Turn 1: Busy LoomsThe Wheel turns and the Great Ones act in their myriad ways. But first, they are armed and given aid through the Link to worlds beyond.
The Halthier Institute distributes Theurgic Entity Cancellation Knives to Ksitigarbha, Kwaab, Anzerkime, Hanavad and Angin Buk.
The Halthier Institute distributes Abolishment Staves to Ksitigarbha, Kwaab, Anzerkime and Angin Buk.
Dakas-Fir Engineering distributes Protective Canine Units to Ksitigarbha, Noc Vulock Knock, Mein Badel Gaya (x2), Zargothrax (x2) and Angin Buk.
These tools distributed, the gods ascended and descended.
Desana, though some knew her as Dosana, generously served the world. She did water the desert [22.03; 1 hex radius] and provide respite to its residents. At the great oasis [24.01; 1h r] did she quicken the growth of plants, although they were limited by the nutrients and waters available to them.
Along the banks of the great river [14.09; 1h r] did Desana enrich the soil, aiding in the growth of treelife.
In these selfless ways did Desana give of herself to aid the world. Of course, she was too good for Herat, and this did Ksitigarbha know. Offering her final liberation, Ksitigarbha granted Desana abolishment and ended her influence in Herat [Ksitigarbha has gained Negative Karma].
Desana, who some call Dosana, has been struck down! [Ksitigarbha has gained an Ascension Point, Negative Karma]
Ksitigarbha himself, perhaps tinged with a hint of sin, descended into the Hells and did make himself guide to the tortured spirits of those that had come before. In the Hells did Ksitigarbha discover the agonies of the sinful, of writhing apparitions forced to endure pain unimaginable. In his infinite mercy did he trick and parlay the asura of the realm, and let many sinners onto the Great Wheel again [Ksitigarbha has gained Positive Karma].
Whilst the one that was Mercy descended into the Hells, Noc Vulock Knock did create the Bleeding Reeds, planting the first of their number at the headwaters of the great river [07.03; 1h r]. A creation of addiction, its sweet red essencia bled into the river itself, dying it in its livery. Carrying the seeds of the plant, the river promoted the growth of the plant further downriver and in time did the waters gain a reddish hue. However, this was not enough for the Great One and in its wisdom, the deity ordained the creation of a new river, by way of chasm. With thunder and quake, the earth did shudder and split. into the new space rushed the waters of the great river [10.09; 1h r]. Whilst a great torrent of destruction for some, the river also brought change and growth. Such is the way of life. Miraculously, it does not affect the structure at [12.10].
It was after the dying of the river, and its calamitous splitting, that the Great One Archea reincarnated into the Great Wheel as a loka [11.11]. Auspicious was her birth, though her birth was without note. In the skies high above the stars did re-align and dance, greeting the nascent avatar to the mothering earth and the fathering sky. Yet, the setting of the birth was humble; a simple farmer's hut with but a woman and the local shaman. A simple mother and a simple father, they named their child Gathika, for her cry was a song, a song of beginnings.
As the girl grew, verses flashed in her mind, with memories that were not familiar sometimes haunting her waking thoughts. In her dreams did she walk in the body of someone that was not her but felt of perfection. In time, she matured into a strong youth who scorned the role that her tribe had made for her. Through trial of the jumping sticks and the one-against-many, Gathika's dominance was respected and became order. Realising who she was, she named herself Gathika-Archea, queen of the Uitijah tribe. [Archea has gained Negative Karma]
As a coronation gift from herself to herself, Gathika-Archea forged a blade between the roots of a great tree. With unknown manner and alien likeness, Gathika-Archea forged a blade of steel - from stones unknown to her people - and made it her husband. A goddess of strength, even in the form of loka, cannot take husband from mortals it was said. The sword, child of Gathika-Archea's own hands, was itself divine and thusly given paramount status. Its strength concentrated on its single edge, it came to be known quite simply as Ektejdaanav; Demon-One-Edge.
With this weapon forged, Gathika-Archea gathered from her tribe the strong and many, marching upon the Ziggurat [10.10], which her divine memory knew was coveted by others...
Elsewhere upon Herat, Hanavad had willed itself into the world [09.14]. Its purpose was simple and true, in a manner likewise related to itself. In understanding this did the great birds of the sky bow and swoon as Hanavad's being enter the mortal existence. Gather did they outside the hut of the family in which Hanavad's soul was to be reborn. Perhaps because of this was the girl named Chidiya.
Chidiya would take up the usual ways of her people, helping in the gathering of nature's bounty, by spear, by net and by hand. For much of her childhood, the young girl would have an inexplicable affinity to birds, who indeed, would gather and becalm themselves in her presence. Taking this as a sign, she was highly encouraged to take the dream-filling smoke and expanding drink of the shamans, joining their order.
