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Theantero
Nov 6, 2011

...We danced the Mamushka while Nero fiddled, we danced the Mamushka at Waterloo. We danced the Mamushka for Jack the Ripper, and now, Fester Addams, this Mamushka is for you....

VOTH


In an instant, VOTH took upon an imposing visage, seemingly becoming far too giant, far too towering to be confined within the bounds of the Orrery, yet he was still contained within. He extended an arm towards the Trespasser, with his palm open, as if to bar its way. Armed with scorn and a glowering glare he spoke, his voice a booming thing.

"HALT!"

"Your INSOLENCE is unappreciated, interloper", even through his helm, his gaze could be felt scanning the alien divinity, "I KNOW you not. CREATION KNOWS you not. Yet you still DARE walk in here like you are a KNOWN thing, like your PRESENCE is a given. Like an INQUISITOR you act, but a mere TRESPASSER is what you are!"

"Do you take me for a FOOL, alien THING?"

"Do you THINK that VOTH is one to fall for a bluff as blaze as this?"

VOTH crossed his arms.

"Let it be known. HE IS NOT."

"He is no such fool as to ALLOW unrestricted entry to the core PILLARS OF CREATIONS to an unknown THING of unknown MOTIVES."

A moment passed. Words echoed.

"Yet neither is he UNREASONABLE."

"If there is an ounce of TRUTH to your blithe claims of a common good, if your attempts to INVADE my sister's WORK are truly done with good intentions, then you must PROMISE it so. You must PROMISE it so, and wear your WORDS on your alien HIDE!"

"You must PROMISE as THUS:"

"You are ONLY to LOOK within the ORRERY to find information for the time being."

"You are not to LIE or DECEIVE about any findings within the ORRERY you might make, not by claiming falsehood, by withholding relevant truth or by any OTHER means."

"You are not to make ANY changes upon the STRUCTURE, FUNCTION or any other relevant part of the ORRERY without my EXPLICIT permission."

"You are not to arrange for an ACCOMPLICE or any other entity to break any of the three other PROMISES for you."

"These PROMISES four you must ABIDE by."

"Now. SWEAR!"



OOC: No action yet, but the Trespasser is given the choice to accept bounds to their operations relating to them mucking with the Orrery. Otherwise there will be conflict.

Theantero fucked around with this message at 19:00 on Jul 2, 2018

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Theantero
Nov 6, 2011

...We danced the Mamushka while Nero fiddled, we danced the Mamushka at Waterloo. We danced the Mamushka for Jack the Ripper, and now, Fester Addams, this Mamushka is for you....

VOTH


quote:

The bird elicited what can be best construed as a mirthless chuckle.

"Despite the sorry circumstances of our meeting, I must confess it is readily apparent why your late sister admired your diligence so much. I am honored to have such an ally," Tresspasser said with a slight bow.

"I have no reason to refuse your most vigilant request. I hope it will ease your mind to notice there is nary a single working lever one could control the machinery with - and should we find one, I am willing to let you personally ensure it shares the fate of its peers. Besides, while I - regrettably - lack time to fully explain the predicament we're facing, you know fully well this is no mere differential machine but a complex weave of entropy and causality. Have you ever seen a stray visitor glean any understanding of its work?"

Yet, the second before Voth would gain his satisfaction, they added: "there is one thing I must point out, however. These matrices hold all that should be and all that should have been. Every stray possibility yearning to rejoin the stream. And it was that way long before the very laws of this reality collapsed unto themselves. I cannot promise you that just because something is true it had ever happened. Nor that something is truth just because they exist before your very eyes".

Did he-?


VOTH met the Trespasser with an annoyed, unimpressed gaze.

"LET IT BE KNOWN. My SISTER was also FOND of IDLE ENIGMATICS", his tone was more even now, "But a mere FONDNESS it was. For she KNEW they're no sign of WISDOM, nor KNOWLEDGE."

"LET IT BE KNOWN."

"It matters not what WORDS your BEAK weaves."

"It matters not what RATIONALIZATIONS your MIND comes up with."

VOTH pointed an imperious finger right at the chest of the birdlike divinity.

"For my OATHS are etched directly on your HEART, and the HEART knows betrayal."


"Mere fondness? Dear Voth, isn't it you, who is trying to deceive yourself right now? For understand, you are but a being of pure order and law and her stream flows far beyond the reach of laws. Even those of logic itself. But then again, if you could understand, she'd told you about myself long ago."

