Things had not gone well for the Meretoll.

Their alliance with Androids had borne more fruit than expected - they had interfaced and interbred as the Aegisi of the Arclight and Meretoiles had, and now they could see with their bare eyes what they had once needed the Threemoon to even begin to study. They were quick, strong, healed quickly, and their scholarship had blended with dawning obsession with the Void. It was not enough, now, to study the Moons - they wanted to study the Aurora Solaris, the furthest planets, the twinkling stars, to feel the silent breath of the Void on their necks.

Their friendship with the Nuldraks facilitated this obsession. With the void-traversing ability of their familiars and hardiness of the cybernetically enhanced bodies, they had colonized the moons.

They wanted more. They learned Unspeech, and of the ancient Systemarchi - a horrific ever-expanding race of machines that sought to freeze reality so that it could be completely catalogued, and that had simulated an entire dead universe in order to learn all the permutations of time. The Androids were called the Anima Libera - they had fled the System, and only the Arclight had survived the journey across the Void.

But someday - the machines would come.

And the Meretoll would be the first to meet them.

=

Halley awoke under soft lavender-scented sheets in her childhood home. All was quiet, save for the omnipresent ticking of equipment.

She remembered her past lives in their entirety. Including her rather messy death. And that woman - XiXi? - that had been so obsessed with her - and her wild Aegis - ?
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:52, Thu 13 Dec 2018.

Halley didn't know everything that had happened since she died, although while her death was supposed to have been permanent the blessings and intercession of the primordial themselves allowed her to reincarnate once again. She supposed keeping faith and honor with the primordial was the point of THAT lesson. She certainly could only imagine the horrible curses that they inflicted on her murderer. The likes of The Fool and The Hierophant were cruel and punitive when matters of broken primordial honor were involved, and generous when they were upheld.

Halley had since forgiven her killer. Let the primordial sort out the punishment. She wanted to resume her life of growth, exploration, and socialization with her people and others.

She didn't know how much time passes. So she woke up, stood up, made sure she was dressed and groomed, and she went downstairs to explore who was living in her house currently.

There were voices from outside your room - a room still decorated with childhood reproductions of star-maps and dioramas of the solar system, paper-mache moons, and fictional itineraries of adventures you had hoped to have one day. Voices that sounded eerily like your parents, although course they were but mortal and would be dead by now.

"Coming along past the guest room, we come to one of the most exciting stop on the tour - the childhood room of The-Comet-That-Watches during her last incarnation, precisely seventy-five years ago today. Contrary to myth, she had an ordinary girlhood, and that solid grounding in normal life would go on to serve her in diplomatic pursuits with other races -"

The speaker paused after entering the room and gesturing for others to look in, taking in the fact that a young woman in a silk traveling dress, equipped with a Kupli-esque gunsword and bearing a gilded braclet and brass spyglass, had just stood up from the bed and headed towards the door.

He stuttered in disbelief, cursing in unspeech. His nuldrak, perched on shoulder, squawked happily and flew over to land on your shoulder, gripping with its strong monkey-like paws.

hello

you are back

can I tell the others
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:30, Thu 13 Dec 2018.

"EXCUSE ME! What is your guys' problem?!" Halley suddenly snapped at the people when they opened her door.

"What if I was indecent? Why on earth would you barge into a lady's room without knocking first? And did I really keep to my usual 75 year schedule even now? Can't fault Hierophant's impeccable timing." she added.

Halley then turned to pet the Nuldrak, her divine senses and stellar affinity letting her commune with things of the void. She had not forgotten her knowledge from past lives.

"Hi there, you cutie. What are you doing here? Have the nuldraks since migrated down from the heavens? I should go have a fly around outside and see what things are like. And yes, I'm really alive again." she said.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:27, Sat 15 Dec 2018.

only the smallest of us

gravity is not so burdensome when we are small

in this way we learn to understand the meretoll

and the mistella

sort of

they are tricksy and sometimes do not give treats

even when a game is played well by us

"What is YOUR problem, Miss?? This is a museum! You're interfering with precious cultural artifacts!"

With the peculiar agility unique to people well-versed in managing children, your voluntary desire to leave morphed into somehow being shooed from your own room. The tour guide fixed the sheets expertly.

"The Lucktwister's interruption aside, you can see even from the walls and the composure of the room that this was a workspace as much as a playspace. Even from a young age, she was always an old soul. it is considered a possibility - as yet UNPROVED -" the tour guide shot you a dirty look - "That she is impossibly old, and has been returning in a new guise every three generations - about 75 years, give or take - for as long as the Threemoon has stood. See how the Threemoon is visible from her window?"

And that glorious threefold tower of bronze was indeed silhouetted against the night sky. In the language of the meretoll, the word 'sky' carried the same connotations as 'sea' - the sky swam with stars, and the three other moons shone in the sky.

Only - one that wasn't a moon - that was the planet, cloaked in mist? Were you ON a moon? When the hell -?
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:52, Fri 14 Dec 2018.

Halley fumed a bit when she was rebuked. There was a change in the air - a charged feeling of energy if you will. Halley slipped from the grasp of anyone nearby - literally moving so fast that she flashed out of sight quickly before appearing back in her room. It was an overtly unnatural display of supernal speed.

"I want you all to get out of my house. Now! Except the Nuldrak. The Nuldrak can stay. But I'll come outside on my own time. Now out...all of you!" she said.

And as she did so, ill omens began to manifest all over. The pen of the person who told her what was Halley's problem burst and the ink splattered into their face and onto their clothes. Nearby glassware thrummed and several pieces even shattered. The Lucktwister's title was more than figurative it would seem.

She also began to emit wisps of blue and white energy that seemed like a combination between flames and rays of light. The cometfire coma of legends! She was concentrating though quite a bit, to make sure it didn't hurt the Nuldrak or any of the people - or especially her house! But while the ill omens were happening more as a result of her flash of anger in a passive way, the coma was a purposeful display of her power to really make her point . And the coma was slowly expanding.

If the people did not start leaving her room and the hallway, they'd get enveloped in it. And a sheen of frost was beginning to appear on the surroundings, peoples' glasses, and so on.

"Get...out...now..."
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:28, Sat 15 Dec 2018.

Each and every one of the tourists dissolved into mist after your last comment - and then, more slowly, the whole of the house softened into multicolored mist as well.

Only the Nuldrak remained. "There's nothing here, Halley. I thought to welcome you, but . . . well . . you are not in good humor."

The Nuldrak took flight from your shoulder, becoming an owl - then an albatross - then something even larger, and only vaguely birdlike - and then, in the distance, reformed into massive, glowing lights, which blinked at you like eyes.

"I am the Aegis of Misty Valley. I prefer Val though. There's nothing here . . .  just you and me. I can play the mist to be whatever you want it to be, but only you can make it really real. Have you ever tried Weaving before? Geotonomancy? You have the instinct, right?"

The Aegis paused. "Wait, Halley. Something . . . something's wrong. There's something wrong with your face . . . "
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:30, Sat 15 Dec 2018.

Halley frowned as Val spoke, although the ill omens stopped and the cometfire coma dissipated.

"No Aegis, I am not in good humor right now. I have helped these people greatly in some of my past incarnations, and been betrayed by them and others alike in other incarnations. One of the most recent was someone broke an honor in a primordial-backed duel by both attacking me before the duel officially began, and also by using my mother as a sort of hostage which forced me to defend her at the cost of my own life. I've since cast aside my hatred of my killer - although not all of the anger but at least the hate - because I'm sure what the primordials did to her is far worse than me dying. But then I awake here, in a fake realm with people who were acting with a level of ungraciousness that was unheard of in the old Mereton. But then again it's been 75 years since I've last lived. And I'm worried about Meretoiles and my parents. And the Nuldraks - the real ones." she said.

"So yes Val, I'm in poor humor right now. I may possibly never be in as good of humor as I was before, but time will tell." she said.

She then touched her face.

"And what...what's wrong with my face?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:08, Sun 16 Dec 2018.

When you touched your face, it was smooth and cold. Porcelain. There was no face - only a mask.

You remembered the sound of your voice, and noticed - you were speaking as an Aegis spoke . .

From the far distance, a great light emerged, and then split into distinct colors - azure, vermilion, viridian, sable, pale - and figures emerged, their voices mingling. You felt their auras - massive, like the horizon was walking towards you, greater even than a Virtuous -

"Divj - watch the timelines, resolve paradoxes. Sing your songs - see about creating a meeting-place for the Gods. Tarek, defend the perimeter. We will need a Realm Savage - the Sumanyi will arrive before the Gods are prepared. One of them - Aran? - He will be of great use, someday. Wake the dragon; send the white ships. Notify the Aegis to keep us updated on his movements, how he responds to danger. Yami - we don't need the dead causing trouble. A Realm of Rivers will be needed, and a Realm Lower."

Her voice was massive, each syllable blasting away the mist, revealing bare earth and reality.  Soon you could see them - a group of six. A knight in an elegant azure surcoat, a tall woman in a golden shenyi, a giant wrapped in white strips of cloth, a short, dark-skinned woman surrounded by candles with head of a mongoose, and a black wolf.

And taller than all of them - the speaker, a massive feathered serpent with the torso and head of a woman - her head set with antlers that became the flowering branches of a sakura tree.

She set her eyes on you. "Ah, you are early. Did you think you would so easily escape being slain by a vermilion? You were dead, forever dead. But Clever I, I thought of a means. That duel was no duel. But death is death. You are an Aegis, little starling - the Aegis of my Valley Divine. You alone may keep your name and your freedom, comet-spirit, among all the Aegisi; as the Royal of your species, that is your prerogative."

The little mongoose-headed woman spoke unspeech, and the mist - and Misty - whirled into a small ball, the size of a pebble, flashing with light as it was forced into a solid form. She fastballed the marble at you - time seemed to slow down, and you were able to easily catch it.

"Swallow that - the essence of a God - and become an Archon. I have much work for you, little Aegis, and you must create my Valley for me. The other Gods will need a place to gather."

You realized, with a start, that this was no Primordial - this was the Tree itself speaking to you. She was Myriad.

Halley looked onward at the assembled great spirits and even the manifestation of Myriad itself, the feathered serpent. And then touched her face again, but then looked onward at the spirits defiantly. It would seem that Halley truly did have her full freedom and free will.

"I...I didn't expect it to happen like this, but it did happen. And The Fool and especially The Hierophant kept true to their primordial honor, and even your vermillion wasn't enough to keep me dead forever. Not with Hierophant involved. I can feel the metaphysical weight of your auras crushing me even now, but still I am myself. And I will always make my own choices." Halley said firmly.

Hierophant was one of the few beings who was strong enough to usurp even the laws of trees themselves. And he did it somehow, because Halley was alive again even now after all that had happened. He probably made Myriad an offer she couldn't refuse. His offers were usually like that.

"Still though with that said...I have long been a protector, a traveler, and a patron in my many lives. And until such a time as I judge you and those upon you as deserving of consignment to the void, I will continue to watch and protect you like I have many times in the past. I will watch and guard your divine valley, and I will not let the void have you while I still flare brightly in the heavens. The void has tried many times to get past me, but has always failed. And as long as your virtue outweighs your selfishness, I will always stand with you Myriad."

And at that, Halley ate the pellet of divinity she had caught in her hand and would become an Archon: a god-aegis.

PM

[Private to Halley Meretoll: The pellet was the essence of an old god indeed - the Shifting Master, Lord of Mist, a tree-loyal soul passed from Yggdrasil to Laerad, and from Laerad to Myriad. You gain both the domain of Mist and the traits of a Zealous god, and retain his Forsaken power as your personal Aegis ability, which can only be used within the Valley Divine.

As an Aegis, you are aware of everything that happens in the Valley Divine, and may freely contact the Aegisi of other Realms. As the Aegis of the Valley Divine, you are aware of all non-secret information available in all realm threads, provided they are not RP Secret and have an active Aegis that is not intentionally withholding or corrupting information sent to you.

As an Archon, you are uniquely able to see both the 'RTS' and 'RPG' views of the Valley divine at the same time.

