"Welcome, my brother!" Annastarria said, standing up to greet her brother. "We are feasting the new province, my return to my children, but it was your visit that made me want to hold this feast in your honour. Come, join us!"

She pulled out a seat and poured a glass of silver, sparkling water. "This comes from a waterfall that drains behind my temple. I fill it with energy and starstuff that falls on Aeon which gives it a most delightful taste."

She held up her cup in toast to her brother.

When the desire for feasting was made known the aethereal hastened to see it done. At the High Arcanist's command the plaza outside the Concordance was cleared of pedestrians and ornate tables were brought out. Fires were kindled on either side of the table to drive away the chill of the evening. Soon aethereal were hurrying forward carrying ornately carved wooden trays atop which were piled foraged berries, tender roots, native fruits and other succulent treats of Aeon. It took awhile longer, but then trays of cooked meats, bowls of soup, and meals which grew increasingly lavish as time passed and allowed the cooks procuring these goods had more time to work.

As the evening passed more tables were brought out to accommodate the increasing platters of food. Fuel was added to the nearby fires along with wood chips that gaze the warming pyres a pleasant scent.

The Prince smiled at his Hostess.

"Well met, sister! Your brother is immensely flattered. And Flattery will get you everywhere." he said with a chuckle.

He took of her cup of star-water and drank, enjoying the exotic taste of Aeon she was giving him. He also feasted on many of the dishes that were served at the feast, although always with an air of decorum and propriety, and somehow the god always seemed to stay clean! Although he enjoyed the epicurean style of festivity and enjoyed broadening his horizons.

"My sister. I promised to give you a present of a plant that I knew did not grow on Aeon. It has a succulent, freshly sweet but not overly so taste and is full of nutrients. It also doesn't harm the environment, should you wish to have it cultivated." he said as he waved over some servants.

"Aethereal? Please get a knife and board and cut this into slices and serve it to your goddess as an offering!" the Prince declared as suddenly, in an empty patch of grass in front of the the feast table, a viney plant suddenly sprang forth from the earth growing unnaturally fast until it was fully grown. It bore large, green fruits the size of 1 or even two mortal babies, pr perhaps of a fairly large stone. They were striped and green on the outside but the inside held a lush, watery red-pink fruit with small dark and white seeds.

The Prince of Blossoms gifts Annastaria with a Watermelon plant!

Ever grateful and loving when it came to her children, the invitation was open to any of her people who were present and wanted to join. Her brother had the guest of honour seat to her side, her heir sat on her other side. The food and drink were plentiful and the brightly coloured lights that hung on the buildings as well as overhead illuminated the grand square in blues and reds as she feasted with her children and brother.

She stopped eating and looked with great interest at the fruit her brother made grow from the ground - the watermelon he had named it in the last age. She was most eager to try it and took a bite when it was presented to her by one of her children.

She smiled and savoured the taste of the succulent fruit and slid a piece over to Xeves. "This is delightful, brother. I thank you for this gift and happily accept. Come, let me show you Shademire which is to be the site of the Tea House, the first embassy between our peoples."

She projected another self which waited outside the city in her true form. When her brother joined her she offered to fly him there to show him the vastness of her Realm.

The Prince nodded.

"I am delighted that you find the Watermelon pleasing. I shall ensure you have seeds to grow more of these lovely fruits in the days to come." he replied graciously.

"shademire? Is that the name of your new province, sister?" he asked curiously.

"And yes I would most enjoy a personal tour. I have some infrastructure ideas to run by you but need to see what we have to work with first. Plus, it will be vindicating to see the fruit of our labor in that dreadful hunt." he added as he sent a self of his off to join her on the outskirts as well.

When the Prince was safely settled between her shoulders, Annastarria took the the air with a might beat of her massive wings as well as a powerful kick to gain altitude. During the flight she happily pointed out new additions to her Realm since his last visit.

