could sit in their new fortress for years, but they would only grow weaker if they did: prospective BOSOMOF members, the Hot Miners and the Spartalios Mountain Men in particular, would see their inactivity as a sign of weakness and be dissuaded from joining. They needed another decisive victory, and soon. To that end, at Yurius's urging, Glurgurl was consulting with the Winged Dragonlord in charge of military affairs, the Dragon General who'd asked a question of Arzian himself. Dragon battleships had proven ineffective in the past because they were not fast enough nor agile enough to keep up with Yammu, let alone attack them; but what if, Glurgurl proposed, the ships attacked in unison with an army of Freeswimmers as support? The Dragon General's interest was piqued. They began plotting a combined attack. Hopefully, they would soon have another victory under their belt with which to entice other races and nations to join BOSOMOF.

    There was another problem Yurius had learned about from Zokmod's spy network. Marama was no longer sitting idly by.

    “They thinks they're being subtle,” Zokmod said, “but their actions are as easy to read for my spies as a book for a librarian. They've been manipulating the ocean currents and winds so the fighting goes against the Freeswimmers. They've also had a meeting with Khaline asking for her help. No telling what that unpredictable woman is going to do, of course, but we should be ready for anything. As far as I know, Marama is not aware that we know anything of their actions. Best we keep it that way until the time is right to strike, if you ask me.”

    The Yammu were doing tremendously fighting for their freedom; Yurius told them he would not field any troops to help them in their war against the Empire, and that was true. It would be easy to do, but it would prove nothing if Yurius won their Empire for them. They would have to write their own history if they wanted it to mean anything, as the Long Tooth Simians did before them. Marama, however, was a completely different affair. They was a divine being of tremendous power with no reservations at all about interfering in the affairs of mortals simply to stroke their own ego. The Yammu yearned for the right to make their own choices, their own societies, as the other races had been free to do, and Marama, for some reason, was against that. Yurius would do everything in his power to ensure they did not undermine the Yammu plight for justice, freedom, and equality. It was time to rally the Immortal Legions. He instructed Zokmod to continue monitoring Marama's activities. He next summoned Borin.

    “Old friend, I need you to be ready. Marama has decided to interfere in the Yammu war to serve their own interests. We are going to counteract them. We will do our utmost to let the fighting in the Yammu War play out on its own: the mortals should decide the course of their own fates with no interference from the divine. Any immortals who wish to participate, however, are fair game. Do whatever you must to keep them from harming the Freeswimmers. Use whatever resources the Immortal Legions has to offer in order to fight off Godly or Spiritual interference of any kind. Khaline may become involved as well. Be alert.”

    Borin got to work. He commanded all naval units of Ocean, River, Rain, and Lake Spirits to deploy to the Ignus Ocean. They were to counteract Marama's effects on the water and wind currents. They were to do their utmost not to confront the God directly, however, nor even let Marama know they were present and active if they could help it. Simply fix the wind and water in stealth where they breaks them and then disperse before they understands how it happened. The Immortal Legions Navy got to work.

    Next, Borin organized all the Light and Dark Spirits in the Legions into smaller groups. They alone had the ability to counter Khaline's essence-warping magic. Should she try and influence the underwater creatures or the Yammu or the Ocean Spirits as she had done so long ago with the Simians and Nature Spirits, they would act immediately to heal the affected creatures' minds of her influence and give them their free wills back. As with the Ocean Spirits, Borin instructed them not to confront Khaline directly. Just counteract her efforts to affect the wildlife and the Yammu and otherwise remain unseen. The Light and Dark units deployed to the oceans and remained on alert, waiting for any sign of Khaline's corrupt influence upon the ocean so they could undo it at once. It was unclear yet whether the Nature Goddess would even take interest in what was happening underwater, but the Legions were ready if she did.

    Borin guessed that there would be no need to bring the entire army out in force, but he kept them rallied at attention in the barracks at the Arbiter's Meadow so they would be ready to march into one of Yurius's portals at a moment's notice. It was a massive force, millions of spirits of varying alignments and abilities, grown even more massive in the years since the Oblivion attack. If Marama or Khaline decided to attack all-out in force, Yurius and Borin would be ready for them with an army of greater size and power than the combined might of every mortal army on both planets. Hopefully it would not come to that, Yurius thought as he saluted the orderly ranks of spiritual soldiers, but one must always be prepared when dealing with Gods who refused to respect their responsibilities and instead acted like spoiled, petulant children.