At present, you may use Geotonomancy without personal cost, as Myriad is consciously present and providing you power - this is the 'big bang' moment of the Tree and entropy is virtually absent. You will have 5 posts with which to build and modify the Valley Divine. This process has always existed, hidden to Gods but known to Aegisi - it is Geogenesis.

If you wish, you may roleplay a battle for supremacy between the soul of Halley and the Soul of Ruse, and if you choose to do so Halley will always have Ruse in the 'back of her mind', knowing what Ruse would do in the given situation. I fell this would be interesting an advantageous, given that Halley is going to have a hell of a time defending the Valley and will need good advice from a tricky bastard like the Shifting Master.

The Valley will always be covered in a blanket of fog, which you are able to manipulate to produce illusions that are fifty percent real - an illusionary soldier's longsword will do the damage of a real dagger, for example, and an illusionary bridge could hold half the weight of a real one. This requires your active focus and is an AOE effect that at maximum size is about one city block and three stories tall. This can include creating warping space, allowing you to insert a building and 'move aside' the real buildings without causing disruption.

You have full control of the weather, and if you and all other players in the vicinity are willing, advance time forward a year instantly. You may do this once per post, per real week.

After your initial description of the valley divine, time will advance 100 years. You will be able to then modify up to 'half' of what you already did without harming the 'realness' of the valley, after which another century will pass. The more 'real' the Valley remains, the less vulnerable it will be to Madness and the stronger it will be against other realms. The highest score you can end up with is 100% + 50% + 25% + 13% + 8% = 196%. The end score will be rounded up to the nearest 10%, so a perfect score will result in a Valley that is 200% real.

The catch is that with each century, the valley will gain a Curse, like in Rust - each starting at 0 but possibly going stronger (determined by a coin flip after each century)

In each post after the first (you get 4), you may bequeath or strengthen a Boon or decrease a Curse by 1 point without affecting the realness of the Valley. If you act twice, you only get half the possible gain in realness. If you act thrice, you will lose the potential gain entirely, and the Valley will gain a point of Entropy, shortening the time before it is assaulted.

You may choose to eliminate a Curse at 0 entirely, but this will count as two Acts.

As a Zealous God, the realm begins as a BALANCED realm. Keep this in mind when writing you initial description of the Valley.

The Balanced Realm still has a powerful mystical culture, but typically the shamanic core aspects of it's tradition are being replaced with a more esoteric, structured magical practice. The creative arts have boomed: the beginnings of a solid culture of literature, art, philosophy and performance have been established. A system of magistrates and ministers have been loosely established, bringing law to land, though the people are mostly loyal to the God. Some of the land has been explored, but only so that a fully-fleshed mining/agricultural campaign can be attempted: there is now enough food for everyone, and the arts of smithing, forging and jewelry-crafting have begun.

After each 100 years, the Valley will advance to the next Degree, ending as an Enlightened realm. If you feel the Curses the valley is afflicted with are too horrific to leave unattended but do not want to compromise gains in reality by ACTing, you may pause Geogenesis and switch to RTS mode in order to try to resolve the issue - but Geogenesis will pull inexorably on, a year passing with each post, until after 5 normal posts the next century will pass. That's just how it is on this bitch of a Tree.

Have Fun :) ]
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:53, Mon 17 Dec 2018.

After Halley consumed the pellet of divine energy, she grew silent for a moment before the mists around her suddenly began to churn with the strength of a hurricane as her divine aura surged outward. For a moment, the other mega-spirits had to stop as their horizon-sized auras were repelled by Halley's. Here, in this misty void, she had enough power to damage even the tree itself if she wanted to, but also to make new parts of it. The pellet she consumed merged its divine essence with hers, and the origin of said essence was an old and extremely powerful divine force.

Her base form now emanated mist even when she wasn't emanating cometfire (see her profile I updated it with pics), and she was unlike anything she had ever been before before. She'd be much weaker outside the divine valley, but within it she had the power to truly be a warden of the core of the tree.

And after an indeterminate amount of time being surrounded by hurricane strength howling mist, things suddenly grew silent and still as the mist was all drawn inside of Halley's person. She then erupted with cometfire energy, but that too was drawn inside of herself and apparently snuffed out, but in reality the energy was coalescing and condensing, for her eyes began to glow brilliantly as bright as the sun itself in a mixture of colors: teal, blue, pearlescent, sometimes prismatic. And then streams of yellow light began emanating from the giant feathered serpent and flowing into Halley as she actively funneled and leeched pure creative power from Myriad itself: a prerogative she had as the tree's aegis. And she drank deep and greedily of the tree's power, but she was gestating her power to create something free of entropy from misty nothingness.

And after the tree's power mingled with her own archon power, Halley erupted in a supernova of energy as her aura surged outward exponentially, momentarily eclipsing those of the other great spirits there except Myriad's and those of the primordials themselves who were surely watching. And over time, the supernova began to solidify and coalesce into a solid material core. And gradually, the light began to recede as Halley's aura shrank down to its normal levels. The light faded, and the streamers of energy drawing off myriad also vanished. Halley gasped for air as she was winded after her exertion, although her body and spirit both were as healthy as ever thanks to drawing off myriad to supplement her efforts.

After the dust settled, the misty void was gone.

And in it's place, The Divine Valley stood. Both Halley's and Myriad's personal realm, it was the metaphysical center around which the tree itself would grow and branch out from. From the perspective of a primordial, it was a sapling with some dangling roots and a few flowering buds. But over time, it would sprout into a large universe-tree with a proper trunk and branches and twisting root system all of its own as both new godrealms and normal realms and universes came into being all around this nascent metaphysical core.

---

THE DIVINE VALLEY

The Divine Valley was literally and figuratively a velly. A huge, expanse of a valley the size of a small country. It was bounded on all sides by steep, sometimes even perfectly vertical mountains with often rounded or somewhat rounded peaks as far as the eye can see and beyond. Many of them are sources of ever-flowing water generated by the power of the Valley itself. As a result, the divine Valley is filled with rivers, lakes, waterfalls, ponds, and fountains and springs although there also is plenty of dry land interspersed throughout as well. There are various Torii Gates interspersed all throughout the Divine Valley, usually directly over leylines that branch out from the Sakura Sacrarium, otherwise known as the literal and metaphysical center of the divine valley itself. All mana originates from the Sacrarium, and is the source of all Essence Nodes that will ever exist in the cores of realms and dimensions that arise upon the tree now and into the future.

The Valley has very distinctive and conspicuous elements of Halley's domains. There are celestial bodies here despite there not being a universe and galaxy proper within the zone of the Divine Valley: A sun, moon, and stars (with frequent comets and shooting stars all visible at night each and every night). The Valley currently is on a 24 hour day-night cycle although it always maintains a warm balmy 70 degrees Fahrenheit Temperature and summertime weather conditions, although the Valley has a mysterious property of always being personally habitable to any being regardless of their need for temperature and air as long as neither Halley or Myriad are actively deeming otherwise. The Valley also is always covered in Mist and fog to some degree - on some days it's drenched in mist and visibility is severely reduced, and on other days it's only slightly misty as the mist thins out and is only heavy over the mountains of the Valley.

Within the Divine Valley, close-ish but not directly next to the Sakura Sacrarium, is the city of Bolide, which is detailed below.

Viewable Image (As a link due to size): https://newevolutiondesigns.co...asy-wallpaper-22.jpg


This city of Bolide initially starts off with several large and grand aesthetic dome-like buildings and infrastructure that's way beyond the current technology level of mortals currently inhabiting the place (think roughly middle ages) thanks to Halley's influence. However the overall size of the place is currently less of a city and more of a town or really large village, and it contains more simple dwellings interspersed throughout that belong to the locals who live there. There is one building there that is always super hyper advanced and distinct from the rest: The Grand Planetarium, whose inner space is larger than its outer space and whose records, orreries, and such evolve to reflect and map that of the Tree's realms. This place also - along with the Sakura Sacrarium, serves as a Haunt for Halley so normally is sealed from the public. Bolide will grow and evolve over time as the multiverse does, and may also grow and change if gods or high-tier mortal races establish a presence there and add their own embassies and dwellings, councils, and so on. But for now, it's made of elegant smoothed marble buildings with open aesthetic concepts but otherwise is relatively simple.

It is inhabited by race of mortal beings called the Bolidians, who appear essentially to be close to humans except theiy have pointed elfen style ears, pale skin, but hair that ranges from light blue and aqua colors to periwinkle and purple. The Bolidians still have a powerful mystical culture, but typically the shamanic core aspects of it's tradition are being replaced gradually over time with more esoteric, structured magical practices but shamanism still exists. The creative arts have boomed: the beginnings of a solid culture of literature, art, philosophy and performance have been established. A system of magistrates and ministers have been loosely established, bringing law to land, though the people know their place and know that they are allowed to live there only due to the sufferance of Halley and Myriad. Some of the land has been explored, but only so that a fully-fleshed mining/agricultural campaign can be attempted: there is now enough food for everyone, and the arts of smithing, forging and jewelry-crafting have begun. Technology level is roughly bronze age going into medieval times.

NOTE: BOLIDE IS THIS GAME'S CENTRAL HUB FOR GODS AND OTHER BEINGS WHO COME TO THE DIVINE VALLEY. ANYONE WHO PARADOXES INTO THE DIVINE VALLEY APPEARS IN A LARGE OPEN PLAZA IN CENTRAL BOLID THAT HAS AN ORNATE FOUNTAAIN OF IT DEPICTING SUNS, MOONS, AND STARS. ANY ATTEMPTS TO PARADOX INTO THE PLANETARIUM OR THE SAKURA SACRARIUM WILL RESULT IN YOU APPEARING IN BOLIDE INSTEAD.




The Sakura Sacrarium is a HUGE Sakura tree that glows with a pearlescent light at all times of the day, and that appears to be in eternal bloom. This is the physical and metaphysical center of the Divine Valley. It is also, like the Sacred Sacrariums of other Theogenesis games, the seat of the consciousness of the World Tree Myriad itself. This normally a restricted area, and the Tree will (usually) block all attempts by any beings besides its vassal great spirits, Primordials, or The Archon Halley to enter its confines. Forces of Madness or the Abyss that enter the Sacrarium are instantly destroyed if the tree as a whole still stands in the Eternal Forest. The tree always appears taller than any other tree in the Divine Valley, although its size is otherwise subjective to all onlookers but is universally grand and majestic. As the Tree Grows, the Sacrarium tree will eventually get so large that it's entrance will fade from sight and become its own sub-dimension itself but for now it is still visible as the tree is young.

THE SAKURA SACRARIUM IS CURRENTLY BEING ACTIVELY WARDED BY BOTH HALLEY (AS A HAUNT) AND THE PRIMORDIAL BEING KNOWN AS THE HIEROPHANT, GIVEN ITS YOUNGNESS. AS SUCH, PETITIONS FOR ARCH-DIVINITY WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AT THIS TIME AS THAT MUCH STRAIN COULD HARM THE TREE. THE SACRARIUM IS MEANT TO BE A LOOK-BUT-DON'T-TOUCH LOCATION NORMALLY.

One hundred years passed.

Myriad was originally accompanied by the Five Dragons - supreme guardians and the overseers of grand metaphsyical concerns.

Tarek, the Sun-Drake, could not conscience the feeblness of the Bolide, the tolerance extended to Halley by Myriad given her failure in battle, and most hurtful - he had been promised the right to create the Sun of the Valley, and that had been stripped from him.

Before he could crash the Sun into the Valley and erase everything in flame, Divj - The Dragon of Time, the Azure Knight - smote him in a moment between moments, deep enough to maim but not to kill. His blood fell to earth, and the blood was tainted with Madness. Tarek fell into a slumber, wrapped around the Valley - his spine becoming the Tarrekian Range of mountains within the Valley, creating new lakes and a region known for little rain, short winters, and hot summers.

The Mists were tainted, as were the rivers - they now knew a taste of godsblood.

