Dawn of Worlds

4+5=9

I am.

A humanoid figure robed in white opened its eyes to find itself spreadeagled in the middle of a vast featureless wasteland.

My name is Codex. I am.

The land around him was blank, featureless, void. It was empty and fulfilled no purpose; it had neither elegance nor beauty.

Then Codex made it so that order sprang from empty chaos. By the might of his will he organized the land around him into a vast plain of tall, yellow grass.

And Codex saw order in the rows and rows of grass; he saw purpose fulfilled in the biological processes of the vegetation, and he was pleased.

map

9-5*shapeland(1)=4

edited 10th Jan '12 4:40:33 PM by Chubert

3+3=6

And then Malunall just sorta... showed up. No fanfare, no "AND THEN HE APPEARED, FORMED FROM whatever," Malunall just sort of walked into the great party that is life. He nodded to Codex. "Hey there. Name's Malunall, I'm gonna be yer god a change round here. Just, uh, you know, figure we could hang."

And thus Malunall flicked his eyes over the map. "Huh. Cool, cool, but, uh, you know what we need? Friggin' caves, man. Inside mountains. Also, this one right here? On fire. Like, the surface of this mountain is on fire, at all times. On Fire's a climate right?"

Then he slammed a forty, flicked his fingers at the land, and there were some mountains, a third of which were on fire.

"Cool, huh guys?"

6-3*shapeland(1)-1*shapeclimate(2)=1

6+4=10

The black-haired woman appears out of nowhere among the two men. Her robes are blue and white. She wrinkles her nose at the mountains.

With a sweep of her arm, she freezes the ground. There are no trees, only shrubs, grasses, various vegetation in autumnal colors, and purple and white wildfowers.◊ The rugged beauty of a tundra.

"I think I like that," she says mildly.

10-5*shapeclimate(1)=5

1+4=5

It was then that the being known as Morality spoke up. Unknown the others, the being had been there since even before the appearance of Codex, but had spent that time in deep thought, waiting for the occurrence of an unknown event.

It didn't come, however, before the arrival of the others.

"Hmm..." Morality said, still in thought. "I suppose that as long as you're all being busy, I suppose that I might as well get involved as well."

With that, Morality focused its concentration on an island, one off center sitting out in the ocean. It had lake in it already, and Morality thought that it was a nice little island one which to craft out a little corner of the world.

Slowly, the center of the island began to rise up. First, hills formed. They were then followed as some of those hills were risen even further to create a series of mountains. Then, to cap it all off, Morality smoothed out a section of the mountains and raised the land there even higher. Up and up they went, WAY up high, and then smacked around in order to create an unusual formation full of tall rock towers, some thin, others large, and all of them stunning to behold as Morality created a unique mountain range, one formed from a large series of Tepuis .

"Heh. Tepui .'' Morality said, standing aside and waiting to see what would appear next.

Map◊

5-3*Shapeland(1)=2

edited 10th Jan '12 7:22:53 PM by SpaceJawa

Disc thread and Sign up

6 + 4 = 10

Then Cwper arrived like a drifting seed, or hatched from an egg, or sprouted from the ground, her followers would argue about that later.

"Hmm... It's all so barren. Well except where you guys have already worked. Though, mountains on fire? Really? Anyway! We need some vegetation!" she cracked her knuckles and got to work.

First grasslands spread along the west coast of the southern continent, similar to Codex's but green. Cwper couldn't resist adding bountiful wildflowers. Then she planted a forest, and used her divine will to mature it to full growth. The trees where tall, solid, evergreens. Though not so dense as to prevent a deep undergrowth in the dappled shade at ground level.

Cwper was panting by the time she finished, "that was harder than I thought."

After catching her breathe, she wondered aloud, "How difficult would it be to make a floating island? I like the sound of that."

Map: imgur m'Google site

10 - 8*Shapeland(1) = 2

edited 1st Apr '12 6:46:58 PM by Luthen

1 + 4=5

Besak walked up to the godly gathering, and looked at the work the others had done to progress the world. "An interesting progression."

He turns his attention to the south, spotting a land bridge between the forest and grasslands and spread his hands toward them. The land dries, breaking up into an uncountable number of pieces.

The dry, harsh desert begins to spread in the south.

5 - 5*shapeland(1) = 0

edited 11th Jan '12 10:50:09 PM by Passer

4(previous)+1(lowpower bonus)+4+5=14

Codex felt sand fall through his hands with interest. The molecular structure of the sand was quite interesting.

Near-perfect ordering...

