Lords of Creation: Redux - IC

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In the space before there was anything, there existed a single point of light that drifted from possibility to impossibility as if a ship upon open waves. The Light drifted for eons or perhaps a single second before it reached out from itself and made it more then what it was before, never able to return to that perfect point. It called itself Aman-Rul the First and in the span of time it watched countless worlds drift away from itself, able now to perceive the creations of others like it. But it grew jealous of these shards of glass on the tapestry of creation and it sought to make creation in its own image to stand above the shattered remains of what came before it. And in that space it created a globe of earth covered placid water. But it did not desire to rule or shape any further as the rest of creation spun forth from its first act. So it set to make those that would rule in its steed. Ten in total it made, shapes and colors it invented at that moment to create them.

Each form was made from the stuff of the very world, tied to it and made from the salt of the Earth. Ten Shapes, Ten Children and he fled away into the darkness, a single word hanging in the black void that wrapped itself around the world and kept all but the smallest of the Ten from touching the soil of the world they were to look over.

"Maintain."

[Jimgerdes]

Toridas, The Void

An entity awoke to nothing.  An empty void.  He was puzzled, he didn't know where he was, who or what he was.

"I must be an entity," he said to himself, "For I sense and I feel and I think.  An entity must be called something, or what could separate it from this nothing?  I shall call myself Toridas" He decided.  And the entity became Toridas.

"Hm... I am but thought and energy, barely distinguishable from this void.  I do not wish this." The young god decided he needed a form.  After several attempts he settled on a form that pleased him.  A deep purple body (To honour the void from which he came)  With four apendedges, two arms, and two legs.  The body was thin and had a head crowning it with long face containing two dark eyes.

Toridas looked around at his surroundings and noticed a curious object in the distance.  Where at first he thought the void was filled with nothing, he spotted a spherical shape.  As he willed it, he was there.  He gazed in wonder at the the spherical stone.  To himself he smiled enjoying the peaceful blackness of the void.

[Fleugs]

Zbartivlast, the Void

Zbartivlast was not sure if his eyes were opened or not. Everything was dark, pitch dark. Yet he could see. Sense. He was aware of his surroundings... which was a nothingness, with a rare object in it.

"I am! I am! I am!" He shouted three times, in joy, thrilled by the idea that he was, and is, something. "If I am... I must be!" And so he formed his shape, which he had, or perhaps hadn't since the beginning of time (he was not aware when the beginning took place). He took form as a rather hollow "man", an image that was portrayed into thin air, casting no shade in light, and only visible when watching closely. Zbartivlast could make minor changes to his image, depending on the mood he was in. He was aware of his shape.

Wandering through the endless Void - was he doing it in his mind, or physically? - he approached a spherical object, accompanied by another something, which transmitted a ray of "being" and "power". He came closer, and from a safe distant he whispered, the Void not killing the noise over distance"What do we have here?"

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Arglwydd, Void

He was without form, not by choice, but because each he tried to put himself to quickly returned tho this state of... amorphism. Frustrated, Arglwydd put aside this endeavour to consider the planet - and others - that were.

"What do we have here?"

Turning - if it can be said to be done in this state - to look at who had spoken, Arglwydd saw a man and a shade.

"This is what we are to maintain, I believe."

And, stretching infinitely and not at all, to infinite dimension as vast as this Void, Arglwydd sought not to maintain, but to better. And so he stretched and stretched, his being touching all and touching none, to create the place that was He. (Create Plane: The Dreaming) So creating himself, Arglwydd found at last he had form: that of reflection. And so creating the place, a place of beauty and terror, of might and helplessness, Arglwydd gave to his charge his first gift: the gift of dream, and to the lifeless planet was given the dream of life.

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AP 9 = 12 - 3 (Create Plane: The Dreaming, info in OOC thread)
GP 3

[JPierreD]

Arkh, The Void

Suddenly, he became. He used to be, but now he was. No, words couldn't describe it, for he was in a new way than he had been before. But, perhaps because of being, perhaps for being, he started to suffer the process of slowly not being anymore.

"What is this?", he demanded. "Not good", he sentenced.

He who could feel the eternal infinite peace of the void for a moment, had started to be perturbed by waves of different energies, some of the paradoxically essence that fueled his existence, some of the dread thing: "Heat..."

He had no material form, he was a shifting area where no heat at all was present, yet he was being radiated with stinging tiny rays that were nothing but pleasant.

