Entity's Long Way Home (CYOA Civilization)

6, FIRE ETERNAL AND EPHEMERAL! We shall have the simians build a huge caldera with which we can burn the largest swans of this island with space to spare!
 
Option 6 wins.

Episode 7.Legacy of Coruncanu.


A pragmatist it was, Entity had spent too many aeons in isolation and exile, so it couldn't resist the symbolic act of capturing its feeling of cosmic estrangement in a little piece of art. Little by the galactic standards, of course.

Possessed by Entity's echoes, Coruncanu directed her ex-clansmen and now slaves to construct a megalithic temple. Overseen by her apprentices, they assembled giant, masoned rocks into a colossal structure that functioned both as a sacrificial space and a star map, providing hints as to where Entity had originally arrived. Of course, all of these details were lost on the humans that worked on the temple, and even Coruncanu, as sharp as she was by the human standards, had only a vague idea what her star map and calendar really meant.

The construction of the Start Temple of Coruncanuma took many years and consumed many lives, exhausting the town's once-thriving cattle-herding industry in the process. The forest covering the southern side of the hills was cut down almost entirely as well, its timber used for rolling the megalithic blocks. The years took a toll on Coruncanu, and at some point Entity realized just how frail its vessel had become. Yet, the Medicine Woman of the Hills now possessed unspoken authority across the island, lauded as the Witch of the Star Fire, the eternal spirit of the Black Firmament. Entity did like the sound of it.

Short as it was, Coruncanu's lifespan was nearing its terminal end. Having lived far into her sixties, Entity's first vessel had already outlived every primitive human that ever lived on the Two Islands. Her legacy, however, was unsure: ascetic and frigid, she had left no biological heirs, and her healer apprentices were only shadows of her formidable persona. In all likelihood, it could take centuries before somebody worthy of Entity's power would hear its calling. Before Coruncanu's body expired, Entity needed to decide how it planned to be passed to its next vessel, possibly generations from then.

What should be Coruncanu's final act?
1. Share the knowledge of medicinal herbs with the clans of the two islands. Coruncanu enters folklore as the Lavender Grandmother, the Goddess of Healing and Nature. (Challenge: low (Charisma/Spirituality); Effort: low; Risk: low; Reward: low (Generations from now, the island's population will be more culturally coherent.))
2. Invite the Giant and Millet clan elders to a feast, poison them with her herbal potions, and take over their clans. Coruncanu enters folklore as the Venom Sorceress, the Goddess of Power and Intrigue.(Challenge: low (Vitality/Cunning); Effort: low; Risk: high; Reward: medium (Generations from now, the island will be united under a single ruler.))
3. Use the surplus of material wealth to hire craftsmen from the Mullet clan to teach the Swan captives the basics of woodcraft and pottery, turning them into indentured craftsmen. Coruncanu enters folklore as the Old Woman of the Palace, the Goddess of Craft and Architecture. (Challenge: low (Intelligence/Craft); Effort: high; Risk: low; Reward: high (Generations from now, Coruncanuma will be the city-hegemon of the island.))
4. Learn to cultivate wild barley, millet, and oat, and make the captives work on the land. Coruncanu enters folklore as the Mother of Seeds, the Goddess of Plenty and Prosperity. (Challenge: low (Intelligence/Learning); Effort: high; Risk: low ; Reward: high (Generations from now, the island's population will be much bigger.))
5. Perform a massive sacrifice to the spirits and proclaim a dark, haunting prophesy. Coruncanu enters folklore as the Witch of Dark Moon, the Goddess of Doom and Night Sky. (Challenge: low (Charisma/Performance); Effort: high; Risk: high; Reward: high(Generations from now, the island temple's reputation will spread far beyond its shores.))
6. Pass Entity chamber to an apprentice from Millet clan and tell her to take away the cursed thing to the far away land. Coruncanu enters folklore as the One That Hears, the Goddess of Possession and Ill Spirits. (Challenge: low (Charisma/Spirituality); Effort: high; Risk: high; Reward: medium (Entity finds its way to another corner of this planet [choose direction: S, SW, SE, E, W, N, NE, or NW]))
7. Choose your own.

Entity
Attributes
Vitality 1 | Charisma 1 | Intelligence 1

Abilities
Melee 1 | Spirituality 1 | Learning 1
Cunning 1 | Politics 1 | Commerce 1
Command 1 | Performance 1 | Craft 1

Reveries
Entity the Cruel Reroll Vitality rolls once per Vessel's lifetime.

