ImmacuNES III: Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy

[hbar]

Wow, Bard, you're quite the writer.

Sorry I've been absent for a while. Life got ... complicated. I'll try to get diplo to those expecting it later today.

 

[Seon]

Spoiler Diary Entry :

Boredom is poison to us.

So by caprice, we immortals tend to play games.

The scale of the game, of course, differs from an immortal to another immortal. For some, it may just be a game of chess. I, however, play games with people’s lives.

“We’ll send you help,” ah the words sounded so bittersweet in my ears when I told that to the Grand Doge.

Wasn’t it too risky? Of course there was risk, but I threw a dice and rolled a 6. Insanity, perhaps, but it made one afternoon exciting enough.

It was annoying though, when the Scions and the Kharkush started preaching about justice and honor. Ah the fools, the fools. If you turn Barsaive upside down, shook it vigorously to empty all its content inside a bin, you will not find a single ounce of truly deserved justice nor honor. There is no force of “good” in this world, people like them build their ships on top of the deep sea of evil and madness and pretend that there is some sort of underlying principle in this world which they may use to brand people like…the Patrians with evil.

They are right, of course. Telling people that they are not evil is like telling them that they have no soul.

But take a look below the depth that Patria is in inside this ocean of madness and evil and you start finding surprising people like the Throal.

And you will probably find me too.

I wonder what will the rafters on this sea do when they finally figure out the truth. Would they forever cling on to their flimsy ships until it finally breaks apart and drift forever down towards hell, or would they abandon the rafts and embrace the dark sea?

…Savoring this wine alone really is a waste. I wonder when they will finally join me in this dark depth. I guess I will surprise them with a wonderful party once they do.

-Isidor

.

Spoiler Diary Entry 2 :

Boredom is poison to us.

So, by caprice, I played a game with bunch of little mortals.

“What would you wish for,” I asked them. “If you can wish for anything, anything at all?” Aah, the words sound so bittersweet. What kind of wish do the brief mortals have? What desires do they hold? After all, what if being mortal gives you a different viewpoint upon this sickly and disgusting world?

Naturally my expectations are almost always trampled. The world was still as much as I thought it would be.

Kathleen told me that expectations were like tea leaves. Without it, tea’s just hot water. That’s why, in every world, it is necessary to have some expectations, hopes, and dreams. And if there are too much tea leaves, the tea would be just as drinkable as hot water. That’s why I always put the necessary amount of tea leaves…well, perhaps a bit less than that.

I hate bitter tea.

Most annoying of all answer was this: “I would wish to have more wishes.”

They believe that it is creative to increase the finite to infinite. Could it be that the mortals get a sense of superiority and creator-like depth by doing so?

A wish to grant anything, however, is a miracle capable of creating universes.

'A wish to grant anything' doesn't need to be something you can count as 1 or 2.
So, when they count it in numbers, the miracle that human imagines is nothing but something of that scale.
Such worthless humans probably do not deserve my attention to what kind of boring things they will wish with their wishes increased to 100.
This is the same as tea.
If you make 100 cups of tea from the same small teapot, it's obvious it will become more and more diluted and unappetizing.

Next most annoying is “I want a lot of money.”

Is money really that good? It’s just a freedom you get within a narrow range of the currency system. Is a Patrian coin accepted in a Scions street stall? Can a Pilseta coin buy a nutmeg inside Renegade? That narrowness disappoints me.

I want love, I want happiness, somebody asked.

That was one thing that even I could grant. I told the fool, “Don’t worry, you are loved. You are happy,” before sending him off. Love and happiness is like air. It exists everywhere even if you don’t notice it. Therefore, it is the same as if it doesn’t exist.

“I want power to not lose to anyone,” ah the voice of one who embraced the world in its true form.

But so…so…limited…

A wish to grant anything is a power to create an entire universe.

Why do mortals insist on remaining on the level of humans?

Perhaps that is why they are still mortal.

There is one answer that I truly liked, however.

Let me tell you what it was.

“I wish to be a god.”

-Isidor.

 

[Darksaber1]

Testing the limits (of Awesome But Impractical)

Spoiler :

As Mieckre cowered on top of the large cabinet, he flashed a thumbs up Pelza (clinging to the rafters), Bharkel (squeezed behind a cupboard built-onto the counter) and Hlesmla (standing on the middle of a large, sturdy table). He couldn’t see Thecki or Abmvresh, since they for in the cabinet under him; everyone else had fled the room. He had several minutes to wait for it to wear out and stop, so he started to think.

