Gods For Hire Reboot

“Okay. I’m recovered enough from the panic attack to contribute on another moon, seeing as you two basically have that one locked up. But before I show you my ideas...” Shadowy divine power flared out, connecting the moons to each other and the center world. “The Ways become active whenever the moon in question is full. Now as for 2/5...”

Water flooded onto the largest moon, and it suddenly began flashing and sparkling with colors of its own in tiny dots. “Nudibranch merfolk. And if we’re doing this to the moons, how about making the world an inhospitable hellscape? Or do we save that for another moon?”

"Eh. We already did bioluminescence." Wellan said. "But that is a very interesting idea. I think we should save the inhospitable hellscape for another moon... but I still like the idea of unconventional merfolk. Maybe we could make that moon a lot colder and do some weird sturgeon merfolk..."

“Nudibranches aren’t bioluminescent, they’re just extremely colorful. Living Gasbags, maybe?”

"I'm loving the merfolk design," Kan Ver Khan said, cupping Stefan in his hands. "It's so timeless, you know? Always in style. Will they be predatory, herbivorous, omnivorous? And are they the apex lifeform or will they have predators? And, you know, I've always been sorta iffy on the subject, but it would be nice to have someone who prays to us. Do we teach these new lifeforms of our ways? Do we let them create as they go? Will they believe in us, is the core question. Sometimes true belief is hard to maintain without presenting oneself to the population fairly often. I can brainwash them fairly easily, if you like," he offered. "Or we could just let them be and see what comes of it."

“I want to be interventionist. There was actually a universe I worked on where the gods had a uniformly defined threshold of faith before you started getting benefits. Prayers were basically frequent flier miles. Maybe we could do it like that? And I say each moon has a different sapient species. I haven’t seen predator merfolk, so we’ll do that. But can we not make them, or any race for that matter, evil? I want a full spectrum for everyone.”

Wellan clapped "Yes. That sounds good. I don't like it when some god tries to make an entire race evil just 'cos. It just make life harder for everyone, especially when one decides evil isn't for them..."

edited 25th May '18 3:38:05 AM by SomethingRandom113

"Interventionist. Yes, I like the sound of that. I certainly have the time for it. I love taking a personal hand in the affairs of my creations. Well, except when I don't. Sometimes I just leave them to their own devices for a while. But I don't think I'll be doing that here."

"And of course they won't be all evil. I abhor single morality races. For real excitement you need to have good guys and bad guys." Kan Ver Khan waved his left hand vaguely. "I'm wondering about the technology level. Our good friend here is all about the technology, but will it be readily available from the beginning? Shall we let them evolve into it? Or shall this world be primarily magic-based? Just a thought."

“We’ll let them figure out most of it on their own, but we’ll hide a few hints and blueprints in the most desolate parts of the world/moons.

"Yeah... I agree with the nameless god. Technology is fun, but just handing it to sentient races on a silver platter gets... problematic really fast. Same with magic." Wellan said.

"And some of my best worlds were the ones where I just let them make their own way, albeit with a few... nudges. Like Requiem. Remember that one? The one that developed cybernetic steampunk angels? That one was - and still is - one of my best worlds."

“In your opinion. Unlike all of you, I remember a time when there was such a thing as too much. Gods today think you can just slap twenty gallons of raw grimdark on a world and have it win awards. Uncultured pigs...”

""Exactly, exactly. I'll admit the more 'grimdark' fashion is sorta in style, but they don't put any effort into it. It's all 'murder murder murder, all day every day' instead of an actually, like, oppressive atmosphere. And there is a demand for happy universes, too." Kan Ver Khan raised his hand, holding Stefan up. No real reason, just because. "Y'know, how I do my original universe is I test out my creations in my other universes. If they perform well, they go into the sandbox. If not, they get squished and redone. And my people are happy," Kan Ver Khan said boastfully. "They enjoy wildly delicious beasts and fruits, a simple existence with neither excess technology or magic. I monitor it all very closely, and I feel that may contribute to its success. But, of course, we must always try new things."

“And when they’re not enjoying those, they’re running in terror from the same beasts. And the fruits! What possessed you to make crab-peaches? You defiled my two favorite foods in an obscene mishmash! But that’s in the past...say, should I call in one of my siblings to help work on this?”

