Deification (OOC) (Mature)

[SquirrelWizard]

Blah, I RAEG!!! stupid internet cut out and ate half of an IC post. It didn't come back on until a couple of minutes ago. I'll have IC up soon.

[Kafzeil]

AmberCross: That doesn't mean they *can't* work together. It just means they won't like it.

VAE: I kinda figured. It'll be delicious fun seeing these guys try to rip each other to pieces.

[VAE]

AmberCross: That doesn't mean they *can't* work together. It just means they won't like it.

VAE: I kinda figured. It'll be delicious fun seeing these guys try to rip each other to pieces.

The dynamics from now-dead Myr's RP comes to mind

[Dr. Hatari]

Name: Gys

Domain: For better or for worse, Gys presides over Genesis and Life itself; vitality, fertility, and growth. Famine is absolved by his mercy, and parents-to-be petition him for healthy offspring. He considers every living thing to be one of his children, but for all his generosity, he can be a capricious and savage brute. He is the herald of lush and choking plant life, ravenous beasts, and even virulent plagues. It is also said that he is the source of the world's most terrible monsters, although no one deity could claim responsibility for all of them.

Depiction: Gys' avatar is covered in a heavy scarlet hooded cloak, embroidered with living ivy and caked with patches of moss and bioluminescent fungus. His visage is always obscured by pervasive shadows, although a mane of long quills and anchored serpents hang in the sides of his hood -- one could loosely approximate them to 'hair'. Additionally, Gys must either have a multitude of limbs or some ability to borrow them on a whim, for on the occasions that any are seen, they have never belonged to the same type of creature.

Titles: The Chimera, the Verdant Lord, the Breath of Life, the Father of Ill Omens, and the Two-Faced God. Gys' names, like his influence, may be either curses or blessings.

Origin: During a time when the world was still young and void of movement, there was naught but the Creator and the works of his progenitor gods. The whole of creation was silent, static, and cold. In time, even the sloth of the primordial powers was eroded away by their boredom, and they tried their hands at animation. Of the first forms were elementals; crude men of earth, fire, and water. This pleased the ancient powers, but elementals were not enough. They, too, were too simple -- too lethargic -- too few. An agreement was made between the gods, that they might share their elements with each other to further the diversity of Genesis. With a full palette of elements at their disposal, the primordial gods set about creating the first true men. But even with earth in their bones, fire in their hearts and water in their veins, the first men remained stagnant. Unhappy with the results, the gods abandoned man where he lay, and things began to continue as they always had. But mankind was not so ready to be forgotten. They reached out, pleading with mute cries, and called the first prayer out to the heavens. "We wish to live! We wish to breathe! We wish to run, and prosper, and flourish!" So strong was man's implacable desire to be, that a deity's voice rumbled back to answer. "Is that so? Then I shall lend you my breath, the essence of Life, that you might go forth and fill this empty world." And so, from this first prayer, Gys came to be.

Island: At one time, the island of Airen-Rae was nothing more than an unremarkable stretch of desert sand and mesas that had been lost to the sea. If not for a modest shrine erected by pilgrims of Gys in centuries past, it still would be. With each generation since, life has exploded outwards to grasp at every corner of the land. The island is now suddenly host to the very last of the Chimera's altars and faithful, numbering only a handful of small families struggling to survive the congested jungle-hell that their home has become. Gys' "boon" has been responsible for Airen-Rae becoming one of the most deadly and unforgiving locations the world over. Colossal carnivorous plants and insects the size of houses prey on the unwary, while even the briefest visit threatens to give outsiders a deadly fever. All considered, the tribes of Rae have done reasonably well to adapt to their Lord's overbearing influence. Safe (if humble) bunkers in the cliff sides provide shelter from whence they scavenge and harness simple agriculture.

Clergy: While a more formal hierarchy of druids once touted Gys' principles and furthered his faith, all traces of that order now lay in ruins. The tribes of Rae now represent the informal totality of his church, with no one member any more versed in creed than another. But Gys has always held a particularly close relationship to the world of men, and certain rites of acknowledgement and respect remain ingrained in the culture of his people. Indeed, little besides a god's vital blessings could have allowed human life to persist on Airen-Rae. With no mortal druids left to learn from, Gys' faith shall have to be born anew.