"Ah, but I digress. Nevermind the ramblings of this old bird. Understand the realm I shall gaze into doesn't follow the laws you - or even I - truly comprehend. Hence, accept these oaths as the most one could honestly believe is possible to uphold."

"I here solemnly swear on all that binds that which is,
that before I leave this dying house,
I shall not willingly change the course its ticking heart is set,
nor shall I set another to do it instead
and of the mysteries that lie inside
no words shall I speak and no silence shall I shout with your harm in my heart
and until I step to see the sun again
so all that ties shall bind me."

"So, can get to work of setting the creation back on track?"

A moment, yet of such intense contempt that it seemed to stretch to eternity.

"PROCEED", VOTH finally stated, "And perform ILL DEEDS not, or my WRATH shall be a BURDEN upon you FOREVERMORE."

Such an irksome creature. And it wasn't just them, for their entire makeshift Pantheon seemed to be largely comprised of entities holding marginal import in past Creation. Not that VOTH was one to ride on status, but he was not entirely comfortable carrying the weight of prudence on top of ORDER all by himself in this gallery of malcontents. The wisdom of the Elder Pantheons would've been appreciated at a time like this, that is to say. At least Siderous the Star-Heart seemed trustworthy enough. A small mercy. But VOTH took it.

Done with the Tresspasser for now, VOTH turned towards Siderous and his starkinconsort. Already they were showing great diligence, great sacrifice in performing their tasks. These were qualities VOTH admired.

"SIDEROUS", VOTH boomed, "KNOW that your great EFFORTS on behalf of your dying KIN have not gone unnoticed", he extended his arm and opened his hand. A warm sort of glow, far too bright to look directly at emanated from it, "And as such I wish to ASSURE you: What remains of the LIGHT of THE THREE PILLARS shall be given to breathe life into the dying EMBERS of the last STARS. I would do more, if I still COULD. ALAS."

His gifts given, VOTH turned once again to his late Sister. He gazed, but all he felt was a great annoyance, for he was still no closer to an answer. But still, there had to be some unifying element between all the clues. The destroyed reflections, the horrified visages, the stolen colors, the corrupted messages on the dials. There had to be something there, some conclusion to be drawn. A strand of ORDER among the Chaos, singular though it may be. And VOTH was determined to find it.


OOC:
Action 1: VOTH will be using Light +2 to assist Starkin by breathing some artificial divine light on the stars to give them some godly CPR for the time being.
Action 2: Using ORDER +2 to properly analyze all the disparate hints scattered around the crime scene to get some clue as to what is going

Theantero fucked around with this message at 16:55 on Jul 4, 2018

Theantero
Nov 6, 2011

...We danced the Mamushka while Nero fiddled, we danced the Mamushka at Waterloo. We danced the Mamushka for Jack the Ripper, and now, Fester Addams, this Mamushka is for you....

VOTH
- The Edge of All Things
Hubris: 2

It was his brother's work. The way the connections crossed in perfectly organized pattern, the way how that distinctly angular Divine Presence held it all together, held it all in check. Mayhaps it had kept the tanks safe as well? VOTH gave a silent thanks to his late brother for his due diligence, and promised to follow in his steps as well as he could. He took one last look at the framework, then deactivated it, and left with the tanks and other assorted loot in tow. He would return here, but more pressing matters still remained.

Near the Orrery, Siderous still toiled with their ward. Their task yet undone, the situation dire. But at least, now there was VOTH as well.

"I RETURN with my QUEST a SUCCESS. I APOLOGIZE for my ABSENCE during such a time", he stated, and got to work without further word.


OOC:
Action 1: VOTH will be using Light +2 to assist Siderous with his Light.
Action 2: Using ORDER +2 to assist Starkin with their efforts to mess with natural constants.

Theantero
Nov 6, 2011

...We danced the Mamushka while Nero fiddled, we danced the Mamushka at Waterloo. We danced the Mamushka for Jack the Ripper, and now, Fester Addams, this Mamushka is for you....

VOTH
- Keeling Mountain, The Microcosm of Genesis
Hubris: 2

A perfectly still thing it was. As far as the eye could see stretched a watery surface so devoid of movement it could have as well been a mirror. And in the very middle, a white Pillar pierced the surface, rising a few feet above the waters. And upon the Pillar, stood VOTH, perfectly silent, perfectly still. Not that he could be otherwise, even if he wished it, for the Seat of Serenity allowed for no such thing. It was orderly, peaceful tranquility made manifest. A small piece, but a piece still, of this shattered, corrupted remain of creation that was pure of any disturbance of any sort. A place for him to think. A place for him to unwind. A place for VOTH to be alone with his thoughts a moment, a place that reminded him of the past.