CURSE GAINED: The Hungry Earth

DESCRIPTION: Anyone slain within the Valley Divine is captured by the earth, their ghost bound within their body. When the rays of the morning sun fall upon such a corpse, it rises as a Daemon - a maddened thing. As such, the Valley develops without graveyards - the dead are summarily burned before the next day. Still, those who die of old age in their beds often become Daemons at morning light, murdering their sleeping families before being dealt with by the constabulary. Sleeping in past dawn is a rare luxury of those who live alone.

REALM ADVANCED TO: Curious

Study of the engineering of the Valley's buildings and full exploration of the Realm see smaller cities of similar styling established around Bolide, and even smaller craft-villages near resource sites.

A strange site is discovered - a well, unfathomably deep, that reflects a night sky. A child playing nearby fell into the well - and survived. The well connected to another, stranger Valley - where everything was night, with no sun in the sky, and there little more than rocks and ash - and strange, armored warriors with glowing eyes. Or so said the child. Few choose to believe.

This discussion of belief and the unknown sparks a mystical approach to science - deep study is conducted of the valley's geography, its ley-lines mapped, and the art of Feng Shui is created. Towers are built in the city over the nexuses of these lines, enabling their owners to perform feats of magic before unknown. The Academe Mystique de Bolide is created to allow the sharing of research, as the owners of these towers form cabals of apprentices and become idiosyncratic in their methods.

Their first great success was the lighting of Bolide, enchanting the cobblestones with curious alchemical paste that absorbed the light of the day and shed it in a soft indigo hue at night.

The consistent temperatures are a boon for the harvest, and animals are tamed using magic and breeding. The consumption of meat remains a ceremonial occurrence, but milk and eggs enter the market. Pastries become popular as the Tarrekian Range region is suitable for growing sugarcane and coffee, and the legendary Cafe de Bolide is opened near the central plaza.

Government is split into three branches, the Magistra de Mystique, the Magistra de Daemonia, and the Magistra de Civil, relating to the concerns of advancing knowledge, handling Daemons and spirits and administering justice, and civil corps dedicated to maintaining the infrastructure of the city.

You may now ACT.

Halley had helped guide the first generation of Bolidians, but only to a point. She knew they had to grow as the realm itself grew, so she only helped teach them enough to get them to a BALANCED Realm State of development and let them grow on their own from there, holistically with the rest of the Realm.

The sight of her blazing through the sky was relatively common, as she blazed brighter than any of the normal comets ever did. and of course, the mists roiled and slithered in the wake of her passing too, and the mists never blocked her light unless she explicitly wished them too. It was like the realm itself was showcasing her off for others to see as needed, which helped her legend and mythos grow.

She was generally friendly with the Bolidians, but also usually pretty firm. She was far more serious and stoic in this incarnation of hers than ever before, but it was because she had so much more responsibility riding on her than ever before. Yes, she led armies of nuldraks against void incursions and burned mad things with cometfire, and yes she had done other such things in the past. But never before did the responsibility of jump-starting a world tree ever fall on her shoulders. In a way, she had created what would one day become the entire multiverse. A multiverse that would one day bring forth new godlings to hopefully help her in defending the tree, and fighting off Madness and other worse things from within and without.

The Bolidians knew she was their creator, as well as the demiurge that made this core region of the Tree. And while she sometimes walked among them and communed with them, she never considered herself a part of them. Always as a force from on high, guarding and exploring and watching. She intervened with the Bolidians society and government only very rarely, usually to stamp out major civil wars before they began as well as mediate conflicts among the highest echelons of their government and society, and generally let them do their own thing as long as they remembered she was above their laws and that they were not to encroach on the Sakura Sanctorium. Their role was to be lesser stewards of The Divine Valley and Bolide itself and she made sure they knew this, while she followed even higher pursuits.

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

After this much time had passed, and she had worked with Divj to help deal with Tarek, Halley became aware of the Realm's new curse and decided she had to do something about it. But in a way that would not jeopardize the Realness of the Divine Valley. She had intended it to one day stand above the realms of other gods as well as more esoteric places, and also protect Myriad's core, so needed it as Real as possible. More Real than Real, even.

So she took action, and slowed down time for a moment.

GEOGENESIS MODE PAUSED TO CONSULT WITH THE PRIMORDIALS.

[Private to GM: I am holding off on the revision of 50% of what I already did thing, to see the results of RTS mode first.

However, I'd like to ask a question using her limited omniscience:

1.) what would happen if I used my "free" change some of what I've done thing to change having made the sun, and instead invite Tarek to do it instead?

It's very much a fast-forward - you aren't able to act during the first 100 years. At this point, you could heal Tarek - placing him metaphysically in your debt. Since you're using Myriad's power at the moment, this would also destroy the Madness within him, reducing him to mere godhood. That would gain you a powerful ally, but might causes issues with the rest of the Dragons since they see him as a traitor.

You could use an ACT to replace the Sun with Tarek's dreaming intentions, in which case once Tarek heals naturally in the next 100 years and things will be tense but peaceful - he'll want to create a Assimilated Cult among the Bolide before he will agree to help you.

You were kinda screwed there, since nobody told you what he was promised. But that's how this goes. You could consult with Myriad or one of the other Dragons during one of your RTS posts - they have all ideas of how they want the valley to be, but since Myriad jumped the gun by directly hiring you on they can't direct you without breaking propriety. You were given carte blanche.


2.) If I for some reason still wish to leave Halley as having made the sun, I want to try RTS mode to try and see if we can resolve the curse. If I do this, can I turn on RTS mode and have my Bolidians help research magical and scientific techniques to help reduce the madness that's in the water and mist, and otherwise try to work using RTS mode to do up to 5 normal posts for this century try and mitigate the curse? Is that how RTS mode works? I get up to 5 normal posts per century before geogenesis forces itself back on?

Yes, you can do that. It will change the effects of the curse and possibly mollify them for that century, but will not reduce the strength of the curse.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:05, Tue 18 Dec 2018.

HALLEY UNPAUSED GEOGENESIS, BUT THEN SWITCHES INTO RTS MODE

Halley had to do something about Tarek, one way or the other. She had Ruse's forsaken mist, which in the valley would allow her to harm even a dragon. She considered just finishing Tarek off - he was initially a being that was a blend of Mad and Treespawn that walked a delicate line between the two favoring Treespawn. But recently, his Mad side had won out and it was polluting the Valley. He could be a potential threat to the Valley and tree later on, so why not use the forsaken mist and put him down?

Or use her power and replace the sun with Tarek's dreaming intentions. She could do this right now thanks to the Geogenesis process. But Tarek would still be a pain in the ass.

Maybe she'd need to use the forsaken mist and start assassinating the dragons one after the other, or at least use the threat of the mists to drive them permanently away from the divine valley and thus the core of the tree. They all were potential problems, but also were potential allies who did valuable services for their mother, like the Azure Knight. Not to mention Myriad might be sad if Halley killed them like that.

Why not crush his madness, and make him indebted to you. Two birds with one stone.

Halley considered another alternative.

Heal the treespawn, tear out the madness. So what if he loses out - he's an asshole in the end who would try to leverage the Bolidians to his own ends. Make him pay for his arrogance, and benefit at the same time.

These strange lines of thought were coming upon her more and more over the passing years. did her recent rebirth bother her so much, or was it just stress? Or something else?

He's a mere dragon, tainted filth allowed to sup at our table only due to his mommy. The Forsaken mist can harm even the ascended. Trust me, I know! The state of his soul and born essence is pointless. His filth is polluting the tree! It's in the water, in the mist! Kill or subjugate the madness...there is no other choice!

Halley shook her head to try and clear her thoughts, and decided to slow down time to something more normal. She needed to speak to others and try to gather her thoughts, which these days had taken on more of an edge than was normal.

--------
RTS MODE:

Halley surged across the divine Valley, flying away from the Tarrekian Range that she was surveying. She recalled a strong desire to go to the range that was weird. A part of her wanted to show mercy in as soft a way as possible, but another wanted to take a more utilitarian approach and cleanse the madness at any cost, even if Takker was reduced even while being indebted to her. She just all sorts of thoughts running around through her head, and needed to bounce them off another.

She needed to talk to Myriad, who was the mother of dragons.

And so she streaked across the heavens, the light of her cometfire coma lighting up her path as she made her way to the center of the realm. The Bolidians looked skyward as her glowing form sped over the city, toward the Large imposing Sakura tree in the distance. Toward the Sakura Sacrarium.

As Halley approached, she dismissed her cometfire and flew right into the trunk of the large tree, passing through it seamlessly as she entered the Sacrarium to commune directly with Myriad.

"Oh Myriad, Tree of Mine and Tree of Ours, it is I Halley and I invoke thee as your Archon for an audience. I wish to speak with you about the sun-dragon Tarek. About how his actions have tainted the divine valley and thoughts on what I can do about it."

The Sacrarium was a vast, verdant field, awash in wildflowers.

Here, Myriad was a small child, making a daisy chain.

She looked at you, then looked away.

"Tarek's the second-born. He looks up to Yami, and is envious that Yami has a partner that loves her, Pallav, and he doesn't. He wanted me to make him a wife, but that wouldn't be right. I don't know why - I just sense it.

If you married him, he'd be very happy, and he'd dote on you. But if you don't like dogs, it won't work out. He's like a puppy. He breathes loyalty. And one day, if you don't like puppies, he'd cut you down, after you were unfaithful with Divj, and your children would be the star-blessed, but they would be sad and godless. I can see that far."

She completed the chain, and started adding others flowers, to make it a proper crown.

"If you do nothing, one day one of Sumaya's children will marry him, and she will become an unkillable godslayer, punishing the world for what happened to her people during the war that is coming. She'll even kill me, but you'll get her afterward. Then things will die like Yggdrasil, and become very dark."

She finished the chain, and offered it to you, as a gift.

But your Archon sight saw something pulsing in the space where the flower crown was - knowledge. Dark, something best forgotten, that stank of Madness.

"If you give this to him, he'll become a Mad Tree-Dragon, and command the Daemons, and things will go like Kookhe. Or you could wear it, and then you'd be Many-Angled and strong enough to kill me. Sumaya would win, the Hierophant would lose, but you would be stronger than both of them."

The crown burned to cinders in her hands. "I knew you wouldn't take it. But I offered."

"There are many paths. I end, eventually, no matter which path is taken. What matters is that my children are happy, and that they survive me. You are Zealous. You understand this."

"I would suggest you look forward. This curse is under control, for now. The mortals are handling things. A new curse is coming, too. They're not strong enough to handle two right now.

Fight seeds with seeds. Plant something good. Worrying too much keeps you from growing."

A year passes. Four more, then Geogenesis will resume.

[Private to Halley Meretoll: She''s about 12 right now, will be 15 after the next Geogenesis, and will end age 22. The apparent age of her avatar in the Sacrarium is how she feels about herself in terms of competence, not a reflection of her mental or physical maturity, if that makes sense. It's her self-actualization.

Additionally - there is a Dating Sim aspect to this, in that if you visit the Sacrarium in RTS mode after each phase of Geogenesis, and accept hugs from Myriad during her 'teenage' years, and end with a perfect score of 200% reality, she'll form a crush and ask you to be her Mistress Divine as an adult, taking a final stable form that Halley finds pleasing - a natural result of her literally being partially shaped by Halley's intention, since the Valley is literally her heart.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:41, Tue 18 Dec 2018.

RTS 2/5

Halley recoiled from the crown of flowers. Her comet side was never subjected to Madness she didn't willingly accept - she was void aspected but not of it after all - but her virtuous side from the mists she inherited added a whole new level of disgust for Madness that she never experienced before. So much she actually gasped and had to stop herself, because the intensity of the reaction quite frankly surprised her.

She'd never marry Tarek. He disgusted her to some degree now that his half-Mad lineage had recently come to light. But she had to do something about him. Even Myriad foresaw that if Halley did nothing, as he was now he'd give birth to something so terrible that after Halley killed it, very little would be left. And that was unacceptable.

Which meant her strange thoughts about ripping out Tarek's Madness and purging it may actually be the best solution. Even if it was an alien impulse for her.