Temperament: Gys is a simple-minded deity, unconcerned with the nuances of civilization or politics -- divine or otherwise. He is best known for his vexing dual-nature; While he personally gives of himself to foster all forms of life and shows diligence in answering his children's prayers, he is also entirely willing to let them suffer horrible fates and visit indiscriminate violence upon each other. For his nurturing hand and cruel designs, he has earned the title of the Two-Faced God. Such is the nature of life.

Symbols: A single drop of blood wreathed by ivy, a lone ant carrying a leaf, and any arrangement of classical Chimera.

Backstory: Gys has spent the eons aloof of most divine matters, contenting himself with the design and propagation of life - and then a trump for that species -- and then a double-trump for that species --- and then a contagion to thin back that species. While many gods have been responsible for various examples of Genesis, the Verdant Lord has made it his pastime to fill out and reshuffle the world's ecosystems (in addition to throwing the occasional wild-card at them). While the world owes him its green coat and charming songbirds, Gys' knows absolutely no restraint. Erratic and irresponsible, he has crossed many of his divine kin at some point or another with a stray blight or legendary beast left to wander through their lands. While this has rarely left true and lasting animosity, the Chimera has had many heated confrontations with the Grand Hunter. The two deities have never seen eye-to-eye on the meaning of nature or man's role therein. Gys views every hunt for sport as an abuse of life and a personal slight, while Kuntorus claims the Chimera's unchecked work to be a perversion of the wilderness and threat to its balance. In the old world, Gys made a mirthful sport of his own by turning the tables and sending his most nightmarish creations off to ravage Kuntorus' people. To their credit, the champions of the Hunter have always defeated these attacks.

Family Tree: Gys' has no divine relatives, and despite his rhetoric, has no literal progeny - although he has doted on some of his greatest beasts as though they were.

[e_voyager]

Name: Volare, Melioration
Depiction: often shown guise as faceless mortal in traveler cloaks or a sea mammal guiding lost ships at sea
Domain: kindness and guidance of mind and body
Titles: wondering star, guardian of voyagers , guiding light, giver of visions, gentle stranger
Island: a fair size volcanic island who's outer edges have a couple fishing villages with sea ports. And inside holds only a few sparse settlement's(smaller villagers) and temples to Volare.
Origin: unknown there only thing that is certain is that he appeared through a rift in the fabric of creation. Of the theories two are best accepted; 1 several mortals seeking forbidden knowledge into the birth of the gods and universe had their spell and methods conflict and destroy them but as this happen a small hole was torn open in the fabric of creation through which he entered closing the tear after him. Or that it was during a god war that he appeared on the seen through a tear that the other gods conflict caused to open up.
Temperament: kind but stern. This guy does not take kindly to harassing innocent travelers or pilgrims. It's said that those who pray to him for vision and guidance are often rewarded with sights that most mortals never see otherwise and brief burst of humor
Clergy: while promoting good will and safe haven to those in need is key to the teaching of Volare they also speak of moving forward in mind and spirit. Expanding ones' understanding of the world though and study and exploration.
Symbols: a comet and the walking staff are his give symbols
Backstory:  when Volare arrived many things were in disarray and there were several vacancy's in the celestial framework. Volare travels the world several times dismayed by what he saw and by chance happened upon a young child taking there adults test a solo fishing trip beyond the shores of their village. The child was in trouble and Volare dove into the water taking on the guise of a local sea mammal. Speaking to the terrified youth Volare calmed his worries and guided him back to land and his village. Finding the island without a patron deity the stranger decided to stick around and help the troubled islanders to build a better life guiding them as best he could to better easier way to  survive and protect themselves from the elements while traveling. Over time he became adopted by the very people he had adopted and became the islands patron deity.  
Family Tree: at this point no children have been confirmed in this universe.

