Pantheon - Prometheus' Will (IC)

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An Unearthly scream erupted from the world sphere and the area where Sahm had sat erupted in black smoke, the smoke swirled and coalalesced then dissapated as the Grave Lord made his entrance, his hood drawn back his face mask lost and his face twisted into a grimace of sheer, unadultarated rage, his normally calm temperament forgotten in a sea of dying souls that swarmed around him in a transparent green mist.
"are you psychotic or just a fool?" he roared at the Unseen seducer, his outstreched hand pointing at the blackened marck where the dragon had seated itself when it arrived, the Grim one thrust his face inces away from the dragon's his ice cold breath leaving trails of mist as he continued his tirade

"we are charged with the running of this world and already you sow death and destruction, were you unaware of the ability to manipulate the worldsphere or did you simply not care how many mortals you thrust into my embrace!?" The Master of Crypts shut his eyes tightly, taking a step back and releasing a low hiss as he clenched then unclenched his entire body.

"I Struck down my predecessor because he was a malevolent, evil entity whom used mortals for his own amusement, I sought, and still seek to ensure death comes in its time, and that foul maelstroms such as war do not cut short the sweet nectar of life, and you, with your actions, start a war. yes. look to the ruins of Volistadt, that city which you so apathetically sat on, there Orcs and men once lived in reletive peace and harmony, now they are on the brink of open war, a war mind you, over who displeased the gods and brought down their-our, rather, wrath. you risk undoing all the work i seek to do before i even start!" Tharn grimaced and turned from the dragon, looking to regard the others
"remeber the lesson of my predecessor well my fellows, treat the mortals like playthings and they will rise against you, serve them well and they will serve you in turn, as for the name of this world, why argue amongst ourselves for an answer when one could simply ask one who knows? you say it matters not what the mortals call it, It matters great deal says I, for what we manage and order about, they work in and toil for, they DIE for this world, thus since they pay the highest penalty it should be they that choose the name, though, for arguements sake, Terra is a fine name indeed" tharn finished, producing a walking staff from his robes as he finished.
 
Sahm gradually sat bolt upright, raising his eyebrows as Tharn the Grim gesticulated angrily in his face and berated him for his behavior. When he was finished, Sahm turned away from the death lord and sat resting his head on his hands for a moment, with a thoughtful look on his face. After a while, he responded, "Severdus, I realize my behavior may have been irresponsible--and I apologize from the deepest recesses of my soul if my mistake caused any additional work for you. I know not of the causes of war, nor of inter-species relations or other such day-to-day affairs of men, but I do know that the innocent dream frequently of peace, and for possibly disturbing that most pleasant of dreams, I most humbly beg your forgiveness. Pity the poor men and orcs making their home in this... Volistadt. At least there are still many orcs and humans living in peace elsewhere on our world." Looking away, he mumbled, as an afterthought, "If anything can be done to help them, Severdus, then I await your orders."
 
Mammon looked up, slightly startled as Tharn, the Grim Reaper, the keeper of death came into the room in grand fashion, his face twisted in rage over some horrible offense against him. He then barraged Sahn, who had previously been lightly napping before he was so rudely woken up, and accusing him of destroying some village unbeknownst to everyone in the room with the exception of Tharn himself. His loud yelling captured the attention of all the others in the room, as such seemingly unprovoked anger tends to attract attention.

Sahn's response was that of a boy who knew he had been caught stealing something, sheepishly giving an excuse to Tharn, his voice quiet, though that could've easily been as much his nature as the fact that he was afraid that raising his voice would provoke another rant by Tharn. As Mammon heard Sahn mutter that he would do anything to help, Mammon realized that this would be the prime opportunity to build ties with the Master of Dreams. Quickly going to Sahn's side, Mammon chipped in, "And I'll do my best to help mend this delicate situation. You say that they are blaming one another for bringing the wrath of the gods down upon them? Well, what if suddenly their bounty from harvest was unlike that of any harvest in recent memory? Surely that would help ease tensions between the two races, hmm?" Mammon hoped that Tharn would agree, for he could not do much more than that, his power limited in this circumstance.
 