    Yurius's last pre-emptive action against Marama after rallying his armed forces was to tie a message to a fox, as he had done centuries ago, to get Tesni's attention. Was she aware that Marama was acting against her Dragons? If she was not already, Yurius intended to make sure she became so very quickly. “Watch your sibling,” the message said. “They works to destroy your Children of Fire and their allies. Yurius.”
     
    Last edited: Apr 27, 2017
  20. halisme

    halisme Contributor Contributor

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    “This is all fascinating, sir, but tell me...why do you feel it so important to inform us all of it now, after so long? Why go to the trouble of gathering us all just to tell us such things? Is there some immediate importance to this information that we all ought to know about?”

    "I say this because two issues are currently happening which I will class as unexplored territory. The first is with Khaline, the fact that one of her aspects, the very foundation of her, is changing, and I know not what will happen to her." He stated. "And the fact she has not arrived suggests that she wants nothing to do with us." He stated, before glancing around to the others, before looking to Abel. "And the second is that one. I know not what powers it has or my gain. I say this now so that you are aware that it is not made in the way the rest of us are made and must be approached with caution."

    "I would also ask, Lord of Madness, why you set your beast to guarding the remains of Oblivion and why you feel it so important that none but you know their location. That is an awful lot of power for one person to have, God or no, and I do not see why we should trust you to act wisely with it without any input from the rest of us. Come to think of it, you did the same thing with the gems in the Temple, didn't you? You take and you hide far too many powerful objects that can be used to great effect against the rest of us and you do it all in secrecy as if you plot against us. I do not like it.”

    "I do not like the thought of anyone else touching it, or even knowing of its place. If Eliphon takes it, then his own ability to wither things to nothing will further empower it, create a cycle whereby he can make himself more powerful by destroying everything else. If Realiti takes it, the holding of creation and lack of creation would likely coflict within her, affecting both in ways I cannot foresee. Your master and Khaline seem to be fighting, and I will not give either of them it so they can fight. I am the only one here with no current enemies, and, unless a god of stupidity appears at some point in the future, will likely never gain one. Furthermore, you, nor anyone else, have a say in what I do. The stones were forged of the energy we naturally give off, my own included, and they too shall be hidden away from the world. Anyone else have any intelligent questions, "and for a moment, he eyed Realiti, "and any reason why I was called a jester?"

    Year 388

    Selvestine, Matriarch of the Tormun Valley, and a member of the Chilledbone council looked over her colleagues, the others all sat around the large fire pit inside the cave. "Eight thousand dead along the east coast, twice as many inland, and half the amount on the far side. The Bleeding Wound suffered less. The Woods kept them safe, and they say the proximity to the goddess deterred the spirits. The Peak Gate used their bronze, and great halls carved into the mountain side to keep them safe. Our conncontions sent our warriors into a berserker rage, letting them drive the spirits off, but not with the ease of our kin."

    "We sit here counting bodies," Clendta spoke, the eldest of the group. "Instead of seeking vengeance for what has happened to us. I lost four sons and two daughters in their attacks. And I shall be compensated for this. We must travel across the sea, and."

    "No." A third stated, one of the youngest of the group named Ishta. "We do not cross the sea. Not to seek blood, though we shall seek compensation."

    The woman would continue speaking for some time, laying out a grand plan for them to follow, and that no other would know of. Whatever loss seemed almost uncounted for, as the corpses were raised to till the fields that came about in summer, and in winter taking snow and gathering fish. Day in, day out, the workers no longer required sleep. With this, the necromancers were capable of furthering their studies, refining their craft of potions.

    -------------------

    "Khaline, I belive you know me as Marama, ruler of the moon and ocean. I have a proposition for you, one which I am sure you'll find hard to refuse. I believe you know of my people, the Toothless Yammu, fierce hunters of the oceans. They have been fighting for centuries against those of their king who refused to bow to me. And now Yurius has taken their side. If the Taathed Yammu were to lose the war, I believe that would greatly humiliate him, and put me and the Yammu Empire in your debt. I suggest you enter the war as well. There are many powerful hunters in the waters, whose ferocity and power dwarfs that of your landlocked beasts. Come to the ocean, create a menagerie in the sea a well, and crush those weaklings, who believe that aligning with Yurius would save them. Oh and," they winked. "I have never spoken to you."

    The goddess was at first offended by the words, the fact that someone would speak so brazenly to her angered her for a moment before she accepted his words. She mounted her lizard, and rode south, not bothering to gather a war host. A pack of wolves would not expand their territory when needing to lick their wounds. The thing that Yurius, and perhaps the other gods not understand, was that everything done was natural, that Yurius was not the god of anything notable, but of pretention in her mind. Justice was self-preservation. Honour ensured collaboration.

