Vimic is now an adolescent. He still spends most of his time exploring the ruins, or decyphering the contents of the various things he has found in them, but new among his activities is exploring the surface. His fey family have allowed this only as their ability to stop him is questionable due to his drakfey strength and rudimentary arcane ability. He has already met other drakfey, who regard him as a kind of mythical figure due to the rarity with which he is seen, the intelligence with which he speaks, and his noble appearance. He enjoys this perception, and grows evermore bold with his appearances.

The humans and fey of Ium have indeed reached a stage of cooperation. You are quite happy with the town, as the combined efforts of the fey and humans in an area that is almost completely safe and of unparalleled civility has led to tremendous leaps in knowledge (comparably speaking).

Elkot, who now calls himself the Arch-sage, is still unsatisified both with his ever growing bone castle and his also constantly expanding knowledge. Pilgrims now come commonly from all over the western continent to see the great and civil dragon. Rarely do any of the pilgrims actually make it within his bone walls, but a few have and all of them have left after a week or so to bring new understanding to their people.

cont...

>>18137229
I'm so happy! I've been waiting for more Deity Quest.

>deity quest

Arya has made it to Sarma's grove. Their she had stayed for some time, and eventually seemed to reach a kind of enlightenment. She now worships Sarma nearly directly (though she still does not know Sarma by name) and has dedicated herself more fully to learning the secrets of druidic magic.

Mae's position has changed little. She is still "queen" of the fey at liquid mountain, and still seems to have just enough influence over them to have them call her queen but not quite enough to actually get them to do anything as a single force. She seems to be gaining ground on this, though slowly.

The year is 35P.C., you wander if any of these developments warrant your interest or maybe if there is something you should examine that you may have forgotten to earlier. If you can't think of anything soon you will probably just wait, the world seems peaceful right now which means something big is probably going to be initiated by one of the gods soon.

rolled 84 = 84

Check on those fey who travelled with Ur when he was going to the Obelisk

rolled 19 = 19

> Something big may happen soon

lets just wait. This is clearly meant to tip us off.

>>18137311
Can we get a map that shows where certain key players like Mephistophales, Ur, Vimic, and Arya are?

rolled 76 = 76

>>18137364
This, what's up with those two?

>>18137364
That's Mae, the Fey Queen of Liquid Mountain.

Of the two fey aside from Mae that journeyed through the desert with Ur, one is dead and the other met back up with Mae and lives on liquid mountain.

>>18137410
No, the other one. The one who traveled with him but didn't stick around.

>>18137481
Neat. Let's try to nudge events as subtly as possible in a way that leads Ur and Vimic to meeting each other.

At last, Deity Quest once again! Truly this is a glorious day.

rolled 80 = 80

>>18137494
we don't need to be subtle with Ur, he is our mortal representative on this world. Just tell him to be on the lookout for a black scaled drakfey, he is smart enough that he will find Vimic within a few months of that.

>>18137551
Of course we don't need to be. We like to be, though, even with Ur. We prefer when Ur figures things out himself, rather than holding his hand. I think we should subtly steer him in that direction. Once he sees an obsidian-scaled Drakfey with eyes the same colour as our eye's fire, he will know without a doubt why he ended up there.

What has Mephistopheles doing? Has his city pretty much collapsed at this point?

rolled 81 = 81

>>18137551
Subtlety is our entire MO. Ur's very intelligent, he was able to figure out our association with the obelisk in the desert based on a few rumors, I'm sure if we just pull a few strings that send him in a certain direction he's likely to hear news of Vimic and try to find him. It's already pretty clear to him that usually obsidian = some connection with us, and a mythical black drakfey with greater than average intelligence and knowledge is sure to draw his attention.

>mfw Deity Quest

rolled 20 = 20

Okay, may I ask for a recap on who's who? I don't remember anyone except Ur and Mae....

You wait for a good opportunity to speak with Ur, he normally stops once every midnight for a hour or so to contemplate things and normally pray to you. You wait until such a time.

You tell him (through inspiration, not words) that there is someone important he should speak with on this continent. And nudge his mind to travel in the directing you know Vimic to reside.

You look back the Mephistopheles. He is speaking with a dragon, Ninau you beleive. The dragon had been attacking his lands recentlyt, and though the people had faught him they were unable to do more to the dragon than force it to retreat after suffering many casualties. The people pleaded with their lord to help them, and for once their lord seemed interested in their trubles. The next time the dragon appeared Mephistopheles was there to confront him. The battle was short, with the vampire the clear victor, though neither combatant was killed. Instead, Mephistopheles told the dragon he would like to speak with him.

From their conversation, it appears the vampire is trying to learn the location of the entrance to the heart of the world hidden in the nearby mountains.

rolled 70 = 70

>>18137691
Ur: our Champion, the first lich.

Mae: accompanied Ur into the desert with two other fey, now the Queen of the fey at the Liquid Mountain.

Mephistopheles: the first vampire. Formerly the necromancer Falees, he partially fused with a fragment of the demon Mephisto to become a completely new being with aspects of both.

Arya: the first Lycanthrope, born of a union between a human and fey. Learned druidic magic through communion with nature and defended the forest from the drakfey on the eastern continent. Was summoned to Sarma's Grove by divine revelation and is now her Champion.

Vimic: the first dragonborn drakfey, born of a dragon/fey union. Has a slimmer build compared to other drakfey, and is more curious, even-tempered and intelligent compared to his peers. Has black scales and flame colored eyes due to a small intervention shortly after his birth.

rolled 51 = 51

>>18137704
>Mephy looking for entrance to heart of the world

>>18137704
Let's take a look at every settlement Ur's visited. I want to see what they've all done with the knowledge he's provided.

