Water, the giver of life.
Soil, the womb of life.
Sand, the bane of life.
TURN 0: Age of Death, Luminous Moon, Year of No King.
The ebbs and flows of the rivers, of both this world and the next, have fed the lands of Err since time immemorial. For a time immemorial, the good gods of Err have ruled in Joy and Beauty. For a time immemorial, all was good.
The ebbs and flows of the sands, of both this world and the next, have buried the lands of Err since time immemorial. For a time immemorial, the foul gods of Err have been dead in Silence and Distraught. For a time immemorial, all was foul.
The ebbs and flows of the soil, of both this world and the next, fed the lands of Err since time memorial. For a time memorial, the new gods of Err have arisen to Power and Thought. For a time memorial, all paths have been opened and will open.
The gods awoke, one by one. Some had been there for perhaps a day, perhaps a century. perhaps since the time of convention itself. It mattered not. Only now had their Power grown to be greater than the sprites and wisps that inhabited all things. Only now did they possess the divine spark and the power of change.
The Shattered Statuecame to life, or perhaps merely awoke, just north of the city of Err. Upon the flat floodplains of the great river Err, one could easily see the ruined spires and ziggurats of the city that once was. Not that this meant anything to the Statue. It's memory of the city, if it ever had any, was quite blank. What mattered most to it was its own repair. For now however, it scoped its surroundings. It felt
Life nearby, of the intelligent variety. Furless bipeds that fed upon the bounty of the river, and sometimes created that bounty themselves. A voice, who it knew as a
Helper somehow, told him (her?) that they were humans. The Helper Kyrie told them that they were primitive beings only knowing of stonework that lived with nature. As for other creatures, the Statue sensed all sorts of small creatures writhing in the floodplains. Insects, spiders, jellyfish, frogs, mice, rivercats...even larger creatures such as elephants, great goats or pigs. The Helper reminded the Statue that if they needed any help identifying any other life forms, she would be happy to comply.
Fu came to being downstream of the city of Err, upon a patch of land between the rolling hills of what was once called Edam and the lower marshes of the Err river. Regardless, all of it teemed with
Life! Muskrats, beavers, aurochs, marshlions, sea cows, dolphins and many other forms of life inhabited the river Err and its marshes, all subsisting on the river's rich bounty. Amongst these marshes, primitive creatures called humans built simple rafts of reed and thatch, harvesting and hunting to their hearts' content. Of course, here too, they were fed upon by more cunning or stronger creatures. The dreamcrocodile, rainbow snake and bearded duck all hunted humans just as they hunted lesser beings. Or at least, that's what the Helper in their head told them. If Fu focused on herself with great effort, it could feel something stirring to the north similar to itself.
Basderieen rose in the sands of the south, far from Err. To most creatures, this land was barren. A sea of sand and of death. To some, it was home. A few humans subsisted on roots and desert plants, wearing the
Gifts of the Mother, these loose clothes allowed them to survive the desert heat. Besides from that however, they were almost animals, knowing only the stonework and the knowledge of the desert foods. His helper told him that the Mother oft clothed the wretches in exchange for their children, who she took to her
Paradise in the centre of the
Jungle.
Metalhandawoke in the ruins of the Crafter's Place. What it had crafted, who had crafted, when had it been inhabited...the answers to these questions had been lost to time. However, Metalhand knew what he was, he knew he had been raised to care for this place. He knew that beyond this workshop, there was a forest. Beyond this forest, there was an oasis. Beyond this oasis, there was a whole world. And that world was Err, as his Helper told him. This oasis was beloved by travelling nomadic humans, primitive creatures who knew only stonework; nothing compared to the lost arts of those who once crafted here, Metalhand knew. Besides them, there was always life. Travelling herds of elephants, leaftigers, blue pigs or dreaded sandfowl oft came here to rest and relieve themselves from the desert's hardship. At least, that's what the Helper told him.