Yes.

In the Seat of Serenity, VOTH was content.

He wished such a state would last.

Alas.

VOTH spared a thought, and then the Pillar stood alone.

~~~~

He had only been there once before, but VOTH stalked the halls of the Microcosm as if he had known the place for years and years. There was a certain standardized sameness to all the things GOGOTH designed that made them feel almost instantly familiar to VOTH.

Thus it didn't take too long for VOTH to arrive at his destination. A scurrying hive of the strange, insectile aberrations that now called the Microcosm their home, if they even did. But their opinion mattered little to VOTH, for to him it was their home for it was where they now lived.

They would be allowed to stay. It was unlikely, VOTH thought, that the creatures had a hand in their presence on the ship, and thus evicting them would've been pointlessly cruel, at least as a first step. But they were still inhabiting a room of one of The Three Pillars. And in so doing, they would need to live with rules.

"HEED!", he spoke to the creatures, "For I am VOTH, the last of THE THREE PILLARS. And I WILL for you to KNOW, that you inhabit the HOUSE of my BROTHER. And I WILL for you to KNOW that I will ALLOW you to stay."

VOTH kept a pause, to let the words echo.

"HOWEVER", he continued, "If you are to accept the GIFT of HOME, then you must also accept the DUTY of VIGIL, lest you overstay your WELCOME. For this is NOT a place I will allow you to DEFILE. If you are to STAY, you must take CARE of it like it were your own HOUSE. You must keep it PURE, you must not allow the creeping CORRUPTION to set in. And in so DOING, shall you find a PLACE."

"Now", VOTH's presence grew heavy.

"Are you a BLESSING, or a BLIGHT?"

"CHOOSE."


OOC:
Action 1: Instacompleting a Domain Temple (The Seat of Serenity) on Keeling Mountain, nabbing Tranquility which is subsumed into my ORDER to make it lvl 3.
Action 2: Using ORDER +3 to set some house rules to the riled up denizens of the Microcosm to get them to behave if they're going to stay.

Theantero fucked around with this message at 18:35 on Jul 13, 2018

Theantero
Nov 6, 2011

...We danced the Mamushka while Nero fiddled, we danced the Mamushka at Waterloo. We danced the Mamushka for Jack the Ripper, and now, Fester Addams, this Mamushka is for you....

VOTH
- The Scrapball
Hubris: 2

The Scrapball.

It was a place that VOTH remembered, though not one he remembered particularly fondly. After all, he mainly ever visited to drag his Sister home after one of her... escapades.

...

But all that was in the past now. He had a new quest, a new mission, and if he wanted to turn those creatures in the Microcosm into exemplar inhabitants of the New Creation, he would have to fix up their home first, and secure methods for energy conversion so that they could do what he wanted them to do. And for spare parts, no place other than this yet existed.

"HEED!, you CROWING AUTOMATONS", he greeted the animatronics still standing guard, "For VOTH once again STALKS these halls!"

He cast a glowering gaze at the machinery.

"And he will TOLERATE no OBSTRUCTION."

With that, he breezed past with an imperious stride.


OOC:
Action 1: ORDER +3 to sort scrap for the stuff I need for my Mooring Temple
Action 2: LIGHT +2 to shed light onto the Scrapball to uncover its mysteries

Theantero
Nov 6, 2011

...We danced the Mamushka while Nero fiddled, we danced the Mamushka at Waterloo. We danced the Mamushka for Jack the Ripper, and now, Fester Addams, this Mamushka is for you....

VOTH
- The Edge of All Things
Hubris: 4

VOTH shifted through the scrapball, looking for usable parts and evidence, for the most part ignoring the yapping lesser divinity at his feet. Eventually, though, he did reply.

"HEED, you SLITHERING wretch. You are treated as TRASH, for that is what you CHOOSE to be."

"By your OWN deeds have you EARNED this. Fix your DEEDS, and fix your TREATMENT."

A prime opportunity for a lecture. Alas, a keening from afar brought a warning of far more pressing matters. Without wasting a second more, VOTH departed for the Edge.

~~~~~~

VOTH did not really know who or what the assailant was, merely that a divinity proficient in explosions was fast approaching, with omnicidal intent.