The Crypt Lord bowed his head and smiled contently at the response, looking to the worldsphere a moment before responding
"wisdom after all, I apologise for my outburst Sahm, and indeed there is much to be done to avert open war, the easiest way would be for you to call out to both sides in their dreams, calling for them to avoid fighting and tell them that this was caused by a mis-alignment of the planets or some other such nonsense, that should ease their minds, I shall follow in your wake, coming to their sleep the next night and showing them the folly of war, gifting each a vision of the horror of open racial war, that should stop them, and if it does not, then I was wrong and they were going to war regardless of our intervention" Tharn spoke slowly and paused several times to think, but as he finished he nodded and turned back to the Worldsphere
"and for the record my freind, it is not the extra work that concerned me so much as the souls of those taken before their time tend to become the undead more often than those whio die at their appointed hour, and such vile creatures cannot be abided, for it is evil energies and desires that hold such creatures on the mortalk planes past their appointed hour" tharn half whispered, watching the little figures go about their daily lives.

it was then that mammot spoke, and though tharn suspected an alterior motive, the lord of abundance's logic was impeccable
"That would also help, I would be glad of such assitence brother" Tharn said with a nod, eyes still transfixed on the tiny figures that represented the mortals.
 
As the death lord laid out his plan of action for Volistadt and turned to surveying the activity of the people on the Worldsphere, Sahm followed his eyes to that great globe and looked closely at it for the first time.

Every possible detail was at one's fingertips--not only were the planet's various natural geographic features and manmade constructions visible, but a simple intentioned gesture would cause the globe to morph into a display of any activity or concept under the control of the deity using it--trade routes, the spread of languages, war preparedness, justness of leadership, education levels, even the content of dreams, desires and wishes were at the gods' disposal. Sahm's eyes glazed over as he pondered the possibility of using the globe to selectively choose which dreams to mold and shape, as opposed to visiting sleepers haphazardly, according to his whims and fancies, as he always had done. It would be harder, more serious work--but the effort may have more meaningful results.

Upon hearing Mammon's practical contribution to the relief effort, Sahm brightened and stood up, nodding in agreement and looking at the wizened man with a curious expression. "Mmm, now there's an idea--if you have the ability to make such a thing happen, why, you could help me make many a peasant's dreams come true. I'll get to..." Sahm struggled to hide a yawn at this point, "work... on my end of this plan this evening, doing as our Tharn said, as soon as we can resolve the remaining business here and hear from everyone else." Sahm tentatively offered an outstretched hand to Mammon. "Deal?"
 
Mammon smiled as both of the other deities accepted his course of action, each providing what they could do to alleviate the situation. As Tharn thanked him for his proffered help, Mammon couldn't help but notice a certain look in the reaper's eyes as he nodded. It was only there for a split second, so he couldn't be sure what it was, but he quickly dismissed it from his mind, glad that the Crypt Lord had calmed down since his initial outburst and was relatively easy to work with.

However, what had Mammon truly happy was how Sahm reacted to his suggestion. He seemed relatively excited to have someone help him, especially since Mammon did have a hand in "making mortal's dreams come true." While Mammon was wondering just how many dreams Sahm would expect him to fulfill, he was giddy with the prospect of soon having the Dream Master as an ally. He extended his hand boldly and shook Sahm's hand, saying, "Deal. I look forward to working with you now and, hopefully, in the future. Now, how about you get some rest, and I'll fill you in on the happenings later, hm?"
 
Marie smiled at Soliel's whisper. "Yeah, that's not a bad idea at all! It'll take me a while to get it ready, though..."
She looked over the assembled group.
"So...if we're going to vote, we might as well start. I want to get on to some less-official business."
 
Soleil clapped happily when Marie accepted her offer. Then she turned her gaze to her counterpart of the light and practically skipped over. "Just wait a moment! Don't go to bed! I will also need your help with my little furry foots! In order to make them children of the waters I would like them to dream of the sea. If you help me with this I'm sure we could work out something that I can give you in exchange." She smiled warmly, thinking on what she could offer him or what he would desire but she quickly turned to Con, "And I will need your help to make them passionate about sailing and the sea." She smiled warmly before turning her gaze back to Marie.

"If it is a vote, I still vote for Terra but maybe spelled an interesting way."
 
A blue shimmering form drifted into the room, the large body of blue and snakelike body of Slassa curling around one of the pillars and staring intently at the globe in the middle. "I notice that the name-voting has still not concluded. I apologize for my tardiness, but I was rather busy with my own affairs for a while, as well as studying some of your records. If you'll forgive a bothersome dragon like me, I like to be prepared." Her mouth widened in what could only be a grin as Arath, her counterpart entered the room. His red wings curled up behind him as he proudly observed everyone in the room.