Yet, sadly, it would never support life or purpose. The beauty that had sprung out from the west entranced him with its complexity and grace.

Codex reached out and shaped the world. He raised a mighty mountain by the sea, and, with a thought, carved out a path from the summit of the mountain to the base. A river fueled by the mountain's snow flowed down the side and to the sea, a river that would support ordered life.

Then, Codex thought back to the grains of sand. He knew that he was not bound to this plane; he could project himself onto it but was simultaneously free to roam to countless other worlds.

Yet he could establish a permanent presence here.

He found an island that he had previously touched, sheltered on all sides by the sea. In the center, Codex created the shell that would become the vessel for his will. Creating matter out of nothing, and paying the utmost attention to every single detail in the molecular structure, Codex molded a perfect crystal, two meters long, deep, and tall. But still something was wrong—the molecules of the crystal still twitched and vibrated restlessly. With one touch of his hand, Codex stilled the movements of the molecules.

Perfect order.

Gently, Codex breathed across the crystal, imbuing within it his will. As he did, a spark, so insubstantial as to be mistaken as a mirage, ignited within the depths of the crystal.

14-3*1(shape land)-10(create avatar)=1

map

3+4+previouspowerbonus(1)=8

"Fft." said Malunall. "Grandiose. You, uh, you know you don't need to feel, like exerted 'n stuff right? Like, we're gods. Nothing requires effort."

And then Malunall examined the map, and started mixing drinks. "Anyone got a preference? Whiskey sour, anyone?"

As he mixed the drinks, he nodded to the land. "Uh, I'm also gonna put an outline around that river, just to make it look nicer. Doesn't cost anything, but it's a nice touch. Makes it look nicer. Okay. Anyway. How about this! I'll, like, freeze over the water to make a landbridge instead of actually making one! Not like those tundras, or anything, like the water there is actually frozen solid. Oh, and I really dig all those forests you made, there, but, ah, they seem to actually fit in where they are! Let's get a little incongruity all up in this bitch and have a forest border a desert.''"

Malunall finished mixing his drink. "So. I made PBR mixed with redbull, I call it Pretentious Juice, if you want any."

8-3*shapeclimate(2)-2*shapeland(1)=0

5(leftover)+1(low power bonus)+3+3=14

Arane pays little heed to the work of the others, but she examines the crystal. It's boring, really. But the idea...

At the center of the island near her tundra,◊ she freezes the ground like she did creating the tundra, gathers the clouds, and summons a harsh blizzard. Out of the ground springs an ice sculpture, the shape mimicking tongues of flame. It is easily visible from the mainland. The whole thing is surrounded by a pillar of blue and white fire. The intensity of the heat makes the tendrils of ice seem to move, but niether it nor the snow melt. Arane stops the blizzard and smiles slyly at her creation. To her, its light represents her spirit.

14-2(shape climate*1)-10(create avatar)=2

edited 12th Jan '12 6:15:49 PM by SnowyFoxes

Roll 3+1 (4) + Previous (2) + Bonus (1) = 7

Morality simple sat and watched, content to let the others do as they pleased so long as they left it to the island and the work that was to be done there. Even the one that Morality couldn't help but think of as a tad psychotic. It had plans for the island, and for now, it seemed only best to let them be so long as they let Morality be as well.

Continuing its work up in the Sky-High Tepuis formed previously, the being known as Morality started with the lake, trimming it down a bit to better match the area that surrounded it, then began to trace a path through the ground that wound through the towers of stone, into the mountains, and then finally out through the hills till the path concluded near the coast.

Content, the floodgates were opened, and the lake opened up in a massive, spectacular, and beautiful waterfall that landed in the start of the path that had been dug into the ground for it and began its path towards the ocean. Forming a pair of small lakes along the way, the water eventually ended its path, connecting the lake to the sea in what Morality could only describe as a wonderfully delightful river.

But something was missing. Looking at what the others had created, Morality could not help but note that Cwper had a point - the land was rather barren, including the island. Concluding that the being had a point, Morality saw to it that the river it had formed jump-started the process of life. Along the river banks, a forest began to form, giving much of the mountains and hills a nice highlight that Morality thought topped off the mountains and hills in a most wonderful manner. From there, the life began to spread beyond the river, stretching out into the cost and then began to make its way around the rest of the hills and part of the mountain.

Looking at Cwper, Morality gave a nod to the mighty woman, an acknowledgement and show of thanks for her inspiration.

Map◊; Imgur Map◊

7-Shapeland*7 = 0

edited 12th Jan '12 5:27:12 PM by SpaceJawa

2(Leftover) + 1(Power Bonus) + 6 + 6 = 15

"What's wrong with where my forests are? A good gardener doesn't plant where things won't grow."