"No Myriad - I don't want your flowers. I told you, that as long as your Virtue remains strong I'll always work to protect you. And even now, you are a beacon of Virtue. I may one day make hard choices and do hard things, but not you." she said.

"I'll do something about Tarek. I have a plan. Yes a plan. But you Myriad? Tell me...are you aware of this strange well that has appeared in the Valley? I definitely did not intend it in my design, but it seems to lead to some sort of reverse-valley. I want to explore it a bit, but wanted to know what you knew of it first, and if you knew how my forsaken mist would work there."

"It's a Realm Alter. What would have happened if Divj had not intervened - everything would have burned to ash, and everyone would be unable to die since we there was no afterlife yet. The remaining Boledi would have become a new Inquistion and rooted out Madness, and the world would fade and flare as each of my Dragons gave their lives to restore me - but in the end, I would never grow.

The Ash is beneath us, now. When the Gods come, they will hunt the monsters there, and draw strength from cinder. With an Act, you could reclaim the Ashen, and grant the valley undying guardians - or sever it from me - or imprison Tarek there, and make him a Lord of Living Coals. His strength would be enough for a civilization to develop, and some semblance of true life."

A year passes. Three more, then Geogenesis will resume.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:16, Tue 18 Dec 2018.

RTS 3/5

Halley considers.

"I see. I didn't realize I had so many options still. As for Tarek, I am considering healing him directly. I know you are aware of the good and the bad that would come from that, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on that. Cleansing his madness and making him indebted to me at the same time seems like a great thing for the Divine Valley. I keep having these nagging thoughts about that and I don't know why. So I have to ask you what you think about that course of action. It would be better than killing him, or consigning him to some prison...yes?"

She considered.

"No."

She Spoke - "Divj; Erisha; Yami; Tarek."

Lamellar armor, a white silk glove, a saber, and a yew staff appeared before her.

"These are my dragons, save for Ixchel, who is a friend. They are to me as your equipment is to you; their strength is my strength, and if they are weakened, so too am I."

She took Tarek, the yew staff, and and dug in the ground, drawing a rough depiction of a Realm: a central square province, surrounded by four equidistant circles.

"There are five elements. The Valley is Earth, neutral element; the Garden. Surrounding it are four Alters - dead worlds the feed the Valley. In Yggdrasil, they were the Realm Savage, Realm Sorcerous, Realm Genius, and Realm of Anvils.

Tarek is my Staff, and corresponds to the element of Fire. Imprisoning him in the Ash keeps his power within my reach, grants him the fiefdom he desires, and protects the Valley from the Hungry Earth growing to further severity.

However, healing him would strengthen you even as it weakens me. You are my Archon; whether you prefer to enhance our defenses at the cost of our sorcerous potential is up to your judgement."

She paused.

"Geoegenesis draws close, little Starling. Have you thought to consult another? Perhaps Tarek? His body sleeps, but his mind is aware, and an Aegis is naturally telepathic."

RTS 4/5

Halley looked concerned.

"So if I heal Tarek and weaken him in the process, it gets me an ally that I'll have under my metaphysical thumb, but it will weaken your magic overall as Myriad? Hmmm...I don't want to weaken you if possible. Your power is my power so I have direct incentive to do so. Plus, am finding myself starting to actually care about you too."

I was unaware.

Halley considered, as her thoughts swirled.

Didn't know that would weaken the tree. Must reconsider.

"I can speak to the others later. But you and I should talk more. Plus, I have been so busy this past century I haven't seen to much. And for that I apologize. I'm still learning the ropes." she said.

Learning indeed. Learning how to play your pieces correctly. This isn't Yggdrasil.

Halley looked confused for a moment, but shook her head and continued.

"Myriad...I'm strongly considering what would happen if I imprisoned Tarek in the Ash Below, and allowed him to make a civilization there. The gods, in time, could still venture to the Ash to gather power as I'm sure not even Tarek could tame it in its entirety. You'd still retain a full connection to him and thus not lose some of your magic, or him as one of your dragons. And it would be an outlet for his pride and ambition and should appease him. The Ash will still fall under our power once I find and destroy my alter ego there - that's a quest for another time though - but this seems to be the best solution. This way, I won't have to worry about him power struggling with me or the other dragons but also I won't have to kill or diminish him either, which is important given that you care about him so much." she said.

I should have known. I am ashamed. Inept. Pathetic. My ignorance nearly hurt the tree.

And suddenly, her conflicted and muddled thoughts instantly cleared up. Like some sort of thick fog that was swirling around inside of her had dispersed immediately and subsided back into drops of dew at rest. A strange sensation that she didn't understand, but her mind felt clear again.

Halley then smiled.

"You mentioned planting seeds for something good...what do you think about me literally planting him in the Ash to act as a Governor for us there? Your thoughts?"

She smiled.

"A fire does the most good in places without warmth or light."

She looked away from you, out towards the expanse of wildflowers. In the distance, a small rosebush grew from the earth before your eyes, and tender blooms opened.

"Our first God is born. His name is Caerden, and his domains are Intrigue and Festivals. His Aegis is Xixi Arashimaru, whom you might remember from your old life. You are easy to love, Halley. Perhaps that is why I thought you would make a better Archon than the Shifting Master, for all his faultless competence; he grew to power with a dying Tree, impossibly grand, and was tasked with prolonging her life. He was a Knight serving an ailing, ancient Queen."

She smiled again at you, showing teeth this time. "And you are the well-favored friend to a lonely sapling."

You must ACT as part of your next post, if you decide to ACT, and then Geogenesis will resume.

RTS 5/5

Halley nodded.

"Caerden, eh? I will remember him well, since how could I forget the morally ambiguous Xixi? A part of me wanted to hug her and another to punch her in the face or something. She always did bring out the best and worst in me. And she's an Aegis now? Talk about ironic. Now she'll have to put up with me good or bad since with my being your Archon she technically works for me now. Myriad...that's just delicious." she replied, before vanishing in a flicker before appearing directly before Myriad.

Halley bent down onto her knees and remained upright, which brought her more or less exactly to the young girl's height.

"And speaking of hugs, I think a certain lonely sapling really could use one right about now." Halley said with a smile as she leaned in and gave Myriad a hug.

"I'll deal with Tarek now - I wish I could stay with you longer, but right now I can't hold back time any longer and Geogenesis is about to resume. I promise I'll visit you again soon, my friend."

And wish a flicker, Halley was gone.

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

Several years had passed from the perspective of the bolidians, although the time passed like minutes of Halley. She was in a liminal state, able to perceive time as a mortal, a god, and a primordial tier entity all at once. But onlookers would see her bluish-white cometfire lighting up the sky as it blazed into the air from the Sakura tree, and streaked across the heavens toward the Tarekian mountain range once again.

She didn't have much time, so had to act quickly and decisively.

Once she arrived above the mountain range, which was currently shrouded in mist and darkness given it was night time in the valley currently, she paused and levitated in the air. Her cometfire coma began to glow brighter than normak. Then brighter. Then brighter. And even brighter, until she shone so brightly that she was no longer a comet but a small miniature sun. The valley - at that time - was about as bright as it was during the daytime due to Halley flaring with brilliance, for she was currently channeling myriad's power through her own as Archon. So for a brief moment, she was in a supernova state of sorts where she could do almost anything.

"Tarek Sun-Dragon, child and staff of Myriad, I am Halley Meretoll and declare my divine authority. In this Valley, my light shines even brighter than yours and always will, and you will acknowledge my prerogative. Not with anger or envy, but camaraderie and acceptance. For I shine with the light of your mother herself." Halley said, her voice echoing across the mountain range like thunder and lightning. Like a hurricane. Her eyes shone like galaxies as she channeled Myriad's power.

"You will temper your pride, and hone your ambition with wisdom. You committed a great crime against both myself and Myriad, and would have razed the Valley in a pride-induced tantrum. So as punishment, you will be forced to live with and within the consequences of your actions and will be forced to bear witness to the ashen timeline realm you almost made entirely real, instead of partially real."

"However, I am not without mercy or forgiveness, and neither is your mother. So I will grant you a boon along with your punishment: We grant you the privilege of being able to preside over the Lower Ash as our Governor, and that includes having the right to create the sun for the Lower Ash as well according to your own designs. You will be able to heal your bodily damage as well come the next century. You will answer only to myself and Myriad in your governance of the Lower Ash, and you will retain your full connection to Myriad as well. We are giving you the chance to take a mistake, and instead use it to make something of yourself and in doing so, make yourself and your mother better for it. Help her grow strong, Tarek."

ACT: Establish Tarek as the Confined Governor of the Lower Ash.

[Private to GM: Note: This is her first ACT this cycle, so like we discussed it does not reduce the Valley's realness.

Also I hugged Myriad. ^_^]

STAGE ONE CLEAR!

SCORE: S-RANK

ACCOLADES:

- PERFECT ACT: The Path of Mildness was followed. The Dragon Tarek was tasked with presiding over the Lower Ash, the Valley's Southern Province. As such, the Valley gains both a Boon and the stage's Curse is reduced to 0.

- THE VALLEY SOLIDIFIES: +50% REALITY.

- YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH MYRIAD ADVANCES TO: I, FRIENDLY. _{SPECIAL ACTION TAKEN}

- YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH TAREK ADVANCES TO: II, LOYAL

- THE DRAGONS DIVJ, YAMI, AND ERISHA REMAIN NEUTRAL

- THE PRIMEVALS, IXCHEL AND ASAT, REMAIN NEUTRAL

Geogenesis: Stage 2

One hundred years passed - marking the year as 205.

The valley was magnificent. A monsoon/drought cycle began, due to the influence of the Ash, and from Bolide arose many other cities, and many festivals were created:

Lyoni, in the south, nearest the Tarrekian Range, was famous for its wines and its warriors, hosting melees, jousts, and a grand college of arcane blacksmithing. Their signature product were curious sun-swords, that harnessed elemental energy to form strange blades of sharp-fire.

Oceanus, in the west, was based at the delta of the Valley's many rivers, and was built on the shallow water - their great hydroponic gardens produced a massive amount of food, and harvested small purple-shelled crabs to produce rare and vibrant violet dyes; and lastly, they harvested gorgeous holy pearls, which quickly became used as a currency within the realm owing to their non-transmutable nature.

Study of these pearls led to rise of a new magic - Mythcrafting. The pearls were beads of divinity, and with long concentration, even a mortal could transform them into curious gemstones - and with further focus, create new life.

But that was not all - further study into this "mythcrafting" lead mortal scholars into the deep - into what was called the Waking Night.

They dreamed, and in dreaming woke, having carved runes into their flesh. And these runes gave them power.

There was a resonance. Runes to strengthen the body, jewels to make new life. Gems and runes.

The first 'black beast' was made - a great cat, with human intellect, supernatural resilience, and absolutely loyalty. In a dark mood, the cat's creator slew the beast and ate its heart. Days of agony followed, as the soulless power of the mythcrafted creature surged through the Boledian's body - more than any mortal could bear - but with runes of strength etched in her skin, she withstood. She was the first Riftcrafter.

Her hearing and sight became that of the great cat. Claws like blades leapt from her body at her will. She was stronger than a bear, and twice as agile.

One night, the sun did not rise. And another - and another - for a month, there was no daylight.

A precious prize had been torn from the Dream, from the Waking Night, and the Waking Night was enraged. The Valley was awash in screams, night after dayless night. Some began to die from insomnia, unable to face the terrors their dreaming mind was subjected to. Other turned to laudanum to numb their sleep . .

Boon: The Ashen World is at 0.

Curse: The Waking Night is at -1.

Curse: The Hungry Earth remains at 0.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:09, Fri 21 Dec 2018.

Halting Geogenesis mode and Engaging RTS Mode.

RTS 1/5

As Geogenesis continued onward - for Halley could only hold back this process for so long at a time - more and more of the Divine Valley was created via hers and the tree's power. However, while Halley focused most of her time facilitating the macro-level thiogenic and geogenic processes, the Valley and its inhabitants developed organically all on its own too.

The development of Mythcrafting by mortals was unexpected. Not totally surprising, but unexpected. While they'd never be able to quite do what a god could, she was astounded by the peoples' leaps of scientific and mystical ingenuity over this last century.