So far, the project was going quite well. The teams had reached their first goal post: getting the automaton to move without direct control. The down side was that the automaton was moving without ANY control: hence, the team trying to avoid the 1.4 m box rolling around the room at high speeds, screeching (the noise was partially from parts wearing, part deliberate. The practice side being it warned people that the automaton was going berserk. On the less practice side, it was really cool.)

The automaton itself was a large box with 6 wheels, propelled by an etheric engine*.The engine worked alright, but used a lot of magic energy, as well as being bulky. The ultimate plan was to replace the engine with an etheric transformer, which converted magic energy into a form that could flow along special ropes, which would have special sections contract when touch by the energy.

As for the intelligence, well, so are they were limited to telling it that when it hit something, it should turn to move in another direction.

Mieckre was snapped out of his thoughts by a sudden lack of noise, and peered over the edge of the cabinet to see that the automaton had finally stopped. He hoped of as the others came from their shelter.

“Hhm, 23 minutes,” said Hlesmla, checking a large clock on the table as she got off it. “Thats a new record!”

“Great!” Pelza said, carefully lowering himself to the floor. “Look, I know that their cool, but let’s remove the spikes, blades and circular saws before we turn it on again. ‘K?”

There was a general agreement from all of them.


*Think “Internal Combustion Engine”, but replace spack plugs with a magic rune, and exploding petrol with magic pulse. The eitheric engine is a fairly new invention already replacing human, water and animal labour for powering pumps, cranks and similar devices.

 

[Immaculate]

chuckle- pretty humerous.



I am going to be away for about a week. I may or may not be away from the internet.

 

[orangelex44]

Wait... what? I thought we had until the 16th, or something. Are you just leaving early, or did I miss something?

 

[Immaculate]

yeah- i want orders in by the time i fly back. I hope to get my e-mail and download the orders in the airport on the way back home. In the air, I will work on the update.

 

[Ekolite]

So are orders still due on the 15th, or are they due in like.. now?

 

[Blackbard]

Enjoy,

Spoiler :

Feylhin, High Priestess and Sister

Feylhin entered the new temple after the ceremony. It was glorious and new and everything had been completed to a wondrous standard. Agares must be pleased by this Temple. The Temple of the Black Tower they were already calling it. That was good. It seemed to fit the building nicely. She glided down the long pillared halls towards the rooms she had but never entered as of yet. She entered the door and stopped. It was difficult not to stare at the entirety of this chamber when one was accustomed too much coarser lodgings from their time in the Kaern. She would learn to “survive” here though and she chuckled. What Gwahyr would think or say when he saw this she could well imagine. He would probably enter, look around with a scowl on his strong features and growl that this much opulence was bad for her humility and her bottom. He would probably chuckle as well and then throw her to the bed.
Lost in this daydream, Feylhin lost several minutes until a younger acolyte arrived and gently knocked at her still open door. She was controlled enough not to start and controlled her voice and body to calmly turn and raise an eyebrow.
The acolyte stammered and then slowed to control his suddenly rapid breathing. “High Priestess, the Priestess Virae is here to see you.”
“I will meet her now” she informed him. Her voice was a low purr, not dissimilar to the purr of her guest’s voice that abruptly arrived. She held out her left hand and Virae bowed over the smooth and yet strong hand, kissing the large onyx ring that dominated the marriage finger. She was married to her God, and as much as she enjoyed Gwahyr and occasionally daydreamed of him, Agares would forever have sway on her soul.
“Daughter, how may I help you on this wonderful day?” she smiled as she said this for in truth they were blood sisters and looked very similar. The same smile grinned back at her as she voiced her pleasure “The Temple ceremony was wonderful! Did you intend for the Tower to blast its arrival to the heavens? I can still hear it ringing in my ears!” The last question was punctuated with Virae’s hand rubbing her ear.
They both laughed, tattoos stretching pleasantly across their similar faces. “In all seriousness though” Virae continued, “the smaller Towers are ready to be transported to all corners of the country. They have been imbued by a remarkable amount of piety and power from today’s ceremony” she shook her head in bewilderment as she said this. It had been unexpected, but most welcome.
Feylhin smiled. It was not Virae’s business on what she prayed to Agares, Sister or not. Her prayers had been granted and the power of Agares would be communicated and extended beyond the city walls all the faster because of this. “Have them delivered immediately. There can be no delay” Her seriousness slew the smile on Virae’s face and she nodded an affirmative. “You are also to leave the city at once and continue spreading the word of Agares in the company of Wandyr throughout the countryside. Be certain that you are seen by the people and travel for speed. I will be sending word to you if you are needed here.” Virae nodded again, knowing her sister and High Priestess was thinking steps ahead and not concentrating on the here and now.
“It shall be done” Virae acknowledged quietly.
This seemed to snap Feylhin out of her contemplative reverie, and she smiled apologetically, pulled Virae into a hug and they parted in good spirits. Virae left and as soon as she had done so, Feylhin could be heard shouting for Acolytes to go running errands and fetching people for meetings. Virae shuddered. She was glad she was not the one that was organizing the Baal’s return into the world. Her sister truly had a remarkable gift.
She left and went in search of Wandyr ready to depart the city.