No matter, he would stop them regardless of their nature. VOTH floated alone in the void in perfect silence as he had in the Seat of Serenity, flanked on all sides by Pillars in perfect stacking rows, reaching far farther than one could perceive. In front of him, a gravity well centered on nothingness, maintained by divine power. Should the one trapped within try to push the pillars that were to fall down on them and pin them away, the pillars would merely immediately fall back on them with the very momentum they themselves had given them. A fitting prison for one such as their threat, a fitting punishment too.

VOTH closed his eyes.

Let them come. He was ready to mete out justice.

All there was left now was to wait.


OOC:
Action 1: ORDER +3 to make a Pillar-Gravity well trap to keep Chrys pinned, Hubrising that up to 4 due to there being a lot of pillars
Action 2: VOTH will meditate whilst waiting

Theantero
Nov 6, 2011

...We danced the Mamushka while Nero fiddled, we danced the Mamushka at Waterloo. We danced the Mamushka for Jack the Ripper, and now, Fester Addams, this Mamushka is for you....

VOTH
- The Edge of All Things
Hubris: 4

As Siderous completed his monologue, the myriad Pillars of VOTH swooped in from all around at Chrys.

"Such is the PRIZE for your FREEDOM", VOTH spoke, having stood silent during Siderous' speech, "To LEARN as our disciple, to CREATE rather than DESTROY, for CREATION naught needs one who shows such contemptuous DISRESPECT for the works of others. So if you wish to be FREE of PRISONS, must you DON the CHAINS of OATH instead, and VOW to REBUILD instead of DEMOLISH, VOW to HELP instead of HINDER."

VOTH glared at the divinity.

"Thus do two options PRESENT, villain."

"You can either say YES to me."

"Or NO to him."


"CHOOSE."

Theantero
Nov 6, 2011

...We danced the Mamushka while Nero fiddled, we danced the Mamushka at Waterloo. We danced the Mamushka for Jack the Ripper, and now, Fester Addams, this Mamushka is for you....

VOTH
- Microcosm of Genesis
Hubris: 0
Ambrosia: 5

VOTH stood still like a statue, glowing and resplendent in the middle of the Microcosm's bridge, a stark juxtaposition against the teetering shadows of the mantis creatures that had gathered. They crawled and skittered near the walls and the consoles, at the edge of the God's radiance, close enough to have their creeping silhouettes drawn against the dark, but still staying far enough to avoid being truly illuminated.

Such wretches were they.

"HEED", VOTH finally stated, causing a rolling wave of recoil within their ranks.

"For VOTH has a STORY to impart."

"It is a STORY of OLD CREATION. It is a STORY meant for you. So LISTEN well."

"To APPRECIATE this STORY, you must first KNOW that as the PILLAR OF JUSTICE, I created a MYRIAD of ORDERS among mortalkind, or of celestial servitors to watch over them. Some PEACEFUL, others not. Of the MARTIAL bent were my KNIGHTS and CRUSADERS, ever ready to purge filth wherever found, to remind CREATION that JUSTICE was not weak. To all of them was granted PRESTIGE and DIVINE MIGHT so that they could perform, yet they were not made EQUAL."

"Then, a RIDDLE for you. Which ORDER was the most RIGHTEOUS? Which ORDER would I rely upon when all others proved LACKING or INCAPABLE? Was it the CELESTIAL DAWNGUARD, of LIGHT forged and FIRE born? Was it the KEEPERS OF THE COURT, assigned to every local Cycle-Master to remind them of their DUTY? Was it the MERCYKILLERS of the Dungeon Worlds, tasked to guard the DIVINE itself? Angels all, or demons, or other celestial servant, all of them, created SUBLIME. As clear of FLAW as one could one make, as GEARED towards a purpose as one might be."

"If you are CURIOUS for an ANSWER, then one can you HAVE."

"It was NONE of them."

"No. The one I most trusted was the KNIGHTS TENEBRAE. Not of any God's Court, of no DIVINE HAND fashioned for any purpose but MISERY. WRETCHES and DREGS, all of them, the MONSTERS that shied away from the eyes of others. Your vampires, beholders, other BEASTS that hid away in the dark, only surfacing to inflict their MALICE and RAVENOUS IMPULSE upon all."

"EVIL by birth. VILE by nature. Or so SOME would say."

"But it is NOT so. Not for THEM, or for ANYONE. For CORRUPTION is not a matter of BIRTH, it is not a matter of MAKE. It is a matter of CHOICE. The KNIGHTS TENEBREA understood this better than ANYONE. They KNEW there was no DARKNESS the LIGHT could not pierce, they KNEW there was no creature beyond SALVATION. And this they KNEW, because alone among my ORDERS they had all experienced it FIRSTHAND."

