Pantheon - The Third Age - Game Thread

[Madadeva]

Perhaps, if O-gon-cho is truly interested in helping, she will commit to providing the Leviathan with Healing, and it may be that my cousin with help strengthen its life.

[O-gon-cho]

I await to see what needs be done in my home after this season first. If all is well there, and I need not focus all my attention on Imray, I may then speak privately with the Master of Seas regarding helping the Leviathan.

However, what is happening on Virelle is of concern to me as well, as the people there worshipped me before the Lich forced himself upon them. Potential strategy there has been discussed among others as well.

There is much to consider when all is known regarding the current season. Until then, I commit to nothing. I have already made the mistake in the past of saying I will help someone, and having to reconsider. I shall not do so again.

[Zephyr]

Is anyone still alive in Virelle?? I would have thought not. If the Midnight Army did not wipe out all life, then perhaps they are not the threat we assume they are.

[O-gon-cho]

My own sight showed me that none survived on Verille. Including my own prophet. But I feel the responsibility weigh heavily on me for what was wrought there, although it was brought about by the Ash Lich and not my followers. If there is anything I can do to rectify it, so shall I.

[Zephyr]

I don't understand. In what way could it be rectified?

[O-gon-cho]

I know not.
Research commences.

[The Numen]

I see this too, now. There can not be Peace so long as the hand of another God touches this world, nor any mortal draw breath upon it. Their very nature denies it.

Did not We predict that Bel's philosophy would eventually devolve to a conflict between Peace and existence? It will not be long before the followers of Bel seek to speed Eiran's destruction, in an effort to bring about their ideal Peace. We really do not see this as being very different from the dogma of The Void, who also seems to have left Eiran.

[Madadeva]

The crusade against Halideva was not authorized.

While I support all following their desires, and my lesser half is competent in defending herself, I will take action as she desires to address this random crusade.

After all, satisfying a goddesses desires is much more fun than those of mortals!!

What is your desire Halideva!? And do you need my help reaching it?

[uKulwa]

Bretheren. I bring you this news:

A group of adventurers accidentally find and widen a crack in the Icewalls of the Maw. The crack grows wider due to their interference, and soon grasping hands and inhuman eyes attempt to find a way through into the world, befouling and corrupting all they touch. A group of fishermen are passing nearby when these scaly, grasping hands grab the unlucky adventurers, bathing them in a blinding dark light, their screams reaching the stars. The fishermen flee, bringing word with them that the hordes of the Maw have finally found a way into Eiran!

The IceWalls of the Maw are breached.

O-Gon-Cho, your people will regret their attack on me.

And it seems The Unknowable has not succeeded.

...where the crystal outcropping used to be, there is now a slowly growing sea of freezing, fiery light which consumes and devours all that comes nearby, and which if not halted, will consume the whole Shylan Desert before long.

[Zephyr]

Unfortunately, The Unknowable was unable to fix this. And, considering how much power various deities loaned for this, it is clear that another tactic entirely is needed. Let's have suggestions, everyone!



Mirificus Casus, I would have words with you.

[Madadeva]

To aid you, it would be helpful to know what the tactics were ... and what your thinking is. You might find that the god of Desire has creative ways to address problems!

[Zephyr]

Ah, yes. Apologies. Well...

Early after we ascended, uKulwa's people had found a crystal monolith in the desert. (It was freshly unearthed, although who can say who or what unearthed it.) More than anything, it seemed to be an insulator, a "bottle cap", between our dimension and another. It was holding back great power from that dimension. And it was cracking.

The Unknowable is the deity of Magic. That, alone, seemed to be a good reason to have him/her attempt to do something about this barrier that was holding back magical power from another dimension. But in addition, the Unknowable recently created a crystal Forest. The greatest authority on Magic had experience with crystal, so I asked him/her to attempt to do something about this, before it was too late.

Alas, it is too late, as uKulwa just told us.

We all felt a cataclysm in Imray's desert last season, and I believe the violently powerful thing, the familiar evil that echoed through the world, is The World Breaker. "Burning darkness" has been mentioned more than once, including by the Eclipse Court's oracle, as I quoted.

This "slowly growing sea of freezing, fiery light" will devour the whole Shylan Desert. And will it even stop there?

So... What can be done?

[O-gon-cho]

Bretheren. I bring you this news:

A group of adventurers accidentally find and widen a crack in the Icewalls of the Maw. The crack grows wider due to their interference, and soon grasping hands and inhuman eyes attempt to find a way through into the world, befouling and corrupting all they touch. A group of fishermen are passing nearby when these scaly, grasping hands grab the unlucky adventurers, bathing them in a blinding dark light, their screams reaching the stars. The fishermen flee, bringing word with them that the hordes of the Maw have finally found a way into Eiran!

The IceWalls of the Maw are breached.

O-Gon-Cho, your people will regret their attack on me.

Let us make it clear, uKulwa, that the breaching of the IceWalls have nothing to do with the crusade of misguided followers of mine. You did express it as two different thoughts, yes?

Regarding this crusade, without my prophet to reign them in, I will admit there are followers of mine who will look for any excuse to crusade against yours. Your expansion above the Mountains of the Dragon concerned them. I will have Leier retrieve them from your lands.

And it seems The Unknowable has not succeeded.

...where the crystal outcropping used to be, there is now a slowly growing sea of freezing, fiery light which consumes and devours all that comes nearby, and which if not halted, will consume the whole Shylan Desert before long.

That it does, despite the entire Divine Right of the Sunrise Court enabling its effort. I know not what else may have been learned from The Unknowable's attempt, but I will share what little I have learned regarding it:

You wait for the Unknowable to send his power to Imray, then attempt to cast your Healing on the crystal - only to find out to your horror that there is no crystal to be found, and that a freezing, fiery light seems to be quietly seeping into the Shylan Desert, and gazing at it causes you to shriek in pain.