    The only thing she did take with her was half of her shamans, those infused with the spirits who now held a mastery similair to her own. They would be her agents, learning the way of the land, and influencing the beasts of the world to make them stronger, more abhle to defend themselves from both sides of the conflict. Ignus had been much too peaceful without her influence, the beasts living in harmony instead of competition. That would change, and with her presence both predator and prey began to swell, making it much, much more difficult for both sides to supply themselves.
     
    Last edited: May 5, 2017
  21. Domino355

    Domino355 Senior Member

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    Fun Fact! Underwear has been worn by the Simians since the year 213, around the time dresses and pants were beggining to become popular. The traditional Simian underware covers the groin area only, while the northmost Spartalios tribes preffer a tight leather suit that covers both the legs and torso beneath the fur hides. It has been copied by the Alfar, who preffer to cover make theirs out of silk, and the non magical humans. The wizards however, believe that in order to attune their body to the magical enegies, they must have as little interferance with it as possible. For that reason they wear nothing at all beneath their clothes. The Hot Mine simians, whose women are infamous for bearing the largest breasts of all intelligent creatures, developed around the years 300-350 a complex piece of clothing, which helps support their chests. Finally the grots, while wearing no clothes, have been known to purposely grow branches and leaves across their groins making it appear as if the wear green, puffy skirts. The other races find that hilarious.

    373
    Eliphon approached the mortal wizards, who fell to thier knees at once in awe.

    "Your search here is futile, "Eliphon said. "Oblivion is not here, at the moment. If you wish to seek him, then I'd suggest turning to the god of knowledge, I believe you know his name, don't you?"

    Then the god turned his head to Chanter. He did not usualy care for mortals, but this one filled him with pity. The man had a tough fate ahead of him.

    "Beware, Chanter Firstborn," he said. "Your kind tends to curruption at the taste of power, and I can see great power in your future."

    382
    Abel was greatly amused by Borin's tactics. He decided to playas well. Taking out a small coin of Stonebow, he placed it on Borin's palm. Then he closed the Spirit's hand, and tapped on it once. Borin opened his empty hand, and the coin rolled out of his mouth.

    Eliphon listened to the god's argument halfheartedly. These fellows were like children, squabbling over nonesense. They all seemed to ignore his request at the state of the underworld, which surprised him. So jealousy and pettyness were still weaknesses to him. What Arzian said of his son, however, angered him greatly. He stepped forward.

    "My child is different for he was created differently. He wasn't created with his purpose fixed to him, like all of you. He was birthed, much like a mortal, and thus must grow into his power and aspects. That is why you do not know of his purpose. Now if any of you do not wish to come and sort the Underworld out, then I think this meeting has reached its conclusion."

    He disappeared back down. The pheonix, however remained hidden nearby, in case there was anything else interesting to be said.

    390
    King Gulp noticed the gathering of a dragon and Freeswimmer army, and he was concerned. The memory of the outpost crisis was still fresh in his mind, and while he had won every battle fought in the past year, he was losing the war. Apart from the Hot Mine he had no solid allies, while the BOSOMOF alliance was only growing in strength and power. The Seaman were reluctant to join him, and their continuous flirting with both his messengers and Glurgurl's meant they were not reliable allies, not in the long run. And if the situation continued going the direction it did then he would lose the Hot Mine as well.

    The answer was the portal, he knew. His spies told him that the Toothed Yammu gathered at the northern end of Dakytos. That meant that they could only spare so many warriors guarding the portal. A fortress was under construction there, but it would take some time to finish construction.

    An army of seventy thousand gathered, and began their swim towards the Outpost. They were spotted far too soon, and by the time the Toothless army arrived it was garrisoned with thirty thousand Freeswimmers, fifty dragon ships, and Glurgurl himself swam from Rephlon to protect the fort.

    For three weeks the Toothless army attacked, and for three weeks they were repelled. What the defenders didn't see, however, was how the Empire's numbers were dropping far quicker than their casualties and wounded. They simply lay back and waited for the other attack. In three week time forty eight thousand attackers remained.

    The other twenty two thousand left in small numbers, via underwater tunnels, to a large cave near the fortress. And on the twenty second day, they attacked.

    At first the portal's defenders held. Their fortifications were sturdy and their warriors fierce. But then the Empire let out their secret weapon, the Dragon Knights.

    For several years the Yammu bred the dragon Belzian with sea serpents, until Arzian took it from them. Its spawn, while having animal level intelligence, were large, serpentine, and could breath steam from their mouths. And with Khaline wandering their planet, these creatures were even larger and more deadly than before.