"A more RIGHTEOUS lot you would not find."

VOTH kept a silence. But not for long.

"They are GONE, now."

"But PERHAPS their LEGACY can still live."

The glow grew stronger, more forceful.

"So I STAND before you now, like I STOOD before them then. And I shall BESEECH you just like I BESEECHED them then."

"Step FORTH into a BAPTISM of LIGHT, or FLEE and cover in DARKNESS and IGNOMINY."

"CHOOSE."


OOC:
Action 1: ORDER +3 to organize these strange mantis creatures into the Order of Knights Tenebrae (a City at the Microcosm)
Action 2: LIGHT +2 and hubris to imbue the Knights with VOTH'S RADIANCE for the most RIGHTEOUS of SMITINGS

Theantero fucked around with this message at 21:59 on Jul 25, 2018

Theantero
Nov 6, 2011

...We danced the Mamushka while Nero fiddled, we danced the Mamushka at Waterloo. We danced the Mamushka for Jack the Ripper, and now, Fester Addams, this Mamushka is for you....

VOTH
- Microcosm of Genesis
Hubris: 2
Ambrosia: 5

Aversion to The Light was not... unheard of within the creatures of Creation. In fact, it was something VOTH was used to. So was he also used to these words:

"HEED."

"FALTER NOT. For whatever THE LIGHT takes, THE LIGHT can SUPPLANT. And you shall be STRONGER for it."

"SO SAYS VOTH."

Though, even then, it would be wrong to draw direct parallel between these things and what he had encountered in the past. The aversion of these... mantis creatures seemed more fundamental, somehow. So VOTH took, surprisingly gently, the nearest of the sputtering wretches onto his palm, and raised it up, near his covered face. He gazed at it and spoke, not to the creature itself, but something deeper. To its makeup and base Structure was his question meant.

"WHAT are you?"

"SPEAK."



OOC:
Action 1: ORDER +3 to peer into the nature of these mantises and their Structure. Why the adverse reaction? (It is a research action)
Action 2: LIGHT +2 and hubris to replace the bits The Light destroys from these mantises with MORE Light. (an action to finish building this City)

Theantero
Nov 6, 2011

...We danced the Mamushka while Nero fiddled, we danced the Mamushka at Waterloo. We danced the Mamushka for Jack the Ripper, and now, Fester Addams, this Mamushka is for you....

VOTH
- Mothership Carrier
Hubris: 4
Ambrosia: 5

So there was a fourth. A momentous discovery if true, of course. One of the greatest uncovered mysteries of the past, to be certain. But until they knew the why of its disappearance, or if it had any significance to the now, that's all it was to VOTH: a mystery of old Creation, among many. To him, three had always sufficed.