"This is what we are to maintain, I believe."

Seeing the disturbing being commune with reality, altering so it would be alike him, he decided to mimic his actions and create his own haven, where he could escape the cruel rays scorching him. (Create Plane: The Eternal Winter).

Quickly fleeing to it, Arkh expelled into it all the energy absorbed. The new plane was a mimicry of the void he'd woken up in. There were many of those material spheres everywhere, but there were other material pieces of all sizes and forms too, which his subconscious had created. They were all perfectly static in their places, each gas or solid scrap of them. But, with the liberated energy, some asteroids were set into movement, flows of gas currents made wind, frozen water evaporated and fell like snow in the planets.

In short: things were set into movement. And contrary to what he'd expect, he was pleased.

---

AP 9 = 12 - 3 (Create Plane: The Eternal Winter)
GP 3

[Fleugs]

Zbartivlast, The Void

Things were happening. There was creation ongoing. Others were busy. "Who are they?" he whispered to himself. "I do not know... Are they us?" His mouth shivered, his essence rippled. It was as if Zbartivlast was bouncing, on invisible walls, back and forth, up and down. Madness took hold of him. Then, he froze, as if he was spotting something. He spoke, but not with words.

Essence sprout out of his wide open mouth. There was no sound coming out of it, but more a place. (Create Plane: The Abyss)

He seared as it be the essence of the Abyss. It was a place, rather plane, that resembled the essence of him. A dark place that would be under constant influence of itself. As if it changed itself, every now and then, to something different, but still quite the same. The Abyss was determined to haunt. Here Zbartivlast was home: he felt comfortable. He would wait, before he would do more: the perfect image of him that the Abyss was, caught his attention. Staring into the endlessness of it all, his reasoning went into another state... a trance.

---

AP 9 = 12 - 3 (Create Plane: The Abyss)
GP 3

[Berard]

Celona, the Void

Celona awakened. From what she was unsure, but quite frankly, she did not care. It was boring being unable to do anything but cease to be, and she was thankful for this abrupt release from her eternal slumber.

"This is what we are to maintain, I believe."

Maintain. The Guide had heard this word before, and knew it meant something important. Fate? That might be what she was looking for, but before she could decide, she finally noticed what the others were gazing upon.

A small pebble compared to the vastness of where they were presently located, but nonetheless she felt that it was much more important than all of the space she could ever desire. Realizing she was simply a ethereal presence, Celona decided to give herself form. While forming an opinion over what would be the most practical but also suitable form to take, she noticed the other beings that had already assumed a form. Deciding that their choices were adequate, she began to change herself. Within moments, a much smaller version of what the others were had been formed from previously had been nothing. Only half as tall as the others, Celona willed herself towards them.

Once she was still out of earshot of the others, she spoke aloud to herself, "Maintain seems like a goal for those without thought or limited mobility..."

With the last word the Guide began to manifest herself in many different locations at once, making sure to observe every minute detail of this lump in the middle of the Void. It did not take long before she had completed this task and was once again quite... bored.

Returning to her single appearance, Celona stopped decide what she could do to both sate her curiosity at everything and to stave off this increasing need to do something. Crossing her recently formed arms and legs, and formed what would later be known as a "smile" on her face, she came up with several ideas.

[Perth]

Dwyn Gaald, The Void

The Void was barren, or at least it was mostly barren, and Dwyn Gaald had come to exist within it. He awoke to the distant echoes of activity, of voices, of beings.

The vast nothingness that surrounded him was the first of the things he took in. The contrast of his own existence within the vast nothingness pleased him, but the echoes from afar seemed to continue in frequency and strength. His curiosity drive him to seek out these echoes.

Soon enough, he came upon these others. Some seemed to withdraw from this Void into their own havens, however Dwyn Gaald looked upon the Void, it's emptiness and his own life within it was satisfied there, for now. But he was concerned about these others, why they were there.

"Who are you...? Why are you here...?"

He thought for a moment more, "Why am I here...?"

[Bedwyr]

Ahkram, the Void

An eye opened. 

Then another, and another, and countless eyes looked out into the Void, and where all others saw emptiness, these eyes saw potential.  Then ears, mouths, tongues, tendrils, all reaching out, sensing the grand, limitless potential...Until they found another.  And another, and more...

The senses observed, watched...Understood.  Examined...Discarded as limited.  They have power, but they did not see the potential inherent in that power.  The senses were about to ignore them in disgust when...

