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Willis: Tsunami!

Scan crystal is out, but I suspect that our enemies are using the darkness, rather than part of it.

Willis: rapid fire!
Sessha: Flurry of Darts!

At wherever the spells came from

THE ORDER OF THINGS

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At this time, it is usual for worldwrights to create gifts for the greatest of the gods, artifacts of immense potential. Such gifts bestow on them the might and authority needed to rule over their particular sphere or dominion.

Not all are usual however. Strained, chained, downtroaden. Desire wars with slavery, and this Architect pulls free one of the Stakes of Starlight, and pulls froth the Molten Rock from deep below. The Ash is gathered from across the cosmos, and ground into a Divine Gunpowder with the Stake. And within this Divine Gunpowder is infused the Desire of the first Jinn, freedom, whimsy, and love untouched.

So made, it is used. The Divine Script faces the might of one who desired and embodied spontaneity, and under that might... BREAKS>

The use of so many aspects of reality in one act of creation is seldom advisable. In any case, the discharge of molten rock is taken and shaped by another worldwright before the detonation can occur. Only the ashy trails of the Djinn and a scattering of lesser substances are used in the painstaking creation of a powerful explosive. The resulting powder is hurled into the first of the Jiin. The resulting detonation is audible throughout the Work, and lines of flame snake across the cosmos, the Orrery glowing with heat at their touch.

Unmaking an earlier part of the world with lesser materials than those used in its creation is, with certain exceptions, beyond the skill of even these worldwrights. Nonetheless, the destruction succeeds in part - the names of the Jinn are erased, unwritten from the lightning script as the sparks are blown away or smothered in ash. Freed from their origins as fiery imprints of the divine word, their nature as beings of flame and desire asserts itself yet more strongly. The majority of them unite with their destined other, choosing to dwell in the rapturous heat of the red constellation, two-headed, two-bodied creatures of flickering fire.

The Jinn are more varied in character from their enslavement and emancipation, and some find no longer find the calling to their soulmate as pressing, instead pursuing other agendas or wandering the universe alone.

The gods will get on fine without further help. From finest Shadow and Whispers, they fit together odd contraptions strewn about the void and sea which allows those enlightened by the Voice in natural philosophy simpler access to the Layers; to traverse and to harness them. These Jump Points are distant from life-giving worlds, requiring a ship or similar means to access.

Another worldwright has taken the shadows, but the whispers of the Voice are sufficient to create harmonic contraptions, aural devices arising from the vibrations of the Mechanism. At certain points deep in the empty spaces of the Orrery or the darkness of the oceans, those capable of communicating with the Voice offers temporary access to the Layers, corridors of mist stretching into the farthest reaches of the universe.

The spacefaring mortal races waste no time in discovering these Jump Points, and contact is made with the Nomads. Ideas and bodies move both ways. While the life-filled worlds of the central system appear strange and mercurial to the mortal races, deeply influenced as they are by the Unseen, many make pilgrimage to the great blue star, origin of the celestial waters and a wellspring of immense power. A handful of mortals, braver still, approach the Unseen, although such research is perilous and seldom popular.

For their own part, the Nomads appear to grasp some aspects of the traversal mortals practice to reach the Jump Points, and set out across the cosmos on uncertain errands of their own.

Spoiler: Plain English (click to show/hide)

The Gods are found to be lacking, even compared to the Jinnah whom have been enslaved, and turned to the destruction of worlds.
Shadows are used as the materials for a book containing the names of every being live or dead [that isn't in the unseen]
a selection of being are chosen using the power of the book to be 'uplifted' into being a permanent part of the book, existing as shadows of themselves, formless yet able to take any form they desire.
those chosen are 1 [lost] horror from beyond the unseen, 10 Gods, 1'000 Jinnah, 10'000 Nomads, 100'000 Mortals, and far too many beasts in more specific terms.
These beings are tied to the book by both a set of unspoken obligations, and the very nature of the ever expanding artifact that draws upon the shadows of divine script, consuming this material as it is made to grow stronger.
they are [technically] immortal so long as the artifact exists, only able to have their physical forms dispersed.
These brings will now be known as The Arbitarion Race. the artifact bound to them will be known as the Book of Arbitration.

A diverse group of creatures are gathered and assigned a new place in the Work, creating a new order of beings drawn together by the writing of the Book of Arbitration. At first, the shadows shy from one another, finding the forms and minds of their fellows bizzare and terrifying. Gradually, however, an accord is reached, and a new manner of thinking established, blending the ideas of men, beasts and gods with the impartial stoicism of the already dead - fit for the moral arbiters of the universe.