Shelldon greeted the day of his birth/awakening/death with claws raised. Posed upon a small patch of dry land, Shelldon could survey his future dominion. Around him all was bog and marsh, in which all manner of life existed. Seacow, hippo, bogdonkey, marshlion, antwolf, antelope, river hogs and even more creatures lived here amongst the reeds and trees of the Err delta. Some of them walked upon two legs and knew the riddle of stone. A few of these had learnt the more difficult riddle, learning the secret of twine, learning the power of spear and bow. These were the small children, the pygmies of the marshes. The Helper had provided that info with some joviality. Little creatures, they had somehow turned out wiser than their larger cousins. The Helper wondered if there was more to them.
Du-Ur opened itself to the world readily upon the peaks of the north. From its vantage point, it spied miles upon miles of stony desert. Despite this, there was life down there. A pack of lions here, a herd of humans there. Not much life, but it was there. On this mountain however, there was perhaps a bit more life. Attracted by the cooler temperatures perhaps, many a small creature lives on its slopes. Even some humans, so said the Helper. A few, perhaps 30 or 40, but not more than that. The mountain was still barren, still dead, still far from life's source.
Midanerupted from the time before life atop a volcano, one of the few in Err. It surveyed its surroundings and saw mountain and mountain and mountain. Beyond these, the Helper told him, were sands and sands and sands. Beyond those were soil and water. The Helper was clearly partial to the...greener parts of the world. This did not mean that the mountains were barren, far from it. Upon the peaks and slopes, and the valleys between, many creatures and plants and fungi (as well as everything else) survived and thrived. Ibexes, humans, eagles, dwarf whales, dwarf aurochs, leopards, shrews, spiders, ferns, cycads and more dwelt here upon the mountains. To the north, however, Midan could sense a
hunger. He could not tell what it was and the Helper would not clarify, only that there was hunger in the north.
Kakkabum in his august royalty, awoke from birth-slumber ready to rule and watch. In fact, it was already watching. It could feel the eyes of mortals, but not human, watch him through their own eyes. Both the eyes they had on their bodies, and the eyes that they did not. They seemed to be downriver, but also elsewhere in the mountains. The Helper recommended caution, for the
elders are most powerful. Interestingly, there were no humans around. At least, none Kakkabum could sense.
Tala she of the long staff and hardened glass, opened her eyes to the world. And it was good. Her land was between the waters of the Err and the mountains that led to the harsher lands beyond Err. No great bog or marsh penetrated her land, and yet, there was life. Much life. The birds chirped, the hippos danced, the lions fed the cheetah cubs and the humans were eaten by the marshcows. Life was here, and it was at balance. Her Helper had no comment to make, beyond the fact that she should look towards acquiring more power.
Vulpes Grande's statue seemed to turn redder as it realised it's own sapience. Around it, there was but sand and nothing but sand. Here there might be a small shrub, there there might be a lizard. Sometimes a few ants. Beyond that, there was nothing. Its helper was perplexed; why had it materialised here? Sand was Death. And all that was here fed on Death.
Sarkyran welcomed the new state of affairs upon the isthmus between the two great rivers, a land of plenty. Olives and apples seemingly grew here naturally, with fertile fields and abundant forms of life. This fertility attracted many herbivores, which in turn brought carnivores the world over to feed. Amongst them were primitive humans, of stick and stone. Beyond the isthmus, downriver, lied the dead city of Err. Even now, with no cloud in the sky and the stun ever shining, the city loomed in darkness. And yet, life flourished. And this life would soon flourish, under the rule of Sarkyran. At least, that was what the Helper said.
Guar jovially appeared on the physical plane between the mountains that formed Err's periphery. There was life here upon the plains, like wild horses and cheetahs. Wolves, antelope, auroch and deer also clambered upon the wide open plains. Shrews and moles dug beneath the dirt, while all forms of smaller life percolated between everything else. Rare was the tree upon these great plains, although many forms of shrub and grass did grow there. As for Guar, he could sense the most faintest of sensations to the south, of a power similar to his own.
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Topic: Between the Rivers: Gods Adrift [IC] (Read 21388 times)