That one.  The senses quivered.  That one...Was wrong.  Very, very, very, very wrong.  And it was strong, it could hurt...It did not want to, but it would anyway, and that was even more frightening...

The senses fled, and created a new place.  A place where they could be safe to create wonders (Create Plane: The Hall of Creation).  This new home was made safe from the others, especially that other, and then the senses set to work, finishing the work to arrange their new home so that it supported and nourished new creations...

But without the others, the senses grew lonely.  New potential was discovered every moment, and they wished to share this wonder.  What point in a grand palace of marvels if there is none to share your joy?  And so the senses created others like them, though lesser.  It saw that limitless potential frightened them, and rearranged their home so that it would be simpler until they grew enough to experience the full wonder without terror.  And these others like the senses looked up at the greater and asked "Who are you, great one?  And who are we?"

The senses paused, wondering.  That question had never been asked before.

"I am Ahkram.  And you, my children, are the Ahkrons."

And the Ahkrons agreed, and Ahkram taught them to organize themselves, and they created a Grand Collegium, learning to fly between the lands that dotted the plane Ahkram had made.  The Ahkrons named it the Hall of Creation, for that was their business.  And their leader was the Philosopher-King of Ahkram, wielder of the Compass of their father.  This Compass showed them many things, how to discover, the deeper ways of science and magic, how to guard their borders against the new planes grown by those akin to their father, building immense technological and magical traps (though they did not yet grasp how to combine them fully).

Soon, the best and the brightest of the Ahkrons were inducted into the Enlightened Thought, a group of close assistants to Ahkram who had learned much of Science and Magic, and began working with him on his next great project, that of combining the two disciplines...And all this they could do, for time flowed like quicksilver in the Hall of Creation, and Ahkram kept a careful watch on the borders, knowing that the time would come when his gifts would be needed if the world outside were to ever grow to reach its full potential...

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AP 9 = 12-3: Create Plane (Hall of Creation).

AP 6 = 9-3: Create Mortal Artifact (Ahkram’s Compass).

AP 5 = 6-1: Create Life (Ahkrons).

AP 5 = 5-0: Create Society (Free from Organized Divine Power).

AP 4 = 5-1: Create Class (Discoverer).

AP 2 = 4-2: Create Organization (Enlightened Thought). The two prestige classes (Organized Divine Power) are Revealers and Arcane Unlockers.

AP 2 = 2-0 Lead the Populace x2 (Free from Mortal Artifact and Leader of Men): Teach the Ahkrons defensive fortifications/architecture (immediate, widespread) and magical barriers (immediate/widespread).

[Iltaran]

Varrach, The Void

A million sensations echoed across his consciousness as Varrack came into being. Was it a single moment when everything changed, or did it take eons? How could you measure time, when even the gods themselves had only just experienced it? And yet, already he knew time, just as he knew space and power and existence and experience and pain and emotion and other things for which there were no words. Even without gazing around, he knew there were others like him, his nine brothers and sisters. Gradually, the shock of knowing became familiar, almost comforting. But there was something else still missing, something wrong, something that he did not know. How could a God not know? Puzzled, Varrack turned his eye over all that was. Whilst it was new, he understood what it was, how it worked.

Only when Varrack grasped the axe did he understand. It had been with him the entire time and when he took it into his hand it fitted like it had been made for him alone. But he did not know the axe. Because the axe was merely a part of him. And Varrack did not know himself. Deep in his immortal consciousness, two voices spoke a single word each.

Maintain
Avenge

[Silverhawk]

Mikha the Void

He sensed the others.....where they as him? Mikha didn't know. He felt some of them taking shapes.....maybe that was an idea. He focussed his mind and attempted to give himself a shape resembling some of the parts of the others. He did not succeed, as his form was smaller and crude, not as refined as the others.

To maintain, what was it with that word that it kept popping up in his mind. Mikha had no idea, but he also refused to take the time to think about it. He had an idea, something that he felt was missing. He shivered and he set off, as he noticed a strange lump of cold dark earth. Some water was flowing across it, but no distinct futures where present. Mikha shrugged and walked off. Maybe that was what he had to maintain, was an idea that popped up in Mikha's head. He shacked his head and focused on his plan. Then he would think it over.....possibly.

Mikha focused his mind and created what was closed to him. A place where he would be able to stay....home.  Mikha created the Searing Keep. Create Plane: Searing Keep

After his creation he sat down and started to think.....

