The King of Chaos (Peregrine x Andy)

Peregrine

Waiting for Wit
Original poster
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
  1. Looking for partners
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per day
  2. Multiple posts per week
  3. One post per week
  4. Slow As Molasses
Online Availability
On fairly regularly, every day. I'll notice a PM almost immediately. Replies come randomly.
Writing Levels
  1. Adept
  2. Advanced
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Primarily Prefer Male
  2. No Preferences
Genres
High fantasy is my personal favorite, followed closely by modern fantasy and post-apocalyptic, but I can happily play in any genre if the plot is good enough.
The figure of a woman stood alone in a dark space.

Laying in the blanket of darkness, a seemingly infinite number of stars gathered together, forming streams and swirling nebulas that drifted, layer upon layer, through the darkness.

The woman’s bare feet were firmly planted on the same inky nothingness that made up the space. Without any point of reference to compare to, and with the silvery currents of stars that moved constantly through the void, it was possible that the woman might be hurtling through space, falling into the darkness. However, somehow the woman seemed still, and perfectly in control.

It was clear at a glance that she belonged in this space, or perhaps this space belonged with her. After all, her entire body was gracefully cloaked in stardust, which swirled around her figure in the same dense, lazy rivers that filled the atmosphere. Platinum silver hair cascaded over her shoulders in glistening waves, a perfect match for her pale skin and brilliant blue eyes.

Those blue eyes were currently staring into the distance, intense and focused as though they were peering past the curtain of star-studded darkness and into whatever lay beyond. The faint wrinkle that marred her otherwise smooth brow gave indication to the effort and concentration she was putting into her task. Other than the slow movement of the stars in the sky and those upon her dress, everything was still.

And then suddenly, without any warning, a burst of movement coursed through the still space. Her hand flashed out, instantly closing into a fist. It seemed impossible that her hand could have grabbed anything from the empty space in front of her, but when she drew her hand backwards, faint traces of light could be seen glimmering from between her fingers.

The woman withdrew her hand, before carefully uncurling her fingers. A small, brightly burning white star rested in the palm of her hand, quivering slightly. For a moment, a trace of a playful smile spread across her lips, before she crouched down. With great care, she placed the star into the emptiness near her feet, before she stood once again, stepping back. And then everything was still again.

There was no way to know how long the woman watched the trembling little star, but gradually it began to change. It grew from it’s small size, before pieces of it began to stretch outwards. Those pieces gradually began to form into the shape of arms and legs, which further refined to create hands and feet, fingers and toes. Under the burn of white fire, a face gradually began to take shape.

Only when the star had fully transformed into the figure of a man did the starlight begin to fade. It revealed a pale-skinned young man with messy black hair. Perhaps out of consideration for him, he was clothed in a simple white shirt and pants. However, like the woman who still watched him, his feet were bare

The woman continued to wait with seemingly infinite patience for the man that had appeared from the starlight to wake. It couldn’t have been an easy process, dying so violently, and then abruptly finding his soul snatched from its own dimension and brought here before her. She’d acted with all possible care, he was important to her after all, but it would still take time for his soul to orient itself after such a drastic change.

And so the woman waited, a faint smile still occasionally flickering its way across her lips.
 
  • Love
Reactions: Andy
Darkness..that was all the Armen could see in front of him. It was drowning him..suffocating him and destroying everything that he knew. Not the tiniest bit of light existed in this reality that he knew, all that he could see in front of him was this endless darkness. He tried to move his hands so he could touch his face but he couldn't even tell where his hands were at this point..did he even have hands or arms anymore? Did he even have a face anymore for that matter? All of his senses were just gone..sight, touch, hearing, smell, taste..he couldn't recognize or even begin to compute a single one of those things within his thoughts. Where was he? What had happened to him? He wasn't sure..his memory was hazy and nothing seemed real to the young man anymore.

Then in a flash of unimaginable pain his body..or his soul for that matter was wracked with so much pain it was like he was being struck by a never ending lightning bolt. The electric pain coursing through his soul didn't just bring back his pain..but with it flashes of memory. A young girl..no older then 14..his sister? His daughter? His cousin? Or..a stranger? Yes..that seemed right..but..where was he? His memories showed..a store of some kind..he saw..a few people..but..none of them were people he could recognize. Then the next flash of a memory went through his mind..the girl was being shoved..out of anger? Or was it to save her? Then there was..a sharp pain in his chest..a man was running past him..he felt something burning..and his breathing felt wet..and his chest was even wetter the next thing he saw..or recognized was the ground..and flashing lights..someone standing over him and then nothing...and..was he dead?..but..he was alive he was here wasn't he? He felt something..but..again..he felt..nothing at all the same time. Was this what the afterlife was? or was this just the final remnants of his consciousness fading into nothingness? Besides the pain..this was the first thing that the young man had felt since he had become aware..he felt..fear. Fear to be subjected to this lonely darkness forever..that's not what he wanted. He wanted to see the light..he wanted to feel...he wanted to experience everything he hadn't been able to experience before in life. He wanted to live.