[Meany]

Dr. Hatari, Accepted.

e_voyager, Accepted.

[techmaster-glitch]

Just as a note; obviously, if we're going to beat the God-King, then we do need to band together, but I honestly -don't- expect Zaltan's words to actually work here. That'd be too easy this early in the game.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

EDIT#2. If it's not too much trouble Meany, could you put the aspects up next to the God names in the OOC thread?  was trying to chart out the holes we have in the panethon, and it gets a little hard (I'm lazy!) to go sketching at each and every bio.

[Meany]

It would help if the domains were more concise, wouldn't it?   I'll put them up when I can safely summarize them.

[AmberCross]

Techmaster, I find Zaltan's entreaty particularly hilarious in Aellor's case because Aellor hasn't actually insulted or taunted the Lord of Waves just yet. And since his future selves have already gone and insulted him lots, it's clear before Zaltan said anything that Aellor really isn't going to listen XD. Essentially he considers it to be a different scenario, more deserved and less unprovoked. Anyway, insulting him NOW will mean less insults in the future which will actually smoothen relationships between the gods of sea and weather which was all Zaltan was really saying anyway

[Cogidubnus]

Name: Oshye

Depiction: In Iconography, he is often depicted as a broken spear, wrapped in red cloth. When he himself is depicted, it is often as a man with a wound in his chest, with his eyes closed, leaning against a cypress tree.
His avatar is a man in a white clothing wearing a red cloak, and two weapons strapped to his side. On his left, a broken spear, and on his right, a sword. He tends to take on a physical form similar to those he is speaking with - or perhaps those who speak with him see what they are most comfortable with. His hair is red, his smile is easy, but it is his eyes that leave the strongest impression - burning red, and glowing with a flickering and dancing flame.

Domain: Victory and Lost Causes

Titles: The God of Promised Victory, The Keeper of the Promise, the Wounded Man, The One who Remembers, The Broken Spear

Island: The Island is covered in trees and flowers - a jungle that grows thicker the closer one gets to the sea, and thins to nothing as one climbs the mountain. Animals and flora of all sorts live on the Island, and most treasured are the flowers the natives call Red-And-White, a beautiful flower whose leaves can be made into a fragrant tea. High on the mountain, there are Cypress trees, although how such arbors got to a tropical Island is a mystery the natives do not appreciate.

Origin: Once, there was a kingdom that lived at the heart of the earth, known as the land of the endless sky. They lived in prosperity, and kindness, but it had been so long since any one of them had seen conflict, that they forgot what it was to struggle. The wisest among them, their king, realized the danger they were in - for they were surrounded by many tribes who envied the ease of the Land of Endless Sky. But he did not know what to do. War came to them, and they would be every one killed and enslaved. Their King was broken-hearted for his people, and as his finest soldiers fell, he picked up the spear of fallen enemy and he himself fought for his people. He was killed, but his people were so inspired by their King's sacrifice that they took up arms and beat their invaders back. That King's name was Oshye.

Temperament: Defiant. Oshye picks his battles, but never once has Oshye admitted defeat, even in the face of insurmountable odds. He may be beaten back, time and time again, and if a thousand strategies do not secure him victory, he will try a thousand more. He is the god of Victory to his people, and he loves them, and will do all in his power help them. He is quick to anger, and equally quick to cool his anger. To his children he is kind, but prefers for them to learn from his example and win their battles themselves, rather than depend on his intercession for victory.

Clergy: Oshye's portfolio leaves him ill-suited towards a traditional hierarchy of priests, and he prefers to nominate specific mortals as "chosen ones", who act as his representatives on the earth. They are recognized by the wound on their chest that never heals, and does not bleed. Oshye tends to choose those for whom it seems there is no hope, or those in a position of greatest despair. Oshye's hand is with them always, and through their example of victory through the worst of circumstances, the God aims to inspire the rest of his people.

Symbols: A broken spear wrapped in red cloth, the Cypress Tree.