Yay Deity Quest!!

Here's that image I promised. It isn't the greatest but I haven't seen anyone but me and that other guy drawing.

The settlements Ur has visited are far to numerous to be examined each in detail, as he is a tireless lich who has been doing almost nothing but walking from place to place for 35 years now. But you can almost retrace his steps by drawing a line through the settlements that have suddenly developed similar technologies as those before them. In general, villages he has passed through tend to be less warlike and more focused on improving their life-style, though this isn't universal to the least.

>>18137829

Nice, I was looking forward to seeing this when I made this thread.

>>18137884
Thanks.

rolled 22 = 22

Well if no one can think of anything lets just timeskip. Vimic seems to be the biggest deal going on right now, but even he wont be doing much till he is an adult. Mephy seems a little scary strong, but I can't think of anything to do with him right now.

I think we should give Mae some divine inspiration, the fey, after all, ARE our people.

>>18137913
Well, he should be pretty amazing. He is, after all, Champion of Piscus.

You decide Mae could use some help. When the next full moon shine upon her, you will grant her clarity of mind to reflect on the things she had learned and studied back at the obelisk.

[I will wait for a few more prompts before a timeskip, as a timeskip eliminates opportunities to do things others may have wished to see done.]

>>18138008
Hmmm, I wouldn't be opposed to a time skip, but I am interested in what that dragon and priest in Ium are up to.

>>18137481
Is nothing interesting going on on the NW or SW island chains?

How exactly do the people of Ium worship Ius? I gather it's direct worship to him and there is the high priest around, but it would be fun to see how they color their worship, what rituals they do and how it's all organized.

And is it still to early for any interesting art or culture to have developed? Sarma's gift of divine inspiration has always intrigued me.

The NW islands are almost restrictively fey land. Unlike liquid mountain, however, these fey are only "united" in terms of they happen to share living space.

The SW islands are home to a few tribes of human. Without any divine interaction, or even supernatural interactions, these tribes are inarguably the least advanced "civilizations" on the planet.

The dragon Edatel has changed his MO slightly from almost only speaking with the leaders of Ium to actually living among the humans there he only rarely withdraws to his mountain home any more to revert to his dragon form. The priest is old and dying, but seems satisfied with the state of Ium.

>>18138056

The only widespread occurrences of art so far are minor decorations made from plants used by many tribes and cultures. Aside from this, art is more or less monopolised by, surprisingly, Elkot who has taken great pleasure in making his bone structures.

>>18138056
I'm actually really interested in Ius's religion too.
>>18138098
Let's make sure we talk to the priest when he dies. I'm sure it will be a fascinating conversation

I guess I'm good for a timeskip then

we should take up smithing in case of Picus wants to start war of gods

>>18138200
...what?

You decide to let time pass again.

Mae has succeeded, at long last, in getting the fey to act on a cohesive goal. Much to your delight, this first goal involves constructing a grand library inside of liquid mountain where the fey shall accumulate knowledge from all over the world for safe keeping. Allready fey "emissaries" fly to various parts of the world. Mae has instructed all of them to be on the lookout for a wanderer with a staff of black fire and who hides within clothes that conceal his body. Should they find this man, they are to inform him of what they plan at liquid mountain.

On the subject of Ur, he did manage to find Vimic. One day Vimic and his family were quite surprised to see a human simply stroll into their hidden home. They demanded to know his name and reason for trespass. He explained both of these things without reserve.

It was not long before Ur and Vimic were speaking daily. Vimic normaly asked questions of Ur during this time, and Ur was happy to answer. After a few weeks, however, Ur sensed that he had told the strange drakfey everything he should, and that his time would be best spent once again travelling the world. His explanation of this to Vimic seemed to inspire the drakfey to also take up exploration and travel to a greater degree.

cont...

>>18138287
Excellent...

rolled 82 = 82

We're still in the stone age right now, there isn't going to be much smithing anyone can do since metalworking hasn't actually been discovered yet.

If you're talking about actually making stuff ourself, I'm not sure how that would work. I have been entertaining the idea of creating some artifacts of unknown purpose imbued with divine power early on, since it seems to be a rule of thumb that older artifacts are invariably more powerful. Not sure how to go about such though, since blacksmithing hasn't been invented yet so we can't exactly inspire anyone to do it for us and acting directly isn't our style.

Vimic was 17 when he finally left his home for what seemed to be good. His appearance caused many waves amoungst the drakfey who had long only heard of him. Nearly immediately, he was seen as a almost religious figure to the drakfey. Unbeknownst to him, however, the other being worshipped by the drakfey of red river is not pleased with this newcomer.

Mephistopheles has found the entrance to the heart of the world. Accompanied by the dragon Ninau he currently journeys into its depths.

Finally, while Ium has changed little over the past five years, its high priest has died.

rolled 6 = 6

Perhaps a set of Onyx staves (8 in total) that would open a path to the moon, with instructions only at the location the path would open at?
Of course very vague

>>18138367
I think he was suggesting that we need to arm ourselves as gods for fear that Picus tries to murder us? Regardless, the blacksmithing idea was quite dumb. He either doesn't realize our people are in the stone age or thinks that the quarreling between deities is anything more than people arguing over an RPG they're playing.

>>18138387
Nah, let's let people figure out magic for how to get to the moon on their own.

>>18138386
Let's talk to the high priest now. This should be good.

rolled 69 = 69

>>18138393
Well, a set of 8 onyx staves then, as our normal artefact(s)

>>18138386

I remember Lus and Picus fighting for one soul, I think it was the high priest one...