Coruncanu
Attributes
Vitality 1 | Charisma 2 | Intelligence 3

Abilities
Melee 1 | Spirituality 3 | Learning 4
Cunning 3 | Politics 2 | Commerce 1
Command 1 | Performance 3 | Craft 2

Health 2
Sanity 5

Assets & Backgrounds
Medicine Woman of the Hills (B) 1
Megalith of Coruncanuma (B) 1
Wealth (A) 3
Poisons and Potions (A) 1
Cattle (A) 1
Slaves (A) 1
Sacrificial gifts (A) 1
Hill Guardians (A) 1
 
5-3-2: The Entity isn't entirely sure why the ape starting recounting stories of Entity's various conquests, all entirely true and no exaggeration. Why would Entity need to exaggerate their obviously incredible accomplishments to a puny ape? They wouldn't, so Entity didn't. Much. Anyways, the other apes seemed to find the stories bizarre and frightening and, wait, did the monkey just say Entity was going to eat the souls of babies? Well, Entity did tell it that uncounted generations of their descendants were going to be fed into the Entity's growing war machine, but Entity was being metaphorical darnit! Using biomass as fuel was highly inefficient, diamond moons excepted.
 
4. Grain means alcohol.
 
5, echoing Kyzarc's sentiments.
 
5) The entity ponders and determines the best course. These primitives shall worship us, the Shepherd of the Stars, the Supreme One, through our prophet and vessel, and the method of their worship shall be human sacrifice with our own prison-shell as the instrument, to cull the herd and keep the population in check lest it overburden the islands finite resources. Better yet fear shall serve to ensure the peoples submission to our future designs even as malcontents can be disposed of through the sacrificial rites of our votaries.
 
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5) these islands are going to starve anyway, just a matter of time. Better to establish ourselves as the true ruler of the world.
 
Option 5 wins.

Episode 8. The Temple of Doom


With Coruncanu's mind still somewhat sharp, but her body quickly growing weary, Entity knew it needed to attract more worthy potential vessels to the island, or else it risked getting stuck with the tiny pool of puny islanders as the carriers of its power.

So, the plan was devised, and the eerie messages started to echo in Coruncanu's head. It took her years to develop the blind devotion needed for the ritual among her apprentices and Hill Guards, but eventually her control over the sect of Doom and Night Sky was complete. Still, even then many of her followers refused to go ahead with it when Coruncanu revealed to them she planned a mass sacrifice of her past clanmates to the Entity of the Black Fire. Yet, despite a number of apostates, the sect's core remained loyal to the Witch of the Dark Moon, as Coruncanu became known.

The ritual was long and bloody, often interrupted by the victims' breakout attempts, and the apprentices' hesitancy. Yet, eventually the hallucinogenic herbal smoke did bring enough obedience to the sacrificial chambers, and eventually the Monolith of Coruncanuma was properly decorated in the blood of slaves and gory feathers of the specially bred black swans.

Entity was proud of its little art project, the most fun it had since its galactic childhood.

Needless to say, Coruncanu was exhausted by the week-old ritual, and soon her body succumbed to age. The cult of Witch of Dark Moon persisted, however, with the role of the high priestess, the Doom Sayer, being occupied by the most capable female herbalist of the island. The surviving Giant and Millet clans remained locked out of the big island's central highlands, mostly horrified of the Monolith's dark reputation and eager to pay the temple town of Coruncanuma regular tribute of fish, cattle, and game. With no significant craftsmanship to speak of and practically non-existent agriculture, the Coruncant islands, as they became known, remained rather loosely populated by herders and hunters-gatherers, with only the Millet clansmen expanding the islanders' horizons by becoming more and more adapt at boat-making and seafaring. With time, these were the Millet boatmen that spread the legend of the Witch of Dark Moon to the nearby islands and the lush continent farther south.

Centuries passed, with Entity still locked in a chamber inside the Monolith of Coruncanuma, observing petty Doom Sayers, mere shadows of Coruncanu's personality, tending to its art project. Entity sensed that far outside of its little islands the humans moved on, with some rare societies even achieving advancements in fields that Entity's previous vessel failed to properly advance. Finally, over a millennium later, somebody worthy of Entity's power stepped a foot inside the Monolith temple, seeking to rid themselves of their perceived doom.

Who discovers Entity?
1. Aspiring priestess of Coruncanu, hoping to unseat the current Doom Sayer and transform her stagnant cult.
2. Entrepreneurial chief of the Millet clan, wishing to form a trade colony away from the two island's overpopulated shores.
3. Ambitious warlord of the Giant clan, wooing the Hill Guards to join him on a sea raid of conquest.
4. King of the cattle-herding tribe from the continental steppes [Po river valley], seeking to find a new homeland for his displaced people.
5. High priest of Mother Goddess from a nearby bigger island [Sardinia], ruling over a plague-hit tribe of fishes and shell-jewelers.
6. Wiseman of the wondering antelope and ostrich hunters from the southern continental savanna [Tunis], wishing to save his people from the spreading desert.
7. Leader of a clan of sedentary hunters and wild cereal gatherers from the distant east [Levant], exiled from their townlet into the southern savanna after a local war.
8. Passionate artificer from the faraway western peninsula [Iberia], seeking to gain power in the local cave-town.
9. Choose your own.
 