No sooner had those thoughts crossed his mind did the darkness erupt into light so bright and blinding he couldn't even become aware of what was going on..or where he was or anything for that matter..he could faintly make out the ground..or..what he was understanding was the ground. It was..vast and empty..yet..bright at the same time. Like he was looking at the night sky. Then..he slwoly became more aware of the fact that he could now feel his legs and arms again..he felt..like himself again. Slowly he would drag himself to his feet..albeit extremely unsteadily. It felt like to him that even a strong wind would blow him right over.

As he got to his feet he would slowly take a look around him..before he finally looked up at the giant of a woman standing in front of him. Who..who was she? Where was he? What was going on? The confusion on his face was clear as day..but..the only thing holding him back from saying anything was the fact that he was afraid..afraid that whatever was going on was going to truly be the end of him..and if he said something wrong..this woman was going to make what he believed to be his final moments of existence..the most excruciating and hellish torture he had and would ever experience in this life..or any other.
 
Have you collected your thoughts?

The voice of the woman was like the echo of light through a misty morning, omnipresent and beautiful. Her lips did not move. Instead, her voice seemed to be coming from the stars themselves. Her brilliant blue eyes locked onto Armen’s figure, and a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

A ripple seemed to pass through the image of the woman, as though she was nothing but a reflection in a still pool of water that had been disturbed by a pebble. It swallowed her figure for an instant, and her form seemed to shrink from the distortion. When the ripple faded, the woman stood before him. There was not a millimeter in difference between their height. Her eyes were perfectly on line with his own.

The stars giggled capriciously, without a trace of dignity, and the woman tilted her head slightly, peering at Armen with mischief in her gaze. It took quite some time, you know. I couldn’t tell you how long I’ve been waiting. Then again, perhaps I should consider myself lucky? Dead souls can be quite weak sometimes, shattering at the slightest little nudge.

For an instant, the world seemed to freeze. The woman was still, and the stars in the heavens and scattered on her dress froze in place. As though traveling through molasses, her lips slowly parted.

“You aren’t that weak, are you?”
 
Last edited:
  • Bucket of Rainbows
Reactions: Andy
Armen would give a hard gasp and jump a bit when suddenly a loud female voice reverberated in the never ending space around him. It was..beautiful..entrancing and fear inducing all at once. He didn't have the slightest idea how to react to the voice as he looked around yet again..and fortunately..or unfortunately for him depending on how you looked at the situation another change happened before him before he could even think about what had happened.

In what seemed like the blink of an eye to him suddenly the colossal woman before him shrunk down to stand before him as if she was exactly his size. He didn't know who she was..or what was going on..or where he was or..anything for that matter..but..what he did know was that this woman before him..she was incredibly powerful..and the last thing he wanted to do was to make an enemy of her. He hadn't the slightest idea what she wanted with him..but what he did know was that he had better stay on top of things and give her what she wanted. "With..all due respect..I suppose that would depend on how you define what's weak. Do you mean in terms of actual strength?..or is it more weakness to simply settle for what you have and never get better then what you already are? To me..the latter is what true weakness is. It's one thing to be happy..but it's another thing to never take the steps to make yourself better..to improve yourself."

Armen would let his reply stay in the air for a moment or two before he slowly spoke again "..what is going on?..where am I? and who are you? Why am I here? I don't mean to sound rude or anything but I don't understand what is going on in the slightest."
 
  • Nice Execution!
Reactions: Peregrine
The moment of stillness was broken the instant Armen began to speak. The stars in the sky began to swirl again, and a nonexistent breeze tugged at the woman’s silver hair, causing it to flutter around her face. However, the mischievous smile on the woman’s face did not fade in the slightest. Her eyes simply continued to twinkle as she stared at the young man before her.

“You don’t need to be so careful,” the woman said suddenly, somewhat flippantly. “The timid are boring. Audacity is far more interesting to watch.”

You don’t need to fear,
the stars said, offering some measure of reassurance. I promise there’s nothing here that will hurt you.

“As for what happened…”
The woman raised one hand, covering her lips, looking like a child with a secret she was eager to tell. “You don’t remember? You. Died!” The words slipped from between the gaps in her fingers, before she pressed tightly against her lips. It seemed she wouldn’t say anything else, but the stars continued to speak.

I grabbed your soul, and brought it here. To my world. Can you guess why? I’ll give you a prize if you guess right.
 
  • Spicy
Reactions: Andy
To be completely honest her first statement did rub Armen the completely wrong way. Yeah it was easy for her to say. It was easy to be anything but Timid when you clearly had the power of a Goddess..only if you had the biggest pair in the universe or if you were just that stupid in his opinion would you have the; as she put it, audacity to tell off a Goddess right away on your first meeting. Now granted these..stars..that were somehow talking to him which he didn't understand how was possible or what was really going on..granted they said that he was safe here..but how could he trust that? He was in her domain after all..for all he knew she could be using those stars to try and lure him into letting his guard down so he makes a mistake and then she'd strike him down..again where he stood.