Backstory: Oshye, before he became the God of Promised Victory, was an incredibly weak deity. Unable to stand against any of his peers, he was driven from his previous portfolio and his realm, and cast off into the Material Realm to die of starvation. Humiliated and despairing, the god wandered the earth for a long time, slowly dwindling and waiting to die.
It was in his second century of wandering, when he had only a years of life left at the most, that he came across a battle between two tribes of mortals, and chose to watch. The victor was plainly obvious, and Oshye was waiting for the invading tribe to get done when he saw a single mortal grab a spear, and charge headlong into the enemy formation. He was cut to ribbons, sacrificed stirred the crowd into inspired action. Oshye himself was dumbfounded and amazed by the mortal - and decided what he would do with what was left of his life.
With remnants of his divine power, he strengthened the almost-defeated tribe, and as he died, he chose a new name for himself - Oshye, the name of the King that had sacrificed himself for his people, who himself became a part of the God. Oshye felt the swelling of the faith of his new people, and knew he had found his new purpose.

Family Tree: Oshye has a mortal son, who he keeps an eye on from time to time.

[Meany]

Cogidubnus, Accepted.

[Previewer]

Name: Ainos



Depiction: To the other gods, Ainos has never taken physical form. His manifestation is usually that of a presence felt by other gods in the vicinity. Beyond his immediate presence, the other gods are aware of him as the linear progression of time. On the mortal plane he is perceived as the passage of time, days and the seasons. Should he choose to manifest physically to a mortal, it is in the form of timekeeping devices such as sundials, water clocks and calendars.



Domain: Ainos ensures the linear, unidirectional and regular flow of time. Ainos also embodies the duality of change and constancy that occur both with the flow of time and its absence. Ainos simply ensures the flow and brings the changes or keeps things constant with respect to time. The indication of the passage of time: day, night and the seasons; are heralded by the Keepers of Time: The Sun and the Lord of the Night.



Titles: The Flow of Time, The Passage of the Seasons, The Gift of the Present, The Cosmological Constant, The Changing Cycle



Island: A small circular island, with a small cove in the north. Surrounded by steep cliffs on all sides it is accessible only through the cove. From the cliffs at the edges to the central part of the island, the land begins to rise upwards culminating in a tall mountain. An all but forgotten temple lies at the summit. A small village lives in the cove, the descendants of those who built the temple.



Origin: Ainos was born of the need for mortal comprehension of time. In the beginning, time was chaotic. The timeline would fracture, diverge and converge, loop back upon itself and cause ripples affecting past, present and future. This had effects on mortal understanding of causality and the happening of events.

With the constancy of day brought on by The Sun before the emergence of the Lord of the Night, mortals had no means of reckoning time. Ainos was therefore unable to take form, in spite of the chaos that permeated the timeline. When the Lord of the Night emerged and united with The Sun, day and night became cycles, death became the end of life and by these cycles formed by the Keepers of Time, Ainos was finally able to take form and bring order to the timeline.



Temperament: Outwardly, Ainos presents himself as extremely impersonal, showing concern only for the maintenance of the order of the timeline. He is neutral and dispassionate unless the order of time is disrupted. His interactions with other gods have only been with regards to the flow of time. With his worshippers, he communicates via visions that are matter of fact and unclouded by emotion. He has little concern for the accumulation of power or the gathering of followers, preferring only to keep enough worshippers to continue managing the flow of time. He has been known to ignore personal safety in the pursuit of this duty.

There have been instances in the past when Ainos has allowed changes to the timeline. These however, are very rare and only performed after it has been determined that such disturbances would benefit the overall order of time.

The exception being The Sun and Tezkatl, the only two gods with whom he has a more invested relationship. In part because their union allowed him to take form and also because their continued existence is necessary for his function.



Clergy: The observance of time is carried out by all mortal men and this is no small contribution to capability of Ainos to keep time in order. A dedicated sect of people, those who produce timekeeping devices and instruct others in their use, can be considered his full time clergy. While the basic reckoning of time is still attributed to the passing of night and day, more sophisticated methods of reckoning that take into consideration longer periods of time are the domain of Ainos. This includes things such as phases of the moon and the seasons.