"My children were busy whilst I slept. I charged Xeves with building the infrastructure rather than simply magic and combat and this was the result: a city grown, a network of roads, food aplenty, and the taming and cultivation of the Shademire. Given your help was instrumental in me having the needed Essence to expand Aeon I feel it is only meet that the first embassy between our worlds be built there. That and the fact that it is a green and pleasant land now."

***

She continued to fete her children and brother in the capital city of Aeon - the celebration having taken on an air of greater festivity when she made firwworks of blue and purple fire explode over their heads. It was a celebration of her Realm and her brother, her children and their city, but also life and the World Tree itself for these were glorious times to live in.

OOC: Gods can only have 1 copy of themselves in a Realm, so we'll move on!

While the food and drink was enjoyable, the call to explore the new corner of Aeon was too strong to ignore. Leaving the still growing number of dishes to the aethereal to enjoy, Annastarria and the Prince of Blossoms set out to visit the southlands of Aeon. Taking the several hours to make the journey, they came to the edge of the mire.

Dirt paths had been worn through the tall grass and marked the comings and goings of the nomadic aethereal. These provided a direction to follow for the gods and they followed the winding path along solid ground. The Shademire was quite similar to Aeon in some ways from the delicate blue and purple tinge of its reed and tall grasses, but also distinct. The delicate light of the stars and the moon seemed to get swallowed up by the dark waters. The tangled trees of the bog created secretive nooks and moss hung from their branches like sheets to obscure vision.

The aethereal trails disappeared not far into the bog, evidently the natives of Aeon foraged around the edges of the mire but did not venture too far within. This did not discourage the pair of gods however. They delved deeper into this untamed province.

Deeper into the bog the tangle of trees forced the gods to stay on foot, otherwise the only other way to see what was below was to tear apart the natural landscape. Snapping some branches became unavoidable though as the bog forest grew denser. The black and curled branches had nearly formed a wall, then just past that opened up into a large clearing. The leafless canopy came together overhead to form a natural dome. Inside the dome seemed to be influx, plants were growing dying, rotting away and growing again. Sometimes not in that order. It seemed as though time had been disordered here, no longer predictable and linear. Sometimes time walked forward, sometimes it sprinted, sometimes it backpedaled.

At the heart of this swirling morass of time a glowing splinter of glass hung in the air. It was wild spark of creation, that remained from the birth of the province. Seeing how it distorted and warped time, it opened up a number of possibilities.

Annastarria may choose to do one of the following:

Tame the Time Shard: As it exists now, it's too wild and unpredictable. But it could be soothed, coaxed into a more predictable rhythm. Then its ability to roll time forward or back and the possibilities it offered could be better explored.
Gain a Province Benefit: The Time Shard - The shard will remain fixed in this location, but its warping effects on time will be made more manageable.

Forge a Pretty Bauble: In its current form the time shard isn't capable of being moved, but that could be changed. Some of its potency could be sacrificed, but in exchange the time shard could be made into a wearable adornment. A jewel that could be adorned to a necklace or bangle.
Forge an Artifact: Gain an item of jewelry that will allow some limited time control functionality. In a limited area and with a limited amount of movement forward and back. Far weaker than a true divine power, it still offers utility.

Cheating Time: Gathering up all the power that this shard offers, it could be spend in one great burst. Destroying the shard it can be used to roll a Realm through time, whether forward or back. The effect will be great and doesn't allow for precise control.
Single Use Power: You may roll a Realm forward or backwards by 2 Ages. This destroys the time shard.

The Prince attended to his sister as they made their way deeper into shademire. In an area where the plants got to be too unamenable, the Prince made them part for them with a thought. However, he tried to not otherwise damage or distort the land right now, wanting them to tour it in its natural state.

Then they came across the odd time-shard grove-place.

"Sister! Look there. It's not the plants themselves that are mystical, but that shard of time there." he said as he pointed to it.