    The knights' attacks forced the portal's defenders down behind their covers, allowing the main army to advance. Soon enough the army broke the portal's defences, and the battle was won.

    While most of the Toothed Yammu perished in the battle, the survivors were subdued and held down. Then, before their eyes, King Gulp himself swam in the middle.

    "Let me tell you a story," he began. "That was told to me by my father, and his father before him. When the world was new, our kind ruled the seas. We were feroucious then, our teeth made us superior, but also prideful. Because of our insolence, Glumgburg came down, and came with a proposition. We would give them our teeth, and in return rule the seas in their name. But your ancestors broke the pact, and from that day on endangered our entire people. For if we did not truly belong to Glumgburg, then they will destroy us all.
    "But I am willing to forgive all that. Give up your teeth, join our great empire under Glumgburg the great, and you will be spared. You will be honored, just like any citizen in the Empire that spans all seas. Join us, and be free."

    One by one the Yammu were given the choice. Most of the hostages refused, and were killed horribly, while the others watched. And then Gulp moved on. By the time he reached the last, five hundred former Freeswimmers gave up their teeth, and joined his rank. To them Gulp said, "Swim, brothers and sisters. Tell your fellows of my offer. That any Yammu may join his kin, by simply giving his teeth to the mighty Glumgburg. Swim and tell my message."

    Marama saw that happening from the moon with satisfaction. Suddenly a blaze of light appeared behind her, and the surface of the moon's temprature rose.

    "Dear sister," Marama said, without turning around. "To what do I owe the pleasure."

    391
    A month after securing the portal, Gulp and Horden, Seaman representative, stood on one of the shores of the southern islands, and formed a military alliance. Planning of a trade route began, one which would use the Yammu Empire to transfer goods to and from Ignus, bypassing any need for the Dakytos portal at the continent's center.

    Five days later, Khaline found that her spear was missing. Three days after that, and Yurius's hammer was gone as well.
     
    Last edited: May 5, 2017
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  22. gibble410

    gibble410 Contributor Contributor

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    "You are a jester Azrian, for you are a fool. Calling us here for nothing but the worries of a bird? I am one who does not have time for this." So Realiti rose into the air and off into space, leaving Rephlon behind. She would never visit Rephlon again. Nor would she ever see Rephlon. Flying through space, she neared Fring. The people currently inhabiting Rephlon or Ignus would not care for this planet, but it was not the reason she chose this planet.

    Her robes whipping around her in the vacuum of space, Realiti held a hand out towards Fring. When she closed her fist the world of Fring exploded into a shower of light and earth. Frang, the god of Fring died within seconds and where Fring lay before was a portal. This portal was a tear in the universe, and since Realiti had enough with this universe, she immediately flew through. The second Cayley flew through, the spirit and power of Realiti was stripped from her bones. It flew to the nearest life form available.

    As Cayley disappeared and the portal closed, Wysdom was thrown with such force away that she smashed directly into the surface or Parla creating a parting of sand.
     
  23. MagicPenguin

    MagicPenguin Active Member

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    Year 382, Conference:



    “Forgive me, Lord Eliphon, it was not my intention to ignore you. What solutions did you have in mind for the underworld, if any? How bad is this problem and how do you think it can be solved” asked Yurius in the direction of Eliphon's Phoenix, which he could sense was still nearby even if he could not see where. He was presumably still listening to the meeting through it.

    Zokmod could see arguing with Arzian would get nowhere. He appealed to the other Gods still present instead, hoping he could convince them that Arzian should not be allowed to consolidate so much power in secret. Even if Arzian himself might not use it dishonorably (though Zokmod still was not sure about that), what sort of precedent did it set? The next God who decided to hoard all the crystals and Oblivion's remains might not be so unwilling to use them for his or her own ends. “What we ought to be thinking about is how to safely destroy Oblivion's remains, not who gets to hide them away and abuse them later on. As for the crystals, what was wrong with leaving them in the Temple where they originally were, as Realiti intended? If not that, why not give each God possession of his or her own jewel to be used and loaned to others as they see fit? At least then you are all in charge of how your own powers are used. What good can come of one person, even one as seemingly harmless as Arzian, having possession of all these items of power? I beg of you, my lords, think of all the ways a single person could abuse such power to your detriments; think how it puts us all at risk! We ought to be working out a system of checks and balances between the lot of you, a way to hash out disputes and check aggression before it arises and a way to help one another solve problems in times of need so that another disaster like Oblivion cannot arise without our knowledge once again. Arzian's secret dealings serve to help no one but Arzian, breed suspicion and distrust, and promise only to drive us further apart when we ought to be coming together.”