Temples are essentially workshops which produce these timekeeping devices and calendars. Due to the use of these devices, they are found in every major city or settlement. Initiates are apprentice craftsmen who assist their seniors in such construction. Ascension in the ranks is dependent on their proficiency in this task. The highest of the order are those can design these devices as well as calculate calendars.

There are also smaller independent militant cults who practice their arts and pray to Ainos in hopes of him altering the flow of time while they are in combat in order to give them an advantage over their enemies. While Ainos has so far ignored their worship it does provide some measure of power. Their continued belief so far stems from thinking that the advantage they gain is a boon from Ainos rather than the effects of training. Ainos has so far deigned not to support these cults and disrupt the constancy of the timeline, nor has he actively discouraged this lest they prove to have some future use.



Symbols: Sundials, Calendars, water clocks, any device used to measure time

The symbol used by temples is that of a hollow circle, formed by a single line looping back upon itself. There is a small gap at the 12 o'clock position however. This indicates the singularity and linearity of the timestream. The break of in loop signifies one direction but the overall circular shape denotes cycles.



Backstory: Since his beginning, Ainos has been content to regulate the flow of time and allow the coming of the seasons and cycles, occasionally interfering in the affairs of mortals to impart knowledge of timekeeping and their devices. He has worked with Zaltan in the past to impart this knowledge and respects him for this cooperation. Mortal observance of time and the eventual worship by those who would become his clergy was sufficient for his duties.

At the time of the betrayal, Ainos had not been in contact with the mortal realm for a good period of time. The sudden diminishing of power came as a great surprise. He panicked realising that he would soon be destroyed but before that happened, he was able to use the last of his power and what remained of himself to bind the timeline to order.

The other gods would feel this effect upon time but the presence of Ainos himself was gone.

What little forethought that gone into this plan was first and foremost, the preservation of the order of the timeline. Scattered as he was, the other gods would perceive him as dead and the King would not see him as a threat. However, in these remains, the possibility was there, no matter how remote, of Ainos reforming himself if some god were to begin the task of gathering them. This however, Ainos thought to be highly unlikely if a similar fate had fallen on the other gods.



Family Tree: Parents: The Sun and Tezkatl

While a result of the union between The Sun and Tezkatl, he does not publicly acknowledge this relationship. Privately however, he shows concern for the well being of his two parent deities and this is quite evident despite him trying to hide it. Any insinuation of such by other gods is simply dismissed as concern for his Keepers, as without them, the mortal means of reckoning time is lost.

[Arcalane]

Need a light?

~~

Name: Tharsus

Depiction: Tharsus always appears as a full plate armour-clad humanoid, roughly eight or nine feet tall and apparently sculpted entirely out of flawless obsidian. The armour reveals no details of who or what is beneath, and cannot be removed. At his side hangs a similarly made and unbreakable greatsword-sized blade; he may wield it with one hand, but it is far too heavy for mortals. If Tharsus wills it, the blade will burst into flame, and can be summoned back to his grip - either by levitation or teleportation. He can throw it fairly well.

If exceptionally angry, his eyes glow like fire inside the helmet. Sometimes, he carries a (fireproof) spellbook at his side. But not often.

Domain: Fire, magma, lava, volcanos, brimstone and ash, that sort of thing. Also a minor deity of war and arcane knowledge. The latter are hobbies to him, rather than strict areas he derives power from.

Titles: Tharsus cares little for fancy titles, or what the mortals choose to call him. He is simply Tharsus. Formality isn't really his thing.

Island: Tharsus Island is the last refuge and hiding place of Tharsus himself. Not exactly creative but there you go. A jagged volcano risen from the sea bed that dominates the horizon, covered in spikes of basalt and gabbro wherever there are not solidified flows of lava. Ashen deserts are treacherous and ashstorms are hardly pleasant.

Still, the island has it's perks - the lowlands around it and what soil they have is rich thanks to mineral infusion from the ash, leading to good farming crops. Volcanic glass is plentiful, making for excellent tools and primitive weapons. Wood is rare however, as trees do not fare well on the island. The volcano itself is saturated with magic. A massive entrance can be seen about a third of the way up on the southern face - it is the only way to access Tharsus' sanctum.

