IT DOES NOT IMPRESS ME THAT NONE OF YOU HAS THE COURAGE TO FACE ME UNAIDED. IT DOES NOT IMPRESS ME THAT THE CACKLING ONE ASKS OTHERS TO FACE DANGER WHILE SHE REMAINS SAFE, AND THEN BELIEVES HERSELF ENTITLED TO TAUNT AND LAUGH.
You do not hear very well. (Then again, you are a male so why am I surprised?)
I simply asked why you would target a weak human rather than a goddess. Last I knew, Asta is not a goddess but a god. I asked no one else to fight for me. I asked why YOU did not come after ME yourself.
You still make threats and fail to produce. Possessing a weak human is hardly a show of might.
I even said:
Heh, I call him out - I challenge him - and he attacks a helpless mortal. A cowardly act if ever I saw one.
A challenge if ever I heard one and you still refuse to answer.
And what of Asta's constant challenges to you? Asta, has he materialized? Has he displayed this awesome power he is so quick to boast about?
**crickets chirping**
I think not.
I will continue to cackle and laugh at your expense, Neph, because it pleases me to do so.
Even if I have to sacrifice myself, I will be laughing because I have known the love of a good husband. I will laugh because I know the miracle of birth and I know that I will carry on in the hearts and minds of my loved ones. Yes, I will even laugh for Dionache because he and I will spend eternity together.
Do your worst, Neph. I refuse to be frightened of you and I refuse to be silent.
Astavyastataa Kadna wrote:
While we may be opposed, my FAVORED can use the nails with Norn's blessing to seal the Chastus rift. I suggest that be done ... AFTER we lure the Planar Beast into the void. Let the Beast keep the usurper company for eternity. Norn can strengthen the seal when this is done.
What say you Maeror? What say you my cousins?
AK...
Is it your belief Nephirthos still resides in the void, even though he is to be found in a great citadel on Eiran, on the blasted continent of Thellar, according to Solus' account of the battle with Simjen? I do agree with Maeror that somehow he is drawing his power from the void, but I do not agree that enticing the planar beast into it will necessarily cause it to engage Nephirthos.
But, that doesn't mean sealing it inside the void wouldn't possibly help with dealing with the beast.
Jove wrote:
Come, brothers and sisters. Laugh with me!
Sister, I admire your fortitude to do such. For now, the ability to laugh is beyond me. Perhaps in time it will return...
INSIGNIFICANT GODLING, YOU WHO HOPED TO CLAIM MY RIGHTFUL CROWNS... HERE, RECEIVE THE GIFT I PROMISED. LET IT BE KNOWN THAT THE WORLD BREAKER IS A DEITY OF HIS WORD.
THIS IS BUT A TASTE OF WHAT AWAITS ANY WHO DO NOT BEND KNEE TO ME.
The wind was hot, on the towers of Castle Chaos. Atama, one of the Favored of Astavyastataa Kadna, stood watching past the battlements of the mighty keep, looking down the Peaks of Destruction to the desert below. Here was the most impregnable fortress of all lands, crafted by the Lord of Chaos - Lord of Battle, Atama amended bitterly - in the center of the Domain of Destruction. It was difficult to believe the Castle and the Domain itself had been created only six months earlier; already it felt like home.
Atama was one of the most skilled Favored, chosen by his god to protect Castle Chaos. Though he was not the likes of Kalpa, Shivada or Astroth, Atama had heard rumors of what was to be protected in Castle Chaos - that soon, his god's mortal child would be born, and all the Favored and soldiers in the keep would be considered accountable for its safety. Of course, most of the retinue would come later - but Atama and his 99 Favored (blessed with Battle Time), another thousand Favored who had not yet received the blessing, and a thousand foot soldiers had already reached the Castle.
Atama and his companions were proud of the service their god had asked of them. Though some yearned for the battle their lesser kin would soon join, not a single one among them regretted protecting their lord's offspring rather than plunging into battle. They truly were favored among the Favored, to be given such a great task.
The wind was hot, Atama thought. It was dry, having come all the way through the desert - the Favored still had not fully understood the preternatural weather patterns of the Domain. It smelled of sand, of sun, of desolation, as it should. The sun was shining brightly, and the Favored felt a sheen of sweat covering him - but he did not flinch. He had been trained and granted the skill and knowledge to endure the sun's relentless heat without suffering: he had been, after all, among those who had lived on the edge of the Immerilian desert.
Suddenly, something in the distance, up in the sky, attracted his attention. "What...?" He thought, squinting and attempting to figure out what he was seeing. A pinpoint of light, like a star - but what star could shine during the day? Atama felt a shiver of dread in his heart, and did not know why. Then, before his eyes, other pinpoints of light appeared next to the original one: suddenly, with cold certainty, Atama felt he knew what was coming.