    Borin still wasn't listening. He really wasn't any good at this talking and negotiating stuff. He was quite amused with Abel's magic trick, though. He tried to work out how it was done, but failed to come up with any ideas. Not wanting to let the festive atmosphere die, he responded with a trick of his own. He manifested in his hand from light energy a small coin, identical in shape, size, and markings to the one Abel held. He rolled it across his knuckles back and forth and as he did a shower of identical coins rained from his hand to land on the floor, all made of light energy. They would dissipate eventually and couldn't really be used to buy anything, but the visual effect of dozens of glowing coins dropping out of thin air beneath Borin's fingers was quite stunning.

    “I'll teach you my trick if you teach me yours,” whispered the massive Simian-like spirit quietly to Abel so the others would not hear.



    Year 390



    As soon as the portal was taken, the Imperial Simians sent word by ship to the Freeswimmers in the Northern Fortress and told them to prepare for a possible siege. They assured them that they would ferry in food, supplies, and weapons as necessary from the Daktylian mainland and from the Drakhold and from Hot Mine via the Portal that led there from the central lake. If the Toothless chose to attack the Fortress, as long as the Simians could keep providing support and supplies, the Freeswimmers entrenched in the fortress could hold against the Empire's larger numbers for any amount of time in case of attack and the Toothless Yammu would waste many valuable men trying to take it while the Empire lost more important battles in the Ignus Ocean. That was their hope anyway.





    Year 391



    In the first month of year 391, Gulp's spies made their move. They tried to sabotage the Northern Fortress in the middle of the night by destroying the inner gates and rendering the place defenseless. The attempt almost worked but for a scout managing to catch the group of infiltrators before they could break the gates down. The spies in question had teeth, so the higher-ups in the Northern Fortress were confused as to why they would betray the Freeswimmers. Upon closer inspection, they noticed that the teeth in the spies' mouths were not grown in naturally, but sewn in surgically. The Freeswimmers were disgusted that the Imperials would do such an obscene thing to their own subjects. They immediately designed a test to catch the false Freeswimmers and rid themselves of Imperial infiltrators. Every person in the fort was forced to bite down, relatively hard, on a piece of stone. For a Freeswimmer with naturally grown teeth, this presented no problem. For those with teeth sewn into their mouths, however, this caused great pain. When one biting on a stone winced or cried out, the questioners knew they had a spy on their hands. Within a day of implementing the new test of loyalty, over 50 spies were caught. The next day, 50 more soldiers who had not yet been tested deserted the Fortress, presumably to avoid being caught. The ones who had been caught were beheaded ceremoniously and their heads mounted on pikes and placed surrounding the Fortress. Word was sent via the Simians to implement the test on the Ignus warfront and, as a result, yet another large group of spies was executed or fled.

    Meanwhile, in the Ignus Ocean, Glurgurl, his lieutenants, the Dragon General, and Simian naval commanders from Stonebow and Long Tooth Forest planned their next strike. The loss of the portal was a devastating one, separating them from vital supply lines between Rephlon and Ignus, but the loss was mitigated by supply chains from the Dragons and the Simians. That said, they were desperate for another decisive victory. They had been planning a massive joint strike between Dragons, Simians, and Yammu for almost a year now, and now, while the Toothless army was distracted separating their forces between Rephlon and Ignus, was the time to strike.

    The first step of the plan was to break the siege of the Outpost Fortress, a daunting task considering they were still surrounded by nearly 50,000 men and the defenders were only 30,000. The best way to break it would be to have the remainder of the Freeswimmer army to take the besiegers in the rear. When that happened, they could come out of the fortress and attack in unison, crushing the Toothless army between the defenders and the oncoming reinforcements. With the Toothless army separated as it was currently between Rephlon and Ignus, such a crushing blow would leave the capital nearly undefended for a short time until the army on Rephlon could return home. Unfortunately, with the portal taken, it would be difficult to get reserves from the Northern Rephlonian Sea to their current position. There was no choice, though. They had to find a way if their war was to continue. It had to be done, and without drawing the attention of the Toothless attackers of the fortress. There were still two portals on Rephlon that were usable, one on Portal Island in Daktylios's central lake and another in the Simian Academy outside Stonebow City in Athelios. Both were on dry land, making it impossible for Yammu to get to them for use. The generals spent many long hours plotting their next move.