"This is an unexpected boon for you! Don't waste it on a trinket or on using it up all at once. This is a mystical resource and, like all of the resources of this land, should be tended to carefully and cultivated. Mind you, you are the host here and I am only humbly offering my opinion as your brother. I will certainly respect any decision you make, but if my opinion matters I think you should Tame the shard."

"What do you think of Shademire? Would you want an embassy built here or somewhere else?" Annastarria asked as they continued their trek though the trees, vines, and other verdant life of the province.

The odd warping of time was concerning until they found the source. "Look at that," she exclaimed in wonder. "Surely the World Tree has an infinite bounty of riches with which to surprise us. This is certainly unexpected," The Goddess of Eternity said as she walked forward to look at the Time Shard.

"Once again we are of one mind, brother. I shall Tame the Time Shard and explore what uses I may make of it."

She reached forward and attempted to feel how she may go about this task be it with her mind, divine power, or both.

Stepping forward, Annastarria held out a hand and as the god of eternity she bound this shard of time and wildly undulating beginnings and ends. Tying them off something into something like a mobius strip. This all occurred within a realm of metaphysical energy. Within the Shademire grove the chaotic flickering of the shard calmed. The cacophony of death, growth and rebirth occurring inside the grove stilled. Now time was simply running backwards. A far more manageable state than every direction at once. Gradually that backwards time shift would pause, then rapidly roll forwards. It would proceed in this regular pattern now, but more importantly, that pattern could be manipulated by access to the shard. In its new softened state, it was safe enough for mortals to manipulate. Safe being relative, there would likely still be causalities and some horrific time related accidents, but just nearing the shard wouldn't be an immediate death sentence as it would have moments ago.

Province Benefit: The Time Shard - Allows for time to be manipulated within a limited field.

The Prince nodded at his sister, satisfied.

"I look forward to seeing how you take advantage of this new mystical resource, sister." he said.

"In the meantime...I'd like to begin teaching a core group of your people about Agriculture and good land management. You never know what the future may hold, and while Shademire is fertile now you don't want to be caught with your pants down in a future age. Learning some of these principles will help give a solid foundation to your infrastructure improvements over time as well." he said.

"Thank you," Annastarria said after she had finished taming the Time Shard. "Now that I have it I shall have to think of ways to use it to benefit Aeon. This is an extremely powerful device and one whose presence I find troubling. How did it come to be here? I wonder if this has something to do with the city I found beneath the the Argent Sands. The resting place of the second God the World Tree had placed on Aeon. That city was traveling backwards through time from ruin to...perhaps once it hit its height that's when the other God would have come to be."

She looked at the shard and cocked her head as she contemplated the effect it had on the surrounding province.

"I'll have to observe the way it affects this province before I raise the Tea House. The flow of time here may now be predicable but it is hardly normal. I don't want your embassy to be placed somewhere dangerous. If not here then I would happily raise it in the City."

She turned and smiled at her brother. "I would be honoured to learn whatever you have to teach. Shall we return to the Eternal City?"

The Prince nodded.

"Yes, I think returning to the central city for now is the best course of action. We should make your High Arcanist aware of our plans and see if he can't help us assemble some workers and even some of your scholars to begin the training process." he said in agreement.

"As for this city you mentioned...It seems you got lucky and nipped your doppelganger in the bud somehow, but remnants of their influence still stand. Mine is the False god of Blossoms, and he's out there somewhere causing trouble or plotting against me for sure. A monochrome aspected god of blossoming ideas that eerily had many similarities with me, but yet profound differences too. It is like he was an entirely different take on my domain while still being a legit take on it. I suspect that with yourt eternity domain, this time city entity may have been your doppelganger. Like how Graug and that more refined speared god were dopplegangers." he added.

"If you need assistance, I'd be happy to try and explore this city place you mentioned with you and see if there's a problem brewing in your own backyard. My own realm is rife with issues right now too so it surprises me not that you're having problems."

"Thank you but the city was dealt with when I stopped the birth of the other god. It ceased regenerating and only exists as a monument to a time that never was or shall be. The province is tamed and my children dwell there. Some of the wisdom I have given my children was what I saw carved on the walls of what is now a tomb."