>>18138402
Let's not even make any artifacts yet. We'll let things play out with only subtle interaction until such a time that we need to do something dramatic again.

rolled 35 = 35

>>18138404
Yes, it will be interesting to see how this plays out and what the priest has to say. I wonder if Ius or Picus will drop in for a word, considering how much they seemed to focus on the guy.

>>18138439
No reason not to. We are of course, though, the final judges in the matter. They would be spectators and probably able to ask questions or make comments or something.

You decide to give the high priest special attention. You appear before him in the afterlife.

You look upon yourself. You are the high priest, albeit made of obsidian and with your standard eyes.

"I am Uraemrys, the Abdal. I am the god of judgement."

He looks at you bewildered, "I thought I would go to the top of the mountain. I told everyone that that is what happens when you die."

"You may not have erred in more than denotation. The peak of the mountain you speak of is home of the god Ius, who you claim to worship, it is possible that you may be sent to him in your death though it would be a place of his other than the one you have for your life looked upon. But that is only a possibility. The only certainty when one dies is that they will come before me."

"How may I walk to this other mountain?" The priest asks.

rolled 7 = 7

>>18138485
Tell him he will be sent there based on his philosophy. Ask him what he expects of Ius, how he worshiped him in life, and why he thinks he deserves to go there.

>>18138485
He must be one self-centered motherfucker if his image of perfection is...himself.

rolled 86 = 86

>>18138485
One does not simply walk to Mount Ius.

rolled 26 = 26

>>18138673
Alternatively, swap Mount Ius with the name of whatever afterlife we're supposed to be referring to.

"You cannot walk there, you are sent there. You will be there if I judge you to belong there, and you will never see that place if I judge otherwise. Tell me why you believe I should judge as you wish."

He answers, " I have spent my entire life looking upon the peak of Ius. For my wisdom I was made by my people to be he who would from that peak interpret Ius's will. I have advised my people through every struggle on his behalf. I have led Ium to a stage of prosperity. I ask you, "god", why would I not belong there?"

He seems angry, you think this may be the first time you have had that emotion displayed at you in this situation. He is clearly a megalomaniac, but the things he says are true.

>>18138690

(Assuming you are OP, always missing the trip)

This guy is special, the very first leader of Lus' church.

Should we let us himself decide?

>>18138690
"From what I've gathered of you in this brief conversation you would belong more in the realm of Picus, amongst his demons."

>>18138719
"Because you lack humility, a value Ius prizes. Now, sit, tell me of your life. There is no need to be impatient anymore."

rolled 58 = 58

>>18138747
This, and if he really starts getting pissy at us, we shift into our true form and channel Sauron at him. In a non-evil way, of course.

rolled 85 = 85

>>18138822
>>18138747

my votes are for these

"Because you are proud. Pride is a trait favored by Picus, who you probably do not know of but may now learn is the primary opposition of Ius. Now stay calm and tell me of your life, your anger will get you nothing here."

"How do you know Ius?" He demands.

"I don't think you appreciate the situation you are in human. I know. Now answer to me." You respond.

"If you really knew all you would have no need to ask me these questions." He says slyly, as though he believes himself to have trapped you.

Enough of this. Your body suddenly shatters, and from under the shards crawl suddenly thousands of obsidian hands that swarm and spin together, forming a mighty pillar. The priest gasps and backs away, but goes nowhere due to the lack of spacial relativity in this place. As the hands complete their self-construction the two eyes laying on the ground from your former body begin to float up to the top of the pillar. As they spin in circles they leave behind uncountable replications of themselves on the form of magnificent platinum and gold wheels. Finally the movement stops and a larger eye of divine flame appears at the wheels center, glaring with every other eye down upon the whimpering human.

"I do not ask for lack of knowledge mortal, I ask so that I may hear your perception of the objective truth I know without flaw so that I may see exactly how delusional you are. I am not asking you to teach me, I am asking you to perform before me. So show me if that mortal mind of yours holds anything Ius might call notable. So perform for me."

cont...

>>18138993
that's right, we don't take shit from nobody!

>>18138993

>>18138993
OH GOD. WE MAD FOR ONCE.

rolled 77 = 77

>>18138993

>>18138993
I AM NOT SOME CONJURER OF CHEAP TRICKS

>>18138993

Eventually he speaks, "I am Neven, high priest of Ius. When we first became creatures, I and many among me first gazed upon the might and majesty of Mount Ius. In the years that followed we came to worship the mountain. I was always a leader of my people, it was I who gave most commands were commands to be had. That is why it was my prayers that were answered at last by Ius. I prayed to the mountain, we all did at the time, but in my prayer I was granted inspiration from the god himself who told me it was he we should worship not the mountain. He told me that in my heart lay the motivation most akin to his own, and thus that I should lead my people to said goals.

It wasn't until later that I truly understood what he meant by that last part. A stranger, Edatel, came to our people. He was wise, nearly as wise as me, and we spoke much. Though these speaches I gained clarity of my vision, and understood that Ius had told me that I was to be the one who dictated what was right and wrong, that I alone held the power to grant the favor of Ius because I was the person who Ius intended to create the parameters all humans would be judged by. Ius didn't mean he shared my views, he meant that in regards to humanity I would set his views.

The stranger then tried to convince me things about what parameters I should set. But I knew better than to listen to that, he just wanted to influence my power. And so that is how I lived my life. I knew what was moral and what was not because I defined both words. In fact I would not be surprised were you tell me that you do not actual intend to judge me and actually are here to welcome me home..." Near the end his snide tone had resumed. It is clear he is delusional and disgustingly proud, but you cannot say that the things he dictated in life weren't moral by Ius's standards for the most part. How interesting.

rolled 57 = 57

Self centered piece of shit. No Ius for you.