On his back he carried a small army of claw models, shaped like the dragons of old, dragons who did not yet exist on the world. They came in several varieties but seemed mostly modeled after Arath, aside from a select view who seemed more akin to Slassa. As Arath approached the globe he ignored everyone around them and waited until Slassa took action again.

"Once again I apologize, a worthwhile addition to the world takes time after all." the demi-god spoke again and a gust of wind suddenly lifted the clay dragons up from the back of Arath and held them in the air near the unnamed world. Arath breathed out heavily, a gust of fire that would light up the sky near the equator of the world in the middle of the room heralding in the arrival of the dragons as the clay burst in the flames and lifelike and colorful miniature dragons hung suspended in the air. Slassa then cam closer and with her jaws several inches from the dragons she breathed on the softly, animating the creatures with the breath of life and sending them drifting towards the mountains of the world, where from now on a new race of creatures would rise up to challenge the existing ones.

As Slassa and Arath moved together in unison before the assembled Demi-gods, the proudly presented themselves, speaking in unison. "I am Slassarath, demi-god of dragons, commanding both fire and air. Respect me and my ilk, and you will have my thanks and wisdom to aid you. Disrespect me, and feel my wrath."

After this proud statement Slassarath sent challenging looks around the room, each dragonhead looking at a different half of it. No demi-god remained unobserved as Slassarath tried to decide who would be his allies.
 
With an audible 'pop', a name appears over the world: "TERRA". As soon as it does, the note that Census left burst into flames, turning to ash... in the ash of the note lay another note, "You have done the first task, though it took you long enough. I leave you free to your own devices for a single mortal day before I return to bestow upon you your next task. Until then, I, nor Prometheus, will watch over you. Good luck. - Census".

-------

Ghraun shifts uneasily, sniffling and holding his nose for a moment before he sneezes, looking miserable. "Oog..." Looking over the worldsphere for a moment, he notices what seems to be a confrontation... a group of larger humanoids - Giants - attacking a group of much smaller opponents. The smaller opponents, while giving it their all, were getting slaughtered. A worried look crosses his face, as the small, doglike creatures began to fall, their back against a mountainside.

Without even considering the consequences, Ghraun opened up a hole in the mountainside... the small creatures, seeing a chance, all fled inside. The giants attempted to follow, but found themselves too large to enter. Extending his will onto the map, he dug the tunnel further, deeper into the mountain, alighting it with glowing mushrooms... the small dog-creatures followed the path into a large area, which Ghraun filled with towering fungus... and let go of the map, panting and sweating profusely... turning away from it to cough into his hands, staggering away from the map.

He made no comment about this deed, the lantern-eyes glowing slightly brighter. He looked around for a moment, looking to see the tasks of the other deities.
 
浜崎 Zypher said:
Soleil . . . turned her gaze to her counterpart of the light and practically skipped over. "Just wait a moment! Don't go to bed! I will also need your help with my little furry foots! In order to make them children of the waters I would like them to dream of the sea. If you help me with this I'm sure we could work out something that I can give you in exchange."
Click to expand...
Sahm turned toward the princess of the sun upon her approach, and for the briefest moment, a calculating look crossed his face as he squinted at her, before he bared his teeth in a rather good-natured grin. Placing his hand under her chin so softly as to be quite imperceptible, he spoke, "Most radiant Soleil... You needn't ever repay me, you know. Just name the task, and I am yours. Those curious short beasts? Consider it done, they will be inspired by visions of the six seas before long. Heavens, being in your presence is such a rare delight, that it alone brings me pleasure enough to fill a cask of grape wine. That flower suits you, by the way... excellent contrast," he said, suddenly leaning in near her ear to take a whiff of the dark purple rose that she had placed there, which he had gifted to her earlier. "Now... if you had a desire, of your own volition, to help me in certain ways, I may be able to use your assistance in returning a... "favor"... that I owe to a certain tavern owner in the southern continent."