She found an open space, transformed back into her true form, and waited for her brother to climb on before she leapt into the air and circled to see Shademire from a more lofty perspective.

"That said, I am quite happy to fly you there so you can see the ruins for yourself. We can both see what my children have made of them since my last visit."

The Prince shook his head.

"If the threat is contained for now, that is enough for me. Although I'd love to see it some time once we have a free moment. But given that the tree is becoming increasingly more of a dangerous place to live, even for gods, it's more imperative than ever that we begin the agricultural training!" the Prince replied.

"If it suits you, sister, let us meet with Xerxes and get the training organized as soon as possible."

Annastarria roared her agreement and continued on to the Eternal City. As she did she contemplated what Serek had told her of the damage done to his Realm and children. She was disgusted by the act of Amaranth but could she condemn him for what he had done and say she would do no less if her own Realm were so damaged and her children scattered or put to the sword?

She could not. It was easy to take the high ground now but had she been the one to deal the killing stroke in the ruins of her Realm...

Her mind made up, she continued their flight to Aeternus.

With the Shademire sorted out, the two gods returned to Aeternus. The feasting that their god had condoned was just concluding and the clean up process was beginning across the plaza. Xeves was back in the Concordance and was coordinating the aethereal there sending out messengers to the scattered tribes of Aeon. It seemed leading was an endless task.

Rising to greet the two gods, the High Arcanists gave another deep bow and listened to the proposed plan. His twin moons eyes blinked in confusion as he listened. "Grow plants? But why would we need to? They grow on their own? And how? They hardly listen when we tell them not to prick us with thorns or when we wish they had grown sweeter." He asked in confusion. The concept of agriculture was clearly entirely foreign. Since the dawn of their realm they had existed by foraging off the land and hunting its animals. The idea of actively growing crops was like telling them they should direct the stars how to move.

"This is a new skill I wish to pass on to my children with the help of the Prince of Blossoms. Agriculture and Animal Husbandry can insure we don't have an issue with famine as we did in the time of my last long sleep. We shall teach the Aethereal to raise the life on Aeon so there is always enough to provide for all of my children who live now as well as those generations to come. Instead of hunting for food we shall grow it here, in the city, as well as raise it. Once the Aethereal are responsible shepherds of Aeon's bounty we shall not need for food ever again. The deep divisions that happened in the Age of Strife shall not happen again."

She turned to look at her brother and smiled at him as she thought of an age of plenty that could be dedicated to the kind of intellectual growth she had always sought for her children.

"The Prince shall teach this first generation how to grow and manage crops and then they shall spread the teachings across Aeon."

She turned back to look at her oldest child and heir.

"Ever have you trusted me, High Arcanist. Trust me again."

The Prince nodded sternly at the High Arcanist.

"You are, Xeves, a most impressive example of your race. You are skilled AND talented in equal measure, which is why you have earned my sister's favor so much. But don't forget that you still are mortal, and mortals both have a more limited and narrow perspective as well as an exciting capability to grow and evolve. But right now, you are being narrow-minded and rigid, High Arcanist." the Prince said firmly.

"Of course thorns will prick you. But will fire not burn you, or water not be wet to the touch? Those are merely natural properties to those things, but natural properties can be utilized for the benefit of mortals if they are researched and understood. And in this case...you only believe that the plants of the realm are useless because you simply haven't spent enough time trying to not only learn about them, but to understand them on a deeper level." he continued.

"And sure plants grow on their own, but do they grow the way you want them to? Or that you need them to? No...because they are merely growing wildly without a guiding hand. But imagine...if you could purposefully grow a field of watermelon plants, and then offer some of them to your goddess while sharing the rest with your city? And imagine you could grow only the plants you need, and get more crop yield in less amounts of space than they would do in the wild? And imagine you can do all of this sustainably, without taxing the soil and air and in some cases helping to replenish the land while being able to literally eat the fruits of your labors? I can offer your people this, Xeves."