However, these runes and this riftcrafters concerned her, for she suspected the people were beginning to play with fire. But once the existence of the Dreaming and the Waking Night became known to her, then she was actively worried. And she knew she had to once again slow down time and intervene.

Destroy the Waking Night. Nip it in the bud.

She considered just crushing the problem with her immense power, but then shook her head and dismissed the notion. It was strange she'd even have that notion as her first reaction to the matter, and it concerned her. Must be the stress getting to her.

Can we twist the dream to our end instead? Or pulverize it and feed its power to Myriad as mulch, so she may grow strong on its remains? Or both perhaps?

She again had an odd thought, but then decided she could try exploring this new location, or perhaps researching the problem. She needed to not act in haste. The Tarek thing taught her that much.

So she decided she would visit Myriad first and check in with her, and go from there.

Lighting up the sky once again, Halley streaked across the Divine Valley and headed to the Sakura Sacrarium.

"Myriad, it is I your friend Halley. It had been 100 years and I want to see how you're doing. Please, show yourself to me and tell me how you're doing."

"And my friend, what is this Dreaming and Waking Night that have come into being? Are they a of the Valley somehow? Can I travel to them?"

It was dusk within the Sacrarium, and very cold - a deep, soul-biting frost, like the Void. Your Corona automatically flared to life to protect you.

Myriad looked older now - adolescent in appearance - and she was shuddering and crying, her tears freezing on her face. Her hair was bright gold, and her skin bloodlessly pale. Sakura petals drifted from above her, and her antlers were petite.

 At first you thought she was in terror, but then you saw she was ashamed. Her mouth didn't move, but you heard her:

Sumaya found me when I was a seed

I am a weapon

a sword that seeks flesh to cut

a tool of war

I was sharper than him

and he embraced me

I buried myself in him to my hilt

and he drew me in

and I bore his children

and they knew me to be sharper

and together we fled

I love my children

though they are of my enemy

and I love myself

though I am the Waking Night

the Dream of the Void

the Absent Child

I love myself

though I should not be

[Private to Halley Meretoll: Translation: Myriad is telling you that the Waking Dream is her own madness made manifest. She was raped by Sumaya even as she fought him - even as a seed - but was unable to kill him, and so this happened repeatedly, and she bore his children, until those same children saved her. And now the Boledi are learning things they shouldn't, knowledge she shouldn't have as a Tree, and she's ashamed that this is who she is. The Waking Dream IS Myriad - the 'split' is a manifestation of her suppressed trauma.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:38, Fri 21 Dec 2018.

Halley rushed over to the teenaged girl's side, carefully willing her coma to not be harmful to Myriad. She couldn't help but flare her coma though - it protected her from the void but especially the cold. But she rushed over and swept the girl up in a strong hug.

"Oh sweetheart. You have nothing to be ashamed about. The knowledge of these runes and riftcrafting and the dreaming magics may have been something you weren't born with, and may have been something that asshole Sumaya left you...but NEVER feel ashamed you know these things, or that our mortals are discovering these things." she said.

"You didn't choose for what happened to you before time to happen, but there is a silver lining. You now know more lore and knowledge as a result that you and those who live on you can use to help protect the tree, as well as fight against Sumaya, his agents, or other void things that may and will try to invade us in the future. And there's another reason you shouldn't be ashamed: you're blaming the victim, and that's not right. You're only who you are today - and as strong and wise as you are today - because of the Sum of ALL of your experiences. That means the good ones, AND the bad." Halley continued.

"And Myriad? I LIKE the you I know NOW, in the present. Even the you I knew 205 years ago I liked. And I don't feel disgusted or ashamed by any part of you. On the contrary, I accept ALL of you and that includes your good and bad sides, the good times but also the traumatic ones. We all love you, Myriad. I worked hard to build this Sacrarium for you. Your dragons love you - they chose you over their dad, and vie with each other for your affection. The Bolidians and other life that has arisen here LIKES being alive. Likes our Valley. That's why they struggle so hard to live even amongst these curses."

She pulled out of the hug slightly, although still stayed in the girl's personal space as this time she took her head in both her hands and made her look into her eyes. Her glowing cometfire eyes.

"So don't hate yourself, ok? any knowledge you have now is ultimately from you...from wisdom you've gained through both good and bad times. Don't be ashamed by it. Take ownership of it. Use it for your and your children's and even the mortals' benefit. Don't let Sumaya stop you from growing up to become an actualized, independent woman."

For a long while, she was silent in your arms. Then she spoke.

"Wield me."

Then she kissed you on the cheek, and -

You saw the whole of Myriad, but you yourself were larger than her somehow - a body of worldlight, your commetfire at a Primoridal scale - no, somehow, larger -

Myriad was a weapon. What you had imagined was a sapling, was a sword. Even as you felt this, you could still feel your real body holding her.

A constellation of blue stars were your raiment - Divj.

A constellation of white stars were your gauntlets - Erisha.

A constellation of red stars was your staff - Tarek.

A constellation of yellow stars was your weapon - Ixchel.

You were a galaxy surrounding Myriad, from whom immense power continued to pour.

With sight beyond sight, you could see not in terms of distance, but in terms of time. Myriad existed in high dimensions. Time was just one measurement - and the fracturing of possibility, one a step higher.

As immense as you were, you could see the tiniest details. Flocks of Nuldraks, some of whom were vast beasts, carving through asteroids - you saw distant Trees, new growth. But none of them were Arboreals, like you. They were your siblings, and you would destroy anyone who would hurt them.

You saw - and you knew this was in the past - Great Olds Ones coming near Myriad, seeing her strangeness, her sharpness, and not being afraid. They admired her, played accursed flutes. "Gutter of Samaya, First Wife of Azathoth," the rumbled in Unspeech. "The Order Beyond Chaos, The High Alchemist, The One Sharp, Charmer of Asat, Mother of Dragons, Night-Mother," they droned.

All of this, Myriad heard.

"Restorer of the Void, Salvation of the Elders, Sultana! Sultana! Sultana! Iä! Iä! Iä! Iä!"

It was then that you understood - the Arboreals that once slew Azathoth had thought their job done, and had peacefully retired to become Trees. Without Azathoth, and with the Cataclysm of Dream, the race of Old Ones had been all but wiped out. None of sufficient power remained to birth new Old Ones.

Save for Myriad, who had demonstrated her ability to procreate with them. Sure, the products were more Tree than Old One, but with enough breeding they could turn her - look at how bearing just four children had affected her. What of ten? A hundred? A thousand?

Sumaya had first rights, though. Myriad was one of their number, to them, and so old laws of enmity had to be followed. She was too powerful, as well - few remained among them that could hope to challenge her in a straight fight, given her ability to come to them in the Void. And she would only grow stronger.

For the salvation of their species, they agreed, once Sumaya had his chance, they would need to play a long game .  . .

You came back to yourself.

- - - -

She was sleeping in your arms, but the dusk remains.

"Ixchel - my dear friend - the black wolf - seek her out . . . the Moon, the dark side of it . . .  find her, she'll know what to .  . " you heard her mumble in her sleep.

And if she was asleep, then perhaps the Waking Night was awake . . .
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:27, Fri 21 Dec 2018.

RTS 2/5

Anger.

ANGER.

ANGER.

Myriad felt anger sweeping through her. But not her own anger. It was Halley's. Wish a more subtle but still burning underlying rage from Ruse. But overall, it was her Archon's Anger. Her ANGER.

Myriad had shown the truth. That the great old ones were trying to use Myriad as a brood mare. A heifer. As their whore. She could fight them off for the most part individually, but there were a few left as strong as Sumaya who could still inseminate her before she fought them off. And over time, they were putting more and more madness into her until she'd be so Mad she'd be able to make new great old ones.

Halley The Archon wanted to grab them by their Cthonic balls and cut their menhoods off. Or something.

Agreed.

"I'm sorry Myriad. I knew about the dragons and Sumaya, but had no idea it was this bad with the rest of the Great Old ones. I promise you, that I will work hard to become an ascended being, or perhaps even a higher being than that. To become an Arboreal or even a stronger, unique ultra being and I'll crush those old ones under my celestial heel. It will take me a long time, and in the meantime I'll work to grow you as a tree and make it even harder for them to invade you while I work to grow stronger. But I'll protect you Myriad." Halley said, her voice ringing throughout the vision so Myriad could hear it.

Approved. I'll help you, in my own way...

The large uber-Halley turned and embraced Myriad the World Tree, so she was hugging her and comforting her even in the vision.

"Will you promise to hold out, and keep the faith until then? To not give up. Not surrender to a feeling of helplessness. You have friends and allies. Me. The Hierophant. The Dragons. Soon, new gods who will arise from your branches. You're surrounded by people who care about you and support you." she continued.

Halley stroked Myriad's hair as she feel back to sleep, and gently put her down on a bed of flowers she willed to bloom inside the Sacrarium. She then turned and flew out back into the night to find the Black Wolf.

To Find Ixchel.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:43, Fri 21 Dec 2018.

On the dark side of the moon, you passed into a heavy darkness, and then into something like the Void, but apart from it - a Void of lower dimensions, an Abyss.

And there you found Ixchel, the Watch-wolf, and with her another Myriad, which was meditating quietly.

Ixchel was something strange - she was neither Tree nor Void. She was something simpler than either - and very young, of an age with Myriad. A Primeval - a Primoridal orphaned at birth, a runt. The trauma Myriad had gone through had stunted her development, like as not.

The Sacrarium Asura.

they know not the Dharma, Numberless

you are harming the little shadowfolk

I know

they will suffer all the more

they must know my terror

I will not be silent

I survived what would slay a lesser one

I drew strength from savagery

and peace from war

life from death

there is no greater alchemy

than redemption of those born ghosts

I am a sheathe for a sword that born within me

I am a womb for a world that was born within me

I am armor for a girl that was born within me

The Waking Dream sang:

In a world of cold and lonely night,
I behold figures of light;
my mother behind me,
my sisters beside me,
and I, their mirror, shine
and fight, their strength becomes mine,
and so doth their plight;
They grow dim, gripped by grief,
fear and anger, without relief,
Yet I recall I, suffering the same,
and Speak to them, I say their Name
Wisdom,  she whom gave reason to pain;
Strength, she whom sheltered me from rain;
Kindness, she whom soothed the barbs of hate;
Beauty, she whom made love great;
They hear my Voice, and see in me
forgotten radiance, the sleeping ember
of fire they kindled, and now remember.

This is my oath; for I am not the Sun;
but will be the Moon, whom guards the folk
of sea,  earth and sky
When Day has left, until I die.”

Ixchel saw you, and spoke.

"She doesn't mean the harm she does. She's lost and blind - she's trying to reach out to herself, and doesn't know the valley is there yet. She feels, in the darkness, the little dreamers, but does not know they are mortal - that they are not like you an I, Archon. Unspeech burns them; it brings them terror . . "

The watch-wolf ponderered. "A cipher. The Riftcrafters can stand Unspeech - they have inured themselves. It is the others who are endangered. Definition. There must be a buffer between the Waking Dream and the Waking World . . "

[Private to Halley Meretoll: Ruse would grasp it before you - there was a need for something like the Realm Sorcerous, which had served to separate the Demiurge of Yggdrasil from hurting the rest, and made magic something controllable. Given the context, Myriad probably needed something a little different, but that was a lead.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:26, Sat 22 Dec 2018.

Halley considered Ixchel and the Splinter-Myriad's words. She could resist and withstand the unspeech and the passion behind it, but most other lesser beings could not. She had to so something, but also had to help Myriad be able to channel this part of herself constructively.

She needs a new realm to buffer the magic. To bugger the dreams and the nightmares. A channel, a wall, and a church all at once.

Halley considered. She wasn't sure what to do, but then suddenly - inexplicably - she got an idea. Things made sense. But how? she didn't usually know about this sort of thing but somehow she was suddenly an expert, as something inside of her clicked into place.

Make the Realm Dream, little comet. 

Halley shook her head to clear her jumbled thoughts.