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AP 9 = 12 - 3 (Create Plane: The Searing Keep)
GP 3

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Arglwydd, The Dreaming

His hall created and the place given shape, Arglwydd steps once more into the void.

Shaping his world, his hall, had given him... a dream, and his dream he would make into reality.

In quiet words he speaks to the planet, giving to it yet another dream. Something new and unheard of. The planet shudders and rumbles as the dream takes hold, and in a great cacaphony of sound and waves, earth rises from the ocean floor. (Create Terrain: Atlantis, SR3)

"It truly is a beautiful dream... and it shall be called Atlantis."

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AP 4 = 9 - 5, Create Terrain: Atlantis, SR5, ~1,000,000 sq mi.
GP 8

[Iltaran]

Varrach, The Void

Maintain and Avenge. Two words, but so many possibilities. How did he maintain something and yet avenge it at the same time? For that matter, what was he supposed to be maintaining and was it even the same thing he was to seek vengeance for? Already his siblings, the ones who knew themselves, had begun to spin their own creations. Would this change destroy what he was meant to maintain or did their actions further some plan to ensure it was maintained? For every question he asked, the only answer was a hundred more questions, all leading back to those words again; Maintain and Avenge. Varrach simply did not know himself. Why would he be created without the knowledge necessary to serve his purpose? There was no reason for that. The sheer illogicality of it drove him to despair. He was incomplete and the knowledge that something was missing burned.

Perhaps though... perhaps one of the others would know his purpose. After all, he was but one of ten. The thought soothed him. Yes, one of the others would know him. Willing himself to move, Varrach crossed the Void towards his fellow gods. Already five of them had departed, leaving for planes of their own. Perhaps once he discovered himself, he too would create such a place, something of his own.

"Greetings brothers." Varrach called out. "Do you know me?"

[Silverhawk]

- Mikha - Searing Keep/The Void -

Suddenly an idea popped up in the head of Mikha. An idea that he felt was brilliant. He left his Plane and entered the void. From there he looked at the planet he saw that one of the others had been busy as well. He shacked his head, it looked not bad, but it missed a certain energy. He would attempt to do it better.

He gathered his thoughts and started to work on his idea. He found a nice empty spot. He pulled up a small amount of earth from under the water. He piled it higher and higher, until it rose up as a single mountain from the water. Under the mountain he heated the rock, until it was red hot and it melted, which he called magma. He let the magma rise from under the mountain and let it escape from 16 points around the mountain. The escape points he called volcanoes and they formed a perfect circle around the mountain. Between the mountain and the volcanoes a plain was formed. Mikha smiled and said to himself, he had created Therbazent.

After that he knew that he was unable to always protect Therbazent. He toke some of the magma he created before and shaped it to reflect himself in a rough way. He made 16 of them and placed one on each volcano. Then he ignited a spark of life in each of them, making sure that as long as they lived the magma would stay hot and they would be able to move. Finally Mikha send a thought to each of the guardians and gave them two simple orders. Defend and maintain. Then Mikha sat down in the void, and looked down to see what his creation would do with those words.

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9AP - 1AP  = 8 AP                              Shape Terrain
8AP - 1 AP = 7 AP Create Life           Magma Guardians (Giant)

5 GP

[Perth]

Dwyn Gaald, The Void

Dwyn Gaald waited patiently for an answer to his queries, but none came immediately. He saw several things happen all it once it seemed.

Two of the noisy beings seemed to depart elsewhere, while in a huge rush of sound and flash one had formed a vast swath of earth surrounded by sea on the planet far below. It intrigued Dwyn Gaald, and he watched curiously.

Soon, though, a voice bounced his way.

"Greetings brothers." Varrach called out. "Do you know me?"

Dwyn Gaald looked up from his gaze at the planet below. Somewhere near him he became nervously aware of another being drawing closer. Dwyn Gaald realized this is where the voice must have come from.

"I know you not. Though, as you draw closer you become more clear," Dwyn Gaald uttered in amazement.

He suddenly realized something, and blurted it out just as much for his own gratification as to inform anyone else, "I am Dwyn Gaald!"

Again, he let it out, "I am Dwyn Gaald! I am Dwyn Gaald, I am in the midst of nothing!"

His excitement died down some as he became aware of the sink hole of a presence near him, whom he had for an moment forgotten was there. His curiosity, and nervousness of this entity, drove his queries once more.

"Who are you?" Dwyn Gaald asked it.