However even that wasn't his most pressing of concerns right now..at least not after her next statement. He..he was dead? No..that wasn't possible..he was standing right there wasn't he? He couldn't be dead? But then..what was with these memories? He absentmindedly brought his hand up to his chest where he had been stabbed..and a sinking dread washed through his body as he realized that she was speaking the truth..he was dead..he had been stabbed and died. And..for some reason..she brought him here? Why? What could she possibly want with him? Why him after all? He was just a normal human as far as he knew..what could she possibly want with him?

He would stare her down in silence as he tried to think of an answer to why she wanted to bring him here. Yeah he had read all kinds of books back home..even some manga from Japan..and he had read about this whole..being transferred to another world thing..but..he never thought that it was actually something that could happen. He thought it was all just fictional..and well..it probably was fictional..at least as far as the other humans on earth believed..he couldn't believe that any of the humans on earth could even comprehend what was going on right now..nor why.

After a long moment of silence passed between the two he would clear his throat before he spoke..slowly..yet confidently "I'm honestly having a bit of a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I'm dead..and that you've..apparently grabbed my soul and brought it to your world..but..as far as why you've done it..why you've brought me here I can only guess at but..from what I'm understanding..I'm going to guess that your either one of many Gods and Goddesses or that your the only Goddess of this world..and I'm going to guess that from your earlier statement about timid being boring and audacity being more interesting..I'm going to guess that your bored with how your world has played out or..how..things have been going in the world..and/or there's some kind of major crisis going on in your world right now..and you brought me here to relieve your boredom..and/or to stop whatever is going on in your world.."
 
The goddess watched Armen's swirling thought process with that unchanging mischievous smile on her face, the corner of her eyes crinkled. And yet she was still, frozen with a patience that seemed out of place in a being that seemed to exude such beautiful life. A patience that seemed far more suitable for the elderly or inanimate.

Even the stars swirling in the sky seemed incapable of marking the passage of time, their motion inconsistent, occasionally fast, occasionally slow. There was no way of knowing exactly how long the two of them stood like that, Armen's thoughts slowly unraveling, the goddess watching him. When he finally opened his mouth to speak again, perhaps it had been minutes, perhaps it had been hours or days or years. From the way the goddess responded it might has well have been little more than a split second. Perhaps it really had been so. Perhaps it simply didn't matter. Perhaps it had been all of them at once.

A smile bloomed over her face. "I knew I chose well," she said softly, her voice mingling with the stars.

"I'll score you at 80%. You were able to understand, but you also waffled, hedging your bets by sticking multiple guesses into one." The goddess seemed far from bothered by this minor miscompliance. If anything she seemed satisfied by his attempt, in spite of his lowered score. Maybe she'd never intended to give him a perfect evaluation.

"You are correct. I made this world, shaped its laws so that men could rise from the sludge of their pitiable, mortal lives and transform into true lords and kings of heaven. But those old bastards who have reached the peak have grasped my world in their disgusting hands and locked it into stasis."

It was a strange contradiction, to hear such coarse words coming from the mouth of such a beautiful woman, who's voice sounded far more suitable for the singing of angels than such distasteful language. And yet, the murky oceans that swirled in the depths of her eyes gave hint to the true extent of her frustration and disappointment at their actions.

"I've waited for someone to rise up, to bring together the fragments of fate that have been scattered through time and space, and overhaul those at the supposed peak, replacing and then exceeding them. Such a journey against all odds is the peak of excitement. And yet, I've waited in vain. Every time someone gets close, those fools crush them, stealing away the fate and using it to further consolidate their power, further binding the world into chains of stagnation. I am done waiting. When a system falls into stasis, it needs a drop of chaos from the outside to stir things up again."

"It would be far too boring, too anticlimactic, to stir it up myself. Instead, I want you to be that chaos."
 
  • Spicy
Reactions: Andy
Armen found himself holding his breath after he gave his answer. She may have been smiling the entire time..but he had sinking feeling within his stomach that she could easily hold that smile and destroy his entire being without much of a second thought if he had given the wrong answer. Luckily for him though he heard her first comment..and immediately sighed in relief when she said that "She" had chosen well. Guess that meant he had given a good enough answer for him to stay alive for the time being.

He wasn't necessarily happy with how well he had scored personally..he wasn't a perfectionist by any means but..he still didn't want to just accept a B as an answer..let alone a B minus..he could accept a B plus..although even then he would still have been striving to do better and would strive to do better next time..and he had feeling that this was one of the reasons that she had picked him. His competitive desire..his need to constantly get better. Everything she had just said pointed to those qualities. She wanted someone who wouldn't give up no matter how hard it looked..or how bleak things got. That didn't mean he wasn't terrified because he was. She was casting him into a world he knew little to nothing about and was telling him to remove the most powerful people in that world from power and then practically become their new mortal God and push the people to new hieights then they had already reached. Certainly not an easy task..some would probably say impossible! But Armen..he saw it as improbable. Not impossible.

"So just to recap what you just said so I can be sure I understand..basically you have given the mortals untold potential..or more so untapped potential and you want to see them reach even higher then they already have. However because of a certain number of individuals that have reached a certain point in their power they are now doing everything they can to prevent everyone and everything else from even getting close to a point that could even potentially challenge them thus keeping the world..as you said stagnant. And you want me..to go to this world and usurp these people..and push the people to new heights. Heights they didn't even consider reaching for because they had grown too accustomed to the way things were going as they are now. Am I correct?"