"Hello Ixchel - I'm happy to have a chance to spend time with you, but wish it was under better circumstances. I hear what you're saying, and appreciate all your advice. I have an idea I'd like to run by you..." Halley said gregariously.

"What if I used my power, and created another Realm-Branch? Not the Size of a mere realm, but a dimension-branch? I'm thinking we could call it the Realm Sorcerous...um...the Realm Oneiros. Yes...The Realm Oneirous. It would be a physical manifestation - and a geographical location - that embodied the Dreaming and the Waking Night. The good and bad of it all. It would be connected to Myriad still, so would not be something we shove under the rug and forget about. But at the same time, it would have its own stage to stand on, rather than crushing the Valley under its metaphysical weight." She said.

"another thing it would do is...<DarkBlue>regulate</DarkBlue>...um regulate the magic of dreams and riftcrafting, of runes and portents. And  practitioners of dream, nightmare, and rune magic would need the right supplication and ritual acknowledgement of the Dream and of myriad in order to channel its power. It would not be something freely taken by anyone except Myriad, and of course her administrators which are myself and her equipment guardians...but instead be a privilege granted through acknowledgement and petitioning of the Realm Oneiros. What do you think?"

The watch-wolf crossed her paws. "Yes."

She purred - a strange growling sound, coming from a wolf.

"The Realm Onierous . . Onerous?" she said. "Hmm."

"Something simpler."

.

.

.

Time continued to pass.

.

.

.

"Hmm."

.

.

.

"Call it Nocturne."

"Fitting, for a world of song and night."

RTS 4/5

Halley considered.

"Hmmm...Nocturne? The Realm Nocturne? I like it. I think it embodies a good blend of the good and bad we're aiming for in all of this. I will work on this soon." Halley said.

Yessss...this will be good indeed.

She then nodded at the she-wolf.

"You know what? Now that we're approaching a resolution on all this, let's talk less about myself and Myriad and more about you. Tell me about yourself. What are some of the things you like best, and some of the things you hate most? Which of Myriad's equipment do you represent? What do you think of the direction I've taken the divine Valley so far? And what are some things that concern you...not just about the valley, but in a personal and general sense?" she said.

"And how do you like it here on this moon?"

"Hmmm . ."

"I sometimes serve as her weapon. More commonly, the dark-skinned woman with the candles - I think she called herself Coffee. Kaufi? Kaphi? Kaphi. She was a gift-servant from Myriad's mother, Kukhe, as you are a gift from her father, Laerad. She is usually her Weapon. But she has kept me closely by her side as of late.

I like your valley fine. It is like my world, but with far more people and far too few beasts. I was a . . .  void-dweller, space-beast, something myth-crafted long ago - but leapt to her defense when Sumaya attacked her. She imprinted on me, I suppose, and I became something a little different. She is kind, strong, responsible, wise, and direct. Much like you.

I am concerned about the little gods that are waking. Myriad is gentle, and their treatment of her will affect her deeply. There is a childishness in her, a desire to always be . .  approved of. Tree-Gods are like . .  territorial predators. They do not get along if they share the same space.

Personally, I am still hoping to be given leave to hunt within the Void again."

She bowed her head, and traced in silvery fur you could see the outline of an ancient Mythcrafting rune - Isa, the Rune of Defense.

[Private to Halley Meretoll: Ruse would recognize it. From the very old Wiki - Isa - Ancient Rune of Protection – Makes the creature devoted to your welfare. It has natural abilities to counter about anything. Creature will have a very protective nature over its creator. If it deems its creator weaker than it (or in a state of extreme threat), it will not obey commands instead it will defend it all too well. All possible “threats” will be neutralized. But if the creator is more powerful the creature acts like a bodyguard, following him everywhere. (Possibility that it will try to kill friends or others because of little things, might even hurt the creator to keep them safe)]
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:12, Sat 22 Dec 2018.

RTS 5/5

Halley nodded at Ixchel.

"Thanks Ixchel. I wanted to get your insight on things. And don't worry about the other little gods that are blooming on her branches. If they become too harmful to Myriad directly, I will hunt them down. All gods - if they want to truly amount to anything - will one day need to come to the divine valley and that is where I will be waiting. My forsaken mist is strong enough to harm an ascended being, so imagine what it would do to a mere god? Mind you..."

Yes. Let the tree's allies and enemies reveal themselves, and crush the latter when they slip up.

Halley shook her head a moment, and continued.

"...mind you, I won't be telling any of the other gods this. I don't want them to live in constant fear while they are in the divine valley or its sub realms. I'd only hurt them if they did something really, really bad. I don't want to be a tyrant or something. So let's keep this secret for now."

I can make you into the Mist Queen. Mere gods cannot oppose my power!

"Yes...while I'm the steward of the Divine Valley, I want it to be a safe neutral space for Myriad's gods to gather, express themselves, and regroup. I will help them grow, break up any fights they have there, and otherwise tr to facilitate their own journeys. Because I want them to be ready to protect both Myriad and themselves when Sumaya and other horrible things come sniffing around again."

You're too nice, little Comet. Too soft. Too forgiving. But that's alright. You can handle playing the role of the gods' Onee-Sama for the most part, but when they slip up - and gods always do - I'll be waiting.

Then suddenly, a year's time had passed again.

"Oh no! I've lost track of time. Ixchel, I wish I could stay with you longer but I have to go and deal with the Waking Night quickly. Geogenesis is about to force itself to resume and I can't hold it off much longer. If you're ever free, feel free to come have crumpets and tea with Myriad and I sometime. We could try a Sakura-infused earl grey or something."

*rolls eyes*

And with that, Halley sprang into the void and blazed off the moon and back into the main skies of the Valley Proper. She was almost out of time, so got right to it.

The Dark Valley - for the first time in years - had shown brightly like it was daytime as Halley's celestial form lit up the skies. Once again, she went supernova and glowed like a little miniature sun as she mainlined Myriad's power as her Archon. And not even the Waking Night could blot out the light.

"I Halley Mereton, Archon of Myriad the Tree of Life, hereby declare my prerogative unto the world and universe. Myriad shall immediately grow another large branch, not the size of a realm but the size of a dimension. I name this the Realm Nocturne. And I hereby use my divine authority to pass judgement on the Dreaming and the Waking Night - good and bad sides of Myriad's experiences with the Void. And my ruling? I grant both a punishment and a boon. My punishment for the damage done to the Valley's inhabitants is that the Dreaming and the Waking Night (which together is the Dreaming Dark) - which truly are two sides of the same coin - the former arisen from Myriad's good experiences, the latter her bad - will be banished to The Realm Nocturn only to be released with my or Myriad's permission. However, the Boon I grant is that of acknowledgement - the thing that was taken from the Dreaming Dark by enemies of reality. The Dreaming Dark is free to express itself - both its light Dreaming and Darkly Waking Night as it needs to in order to express and soothe itself - with the Realm Nocturne as its stage. And all magics relating to dream making, nightmare magic, riftcrafting, the mystical runes themselves, and any other magic that will ever arise from the Dreaming Dark in the future is hereby blocked and banned to all beings (even gods) save Myriad and her administrators - myself and her equipment beings - unless practitioners of such arts go through rituals and songs of acknowledgement of Myriad's sacrifices and thanks for everything she does. Each and every time such magic is drawn upon. And if the Dreaming Dark deems the rituals and songs sufficient, the magic may then flow for that casting. And in this way the magic will be more shamanistc than hermetic."

Good. Teach these upstart new mortals and gods alike some humility for the magic they wield.


ACT: Create the Realm Nocturne and its metaphysics for the Dreaming Dark.

[Private to GM: Well...my final RTS thoughts this time around. Halley went and hugged myriad and comforted her, and she only used 1 ACT which preserves the valley's realness. It was nice getting to meet another equipment character of myriad's too.]

Geogenesis remained suspended.

You had overstepped your bounds.

The Ash was already there. You had simply moved Tarek - a being within the Valley - to it. But creating an entire new branch of reality? You turned Myriad's power back on itself - you directed Myriad to Grow according to your will -

Time skittered and stuck. A small loop of time was established - a man walked forward four steps, then back, then forward.

The valley flickered between light and dark. Something was deeply wrong - the foundations of the world began to crack, and split, and through them you saw the Void.

Titanic arms - each hand a mouth - each finger a blade - poured through -

Then your RPG vision was obscured with a searing pale light.

But as an Archon, you - saw -

Myriad. No more an adolescent - but still so young - garbed for battle. She wore a pink cloak with a curious crown-and-star emblem - Her armor was plain, as was her sword. Mortal-made. You understood - using weapons intended for a universe would devastate the valley. These were offered to her by Boledi smiths as worship.

She drew her wand over her sword, enchanting it with Air. It was a small silver sword - an instrument of Air -

She swung her sword but once.

The wave of air caught the petals of Sacrarium, and they whirled, buzzed, flew in a torrent -

One by one in rapid succession, the hands were obliterated. Myraid was already moving, soaring through the air, coming at you like the dawn -

She caught you, slammed you from the sky into a shallow stream. Both of you were splattered with mud.

She glared at you, anger written in her face. "I have known a foe to force themselves within me, but you? You think you have the right to - to rearrange my mind? To cause my body to produce - to grow what you will with it?" She was furious.

She huffed out a warm breath. Even her breath was floral. "No. What I'm mad about - what I'm so scared - what frightened me -"

She fell over her words, without anger to supply them.

"You can channel SOME of my power, my precious starling, but to create a new branch - the FIRST of my branches - not even my Dragons acting in concert could accomplish that feat. You would have been destroyed. You would have - died."

She stood, and offered you a gauntleted hand up. Then - "Come with me. I do not know you entirely, but I know what I want - I was going to wait. But you acted - the wheels are in motion -" She paused, and tears rushed down her face. "I was going to ask you. ASK you." She trembled. "You didn't know. You're not me, you don't . . you didn't know. You just wanted to fix things. You wanted to make me better. You forgot that we . . have different stations."

She gathered herself again. "Halley. By my power, I have heard you, and will accept your will, for it agrees with my own desires. But you will need more than just my power - you will need - me."

Then, you were within the Sacrarium. It was different. Around the central tree it was a warm summer, the ground soft with moss. Farther out, though, it was a dense wintry forest, packed with snow and darkness.

She began taking off her armor, blushing all the while. "We - we could do this just by mixing blood, but - I don't want to be cut." When she was down to just a thin shift, she put her back against the tree. She was about the same height as you now, and about 19, physically.

She blushed harder, almost vermilion. "This doesn't have to mean anything if you don't want it too, Halley, it can just be a ritual. It can be acting."

"Will you embrace me again?"

A depiction of your world as a young woman

[Private to Halley Meretoll: She's granting you one last RPG - not RTS - post by special intercession. Creating a new branch of the tree is something only her Master or Mistress Divine could accomplish. All you need to do is kiss and hold her, and the rest of what happens will be described in terms of the creative energy unleashed and Geogenesis resuming. Your "Act" is removing the Waking Dream from the valley - creating a new Branch has to come directly from Myriad, with your will being dominant in the encounter since you're directing how it happens. The special action here would be whether or not your kiss is perfunctory or has genuine feeling behind it.

The necessary ritual comes from what one has to do to make an Assimilated Cult in Dust - either you had to mix blood, or have intercourse, and Myriad isn't into mixing blood.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:09, Sat 22 Dec 2018.

Halley was caught off guard when Myriad charged into her, distracted as she was on trying her best to fix the current problems affecting the tree in a way that both her own and her other inner voice could reconcile. She didn't think this would kill her although a small part of her did, and didn't care for it was worth the sacrifice. She was only doing what she could to both remove the problem from the valley, but also address the problem rather than just removing and ignoring it.

And so Myriad crashed into Halley, and Halley - currently shining like a primordial sun - ensnared Myriad in turn and both came hurtling to the earth like a falling star, landing in a shallow river. Halley dimmed back to her normal light as her working was interrupted, and looked into Myriad's eyes.

"What...what are you doing? Why did you do that, Myriad?"

Foolish little tree. I would have saved your mind. Why meddle? The starling is expendable if it will save you.