Within the Sanctuary is an "Anchor", designed to stabilize both the volcano and the Sanctuary itself. If it were destroyed, Tharsus island would probably self-destruct in something resembling a multi-megaton nuclear explosion. So let's avoid that, hmm?

The Sanctuary itself is a sprawling affair, inhabitable by humans and serving as the refuge of Tharsus and his Lieutenants in the mortal realm, when they wish to escape the other gods and/or mortals. It is warm and dry but not stifling, and maintains arrays of writings pertaining to geology, alchemy and the arcane arts of magic. Oh, and it has all sorts of guards and traps to keep out intruders, naturally.

Either way, the presence of the Anchor grants him significant control over the island's landscape through the volcano, and the manifestation of his unfortunately corruptive power. Equally, his power diminishes the further he attempts to exert it from the Anchor, requiring that he instruct for the establishment Obsidian Monoliths to act as relays. The only Monoliths remaining on the island are shattered remnants, and further ones must be summoned by his Lieutenants.

Origin: Tharsus is as old as the volcano (and thus the world) itself, so legend says. He came about when the few inhabitants of the island prayed for protection to no god in particular, out of fear, during an eruption. He suddenly manifested, and used his power to quickly assemble the Sanctuary and the Anchor. With this, he protected the survivors who became his followers, and stabilized the volcano.

The Anchors corrupt those near them indiscriminately, first turning them into shambling, zombie-like entities, then into much more insidious-looking minions, unless they possess arcane protection or are of particular mental fortitude, and serve as Tharsus' Lieutenants. Misguided adventurers seeking to destroy the Anchors are just as vulnerable as passing squirrels or deer that spend too long near the volcano.

Tharsus is essentially invincible as long as at least one of his Anchors remains somewhere on the world, but would be weakened vulnerable to a truly killing blow if it were destroyed. Otherwise, if somehow destroyed, he merely reforms at the nearest Anchor after several days. It was this fact that allowed him to survive the Betrayal and - in an odd display of altruism - buy time for the other gods to escape, then in turn survive when he was the last to depart.

Temperament: As befitting a deity of volcanos, a slow to rouse but terrible temper. Otherwise, he's actually quite calm and not that much of a pain in the ass. Deep down, he cares for his still-living followers despite their sometimes suicidally-inclined worship. But for those who earn his ire, he is a merciless and dangerous foe, especially if he can convince an Earth deity to raise a new volcano in a strategic location. He would be most dangerous in tandem with deities of the Earth and Sky, calling down meteor storms to devastate wide swathes of land.

The greatest sign of his care for the mortals is that he asks for little actual sacrifice in return for his protection and did not attempt to extort them much. He was also known to intentionally create or maintain hot springs and summon occasional ash-clouds to rejuvenate farmlands when offered suitable sacrifices... or just if he felt benevolent.

Ultimately his goals are unknown. In contrast for his care for mortals is that he shows contempt to those who willingly expose themselves to the Anchor's power with no protection, and sympathy to those unfortunate animals that fall victim to it. He cares little for the transitional phases of corruption outside of his Lieutenants.

Clergy: Tharsus has - depending on who you ask - varying numbers in the way of direct followers. Most of those still on the island pray for mercy and safety rather than to support their overlord, and nothing he does can seem to change that. Some seek greater power - some can handle it, some cannot. Those that fail become mindless guardians of the Anchor. Those that succeed become Tharsus' lieutenants, commanding said minions and leading his armies.

Personally he doesn't much favour the mindless worshippers-from-fear - they show no aptitude for lieutenantship, no aspiration to lead - making them of little use to him unless they eventually wind up as a fully-corrupted minion. Aspiration and desire to lead is key to mastering the corruption. Those that show promise may hear whispers on the wind, instructing them of what they must do to earn Tharsus' favour. Those that seek it without the whispers believe that the Anchor is the key... and are subsequently corrupted by it.