He darkened, turning away from Soleil before continuing. "The rogue, five days ago he lured me in with an advertised night of fantastical storytelling, which I was certain would make for interesting dreams among his tenants. I entered the dreamscape in the form of a lusty barmaid, enjoying myself in the fantasies of the slumbering partygoers quite well, until I reached the dream of the tavernkeeper.

"The man was reliving the night's round of storytelling in his dream, but he must have hexed the wine they were serving in this gathering, because I found myself most incapacitated before long--and I mistakenly gave away my identity while entangled in the twists of a tale I was spinning. Knowing my identity, the proprietor gained control over the dream and locked me up in a bright room in his subconscious, lit by dozens of candles during the night and with the sun streaming in by day--you know that I can find no comfort or respite when any fire or sunlight is about--for three entire days, and even sleep, my usual escape, was unknown to me, on account of the constant raucous, vulgar noises of the dream-tavern, whose picturesque quality shriveled by the minute and became a nightmare.

"I managed to escape, only by tormenting the tavernkeeper with vague monsters and pure fear whenever he lost concentration, until he finally decided to release me, or risk incurring further wrath of the gods. While I've only just begun to recover from the agony of this ordeal by sleeping for the length of the two days until now, I've found that my powers are sapped--I can still enter dreams and affect sleep, but I have completely lost my connection with the moon and its calming light. You'll notice, we've had a dark sky and a new moon for three nights in a row now. The tavernkeeper must have it hidden in his lodgings... a power with which he cannot be trusted. I must have it back. It's mine!" Sahm stopped, with a wild look of retribution in his eye as he stared at Soleil. Clutching her hands, he exclaimed, "At any cost... may the sun dry up his wells, may the sea rise up against his cursèd inn! You must help me! I'll do anything more you ask!

"...And you!" he nearly shrieked, tilting his head to look at Mammon across the way, while continuing to hold Soleil's hands. "In return for my assistance... you must bring financial ruin on this man. Bring him to the ground!"

Sahm stood still for a few seconds, his strained breathing audible, as he tried to let his rage dissipate. Finally, he released Soleil's hands from his grip, arranging his hair casually and sitting back down with a flourish of wings. He was again the picture of perfect poise as he observed with curiosity the population of Terra's landmasses with dragons.
 
"Well, it's good that we've all decided on something..." still, this didn't seem to bode very well for their ability to work together on administrative tasks.

Marie, for her part, turned her attention to a port city, where a blacksmith was experimenting with a mixture of copper and tin. Her apparition appeared to him, introduced herself, and verified his suspicions about the product-namely, that a mixture of the two metals would be stronger than either one alone. She told him to keep on experimenting with the metals, and to mention this moment whenever he presented a customer with his arts.

She also mentioned that some other such artisans in his very city were working on the same thing, and that if he was slow about it, they would beat him in discovering the best ratio of the two metals, before leaving to talk to those blacksmiths.

The race was on.
After that she focused through the globe on the hobbits that Soliel had been talking about. Her own knowledge was rather lacking, and she wanted to get them through the first step first, so she just kinda instilled the basic concept of dugout canoes and kayaks in their mind. She'd have to investigate ship-making on her own.

Sahm's story caught her attention just as she was focusing back on the room around her; and really, she had wondered about that.
"I'll help, if I can...though I'm not exactly sure how my skills would be of use to you.."

The dragons caught her attention. Her city wasn't particularly wealthy or amazing yet, just small port town with a natural bay, surrounded by hilly terrain. But it had a controlling position over a nearby straight, so there was going to be a good bit of wealth flowing through it once cities started trading, which might attract a dragon's eye. She really hoped they would avoid it, it would make future dealings with the dragon-gods annoying.

Basic summary: Marie chooses her city, a small port in a bay surrounded by hills. She gives it a kick in the pants so that it jumps straight from the mid-copper age (where I figure the world is now) into the early stages of the bronze age. She gives the hobbits the idea of making simple boats, and mentions that she would like to help the dream-god teach the bartender a lesson. Marie reflects that she would rather avoid conflict with the twin dragon gods over what their creations do, but that in the future it may be inevitable. She also reflects that the gods so far are bad at working together. Ah well, c'est la vie.
 
"Terra," Sophie said slowly upon the confirmation of the new world's name. "Has a lovely lilt to it," she mused, smiling thoughtfully. She drifted towards the micro-world, immersing her vision into it's depths, and scanning the minds and thoughts of its various inhabitants.