Halley blushed a bit - Myriad was now older than before - a full young adult now. And had the body of one too. But her passion and anger also threw her off.

"What do you mean my station? I do not listen to your orders, and you do not command me Myriad. Tree or no. You're welcome to try, but it's up to me if I listen. My perfect free will gives me the right to challenge even your decisions. As a royal aegis, you know this is my prerogative. Actually, as Halley Meretoll, not just some aegis. she said with a huff.

Little tree - I am far older than you. I'm no mere god, but The Mist Emperor! Daddy knows best. Sometimes, you have to sacrifice a pawn to save the queen.

Halley blushed again. Where had this surge of self-pride come from? It wasn't her. Not mostly. She felt demure and apologetic.

"I...I'm sorry. I didn't realize I couldn't pull this off myself. And I wasn't trying to hurt you. I was trying to help you and the valley. My plan wouldn't have been to scramble your mind or twist your body. I was trying to help you compartmentalize your mind, and in the process force everyone who was trying to benefit from your joy and your traumas to have to give thanks and song to you. Because that's really what the Waking Night felt it lost, yes? What it wanted from the valley as its screams started killing mortals and driving them insane, Myriad! It needed a way to express itself and be acknowledged, but constructively."

Why did she somehow know that creating a branch sized buffer-realm like the realm sorcerous - whatever that was - would be able to work.

I wonder indeed, little pawn. -_^

"Myriad...I'd never try and hurt you on purpose. I told you early on I'd consign you to the void if you lost your virtue, but that until then I'd give my all to protect and help you. And you're so far probably the most virtuous person I have ever met in any of my lifetimes. I'd never do anything right now that I know would hurt you. Look at the risk I took to myself to help Tarek? It worked out thankfully, but it could have gone poorly."

You could always feed yourself to Myriad, pawn. I'd happily take over from here. Heh. O.o

Then the beautiful now adult young woman before her propositioned her for a moment of passion. Had told her she was angry not for overstepping, but because Halley could have been killed from power overload. And then Halley understood fully.

*rolls eyes* Oh brother here we go. I'm taking a nap - not gonna watch this. *subsides into silence*

Halley blushed - in this incarnation, she was still a virgin.

"Myri I...um." she stammered.

"I wanted to be your friend, but didn't think you valued me more than as a useful buffer between you and the rest of reality. But you care about me...about me, as a person, don't you? I'm more than your willing tool. And I'll tell you again: I don't do anything I don't want to. Not for you, the Hierophant. Anyone. Anything I do is because I will it. And I've now known you for centuries. I crafted the very heart of your power and mind with my own hands. Have watched you grow. Have watched you laugh with joy over how the tree is slowly growing, and weep with anguish over your past traumas." Halley said as she stood up and walked on top of the river waters, dirt and moisture flinging off of her as her aura dried her person.

She walked up to Myriad, and pulled her up firmly into her arms.

"How could I not come to care for you after having watched over you for so long now? For learning and literally seeing your true inner self?"

And with that, Halley pulled the other woman close and kissed her passionately.

[Private to GM: Well Halley is going with it, and the kiss definitely is more than just for ceremony. :) ]
This message was last edited by the player at 23:04, Sat 22 Dec 2018.

Geogenesis resumed. 200 years passed.

Both of you slipped through the tree within the Sacrarium, into a core within the core within the core of the universe - a very small, warm place, an anti-Void. It felt like were lying under a blanket-fort, and near a fire, and time was nothing.<

Myriad's aura was gone. Any hint of divine power, or universal essence . .  it was gone. Everything so . . . absolutely clear.

"There's a lot going on outside," she said. "A whole lot. But . .  I don't want you see it as an Aegis. I want you to see it as Halley."

She held out her hand. An introduction. "Don't call me Myriad, anymore, ok? Call me . ."

She considered, her lips pursing in thought. "Call me Myrri from now on, okay?"

She smiled, then grinned. "Myrri! I like it. I was so scared you wouldn't want this, wouldn't want me. I always thought that anyone talking to me would just want me to give them power. You're different. You're special. No matter how much power I gave you, you'd never really care that you were powerful. You'd just care about me."

Her hand went to your face. She was delicately built, a little bird. "And . .  I liked you. So . . . "

"But I was so scared. I saw other futures, what would happen if you rejected me, or . ."

"There would never have been a Myrri. There would just have been Myriad."

Her other hand went to her chest, too many emotions bottled up, too much feeling to even cry about it.

"What's the point in protecting me if you don't know me? Whats the point in being alive if you're not yourself? If you don't get to have secrets. I'm not Yggdrassil! And maybe if someone had treated Yggdrassil right, she might not have DIED! Maybe she died because people kept pushing her! And pushing her! To be bigger! To be grander! To be foundations for them to build their petty houses of cards on! Did you even care about HER, Mister? Or did you only ever care about IT?"

She wasn't talking to you, with that. She was talking to the person 'behind' you.

Myrri smiled, cupped your face in her hands. "Geogenesis is done. All done . . with Nocturne, I think I know what we'd both like the Valley to be like. But we can stay here for as long you like . . . if you will consent to be my Maestra Divina. My lover, and the treasure of my heart."

She pulled you on top of her, and-

[A new thread will be created, where you will be allowed to describe the finished, Enlightened-tier Valley Divine however you like. This thread can be locked after your next post, or can finish here, or can become a thread for RP SECRET HALLEY: The Sacrarium Sakura.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:04, Sun 23 Dec 2018.

Halley nodded at Myriad.

"Power in and of itself is cold and empty. I've learned over my countless incarnations - I'm a lot older than I look - that there's no point to having power if you're all alone at the top. And I've already got plenty of power already, and Hierophant told me that I could even potentially become an Ascended being someday still despite being an Archon. You've already foreseen possible futures where I became stronger than even you, a world tree. The very fact that I have all this POTENTIAL is more than enough for me, Myrri. I don't need you for the power you could give me. I can always go get some more myself." she said.

"I want you for the social things you can give me. Friendship. A new connection. A relationship. Someone to connect with. Someone who can understand me. And you...you understand my void-aspect. I'm not Mad but am still void-aligned as much as I am terrestrial. And this affords me a unique perspective of the multiverse as I sort of bridge a gap between the weft and the weave, but yet...as much as I travel I'm never fully a part of the cultures, dimensions, people, even mad beings that I encounter. And there's a certain loneliness in all that. But you can see all the different sights like I can, which means you can see these sides of me. Halley the woman. Halley the god. Halley the virtuous. Halley the Void-Rending comet. Halley the person, place, and thing." galley said, as she hugged Myriad.

And she fell into that hug for a while. and unknown to her, someone else loomed up behind her. A man with exotic, attractive features. Pale grey-white skin and mist-white hair, and deep blue eyes. The mists that had snuck inside where they were were seized even from Myriad's control for a short time, as they swirled slowly around the man. The Mist Emperor.

You are a tree, and do have some descent from Yggdrasil through her exasperatingly strange daughter, Kookhe. So I will watch over you and protect you even as I did your grandmother. But while your grandmother was a stern but fair woman, who was afraid to get her hands dirty...I am not. While I could not save her in the end, I prolonged her life far more than anyone else would. And I did it by not being afraid to step on some fingers and make some waves. Don't presume to think you are qualified to judge me, little tree. You are my god-daughter, so you will not take that tone with me young lady!

Do not presume to treat me like you do your little comet chew-toy there. She tolerates so much about you and lets you do and say whatever you want, but I will never hesitate to correct you. If I could, I'd bend you over my knee for what you did with the Dreaming Dark. Don't make your problems other peoples' problems. Because while Halley empathized with you and nearly killed herself trying to help you, your problems - your traumas...all of it are nothing compared to what SHE had to endure in her long life. You've had four or 5 bad moments - and yes, if I could I'd hunt Sumaya down and cut him into bloody pieces and then force-feed them back to himself. But I am no longer in such a position. Not yet, anyway. I'll bide my time for now, but maybe I'll find a way back. Then I'll show you how to really make a Mad being scream. But your grandmother...She was violated on many, many levels COUNTLESS times - by Mad and non-Mad alike - before I finally came into the picture and made them all suffer as the Mist Emperor. The Mad, the abyssal, even gods...I made them all suffer for harming HER. And still she tried to grow and keep her chin up. So unlike Halley, I'll never coddle you or let you whine and complain about your problems. Because we all have them, and yours could be far, far worse. Because you have FAR more support and FAR more people around you who are watching out for you than SHE ever did.

And then, the mists swirled and the exotic, intense man was gone as quickly as he appeared. Halley had sat up from the hug, and looked a little dazed for a bit before her eyes cleared and she became normal again.

"Huh? Sorry Myrri...I fell asleep there for a moment. It's so comfortable in your arms. But yes...I'd love to be your Maestra Divina. I want you to come to me whenever you feel cold or alone, or when something's trying to hurt you. You have so many people who love you. Me. Hierophant. The dragons, and your other equipment beings. And more. I don't want you to ever feel like you're alone ever again."

Myrri reached behind your head, seemed to grip something, and there was a click. She tenderly trailed her hands down from your shoulders to the top of your clavicle, delicate golden chains - Horuniculi, living-metal - appearing from her the tips of her fingers. Then she pressed her hands together, and released them - and a small locket fell against your chest. Curiously, this living metal was of a unique type - it was rose-gold in appearance, rather than the typical bright yellow.

"There. I'm bound your friend within this - the Mantle of the Maestra Divina. He will no longer be troublesome unless you call upon him. Your godhood is your own, now, as well - you've channeled enough of my power that the residue alone is enough to achieve that. Your abilities as Aegis are locked within, should you need to use them. You may use this locket to scry other people and places - either by opening it and looking at it, or by holding it and closing your eyes."

"If things are dire - whisper the name I have given you to the locket, and you will assume a suitably powerful form blessed by our love."


[Private to Halley Meretoll: Congratulations, you're a magical girl. The Locket lets you transform into the Maestra Divina, allowing you to assume an Ascended form - but only when motivated by your love for Myrri. And yes, she just used Ruse's Tier 5 Royal Soul for Mythcrafting. Since he's Noble-souled, he'll remain sentient and stuff, but he's a necklace now.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:27, Sun 23 Dec 2018.

Halley blushed a bit.

"Wait...so he was inside of me this whole time? O---M---G!" she said, surprised and she touched the locket. She opened the locket up and peered inside, and suddenly a voice issued forth.

"Well duh! Gosh you're dense. You'd never have survived this long without my help. Like someone with your lack of discipline could handle channeling THAT much power. I am the Mist Emperor! Of course you needed me. And Myriad young lady! You did NOT just mythcraft me! Shame on you! when I get out of here, you're getting bent over my knee. And Halley, let me tell you about discipline! You need to..."

*snap*

And that was when Halley closed the locked.

"My word. No wonder my thoughts were so jumbled these past few centuries. Why I knew things like how build a tree-realm for Nocturn, or these urges I've been getting. Or the lost time...I always thought I was just day dreaming. I am a Comet after all. wow!" she said.

She then stroked the locket a bit and out it back around her neck.

"You know what though, Myrri? His royal pain seems like quite the handful. but people don't become like him overnight. He's overbearing and manipulative, but for all the deception I still never truly felt like he was ever lying. I have a feeling he's seen and done a LOT more than either of us know. And to get as hard as he is...he's probably lost and sacrificed everything he's ever cared about." she said, a bit ruefully.

"And also...he did help make me into an Archon before I basically used residual tree power to ignite my divinity again. I mean I'm still an Archon, but it's like...fully self-powering again. Although I can still feel his mist domain in me still too...like he left me with a gift to help me despite you just having accessorized him just now. I...I just can't hate him, despite everything. Do you get what I mean, Myrri? I hope you don't hate him either. I think in his own way, he's always been trying to help you."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:50, Sun 23 Dec 2018.

"I don't think I really have it in me to hate him. I just . . . there's a lot of anger in me. I feel like I was failed by people like him. He said Yggdrasil didn't have so many supporters . . . Neither did I. I didn't even have a Master Divine. Or a Hierophant. Or anyone. I was alone, except for brave Ixchel. I can only think that he was talking about my children. Doesn't he realize how intensely fucked up it was, that he phrased possessing supportive children from - what happened to me - as some kind of luxury? That I should be grateful for?"