Honestly...as he thought before he was scared..but..mixed in with his fear was an undeniable amount of excitement. Out of who knows how many existences in the universe..or universes she hand picked him to go and be her vessel of "chaos" as she put it, and she had picked him. That meant one of two things..one she truly believed him capable and believed that he could do this and was sending him their with the highest of expectations. Or two she was just cruel and diabolical and only picked him because she knew he would fail and wanted to see him struggle until he finally succumbed to madness and ultimately death. He was hoping it was more the first situation then the second..but even if it was the second..he wasn't going to go down without a fight..that was for sure.

He wanted to ask her if he had earned this "prize" she had mentioned before..but he had a feeling doing so would be a bad move on his part..so instead he just continued to speak "I'll admit this is all a lot to take in..but..your offering me a second chance at life..not only that but your sending me to an entirely different world to do so. I'd have to be an idiot to say no to this offer..an exciting adventure waiting for me? I'm all in. I've always wanted to go on a real adventure..yeah I'm nervous..but my excitement is way outweighing that! But um..I do have to say I hope your not just going to cast me into this without any information or help whatsoever.."
 
  • Love
Reactions: Peregrine
"Correct," the goddess agreed casually as Armen finished his recap, her head bobbing slightly. "Although there is little need for you to focus on driving people forward. That will happen naturally as you undertake the challenge of shattering the chains of suppression."

Her watchful eyes had still never strayed from Armen in the entire time they'd been talking, as though every scrap of her attention was devoted to him. Naturally, there were high chances it was just an illusion. After all, how could a truly divine being ever put all of their attention on one thing? However, there was no denying that she was placing a great deal of importance and attention on this conversation. Perhaps no mortal had ever gained so much of her focus as she was giving at this moment.

"I am aware that you still do not fully trust my words, but I shall say this nonetheless. You do not need to fear abandonment. I have no intention of watching you suffer. There's more than enough of that elsewhere, and I wish to see this succeed. Your effort is most important, but I shall do my part as well. I'll be there for the entirety of your journey, observing from the background, giving you pieces of guidance, twisting fate to ensure that every danger you are able to overcome will have a suitable reward, and a touch of... What is it the people of your world call it? Plot armor?" The goddess giggled, a small yet dazzling smile spreading across her lips. "Good. Yes, you may consider yourself the protagonist, if you like. That arrogance could be quite fun to watch."

The smile slowly slid off of the goddess' face, and a rare touch of serious appeared in her eyes, burying the usual mischievous glint. "There are only two rules. One, you must always put in effort. Never expect anything to be handed to you for nothing. Two, I am under no obligation to assist you with anything. If you blindly back yourself into stupid corners without thought or consideration, I will be forced to reevaluate this entire endeavor."

She stared at Armen for a second, before the seriousness vanished just as quickly as it came. "Of course, you can always ask." One hand waved lightly through the air. "I'll welcome the occasional bit of preplanned theatrics. Grasping victory from the jaws of seemingly certain defeat is always one of the most dramatic moments. Or, if you prefer, you can try and entirely rely on yourself. I won't intervene if that's your choice. It's all up to you."

The goddess paused for a couple of seconds, giving Armen a moment to digest her words before she continued. "No questions?" she asked, the question sounding more casually spoken than a serious inquiry. In fact, she didn't even pause long enough to give Armen time to answer. "Then I shall continue with the introduction."

Her hands lifted in front of her, swirling in a spherical pattern in front of her chest. Misty light gathered in front of her, before forming into a crystal orb. Colored lights swirled within its depths, vague and indistinct. The goddess' eyes finally left Armen, turning instead towards the depths of the orb she had just created.

"At the most surface level, you will find that my universe resembles yours. The sky is blue, trees and animals cover the earth. A heart beats in each human, pumping blood through their veins." Within the crystal orb, a brilliant, red heart appeared in the center, beating endlessly. "However, despite the apparent resemblance, even you will quickly realize that the resemblance ends at a surface level. The rules that guide my world are completely different than those that guide yours. Your world is based on a few number of atoms and particles, combining in endless chains. Mine is based on near endless variations of mana."

The image of the heart in the crystal ball suddenly began to grow, zooming in. The image in the crystal ball zoomed in, until it seemed like an endless ocean of red flesh instead of the heart. As it grew greater and greater, the heart gradually began to change into overlapping points of radiant light, some red, some faintly green, some slightly orange. They swirled around each other in mysterious patterns, incomprehensible and constantly changing.

"I shall not go into great detail on the true nature of mana. After all, it is far more complicated and mysterious than even the laws of your own universe, and it is that very process of learning that will allow you to reach that 'untapped potential' of humanity. What I shall say instead is that mana is the basis of all things, and certain things will have a much stronger inherent understanding of some types of mana over others. This is called an aptitude, and it appears in all things. Aptitudes can be stronger or weaker, and cover broad or narrow aspects of mana. They can even be trained or induced, to a certain extent. The greater your aptitude for a type of mana, the easier it will be to sense and control it."