Cwper waved in response to Morality's nod, then decided that she liked what he did (not just the forests!) too. What she'd done was a bit... flat, and there's no real water source for her precious plants.

So she raised the land to the south of her forest high, so high that the mountain caps collected snow all year round. Then added some foothills around their north-east edge. On her newly formed slopes, she let the little trickles happen, but added two great rivers. Morality's waterfall was pretty, so she included a small one where the north-east running river entered a lake.

Next Cwper planted more forests, reaching the gulf. The hills seemed happy with similar stuff to what she'd done before, but the mountains needed something different. She grew trees that were tougher, and that would sleep through the worse of the cold.

She was about to declare herself finished when she saw a barren corner next to her new mountain range. With a wave of her hand the grasslands spread south to cover it.

"There we go, now what next?"

Imgur Google

15 - 11*shapeland(1) = 4

6 + 1 (roll) + 0 (previous) + 1 (low power) = 8

Besak watched as the others put a stop to the direct spread of his desert. Perhaps not much would grow, but what did would be strong, focused. But if they prefer something with a bit more life, he could work with that.

His attention turns to the forests at the edge of the desert, expanding them to the shore and across to the nearby island. As the island fills, Besak raises a hand slowly and slightly dramatically. As he does, an oppressive heat spreads from the island, reaching just past the coast of the mainland.

Map

8 - 1*1(shape land) - 1*2(shape climate) = 5

2+2+1+2(low power bonus stack)=7

Brow furrowed in confusion, Codex said, "I do not know what Red Bull is."

He turned to Cwper. "The forest is quite elegant. Its seemingly random nature belies an intrinsic organization in structure and function."

Codex watched as heat rolled over once fertile lands, oppressing and stifling any future growth. This new development disturbed him, but he did not protest overtly.

He quite liked his plains—they were not necessarily elegant or beautiful, but they were simple, and though certainly not optimized, served their purpose well. The plains that had previously occupied only the tip of the western peninsula now expanded southwards.

As he worked, it occurred to Codex that he hadn't given his avatar an identity yet. He traveled to the island where the crystal stood, floating above the ground, and asked it, "Do you wish for a name?"

"Yes."

"Would you like me to give you one."

"That is unnecessary. I shall name myself Hammurabi, and I will work to serve your will upon this earth."

map (done by Luthen)

7-6*(shapeland)=1

edited 13th Jan '12 5:47:10 PM by Chubert

8+2+lowpowerbonus(2)=12

Malunall checked out the land. "Huh. Cool guys, cool. Really like that hot forest you did down south there, man. Plains, hills, Tepuis—heh—and like... a shitload a avatars. See, now I want one. See here..."

Malunall shotgunned a stein of Pretentious Juice, then poured out another one and tossed it to Codex's presence. "Okay, so, like, I'm going to actually be a little smart and create an avatar that can actually move, too. But, since we're going with this whole abstract Gaimanesque bullshit, let's go for my avatar being, like, a dude, and he's a shapeshifter. So, uh, at present I'll have him like spawn as fire, then change to whatever race I want once I set up some Gremlins or something. Your name is Jeff. Jeff The Shapeshifter. In that The is your middle name. And... I'll just put you out on this Tepui—heh—I'll build up with my last bit a power."

Malunall raised his eyebrows and tapped the land authoritatively, and raised an enormous Tepui out of the ground. Then he stopped. "You know what, fuckit, I'm going to make at least some effort into this."

Malunall bit his tongue, drawing blood, then spat it onto the Tepui—heh—and from there sprung a flame, a flame with a spark of life and a will to eventually change.

12-1*createavatar(10)-1*createland(1)=1

edited 13th Jan '12 8:49:23 PM by Taco

Codex caught the Pretentious Juice in his hand.

"What is...this strange substance?"

Carefully, Codex brought the greasy fluid to his lips and drank.

The ground shook as Codex was brought to his knees, coughing and choking. There was no semblance of order nor reason in the composition of the beverage, only a vile mixture of randomly assorted biological stimulants.

"THIS IS AN ABOMINATION."

2 + 2(low power bonus) + 2 + 3 = 9

Arane keeps close to her tundra. The climate appeals to her. The icy winds are pleasant against her skin. She finds the land far more beautiful than what her fellows created in the south. Still, it wouldn't hurt to add some variety.

"KEEP IT DOWN OVER THERE!" she yells when Codex causes an earthquake. "IS THAT STUFF THAT BAD, OR ARE YOU JUST A PUSSY?"