Her attention was drawn towards the warring species amongst the mountainside. She quietly observed as Ghraun focused his powers into helping the smaller creatures, creating a tunnel for them to find refuge in, granting them temporary safety from the giant humanoids.

"That was kind of you," she told Ghraun, who was now coughing a nebula of fungus into the air. "You instinctively found it your duty to use your powers to help the less fortunate, and for that I am sure you have gained a great loyalty amongst the canine species. But I would beware the ensuing actions of those giants, who will now surely find it in their best interests to try to sway your affections. To vacillate between the loyalties of two opposing species will not bode well for you in the long run."

Sophie punctuated her words with a warm smile in an effort to evince the good-natured intent of her lecture, and erase any possible pretension or presumption from her words.

She turned back to Terra, her eyes now stopping over a lush valley in which a quiet village had assembled. They had dawned upon an age of agriculture, and lived peacefully amongst one another in small farms and cabins, reaping provisions from windmills and livestock. They were a people of noble and peaceful spirits, and Sophie felt the urge to bestow upon them the blessings and fruits of knowledge and intellectual pursuit. She closed her eyes and embraced the village with philosophy, science, art, literature, mathematics, trades and crafts. The village would eventually flourish and grow, establishing the first democracy, solidifying philosophical and ethical ideals and morals, witnessing a burgeoning commerce and industrialization, and spawning great writers, thinkers, bards, musicians, poets, and theater. The center of the village would hold monuments of her image and name, and the large city-state would now aptly be called Sophos. Sophos would only grow and spread its new gifts to neighboring civilizations, helping disseminate Sophie's intellectual emphasis and peaceful nature.

As she closed her eyes, resting and regaining strength from her recent activity, she could not help but overhear the plight of Sahm.

"Sahm," she began, approaching the dark-haired god once his tirade was over, "I couldn't help but listen to your tale, and if I may... a few words. While I myself would not take the vindictive road, I see nothing inherently wrong in your plans for retribution, and I would agree that this man wholly deserves a suitable punishment for disrespecting a superior being. While I do not necessarily condone the superfluous adulation of gods, all beings have their righteous place in nature, and as immortals inherently superior, we demand at least noble and modest veneration from those beings whom we watch over and take care of.

"Now. As far as my concerns go, which I feel it is my duty to share with you, as there as at this moment no animosity between us, and therefore I must follow what is my natural inclination to assist my peers in whatever predicaments they may find themselves mired in... I find myself troubled by the display of not only cunning and deceit that a single mortal found it within him to wield against you, but by the, frankly, god-like power and control he was able to seize over his own subconscious, molding it to his fancy and whim, and, finally, most troubling, his ability to take for himself your power, a power specific to you, a power granted to you by our own venerated superior overlord, a power that no mere mortal should be able to lay a finger on, lest he wish to be incinerated from hair to bone by the currents of all a god's wrath and vengeance!

"It is for these reasons that I propose a serious investigation be considered to reveal the true nature of this pernicious mortal. If I may myself grant you a possibility that sprang first to my mind as a most troubling but ultimately, the most benign cause of such an event, I shall suggest that perhaps it is one of our own that is the true malicious jester who assisted this mortal. Need I remind you that there is a trickster among us, one who amuses himself with schemes and tricks, who would find himself in endless peals of laughter at the grievances he has caused you. I say this with no solid evidence, only the inner workings of my own system of logic, so I must importune you to tread carefully among this matter. As a tranquil and peace loving entity, who only wishes to serve and help when her wisdom may come in use, I would not dream of causing strife with baseless accusation - this is mere conjecture, you understand..."



 
Soleil patiently listened to Sahm's heartbreaking story. She ran forward, scooting past Sophie and hugged Sahm tightly. "Of course I will help you! That inn shall be flooded with my raging waters. I think a nice river with a heavy flow of rapids right through his tavern. Be assured that this transgression will not go unpunished!" Soleil pulled away from the demi-god of the night and looked deeply into his eyes. "Worry no longer, I'll take care of everything." She planted a soft kiss on his forehead and turned to the little globe.

"Oh, excellent work Marie!" She applauded as the hobbits began carving out kayaks and canoes and drifting down the light rivers. With a smile she returned to her original reasons for approaching the globe. She quickly pulled up the thoughts of people in the southern continent, quickly finding the scoundrel that accosted her fellow light denizen.