    Over the next few weeks, in the Rephlon fortress, the Simian navy dutifully supplied the defenders with unnecessarily enormous crates of food, weapons, and supplies. The supplies were carefully taken out of the crates and the empty crates returned to the Simian warships, which promptly returned to the mainland to restock and come back.

    Gradually, the plan to relocate forces from Rephlon to Ignus began to take shape. It was not obvious to onlookers, but the resupply crates that the fortress defenders returned to the Simian ships after resupply were not empty as everyone supposed. They were filled with sea water and Freeswimmer stowaways, who were kept safely in the lower levels of the gigantic Simian warships. The Yammu in the crates were regularly, though discreetly, fed, and the seawater was changed frequently. It was very uncomfortable, but they could live with it for the short duration of the trip. After boarding the Simian ships, the supposedly empty crates were then moved to the portal island and handed off to the Dragons on the other side, who would load them on to their ships and move the Yammu to an isolated, strategic location in the Ignus Ocean. Anyone who observed this would simply see crates of goods being traded between Yammu, Simians, and Dragons for the purpose of keeping both the Ignus and Rephlon fortresses well-supplied. In reality, reinforcements were slowly but surely being brought to Ignus without using the Southern Ocean Portal, leaving the Imperial Army totally unaware what was happening.

    Finally, after many long months of constant ship resupplies and movement, there were an additional 20,000 Freeswimmer troops camped outside of Toothless awareness in the Ignus Ocean. The Northern Fortress was still well-defended with a garrison of roughly 40,000; the Toothless army still dwelling in the Southern sea was none the wiser about their activities. In the latter half of year 391, finally the reinforcements fell on the army surrounding the Outpost Fortress. As soon as they were taken unaware from behind and turned to defend themselves, the gates of the fortress opened and soldiers poured out. Though the 50,000 man army was equal in numbers to the defenders combined with their reinforcements, they were encircled between the two in a pincer, leaving them in a very vulnerable position and certainly unable to retreat. They were eventually routed, either killed or taken prisoner down to the last man. The victory did not come without cost, however; the Toothless army fought valiantly and took 10,000 Freeswimmer lives with them. This was easily the bloodiest battle the war had yet seen, but the Freeswimmers came out on top in a crushing victory.

    The most significant thing about this victory was the massive amount of momentum it granted the Freeswimmers. The army they just defeated comprised a very large portion of the forces still on Ignus; the rest were divided between defending the portal and defending the capital, and a large force was also on Rephlon with the Emperor in its Southern Sea. That meant the Freeswimmers, now without any notable resistance between the Outpost Fortress and the Capital, were basically free to march right up to it in force before the rest of the scattered Toothless army could return home to do anything about it. Glurgurl and the generals quickly initiated phase II of their attack plan and organized a combined offensive between the Freeswimmers, the Dragon navy, and the Simian navy against the capital itself. The Simian “Navy” wasn't really a navy at all, but a modest mixture of marines from both Stonebow and Long Tooth who had quickly built a few ships in Ignus waters with Dragon assistance. The combined army had no illusions that they would take the city today, but their goal was only to do as much damage as possible and then retreat back to the nearest captured fort before the main force of the Toothless Army could return. The Freeswimmers fought Toothless soldiers in the city streets while Dragons dropped gigantic boulders from their ships above water that crushed homes and palaces and city walls alike as they landed atop them. When the Toothless tried to topple the Dragonships, as they were accustomed to doing, they were attacked from behind by the Freeswimmers. If they tried to retreat from the Freeswimmers, the Simians stood on their ships to shoot harpoons and arrows at the Toothless attempting to escape, allowing the pursuing Freeswimmers to catch up.

    It was a devastating blow to the Empire. The soldiers who remained had no idea the Freeswimmers were out of the Outpost Fortress and on their way, so they were completely unprepared to defend themselves properly. Homes were destroyed, citizens and soldiers alike floated dead in the streets, and the main Imperial Palace itself was barely standing after a barrage from the Dragons' boulders. Dozens of Toothless of high nobility were taken hostage, including Gulp's own son and heir and his young daughter. Yet still, the Freeswimmer scouts finally came with word that the large Toothless Army that had been stationed on Rephlon was only a few miles away now and approaching fast to reinforce their allies and defend their homes. Glurgurl sounded the retreat and the Freeswimmers, Dragons, and Simians returned with their hostages to a small fortress they had taken and fortified on the way to the capital. Messages were quickly sent to all the holdouts of the BOSOMOF alliance, most notably the Hot Mine Clan and the Seamen Alliance, informing them of the resounding victory and the many highborn hostages they had and offering them alliance and friendship once again in return for their betrayal of the losing Empire. One last chance was given to Emperor Gulp and his inner circle to surrender before the next attack. This devastation was but a taste, the message promised, of what is to come in the next major offensive. Surrender now to our demands, peacefully, and all hostages will be released and hostilities ended. If not, they will remain our prisoners for the duration of the conflict and executed if necessary.