The goddess paused and smiled. "And that shall be the prize I mentioned earlier. I will allow you to choose your aptitude, and when your soul is reborn into my world, I shall shape your body accordingly."

The swirling network of mana in the crystal orb faded out, before being replaced by groups of glowing orbs. They were gathered together by color, bright sky blue next to a deep rich azure, brilliant red next to a faded crimson, vivid white adjacent to the palest shade of lilac. Seemingly every color under the spectrum appeared within that orb, each separate but distinct. The goddess' eyes finally lifted from the orb, returning to Armen. It seemed, at least for now, she intended to speak no further, but her eyes were still relaxed and playful.
 
Last edited:
  • Creative
Reactions: Andy
The amount of information that this Goddess had thrown at him was enough to make Armen's head spin in ways that he had never thought it could. To start with his first thought process was that it was good to hear that she wasn't just going to dump him into all of this without a prayer in hell. He still didn't trust her completely..yes she was giving him this information and yes she was giving him a second chance at life..but because this Goddess was doing this mostly to cure her own boredom was a sign that he did have to be careful around her. If he got too complacent or trusted her too much he had a strong feeling he could find it biting him in the rear end..and at worst costing him his life. Now he did believe her when she said that she wanted him to succeed..however he did believe that she was going to make things as..entertaining for herself as she possibly could.

Then there were her rules..he didn't know exactly why she had these rules in place but..they weren't impossible to uphold. Pretty much he just couldn't run around like a chicken with his head cut off doing whatever he pleased however and whenever he wanted then she would leave him to whatever fate he had dug himself into..and as long as he wasn't just sitting on his rear end waiting for things to happen then he would be fine. Both rules suited him just fine..at least to a degree. Long as she helped him at least get started then he could probably figure out where he wanted to go from there.

He had to admit her little comment about him being arrogant did brush him the wrong way..he didn't believe what he said was all that arrogant..well..okay maybe it was a bit arrogant but the fact still remained that she picked him out of how many countless other souls there were in the universe..she picked him. So..that was definitely a confidence booster right there to say the least. However even after all of that she didn't even give him a chance to consider asking any questions before she went on to start talking about magic. Wait...magic?! There was magic in this world!?

The look of excitement on his face as she started to explain some of the aspects of magic to him was clear as day. He had always wanted magic to be real..who didn't at one point in their life? It was the same as wanting to have superpowers or something like that. However her explanation of how magic..or..mana worked in this world was slightly lacking. He understood the concept of aptitudes and that if he had a strong aptitude in a certain kind of magic he would be able to use it easier then other types. However it did leave quite a few questions in his mind..especially when he took in mind the weight of the gift she was giving him. By allowing him to choose his own aptitude that would give him a great advantage..or a hindering weakness if he wasn't careful in what he picked and how he used it.

"I understand how this aptitude thing works in terms of mana and magic..however I do have a few questions before I can even consider making my choice. First one is if I pick an aptitude in one thing..does that mean I can never learn to use any other kind of magic? Or does that mean it will just be much harder for me to learn? Also..what kind of aptitudes are there exactly? I mean..you said that mana in your world aptitudes can cover broad or narrow concepts of mana. So how are the aptitudes divided into categories? Are they simply divided into the elements? Such as Fire, water, earth, air, light, and darkness? Or are there aptitudes like..creation, summoning, beast/monster taming, slave magic? If I'm going to make a decision and complete this task that you set before me while providing you the most entertainment that I can..I need to know exactly what my options are."
 
The goddess listened to Armen's string of questions with a patient smile on her face, but as he finally finished speaking, a faint giggle came from her. It echoed briefly among the stars, before vanishing into the darkness. "You need to know exactly what your options are, hmm?" she said, clearly amused. "Demanding a list of all the possibilities, so that you can peruse and compare perfectly at your leisure?"

She laughed again, before her hands swirled in front of her, wrapping around the crystal ball. The inside began to turn vaguely transparent, before the whole orb vanished altogether. "As much as I appreciate your boldness, even if such a list easily existed, I would have no intention of giving it to you. Not even if you'd scored perfectly, let alone when you scored just an eighty percent."

Her words seemed to point backwards to Armen's own dissatisfaction with his score rather than any true complaint she might have, as even now her expression didn't show any disapproval of his efforts thus far. However, it was equally clear that she meant every word she said.

"But effort shall always be rewarded. You scored an 80 percent, so I shall answer 8 direct questions. Nothing open ended, mind you. The first four shall be taken to provide some information to your previous questions.

"One. Aptitudes will never directly hinder your ability to manipulate other mana. They are a gift, the blessing of genius. Your inherent ability to understand other types of mana will be identical to everyone else without an aptitude. However, if you let the convenience of an aptitude get in the way of your ability to understand another type of mana, there's nothing I can do about that.