As of now, I know not if this pain is reminiscent of what I experienced in the Chastus portal all those years ago.

So... What can be done?

Perhaps Knowledge and Light can work together to seek out an answer, although we need to do something now rather than research. Yet maybe taking the time to learn what we can may prevent future misconceptions of what needs to be done?

In other matters...
Has any other deity had their temples defaced recently?

My temples have had a message burned in to the stone walls, always the same message, as if by a searing finger. Our divine sight has revealed to us all that the Time Reaver has appeared in Enstorm. The message left is "I HAVE RETURNED." Too much reminds me of The World Breaker, yet We see the Time Reaver appear. I do not know if the messages speak of the Time Reaver; my intuition tells me no. The World Breaker is more who I believe may be doing such, and yet there is yet another who may have returned who would make use of such methods.

Has anyone suffered similar in their temples or elsewhere? A prophecy hangs over my head, and words to erase that possibility would be welcome indeed...

[Madadeva]

What is this prophecy? Perhaps you have stated it already ... and my amusements have caused me to forget it. Speak plainly again of this prophecy.

Also, for all ... consider ... it is the AllFather who has released the World Breaker. If he had indeed turned against Eiran do we not need to first deal with him?

If we cannot destroy him ... perhaps we can exile him ... or trap him. He has turned his back on Eiran. It is he who has enabled the suffering we all feel. Unless we prevent his further meddling, any victory over the World Breaker might be short lived.

[The Numen]

Was it not also the AllFather who, on three different occasions released us gods upon Eiran? Always to the world's detriment, it seems, and always for no more than a single mortal's lifetime.

As We have been saying to O-gon-cho, it would be easier for us all to live together if everyone would communicate their desires instead of keeping all of these secrets. Perhaps We should widen the audience of this lecture to include the AllFather himself? It seems that he had goals in mind when he allowed deities to exist. It seems that he liked what some of them did the previous time well enough to invite them back this time around, after all the damage had been fixed (or simply covered over). And yet it seems that he has decided to destroy the world, us, and all the mortals, because... why?

Has this experiment become a failure? If so, what was the expected outcome? Perhaps if we knew what that were, we might have a better chance of accomplishing it.

[Zephyr]

I don't think we can fix the problems facing us.
-Despite a huge amount of power (the Courts' power is gone, and will not be replenished for another season or two), the attempt at fixing the problem in the Shylan Desert was an utter failure, and we know nothing of how to go about fixing it.
-The Leviathan and Worm are making such a mess of things that even Dagon cannot see the Leviathan.
-The Icewalls are thoroughly cracking.
-The Time Reaver is still running loose.
-The Midnight Army is spreading. It is immune to magic. Its origin is the Second Age, and it seems Second Age Undeath is far different from Third Age Undeath, making it largely immune to that domain.

I just gave power to Koel to try to learn more about the Time Reaver, and try to stop it. Is it possible?

Perhaps if we gave enough power to Dagon, he could get things straightened out there. (And it would be helpful if you didn't start such problems again?)

But that would still leave us with three very serious problems. Again, let's hear suggestions.

I see two possibilities.

First, instead of trying to fix these things, we could try giving Koel gigantic power, and having him return Eiran to the state it was in a year or so ago. IF this was successful, it may be that we would all return to the strength we had then. But we would know where the problems were going to come from, and we could try to get to them before they happen.

Second, there are various ways off of Eiran. We could put our power into developing various plans, and getting our worshipers safely away. I believe the Lords of Eiran are involved in such a plan, and it could be they will let us help.

[Zephyr]

It also seems to me that we do have a little time.

The Icewalls are cracking. At least in the Maw. But there are still only hands poking through. Some power into repairing it might be successful before it's too late.

The Midnight Army might have to be beat the old fashioned way. But it's not spread beyond Virelle yet, to my knowledge.

Koel may have the answer to the Time Reaver already.

Again, Dagon should be able to do something about that problem.

The cancer growing in the Shylan Desert is the potentially biggest threat, in my opinion. But how much time do we really have? It will consume the desert "before long." Before how long? And how much longer before Imray was gone? If we gave power to The Numen, to divine the Knowledge of how to end this threat? Perhaps by the time we know for sure, the other threats will be taken care of, and the Courts will be replenished, giving us power to use for this problem.

[Simjen]

I agree with Zephyr. The signs are everywhere, and they are not good. Eiran's days are likely numbered.

My plan to save my followers continues apace. I have received little word from you all that you will be joining in my effort. If that is your desire, I do not gainsay it; I have means to support my own ends. However, if it is not, I suggest you let me know immediately. To say my plan is grand... I will have little time for last-minute adjustments.

Once my people are safe, I have agreed to face the World Breaker and his allies (either in name or intent). I will not make the same mistake I did the last time, though, and will require an oath before the Allfather that you will support me in this confrontation. I do not ask for more divine strength than you see fit to lend, but I must go against the World Breaker as a representative of all the gods.

[The Numen]

We would assume that Simjen could perform the same smithing on the partial abyss cracks that are left as he did on the one that he sealed.

Also, now that we know the Lords of Eiran were involved with the creation of the Moon Bridges, which could easily keep the denizens of the Abyss repelled, perhaps we could acquire this knowledge from them and use it to create barriers around all of Eiran, not just some small roadways.

The Lords have certainly been here longer, but our divinity allows us a certain freedom of scale the Lords simply cannot match.

[Madadeva]

An interesting related thought ... can Simjen seal out the mists!?

Rid of the interference of the AllFather, perhaps the solution to the World Breaker would be more achievable!