>>18139198

Actully I think he is fairly noble. Sure he is completely delusional in the "A god am I" department, but that was due to Edatel's manipulation. He seems to have actually been a very good person in his actions, and resisted Edatel's influence to be otherwise. All in all he is a ass with a heart of gold.

rolled 54 = 54

>>18139180
"Edatel, yes, a creature of Ius. A dragon in human form. A curious thing. He had you wrapped around his finger at first. Ius and Picus both wanted you as a pawn in their game, it was rather amusing to watch."

I just want to fuck with him a little bit.

>>18139294
This. Give him some humility via knowledge of truth.

rolled 99 = 99

>>18139294

I approve of this action.

>>18139294
creature of Picus* not Ius

>>18139294

>a creature of Ius

[was this intentional, or did you mean to say Picus?]

>>18139294
>>18139294
This. Let's try to provoke him some more. Just so we have a bit of an excuse before we deny this asshole his demands. Or perhaps make him realize his erros at least.

>>18139335
Nah, I wanted to say Picus.

rolled 43 = 43

>>18139180
>It is clear he is delusional and disgustingly proud, but you cannot say that the things he dictated in life weren't moral by Ius's standards for the most part. How interesting.

Hm...are we judging based more on intent or deed here? From what's happened so far, we definitely seem to focus more on the "intent" part of everything. We were supposed to judge each mortal based on the god they served most in life, but is that dependent on which one their philosophy is closest to, or rather which one's goals they contributed the most toward? Either way, it's a hard call here.

>>18139294
a creature of Picus, I think you mean.

>>18139355
Well, since we seem to be going more towards what's fair more than what's interesting, I'd suggest intent and philosophy.

>>18139355
I think we are judging based on who their actions actually benefited and who best matches their philosophy on life. Not so much the intent.

>>18139412
So if someone unwittingly serves Picus in deed while loving Ius in heart, you say we send them to Picus?

>>18139180
I think we should ask Ius and Picus whether they want people given to them based on action or intent. If it's action, he is Ius's. If it's intent, he belongs to Picus.

>>18139435
Yes, absolutely.

rolled 74 = 74

Why don't we let him see who he really is? Rare is the person who sees themselves as they are rather than what they think they are. Turn the mirror of his life on himself while you narrate his actions and whether those actions deem him worthy for Ius or Picus?

If he is worthy of Ius then let him go to Ius, but when he approaches the mountain he should feel the pain and agony of every action which took him further from his God. Perhaps that will teach him humility.

I just realized that were-creatures are going to become a significant minority going forward, since to create one you only need a human and a fey to reproduce, and Fey and Humans seem to be moving towards a path of limited cohabitation.

>>18139485
On an unrelated note, I love this.

rolled 28 = 28

>>18139412
But intent is closely linked to philosophy.

To be honest though, it seems to me that this guy had all the right reasons for doing as he did, and he did all the right things, but for all the wrong motivationss. And I'm not sure the "wrong motives" bit necessarily makes him a servant of Picus more than a servant of Ius, or less.

Right reasons: to lead his people and serve a benevolent god
Right actions: protected his people and acted for the common good, to guide them down what he saw as the right path
Wrong motives: saw himself as the final authority on morality and this dictated all that he did; also he is rather arrogant in claiming automatic self-justification on such grounds.

I may be misusing the words "reason" and "motive" here.

rolled 12 = 12

>>18139485
Brilliant !
You have my vote, sword, bow, axe and all the other junk

>>18139485

i like this.

>>18139534
AND MY KITCHEN SINK!

>>18139524
I always think of philosophy as being represented by the methods in which one goes about carrying out a goal. A man can have a twisted philosophy on life and have the best of intentions, for instance.

I think >>18139485 is a fantastic compromise though, we can do this for all of the gods. Anyone that strayed from the path of self interest will have to pay for it on their way to Picus, anyone who strayed from the path of enlightenment will be punished for it on the way to our moon, anyone who harmed a thing of beauty will be harmed in turn on their way to Sarma.

rolled 31 = 31

>>18139485

This. If he accepts the truth and understands his mistakes, then maybe he is still fit for Ius' mountain.

A sort of purgatory, if you will, the truth burning away at his pride until the original steadfast morality is only left.

"Edatel? Edatel was no human, he was a dragon. More than a dragon, he was one of two arch-dragons, creatures on whose wings rode the will of Picus, every bit to that god what you claim to be for Ius. You were keeping council with the devil."

He looks at you in shock, "no... No that cannot be right."

You watch the emotions cross his face, first comes surprise obviously, then follows fear, then anger, then realization, then fear again. He speaks, "But I did not let him gain ground. I told you just now, he tried to sway me but I stood by my morals fast..."

You interrupt, "Yes, you stood by your morals. Not Ius's, yours. Edatel made the mistake of assuming the high priest of Ius would be humble, and could take a fanning of his ego. I imagine he was quite suprised to see he had only succeeded in turning you from devout to fanatic, immune to futher swaying due to being too obsessed with yourself to lend credence to the thoughts of others, I wonder if you would have listened even to Ius himself if he had graced you once more."

"But I did serve Ius!" He shouts, pleading now, "I brought his morality to bear on this world. His was right to trust my heart, for even in my fall I could never sway from his side!"

You see his soul weeping in panic and despair. It is a difficult case, but this is what being the god of judgement is about.

How shall you rule?

rolled 6 = 6

>>18139588

Before giving judgement, do this >>18139485

[ I missed alot of posts while typing, everything said previously is still being considered ]

>>18139588
Let's just do >>18139485 I think it's pretty much how we should handle all special cases.

>>18139620
i vote for this. it could be an excellent tool in deciding where the mortal should go

rolled 14 = 14

>>18139588

I don't think we should damn the guy to Picus' realm, but we can't just let him off scot-free.