cheers, Bard

 

[Diamondeye]

The remnants of the clan of tears,
clenching swords and throwing spears,
we march in the shadows,
we march in the shadows.

No reflections in helm or mail,
even the Sun pierces not the veil,
we march in the shadows,
we march in the shadows.

The affliction of Kanna ashens our skin,
the innocent victims of Godly sin,
we march in the shadows,
we march in the shadows.

We carry memories of pain,
of martyrs dead, yet not in vain,
they rest in the shadows,
they rest in the shadows.

We march, we march to war again,
that one day Kanna's elves will reign,
we march in the shadows,
we march in the shadows.

Let boulders roll and arrows fly,
Let all who face our armies die,
we march in the shadows,
we march in the shadows.
The queens of the shadows,
now marching through meadows,
in the night, so dark and fallow,
let those who fall rest in the shadow,
set free from pain by pike or arrow.
We march, the queens of shadow.​

 

[Kyzarc Fotjage]

yay, stories! So many stories!
BB: excellent, keep up the stories. They paint a very clear picture of how your culture works. Good job!
DE: did you write that completely freehand or did you base it on another poem? I like it.
Seon: hehehee, immortals playing games. Have ye read the discworld books with Fate playing against the Lady?
DS: take away the spikes?! Blasphemy!

 

[Seon]

@Kyzar Fotjage: No, I've only read Guards Guards! and Mort.

 

[Diamondeye]

It was written freehand, just a sudden inspiration I had

And the Discworld books are so nice! Too bad I've only read the first five
"Mort" is awesome

 

[Darksaber1]

Orders and Prayers directed to the Holy.

FOR THE EMPEROR!!!!!

 

[Seon]

Spoiler Autumn Festival :

“That’s why, friends, you should….you should….you…” Ignatus suddenly stammered as it passed by the temple. The congregation also, as if under a spell, looked at the object that caught Ignatus’s attention. Ignatus dropped the book he was holding.

At the market, all the merchants suddenly stopped talking as it passed through the market. They all stared wide-eyed at the thing. Windows opened and faces peered out to get a better look at the thing.

It was big. It weighed at least half a ton. The road rumbled as it passed by.
And it was headed straight for the town hall.

By the time it arrived, it attracted a large crowd of onlookers. Clerks and senators stopped their work to look outside the window as it moved through the gate. Isidor opened the window to his office, took one look at the thing, and promptly started bashing his head against a nearest wall.
…………………………………………………………..
“Interesting way to interpret my order for some cheese for the festival,” Isidor said, walking out of the town hall calmly.

The delivery man nodded sagely. “Oh yeah, that’s what I told the cheesemakers too, but would they listen? No, they were like ‘oh I am sure that Mr. Isidor will prefer it this way,’ and ‘But we already made it this way!’ and ‘it would make a better festival attraction!’”

Isidor stared intently at the four feet wide two foot thick monstrosity. “Do people actually like this kind of thing?”

“It’s true you know,” Ignatus rubbed his chin. “People seem pretty curious about this…errr….thing.”

Isidor seemed deep in thought for a moment.

“What’s wrong Issy?” Ignatus asked.

“Nothing,” Isidor snapped. “You seem to know what to do with the cheese. You deal with it.”

Ignatus’s eyes widened. “You mean, you are actually giving me a chance to operate one of the stalls in the festival?” he asked.

“Free,” Isidor hurriedly added. “This cheese is to be given freely.”

Ignatus frowned.

“You shall be paid for operating the stall,” Isidor added just as quickly. Ignatus grinned. “And I will consider that giving this cheese is your repayment to the city for their continued support.”

“Yeah, please consider it that way,” Isidor said.

“Great!” Ignatus said. “Consider it done. As soon as I finish doing the other…”

“You have another attraction you wish to present during the festival?” Isidor raised an eyebrow. “And you did not even tell me?”