Of course, the Anchor is the key, but mere exposure with no protection is the problem. Those that obey the whispers are protected and granted power, though not all can handle it, as mentioned before.

The Corrupted: Mindless guardians of Tharsus' Anchor and Lieutenants, the Corrupted are living beings of any kind, twisted by the raw power emanations of the Anchor. They can be animals or people, either way the result is the same. The Corrupted begin as merely ashen, blackened mirrors of their former selves, but the most ancient and terrible Corrupted are composed of smooth volcanic glass marked with channels that are filled with glowing magma-like energy. Corrupted that are not intelligent, but not yet at the final stage are uncontrollable - they merely wander and guard the caverns. Final stage Corrupted, on the other hand, are barely-intelligent, nigh-indestructible terrors that unflinchingly obey the commands of Tharsus, even if it would mean certain death. These terrors are collectively referred to as "Tharsians".

Corruption will slowly heal, with time, if the process is not completed and no further exposure to the Anchor occurs. This often requires physical restraint, especially if the corruption has progressed beyond it's earliest stages.

The Lieutenants: Channellers of Tharsus' will and power, Lieutenants act as another physical link into reality. They are powerful, cunning and ambitious, but poor at direct combat save for the durability-of-rock their corrupted body brings them. The oldest of these Lieutenants come to look like the most terrible corrupted - likewise sculpted out of glass and marked with the channels. With age and mastery of the corruption grow power, insanity, and eventual loss of free-will, most becoming little more than avatars for Tharsus. The very ground they tread turns to ash and volcanic glass. Only one Lieutenant remains, the leader of the survivors on the island.

Lieutenants near the Anchor or Monoliths may command and channel the power of volcanic fire into fireballs, walls of flame, swirling storms of ash, flensing volleys of obsidian flechettes, and much more. Drawing on this power speeds their corruption and eventual insanity/loss of will, but they are otherwise very dangerous.

Those that lose their free will become Arch-Lieutenants, fully-corrupted entities encased in featureless obsidian armour like their master. Unlike corrupted minions, Arch-Lieutenants are cunning, vicious, and most of all, terrifyingly powerful in battle, with almost limitless command of their elements when in the vicinity of an Anchor or Monoliths. Isolated from these power sources they are relatively weak, but their obsidian staff is topped with a bladed head that allows it to be utilized like a spear or halberd. A powerless Arch-Lieutenant knows when to run, but he also knows when he can win, even without his powers. Some even refused to use their powers until they truly needed them, relying on martial prowess.

But, like the Lieutenants, most of the Arch-Lieutenants were destroyed, sacrificing themselves to ensure Tharsus could not be tracked during his flight to his island stronghold.

Still, one Arch-Lieutenant yet remains, the ancient overseer of the island who oversaw the maintenance of the final Anchor in Tharsus' absence.

Symbols: An erupting volcano! No, really. Also a black-iron gauntlet and/or helmet. Or his sword, the Tharsian Blade.

Backstory: After his Origin, Tharsus managed to spread to the mainland, establishing Monoliths and then Anchors in other unstable volcanos. Otherwise, he kept to himself, turning his time to arcane and martial studies. Yet one eye remained watching his followers and the other gods...

Tharsus was one of the last to be driven away, and inflicted the bloodiest of injuries upon those who supported the King before he was completely removed from the mainland. He unleashed his most powerful minions upon the King's followers, and stood his ground to buy the other surviving deities time to escape, knowing that as long as at least one Anchor remained, even the King could not destroy him entirely.

When none were left to flee, he called the last of his pieces to the field and had them launch one final counter-attack. In the ensuing chaos, Tharsus begrudgingly retreated back to his last remaining Anchor, on a tiny island in a chain of others.

Through his Arch-Lieutenant, his fellow deities, and the rebuilding of a Tharsian Horde, Tharsus intends to exact his revenge. And what a bloody revenge it shall be.

Family Tree: No direct relatives, and no deities would want to be openly connected with Tharsus' unfortunately corruptive powers.