Put that divine flame to good use and go with >>18139564
>>18139561
>>18139485

He will see Ius' realm, but it's going to hurt like a bitch.

>>18139588
Assuming he has any greater revelations from our mirror treatment, I'd say our point has already been made. I'd shuffle him off to Ius. Maybe Ius himself will have some words for him when he arrives.

What if we just get ius and picus here?

So who's going to narrate his life? I vote for this guy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r7wHMg5Yjg&feature=relmfu

rolled 31 = 31

>>18139676
Then we're unofficialy ceding our authority on judgement. Dangerous precedent.

rolled 15 = 15

>>18139588
Okay, I had the impression before but this really clinches it.

This guy is basically the Deity Quest equivalent of an extreme Chirstian Fundamentalist. Utterly devoted to his faith, convinced that he was all along truly serving his god, and never considered the possibility that he was wrong.

However, we decided to judge each soul based on which god it most accurately served. We've seen that his motivations and actions are reasonably in tune with those of Ius: spread and enforce morality, protect the defenseless, perform acts of benevolence. He's an egomaniac but he was dedicated to Ius and his intents were mostly in the right place, he just didn't realize he was partly wrong.

Each god has a different moral system, in the sense that they emphasize different values, and to be honest it really does seem like this guy is closest to Ius, just misguided to the point of self-delusion. No one said that both this individual, and one who is closer to Ius' ideal, can't both be examples of his followers. It's much like how you have very liberal and very conservative members within real-life religions, who are simply opposite extremes of a sliding scale.

Anyway, I support >>18139485.

>>18139723
I think we should bring them in for a singular reason: finding out whether they want us to judge on intent or action.

rolled 78 = 78

>>18139694
Morgan Freeman.

Just a remind for after we're done with this guy, we still need to create music.

"What ultimately matters here is how you see yourself and your actions, for the moral choices of the mind possessed of free will is the primary concern of both Ius and Picus. Lets us see then, how you look upon your life with the illusions of mortal eyes stripped."

The infinite black of the plane you stand in shimmers. You now stand in terms of perception, though not space, at the foot of mount Ius at the dawn of time. The spirit of Neven floats beside you. You see an identacle body standing amoungst his fellow humans, staring to the far away peak of mount Ius. A glass sentinel filled with smoke and with a flaming eye marking its otherwise featureless face appears as well. It walks over to the dead man. "Do you know where you are?" The sentinel asks in a deep and powerful voice just before you leave, though you never take one of your eyes off the events. . .

[Short break]

>>18139854
>[Short break]

US-DAMMIT

>>18139854
"identical".

>>18139854
Holy CRAP it's like Mr. Scrouge!
YES!

I have to leave for work, but I just want to let you know Apotheos, that this is the best quest thread on /tg/.

I will eagerly await catching up on this in the archive.

>>18139930
You mean Scrooge McDuck?

>>18139485
Excellent...
Also, deity quest and metahuman renaissance at the same time... epic!

>>18139954
Ebenezer Scrooge man. Haven't you read A Christmas Carol or seen any one of the many movies that have been made based on it?

>>18139954
no he means the character from Christmas Carol

>>18139987
>>18139994
I know what he really meant, but McDuck is superior.

The whole deal with Ebenezer Scrooge was that it was warning him that he'd die alone and unloved and unremembered unless he changed his ways.

Nevan is already dead. The only thing he can change now is his heart.

rolled 90 = 90

>>18140172
Can't argue with that.

Also, I propose that should we finally send off Neven to Ius' afterlife, make him walk. You know, like he asked to.

It will take some time for Neven to re watch the entirety of his life, and you have a whole world of things to see to.

The year is 35P.C., scrolling up a ways will remind you what has changed in this time.

Is there anything else you think warrants your observation? Or should you let time pass once more?

>>18140510
Team up with Sarma to create music, and gift it to the world.

>>18140510
Is Vimic just puttering around the Red River, or does he plan on leaving anytime soon?

>>18140510
Lets see what good ole Mephistopheles and the dragon are doing on their journey to the center of the world. Otherwise time skip, not a whole lot going on now

>>18140533

why would we do this? I mean im all for music and whatnot but it doesnt seem like something we would do.

rolled 24 = 24

>>18140510

We should create a hall of judgement, if it hasn't been created already. Also, have we passed down the concepts of law, order and judgement to the citizens of this plane of existence?

>>18140600
Those sorts of developments will come with time. And Queen Mae is already building a Grand Library on Apotheosi itself.

rolled 94 = 94

>>18140600
We don't really concern ourselves with law. Judgment is one of our domains, yes, but it's independent of law. Our primary goal is the spread and dissemination of knowledge.

A hall of judgment might be nice, unless we want to keep the somewhat ominous featurelessness of whatever dark void it is that we currently meet deceased souls in.

>>18140600

No group has anything like written law yet. But plenty of cultures utilize judgement for crimes by an authority figure.

>>18140594
It's a combination of expression and beauty. For centuries, people passed on knowledge through songs because they were easier to remember than stories.

rolled 87 = 87

>>18140644

I have an idea that we could use for Queen Mae. Perhaps we grant her a book in which any citizen who respects fair judgement and rule be given a chance to pass judgement on souls when they retire from the mortal plane. All one would have to do is write their name in the book and they can work for us until they choose to continue their journey to whichever God they serve?

You decide to speak with Sarma. An idea has struck you for a new method of preserving information.

You find her in a underground cavern, sunligh flows in through a large hole in the roof of the cavern, and a magnificent waterfall descends from the edge of this whole to a large lake nested in the deep caves of this place. Sarma hovers visably at the top of the waterfall, directing its flows down upon the rocks so as to carve the soluble rock into various interesting shapes.