"Two. There is a difference between mana and magic. Having an aptitude does not directly correlate to the ability to perform a type of magic. An aptitude grants you a deeper understanding into the nature of a type of mana. Magic comes from the ability to control and manipulate mana according to your will. There are often multiple ways to accomplish a spell, depending upon your understanding of the mana you are using. Therefore, you cannot have an aptitude for a type of magic.

"Three. Mana is not an action. All things can be created, and all things can be destroyed. All things can be summoned, all things can be tamed, and all things can be enslaved. Mana is an existence, a concept with distinction. No matter how hard you try, a pebble will never become a gust of wind, a bolt of lightning will never transform into a leaf.

"Four. Mana is never simply anything. You say water, and yet what it means to understand a raindrop is very different from what it means to understand a bead of mist. A glacier and an icicle are very similar, they're both ice. And yet, can you truly say they are similar, when there are so many differences between them? Similar, different, where does it end? Even with a perfect aptitude, your understanding will not start perfect. Like all skills, they must be honed. Even those who have reached the supposed peak, there is much they do not understand."


The goddess finally stopped speaking, and then she paused, giving Armen time to contemplate her words. After an unknowable length of time passed, she spoke again.

"Now, ask your questions. Pick them carefully, because you only get four, and if you try and hedge your bets by putting multiple questions into one, I will count both parts as separate questions."
 
  • Creative
Reactions: Andy
Armen's head was still spinning with all the information that she just threw at him. He knew he had asked a lot of questions..but he was at least hoping for answers he could understand..he hardly understood any of her answers. Now he did understand them in some ways..and would like correction if he was wrong..but..he didn't know if he could afford to waste his remaining questions on clarification..especially since he had no idea if this Goddess would say that asking for more clarification on a question he already asked counted as a second one or not. But from what he was understanding so far was this.

Magic and Mana were not the same thing. They did go hand in hand together in some ways..but otherwise they didn't effect each other at all. So having an aptitude for Fire would make it easier to perform Fire magic..at least from how he was understanding it and to be able to use water magic he had to understand the mana that surrounded water and he had to understand how to manipulate it. If he didn't have an aptitude for water he would have to learn how to manipulate and understand that mana before he could use water in a form of magic thus making it harder to use. But it wasn't impossible. So to summarize quickly..just because he had an aptitude for one kind of mana he would be able to use magic that included that aptitude much easier, and if he kept his mind open and pushed himself to learning he would be able to learn how to use and manipulate other kinds of mana so he could use magic that involve those types of mana.

Then there were her answers to questions 3 and 4. For three..from how he was understanding it was the that basically he couldn't change something into what it isn't. He could probably use mana/magic to turn water into ice or even steam but he couldn't go against the laws of nature and turn a flame into a clump of dirt, nor could he turn a tree into a pool of water. As for question four how he was understanding it was that Ice, water and steam were at the base the same thing..however because other elements are added to it they each have their own mana flow. So just because he understood the mana for water didn't mean he would understand Ice since it has it's own flow..and while it may be a bit easier to learn Ice since at one point or another at some base level Ice is another form of water it is still a different form of mana all together.

After remain silent for a long..long moment as he considered how to ask his next questions..he unfortunately couldn't come up with anything that would give him a satisfactory answer except for being straight forward. Yes..the two questions in his mind would potentially waste two questions..but from how she explained things before he still didn't understand what an actual Aptitude that could be learned was. "..Then I'll ask these two questions next. I understand if you can't give me a list of every single aptitude that has ever and possibly will ever exist in the universe. However I am still uncertain to what aptitudes are even a realistic possibility to pick. So..i'll ask you this. Can you please give me some examples of aptitudes that I could pick from? and After that..I am curious to know..if you were in my situation..what aptitude or aptitudes would you consider taking if you were going to start this journey?"
 
  • Love
Reactions: Peregrine
"You could have an aptitude for fire." The goddess began speaking fluidly as soon as Armen finished speaking. "Or lightning, or sound. You could have an aptitude for plants or blood or swords. You could even have an aptitude for ghosts or gravity."

Up in the heavens, the stars seemed to echo her words, however somewhere in between leaving and coming back the words changed. The list of types of mana continued to steadily grow.

Light. Steam. Crystal. Sand. Dust. Clouds. Magma. Shadow. Poison.

"As for me, I naturally would have picked an aptitude for everything."
As though amused by her own words, the goddess laughed brightly, a smile blooming across her face. However, a trace of disappointment entered her gaze a second later as she stared at Armen. "Unfortunately, I can't really recommend you trying to choose that now. If you'd discovered and made that decision on your own I would have rewarded your audacity with a fairly decent aptitude for everything, despite the fact that such a thing does not exist anywhere else in my universe. But, at this point, choosing an aptitude for everything will see your understanding for any one thing notably lower than what you'll get if you specialize, which will make the start of your journey that much harder."

As though she was worried that she'd been too harsh, or perhaps simply wanting to console him for the loss of this possibility, the goddess smiled gently. "I'll give you a bonus piece of information for free. There are ways to engender aptitudes. You don't have to be born with them. They're rare of course, and often a great challenge, but they exist and I'm sure you'll stumble across more than a few of your own."
 