One day he would likely try and learn more. But not today, for he had other tasks to perform.

~~~~

A vessel in the darkness of the void, almost still if not for the various weaponry it kept shooting at the distant Outsider. Still there was a tranquility to it, to the silence in which the beams flickered and missiles took to their quiet flight.

But the silence nor the darkness was to last, for then there was also VOTH and his resplendent aura.

The Mothership claimed it knew him not. To VOTH, this mattered not.

"HEED."

"And KNOW my words, MALFUNCTIONING AUTOMATON. I am VOTH, the LAST of THE THREE PILLARS. You may not BELIEVE this, but in so stating you merely REVEAL your confused NATURE."

"For THE PILLARS are no mere court."

"For THE MASKS are no mere title."

"NO. They are MONUMENTS that UNDERPIN the very FABRIC OF CREATION ITSELF. It is not a MATTER of anyone's OPINION."

"So you WILL STAND ASIDE, and let me PASS. Not because of COMPULSION. Not because of THREAT, or SUBVERSION."

"NO. You WILL STAND ASIDE because I am VOTH, the LAST OF THE THREE PILLARS, and you standing aside by my WILL is the only way CREATION will ALLOW things to be."


OOC:
Action 1: ORDER +3 and Hubris to command these robits to stand down on the face of their rightful commanding authority
Action 2: LIGHT +2 to search for hidden Secrets as I stride, for the location of the Palaca of Structure in particular

Theantero
Nov 6, 2011

...We danced the Mamushka while Nero fiddled, we danced the Mamushka at Waterloo. We danced the Mamushka for Jack the Ripper, and now, Fester Addams, this Mamushka is for you....

VOTH
- Palace of Structure
Hubris: 8
Ambrosia: 5

The others were gone, it was just VOTH and the Pillar of Structure now. Somewhere on the back of his mind he could feel the presence of Fa as well, he could feel threads of change emanating from her, wrapping themselves upon this most venerable of structures. But sensing no malice from them, he swept them aside for now. All he could focus on now was the Pillar. His brother's ward, his legacy. The thing he dedicated his entire divine existence to keep safe and maintain, now on the brink of immediate failure.

Sparing thought to anything else right now would be a direct insult to all that work and dedication. And VOTH cared far too deeply about his siblings to do such a thing to either of them.

VOTH imbibed his Ambrosia gingerly, almost ritualistically, closed his eyes and placed his palm against the Pillar. He felt it, allowed his essence and its to mingle in the familiar trance-like state he found himself in, the tightly, far too tightly knit jumble of Divine responsibility set upon him by the Crash being allowed to open up, diffuse and breathe in this metaphysical space. Indeed, VOTH could almost differentiate them now, the rigid patterns of GOGOTH, the strange fractals of MARVAK, and his own golden glow, all drifting around the massive shadow that was the Pillar's domineering presence. But it was a presence sullied, for from various places it was bleeding, dark purple clouds emanating and causing the giant structure to increasingly flicker and weave as if it were nothing but an illusory mirage. Structure itself was bleeding away from the Universe right before his eyes. This VOTH could not allow.

So he set to work. His presence drifted in the mindscape, gathering the diffuse bits of STRUCTURE from the ambrosia-dissolved gestalt of his Domain, and working them into weave and thread and mesh, and with a golden hook he affixed them to whatever leaks he could find. Wherever reality was fading, a patch, wherever the veil was cut, a stitch, and so he worked, minutes stretching to what seemed like years and decades in his vision while he fixed what was broken. VOTH worked in silent diligence the whole time, never stopping, never taking a break, until the task was done. His brother deserved that much, at least.

He worked harder than he could remember, though in a trance almost serene in nature, as he saw himself perform this tribute to his brother's work and their shared duty.

The outside observer saw nothing but a silent God standing still for a few minutes.




OOC:
Action 1: ORDER +3 and Pushing and Ambrosia to start fixing up the Pillar of Structure
Action 2: Meditating

Theantero fucked around with this message at 21:34 on Aug 11, 2018

Theantero
Nov 6, 2011

...We danced the Mamushka while Nero fiddled, we danced the Mamushka at Waterloo. We danced the Mamushka for Jack the Ripper, and now, Fester Addams, this Mamushka is for you....

VOTH
- Palace of Structure
Hubris: 5
Ambrosia: 4

VOTH stood over Fa, still slumped on her throne. He seemed in thought, saying nothing until the eyes of the Goddess stirred.

"Things are NOT as I REMEMBER them", VOTH stated then, voice stern, "For this is NOT the PALACE that my BROTHER once RULED. This is not the STRUCTURE that my BROTHER once IMAGINED."

"BUT", a noticeably softer tone wormed into his voice, "You're NOT my BROTHER. So it does NOT need to be."