"Yes Uraemrys?" She asks

cont...

"It has struck me that the mortals need a new method of storing information. The elders amoung the humans have all reached the point where even though they have been thus far lucky they must die. While they have done admirably for preserving the tales of their people thus far there must be a oral method with which people may pass their words without requiring the next generation to remember the words alone, as this is too prone to loss or distortion."

She hovers down to you.

"You mean music? It is an artform I have read about that developed in many other realities. I already gifted a more mundane version of it to many of my beasts, especially the birds. Yes I think it would do wonderfully. I could inspire my champion to spread the idea of such a thing... I know that spreading knowledge is your thing but I come near laughing to picture your champion singing."

The image does strike you as funny.

If this deal is acceptable to you, the question previously posed remains.

>>18140999
"I can't imagine a better champion to spread song."

Let's take a look at Mephistophales, Liquid Mountain, Vimic, and see if any more interesting people are exploring the ruins.

>>18140999
Ur strikes me as part of a barbershop quartet or a Pavarotti-esque figure.
Anyway, it seems Sarma had the idea ahead of us, so I suppose it can't hurt. But Arya is a pariah among the humans and fey. How are the other races going to receive her gift?

>>18140999
Ur could probably sing some wicked dirges, though.
Songs don't have to be all lighthearted.

>>18141066
I'm actually picturing mournful ballads, in the style of Danny Boy.

>>18141088
>>18141066

Well if you looked at the songs that traveling minstrels and troubadours sang back in the middle ages, they were hard fucking core blood and guts.

>>18141148
With no word on how Ur's voice sounds, I am forced to assume it is a deep bass.

"Your champion is a pariah amoungst both the fey and the humans, as beautifully as I am sure she sings it is probably for the best that both our champions spread the concept. I'm sure Ur wont embarrass himself."

"very well." She says, turning her attention back to her craft.

You decide to check back up on Mephy [damn if it isn't a catchy nickname]. He is sleeping deep beneath the earth, the dragon near him stares as though contemplating killing him in his sleep.

Liquid mountain hasn't changed sense last it was mentioned.

Vimic is speaking with a large group of drakfey, he is currently trying to figure out what exactly the deal is with the dragon who rules them. If you had to guess based on your time observing mortal free will thus far, he seems to be asking questions in a round-about attempt to learn if their loyalty to the dragon is absolute and what the dragons level of power is.

>>18141286
Okay, let's skip forward until there's an update with one of our interesting people or something new happens to catch our attention.

>>18141286

Is Vimic going to attempt a coup? We may need to have another watch party with popcorn.

I'm curious about the dragon with Mephy though, why does he resent the vampire so much? Jealousy? Coerced into working with him? Something else?

rolled 35 = 35

>>18141286

Why not change liquid mountain to also sing tunes at certain times of the day?

>>18141286
Vimic might be making a move on an arch-dragon? Interesting.

Time moves on.

>>18141339
Mephy whooped that dragon's ass and forced him to work with him. You must have missed that post.

>>18141371

Ah, so I did.

It seems we may have two coups brewing then. Vimic attempting to hijack leadership of the drakfey, and Ninau plotting to get revenge on Mephy.

rolled 30 = 30

I am curious. Why don't we try and live the life of a mortal? Such a thing would surely help us in passing judgement on them, wouldn't it?

>>18141440
That...would actually be pretty interesting. Manifest physically on the planet to travel for a while...

>>18141440
That's a great idea, but I think we should hold off on it for awhile. It'd be way more interesting to do once the world becomes a little more established.

>>18141464
And get jumped and mauled by the first drakfey we meet. Then we judge ourselves.
That'd, be awkward.

>>18141464

I'm not sure if Ius would approve or not.

Besides, we have a lot to attend to right now that would be left ignored if we gallivanted off as a mortal. Maybe later.

>>18141486
>implying a god would be killed by a mortal.

You take your place on the moon and watch the world turn.

Ur continues traveling the southern continent, although he stops for a little longer now while he thinks up words for his works. Ur did not embarass himself when tasked with creating lyrics, rather than focus on the sound quality he found a way of simply saying words in such a fashion that the syllables and pronunciation give the work its own rhythm. He calls this "Poetry".

The humans at Ium are now led by a council of five, only four of which are actually human as one is a disguised Edatel. While he should in theory only hold one fifth of the power, his inhuman charisma has left him the effective monarch of Ium in the wake of Neven's death.

[aaaaaaand oh shit the battery for my laptop is at 5% be back in like 10m while I get access to another computer]

>>18141508

The whole point of us doing that would be to live AS a mortal.

>>18141528
>While he should in theory only hold one fifth of the power, his inhuman charisma has left him the effective monarch of Ium in the wake of Neven's death.

Ius! Your city's slacking over here! It'd be awesome if he got a champion to overthrow Edatel and reorient the leadership towards following Ius again. But it's not our place to determine that.

rolled 96 = 96

Thing is though, we don't want to interact with the mortals any more than the bare amount necessary to guide things toward our goals, which consist primarily of the spread of knowledge. We prefer to allow matters to evolve organically on people's own initiative when it doesn't oppose our plans. We simply watch and observe. Ur is already sort of representative of us in a way.

In any case, we're arguably the least like any of the mortals out of all the gods. Ius is the kind of guy who goes out and walks among the humans, but we're this freaky alien-looking obelisk made of hands and eyes that prioritizes knowledge above any conventional moral alignment. We watch, we pulls strings behind the scenes when necessary, but we do not immerse ourselves in everything that transpires. We are the orchestra conductor in the pit and the director behind the scenes of a play, not an actor. We only guide, and when we don't, we simply watch.