This was not her fate. It was in her youth that Chidiya remembered in full what she was and what she had come to do. Chidiya drunk not from the shared cup nor sniffed from the brazier of sweet fumes. And yet, she was enlightened. Chidiya-Hanavad's actions were deliberate and quick. Though physically youthful, the wise amongst the people recognised that she spoke with the tongue of ancients and bore a soul magnificent. With their support, Chidiya-Hanavad convinced many of the clans and tribes to enter into a common relationship; united and at peace. They would be equal with one another, posesses liberty amongst their common lands and act fraternally with their brothers and sisters. This would come to be known as the Republic. [Hanavad has gained Positive Karma]
Knowing too well the plights of war and starvation, Chidiya-Hanavad enchanted the whole of the land to be forever giving, forever aiding the people. As long as a Republican drew breath, the land would ensure that there would be rich soil for their crops. [Hanavad has gained Positive Karma]
However, Chidiya-Hanavad did not wish her people to become isolated on her island, for a prison (if self-imposed) is not freedom. As such, she crafted with her own hands an unsinkable ship; Amrita. Wit this, Chidiya-Hanavad retired to a life befitting of her people.
Far to the west in the ancient jungles of Herat, Duhalion's soul entrenched itself in the mortal coil [05.09] Reborn a vanaha, his coming was prophesied by the sages who smoked of the sixty-six herbs of the jungle. In royalty was the child birthed, amongst lineages of high warrior and high sage. Still, they did not know the exact fates, knowing only that this child was destined for greatness. As such, they named him Aadi, both out of an abidance of truth and because the harsh midday sun does much to addle complex thought.
And so Aadi spent much of his life with a full stomach and a full mind, swinging between trees guarded by the trusted of the people, and venerated by his lessers. Even so, it took many years for the divine spark to come alight in Aadi. Indeed, some sages had come to believe that they read the omens wrong. It was only a few years past the age of maturity that Aadi's eyes became like slits - like the dragons of the lower canopies and murky depths - and understood his purpose. Awakening with the draconic eyes, and with the emanation of another, Aadi-Duhalion descended unto the murky depths of the forest floor. With purpose did he dig with the might of a god and did uncover ancient constructions of an earlier time, from an earlier place. [Duhalion has gained Negative Karma]
The complex was a ruin, for that is what it was, but its architecture was immense. What had perhaps once been a palace lurked here, rescued from the embrace of the jungle by Aadi-Duhalion's hand. Pleased with his work, the avatar advertised its discovery amongst the civilised tribes. Recognisng his royalty and sacred-but-dangerous eyes, tree-dweller and ground-walker alike gathered to his ruined palace, despite the dangers. These would be the nucleus of the Serpent Kingdom, for their leader was serpentine itself (not to mention the astonishingly high number of dragons in the local area). [Duhalion has gained Positive Karma]
As a coronation gift to himself, Aadi-Duhalion crafted the Pearl of Protection, a divine ward that would act as royal sigil, as well as protect from others of such power. Pleased, Aadi-Duhalion settled into a life of rule, pleasing his lineage.
Around the same time did the Great One Korhan descend unto the world. Born to uncertain parentage and with no omens heralding his arrival, Korhan was born most modestly. Wherever he grew up did not matter and indeed, upon his awakening, Korhan discarded his given name. Instead, he went by his name true. Walking in the skin of a mortal loka, Korhan taught of death, of the rites accompanying it, and the manner in which the dead ought be treated. As he taught, he established shrines and menhirs where the rites of the dead could be enacted. Many were those who were eager and curious about custom by which they ought be built, and these did Korhan educate. To these loka and vanahah did Korhan grant the first utterances of a divine message: all pallbearers perform sacred arts and are under the protection of the God of Death himself. With this did Korhan disappear from the world, content with the students he had taught and the shrines he had established. [Korhan has gained Positive Karma]
As one avatar vanished, another one appeared. Kwaab, in their wisdom, descended unto the world. Greeted by visages in her birthing dreams, Kwaab was born to a nomadic band of vanaha near the Orrerry Eternal. Born in a matter non-strenuous, he was named Nandak. For a score of years did Nandak live amongst his people, unaware of his past save for the glimpse of a thought that was not his. It was after falling off a particularly treacherous and savage ledge that Nandak awoke with a mouth full of clouds. It was with the taste of these did Nandak learn the truth of his being. Nandak-Kwaab left his family and entered the Orrery Eternal, claiming it in his own name. He was unopposed and soon enough, the secrets that the Orrery knew would flow into his Core. To the Orrery did Nandak-Kwaab gather the nearby tribes, convincing some of them of his authority- a claim backed by the now-functioning Orrery. With himself as oracle, he told of the glimpses that now came through him, and only him, to those who would serve and those who would offer. Though knowledgeable and gifted, Nandak-Kwaab himself did not rule over those gathered. Instead, he advised that one be chosen amongst them to lead for life, and another to be appointed at their death. This advice, truly-given, was taken with open arms. [Kwaab had gained Negative Karma] [Kwaab has gained Positive Karma].
Elsewhere, Zargothrax did scout the lands for a suitable place to establish is holies of holies, choosing a valley betwixt life and death. He did place above it a star embedded in the sky, ever affixed. As long as it is high above, a ritual of fertility can be enacted within its sphere of power, so long as the rite is performed in a stone circle [15.04; 3h r]. [Zargothrax has gained Positive Karma]
Zargothrax would similarly claim the great oasis as his own, blessing it with another star and with a similar ritual that would grant one with the power of fire [24.01; 3h r]. [Zarthoghrax has gained Positive Karma]
The Second Turning... Sacral places limited, the gods pulled at hairs and unsheathed knives...