The High Arcanist was not resistant to the idea, but while he nodded, the glowing cosmos of his body remained blurred and uncertain. Thus a few days later it was arranged that students would be brought to learn the ways of plants. They gathered before the foreign god to the land and listened. And the Prince of Blossoms shared his teachings.

And the Aethereal failed miserably. They neglected the plants, then they overwatered them, then for a week they had it in their minds that petting the leaves of the plants was what nurturing meant. The idea of purposeful growing of plants was utterly foreign to the nomadic star people. It was far harder than teaching the kitsune had been aeons ago, but that was back when the mortals were mere babes and ready to soak in every lessons presented to themselves.

Months later there was finally a begrudging advancement as the Aethereal fully grasped the notion that the little hard bits inside the plants were seeds and you scattered those bits where you wanted more of that plant to grow. It could be viewed as only the most marginal of steps forward, but it was still definitive progress. These students then went abroad with the nomadic tribes on their travels, with them they carried several bagful of seed and when they reached the dedicated sites where the tribes rested they would spread the seeds there.

These scattered seeds were left largely to the whims of nature whether they succeeded or failed, but the ideas of watering, soil type, fertilizer and growing seasons were miles beyond where the aethereal were currently. Still, this was progress.

It would have been easy to say the aethereal were simpler or less advanced than the kitsune, but that notion would be dispelled upon visiting their astrological sites which were built to mirror the shifting skies overhead, or watching the training being done at the Astral Academy and how they blended magic with combat in an elegance utterly foreign to Irani. It was truly astounding how similar mortals could be, yet so different based upon the cultures that their gods had fostered.

Annastarria was, as she had ever been, understanding and patient with her children. She always celebreated their success and never criticised their failures. She was eternal as was her patience. Love had ever been her way with her children, even in the days when she was wroth with them, and none had ever suffered by her hands.

So, too, it was with this new lesson they sought to learn from her brother. She was beside them at all times, learning as they learned. Her success came rather more quickly then that of her Aethereal but it did come and with it, came praise and celebration.

"It is well past the time where they turn their heads to Aeon itself for I have neglected the Realm in their teaching. Their grasp of the Heavens is quite amazing but this is an entirely new way of thinking," she said to her brother one day as they soared high above the plains.

"The roads are lovely and match the constellations they see wheeling overhead. They were unexpected and a great source of joy when first I beheld them some Ages past."

The Prince nodded at Annastarria.

"Your people are both...primitive yet also highly advanced! It's a difficult judgement I'm trying to convey. They don't seem to have a lot of practical common sense, and their heads are figuratively and literally in the clouds some days. But yet...they excel at cold logical calculations of the stars and of their observatories and also their astral magic is obviously not primitive either. Hence why I'm saying they are both backwards and advanced all at once." the Prince said.

"But I have an idea. The problem I'm thinking is that they are treating plants as too much like animals, yet also like rocks and stones. The truth is that plants are somewhere in between an animal and a rock, and need to be treated as such. They don't want to be petted and cooed - well a few actually do but that's beside the point. Yet you can't just dump a river worth of water onto a plant and expect it to just grow and multiply like some math equation either." he continued.

"But we're making progress. And I have some ideas. I may try to use celestial and astrological analogues and mathematical formations to give them my next set of teachings, and see if they respond better to that. Yes...I think that might just work, sister!" he said to her excitedly.

-------

Back on the ground, the Prince gathered up High Arcanist Xeves as well as some of the leaders and sub-leaders of the groups that were training under him in the lore of agriculture, and he gave instructions a bit differently.

"I'd like to try an exercise with you all. Please pass this on to your subordinates in the farming groups." the Prince said firmly, although he was being surprisingly patient with them. He only let his anger show or flexed his divine aura to cow someone only in cases of disobedience or disrespect. But these incidences were far and few between - the battle training his sister did with them fostered a great deal of stoic discipline in them which helped a lot.