She turns back to her side of the world. It might as well be hers, anyway. She covers the rest of her island with snow, raises snow-covered mountains next to her tundra,◊ and contemplates what else to put on the land. Continue the tundra? Add more snow?

9 - 2(change climate * 2) - 1 (shape land * 2) = 3

edited 13th Jan '12 9:13:55 PM by SnowyFoxes

"Yeah, Codex is just a weakass pussy. Lawful neutral and all." Malunall remarked, tossing Arane a stein of Pretentious Juice. "Try some. It's just PBR and Redbull, nothing serious."

"I am not neutral. I am lawful good. If you paid more attention to the underlying structure in the universe, you would know that."

Arane accepts the Pretentious Juice and sniffs it. So far, not so good. She takes a sip and puckers up. "Never again. Well, I'm fair. Try some of this."

She tosses a goatskin of fermented horse milk to Malunall and another to Codex. "Anyone else want to try?"

2 (Low Power Bonus) + 5 + 1 (Roll) = 8

A Morality looked upon the world, the being thought it was nice how it was coming together, but couldn't help but notice that there was something that stood out as feeling...off. Despite the beauty that was forming across the world, there was also a certain blandness to it. So much of the terrain was divided by solid lines.

"Why must we limit ourselves this way?" Morality asked out loud, to no one in particular. "What is to stop us from getting more creative?"

Certainly, there had already been an effort to do more with the landscape that had been given to them, with the twisting rivers and the mixes of forests and mountains that divided the terrain. But Morality knew that they could go further.

So as Morality continued to work in the little corner of the world that the being had chosen to focus on, Morality decided to experiment as life continued to spread out along the coastline. First the grasslands came, but behind it, Morality saw to it that the forest continued as well, but not nearly as far as the grasslands did. The result was a far more appealing mix of forest and grassland, something that felt far more...natural.

map◊; imgur map◊

8 - 3*Shape Land (3) = 5

edited 13th Jan '12 9:44:00 PM by SpaceJawa

"Hey, isn't it Morality's turn?" Malunall commented, chugging the horse milk. He threw up a little in his mouth, then tossed that back down his throat too. "Hey. This 's actually pretty—hurp—good. Mllf."

"Hehe." Arane summons another goatskin and downs it in a few gulps. She can barely feel it. "We will create all the alcoholic drinks. All of them! But not now. Who knows what kind of shitty ideas we'll come up with when we're drunk and then the world is going to look just as shitty, won't it?"

She dives into the snow on her little island. "Wheeeee!"

"Be careful with that." Morality said, shaking its head. "Last thing we need it for someone to accidentally destroy the world while acting under the influence of some mind-altering substance."

4(leftover) + 2(low-power-bonus) + 4 + 2 = 12

"I'm sure we could fix it," Cwper said optimistically. Now what to do? She was happy with her forests and grasslands but she wanted to something with the wind. Well no one said she couldn't, so...

Cwper wasn't so good with earth, so she reached down to grab some from an area next to where she'd been working. She scooped some out and placed it as two groups islands in the sky. Then proceeded to green them with some forests and grass. They were very pretty she thought, and she made sure that the plants would dangle vines down to the surface so that future people could visit.

The nature goddess looked at where she'd been working, and saw that water was already pooling into the furrows made by her hands. She could raise and drain the land, but the idea of plants and water growing and flowing together intrigued her. So she helped it along, turning the area into a great swamp. Finally planting a mangrove forest in it.

Something Morality had said needled at her. The lines between forest and grassland were a bit stark. So Cwper pulled back the line of the forest. Not wanting to kill her trees, replanted them a little further south.

"Hmm, can I try some?" Cwper asked naively.

Imgur Map◊ & Google Map

12 - 7*shapeland(1) = 5

edited 14th Jan '12 12:12:04 AM by Luthen

5 + 3 (roll) + 5 (previous) + 2 (low-power) = 15

Besak watched the back and forth between the others. He had nearly felt the disorder in the drink from Codex's response. A glance seems to suggest the feeling the pair are the only voices of reason in the group.

Looking for future plans, Besak looks to the oceans, and focuses his attention there. Under the weight of the god's attention, pieces of the world begin to collect and begin to slow the flow of water.

Similar force brought supplies to the nearby land and with a quick glance, the land changed to match the nearest worked terrain. Besak then returned to his island forest and pushed the heat ahead along the coast, from the forests to the edge of the desert.

Map

15 - 4*1(shapeland) - 3*2(shapeclimate) = 5