>>18141528
So Ur doesn't use his pipes, but he invents Poetry. Good enough.

>>18141568
I would really only want to do it late in the game, after the world is well established.

>>18141568
>We only guide, and when we don't, we simply watch.

That makes more sense. I was thinking that living as a mortal for a bit would give us a different perspective with which we could watch, but we can already see everything from where we are now, so yeah.

>>18141568
That sounds like an interesting sequel/intermission quest.

Mephistopheles still has yet to reach the worlds heart, but he isn't far away. He continues his journey with a semi-intelligent zombie dragon.

Arya has for the first time in a decade begun trying to be accepted in human and fey society. Her tactic is a little different this time though, rather than presenting herself as just another human or fey she appears more as she is, a mystical being wielding the power of nature. While all people are wary of her, she is general considered to be a benevolent creature of the wild who occasionally graces civilization with her presence.

Then there is Vimic.

Vimic, the night dragon, has become a leader of his people. He and Acepiph now control nearly equal sized portions of the red river drakfey. This is not to say that the drakfey are in a state of civil war, for most drakfey are loyal to both of them. Still, while most drakfey are to dull to grasp it, there is a political war going on between the arch-dragon and the black scaled one. Vimic avoids meeting Acepiph in person at all costs, for he rightfully fears for his life. The great beast has confronted Vimic on multiple occasions regardless, but never in a situation where Vimic was not in the company of many hundred drakfey. Finally, Vimic himself is not a non-combatant. His mastery of arcane magic is far beyond what he should be capable of, an dyou are positive that there is more magic in his blood than he has any right to possess. He also dabbles in necromancy and druidic, but is hardly competent in either compared to his frightening control over the elements. Vimic has even reached out to Ur for aid in the likely to occur conflict of violence, but Ur has evaded comment.

rolled 10 = 10

>>18141918
>Zombie dragon
OSHI-

>>18141918

Interesting that he has so much magic potential. I'm eager to see how he wields it.

Has Ur recieved news of the Fae library being constructed?

>>18141918
Heh, I like how we skipped right over the part where Mephistopheles killed the dragon. I wonder, though. What is he getting his blood from down there?

>>18141978
If i recall, Picus filled the underground with monsters so that only the very powerful could reach the heart of the world.

>>18141918
>His mastery of arcane magic is far beyond what he should be capable of, an dyou are positive that there is more magic in his blood than he has any right to possess

Is this due to the actions of a god?

>>18141918
>>18141948
>>18141978
>Zombie dragon

Wait where did that ha-

>He continues his journey with a semi-intelligent zombie dragon.

....Well then.

Ur has indeed received word of the library in Liquid Mountain.

The power in Vimic's veins seems to be natural in nature. Vimic's parents were one fey and one dragon, so his natural magic potency is very high, it just seems to be well above what would be expected of such a coupling.

>>18141918
>Vimic has even reached out to Ur for aid in the likely to occur conflict of violence, but Ur has evaded comment.

Not surprising, considering what happened the last time he counseled another figure of immense magical and political power.

rolled 87 = 87

Let's go talk to Picus and Ius. I want to see what's on their minds, what with our judgement of the human high priest going on and all.

>>18141918

Damn, hope the kid hasn't been corrupted by one of Picus's demons, though he most likely learned quite a bit from the writings in the cave, having mastered the arcane AND starting to dabble in necromancy and druidism is a stretch.

Just for a little clarification,
Ur is our champion

Arya is obviously being groomed as Sarma's, but isn't yet?

Someone mentioned Mephy was Picus's, but i didn't think that was the case since I always thought he was corrupted more out of his own doing, and Picus's demon, not Picus himself...

>>18142077
>it just seems to be well above what would be expected of such a coupling.

this could be dangerous if more hybrid offspring like Vimic start springing up. A whole bunch of warlords with terrifyingly powerful magical abilities. Maybe not all of them would be as ambitious as Vimic though.

>>18142116
Picus called Mephy as his champion and Vampires as his chosen ones.

>>18142152
Ah, okay. I remember him adding the vampiric curse bit, but I did't remember him naming Mephy his champion.

So before I though we were going to give them champions from those who have died and been sent to their gods afterlife, but I guess that might not be the case.

So we have
Ur,
Mephy
Arya
Ebeneezer Priest for Ius?
and that leaves Formless...

So Formless might be trying to make a move on Vimic, though this seems way to subtle for him.

>>18142264
I hope he either doesn't choose Vimic because they're so unalike or that he does choose Vimic and that Vimic will end up influencing Formless more than the other way around.

>>18142264
>So Formless might be trying to make a move on Vimic, though this seems way to subtle for him.

I think for Formless, anyone that shakes up the status quo and makes cool shit happen is his champion.

>>18142264
I doubt the priest will come back as Ius's champion. It should be a real paladin-type character. To me, Ius and Formless are still without champions, though I doubt Formless cares, what with his abominations and all.

You decide to drop in on Ius, then probably Picus shortly after.

Ius is in his temple watching Ium.

"You spend a lot of time here Ius, there is a whole world out there to watch you know." You casually comment.

"Yes, but here is the battlefield which most concerns me." He responds.

"The soul finally came to me you know, the high priest's that is, judgment is still pending. His situation is quite complex."

"Yes it was, all in all I am proud of him though."

"Really? I had questioned if you would be pleased with the intent or deed of a human. . . I judged it was appropriate to make him re-watch his life so that I may know how he views the distinction himself."

"That is wise, I am interested to see how it ends." Says Ius.

"I though you said you were pleased with him, if so then I would have imagined you would be more invested in where his soul rested." You say inquisitively.

"I am pleased with him for his contribution to the battle over a soul I mentioned to you earlier." He states.

cont...