Soleil appeared as a shining golden apparition before the tavern keeper. "You will return the power of moonlight to me right this instant or tragedy will befall you! I do not believe you wish your parcel of land to become a desert." The tavern keeper retorted that it would simply increase his profits filling thirsty people's needs. Soleil understood his reasoning and replied, "Very well, then you shall lose your business to a torrential river or a flood, both of which will have you lose your business and quite possibly your life. Return the moonlight to me immediately!" Soleil cried out, the strength of the sunlight emanating from her body increasing tenfold nearly blinding the tavern keeper, fueled by her rage.

Soleil stepped back, gasping for air. The experience having drained her greatly and not knowing what the tavern keeper's decision was to be. She walked over to the chaise that Sahm was resting upon and sitting next to him, resting her head in his lap.
 
Mammon listened to Sahm's tale of his capture and torture by a mortal mind. It was a sad ordeal, however it showed weakness in what Sahm's capabilities were. If he could be trapped in someone's mind, then maybe he wasn't the best for viewing people's secrets, therefore making him not as useful to him as he would have wished. However, he kept this all behind his smiling eyes, nodding towards him and saying, "I will make sure his Tavern falls to financial ruin. For I know the ways of the market and know how to cut off his supply lines." Mammon looked at the map, his focus zooming into the location he wished for his eyes alone, soon showing the tavern in question. Immediately, knowledge of where his most important supplies came from, as well as other important details immediately sprang to his mind. With a cruel smile, he arranged for terrible crops in his food, and sickly animals so that within the week, the food quality would be atrocious as the food would be of sub-par quality. He then went further as to spread rumors of other taverns in the same city, increasing the quality of goods.

Satisfied with his work, he turned to Sahm and said, "What you have requested has been done. He'll be lucky if his tavern can survive what I've done to him, however his business will be severely crippled." He turned to look at another prospective ally, Ghraun saved some small race from a battle with what appeared to be giants. Mammon smirked, finally having something to offer the fungi infested man. Walking over, he caught the tail end of Sophie's chastisement of Ghraun. Mammon frowned. He didn't like people like her, and could already foresee her as an obstacle to his goals. But no matter, as of now they were all neutral towards each other, though people were quickly pairing up, and Mammon was doing his best to appease those who interested him.

Walking up to Ghraun, he talked to him in a low voice, "I saw what you did there. While that Sophie woman knows, what you did, she seemed only intent at berating you for choosing a side, the foolish woman. You'd be wise to disregard her comments. Now, I can see you feel something for those creatures, and I'm sure that I could do some things in order to help them prosper. After all, making things prosper is my business" Mammon smiled, hoping that this Ghraun man was someone he could easily and grow to like dealing with. He seemed as though he were reasonable enough, though appearance could be deceiving, he of all people knew that.

While waiting on a response, he took a quick view around the room, focusing on Marie. He saw her looking at a port and, after a quick observation before returning his attention to Ghraun, he garnered 3 things. One, that she was directly influencing that port city and was therefore invested in their success. Two, that she was worried about the Dragons that weren't too far away, at least in respect to his point of view. Or at least interested, as her eyes flickered between the two. And Three, that he might be able to work some sort of deal next. Mammon smiled, though while it appeared as though he was just being friendly towards Ghraun, its source was from realizing that he had yet another demi-god he could help. Or as he preferred to think of it, bring to his side.
 
Sophie sighed heavily, troubled by Mammon's clear misunderstanding of her words. She approached him silently once he was finished conducting his business with Ghraun.

"Dearest Mammon," she began, her voice steady and focused, "I adjure you to please reconsider what you think you heard me say to Ghraun just earlier. On the contrary, I berated no one for choosing sides. Rather, I praised him for choosing to aid those less fortunate. I merely offered a bit of advice, suggesting that Ghraun heed the following actions of the giants, for it is surely in the nature of most living things to try to sway the god's favors by any means necessary. I do hope you rethink your opinion of me, for while you would be justified if you had indeed heard what you thought you did, your hearing has erred. I bear you no ill will, even us gods are not immune to honest mistakes. I only humbly request an acknowledgment of my true words, and hope all relations between us restored, and your opinion of me be less caustic."
 
Tharn dissapated almost as soon as he was able, his leaving heralded by a soft exhaling of air.