  • Creative
Reactions: Andy
Armen would fall silent..wow he had expected aptitudes to be limited to things like fire, air, earth, water and such. He didn't know he could have an aptitude for swords. Although he wasn't sure how that would work exactly. He supposed that what it meant was that he would be a good swordsman or something like that..however he wasn't sure if that was the kind of thing that he wanted to go with right now. He definitely had a lot to think about with his aptitude..however..she said that there were ways to combine his aptitudes. She said that she would go with everything..and now that she had said that..she probably wasn't going to give him that..and what she said was true. It made things much more difficult for him to understand if all was a basic understanding of everything instead of a strong understanding of a few things. So..that left him with a few options at least.

Then there was the fact that he could..create his own aptitudes if he tried hard enough..at least that's what he was understanding with her use of the word engender. If he kept working hard and kept his mind open to the possibilities he could potentially create aptitudes for things people had never seen before in her world..and that would be a huge advantage. However that was an issue for another time. For now he had to pick his aptitude.

Silence filled the void as he thought long and hard about what he wanted. Could he say he wanted an aptitude for Nature? If he said that doing so would combine quite a few things into it..it would combine anything that was natural in the world so therefore, earth, water, air, trees, animals, lightning, rain..all kinds of things could be combined into that if it was a possibility. Then he could pick an aptitude for combat..if those kinds of things were allowed..however..he had an inkling in his heart that picking something like that wouldn't work..and he would have to have a really strong argument for them to convince her to give it to him.

Then a new thought entered his mind..and after a few moments he would look up at her and let out a slow breath. After a moment he would clear his throat again before he slowly spoke "I..I think I've chosen my aptitude. Animals..I want to have an aptitude with animals..if it's something that's possible" His thought process..was this..if he had animals as an aptitude he could use them as companions. He could tame them..speak to them..and possibly even use them as familiars..animals were everywhere and if used properly they could be powerful allies and they could also be good sources of information. However..if this aptitude wasn't something that was possible..then he would have to go back to the drawing board and think up something different.
 
There was several seconds of silence after Armen spoke where the goddess simply peered at him. It was clear that she was thinking about something, but what exactly she was contemplating wasn't clear behind the crystalline depths of her blue eyes. However, eventually, she smiled.

"If I have understood you correctly, you wish to have an aptitude for the thoughts of animals? To understand their thoughts, and impart your own thoughts upon them? To influence, and potentially even control their minds, or share their thoughts as your own, to see through their eyes? After all, there is a large difference between that and having an aptitude for their bodies, their flesh, blood, and bone. Yes, if that is your wish, it is perfectly possible."

The goddess nodded her head. If she had an opinion on Armen's choice, it certainly didn't appear on her expression, but the same, graceful smile remained on her lips.

"If you are satisfied, let me know and we shall continue."
 
  • Thank You
Reactions: Andy
The time that passed after he voiced his thoughts was worse then death in its own way. With every second that passed he was afraid that he had given an..unsatisfactory answer and that she would cast him away and forget that he had even existed..let alone that she had even considered to make him her champion of..entertainment.

However then she spoke and voiced his thoughts completely. He had to admit..while he was glad that she knew what he was thinking..at the same exact time he was also extremely concerned..and..afraid. If she had been able to read his thoughts that easily he couldn't help but wonder what else she knew he was thinking whenever a thought popped into his mind. But..putting all of that aside he was just relieved to know that the aptitude or..thought process that he wanted was real and that he could actually use it. "Yes..yes that is the aptitude I want. Just as you described it. Thank you..I am ready to continue."
 
  • Spicy
Reactions: Peregrine
The goddess smiled gently at Armen's somewhat stuttering response, but whether it was loving, pitying, or simply peaceful, it was impossible to tell. What there was no denying, however, was that it was as beautiful as the rest of her, like a ray of sunlight streaming down from the heavens.

"Then we shall continue."

The goddess' hands spread in front of her, but rather than forming a crystal orb this time, they were drawing a flat plane, like the surface of a table. Underneath them the infinite black, starry sky seemed to twist, as though something was trying to rip its way through space. The invisible whirlpool began to swallow up the stars, before nothing remained below them but blackness. It was only then that land began to appear under their feet, the familiar greens, browns, yellows, blues, and whites of a habitable planet.

"Even locked in stasis as it is, my universe is not a peaceful one. It is one where individuals are capable of becoming so powerful that they could kill anyone from your world with nothing more than a single thought. It is a world where strength reigns supreme, and if you aren't strong enough to have your way you can only yield to those stronger than you, try to take shelter under another power, or..." the goddess paused, her smile growing broader and far less gentle. "Fight for every opportunity that presents itself, and become one of the strong yourself.

"Of course, that's assuming that those in power will allow you to grow that strong. And so it goes full circle."


On the ground below them, things began to rise up from the ground. At first they were nothing more than blurred shadows, but they quickly began to resolve themselves into massive cities, towering and beautiful, each of them unique. In the north, a graceful domed city of ice was carved into eternal glaciers, water so blue it looked like liquid sapphires flowing between the buildings. To the west, a city of stone rose from the cliffsides of a massive mountain, with walls so tall it would be impossible to see the top standing at the bottom. In the center of a shadowy forest to the southeast, a city was built on bridges that were strung between the sculptures of wooden giants that towered a thousand feet tall. And these were only a few of the countless massive cities that sprawled under their feet.