“Don’t worry Issy,” Ignatus grinned. “I will use my own property.”

“Ah.”
……………………………………………………
An autumn festival in Palitnate, first one since the days before the Scourge. A wave of giddiness swept over the city. A construction of the carnival was to be completed within the next month, and a festival was to be held in the date of its completion. Everyone was curious about the “Mammoth Cheese” that was delivered to Isidor a few days before. Businessmen were planning their own exhibit in the carnival. Workers were busy constructing various stalls, pitching tents, and drawing fancy signs. Churches were closed.

“You called me to do what?” Katheen cried out.

“Could you go to the top of the temple…” Ignatus replied. “And somehow stick this scarecrow in some place? Oh, and please do loosen some roof tiles on the way up, we want this place to look beaten up.”

“What for?” Katheen demanded. She looked at the scarecrow in Ignatus’s hand. The…the thing looked terrifying.

“For the Haunted House exhibit, of course,” Ignatus replied flatly. “For the festival, you know?”

“You want to use your own GOD’S TEMPLE AS A FESTIVAL ATTRACTION?!” screamed Katheen.

Ignatus shrugged. “Why not? People are going to pay a small fee if they wish to enter this temple and participate in the Haunted Temple tour. I am using the temple to further my own selfish goals. I bet Mammon’d love me for that.”

“That is…” Katheen stammered out. “A rather radical way…to interpret your religion.”

“They call me the ‘fiery one’ for a reason, you know. Always the one to come up with alternative methods and suggestions.”

Katheen sighed. “Alright, alright, where do you want this scarecrow placed at?”

Ignatus beamed. “You are in? Right on!”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
It looked damn terrifying. The formerly white temple building had been completely painted over black, and a single scarecrow wearing a black priestly garb, possessing a head made out of a pumpkin (complete with a top hat), and holding a shriveled head (Katheen did not dare ask where Ignatus acquired the head from). Was placed on top of it.

“Is that…” Katheen asked pointing at the symbol painted on the courtyard of the temple. “One of the seals of the Apocalypse depicted in the Black Book of Ceridwen?”

“What? You like it? I thought drawing that with real blo-“

“Okay, stop,” Katheen held out both of her hands. “I don’t need to know, I don’t want to know, I don’t want to see it, and what the hell am I doing here in the first place?!”

“You volunteered?” Ignatus said helpfully.

“Okay, okay. Don’t call me to hang dead bodies in the ceiling...no I don’t know the best place to find a human skull…”

“Oh no, I already figured that one out. The guar-“

“…I don’t want to know how you got most of the stuff here…. I am going to get the hell out of here now. Bye.”

“What? Without even a tour?”

“WHAT?!” Katheen yelled, terrified.

“Come on now, you helped me a lot with this project. I reward you with a free tour of the Haunted Temple!”

“Can’t you pay me with a bag of tea instead?” Katheen groaned.

“Oh no, I insist,” Ignatus said, staring deeply into Katheen’s terrified eyes. “You must visit the Haunted Temple.”

Katheen groaned.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
The festival day. It seemed that all of Palitnate had come together to celebrate. It was probably not as grand as some of the other festivals already held on the Barsaive continent, but there was plenty of free food to go around. Take for example, the Mammoth Cheese. Nearly everyone wanted a small slice of it, yet the cheese showed no sign of being decreased in size…

Katheen chomped on the piece of a chicken leg. “Katheen!” Siegfried and Vinzenz came running towards her. “Did you check out the Haunted Temple Tour that Ignatus was hosting?”

“We had to pay a few copper coin…” Vinzen said.

“But it was totally worth it!”

“Yeah, especially when blood started dripping from the walls when we went into a room…”

“And when a hanged man’s body suddenly dropped in front of us…”

“And the walls seemed to close in on us to crush us…”

“And when we were being chased by a red mist-like monster…”

“And when I opened a closet and a pile of human skulls just came rushing out…”

“And when that ghostly visage of a girl came out of the oven…”

“And when a hand shot out of a coffin…”

“And when echoes of the damned came from the courtyard…”

“A really, really good attraction in all. Liberal use of Mammon’s illusion curse.”

“Excellent choice don’t you think? So, you been there?” Siegfried asked.

“Yes,” Katheen replied. “Yes, yes I have.”

“It’s a wonder though. Where did he get all those model skeletons and bodies? They were so life like! They smelled a bit too…” Vinzenz said.

“Yes, I wonder where,” Katheen replied.

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh.

“Sounds like a poor soul just wandered into the Temple.” Siegfried muttered.