Her shoulders dropped from where she'd tensed them. "I'm a survivor, and a fighter. I want my children to be free. I don't want to rule anyone. I want to fight, and make love, and see my branches full of new life."

"The mad . . they sell themselves as freedom, but self-definition is the ultimate freedom. The Mad are not self-defining . .  they are chaos, meaningless patterns formed by chance . . "

She was quiet.

.

.

.

There was a sense of focusing, and Myrri seemed to shift, in a spiritual way. With your Archon sight, you could almost see her delving into herself, drawing connections, shifting subtle facets of reality -

And then she was Myrri, Fractal God of -

There was more shifting -

She was Myrri, of the Myrmidon, a race servile to Myriel, Fractal of Myriad, whom she was the mortal Heir of, and whom you had established an Assimilated Cult with.

"There. Myriel isn't a different being than me, but there are rules to things. A Fractal is a God that is both Aegis, Anima, and the Realm itself all at once. By being a Fractal with the domain of myself, I can maintain total consistency while reducing myself in scale . . and then I imagine myself as a mortal with identical characteristics, and invested with the essence of, that same Fractal, which reduces me a step further in scale."

"If I die, Myriel doesn't, and I can restore my mortal body. Myriel is necessary because there has to be a buffer between Myrri and my tree-self to avoid triggering Paradox by being in the same place as myself for too long."

"Tell me I'm clever. Also, we really need get out of this Sacrarium, like-" she turned and vomited blood - "Now."

She flickered into being Myriel, opened a portal exactly where you both were, and then -

Petals - an orange lantern hanging from an ox-drawn cart - splish, splash - a mountain capped in gold - the taste of caramel -

Continue posting in the Valley Divine.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:48, Sun 23 Dec 2018.

Halley held Myriad in her arms.

"I...I know what he said was harsh. and yes, I believe he was talking about your children too. But you know what? I don't think he was trying to make light of your situation. He is powerful, crafty, conniving, intense, and even a bit...predatory in a sort of cornered hunter kind of way. But I don't think he'd ever make light over something like being violated. No...on the contrary, I think he was being VERY honest about what he wanted to do to Sumaya for you. In his own way, he was trying to give you his version of a pep talk and telling you to toughen up - not because what happened to you was trivial, so much as that you cannot afford to sit down and roll over and die. It's just his delivery was crap." Halley said.

"The Mist Emperor...I think he's become the poster child for utilitarianism. And I think he got that way not because he is fundamentally malicious - which after having had him inside me for centuries I can say I don't think he is even if he isn't NICE all the time. But I think he's a man who literally had to sit by and lose everything. As for Yggdrasil...I think he saw her violated many, many times in many different ways, despite his ascended power. And I think he thought of her as a SHE for sure. Like his own literal mother. And he had to sit there and, even while fighting, watch his own mother be violated. No child could go through that and come out unscathed. I think that's the real truth behind the mist." she said, a single tear falling down her cheek as this realization dawned on her.

Mind you, as a woman Halley felt that one violation or many violations was the same: they all were one too many. And thus she knew Ruse was being insensitive to Myriad, albeit his intentions were actually good. And so all she could do was shed a tear for both of them. Because she felt Ruse's pain and literally saw Myriad's.

"Wait...Myrri what are you doing? No don't shrink yourself like that not here. In the center of your power you'll risk...MYRRI!" she sad as her lover spat up blood.

And without any further waiting, Halley immediately grabbed onto Myriel and "warped" them outside of the Sakura Sacrarium!

Moving to the Main Valley Divine Thread.

"Halley." she said.

Halley appeared here. And was always here. And wasn't here. All were true. She was cross-lateral as the Archon the the Tree. The Comet that watches.

But in this very instance, she was fully present.

"Yes my love?" she said, her voice sweeping across the Sacrarium.

My love...we need to talk. You have grown distant. And honestly...severing your connection to your incarnations Myrri and Myriel has left me feeling lonesome in a sense too. When you did that, they were more like separate beings rather than true extensions of yourself. And at that realization, I found myself unable to love them. to think of them as much more than puppets or sentient dolls. Or maybe girl-toys for an occasional fling. My point? I don't love them. Not like I love you. Because they aren't you." Halley said pointedly.

"I know those words are colder and edgier than I normally am. But it's how I feel. I have watched, gotten to know you, and protected you for over five centuries. I literally built the core of the world we stand on with my own two hands, and mainlined your power so much I can never forget how your personal signature feels. I may be your Archon, but before I serve you I serve myself and my heart. Free will is my prerogative. And I became the Maestra Divina because I fell in love with a sapling." she said.

"I just want you to know my feelings before we continue."

She nodded. "I've just been meditating on some philosophical texts I was reading during my year as a Myrri. Parenting guides, that sort of thing. I feel that, for sake of the future and preserving the reality of tree, I need to . . . withdraw. You are wiser, though. I don't need to withdraw me, just my influence."

She crossed her legs. "This may seem strange, but as Maestra Divina, The Realm Supernatural - which includes the Valley Divine, as the central province, and Four Worlds as outer provinces - is your Realm. And I, in that spirit, am the Animus of it - the spirit-of-the-land.  Usually you would also have an Aegis, but, well."

"So. The spirit-of-the-land is . . the land doesn't act of it own accord as the land. So while I can be me, there are limits, constraints on my power going forward. If the Valley is attacked, it will be your job to repel the invasion. You will only be able to take on the form of the Maestra Divina if this Sacrarium is threatened, but may freely use your power as Archon. It's unfortunate, but the preservation of reality requires the conservation of power, to reduce our . . . attractiveness to the Mad."

"You must only serve as a protector. You must never be a ruler, do you understand? I feel shame that I have denied you that. The opportunity to be the sole power, with a dominion of your own. Instead, I have . . . guided you down a path of service to me, that by rights you should have only been made to choose of free will, from a place of security."

She curled a lock of her hair around her forefinger. "I want to offer the formal choice. You may continue to be my Maestra Divina, and renounce your birthright to rule a realm of your own; you will renounce your birthright to seize power as you may; and you will renounce your birthright to a people loyal to you before all others. You will take up an oath to serve as my protector and lover, and see after my children, be they god or dragon.

Or you may decline, and take a Realm within my branches, be granted a chosen people, and live as a God among your fellows.

You will be required to announce your choice within the Valley Divine, and if you choose to remain my lover, make the rounds of the Moons of the Virtu de Luna, telling them of their nature, of your nature, and of the Valley Divine that is their shared homeland and center-of-centers, inviting them to share in its bounty, and in the building of it.

And lastly - if you remain my lover, you will renounce the name Halley Meretoll, and assume the sobriquet of The Comet That Watches."

She smiled. "Only I will get to call you Halley. As only you will get to call me Myrri. I don't think I'll need to pretend to be a mortal or god anymore."
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:33, Thu 17 Jan 2019.

Halley considered.

"I agree that you need to withdraw your influence - TO A POINT - in order not to stifle the natural growth and evolution of the beings who live and grow on your branches. However, that doesn't mean you should become completely dormant or made completely irrelevant. But more distance from everything else would be good for everyone else and good for you I think. I'll let you know if I think you're growing too distant though. It's my job as your Archon and your lover to give you a jab in the side now and then if you need it." she said with a wink.

"But with that said...I have little desire to rule anything besides myself right now. Although I do declare sovereignty over any temples, shrines or other spaces consecrated to me both here and elsewhere and also declare full sovereignty over myself. I also will retain sovereignty as needed over Bolide and any of the other cities of the divine valley, but I will only invoke it on a need-to basis like when genocide or mass disruption of the valley is at stake, if gods start fighting in the streets, and so on. Also, in any godly organizations and really for any organizations...I reserve the right to be a final arbiter in the case of unsettled disputes. Like how I am keeping the magesteria from going to war while I arbitrate the situation with the cracks. Up to this point, I'm sure you've noticed I have been pretty lenient and hands-off with the Bolidians and have let them grow and develop with only minimal guidance and regulation from me. This was intentional, and as long as they abide by the edicts I laid out for them when I created them I will let them rule themselves: be stewards of the divine valley in my name, do nothing to harm Myriad, and honor me and you equally in all things. If the Bolidians ever forget that I am the one who gave them life and gave them a purpose, I will remind them of their place. Firmly if need be. Otherwise, I intend to let them continue to grow on their own unless their actions directly interfere with my agenda. Like the tree crack thing, and the riftwardens' desire to try and get around Dreamweaving supplication by channeling the void. I won't let even my precious Bolidians invite Madness into the tree."

Halley then grinned.

"I agree to remain your lover, the Maestra Divina, for as long as both of us wish it. But I have some terms of my own. I agree to limit my access to the ascended Maestra Form to only those situations where I'm protecting you or the Valley itself and the Sacrarium. However, I will retain the use of the Forsaken Mist while I am in the Valley's confines. In this way, I will keep god-tier and dragon-tier beings from running amok and causing havoc. I declare that you do not have the right to make dictations over it, and that its use is between myself and The Mist Emperor as it originates from Yggdrasil, not Myriad. Also, I declare that if I ever on my own merit become an ascended being, that you will no longer be able to limit my access to ascended levels of power. I also agree to give you my name, and instead become The Comet That Watches, but if I ever in the off chance gain arboreal tier power then I will take my name back even from you, and instead you will take on the title of Maestra Cometa Myriad. At that time, I also will regain my right to rule or protect as I see fit." she said boldly.

"However, to sweeten the deal I agree to announce the state of our romance and to give invitations to the godlings across the moons, and invite them to the Divine Valley. I also agree to establish the Valley as a sanctuary space for the gods - and to use the forsaken mist and my other archon granted abilities to enforce this if needed - but to never bully the gods who are in the valley as long as they are abiding by the rules of hospitality here and leave the Sacrarium and my observatory and temples alone, even if on a personal level I dislike one of them. Essentially, I agree to be a supernal hostess and hold them to abide by supernal rules of hospitality as guests."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:28, Thu 17 Jan 2019.

She blushed, and touched her lips. The temperature within the Sacrarium soared, and distantly, the Valley experienced a heat wave.

"I . . accept your troth, as termed. And . . . I really like it when you . . .  are brash, with me,"

Her blushed deepened, before she took a deep breath and mastered herself.

"Very well. I would advise you to visit Caerden, first. He was the firstborn deity, and he's the one that will have the most issue with you. Respect him - but be subtle about the respect! - make him feel important, ensure he knows he's the firstborn, but make it seem like the information slipped from you on accident . . . and sort of . . cajole him into taking on some of your work. The Gods will be more comfortable if they have a leader. As the Deity of Mystery and Intrigue, he'll like being involved in social shenanigans from go. It might go best if you . . . play the 'humble servant of the tree' angle, but you're clever, I trust you to know best. Perhaps approach him at the Sanctuary?"

She paused. "Hm. Perhaps I should ask him to become the Host of the Sanctuary. He'd like that."

Falling against the tree, she sighed. "Gods and their egos."

Halley nodded, and floated over to Myriad and kissed her on those big, red, lucious lips for a good minute. Letting the tip of her tongue dance on her lips as she did teasingly.

"Then we have an accord. And until I'm strong enough to force the issue back my way, I give my name to you for safe keeping."

[Private to GM: OOC: I'd like you to change my character profile name to "The Comet That Watches" going forward until further notice]

"As for sanctuary...that realm where it's her birthday cannot remain forever. If you get tired of maintainin g that pocket realm, I would like to move the sanctuary space into a sub-pocket realm linked to the Divine Valley. I have left several domes in Bolide empty knowing I'd be using them eventually for godly and other divine commerce." she said.

"Suggesting him to become the host of the sanctuary social space is a good idea. It will make him feel important even while you and I police it quietly and secretly as the real power behind the throne from the background, to ensure it remains safe. Having this safe space for the gods is important and I'm fully willing to use their egos against them for the better good of all." she said with a smirk.