3. Let the world know fear.
 
1) More evil magic
 
3) Like calls to like, and once upon a time, entity itself was a galactic warlord on a massive campaign of conquest, leaving behind a trail of devastation so complete, even today it is spoken of in hushed tones in all corners of the universe. So, they feel a bit charitably to this warlord's presumptions, and deigns to take him as a Vessel
 
3- Well, its been a boring century. Why is everyone so pathetic? Really regretting not trying a little harder to keep that ape a-WOULD YOU STOP MAKING SO MUCH NOISE ITS VERY RU-oh. Oh my. That's, uh, that's a lot of muscles. LIke, I mean, a lot of muscles. I uh, hey, you should, uh, pick me up Mr Muscle Ape. I wasn't... wow. I wasn't expecting such a... wow. And you want to go conquer some faraway lands? Awesome, that's just awesome. Hey, I think some of the priestesses have some oil. You know, just a thought. Anointing yourself with it will probably help uh, get my blessing. Yeah, just rub it into all those huge, huge muscles. Mmmm
 
Option 3 wins.

Episode 9. Nuragho the Black Dwarf.


The Doom Sayer's visitor was one Nuragho, an aspiring strongman from the Giant clan, uncharacteristically stocky for his people, but nonetheless known for his strength and vicious cunning. Having served for years among the Hill Guards, he had perfected the art of war, chasing intruders away from Coruncanuma's sacred hill meadows and protecting the monolith temple from occasional looters. However, with time he grew bored of the simplicity of his tasks, seeking life that would see him grow to his full potential. In a way, this dirty bully reminded Entity of itself.

Before the prophesizing ritual, the man had announced to the acting Doom Sayer that had already gathered quite a reputation among the islanders - not necessarily a good reputation. With the "prophesy woman's" help, he said, he could sway one part of the island's community with him on his raid and conquest - isn't it a great bargain? His only request was to grant him the dark relic stored at the heart of the megalith, which he believed would grant him good luck, guidance and protection. The time had come for the Doom Sayer to speak whatever Entity whispered into her mind.

What would be the prophesy?
1. "Earn your right to take the relic and build your own legacy." Nuragho tries to steal Entity and has to fight his way out against the fellow Hill Guards. (Challenge: low (Vitality/Melee); Effort: low; Risk: high; Reward: low (Asset: Entity mace.))
2. "Take the giants to the giants' land." Take leadership of the Giant clan and ferry them to a large northern island [Sicily] in search of a new realm. (Challenge: low (Vitality/Cunning); Effort: high; Risk: medium; Reward: medium (Asset: Entity mace; Asset: Giants clan +1))
3. "Let the millet find its bay." Volunteer to lead the colonists of the Millet clan and find a good harbor in the lush southern land [Tunis]. (Challenge: low (Vitality/Cunning); Effort: medium; Risk: medium; Reward: medium (Asset: Entity mace; Asset: Millet clan +1))
4. "Bring more riches to the Temple of Dark Moon." Take best boats of the Millet clann and lead the select Hill Guards on a raid against the rich cave towns of the far western shore [Iberia]. (Challenge: low (Vitality/Command); Effort: high; Risk: high; Reward: high (Asset: Entity mace; Asset: Hill Guards +1))
5. Choose your own.

Entity:
Attributes
Vitality 1 | Charisma 1 | Intelligence 1

Abilities
Melee 1 | Spirituality 2 | Learning 1
Cunning 1 | Politics 1 | Commerce 1
Command 1 | Performance 1 | Craft 1

Reveries
Entity the Cruel Reroll Vitality rolls once per Vessel's lifetime.
Coruncanu the Witch of Dark Moon Double Spirituality score once per Vessel's lifetime

Nuragho
Attributes
Vitality 3 | Charisma 2 | Intelligence 1

Abilities
Melee 4 | Spirituality 1 | Learning 1
Cunning 3 | Politics 2 | Commerce 1
Command 4 | Performance 2 | Craft 2

Health 10
Sanity 8

Assets & Backgrounds
Aspiring Strongman (B) 1
 
4-2-1 Mmm yeah keep rubbing that oil on. Go on a raid? Yeah sure whatever. We should see if you can pick up some nice jewelry while we're out there, I bet you'd look stunning in gold. Maybe a tooth necklace, an open leather vest to frame those abs, some scars in interesting places.
 
Bring more souls! Bring more riches! This island is not enough, the world must fear us! To Iberia.

4.
 
4) Time to acquire more wealth and more glory for my temple! The denizens of this Tunis place shall learn to fear Me and My chosen champion and his glistening, oiled abs. [sigh]. This brings me back to the many pleasant evenings spent among my Imperial Guards. Perhaps I shall reassemble them, with Nuragho at the lead of course.
 
Hey everyone. My wife had a pretty scary heart issue this Labor day (she's relatively okay, no worries), and I technically don't mind playing this game moving forward, but right now I'm still not quite in the mental place to concentrate on it. Hope everyone understands.

Let's take a brake and contemplate mortality of our beloved ones.
 
Hey everyone. My wife had a pretty scary heart issue this Labor day (she's relatively okay, no worries), and I technically don't mind playing this game moving forward, but right now I'm still not quite in the mental place to concentrate on it. Hope everyone understands.

Let's take a brake and contemplate mortality of our beloved ones.
It's been three months; do you think you're able to continue now, or would you rather wait a bit longer? No judgement either way.
 
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