"I'd like each of the farming groups to use shovels and clear away a 20 foot by 20 foot plot of land. Dig out all grass and weeds as much as possible. I will be inspecting and shoddy jobs will be re-done. Tell the groups that these plots are to be called Sky-plots, and that they are to clear the plots of grass and plants until it is dark and mostly clear, like an open night time sky." he said.

"Then each group, from the edge of the sky-plots, will at 1-foot increments on the edges of the plot place fist-sized stones. These will be called comets, and will frame the outside of the sky plots just like comets are outside of the clear sky in the actual firmament, always around but never in the middle of the sky." he said.

"After this, I want the groups to use shovels and draw narrow ditches in the soil no wider than the shovels themselves from one comet-stone across the way to the other side of the sky-plot, to the corresponding comet-stone there. In this way, we will have horizotal and vertical lines crisscrossing the plot like the paths of comets in the sky. And just as comets leave a trail of icy dust in their wakes, so too will the groups sprinkle seeds I will provide ONLY in the ditches connecting the comet-stones on the edges. This is to represent the trails of the comets in their passing. Then, as the sky turns dark and clear when the comets fly into the void, so too will dirt be sprinkled atop the seeds and cover them up, so that the sky-plots once againa re clear and dark as the night sky...like they were originally." The Prince said.

"Do this, and then report to me and I shall show you the proper amount of water to apply. Just as the rains pour the proper amount upon the earth of Aeon." he said, trying to implement instructions that were more rigid, geometical, and also allegorical to see if the Atherials could relate better given their proficiency with astonomy.

The Prince continues teaching Agriculture to the Atherials.

Annastarria remained silent and learned everything her brother had to teach. That included new methods of teaching her children though she did nod her massive head to show him she not only heard but approved. Likening this new knowledge to something they already knew was clever and was something she was eager to see at work.

-----

She took up a shovel and joined in the new exercise as she had never been one to simply watch. She learned by doing as much as her children did and enjoyed the learning. It also gave her a chance to model proper behaviour for her children and give them more chances to bond.

-----

She had called more Arcanists into being, imbuing them with a small measure of power but now it was time to bring more even more powerful into being - an Arcanist for her district in the City Divine. A Hero who would lead her children in that district.

"Sheva, my child, come forward. You have served Aeon well and learned much over the years. I name you High Arcanist of the City Divine. You shall officiate the district in my name. For that I bestow upon you a measure of power."

The Aethereal was bathed in purple and blue fire as the Goddess empowered her as a Hero.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:08, Sun 02 Oct 2022.

Years passed in Aeon as the two gods continued their joint efforts to introduce agriculture to the aethereal. It was slow going, but through patience and perseverance changes was knowledge was starting to take root. The aethereal were gradually wrapping their heads around the notion that plant life was something that could be coaxed and guided, that certain plants flourished in certain types of environments. After a number of years the fruits of these labors could be found in their first crops. These crops almost looked like wild growing plants, but the concentrations of the desired plant showed the purpose behind them. It was a great step forward.

Annastarria's attention was also split towards the City Divine and her new foothold there. To establish her presence, she turned to one of her aethereal, another student of the Astral Academy, and elevated them. Sheva became imbued with divine power, her aptitudes heightened and she became a hero, one whose deeds would carry on through stories through the ages.

500 souls spent to elevate a hero.

"Well done, my children. You make me proud as you always have. This and the animal husbandry you learn will ensure there is never another Age of Strife. The foundations we lay here shall make sure there is food and plenty for this generation and all to come."

After years spent learning the Arts her brother had to teach the Goddess of Eternity knew there was something else she needed to do. Another mystery to solve: the puzzle in the heart of Shademire. She could control the flow of time there but she needed to know if there were other things she could use it for such as helping restore what was lost in Shezmu during the war.
This message was last updated by the player at 23:27, Sat 08 Oct 2022.