Vanbers
Well worn.
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- Apr 3, 2016
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Unless Teekle is to the Cat City what Grodd is to Gorilla City.
"Oh yeah, that guy? Total asshole."
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Interesting. I suppose this means that a whole bunch of archaic deities are dead or at loose ends. I wonder if some afterlives have a whole bunch of old refugee deities in them, or if those deities generally prefer to just stick around in their decaying homes until they collapse (if they do collapse)."Our spheres decay without something to bind us to the material world. Or if we can use titanic levels of power to sustain them. I don't have that power, and neither do they.
Interesting. I suppose this means that a whole bunch of archaic deities are dead or at loose ends. I wonder if some afterlives have a whole bunch of old refugee deities in them, or if those deities generally prefer to just stick around in their decaying homes until they collapse (if they do collapse).
The way questions were being asked in this one made me feel like Cernunnos is an NPC in an RPG whose dialogue tree is being explored. Still enjoyed the exposition, though.
"Humans with animal features." He grins. "That will never catch on."
I'm not sure what the correct word should be. Maybe 'see' or 'use'?
Thank you, corrected.
They don't want to undergo the process until it's perfected. And doesn't involve him at a vital stage. Khalida is an early adopter and at some point the flesh she's wearing will start looking dead again.Ah yes, Queen Khalida. I'm surprised one of the newly re-fleshed Liche Priests hasn't been assigned to Paul as his tutor/"nanny" to keep an eye on him and ensure the Queen's future consort understands the particulars of Nehekharan Law, etiquette and ceremony.
Well...Wait, is Cernunnos saying that a henge network suppresses violent geological activity(earthquaks and volcanoes)?! I mean, I was all for developing a new leyline network, since to me concentrating and directing ambient magic to any location people could want sounds like a useful piece of infrastructure in a time where magic is becoming more mainstream and yet not everyone can become an archwizard with oodles of power at their own command no matter where they are.
But if they also make geologically unstable areas less active... well the current Anti-Life apocalypse takes priority but afterwards that will be a very useful thing to know for pretty much anyone living on a fault line. Indonesia, Chile, Japan, California, Ethiopia, several nations located on the Mediterranean, lots of places would be very interested in making their own henge networks.
Also proves Mercury wrong yet again which is always a plus.
He's joking. He has cloven legs and antlers.We have had like a whole generation of people doing artwork of this stuff. Second Life itself would make more than a few gods blush. This quote tickles me like a feather.
Well...
People don't like it when their homes get flooded. The usual response is 'build more flood defences'. A better response is 'don't build your houses on flood plains, because they flood'.
Did they live in those places before they became flood plains?People already live in all those places though. And forcibly evacuating everyone forever is rarely the correct response.
They would defy the will of Queen Khalida and deny themselves the chance to be recorded in history as mentor to the savior of Nehekhara?
But he's a heathen. I mean, if the Queen wants to bed a heathan that's her lookout, but actually respecting him?They would defy the will of Queen Khalida and deny themselves the chance to be recorded in history as mentor to the savior of Nehekhara?
Being dead for hundreds of years using incomplete rituals.
Fair enough. Once they improve upon Paol's work, (possivly by balancing out/connecting the Akhu, the whole Soul in Nehekharan Lore, with the flesh he provides), restoring themselves to life, they're going to feel a little awkward once they've regained the ability to properly THINK.But he's a heathen. I mean, if the Queen wants to bed a heathan that's her lookout, but actually respecting him?
Being dead for hundreds of years using incomplete rituals.
Pretty much. People will live anywhere they can and want to, no matter if it's a good idea or not. There are people living on islands off the coast of Florida, that are only a foot or so above sea level. They can't even get insurance because no insurance agency is dumb enough to take them, yet there are still people building several thousand-dollar homes there, and not even on stilts at that but right on ground level on the coast.Did they live in those places before they became flood plains?
People don't like it when their homes get flooded. The usual response is 'build more flood defences'. A better response is 'don't build your houses on flood plains, because they flood'.
I was rereading and found that this link goes to the thread page before the one that has the story part.
'other end'?And exposure to the primal world on the other might not be safe if you cannot manage this simple feat of arcane control."
'Kahndaqi'?I look away and there are statues, Egyptian statues-. Khandaqi statues.
It would be interesting to see Kon get a level-up out of this. A new aspect that he needs to learn to use well.Then the sun comes through the gateway, and I can't see anything else.
Yes, that might be a rather important question to have answered. Especially if you're in OL's arcane-dysfunctional soles.And doubly so if you want to be able to leave on your own, since Cernunnos might be a little too mercurial to trust with that.17th February 2013
14:24 GMT
Cernunnos stands in front of the statue, me on his left and Kon on his right.
"So how does it work?"
Or at least have it made visible to the less mystically inclined."You step into the portal that is a part of the statue." Cernunnos smirks at him. "Can't you see it?"
"Do we need to see it?"
Ah, this is always fun, when he turns into a psuedo-construct. ...Almost like the process of becoming a Construct Lantern proper, but he isn't bound to that state."I can take you through without you doing so, but then you wouldn't know how to leave without me. And exposure to the primal world on the other might not be safe if you cannot manage this simple feat of arcane control."
I narrow my eyes slightly as I unfocus on my meat-body and allow it to fade into the background a little. Like this I can see it plainly: the hole in the statue translating one state to another. At the far end will be a marker representing this side, the two twisting things around to make themselves into a bridge.
I don't know, some places would worship things like the Embodiments as primal deities. And may well do even now."Oh? A demi-god, are you?"
"Demi-embodiment would be more accurate. Do I just..? Shift through it?"
Ah, right. It might be a little trickier for him. OL could tether and tow him, but..."We almost certainly perceive it differently. Do whatever makes sense to you."