"TO ARMS!" He shouted, running down the battlements. "THE ENEMY APPROACHES!!" His fellow Favored were ever ready: before the lights could grow much larger, the company was already prepared for battle. "Remember our Lord's gifts!" Atama shouted. "Battle Time will be their downfall! Strike as soon as they come within range - and do not stop until all are destroyed!" Only grim silence answered, but he knew his Favored would not betray him. Larger and larger, the pinpoints of lights turned into streaking, white-hot comets, and the first waves of their malevolence touched Atama's spirit, causing him almost to tremble... "Steady!" He shouted worriedly, "Do not let them scare you!"
But suddenly he saw the truth, and then he felt fear in his heart too. Many of the streaking comets... splintered into smaller ones, a veritable meteor shower aimed at the Peaks of Destruction! And then...
... As Atama's Favored looked at their commander, worried by the sudden turn of events, they saw to their horror a cloud of white-hot darkness, almost shaped like a hand, wrapped around Atama as if to squeeze the life out of him. The Favored switched into Battle Time, and the comets indeed stopped - but the cloud somehow moved still, and wrapped itself in tighter and tighter coils, offering no resistance to the blows of the Favored, until with a final scream, Atama and the cloud disappeared, leaving the Favored horrified and leaderless.
Battle Time could not be sustained forever; but as soon as they released it, they saw to their horror that the comets actually accelerated; the whole population of Castle Chaos had reached them in the courtyard and was now fleeing the Castle, most of them invoking Astavyastataa Kadna in their despair.
"IT IS OF NO USE", a voice echoed across the castle, so powerful as to throw everyone on the ground. "YOUR LORD CANNOT SAVE YOU. HE CANNOT EVEN SAVE HIMSELF."
It was all the Favored and soldiers could do to look up and see their doom approaching as the wrathful comets slammed into Castle Chaos with terrible power; and all the way from Sietch Oblivion and the Capital of Chaos, Astavyastataa's followers could bear witness in horror and incredulity to the meteor shower which impacted with the Peaks of Destruction with such force as to destroy both Castle Chaos and the mountain itself, leaving nothing but a fetid crater in the midst of the once-proud Domain of Destruction.
Twice now Nephirthos has attacked us during this turn! The Allfather hinted at a reason behind this ability when neph first re-appeared.
I wonder is it linked to Argothoth's inability to act as Master of Time last turn? Neph 'publicly' stole AK domains, could he have also taken on some form of the domain of Time without Argothoth knowing?
Undine
Aglithophile and conniptionist and spectacular moonbow beholder 16Jul11
The reason that Nephirthos was able to claim the domains of Astavyastataa was not simply a matter of power, it was a matter of right: He was the original holder of those powers, and in Eiran it is the way of things that a god returning to the world from absence will reclaim the powers they held. Nephirthos was never the master of Time, and so could never steal those powers from Argothoth without first destroying him.
A raven perched on a tree looks at Jovian, then turns its black eyes to the sky above the city; it caws sadly, shakes its head in a curiously human gesture, and flies east, towards the Mists.
A raven perched on a tree looks at Jovian, then turns its black eyes to the sky above the city; it caws sadly, shakes its head in a curiously human gesture, and flies east, towards the Mists.
Fly not too fast, dear bird. I may be following soon.
Murrin wrote:The reason that Nephirthos was able to claim the domains of Astavyastataa was not simply a matter of power, it was a matter of right: He was the original holder of those powers, and in Eiran it is the way of things that a god returning to the world from absence will reclaim the powers they held. Nephirthos was never the master of Time, and so could never steal those powers from Argothoth without first destroying him.
My claim is older than Nephirthos ... I have been told that the theft was enabled because I was not destructive ENOUGH when I was first contained on Erian!! I am trying to be not so soft!
However, note the attack on my castle and brave followers. The FAVORED move in battle time ... a null time state where time does not move for them - to all else they appear to move INSTANTLY. The comets were stopped. But the World Breaker could still move ... he VIOLATES time (I had Argothoth's support in establishing the capability) as the World Breaker has violated Melirelle's domain the Earth.
It can only be the VOID that gives him this power ... or the DIRECT support of the AllFather.
First we try sealing the World Breaker from the void. If that is ineffective; I propose we ALL enter the Mists at the same time!!
My good Husband, calm yourself! there is no need for us all to commit suicide! you will soon have a child to think of! Nephirthos is not immune to all, tho he may think himself so. We will find his weaknesses and use them against him.
...and on the last day we feasted, like carrion, on her dreams.
~Irvea - from The Death of Mithyaat Vam
Mithyaat Vam, my heart sings to hear from you. While I know that if you were in the keep during the attack you could have easily escaped, hearing that your [mortal?] child is safe still thrills me beyond belief.
Mithyaat Vam wrote:My good Husband, calm yourself! there is no need for us all to commit suicide! you will soon have a child to think of! Nephirthos is not immune to all, tho he may think himself so. We will find his weaknesses and use them against him.
We will indeed!! And our child will be protected!