The Ziggurat of Oun [10.10] became a matter of debate, both up in the Heavens and upon the mortal plane. Gathika-Archea and Ksitigarbha both desired the ancient structure. Ksitigarbha had planted the seeds of the most sublime tree upon the Ziggurat, attempting to secure his majesty upon it. His noble ideal was to enlighten the souls entrapped. Gathika-Archea however saw power in the old stone and desired it for her own. With Demon-One-Edge, and an army, the bodhi trees were cut and dismembered, allowing her to take ownership of it in royalty.
The Ziggurat of Oun has been claimed by Archea. [Archea has gained Negative Karma]
The Tower of Communion[11.13] had stood in peace and alone for many aeons and its spirits had mused themselves into a slumber. Anzerkime and Mein Badel Gaya both declared ownership of the Tower from high above. They wrestle and jostle, with Anzerkime unsheathing his knife. Knifeless and shivless, Mein Badel Gaya is unable to defend himself. Heroically, both of his PCUs takes multiple blows for him. With the canines disabled, Anzerkime went in for the final kill, gathering the energies of abolishment around him. Miraculously, Mein Badel Gaya dodges the blast of Liberation and sucker punches Anzerkime into a temporary sabbatical ((The dice give, the dice take)). Standing triumphant over the metaphysical corpse of his foe, Mein Badel Gaya claims the Tower of Communion.
The tower of Communion has been claimed by Mein Badel Gaya. [Mein Badel Gaya has gained Negative Karma] [Anzerkime has gained Negative Karma]
The old remnants of Zigos[13.09] are claimed by Anzerkime, without dissent.
Zigos has been claimed by Anzerkime.The old remnants of Zigan [14.10] are claimed by Anzerkime, without dissent.
Zigan has been claimed by Anzerkime.[/u]
The two ancient banners at the desert's edge [21.05] stand guard, moving with the wind. The Great One Ksitigarbha desires that they cease their warding so that the people of the world will realise the follies of life. Perhaps opposing the environmental desertification that would result, Angin Buk summons a haboob in order to stop the merciful god. It is hopeless however, as the gust and sand cannot blot out the chants of Ksitigarbha.
The banners have been claimed by Ksitigarbha. Under the great lake[19.08] Ksitigarbha and Angin Buk both vie for the right to contact the ancient turtle deep below. They debate the merit of their Cores and of their essencias. It lasts for a year and a day, but Angin Buk is thoroughly convinced by Ksitigarbha's eloquence and koans.
Contact has been established with the turtle by Ksitigarbha. [Ksitigarbha has gained Positive Karma] [Angin Buk has gained Positive Karma].
As this debate occurred, Zargothrax did plant a star, ever fixed above the lake [19.08; 3h r]. Such were its powers that anyone who 'walked in the light of the star' would be able to make contact with the turtle below.
The most royal chambers [12.10] become an arena for three. Mein Badel Gaya, Anzerkime and Angin Buk all vie for it, with Angin Buk successfully shivving his opponents into sabbaticals. With the august structure taken,
Angin Buk promptly desecrates the Place of Power, rendering it Void. What consequences this has are as of yet, unforseen... [Mein Badel Gaya has gained Negative Karma] [Anzerkime has gained Negative Karma] [Angin Buk has gained Negative Karma].
The Third Turning...Other things happened of course, not performed directly by the gods.
Agriculture has advanced further upon the banks of the great river.
Domestication of cattle has taken place in the plains south of [21.05].
Cities are being built throughout Herat, especially in the realms established by the gods.
The ancient jungles are being chipped away by the vanaha and loka for the purposes of civilisation.
Knowledge of metalwork has improved substantially throughout Herat, with many now dabbling in bronze.
Demon-One-Edge has become an object of worship amongst the Uitijah; it is enshrined in the Ziggurat of Oun.
The great river has become known as the Blood River and is considered somewhat holy due to its colouration.
The people of Chidiya-Hanavad have organised as a socially advanced realm known as the Republic of Valajastini. They venerate Chidiya-Hanavad as a deity of diplomacy and relations.
The people of Uitijah, after the departure of their queen, have taken up a militaristic culture. They are divided into squabbling clans.
The Serprent Kingdom is now ruled by the holy lineage of Aadi-Duhalion; its lords seek to preserve the traditional customs and caution against expanding too deeply into the jungle. Some have dabbled in befriending dragons.
The Korhanic rites have permeated throughout the whole of Herat and many have begun to praise Korhan's name.
The Khanut, under the guidance of the Kwaabian oracles, begin to influence the politics and cultures of the north.
The Star Lands at [15.04] and [24.01] are noted as beautiful and perhaps sacral. No rituals are performed.
For my sanity, certain actions occur before others according to the below order.
1. Actions that do not rely on any other event.
2. Killing attempts.
3. Actions that rely on other events.
4. Claiming.
If there is no conflict between 1 and 2, killing attempts may be interspaced between 1 actions for narrative reasons.