"Aren't we all siblings, in a way?" Kan Ver Khan leaned back slightly, a grin on his face. "And there was nothing wrong with crab-peaches. Peaches, but able to defend themselves and transport themselves? Simple, yet perfect! A glorious mix of plant and animal. And the beasts in my home system generally don't murder people. Usually. I try to dial that down back home. Speaking of people we could call, I think I know a guy, too. He's a bit reclusive, but I think I can get to him. What say you?"

“Depends. Who are you talking about. As for the one I’m calling in, do you know Cheloptes? And no, we’re not all siblings. You were Third Genesis, and Wellan Ascended on his own.”

Wellan was busy muttering to himself about first-generation gods thinking that everything they weren't personally involved in just had to be grimdark^note (hint: Requiem wasn't. It wasn't even all that sad except at first), but he heard about inviting cousins.

"I know a guy. He's a bit... weird, but he's nice enough." He said.

“Is it Ludus? Also, about Cheloptes, I figured we needed a god of Death. The way I see it, there are three types of death gods, the fun ones, the evil ones, and the really by-the book ones with no sense of humor. He’s type 3, but maybe that’s a good thing.”

"I was thinking of bringing, um, a certain guy." Kan Ver Khan, for once, looked almost nervous. "He's an Ascended, and a rather new one. He's sorta... nouveau-style, if you catch what I mean. He's an expert, though, on mortals and mortal stuff in general. He's good at security, too, so he'll keep gods like me away from snatching our creations. He's from a sorta grim world though, so, uhh, y'know. They call him," Kan Ver Khan looked away from anyone's eyes, "And I can't say that this name is true, or that it is, or whatever, but they call him.... Godkiller. Or, uh, Godpriest Ansular. Depending on who you ask."

“Oh. Him. He called me a worthless blob. But he did seem powerful for an Ascended who’s only been around for three thousand-ish years...”

"Yeah, that sounds like Ansular," Kan Ver Khan said cheerily. "Not a big fan of other gods. Probably has to do with the way he ascended.... anyway! I can just call him up, we go back at least 1,500 years. It gets hard to remember, at some point. If I remember, he's hanging around the Confines of Asdymir. I'll just go fetch him, shall I?" Kan Ver Khan stood, Stefan on his shoulder, and stepped forward, disappearing almost immediately.

“I really hope he knows what he’s doing...”. The Nameless muttered, head in hands as he flicked a meteor at the center world. “What? Craters give character.”

A while after, Kan Ver Khan stepped back into the room. He looked slightly ruffled. "Ansular should be here in just a minute," he said, brushing something off his shirt.

And indeed, soon a black portal formed, writhing with dark tendrils of shadow. A figure stepped out, one dressed in all black, someone with features one could almost call draconian. He was unnaturally pale, and his hooded cloak reminded one of a reaper, even though this was not, technically, a god of death. Indeed, some called him the god of boons, some the god of mortality, some even called him Godkiller. Above all, he was Godpriest Ansular. And he was wearing a baseball cap on his hairless head.

He took off the baseball cap and pulled back his cloak slightly, revealing almost Victorian style clothing in lighter shades of black.

"I was supporting one of my brother's descendants at his baseball game," He answered the unsaid question. "I'm very proud of him." His voice only contained a hint of pride.

Ansular stepped closer to the Nameless. "An interesting project," he said, apparently not feeling it worthy to bring up their last encounter. "I suppose all you've gotten covered so far are basics? Macro, that is, not micro. I believe I can help, in certain ways."

“Well, before deciding what parts of the project you would be most useful heading, can I have some information on your Domains, what you want to see in the world, that sort of thing?”

Ansular inclined his head slightly, his expression unreadable. "I believe that while Kan may handle the creation of the species, I might aid the development and growth of the species and their civilizations, and also create some of the smaller lifeforms, such as insects and bacteria. Also I can handle any other gods that try to edge in on our work." He took a large sword out of the sheath on his hip. "Surely I can handle any challengers."

“Yes, microscopic life forms do tend to be under appreciated. You can have the fourth moon, if you want it, that is...”