"What MATTERS is that THE PILLAR OF STRUCTURE still stands. What MATTERS is that it has CHOSEN the SUCCESSOR for its MASK. And as the CHOSEN of THE PILLARS we trust their JUDGMENT. I trust their JUDGMENT. My BROTHER would've trusted their JUDGMENT, and it is my WISH for you to KNOW that he would've felt no SPITE for it taking the form that is YOU, just like it once took the form that was HIM."

VOTH's arm swept in an arc, as if he were showcasing the very space around them.

"See the FORM of the STRUCTURE that is you, FA THE CUSTODIAN. Hear it SING your NAME. KNOW the RADIANCE of AUTHORITY now vested in you, but KNOW also the WEIGHT of RESPONSIBILITY thrust upon your shoulders. For henceforth where you STAND shall STAND CREATION also. And should THE PILLARS fall, so shall CREATION."

"There is NO DUTY more GRAND, more SEVERE in all CREATION. And it now RESTS on you."

"Perhaps you feel BEWILDERED. UNDESERVING, even."

"But KNOW: So did we ALL, in the BEGINNING."

"KNOW that I would HAPPILY stand by you to THE END, without RESERVATION."

VOTH offered his hand to the sitting Goddess.

"NOW RISE, FA THE CUSTODIAN; BE AVOWED YOUR STATION."


"Oh. And WELCOME."


OOC:
this is just a fluffpost, though VOTH is also trying to make FA vow not to break her duties as the Custodian via Scholar of the First Laws

Theantero
Nov 6, 2011

...We danced the Mamushka while Nero fiddled, we danced the Mamushka at Waterloo. We danced the Mamushka for Jack the Ripper, and now, Fester Addams, this Mamushka is for you....

VOTH
- Palace of Structure
Hubris: 2
Ambrosia: 4

VOTH stalked the halls of the Palace in silence, the corridors jumbled by foreign influence, the halls being reworked by the new Custodian at this very moment. It was all somewhat confusing, not at all like the regimented, modular design that GOGOTH had once used here as well as he had everywhere.

But still, there was a clear logic to all of it. A difficult, alien logic, but a logic VOTH thought he could navigate. And if he could navigate, he could, perhaps, find the controls for the malfunctioning Guardians and restore a degree of order to them.


OOC:
Action 1: ORDER +3 and Pushing to locate Guardian Controls
Action 2: Meditating

Theantero
Nov 6, 2011

...We danced the Mamushka while Nero fiddled, we danced the Mamushka at Waterloo. We danced the Mamushka for Jack the Ripper, and now, Fester Addams, this Mamushka is for you....

VOTH
- Palace of Structure
Hubris: 0
Ambrosia: 4

VOTH was often thought ponderous. He carried himself with a particular, carefully curated imperious grace that had come to be associated with him during the many years he had functioned as a Pillar, the heavy steps he took and the pointed flourishes that peppered his zealous screeds were a hallmark well known to the Divine. Thus it was often easy to forget that he was not, actually, slow by nature.

Faster than even a god could blink, VOTH's gloved fist was wrapped around the relatively slender neck of the Tresspasser. VOTH pulled him close. He glared at the God he had come to view as an enemy with a scorn only someone who had been in the business of judgment for billions of years could muster.

"...WRETCH", VOTH growled as his fingers squeezed, "A mere TWO possibilities PRESENT THEMSELVES in the face of this VILE TREACHERY, the WORST TREACHERY OF ALL."

"Either you do not KNOW what you do, yet still mingle in that WHICH YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND. Akin to a FOOLISH CHILD who plays with a weapon without KNOWING THE DANGER. A cackling jester who puts us ALL to JEOPARDY due to their SCURRILOUS, MALIGNANT NATURE."

"...Or even worse", VOTH's grip tightened, "You DO KNOW. Of the IMPORT of this PILLAR. Of the ABSOLUTE SIGNIFICANCE IT HOLDS for the STRUCTURE OF ALL REALITY. YET YOU STILL WENT AHEAD ANYWAY."

"Thus are you either A DESTRUCTIVE FOOL, or ACTIVELY MALIGNANT. VERMINOUS FILTH either way. The sort of DIVINITY that I REJECT. The sort of DIVINITY that has NO PLACE AMONG CREATION."

"So NEVER DARE SHOW YOUR FACE HERE AGAIN. Or at ANY OTHER PILLAR. CEDE WHAT YOU HAVE TAKEN, AND DEPART, NOW AND FOREVER."

With a snap, VOTH broke Tresspasser's neck, and threw its limp corpse against a nearby wall. "I would ask you to REFLECT on what you've DONE", VOTH's tone dripped anger and derision, "but I KNOW you INCAPABLE of such, BALEFUL THING."

VOTH turned on his heels, walking past Maja without looking at her. "COME. We have a PILLAR to fix. I shall OVERSEE YOUR WORK."

OOC:
Putting a good ol' First Laws geas on Trespasser to never mess with the Pillars ever again, and also to cede control of the Guardians to Fa
Action 1: ORDER +3 to oversee and help Maja removing the swerd
Action 2: Insight +2 and Pushing to go with the fluff of forcing a geas on Trespasser

Theantero
Nov 6, 2011

...We danced the Mamushka while Nero fiddled, we danced the Mamushka at Waterloo. We danced the Mamushka for Jack the Ripper, and now, Fester Addams, this Mamushka is for you....

VOTH
- The Edge of All Things