    Meanwhile, in the Arbiter's Meadow, Yurius was perplexed. He'd been monitoring the progress of the Freeswimmers with great focus and organizing the movements of the naval spirits sent to counteract Marama's effects on the ocean currents. The spirits had been successful at their tasks thus far, but he hadn't noticed when Throgmir, normally looped into a notch on his waist when he was not holding it, suddenly vanished. He tried to summon it back from the pocket dimension where he kept all his other weapons, but to no avail. Where could it have gone?
     
    Last edited: May 6, 2017
  24. halisme

    halisme Contributor Contributor

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    Year 382

    "Well, this has gone splendidly. All I'm saying this that more of us might appear, or that some of us might gain news powers under the right circumstances." He stated, before leaving.

    Year 390

    Their time on Rephlon had changed the shamans. Their bodies had reacted to the nature of the world, with its great amount of fire and water. Khormun, the smallest of the group, though of stocky build and sharp wit, had changed to reflect the world the most. His skin appeared marked with glowing cracks, as if containing the fire of the world within him, and his fur had left entirely, giving him the image of a being made of stone and containing a glowing fury, though he was calm and sensible, perhaps even relaxed. He would give advice to any who sought him, speaking of the nature of things in a way that only who existed as both spirit and material could, even speaking to the soldiers from either camp.

    A second had taken on the qualities of the Yammu, Khavina. Her back had hunched, skin turned rubbery, and fins grown from her back and her from underneath her arms. She could breathe underwater now as well, and moved with a speed which none could rival. She would venture below the sea most often, seeking to speak to the Yammu, talking of Khaline and her blessings, and seeking to convert others, though she did so slowly, tenderly, travelling from village to village and joining them in her hunts. To her, there was no difference between those who had their teeth and those who did not, instead forming into a great swarm that welcomed any and all that would join them.

    A third had taken on the qualities of the dragons, though he did not seek to interact with them. His skin had turned green, scales covering parts of his hide, while a snout had sprouted from his face, occasionally spitting out fire whenever he cleaned his pallet. Kharlon was his name, though his companions had decided to call him "Scales", which earned his umbridge on many of them, occasionally snapping at them, but never biting. The pack was to remain strong of course.

    The fourth and fifth seemed most similar in form, Ermun and Khandise. Originally twins, both bodies seemed to take on the qualities of the more generic animals. Khandise had sprouted a pair of antlers from her forehead, like that of a stag, while her brother had gained a feline, and arboreal appearance. The two acted as scouts for the group, communicating with the Simian's that had settled on the world.

    The final member of the group had the most extreme reaction to the world. He had taken on the quality of strange worm like beasts that moved throughout the lave of the world, treating the molten rock as if it was water. Mandibles now protruded from his mouth, clicking whenever he spoke. He too had lost all of his hair, chitinous plates forming over him that interlocked. Venal was his name, though he struggled to say it. He moved around the world on a grander scale than the others, acting as a messenger and observer.

    The group worked slowly, quietly, peacefully, spreading the word of a godess who helped those whe followed her, and did not judge them for their own acts and desires. Any could join the great pack, so long as they did not harm it. They named themselves The Verdant Guides, and sought to teach all who wished to listen.

    Year 391
    All across Rephlon, the spirits moved. The new generation of nature spirits had risen, and Khaline whispered in the minds of all of them. She was their mother, and she would teach them how the place worked, the truth of it all. Once again, they were suprisingly peaceful. The time for brutality was to slow down. Instead, prosperity was to come about. The harvests would be good. The food plenty and flavourful. The fish in the seas and streams would grow to greater size. Though not all was well. The preadators, while no more agressive, also swelled in size to match their diets, boars growing to the scale of rhinos, wolfs almost two meters in length.

    However, not all was well for her. Upon noting the loss of her spear, the godess went into a rage, seeking anything and everything that could have taken it.
     
  25. Domino355

    Domino355 Senior Member

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    "The situation in the Underworld is that of chaos and disorder. Spirits wander about aimlessly, without difference between who they were or how they lived. As a god of Justice, I am sure that you will see how this situation is problematic, as is your view of the world. And for solutions, well I simply suggest a god who will take this task upon himself."