“He sounds like a real scaredy cat” Vinzenz finished.

‘You are the ones who are insane!’ Katheen shouted inwardly. How did they not realize that the bodies were rea-

“By the way, Isidor’s invited all of us to the riverside party,” Siegfried said. “The rest of the HSC are already there… what are you doing here all by yourself?”

“Just…calming my nerves,” Katheen replied. Isidor was the second person to visit the haunted temple, and he just walked through it without ever showing signs of fear or showing a sign of surprise. When the body dropped from the ceiling, Isidor simply yelled at Ignatus about a stolen body from a coroner…

At this moment, Katheen felt perturbed whenever she heard a name that started with an I.

“I’ll join you people later…”

“Sure,” Siegfried said.

 

[Darksaber1]

Slaves to Inspiration: God of Genius: Chapter II: Golem Fortress: Histories of Brilliance and Madness

Spoiler :

Pelza stood, carefully studying the newest model of automaton. While he had been a away since EAV 1, the team had kept working, and were now up to EAV 4, which, while it had no joinst below the waste, and relied on wheels, was at least humanoid. Well, technically it looked like or dwarf had put on the upper part of a suit of heavy armour, before getting distracted and wandering off to get a drink. While wearing a pig tail long-skirt. The general appearance wasn’t helped by the wool hauberk it was wearing for some reason.

“Why, again, is it wear wool chainmail?” he asked Hlemsla, not expecting a good answer. He wasn’t disappointed.

“W-w-well, Urist seemed cold, so I made him a sweater!! Also, Mieckre wouldn’t let Bharkel put real chainmail on him, so I decided to combine the two!!!” Hlemsla replied, the amount of punctuation growing with each sentence.

“He was cold because he’s made of METAL! Which is COLD! Did you just get me calling it a him?”

“Y-y-y-y-yes. We though he looked like an Urist. Urist McPrototype. The First.”

Pelza stared at the women for several long, uncomfortable (for her) seconds. Then, after about 30 seconds, he spoke.

“What.”

Hlemsla opened her mouth to respond, but Pelza knew before anything was said that he wouldn’t understand, so he turned and left. As he did, he noted that Pelza stood still, evidently trying to explain until he was too far away for her to her to shout. He entered the room were EAV’s 1, 2 and 3 were.

EAV 1 was still being used as the test-bed for the intelligence (large, simple box-body made modifications easy, plus you could fit a lot in it). EAV’s 1 and 2 were also used, but a lot less. He also noticed that they has signs on them. EAV 2 was a squatter box then EAV 1, with arms, while EAV 3 was a squat box on two long, thinish legs. For some reason, the sign on EAV 2 said “Boxbot”, while EAV 3 said “RoxBot”.

Seeing Abmvresh enter the room, he decided to risk sanity by asking about the signs.

“Abmvresh, why does the sign on EAV2 say “Boxbot” (at that Abmvresh sneered) and EAV 3 say “Roxbot” (Abmvresh grinned)?”

“Well, because *Boxbot* (he nearly spat the word) is terrible, and Roxbot is awesome!!!”

Pelza took a moment to guaranty that nothing more was being said (and counting the exclamation marks), then turned and walked into the hall.

“MIECKRE!!” he shouted “WHAT THE HEVKIESH IS GOING ON????”

By the way, Hevhiesh is a regional term for an...unpleaseant afterlife, ussually involving demons with sharp things.

 

[Darksaber1]

In conclusion:

Urist McPelza Cancels Work: Tantrumting

Urist McPelza is Tantruming!

Hlemsla Cancels Explain to Urist McPelza why Urist McPrototype needed Chainmail: Job item misplaced

!!Urist McAbmvresh!! cancels Light !!Candel!!: Scared by {(XBoxbotX)}

Urist McMieckre cancles eat: Scared by Urist McPelza





Urist McCheesemaker cancels make Giant Cheese: Job item misplaced

(☼Urist McGiantPuringMaggotCheese&#9788 cancels clean self: Scared by Pilsetians

(☼Urist McGiantPuringMaggotCheese&#9788 has bled to death

 

[Diamondeye]

Dwarf Fortress References! Epic!

 

[Ekolite]

Orders will be in later today.

 

[Immaculate]

i think i need orders for merciary and orange too. so except for you three, i got all orders in.

remember today is the last day (though realistically i can get orders tomorrow its just not easy for me).

 

[Darksaber1]

Dwarf Fortress References! Epic!

Not just Dorf Fortress. There's a reason {(XBoxbotX)} has the Import Bracets (). Besides being Terrible.