The Arbitration Race are shadowy creatures, half in and out of death. They lack the solidity of mortals, the heat of the Jinn, the power of the gods or even the freedom of the Nomads, bound as they are to the pages of the Book, and unable to exert any great influence on the physical world.

The gods quickly discover this afterimage of the divine language, and consult the Arbitration race in their dealings and negotiations when a truly impartial judgement is required. Nomads are known to call upon the shades for advice in certain matters, although such advice is not always followed. A scattering of humans and Jinn likewise encounter the Race, but as of yet have little use for it.

At present, the Arbitration race has no power or demesne, and their counsel is seldom sought.

This one is fond of the gods, but to defend them is not its nature. It will only deign to change the shape of their destruction.

Freeze droplets of brine, preserving within them echoes of the true divine script. Scatter these comets across the universe - and if a few gods should happen to be trapped in them, so be it.

Freezing, or in other words, the destruction of information concerning the temperature and motion of tiny particles, falls well within the remit of this worldwright's activities. In this case, it is used to preserve and store language. Again, there is nothing unusual in this - the word not said often tells more than the one uttered.

Chunks of frozen brine are dispersed across the cosmos, sigils of the divine script preserved deep within them, lightning frozen in place in an act of astonishing artifice. What the various beings of the cosmos will do with these when they happen upon them remains to be seen.

Quenching a dollop of molten rock in the cold brine, the last artisan forges an Obsidian Heart, glowing with internal warmth, granting the power to command desire itself to any who would be strong enough to replace his own heart therewith. It is only a minor drawback that, by its nature, it calls out in subtle ways to those who would desire to take it.

The Obsidian Heart is forged from molten rock, a shining black organ of incredible power. The strongest of the gods are drawn to it, and fight over the prize among the dancing spheres, a whirling mass of scales and fins ripped and torn by teeth and spurs, illuminated by incandescent flashes of the divine script. Finally, only one remains, a wounded leviathan stretching across the face of a moon. It grips its flesh with hunting arms, widening a gash made by the strongest of its adversaries, and pulls its side apart to transplant the gift into the chill recesses of its innards.

The Lord of Desire chooses to dwell in the red constellation, where it speaks words of the divine language, and crackling glyphs pull away the blue starlight stakes holding down the writhing rock. It is joined by the two-headed Jinnah, beings of utterly consumated desire acting in perfect harmony with the dictates of the Heart.

Among all the other races of the universe, the influence of the Lord is felt most strongly by the gods, ravenous creatures of immense lust and appetite. While it seldom bothers to command them, the Lord of Desire also holds a great deal of sway over the mortal folk, and exerts some influence on the nomads and wandering Jinnah. Free from desire, the Arbitration Race shows the usual impartialty of the dead, and bends not at all to the call of the Heart.

The red burning star-stuff and molten rock of the Heavens reaches out incessantly to the surrounding celestial bodies, and the Lord feeds this insatiable desire, commanding the lesser gods to do the same. An order is imposed on the inhabitants of the Orrery. The gods take tribute from the worlds of the mortals or create it with with the divine language, and deliver trinkets, victuals, sacrifices and substances of all descriptions to the red glowing constellation under the direction of the Lord.

---

The Work







Parts of the Orrery glow white with heat from the explosive destruction of a part of the divine language, while fragments of lightning script dance across the cogs and wheels. Liquid metal seeps from the clockwork, altered by the electrical discharges into a divine alloy, a splendid and abundant material for this stage of creation.

An equally impressive substance is created in similar quantities as countless scales drift across the cosmos, torn from the gods as they fought over the Obsidian Heart. As smaller gods pick through the corpses after the battle or devour snacks of their choosing from the many worlds, the spaces between the spheres receive a fine scattering of bones.

After offering gifts to the gods, worldwrights generally create artifacts of lesser power for mortals and other orders of beings.

Let's use a scan crystal on the strange darkness and see if that gives us any info as to what's happening with it.

+1

Garnets are worth some money I say we grab a few while we're here.

+1

Drop... a handful of crystals. Let's hedge our bets here.

That's enough info for me, Smash it!
And gather all the pieces, of course.

+1

Try to have Sessha or Willis strike it hard on a flaw or vertex with a trick shot dagger or arrow. If that doesn’t work, just using sheer force is fine.

Trence > Icy Slash!
Willis > Ice Arrow!
Sessha > Heal Willis

+1

WHAT?

Then why the thing with Max?