>>18142282
Picus gave us free reign to do what we will with Vimic, and since he's also fey, he's our territory. He's basically one of our pet projects.

>>18142298
>"I am pleased with him for his contribution to the battle over a soul I mentioned to you earlier." He states.

Wait, when he was talking about a war over a soul between him and Picus, I thought he was referring to the high priest?

Is there someone else they're fighting over that we didn't know about?

>>18142327
Welcome to plot development. Have a seat while Ius fills us in.

>>18142340

I was just wondering whether that was a genuine development or if I missed something previously.

>>18142298
>mfw my casual comment uncovers a mystery

"I was under the impression that Neven's soul was the one you fought over?" You ask, now confused.

"Well yes, but that was only half of it. Neven was a person endowed with my will, not a champion but still a bearer of my will on Apotheosi. Edatel, and Acepiph but that's irrelevant for now, is much the same to Picus." He looks over his shoulder at you, "You must not think much of me to assume I would let my priest be corrupted without doing some 'corrupting' myself."

You hover over to the edge of the temple and look down, "The arch-dragon? Seriously?"

"Yup." Ius replies, "Though as I said it is still a battlefield, spoils have yet to be reaped by either side."

"Does Picus know?" You ask.

"He didn't for a while, but I think he's figured it out by now."

cont. . .

I just love how Apotheos drop casual plot bombs like that. It's nice to read something that rewards you for paying attention.

>Dragon zombified offscreen
>the chess game between Ius and Picus is wider-reaching than we thought

>>18142387
>You hover over to the edge of the temple and look down, "The arch-dragon? Seriously?"

WHAT

IUS YOU MAGNIFICENT BASTARD

>>18142387
>Ius is going after an arch-dragon
>mfw

>>18142387
>Edatel, and Acepiph but that's irrelevant for now

Acepiph is the arch dragon fighting with Vimic over the Drakfey now correct?

Great job BTW OP, I look forward to this quest every week!

>>18142473
Yes, Acepiph is the (co-)leader of the Red River drakfey.

>>18142442
>>18142416

It makes sense though. Ius is all about bringing out the best in people, and if he can make a DRAGON turn good, then it'd be the ultimate example of redemption and the triumph of good over evil.

You watch Ius and Edatel for a few minutes before deciding there just isn't much more to say on the matter, and go off to check up on Picus.

You find him hovering in the middle of the ground, incorpreality is necessary as by ground you do not mean a cave you mean literal solid mass. Picus seems to have chosen this location as it offers vision of both Mephy and Acepiph.

He doesn't acknowledge you arrival with more than the god equivalent of a nod, and come to think of it you don't really have any conversation starters for Picus right now.

What in particular did you want to ask him?

>>18142512
I would mostly just like his input on how his dragons are turning out, the priest's soul, ask him if he's enjoying the game with Ius, and so forth.

rolled 87 = 87

>>18142512

What up bro, let me holler at ya for a minute.

I was wondering, when judging mortals to enter your realm or the realm of Ius, should the intent of the action matter more than the consequence to you?

>>18142512

Ask him if he if he has learned anything so far from watching the mortals climb the other way down the barrel.

>>18142512
Specifically, ask about his opinion of our dragon guarding the pillar (Elkot), and what he intends to do with Mephy.

rolled 37 = 37

>>18142578
Sorry, forgot a roll

"Your probably aware that the high priest of Ius died recently, during his judgment I came upon an interesting question. Do you value the intent or deed more in terms of desiring their souls for your realm?"

"Intent" He answers without hesitation, "Deed is an irrelevant by product of intent. What makes mortals valuable is their free will, what they choose. Any of us could make any deed we wanted to occur occur if that was all we were after."

You nod. "How are your dragons going. One has caught my own favor, Elkot, who currently gaurds my obelisk."

"The scene isn't ripe for all I have planned for them yet. I'm sure you have come across the same problem in much of your planning, this age is quite dull. I must dissaprove of Elkots resignation but if a dragon is to be subservient I would rather it be to a god than anything else."

"Speaking of subservient dragons, what do you think of Mephy?" You ask.

"Mephy?"

". . . Mephistopheles."

"Oh. Hm, 'Mephy' it is much easier to say isn't it?"

"It is indeed"

"Catchy," He says before answering, "He isn't doing anything spectacular, but then again there isn't much to do unless a god specifically sets something up in this age. Accumulating power is a fine plan for now, his true goals wont be very available for some time."

rolled 73 = 73

Okay, let's skip time. Wait for something that requires our attention to happen.

>>18142710
>there isn't much to do unless a god specifically sets something up in this age.

I would suggest him talking to Formless if he's bored, but then I realized that's a TERRIBLE idea.

>>18142742
We have to judge Ium first, though.

>>18142759
Which is EXACTLY why its the best idea ever!

What could go wrong!?

>>18142794
He's reliving his ENTIRE (conscious) LIFE. I think we can let some time pass.

rolled 69 = 69

>>18142710

I think we should go talk to formless, we haven't checked in with him for a while. Those abominations staring at us from the far realm last time still freak me out.

[well if I timeskip is in orderI would like to start the next thread with it seeing as I was planning on going off to bed soon. So the goodnight and thank you for playing everybody. Some aforementioned real life chaos is going to make it tough to predict when the next thread will be, but I'd say either thursday, friday, sunday, monday, or even tuesday. Hopefully one of the former. Someone please archive and everyone remember to upvote. Thanks again]

>>18142873
have a good night and thanks for the quest

rolled 63, 90, 51, 96 = 300

>>18142873

Thanks for the really well done Quest mastering.

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/18137053/

Vote it up!

rolled 82 = 82

>>18141528
>he calls this "Poetry"
I suppose you can call rap that.