"Ah..?" Kon's kneeling down to get a closer look at the statue. "Little help?"
...Learning to manage it himself might be a good idea."Kon, you've used Helios's power before."
"I glow. And that's something he does. I don't need to understand anything to do it."
Don't think, feel. They're not called mystical arts for no reason."But you feel something when you pray and the power activates, right?"
"Ah… I think so?"
Impressive that the blessing works, regardless of the metaphorical trace-route it must be following from Olympus to here."Okay. Close your eyes and… Try and feel that feeling right now. Feel the power Helios gave you inside you, feel how it's connected to you."
He glances at me uncertainly, but closes his eyes and concentrates anyway. The faint corona of sunlight radiating from his body intensifies slightly.
...I don't think a solar plasma eye-beam torrent is quite what's needed here."I dunno."
"Alright. How about when we went to the sun to ask him for a favour?"
Okay, see, that's a better tack to take. Torquasm-related stuff is pretty much mystical cheat codes for Kryptonians."I wasn't really focusing on what if felt like. I was just hoping it wasn't going to feel like being on fire."
"Okay, well, just try feeling the light around you. Did Angelika cover that when we was teaching you kryptonian martial arts?"
Yeah, I'd say he does."Yeah, I just hadn't applied it to…" He breathes in slowly, eyes closed. Then something… Shifts in the air around him, the air glowing brighter as he opens his white-glowing eyes. "I think I got it."
The interior of his mouth glows white as he says it.
Just be careful when you step through that you don't get twisted about."Okay, now how about the statue? Can you-?"
"Huh. It's like a… Three D funhouse mirror. The lights getting reflected and.. kinda… Twisted around."
Not the best answer, but they don't really have the time to waste turning that into 'pretty sure'.
In other words, who gets to catch the rookies as they leap through?"Are you both ready?"
I raise my eyebrows at Kon, who nods. I nod in reply. "Yep. Who wants to go first?"
And he does have more experience, so it's less likely he'll have difficulty with it."It should be me. You may need a steadying hand when you reach the Bast's city."
I hold out my right hand to the statue, and he-.
Not quite throwing a post and then leaping onto it, but...He strides forward without.. going anywhere. It's a little like he's running into a gale force wind, but he's getting smaller and… Not? Space isn't bending around him but that's the best comparison I can think of. Then he throws.. a spear at the statue, but he flies with it into the portal.
Kon and I stare at the statue for a moment. Then he raises his right fist and wiggles it up and down once, twice, and-.
Ah, the old ways of deciding marching order.My paper covers his rock.
"So does that mean I get to pick..?"
And Kon suddenly feels a little embarrassed without knowing why."You can go first. I.. might need a while."
I push further into the incorporeal, body vanishing as I become a snake of orange light. Light vanishes from my perception and is replaced by layers of drives and impulses based around the objects which I perceive in relief. But not the statue, that's it's own thing and… Not? Regardless, my own desire squirms me forward and through and…
I wonder how many of those desires have a distinctly feline shape?And I'm buoyed along by my own desire following the trail of the elves desires and the desires of the many many people who have travelled this route before. A little surprising how many people have used it before.
And then I'm through, and…
Not entirely unreasonable. In ancient Egyptian mythology, the night sky is the body of Nut, And it's not unreasonable that some other deities would be lurking about up there.Oh my.
Okay, so there's a night sky. It's a little short on stars and I think there are people up there, or impressions of people of something. I can see tiny whiffs of orange but that doesn't appear to… It's only a tight network crowding everything out immediately around me. Like I define that space, but for everything further away that's just one part of what it is. Like I can't define other people's thing but my thing defines my local area.
So that would be Cernunnos' 'thing' in this realm: A Wild Hunt on the ride."What do you think, Lantern?"
There's a circle of wolves and deer running around a forest and horns and hunting…
I'm betting that's symbolic of their perception by modern Kahndaqis. Some old gods would seem more relevant than others. War, money, safety...I… I don't think I was ready for this.
I look away and there are statues, Egyptian statues-. Khandaqi statues. Most of them are weathered and damaged, but… In a few places it's like an ultra-modern veneer in metal or terracotta has been added over the top. I can't see anyone-. Or anything that could be a person other than Cernunnos. And I'm very glad for that.
And I suspect it would do that job admirably for most people..."I prefer the material plane."
"There are parts that are a little less raw. This is supposed to turn aside those who don't belong."
Impressive ability to cat illusions over themselves, in other words. I suppose Glamour cuts both ways."Elves can cope with this?"
"They can pretend really hard. They didn't see what you're seeing."
Well, OL doesn't know the scents, for one things.
I expect their arrival hasn't gone unnoticed. Just a matter of whether anyone would care.I look, and in my immediate vicinity I can see the material desires that belonged to them leaving a trail across the still sand. No wind here, I notice. The trail ends when it gets too far away from me, so I'm going to have to follow every step.
"Yes. Should we expect company?"
...Yeah, I think Kon might be popular with the cats."Your friend should be through in a moment. Bast herself will not come to see us, not in her domain. One of the few-."
Then the sun comes through the gateway, and I can't see anything else.
We've established before that when people borrow powers (e.g. Hercules, Zeus), those are not available to the supplier.
Either 'she was' or 'we were', more likely the former I think.Did Angelika cover that when we was teaching you kryptonian martial arts?"
Extraneous 'the', or perhaps 'the city of Bast'.
Thank you, corrected.
Then the sun comes through the gateway, and I can't see anything else.
ESCANOR, The Lion Sin of PRIDE, the one who stands at the pinnacle of all races.I've played around with the idea of a isekai summoning fic where the MC gets the "disappointing" ability of daylight.... but they're