    Mord, a spirit of darkness and Zokomod's right hand man spoke next.
    "Sir, if it pleases you, then I can take the task upon myself."

    Before Yurius could answer, the pheonix flew towards Mord. There was a flash of flame, and both disappeared, leaving only a charred plot of land behind.

    Abel laughed merrily. Slowly he showed Borin as the coin in his hand was covered in a veil strong enough that no way the spirit could have seen through it. Then a shimmering coin, now the illusion made visible, fell out of Borin's mouth and a simple sleigh of hand moved the real coin into the large spirit's hand.

    390
    For three months the moon shone brighter than ever, even spewing off its own heat, as the pair of siblings held their most heated argument yet. It finished with Tesni storming off as a burning comet in the night sky. From that day the sun shone brighter in Yurius's forces' backs and weaker in their eyes. It had little effect underwater, however.

    391
    The attacks on the Yammu fortresses were efficent and bloody, and ruthless beyond what any of the sides expected. The Freeswimmers after years of abuse finally got their revenge. Despite Glurgurl's protests, and the teachings of how Yurius stands for justice, his forces fell upon the Empire's people with savagery that dwarfed even that if the Toothless.

    Children were eaten alive before their mother's eyes, while maiden were raped and killed soon after. Warriors were cut to pieces and fed to fish, starved alive in cages, and every type of cruelty imaginable. Many more were sold to slavery, but not before teeth of fallen warriors were sown back into their mouthes. Many cried out to Yurius in these raids, and not just Freeswimmers. The only prosoners treated well were the fiercest of the Toothless warriors and the nobility, who were kept as bargaining chips.

    Whereas Gulp's eldest son was locked away, his daughter was smuggled to the northern Rephlonian fortress. A plan was made to marry her to the Freeswimmer intended prince Glurgurl II.

    392
    The Hot Mine clan declared themselves as neutral territory. No combat, or weaponary was allowed to pass through their borders. However, non combatitive trades were allowed to pass through regardless on which side of the conflict was passing through.

    The Seaman Aliance met the BOSOMOF offer with their own demands.
    1. That the fortress of the Dakytos portal will be destroyed immediately. No kingdom of the Dakytos continent will be allowed to land soldiers on the island or deploy warships within a ten mile radius of its coast.
    2. The kingdoms which the Seaman alliance helped form will retain their freedom. Longtooth will not make any claim to take control of these kingdoms, even those who were part of the empire before.

    Few additional claims were made, mainly in ensuring the Seaman's freedom of trade. Turkdash, while he did not discard these demands immediately, put the letter away for further consideration. He also made sure no offensive actions be taken against any of the Seaman kingdoms or the surrounding nations to Durbag forest.

    392-395
    After two years of siege the capital of the Yammu Empire finally fell. The Freeswimmer army flooded through the city. At first they sang with joy and victory, but soon their joy was replaced with uncertanity. Apart from the first line of defense, the city was completely empty. Something was not right. But before the Yammu army could decide their course of action, the devestation happened.

    The city, which was built across many levels, began sinking to the groud. The orders to retreat were screamed in panic, but many were not fast enought. Three thousand Yammu warriors were buried beneath the city ruins. And about ten thousand more suffered several degrees of injury.

    Gulp watched the scene with satisfaction. The Yammu, after living in domed cities and fortresses for so long forgot that before that, they were creatures of the open sea. Let the infidels hide in their fortresses, he mused.

    While his main garrison staued around the portal, protecting it from both sides, many groups of Yammu patrolled the open seas. The toothless advantage in numbers meant that any encounter in open seas was almost always in advantage of the Toothless. Any venture outside had to be accompanied by dragon ships and heavily armed companies, making them harder and more expensive.

    The Toothless also began hunting the fish around the fortresses, making the gathering of food much harder. The routes leading to the Hot Mine and dragon territories were also a favourite for the Empire's raids. Hunger and resources was becoming an increasing problem in the fortresses, and soon a trickle of deserters began to leave these fortresses and join the empire. Desperate people who were willing to give up their teeth for some food. More left back to the Ignus deeps, where food was plentiful and the Toothless still dared not venture.

    On Rephlon their hold was still weaker, but visible. Gulp's alliance with the Seaman alliance held true, and no ship left without a party of Yammu guarding it. These Yammu would protect them from ships and used their extensive knowledge of the sea to prewarn them from storms.

    393
    While wandering across Ignus, Khaline heard a thud. From behind a rock, a hammer rolled on the ground, stopping at her feet. Yurius's hammer.
     

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