*sighs* The Peaks of Destruction and Castle Chaos are no more ... the Usurper will pay dearly for that afront.
Careful, Maeror, lest Argothoth use the rules you say exist, and strip you of Death. Would it be as easy as that? I think not. And so I think Nephirthos took Destruction and Chaos back through other means. Through the tremendous Power that I believe he wields, whatever its source.
I am the self-fulfilling prophecy. Give love, and you WILL receive love. Let your every answer, your every action and reaction, your every desire, be rooted in love.
Bhakti wrote:Careful, Maeror, lest Argothoth use the rules you say exist, and strip you of Death. Would it be as easy as that? I think not. And so I think Nephirthos took Destruction and Chaos back through other means. Through the tremendous Power that I believe he wields, whatever its source.
Brother, the rule Maeror is talking about does exist. Whether Argothoth had pursued this course, and been denied, I do not know.
RESURRECTION
Just as deities can die, deities can also return from the netherworld. Upon death, deities do not enter the afterlife ruled by the King of the Dead, like mortals do, but they exist in a state of eternal slumber. Any deity who died due to lack of worshipers can return to waking life if his or her cult rises again; this can be an event inspired by other deities, or due to pure chance. If enough worshipers gather for the deity to return to Divine Rank 1, the deity returns from the dead and rejoins the pantheon. If the deity's spheres of influence had been claimed by someone else, the deity immediately recovers them, stripping them from the usurper. The deity will likely have to rebuild his clergy, religion and holy sites from scratch, although he could always try to restore the old ones.
Deities killed by other deities (see Deicide, above) cannot return from the dead.
There is much that has happened this season, and much that needs to be done in return. There are places to start, and this I think is the first:
The World Breaker wrote: IT MATTERS LITTLE WHAT YOU THINK OR DO. IT MATTERS LITTLE THAT YOU CONSIDER MY PRONOUNCEMENTS "THREATS". YOU CHOSE A CHAMPION AND EMPOWERED HIM TO MAKE BATTLE WITH ME - AND HE FAILED. YOUR WORDS ILL SUIT A COWARD WHO STAYS BEHIND WHILE SENDING ANOTHER TO DO BATTLE ON HER BEHALF.
Although I would warn that we all take what Nephirthos has to say at face value, which is none at all, THIS has a nugget of truth. For yes, Simjen nearly destroyed Nephirthos and yes, Solus chained him to the ends of the universe, but this has always been in the wrong idea, brought about in the wrong way.
Nephirthos exists on nothing but Chaos, nothing but the seperation of us from each other. As we participate in seperate plans and actions, he gets stronger.
The only way to stop him is as one. One fist, one mind, one attack.
This next turn, we attack as one. All side issue are put where they belong, to the side. I know that there are many things plaguing our peoples, but if they are all destroyed it will not MATTER if they were plagued when they were killed.
We all need to put ALL our power into one attack. ALL of it.
If we cannot band together, we will die seperated. That is all I have to say.
Lord Adomorn wrote:
Nephirthos exists on nothing but Chaos, nothing but the seperation of us from each other. As we participate in seperate plans and actions, he gets stronger.
The only way to stop him is as one. One fist, one mind, one attack.
This next turn, we attack as one. All side issue are put where they belong, to the side. I know that there are many things plaguing our peoples, but if they are all destroyed it will not MATTER if they were plagued when they were killed.
We all need to put ALL our power into one attack. ALL of it.
If we cannot band together, we will die seperated. That is all I have to say.
Undine wrote:
I second this.
Not 'most of' but ALL!
Astavyastataa Kadna wrote:What specifically do you suggest cousins ?
Brethren, I have read of amazing alliances of late. Bhakti and Melirelle, Jove and Astavyastaataa Kadna, etc. They have happened because of one thing, Nephirthos.
It is my belief that we must unify not only ourselves, but all of Eiran, from our people to the smallest grain of sand, in opposing Nephirthos. We all have different levels of strength, and opposition need not be in the form of combat. But opposition we must all give him. For I believe our concerted power, combined with the sole intent of all of Eiran, on opposing Nephirthos will be more than the sum of our efforts. Against such a force Nephirthos could not possibly withstand and I believe he will falter in the face of such.
How to unify ourselves and the entire essence of Eiran to a single intent? I propose a Song of Eiran, sent to the essence of all we are, all our followers and lands are, with as much DRP behind it to assure all hear and absorb it. It is a little thing, but one I believe will empower us greatly. And so long as it is for no g-d's gain, but for all of Eiran, the Song will act as a catalyst, bringing more power to bear against the "World" Breaker than all of us combined could.
What say you, brethren? Shall I put forth the effort to compose such a Song? Will you donate DRP to empower it? Will you encourage it's acceptance and performance over all of Eiran?
O, brothers! let us leave the shame and sin Of taking vainly in a plaintive mood, The holy name of Grief--holy herein, That, by the grief of One, came all our good.
-Elizabeth Barrett Browning