Terra


The Deathlord coalesced on the battlefield the others had seen so casually, and began the depressing and difficult task of gathering up the souls of the dead.
He had just begun his reaping when he came upon the fallen body of the General of the small creatures that had fled within the mountain, he had watched the little creature fight valiantly, and hold the giants back so that his fellows could escape inside the tunnels
"A life given freely is never wasted" Tharn whispered as he lifted the little thing's soul to its feet and looked it in the eye, seeing contentment mix with regret
"Your valor has earned you a boon little one, though i cannot give you your life back" he said solemnly, and the little creature thought for a moment, before responding, its resposne short, and fair tempered.

since it was not a rewuest for vengeance on the race that killed it, Tharn's smile grew wide, and the Deathlord nodded
"It is done" he said, using his power to inform the general's family of his passing, but also send one of his clergy top them to provide comfort.
 
Ghraun looked uneasily at Sophie as she spoke, thinking for sure she would scold him for reaching down and aiding the mortals... to his surprised, however, the demigoddess spoke with wisdom, warning against the giants. He thought on it a bit, before coughing, "...I really don't care about the giants... I just... didn't like the little creatures being so outnumbered and outclassed..." He cleared his throat, washing the dreamy expression away. If he wasn't strong, they'd probably take advantage of him! Sophie might be trying to trick him into a false sense of security... "...That, and they seemed useful. I need gardeners to keep my fungus. They'll adapt to tunnel life well."

As he nods, opening his mouth to spout more lies towards the goddess Sophie about his (actually very kind) intentions, Mammon arrived. His words were a bit less... gray... than Sophie's. Less advise and more of a business proposition. While unused to such, having lived all his mortal life in the caves, himself... he considered it. There were things that he had so wanted - needed - in the caves... though, because of his state, was able to get them. Mammon was a business-dealing god... that was plain to see. Turning his head to cough politely away from Mammon's face, before turning back and mentioning, "...Fungus can aid the surface world, too... these people could use that as... as a resource. There's... a lot of wealth, in the tunnels... they'd just need to extract it." Thinking about it - there was a lot less UNDER the world than there was ON it. These canine creatures had the potential to be one of the greatest and wealthiest species in the early world. His eyes dimmed a bit as he considered it.

Mammon... wasn't someone to have go against you. Ghraun could see that - though Ghraun might as well be considered a "hick" god, this gave him a severe distrust of smooth talkers... which Mammon was... Still, he could use all the help he could get. "...I'll have to see what we both get out of the deal before agreeing to anything." A neutral response, though an interested one. "...I don't want my first choice to be a bad one, you realize..."
 
Sahm listened intently to Sophie's well-reasoned interpretation of his predicament, his impenetrable black-irised eyes gleaming with intensity when she emphasized the superiority of the immortals over any common inhabitant of Terra. He nodded quietly at the idea of starting an investigation into the provenance of the mortal tavernkeeper's demigodly powers. When she reached the point in her analysis where she implied the possibility of a certain prankster among the demigods having aided the barman, he immediately narrowed his eyes and shot a dark glare at the wolvish jester, Frustror. His wingfeathers bristling from his anger, he turned back toward Sophie, and let out a pompous harrumph. "If I find out that the jackal had even a single paw dipped into this scandal, there won't be a power in the heavens that can keep me away from him." Sahm clenched and unclenched his fists a few times, lost in thought. Finally, he nodded his head and sighed, a soft look coming back over his face. "Sweet Sophie, I thank you for sharing your thoughts. You are ever wise, with insights each sharp as a dagger... and ever beautiful," he said, taking her hand and kissing it delicately, following this with a deep formal bow before her.

Soleil caught him off guard, as she dashed up and squeezed Sahm in a tight hug while he was in mid-bow. He smiled, giggling softly at her attempt to comfort him, and meekly let her drag him to the Worldsphere as she chirpily agreed to his plea for assistance. Nodding serenely to express his thanks, he watched as she vanished into the globe, absent-mindedly reaching his hand out after her as she shrank away. Sahm sat down and closed his eyes, focusing on the area where Soleil traveled, watching with his mind's eye the confrontation that unfolded between her and the tavernkeeper. After she issued her direct threat, he welcomed her back to the heavenly room with open arms, noting her distressed state, and patted her hair as she leaned on him, murmuring comfortingly. "I do wish you hadn't had to do that... thank you, my light."