"My world is one of factions. Each of the forces capable of claiming a swathe of territory are propped up by a powerful individual, a titan of mana whose every step can raise a storm. And yet, these forces hold each other in check, each of those titans fearing the disastrous consequences that would come about should they ever truly go to war with each other, and the circling vultures who might tear them apart if they weaken too far.

“Here, you won’t be judged by the color of your skin or the shape of your body, but you certainly will be for the faction you belong to. And even those smaller forces, who might at first not seem associated with a true faction, you’ll likely find that they pay tribute to a stronger force for protection.”


The world spun quietly underneath them as the goddess paused in her story. Her eyes traced across Armen’s face. “You appear to have saved some of your questions. Do you intend to use them now?”
 
  • Useful
Reactions: Andy
Armen would remain silent as the Goddess before him went on to explain the world to him in a bit more detail then he already knew..which was nothing. So at this point any information that she was giving him would be of a great assistance. As she went on to explain some of the planet to him it became pretty clear to him that the world that she had created was a pretty simple fact..at least from how she was explaining it he was understanding it in one simplified way. Might makes right in this world. Morals, and priorities...ethics..none of it mattered in this world unless you had the power/strength to change the world and prove yourself right. It did make things a bit easier in the sense that as long as he could prove himself stronger he could make any situation turn into his favor..but at the same time it also made things more difficult because it would be harder to convince others to help him with just words alone.

Then she went on to start explaining about these factions that were in the world. Well at the very least he was understanding that the people in the world wouldn't judge him just because of his powers, or appearance or anything like that. However depending on what faction he belonged to would create some problems if he didn't join one that he felt was worthwhile..that was assuming he decided to join a faction..because that was definitely an option as well wasn't it? After a moment of silence after her last question though Armen would slowly shake his head in response "No..I don't intend to use them until your done explaining everything your going to explain. I don't want to risk using a question to ask something that you would have already explained as it is."
 
The goddess giggled faintly at Armen’s response. “How cautious,” she replied, but unlike the dissatisfaction she’d shown before when she’d called him ‘careful’ previously, this time she simply seemed amused. Perhaps this time she thought Armen was being prudent instead of timid, or maybe she was simply entertained that he was trying so hard to avoid jumping into a trap of hers. “But please don’t forget I’m on your side. You are my ‘protagonist’, after all.”

The goddess watched him for a second cheerfully, before shaking her head slightly, causing her silver hair to ripple over her shoulders like a waterfall. She continued. “Outside of your questions, all that remains is deciding how you’ll enter into my world, and where your journey will begin. I rather like some of those stories from your previous word. Shall we use those as reference, perhaps?”

Her hands spread before her, creating a small plane between the two of them. As she spoke, text began to appear on the board, outlining her words. Despite the fact that the letters were completely unfamiliar to Armen, looking like curved and swirling chicken scratch, each entry was still clearly readable.

“The cleanest method would likely be to simply reincarnate you into the body of someone who recently died, and give you some basic information on their history. There’s lots of different possibilities we could discuss here.

“Or we could do a genuine reincarnation, where you are reborn to a family in this world, reawakening more and more of your memories as you age. I suppose you could also take it to the extreme, and become a genius who starts learning mana from the womb, if you want to deal with being an infant again.

“We could also get you mixed up in a summoning or transportation ritual. They aren’t super common, but both definitely happen. You’ll have to figure out how to answer any questions that are flung your way mostly on your own, though, since I don't want to feed you a fake backstory. Memory loss is always a good excuse.

“Finally, I suppose I could just recreate your body as it was before you died, and drop it into my world. Watching everyone scramble to try and figure out how to deal with the fact that you have no background could be interesting.”
 
  • Creative
Reactions: Andy
Clearly she wasn't unhappy with his decision about waiting to hear more before asking any questions. She said that she was on his side..and while he did believe her..he also believed that she would withhold some information from him in an attempt to make things a little more "interesting" or "entertaining" for her to watch...so he couldn't necessarily be too carefree when it came to her. However he didn't have long to think on that before she started to throw things at him in an attempt to say how he could be reborn into her world. It honestly didn't take much thought for him to decide on how he wanted to be brought back into the world.

After a few moments of silence he would give her a small nod "I would prefer to be properly reincarnated and reborn into the world with an actual family..that way I can learn as much as I can from a young age and properly develop my skills before I get too old and my body is unable to keep up with the mission that I need to do. Also..I think that I would like to be born as a genius. I know it may be risky but it will give me a slight advantage and will help me in the long run."

"..As for my final two questions..I guess there's only one that I have clearly standing out in my mind right now that I think I should ask..and that would be can you tell me more about these factions? Like..who they are what they stand for...those kinds of things. If they are the ones that are holding the power and all of that then I'll need to know as much about them as I can so I know which ones I personally want to get involved with..and which ones I will want to avoid."
 
  • Love
Reactions: Peregrine