~~

Yes, his name is based off that region on Mars.

Can't promise high levels of activity but we'll see what happens!

Ed: Removed quote tagging, adjusted "Family Tree" wording.

[VAE]

Fire, magma, lava
Sounds like he might be a relative of Horiv ...

[Meany]

Arclane; Accepted.  And holy dayum, a Great Name in my rp?  How...surprisingly successful I'm being.  o.o

Previewer; Accepted.

[techmaster-glitch]

Indeed, great to see you Arcalane, interesting that this is the RP that brought you back after several years. x3

[Kafzeil]

WE ARE NOT WORTHY! WE ARE NOT WORTHY!

Err...good to have you aboard Arcalane.

[Inumo]

Holy crap, so many new people! I'm almost glad I left while I could; gives me time to let things calm down...

[Arcalane]

I wasn't aware I had such a reputation.

My other concept was a wizard who ascended to godhood, but blew up the top of his tower in the process and destroyed the technique in turn, also saturating the island with raw arcane power in the process. Said power seeped into the locals, who used it to speed up crop growth and create golems to do their heavy labour. In the meantime the Wizard puttered back to the mainland with his discoveries and became a patron of arcane universities. Then when the Betrayal happened he stripped all the arcane power from the mainlands and peoples of it as punishment.

Ed: Tharsus' "theme"

Ed2: I feel I should clarify some minor things in my posting;

Italicised speech, "like so", is that of mortals.

Bold speech, "like this", is the commanding, authoritarian tone of the Arch-Lieutenants.

Bold italics, in this manner, are the voice of Tharsus himself - deep and a little menacing. He was originally going to be allcaps, but I decided against that.

[AmberCross]

Well last I checked, there is no system of magic not related to some god or other. Even those that didn't get their magic from their gods at least had their brand of magic defined by said god. So a wizard that is his own self enough to ascend to godhood would be interesting. As for your reputation... I wasn't aware you had one either. ^.^; But then I am relatively new here. On a side note, I like your avatar. Something about a hulking machine looking thing saying stereotypical brittish things makes me giggle inside.

Inumo: I too am glad I pulled myself out of the divine room before having to deal with the sudden new influx. You may even notice that E snuck in before I could actually leave and I declared I left before that anyway XD

[Techcubi]

...Ok, should I edit out the times Kuntorus talked to Kumbha and Gys?

[e_voyager]

i don't expect wining others over to my cause to be easy. also are we confined to the island we adopted or can we branch out to other islands so long as we stay with in our domain?

[techmaster-glitch]

i don't expect wining others over to my cause to be easy. also are we confined to the island we adopted or can we branch out to other islands so long as we stay with in our domain?

As far as I can tell, our mortal followers are all confined to their current followers because no one yet has the capability to build a good enough ship to get out of the crags and trecherous waters around each island. Meany might have something else to say, though.

[Arcalane]

Lava + Water = Rock = Landbridge...

But Tharsus is too weary from battle + losing all but one of his Anchors and all of his Monoliths to try to wrangle the ancient volcano that's been kept dormant for several hundred/thousand/etc. years.

[Tezkat]

Who needs ships? The ancient Polynesians made it halfway across the Pacific in canoes. And this is an archipelago, which by definition means that most of the islands are fairly tightly clustered...

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Who needs ships? The ancient Polynesians made it halfway across the Pacific in canoes. And this is an archipelago, which by definition means that most of the islands are fairly tightly clustered...

One does have to wonder though, how many of those little boats ended up decorating the ocean floor somewhere. A lot of the Polynesian islands lost contact with each other, implying that while they could make trips like that, they couldn't do it reliably. We're pretty short on mortals as it is, might not be such a great idea to take chances.

[Tezkat]

But... they have the gods on their side...

[Arcalane]

Yet the god of the sea seems particularly fickle and capricious. Still, I guess if a few too many boats go missing he might get pulverized for his cheek...

I'll stick with the artificial land bridges for now. And maybe build some airships later.

[e_voyager]

true that could be the deciding factor and air ships are a wonderful ideal.