As Soleil slowly closed her eyes, resting to regain her strength after the confrontation with the barkeeper, Sahm carefully extricated himself from under her weary head, placing her gently down. He pinched his nose as he marched past Ghraun, giving him a stare as though he were offended by his presence, or daring the man to even *try* coughing on him. Sahm approached Mammon, the ruler of wealth, and listened to his plan, nodding with approval. He watched Mammon put it into action with the precision and efficiency that seemed to be that cunning lord's trademark. Sahm gave Mammon a familiar squeeze on the shoulder, saying with a smile, "Thanks, old man. Now, to live up to my end of the bargain to you and Severdus..." Sahm strolled up to the Worldsphere once again, pointing at and concentrating on the northern region near Volistadt, and closed his eyes, drifting into a deep sleep as he slowly fluttered to the ground on his back. His wings curled over around him and a black mist enveloped his body- the usual signs that Sahm was entering the dreamscape. He first visited the minds of important leaders of the orcish clan of the area, bestowing onto them visions of glorious growth, expansion and development in mutual harmony with their human neighbors. He then did the same with important figureheads in the human cities, gifting them with dreams of how they will be adored by their citizens, parades thrown in their honor, when they bring peace between humans and orcs back to their cities. He inspired still others, in both civilizations, with dreams of becoming trailblazers for orcish-human brotherhood and equality in the region of Volistadt, implanting the idea that they judge one another not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

The black mist dissipated around Sahm as he unfurled and stood up from the ground. "Ah, that was pleasant. That ought to do it. Now, as soon as Soleil recovers, that rascal of a tavernkeeper will get what he deserves..."
 
Mammon smiled as Ghraun tentatively showed interest in his proposition. While the neutral response was a guarded one from the man of fungus, Mammon realized that he didn't trust him. Nor should he, Mammon thought, but it didn't matter if he was trusted or not. As long as they relied on his blessings on their civilization, he would have all the control he needed. "Oh Ghraun, there's a lot for you to gain from it. I'm well aware of what wealth there is underneath the ground, especially with Marie pushing us towards the Bronze age. All those ores and minerals underground has the potential to make them rich, not to mention your vast variety of fungus. What I suggest doing is letting me expose them to the ore. Since I can't directly teach them to use it, that's Marie's domain, I can expose them to it. I can also to a certain extent, boost the healthiness and abundance of your fungus, making it more predominant in their lifestyle. The more they use it, the more uses they make. All that's left then is to have some traders stumble upon them. As long as they are friendly to the merchants, trading will start, slowly at first, but much more quickly as other merchants realize the wealth that your nation has."

Mammon grinned, himself lost in the wealth that could be acquired from their unique position. He could make them kings if he wanted to... but not yet, it was too soon in the relationship for that much. "Now, for my side of the deal, I've heard rumors that you can hear through your fungus. Assuming these rumors are true, all I ask is that you, keep your ears open to the treachery of others. We can't have other gods trying to undermine your nation, now can we? However, as this is a serious proposition, I will give you time to think about it while I attend to some other matters." Mammon said, seeing the dream of wealth in Ghraun's eyes as he left him.

Mammon's happiness flickered though as Sophie confronted him, apparently having heard his comments about her. Inwardly he sighed, wondering if this woman would stop preaching to him, but on the outside, thin lipped, he said, "Indeed, I may have misconstrued what your intentions were and I apologize." However, Mammon turned slightly darker, revealing a more treacherous side of him and said, "However, I do not appreciate being told what to think. Regardless of whether you think I misheard you or not, what I think is my own business, do not try to tell me I am wrong, when it is more of a matter of opinion." Soon after, his mood brightened, almost as if he had never been angry to begin with. He ended their conversation with a quick, "I do hope that we can become allies, or at the very least, not enemies."

Happy that that moment of unpleasantness was over, he went to Sahm, who had just finished appeasing both sides of the Orcs and Humans, and came up to him, making their encounter brief, merely saying, "I'm glad I was able to assist you. If you wish to talk about how you may repay me, I am more than willing to discuss such matters with you after I finish some other business." Deciding that Mammon had given Ghraun enough time to think, he returned to the Dusty Cavern Dweller, smiling and asked, "Well my underground friend, what will it be?"
 
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