Hubris: 4
Ambrosia: 4
Injury Clock: 1/4

"It is DONE."

VOTH spoke with a stoic tone, managing to remain remarkably unfaltering despite the sizeable chunk of divine machinery lodged in his divine being.

"We will RECONVENE later, but for now I must deal with my WOUNDS. Until we meet next. FAREWELL."

Without further word, VOTH turned around and walked out of the Palace of Structure.

OOC:
Action 1: Going to the Hospice to deal with this lvl 2 Lung Wound
Action 2: Meditating

Theantero fucked around with this message at 10:18 on Sep 3, 2018

Theantero
Nov 6, 2011

...We danced the Mamushka while Nero fiddled, we danced the Mamushka at Waterloo. We danced the Mamushka for Jack the Ripper, and now, Fester Addams, this Mamushka is for you....

VOTH
- Heart's Ease
Hubris: 1
Ambrosia: 4
Injury Clock: 2/4
Injuries: lvl 1 injury on Lung

VOTH merely laid still after Marvak left. The revelations of the near past had given him a lot to think about. About the nature of their Creation. About its place in the grander multiverse. What they hadn't done, however, was shake his faith in his mission. Indeed, with the knowledge that other Creations in fact existed, and could pose a threat to his own, his resolve to protect his home realm grew more resolute more than anything.

Yes. This was no time for idleness. VOTH felt the wound on his chest. It was not yet fully sealed, but most of it had dissipated. More than enough.

VOTH made his way out of the Hospitium in silence, drifting through the void towards the broken prison world of Heart's Ease. The architecture that already existed there, as well as the lingering aura of the place made it ideal for a bastion. A metaphysical linchpin for the defense of Creation. A worthy headquarters for the knights, after they had been properly anointed.

Yes. It was a workable plan. One that VOTH didn't see reason to delay.


OOC:
Action 1: Using ORDER +3 to build a Fortress Monastery at Heart's Ease for the Knights Tenebrae (it's a City)
Action 2: Also using Light +2 on the Fortress Monastery to make it properly sacrosanct

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Theantero
Nov 6, 2011

...We danced the Mamushka while Nero fiddled, we danced the Mamushka at Waterloo. We danced the Mamushka for Jack the Ripper, and now, Fester Addams, this Mamushka is for you....

VOTH
- Heart's Ease
Hubris: 1
Ambrosia: 4
Injury Clock: 3/4
Injuries: lvl 1 injury on Lung

VOTH spoke little other than giving a curt 'thank you' as Ivadora showed up to help him on his project as per his earlier request, instead resolving to work with her in silence. Only when she started making her own modifications, did VOTH speak up.

"I see what you DO, Ivadora", he spoke, his voice as overpowering as always, but there was a tinge of amusement to it, "And perhaps you THINK that you SUBVERT me."

"But you are MISTAKEN. For I am VOTH, THE PILLAR OF JUSTICE. Not THE PILLAR OF TYRANNY. Not THE PILLAR OF OPPRESSION. The empathy you REQUIRE of these KNIGHTS is not against my own WILL. Indeed, it is a THING I would ask of them MYSELF."

VOTH weaved some of his power into the mantis-creatures, tying his power to prayer-like chants for easy invocation.

"The KNIGHTS TENEBREA were always built upon a FOUNDATION of EMPATHY, Ivadora", VOTH's tone had taken a drier, more matter-of-factly tone, "They were ALWAYS a gathering of the FORSAKEN. The maligned DRUDGES and PARIAHS of CREATION that others would spit upon. Those marked for FAILURE from the beginning due to their SPECIES or the circumstances of their BIRTH. The KNIGHTS TENEBRAE stand as my total and utter CONDEMNATION of ANY such sentiment."

"Thus I do not mind these first two of your so-called COMMANDMENTS. Indeed, all they SAY is that you MISTRUST ME, and think me UNWORTHY of my MASK and my PILLAR."

"This SADDENS me, but you are ALLOWED such thoughts."

"HOWEVER", the mood darkened, VOTH's words gaining a hint of menace, "Your last two COMMANDMENTS I cannot allow. WILL NOT ALLOW. Not NOW. Not EVER. For whilst you CAN gift the KNIGHTS with EMPATHY, what you CANNOT DO is force their WILLS to any particular action. Not even the ones YOU would like. As sentient, ensouled INHABITANTS of this CREATION, the FREEDOM of their WILL and their MIND is to be ABSOLUTE at all times. They have a RIGHT to their own DECISIONS. And to their own MISTAKES."

VOTH crossed his arms.

"ON THIS I STAND FIRM."

OOC:
VOTH will deny the last two Commandments that Iva is trying to force upon them since they're weird Mind Control Puppeteer poo poo. The Knights are free beings, and they will be allowed to make their own decisions always.
Action 1: Using ORDER +3 to further organize the Knights Tenebrae
Action 2: Also using Light +2 and pushing to buff up their smiting powers and their whole look

Maintenance 1: ORDER +3 to build up my Fortress Monastery city at Heart's Ease
Maintenance 2: Light +2 to build up my Fortress Monastery city at Heart's Ease

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